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Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#31

Post by WithinReason »

bartwr wrote: post #19

It's hilarious that people describe their anecdotal experience of being in a calorie deficit as a proof that "intermittent fasting works". This was never the question, but whether intermittent fasting brings additional weight loss benefits as compared to calorie deficit with frequent meals. My anecdotal experience from 20y of bodybuilding and doing ~3 cuts a year: for cutting, I tried IF, 6 meals a day, low fat, low…

> The only difference is the impact on health parameters (different will get worse on low fat vs high fat), satiety, and how easy it is for someone to sustain the diet and stay in a deficit.

Did anybody claim otherwise?

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#32

Post by hackeraccount »

DharmaPolice wrote: post #14
ranger_danger wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know that spreading that one meal out throughout the day wouldn't have the same effect? I bet you'd have more energy as well. Unless you have tested this, I find it hard to believe that this isn't really just a caloric deficit compared to whatever you were doing before losing weight, assuming the same activity level.

It probably would have the same effect, but the point is that a lot of people find it easier to stick to one meal a day (or similar) than multiple smaller meals.

I've always thought that you can lose weight on almost any diet - as long as it makes you think before you eat and almost by definition any diet will make you do that. For me at least most (probably all) of the time I eat it has nothing to do with hunger and if I just stop for a second I'll probably not eat at all.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#33

Post by zelda420 »

mh2266 wrote: post #28

How do people that do this exercise? are they mostly sedentary? I mostly ride bikes for exercise and need fuel at least every hour on a ride or else I will bonk out. My output is 500kcal/hour based on power meter, a 4 hour ride would be 2000kcal, it's not doable without some food intake.

Your body adjusts to using fat as fuel. I’m no scientist/doctor but I’m training for a marathon and I find I perform much better than when using gels or bars or any of that other processed ‘fuel’ I used to use.

I also love weightlifting while being fasted. One meal end of day for me has put me in the best shape I ever have in 36 years. So much that I actually took up running haha.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#34

Post by bulbar »

ActorNightly wrote: post #27
bulbar wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You lose weight by reducing calories intake. That's well known and what the review, unsurprisingly, has shown. Methods like intermittent fasting work by providing a framework that makes it easier for people to achieve that.

The problem with recuing calorie intake is that it can also lead to lethargy, where you burn even less calories, and reducing intake even more means you arent getting vital nutrients.

That's not wrong but often not that drastic. Reducing NEAT (non exercise activity) on reduced calories is person dependent and can be quite significant.

The body however is quite robust. For a healthy person, there's no acute risk associated to significantly reduce the calories intake for a few months. You should take care to have a balanced diet, of course.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#35

Post by FatherOfCurses »

cheema33 wrote: post #9

> Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss. My personal experience is quite the opposite. In fact, this is the first time I have heard anybody claim that intermittent fasting, when done correctly, does not make you lose weight. Sounds like a study done by people who sell weight-loss drugs or meals. Intermittent fasting is one of the more reliable ways to lose weight.

>My personal experience..... >Intermittent fasting is one of the more reliable ways to lose weight

That's not how data works.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#36

Post by haxel »

mh2266 wrote: post #28

How do people that do this exercise? are they mostly sedentary? I mostly ride bikes for exercise and need fuel at least every hour on a ride or else I will bonk out. My output is 500kcal/hour based on power meter, a 4 hour ride would be 2000kcal, it's not doable without some food intake.

I also ride bike, and used to bonk, but it didn't take long for my body to adapt to using fat as fuel. Half the battle was mental: accepting that I truly didn't need to eat anything; my body already had all the fuel it needed.

Then I could wake up, ride hard for hours (hilly terrain), and feel no need to eat until the afternoon.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#37

Post by apt-apt-apt-apt »

empressplay wrote: post #3

I've lost over 100lbs in the past year. * I only eat one meal a day (supper). It's usually a very large meal, very high in lean protein. * I avoid sugars and starches of all kinds and minimize other carbs (fruit, root veg, grains). * After eating, I do 30 minutes on the treadmill. For a middle-aged woman (a category which finds it particularly hard to lose weight) this has worked rather well. I can eat as much meat,…

What you've described is calorie restriction.

You restrict calories to one meal where you can't possibly eat 2000 calories at once with the ingredients.

Exercise + starting off at a high weight helps further.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#38

Post by techjamie »

izzydata wrote: post #15
TGower wrote: post #6

My understanding of intermittent fasting is that it can encourage "garbage collection" of the body pruning the dead/sickly cells. Weight loss/gain is still driven by calories in/out.

It's always calories in and calories out. The idea is that intermittent fasting makes you less hungry over time and thus you take in less calories. If they had their test subjects eat the same amount to see if intermittent fasting metabolized food better then it seems obvious that there would be little to no difference.

My SO did IF and strict calorie counting for around 2 weeks to a momth, and it drastically reduced their appetite to something more akin to a normal level. Now, they can barely finish a large meal at McDonald's without leftovers.

They've cut quite a bit of weight since then and mostly have just focused on keeping their appetite low, and eating healthier more fibrous meals in general.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#39

Post by Kirby64 »

mbStavola wrote: post #8
skystarman wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you describe in your diet is significant calorie restriction...

... is it? It really depends on how large that meal is. What if it's a daily mukbang?

> * It's usually a very large meal, very high in lean protein.

> * I avoid sugars and starches of all kinds and minimize other carbs (fruit, root veg, grains).

With lean protein and no sugars/starches, it's just not really possible for most people to overeat in a single meal that much unless you're really, really forcing yourself.

Re: Intermittent fasting may make little difference to weight loss, review finds

#40

Post by tonyedgecombe »

mh2266 wrote: post #28

How do people that do this exercise? are they mostly sedentary? I mostly ride bikes for exercise and need fuel at least every hour on a ride or else I will bonk out. My output is 500kcal/hour based on power meter, a 4 hour ride would be 2000kcal, it's not doable without some food intake.

I know this is a bit way out there but I suspect the average person isn’t going for four hour bike rides.
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