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Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

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Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#121
post #57

Been doing intermittent fasting for a long time now and have been doing ADF for the last few months. I lost fat and retained lean muscle while - eating between 3000-6000 calories on eating days - running 30-35 miles per week - weight lifting 3x per week Here is a reddit post about my progress with some documentation including pics of recent DEXA scans. https://www.reddit.com/r/leangains/comments/cliuqk/been_prac...

Congratulations on your accomplishments. Can I ask how you manage to choke down 6000 kcal on eating days? Even when I'm really hungry I can't physically force myself to eat that much. It makes me feel sick and my digestive system is at the limit.

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- Even on fast days, make sure you take vitamins (I take Fish Oil, Zinc, a Multivitamin and Magnesium) I have done some fasting recently (water, some water/apple cider vinegar in the morning; coffee, green tea, Ooolong tea), and have a similar vitamin intake (B complex; calcium/D combo; Magnesium; Zinc; Iron; Fish Oil). During the fasting I don't take the Fish Oil, I haven't read anything about it specifically, but j…

In general with a good diet there is no need to continuously take vitamin supplements.

That also assumes you're getting enough sunlight. A lot of people who work in an office don't.

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#123
post #121
post #57

Been doing intermittent fasting for a long time now and have been doing ADF for the last few months. I lost fat and retained lean muscle while - eating between 3000-6000 calories on eating days - running 30-35 miles per week - weight lifting 3x per week Here is a reddit post about my progress with some documentation including pics of recent DEXA scans. https://www.reddit.com/r/leangains/comments/cliuqk/been_prac...

Congratulations on your accomplishments. Can I ask how you manage to choke down 6000 kcal on eating days? Even when I'm really hungry I can't physically force myself to eat that much. It makes me feel sick and my digestive system is at the limit.

I’m one of those people that eat quickly and a lot, so I’ve just become accustomed to eating big meals.

That being said, I also eat significant amounts of junk food. Slice of cake is like 500-800 calories. No problem. I can do that x 3 after a meal of normal stuff. Junk is easy to throw down and calorie dense. Also, its fun to eat.

Now 6000 calories of salad and lean meats? That would be difficult...

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#124
post #119
post #57

Been doing intermittent fasting for a long time now and have been doing ADF for the last few months. I lost fat and retained lean muscle while - eating between 3000-6000 calories on eating days - running 30-35 miles per week - weight lifting 3x per week Here is a reddit post about my progress with some documentation including pics of recent DEXA scans. https://www.reddit.com/r/leangains/comments/cliuqk/been_prac...

Regarding exercise during IF, does it have a negative effect on your performance if you don't eat some carbs BEFORE exercise? How do you prevent the body from eating itself up for energy during exercise?

Pretty much no impact. I’ve done 18 mile runs after not eating for 36 hours and without consuming calories during the run. I feel tired but no more than usual. Also weight train fasted, no issues with performance.

The goal kind of is for the body to eat itself...eating body fat.

As for maintaining muscle mass, it seems as if keeping protein intake high while lifting heavy weights does the trick.

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#125
post #4

I was heading to the gym near the Twitter HQ in SF yesterday and saw Jack Dorsey walk past. He looked extremely thin and borderline sick to me. I think he does more extended fasts over the weekend but it’s a bit unnerving when someone in a position to influence behavior like he is seems to be taking fasting to an extreme.

I think we are a little too comfortable with people generally taking over-eating to an extreme. A 5’ 10” male’s optimal BMI means a body weight between 130lbs and 170lbs. You’d need to be 110lbs to be severely underweight. No-one would bat an eye if they saw a severely overweight 5’10” celebrity weighing 210lbs.

> A 5’ 10” male’s optimal BMI means a body weight between 130lbs and 170lbs.

I've always found BMI to be a little suspect. I'm an average build 5'10'' and 170lbs at the upper range of optimal would make me look very, very lean (I've been there before and it is just not a flattering look), at 130lbs I would look down right skeletal and very unhealthy.

My personal optimal is 178lbs where I look and feel great, although according to the official numbers that would put me at the lower end of overweight which is just not right.

My understanding of BMI is that it's a pretty crude measure of health in that the numbers are correlated with (preventable?) deaths across an entire population and that's it. I wonder if there is some nuance of health that this single number doesn't capture too well.

