Merged Intermittent Fasting -- Good Idea or Not?

[bruto]

Just steer clear of those gay bakeries!

 

[eerok]

Power and riches does not necessarily bring enlightenment nor health to the human body.

Dude, I'm interested in reading about intermittent fasting, not whatever baloney you're slicing. Please stop wasting my time.

 

[SomedayGirl]

I'm reading this thread and and breakfasting on some leftover tiramisu. If there is a hell, I probably have an express ticket.

I'd never heard of this before happening on Diane Rehm's radio show when she had Michael Mosley on as a guest a couple months ago. I wasn't sure what to think of it, kinda sounded like another silly weight loss fad but I was intrigued (if for no other reason than that the host said on her fast days she reserves 200 calories for her two ritual glasses of champagne every evening, which I found amusing). This thread has been very helpful so thanks everyone who participated for your practical advice and science info.

I'll be giving this a go on Mondays and Thursdays starting next week and will post about how it works for me. While all of my other standard health measures are within a healthy range, that's just some combination of dumb luck and a ticking bomb since I'm 35lbs over my personal ideal weight (I'm tall so it doesn't look like 35lbs but it is). With a meat and potatoes husband and two grazing, junk food addicted kids - and the onset of Girl Scout cookie season - it should be interesting and challenging to say the least.

 

[halleyscomet]

Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

Through rigorous fasting I have become a Breatharian.

Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

I subsist entirely on air, sunlight, coffee and alcohol.

Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

I have been elevated to higher planes of consciousness.

Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

I have become the Kwisatz Haderach.

Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

You will call me Muad'Dib

Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

The spice must flow.

Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Dr. Keith]

if for no other reason than that the host said on her fast days she reserves 200 calories for her two ritual glasses of champagne every evening, which I found amusing

My teenage daughter saves the necessary calories to have a small dessert. It makes the whole thing very doable for her.

I'll be giving this a go on Mondays and Thursdays starting next week and will post about how it works for me. While all of my other standard health measures are within a healthy range, that's just some combination of dumb luck and a ticking bomb since I'm 35lbs over my personal ideal weight (I'm tall so it doesn't look like 35lbs but it is). With a meat and potatoes husband and two grazing, junk food addicted kids - and the onset of Girl Scout cookie season - it should be interesting and challenging to say the least.

I just weighed myself after just one week and lost 2 of the sixty pounds I need to lose. Despite not getting in my normal dose of exercise due to scheduling issues. If I can average 1-2 per week I will be very happy.

 

[John Jones]

If the aim is health, any food taken into the body should not contain harmful ingredients. It is not just a matter of calories.

Thanks for that bit of dietary wisdom. Anyone would think it was a good idea to eat tobacco salads had you not pointed-out the foolishness of such a pursuit.

 

[lionking]

Just ignoring Janadele's "contribution", I've been back on the 5:2 diet for the past three weeks. I started at the start of the year, but dropped off for a bit. The fasting days are still tough (Tuesday and Thursday for me) but the results are there. The scales are broken, and I'm not fixing them just yet. I usually weigh myself far too often.

Anyway the belt is in two notches, and when I put on a tie, the shirt is not tight around my neck. I guess I've taken off 3-5kg, but won't weigh myself for another four weeks.

 

[pakeha]

...I'll try to report back after I've put in a few weeks.

I'm reading this thread and and breakfasting on some leftover tiramisu. If there is a hell, I probably have an express ticket.

I'd never heard of this before happening on Diane Rehm's radio show when she had Michael Mosley on as a guest a couple months ago. I wasn't sure what to think of it, kinda sounded like another silly weight loss fad but I was intrigued (if for no other reason than that the host said on her fast days she reserves 200 calories for her two ritual glasses of champagne every evening, which I found amusing). This thread has been very helpful so thanks everyone who participated for your practical advice and science info.

...I'll be giving this a go on Mondays and Thursdays starting next week and will post about how it works for me.

