Merged Intermittent Fasting -- Good Idea or Not?

[Kaylee]

I have been following the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet for a couple of months now and it seems to be doing wonders for me. I'm not doing it for weight loss but more for the healthy lifestyle aspect. Thought I would resurrect this thread to see how others are doing.

Are those who were on it still on it? if so are you seeing any benefits? if not why did you stop? Anyone thinking of starting?

look forward to your replies

Interesting Yorkie, what are the benefits that you are experiencing?

Also interesting that you resurrected this thread, I was just thinking about doing the same thing.

I haven't tried intermittent fasting, but I have made two changes starting a few weeks ago:

1) Have at least a 12 hour "fast" between dinner and breakfast.
2) Cut back on frequency of eating. Most days I just have 3 meals -- no more snacks or mini-meals. Despite eating less often, my calorie intake is the same, possibly a little more.

I was motivated to make the change because I had stopped losing weight last month, and even worse gained a few pounds. I remembered reading about a study by Satchin Panda that said frequency of eating may be just as important as what you eat so I decided to give it a try. I have gone back to losing weight, thank goodness. Not a whole lot, I may be down to losing only a pound every two weeks - but I'll take it. I have lost 60 lbs since Dec. 2011 and would like to lose about 25 more.

A daily 12 hour fast is quite different than a weekly fast of one or two days per week -- but in case it's of interest to anyone I thought I'd share my experience.

Looking over the thread I see I never mentioned the results of my latest H 1AC test last fall. I'm no longer considered "pre-diabetic." So losing weight and cutting back sharply on added sugars has worked for me.

 

[pakeha]

Well done, Kaylee!
Oddly enough, I've also found that a 12 hour period between the last meal of the day and breakfast of the following day makes me feel more energetic and I sleep better as well.

 

[Kaylee]

Well done, Kaylee!
Oddly enough, I've also found that a 12 hour period between the last meal of the day and breakfast of the following day makes me feel more energetic and I sleep better as well.

Thank you Pakeha!

I don't find that a 12 hour fast makes me feel better (aside from weighing less gradually over time), and it did take me a few weeks to get use to it. So the only benefit is weight loss for me, but like I say, I'll take it.

 

[GlennB]

1) Have at least a 12 hour "fast" between dinner and breakfast.

Not being snarky here, but isn't that what's known as "normal" ?

Dinner at 8pm, breakfast at 8am (or something vaguely similar)

 

[Pixel42]

I've been reducing my food intake on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the last few weeks, and am gradually losing the weight I put on over Christmas.

I never eat in the evening anyway (lunch is my main meal) so I always have a 15-16 hour fast every day.

 

[dlorde]

Are those who were on it still on it? if so are you seeing any benefits? if not why did you stop? Anyone thinking of starting?

look forward to your replies

I started it and lost almost a stone in about 10 weeks (9st 11 to 8st 12). I wasn't much more than a stone and a half over fighting weight (I'm only a small guy). Now I've got flabby skin around my waist and can see where my six-pack used to be (happy days), so I've now cut it down a bit, to a mix of one or two 'fast' days a week, sometimes going a little over on the calories after the fast. I'm still losing fat, but much more slowly now. At my age I don't want to be too thin or stressing my system more than necessary.

I've found it pretty easy, really, and quite rewarding - except for having to buy new trousers!

 

[dlorde]

Not being snarky here, but isn't that what's known as "normal" ?

Dinner at 8pm, breakfast at 8am (or something vaguely similar)

Yeah, I usually do dinner at 8pm, then the next proper meal at 8pm the next day - with a banana or orange or something about 2pm. Mind you, I've never been big on breakfasts - I usually feel I'm still digesting the previous night's meal.

 

[Kaylee]

Not being snarky here, but isn't that what's known as "normal" ?

Dinner at 8pm, breakfast at 8am (or something vaguely similar)

I'm not always home in the early evenings so I often use to eat dinner around 9 or 10 PM (instead of eating an unhealthy meal out) and sometimes I would have a snack afterwards because I got extremely hungry at night.

Now if I know that I won't be home in the early evening I pack a sandwich and some fruit so I can finish eating by 7 pm or so. Not very exciting but it seems to work.

At first after making this change I continued to be extremely hungry at night but after a couple of weeks my appetite eventually adjusted, thank goodness. But I do find it helps if the last thing I eat is an orange. For some reason that really works for me.

