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A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

jamesclear.com

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Re: A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

#131

Post by michael_kariv »

exogenousdata wrote: post #73

I've used IF now for a few years and have enjoyed the benefits. I usually only eat dinner. Three observations. 1. It's not for everyone. Give it a try and see if it works. 2. Drink lots of water. 3. Try having a salad or a plate of veggies 20mins before eating your dinner. That helps me avoid over-eating.

While agreeing, I would add, when trying it, do it gradually. First give up snacks, then narrow the gaps, then skip breakfast while widening the gap, then narrow it again. Two weeks each step at least. When in discomfort go back a step. While doing so also change what you eat, also very gradually. If you are like me and hate salad, just peel a carrot, cut a cabbage, eat them. I don’t bother making salads. To me it is a tax to pay. I eat them cause I must. Over time I started noticing they taste ok, to ahungry person. But the real joy of comes after paying that tax.

Re: A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

#132

Post by ballenf »

gilbetron wrote: post #106

Just started doing this (again) two weeks ago and am down 4 lbs already. All I do is skip breakfast, and be a little aware not to gorge when lunch/dinner comes around, and then stop snacks (other than maybe a pickle or something) after dinner. It really depends on the person, for my wife, she just calorie counts and can shed the pounds with little problem. I can't stand being constantly hungry and not eating until I'…

Does black coffee break the fast? No sweetener, not a flavored coffee.

Re: A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

#134

Post by gotrythis »

I am currently alternate day fasting (ADF), which I'm finding very easy to do. Apparently the most popular form of ADF is a modified version where you can eat up to 500 calories on fasting days. I'm juicing on fasting days, which probably adds 300-400 calories.

ADF apparently is quite safe, sustainable, and healthy: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/alternate-day-fasting-g...

Re: A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

#135

Post by 2-718-281-828 »

It's important to realize that IF is more than just calorie restriction. It's also about giving your digestive system time off to heal. Plus - when restricting calories to a small window you'll naturally change choice of nutrition towards proteins, good fats and less (not none, though) carbohydrates. Otherwise you'll feel hungry during the fasting period after a few hours.

Re: A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

#137

Post by mtberatwork »

lancesells wrote: post #109
seer wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The work from Dr. Sinclair, and various other scientist seems to agree that its not just weight and body shape, you actually live longer and have less illnesses throughout your life. Really fascinating stuff - the Lifespan podcast really changed how I think about all of this. I'm like you and haven't had breakfast in quite a while, but recently started skipping launch as well. A lot harder, but supposedly will feel a…

I'm not doctor but I why skip lunch if it's hard to do? Eat something healthy and enjoy your time and days spent on the earth. I'm not saying ignore eating healthy or exercising. Those are key but punishing yourself to optimize for the possibility of living longer is a weird one. Especially since diet science seems to be far from perfect.

I generally agree with you, but for me I'm not necessarily trying to optimize for an ultra long life span but instead am trying to optimize for going out peacefully. I don't want my end years to be in some miserable, decrepit state in which I am unable to do much. In the end, all we can hope for is a peaceful exit.

Re: A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

#139

Post by stripline »

AnonC wrote: post #76

I’ve been doing intermittent fasting (time restricted feeding) with 16:8 (I do at least 16 hours fasting and at most 8 hours feeding window everyday) for several years. It’s more convenient (as with others, I find skipping breakfast easy) and makes night times easier in a few ways (fall asleep fast, have a good sleep, etc.). Social outings in the evening could be an issue since I stop eating by around 6, but it’s not…

You are correct that IF works because you eat less calories, there's no real magic there. The key though is that it is mentally easier than other diets to actually eat less calories.

Most diets fail because people need to make a decision about what to eat at the worst possible time - when they're hungry. Whether ordering at a restaurant or looking into the fridge at home, a regular diet expects you to make the healthy choice when your body is craving the bad food. With IF hunger is easier to tolerate because you can simply look at the clock and remind yourself you can eat in X hours. I also feel that it turns hunger into a good feeling, like a sore muscle after a workout, it feels like progress.

An added side effect I noticed when pairing IF with weight lifting is that when it was time to eat, my body actually craved the healthy food like protein.

Re: A beginner's guide to intermittent fasting (2012)

#140

Post by vidarh »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #83
random_upvoter wrote: post #9

For decades of my adult life I skipped breakfast, going against all conventional dietary wisdom. Having 3 meals a day just felt like turning my body into a conveyor belt that produces faeces. Now I feel kinda vindicated. A few times I traveled with a friends who did the breakfast - lunch - dinner thing and after two or three days I had to opt out of either breakfast or dinner. I remember asking "how do you even manag…

My sense is that conventional dietary wisdom comes from an agricultural heritage — where we spent all damn day working the fields. Without that intensive labor, three meals seems to make less sense.

It was eye-opening once I started tracking my calorie intact and adjusting until I was in balance to realise just how far off typical dietary advice was for me. Especially as I was actively powerlifting at the time, and forums were full of advice about the massive amounts of food I "needed".

UK NHS still say 2000kcal for women and 2500 for men, but for me after actually counting and tracking my weight at different intake, the balance was ~1800-2000 when exercising 5 times a week including 3x1 hour long weightlifting sessions.

Of course for some men 2500 is fine, if you're actually active. But I've found most people overestimate how active they actually are because they do some sports outside of work. Without actually being in a physically demanding job, odds are you're not "active" in any meaningful sense (of course there are exceptions).

2500kcal was on the high end of my bulking intake when I wanted to add weight for my lifting.

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