While all of my other standard health measures are within a healthy range, that's just some combination of dumb luck and a ticking bomb since I'm 35lbs over my personal ideal weight (I'm tall so it doesn't look like 35lbs but it is). With a meat and potatoes husband and two grazing, junk food addicted kids - and the onset of Girl Scout cookie season - it should be interesting and challenging to say the least

...

Just ignoring Janadele's "contribution",

I've been back on the 5:2 diet for the past three weeks.

I started at the start of the year, but dropped off for a bit. The fasting days are still tough (Tuesday and Thursday for me) but the results are there. The scales are broken, and I'm not fixing them just yet. I usually weigh myself far too often.

Anyway the belt is in two notches, and when I put on a tie, the shirt is not tight around my neck. I guess I've taken off 3-5kg, but won't weigh myself for another four weeks

...

Great minds and that!
I've been back-sliding over the hols but yesterday settled into my first 'fast' day going over til lunch today which'll be a broccoli- mushroom stir-fry with tofu. Skipping an evening meal, eating a spare breakfast and having a late lunch takes very little effort twice a week, at least for me.
I'll be posting up my experience and looking forward to reading how everyone does.

I'm sure she considers my daily cup of Israeli coffee with cardamom to be toxic. She is Mormon after all.

I wonder if she considers it inappropriate race mixing for a white guy of largely German extraction to eat middle eastern food...

Israeli coffee?
I'm a Ethiopian addict, myself but have never tried Israeli coffee.
Cardamom, yes. Coffee without cardamom is OK, but lacking.

 

[Pixel42]

I've been back on the 5:2 diet for the last 7 weeks, after putting on about 2.5 kg over Christmas. So far I've lost about 1.5 kg, another kg to go.

My main meal is lunch (meat or fish, potatoes and veg), with toast or porridge for breakfast and a roll, some fruit and a small cake for tea at around 5 pm - I never eat in the evening. My typical fast day involves skipping breakfast, having less (e.g. a fish cake and some vegetables) for lunch and just a piece of fruit for tea.

 

[dlorde]

Having reached my target weight using 5:2 a year ago (and subsequently losing more due to a viral illness), I'm now maintaining what I think is a healthy weight by having the occasional fast day whenever I feel I've pushed the boat out a bit, or the scales start going up.

I find that once you've become comfortable with the 5:2 fast days, introducing them ad-hoc is no problem, and keeps food consumption in perspective so I'm more aware of the need to balance occasional excesses by subsequent reductions.

 

[halleyscomet]

Israeli coffee?

I'm a Ethiopian addict, myself but have never tried Israeli coffee.

Cardamom, yes. Coffee without cardamom is OK, but lacking.

It's basically Turkish ground coffee with cardamom. There are a number of Jordanian brands as well. Whole green cardamom pods are ground with the coffee.

You make it the same way you make Turkish coffee. According to the directions on some brands, if you just mix the grounds with hot water instead of boiling it, you get "Israeli Mud" coffee.

 

[Iamme]

I just googled how many calories brisk walking burns. Somewheres in the range of 75-100 calories per mile, depending on your pace and elevation of heart rate.
Hardly seems worth it. Not unless you care to take the time to simply uselessly walk for miles each day.
Then wouldnt that make you even hungrier if you did that?
.
I`m lucky that i am in motion throughout the day in worthwhile endeavors, often carrying heavy tools even to second floor apts or in and out of basements.
.
In the evening i can eat whatever and all i want with no regard to gaining weight. I eat those tollhouse chocolates practically non-stop. For real. I get bored just sitting there.
.
If i had a weight problem, i`ve wondered what i`d do, without going out of my mind sacrificing. Who wants to sacrifice? You might as well not even be alive.
.
Any fasting i think would be out of the question.
.
Somebody would have to show me that i can forage on SOMETHING, while meal fasting. SOMETHING. Just for boredom sake.
Like....could you ration yourself say one redhot candy, or flakes of cereal...maybe cut up sticks of celery w/pb in the groove, every so many minutes? SOMETHING.
.
We can send a man to the moon...and yet only come up with some no-brain solution like stop eating to lose weight?
.
What about those ads on tv where you take this stuff that swells up in your stomach like a sponge so that you arent as hungry, and simply eat...but eat less than what you were?... A poor man`s stomach staple. To me, anyway, that at least sounds like some techy thought went into this, and seems to make sense.
.
But any form of fasting, seems.....well, for me it be 2 days a week like life would be as fun as simply staying in bed those 2 days, and sleeping those days away. What a bummer.
.
I think i`d just take up smoking again. You hear that people put on weight when they quit smoking. If so, then the corollary would be less weight smoking. And since so many people have quit smoking now, maybe that`s why there are more fat people.
.
If you died earlier from it, at least you would have had pleasure while living, rather than live longer in misery, trying to starve the weight off yourself.
.
And remember..if you have snow..get out there and snow shovel. It cant hurt the abs either, if you pick up big shovel fulls.