ETA: Also FWIW, back when I use to work late hours for a large corporation I know many of my co-workers didn't eat dinner until they got home around 9 or 10 pm or so. Also FWIW, a lot of my co-workers were overweight.

 

[Kumar]

Well done, Kaylee!
Oddly enough, I've also found that a 12 hour period between the last meal of the day and breakfast of the following day makes me feel more energetic and I sleep better as well.

I think "individuality consideration" should also apply to fasting. Fasting may not help to a starving person but can harm whereas opposite to an overeating person.

But first, we should try to understand logic & science behind fasting.

Can it be:-

1. To decrease previous load(defence load or otherwise) on body?

2. To encourage low dose(quantity) stimulation from previous high dose inhibition i.e. Hormetic effect?

3. Otherwise?

 

[Kevin_Lowe]

Check out the LeanGains web site; there's a lot of interesting and informative guidance based on recent research and critical thinking. The focus is on muscle gain and fat loss, but there's a lot of myth busting for everyone.

Can you link to some good stuff there? The front page struck me as evidence-free, narcissistic, incredibly vague ranting with no redeeming features.

 

[pakeha]

Not being snarky here, but isn't that what's known as "normal" ?

Dinner at 8pm, breakfast at 8am (or something vaguely similar)

I know you're not being snarky- thing is, my work follows a time schedule that left "normal" back in another Universe!

Many days I arrive home from work at 1 AM.
As I wind down from the adrenalin generated by my job, it's easy to break out the food, wonderful food and wine, wonderful wine!

Thanks to this thread, I've learned to change my habits.
I now bring a healthy little supper to work and eat it in the evening 'break' (usually between 9 and 10 PM) and when I arrive home, I make a ritual of brewing up a pot of red or white tea and savouring it as I enjoy that wind-down.

As for consuming food at 8 AM...well, not likely, unless I develop a sleep-walking disorder.

.. But I do find it helps if the last thing I eat is an orange. For some reason that really works for me...

For me it's a satsuma.

I think "individuality consideration" should also apply to fasting. Fasting may not help to a starving person but can harm whereas opposite to an overeating person.

But first, we should try to understand logic & science behind fasting.

Can it be:-

1. To decrease previous load(defence load or otherwise) on body?

2. To encourage low dose(quantity) stimulation from previous high dose inhibition i.e. Hormetic effect?

3. Otherwise?

What?

 

[Yorkie]

Interesting Yorkie, what are the benefits that you are experiencing?

Hi Kaylee. Brilliant news on your weight loss so far. Keep at it.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm personally not doing this for weight loss but for the health benefits although I have in fact lost my bulgy bits on the hips. Short term I've felt more alert and have more energy. Longer term I'm hoping - and evidence I've seen seems to support that intermittent fasting helps in this - for a longer and healther old age.

I used to have breakfast on my fast days but found that I started to feel hungry during the day. I now skip breakfast and don't eat anything between my last evening meal (6pm) before a fast day and the next evening meal (600 calories or so) at 6pm on the fast day itself. Then nothing till breakfast the following morning. This has made it much easier for me to fast as I don't feel hungry at all. Keeping busy with something helps as well. If I do start to feel peckish then a hot drink of coffee or tea will quell the urge to nibble.

Like anything I'll be keeping my eye on any new science that comes along concerning the benefits - or otherwise - of this diet but at the moment it's working for me.

 

[bruto]

I think "individuality consideration" should also apply to fasting. Fasting may not help to a starving person but can harm whereas opposite to an overeating person.

But first, we should try to understand logic & science behind fasting.

Can it be:-

1. To decrease previous load(defence load or otherwise) on body?

2. To encourage low dose(quantity) stimulation from previous high dose inhibition i.e. Hormetic effect?

3. Otherwise?

"Otherwise" contains the least nonsense, so I vote for that one.

 

[corbin]

Wikipedia cites numerous animal studies on the health benefits of intermittent fasting... I think it's healthy and the idea behind it is appealing to me, and have experimented with it myself.

 

[dlorde]

Can you link to some good stuff there? The front page struck me as evidence-free, narcissistic, incredibly vague ranting with no redeeming features.

I know what you mean, it's a pretty annoying style; I found the research section and Top Ten Fasting Myths most interesting, and it corresponds well to my own experience (YMMV) - again, you'll need tweezers to pick out the good bits

 

[GlennB]

Wikipedia cites numerous animal studies on the health benefits of intermittent fasting... I think it's healthy and the idea behind it is appealing to me, and have experimented with it myself.

