The power of intermittent fasting
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The power of intermittent fasting
1–10 of 72 posts
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#2I've practiced inttermittent fasting for a bit (eating absolutely nothing with calories one day a week), and, apart from losing weight (which I can't attribute entirely to IF, since I was also eating less in general, but IF definitely helped), it was just more convenient for me.
I prefer to just eat nothing one day, which is relatively easy since I work/do stuff during the day and have to take time out of the day to eat, and then indulge the rest of the week. IF enabled me both to not keep in mind how much I eat six days out of the week, and to just simply not eat anything for one day. I consider it a great success.
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#3I've also been doing this for awhile now. The program I'm on is called LeanGains http://www.leangains.com/ and I've been pretty successful with it. I've went from about 15% BF to 10% with minimal muscle loss.
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#4A big thing to stress here is that you eat normally the other days. I know some people who have tried IF who gorge on food once the fast ends, and end up no better off than not fasting at all - calorie wise at least.
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#5It took me long enough to get used to eating every 3 to 4 hours. Now this?
Come on nutritionists, where was this theory when I was in high school and would randomly go for two days without eating ...
PS: eating every 3 to 4 hours has brought the biggest gains to my leanness of everything I've tried. Even better than running every day.
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#6I've started to fast for a 24 hour period once a week (lunch on monday is my last meal until lunch on tuesday). I drink tea and water. I'll break my fast early if I have any signs of feeling unwell.
I haven't noticed any changes, but I was already in good shape, slept well, and what not.
I'm not sure I buy the health benefits for people who are already healthy. I tend to favor going by what the experts say, and overwhelmingly they say to eat normally every day. The more progressive might admit that there's value in further study.
On a different note... A couple years ago (long before I started fasting), I was in a meeting and I got super hungry. It was painful. I realized that many people live with this daily for decades. I think going hungry for a short period of time might make some people more empathetic.
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#7This advice is sort of along the same lines as the Warrior Diet which preaches fasting all day and preserving yourself for one large prepared meal to quench your warrior instinct. I follow the Warrior Diet 3-5 days/week. It recommends eating vegetables during the fast (some lean proteins if you workout a lot) and also ways to start your one big meal. The diet plan instructs you to eat some vegetables first followed by protein and then grain.
I really like this diet, but it is difficult to follow everyday. I would say I have 2 cheat days/week where I eat a lot of junk food. This summer ice cream has been my haven. All in all I am down 40lbs since the beginning of this year... Should mention and thank the slow carb diet for at least 30 of those lbs... (note:slow carb diet is eating every 4 hours....)
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#8It took me long enough to get used to eating every 3 to 4 hours. Now this ? Come on nutritionists, where was this theory when I was in high school and would randomly go for two days without eating ... PS: eating every 3 to 4 hours has brought the biggest gains to my leanness of everything I've tried. Even better than running every day.
There is no contradiction between eating every 3-4 hours and intermittent fasting. They occur on different time scales, you're going to be ok.
The big thing about intermittent fasting is that the rest of your diet has to be 'normal' as well. If you were like me in highschool, my 'intermittent' fasts were broken by... not optimal food choices.
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#9Intermittent fasting works for me: http://chester.id.au/2012/04/17/my-diet/
I love food. I love everything about it. I love the smell of it, the sight of it, the way steam rises of freshly cooked food. I love mixing it up. I love the act of chewing, the taste, the way it feels in my mouth. The act of swallowing is great and the sensation of fullness is sensational.
So it should come as no surprise that for me, at least, weight control through portion control has been an absolute failure.
What has worked for me is skipping meals altogether. If I don't start eating at a given meal time I don't have to stop.
These days I skip breakfast, have a simple meal-replacement of my own recipe at lunch, train in the afternoon and eat whatever I feel like at dinner. So far I am 24kg (~53lb) down from my peak weight and the trendline is still pointing down.
(I wrote about that, too: http://chester.id.au/2012/05/26/fat-and-simple/ -- it caused one hell of a ruckus)
But do you know why? It isn't the schedule that really matters. It's that I imposed a caloric deficit in a way that I personally am I able to sustain. For others it might be low-carb or eating every 4 hours or being a vegetarian. Whatever. At the end of the forcing function of weight control is how much you ate.
Once I reach a weight I'm happy with I'll probably just eat an ordinary lunch more often.
Re: The power of intermittent fasting
#10ADF is the unknown secret to solving many modern ills ... or so I think. :)
I've had many conversations with three doctors about it and my thought is our bodies haven't caught up evolutionary wise to eating each and every day.
I have no proof outside of personal results, which I understand doesn't make it a reality. I could be a freak. lol
They key is not eating at all for a full 24 hours including your sleep cycle and then to only eat a normal meal on the days you eat.