 

[John Jones]

I just googled how many calories brisk walking burns. Somewheres in the range of 75-100 calories per mile, depending on your pace and elevation of heart rate.
Hardly seems worth it. Not unless you care to take the time to simply uselessly walk for miles each day.
Then wouldnt that make you even hungrier if you did that?

[snip]
.
And remember..if you have snow..get out there and snow shovel. It cant hurt the abs either, if you pick up big shovel fulls.

That's woo-woo talk.

 

[GlennB]

...
Somebody would have to show me that i can forage on SOMETHING, while meal fasting. SOMETHING. Just for boredom sake.
...

fwiw this would also describe me, and I'd nibble away at a big bowl of mixed low-cal salad veg during the day. Maybe some calorie-counted salad dressing too.

But any system is better than no system I suppose, and introducing this '2-day fast' is a system that appeals to some.

 

[dlorde]

I just googled how many calories brisk walking burns. Somewheres in the range of 75-100 calories per mile, depending on your pace and elevation of heart rate.
Hardly seems worth it. Not unless you care to take the time to simply uselessly walk for miles each day.

You need to take into account the additional calorie burn that comes from the increase in your metabolism that continues for some time after the exercise, and the improvement in fitness through regular exercise that makes mobilisation of fat deposits more efficient.

Then wouldnt that make you even hungrier if you did that?

Quite the opposite - exercise can suppress the appetite.

Any fasting i think would be out of the question.

Why?

Somebody would have to show me that i can forage on SOMETHING, while meal fasting. SOMETHING. Just for boredom sake.

Are you saying that you get bored unless you're eating?

We can send a man to the moon...and yet only come up with some no-brain solution like stop eating to lose weight?

Well, there's liposuction...

What about those ads on tv where you take this stuff that swells up in your stomach like a sponge so that you arent as hungry, and simply eat...but eat less than what you were?... A poor man`s stomach staple. To me, anyway, that at least sounds like some techy thought went into this, and seems to make sense.

That just addresses the symptoms, not the cause. Humans evolved a physiology optimised to work hard for a limited supply of calories. Both exercise and calorie intake must be addressed for optimum health.

But any form of fasting, seems.....well, for me it be 2 days a week like life would be as fun as simply staying in bed those 2 days, and sleeping those days away. What a bummer.

Firstly, it's not a true fast; it's a reduction in calories, not complete abstinence. Secondly, if you find it difficult to challenge yourself in a relatively minor way in anticipation of a beneficial long-term goal, it might be worth considering why; is it a problem with the perceived problem, the challenge, or the value of the goal? Given what you said above, you don't have a problem with overweight, so it doesn't seem like a relevant challenge for you.

If you died earlier from it, at least you would have had pleasure while living, rather than live longer in misery, trying to starve the weight off yourself.

The point of methods like the 5:2 diet is that they don't make you miserable (if anything they are rewarding) and they don't involve actual starvation.

And remember..if you have snow..get out there and snow shovel. It cant hurt the abs either, if you pick up big shovel fulls.