I'd imagine it depends on the animal.

A shrew needs to eat upwards of 60% of its bodyweight per day, just to keep up its activity levels to the point where it can stay warm and keep looking for food.

But then, a vet told me that it's not a bad thing to put a pet dog on a fast sometimes.

We tried this. The dog ate an armchair during the night.

 

[Kumar]

I


What?

You do about ask science of everything but why don't discuss science(physiological effects) of fasting? You are just discussing different experiances which may not be common.

 

[Kumar]

"Otherwise" contains the least nonsense, so I vote for that one.

Yes I think here only otherwises are discussed not science.

 

[Kaylee]

Didn't mean to abandon the thread, but lately its been difficult for me to post during the week.

I've been reducing my food intake on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the last few weeks, and am gradually losing the weight I put on over Christmas.

I never eat in the evening anyway (lunch is my main meal) so I always have a 15-16 hour fast every day.

I started it and lost almost a stone in about 10 weeks (9st 11 to 8st 12). I wasn't much more than a stone and a half over fighting weight (I'm only a small guy). Now I've got flabby skin around my waist and can see where my six-pack used to be (happy days), so I've now cut it down a bit, to a mix of one or two 'fast' days a week, sometimes going a little over on the calories after the fast. I'm still losing fat, but much more slowly now. At my age I don't want to be too thin or stressing my system more than necessary.

I've found it pretty easy, really, and quite rewarding - except for having to buy new trousers!

Bravo Pixel and dlorde! I always love hearing success stories.

I know you're not being snarky- thing is, my work follows a time schedule that left "normal" back in another Universe!

Many days I arrive home from work at 1 AM.
As I wind down from the adrenalin generated by my job, it's easy to break out the food, wonderful food and wine, wonderful wine!

Thanks to this thread, I've learned to change my habits.
I now bring a healthy little supper to work and eat it in the evening 'break' (usually between 9 and 10 PM) and when I arrive home, I make a ritual of brewing up a pot of red or white tea and savouring it as I enjoy that wind-down.

As for consuming food at 8 AM...well, not likely, unless I develop a sleep-walking disorder.

Heh.

Just curious, what do you do on your days off? Do you stick to your work schedule, or do you switch to the more typical schedule? I could see trying to do the latter esp if you are making plans with friends/family -- but that would probably wrec havoc on a hormonal level. Based on what I've been reading lately that seems to be very important, perhaps almost as important as keeping track of calories.

IFor me it's a satsuma.

I had to look that up. You do eat the most interesting fruits and vegetables (I recall your other posts about this as well). If you don't mind my asking, what part of the world do you live in?

Hi Kaylee. Brilliant news on your weight loss so far. Keep at it.

Thanks, I'm going to try!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm personally not doing this for weight loss but for the health benefits although I have in fact lost my bulgy bits on the hips. Short term I've felt more alert and have more energy. Longer term I'm hoping - and evidence I've seen seems to support that intermittent fasting helps in this - for a longer and healther old age.

I used to have breakfast on my fast days but found that I started to feel hungry during the day. I now skip breakfast and don't eat anything between my last evening meal (6pm) before a fast day and the next evening meal (600 calories or so) at 6pm on the fast day itself. Then nothing till breakfast the following morning. This has made it much easier for me to fast as I don't feel hungry at all. Keeping busy with something helps as well. If I do start to feel peckish then a hot drink of coffee or tea will quell the urge to nibble.

Like anything I'll be keeping my eye on any new science that comes along concerning the benefits - or otherwise - of this diet but at the moment it's working for me.

Good to hear. Oh, and I reread my own OP ; should have done that earlier.

I'd imagine it depends on the animal.

A shrew needs to eat upwards of 60% of its bodyweight per day, just to keep up its activity levels to the point where it can stay warm and keep looking for food.

But then, a vet told me that it's not a bad thing to put a pet dog on a fast sometimes.

We tried this. The dog ate an armchair during the night.

 

[dlorde]

satsuma

I had to look that up. You do eat the most interesting fruits and vegetables

It's just an easy-peel kind of mandarin orange, like a tangerine. The markets and greengrocers here (UK) used to have lots of them, but they don't seem so common these days.