Anyways, just my own observation :)

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#126
post #62
post #17

I fast, on average, once a week. At least once a month, I try to do an extended fast (2-5 days) to force ketosis. I also do intermittent fasting basically daily (I only eat between 12-8). Been doing this for about 4 years now. Some anecdata: - Fasting > 24 hrs paradoxically gives you an extreme boost of energy and mental focus. I especially love how my olfactory sense is extremely heightened. It's pretty cool and eve…

"Unfortunately, eating healthy is hard and kinda' sucks. Egg whites and chicken + broccoli gets old pretty fast." I welcome any opportunity to point to almond butter as an extremely dense, and healthy, source of calories. Easy to add to a smoothie. Speaking more broadly, I would have a hard time with IF, etc., were it not for shifting about 20-30% of my calorie input to nuts, generally. Mostly raw in form.

Is it any better or worse than the cheaper and more available peanut butter (with no additives)?

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#127
post #17

I fast, on average, once a week. At least once a month, I try to do an extended fast (2-5 days) to force ketosis. I also do intermittent fasting basically daily (I only eat between 12-8). Been doing this for about 4 years now. Some anecdata: - Fasting > 24 hrs paradoxically gives you an extreme boost of energy and mental focus. I especially love how my olfactory sense is extremely heightened. It's pretty cool and eve…

> I also do intermittent fasting basically daily (I only eat between 12-8).

I settled on this pattern years ago before I heard anything about it. It just seems right and natural for my body. I've never been into snacking and breakfast would make me feel ill most days (coffee gets a pass) so that naturally means I don't eat before lunch.

Though I wonder how much of that is our modern lifestyle. If I go to the gym early or do something physical, then I'll get hungry and actually want food. Usually I try to go to the gym around 10am or later, which I do without any food in my system and I feel fine. I'm not trying to gain mass though.

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#128
I am happy to see another study that indicates good results.

I have stopped fasting, even though I believe in the benefits.

Now, I just make sure that every day I have at least a 12 hour contiguous period of not eating. This is really easy to do, for example, finishing dinner by 6:30pm and not eating until 7:30am the next day gives me a 13 hour period for resting my digestive system and giving my cells some time to repair rather than absorb nutrients. Easy, and with a mostly vegan diet except with lean meat about two times a week, I feel great.

For me, it is best to stay on an easy program, something that I can do long term.

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#129
post #17

I fast, on average, once a week. At least once a month, I try to do an extended fast (2-5 days) to force ketosis. I also do intermittent fasting basically daily (I only eat between 12-8). Been doing this for about 4 years now. Some anecdata: - Fasting > 24 hrs paradoxically gives you an extreme boost of energy and mental focus. I especially love how my olfactory sense is extremely heightened. It's pretty cool and eve…

Are you fit? as in, do you lift weights or are active in sports that require strength? I ask because I wonder about the effects of extended fasts on muscle loss/retention, a big problem cutting weight for some people is that they get rid of some muscle mass along with the calories they wanted to eliminate.

In the book Obesity Code, it says that during fasting human growth hormone levels increase. This maintains muscle mass.

Re: Alternate Day Fasting Improves Physiological and Molecular Markers of Aging [pdf]

#130
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did for a few months this year, but I've been lazy over the summer. I'm 155lb, 6'0, so fairly skinny, maybe at around ~15% BF. I noticed that fasting doesn't help with BF at all unless I eat very clean and lift. I was at 170lb, around ~28% BF earlier this year and had to work my ass off to get my body fat percentage down.

> I noticed that fasting doesn't help with BF at all unless I eat very clean and lift. So what happens? You lose muscle and fat in the same ratio? Or do you keep the fat?

I haven't seen any studies that imply that fasting increases or decreases metabolic rates, which would mean that most people probably won't implicitly gain or lose significant amounts of weight just by switching to intermittent fasting.

There are people that literally just start skipping breakfast while keeping lunch/dinner/snacking the same. This is both technically intermittent fasting but also a reduction in overall caloric consumption. These people sometimes attribute their newfound weightloss to IF, when really they just started skipping a calorically dense meal every day.

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