Just be careful if it's unaccustomed exercise - unaccustomed strenuous exercise can result in heart problems or strokes, and you should always start slowly and maintain correct form to avoid muscle strains and back injuries.

 

[Iamme]

That's woo-woo talk.

What is?
I just came in to read your reply...after digging my neighbors bottomed out car on a snowbank, myself, out in 8 degrees and howling winds. My abs are like i just pumped up.
I am a working fool and my reward is i can eat handfuls of cheddar chips followed by chocolates all evening long without moving the scale.
Btw, i used to smoke up to 4 packs a day. When you are smoking, it seems to take a desire away to have to forage snack out of boredom.

 

[Iamme]

You need to take into account the additional calorie burn that comes from the increase in your metabolism that continues for some time after the exercise, and the improvement in fitness through regular exercise that makes mobilisation of fat deposits more efficient.

Quite the opposite - exercise can suppress the appetite.

Ok.

Are you saying that you get bored unless you're eating?

Yes. If i`m idle. Yes. I wouldnt be if i smoked though. But i`m not about to take that up again. Not at these prices, and all that i know now.

Well, there's liposuction...

Hahaha. I hear ya. Lol. In fact i`ve watched it on tv. Looks like they are sucking yelowy chicken fat out of someone. Yuck.

That just addresses the symptoms, not the cause.

Do all sweathogs address their cause? What i mentioned seems like it should work, nonetheless, whether they try to address their cause, or not.

Humans evolved a physiology optimised to work hard for a limited supply of calories. Both exercise and calorie intake must be addressed for optimum health.

No argument there.

Firstly, it's not a true fast;

Huh. I thought you dont eat on 2 days. ????

... it's a reduction in calories, not complete abstinence.

For those 2 days?

Secondly, if you find it difficult to challenge yourself in a relatively minor way in anticipation of a beneficial long-term goal, it might be worth considering why; is it a problem with the perceived problem, the challenge, or the value of the goal?

Well, now i need to know if you totally obstain from eating on 2 days.

Given what you said above, you don't have a problem with overweight, so it doesn't seem like a relevant challenge for you.

True. But many things that dont affect me still interest me. Sometimes just from a mental challenge standpoint, or curiousity, and/or to put in my 2 cents worth.

The point of methods like the 5:2 diet is that they don't make you miserable (if anything they are rewarding) and they don't involve actual starvation.

Well, not eating when and what i want sounds like misery to me. And my guess is something made Oprah Winfrey miserable...is my guess.

Just be careful if it's unaccustomed exercise - unaccustomed strenuous exercise can result in heart problems or strokes, and you should always start slowly and maintain correct form to avoid muscle strains and back injuries.

Absolutely. I check my pulse and if heart pounds. I pace myself. I dont need any more of those 240+ bpm episodes. Talking about scary.

 

[dlorde]

Do all sweathogs address their cause? What i mentioned seems like it should work, nonetheless, whether they try to address their cause, or not.

I don't follow what you're saying here.

Huh. I thought you dont eat on 2 days. ????

You restrict calories to a set maximum for two days out of five. Maybe you ought to find out what you're commenting on before jumping in...

For those 2 days?

Yes.

Well, now i need to know if you totally obstain from eating on 2 days.

See above.

 

[Iamme]

Right you are! I guess i have to google what fasting means. I guess i read too many Bible stories about Jesus fasting in the wilderness. Now i have to reassess THAT i spose. Maybe he took a bagged lunch with him. Then came back and told people he fasted.
.
I shall return to comment after i read what fasting means, to see if the OP is an exaggeration or not.

 

[Iamme]

Religious fasting means generally total abstinance.
So does modern day medical fasting.
But alas, the generalized def of fasting can mean full or partial abstinance. Welllllll....someone expanded the definition to allow cheating! How stupid!
They need to find another word that means `sort of` fasting. You`ve got to be kidding me.
If i go to doc next day after he told me to fast, and he screams ``i TOLD you to fast!`` I`ll say that.. ``All i had was one baloney sandwich, and to me and Webster, that`s still fasting!``