I need advice about intermittent fasting

My DH and I have been doing IF for over a year. We typically have a 3 to 4 hour eating window where we will have a snack and one meal. There are a lot of health benefits besides weight loss. I highly recommend the book Delay Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens. She also has a website as well as a huge Facebook group with over 60,000 members. The secret is in a clean fast, meaning black coffee, black or green tea, water. No artificial sweeteners or sweet flavors during the fasting time.
 
I have a serious question (i.e., I am not finding fault with the idea that intermittent fasting can be good for your blood sugar and so on).

I am normal weight, even a bit on the lean side (20.8 BMI). My bone density is not great. I truly dislike fatty foods - have, ever since I was a kid. Moreover, I don't like to stuff myself, especially since my likes tend toward sweet things.

If I fast, I'll lose weight, and I don't need to lose weight. Wouldn't I then need to stuff myself, or eat high-calorie foods I don't really like, in order not to lose weight, bone and muscle mass?
 
Amethyst said:
I have a serious question (i.e., I am not finding fault with the idea that intermittent fasting can be good for your blood sugar and so on).

I am normal weight, even a bit on the lean side (20.8 BMI). My bone density is not great. I truly dislike fatty foods - have, ever since I was a kid. Moreover, I don't like to stuff myself, especially since my likes tend toward sweet things.

If I fast, I'll lose weight, and I don't need to lose weight. Wouldn't I then need to stuff myself, or eat high-calorie foods I don't really like, in order not to lose weight, bone and muscle mass?
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My DW is also lean and does IF. We eat between 11AM and 6PM. We both eat low carb. However, to maintain weight, she eats more healthy carbs than I do. She eats extra fruit, sweat potatoes and beans. All of these tend to put weight on me also and so I limit them.
 
sn2792 said:
My DH and I have been doing IF for over a year. We typically have a 3 to 4 hour eating window where we will have a snack and one meal. There are a lot of health benefits besides weight loss. I highly recommend the book Delay Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens. She also has a website as well as a huge Facebook group with over 60,000 members. The secret is in a clean fast, meaning black coffee, black or green tea, water. No artificial sweeteners or sweet flavors during the fasting time.
Click to expand...

Hubby and I have been doing the exact same thing re: following Delay Don’t Deny for a year. I’ve lost 40 pounds, my cholesterol is lower by 20 points and my HDL is up by 15 points. Our eating window is 3 pm to 7 pm and we eat one meal and one snack. We also eat mostly whole 30 type meals (very little processed) but we also drink alcohol on occasion and have desserts as well.

We’ve done Weight Watchers multiple times but we couldn’t stick with it. IF is a way of eating and lifestyle that will be with us for the rest of our lives.
 
Lisa99 said:
Hubby and I have been doing the exact same thing re: following Delay Don’t Deny for a year. I’ve lost 40 pounds, my cholesterol is lower by 20 points and my HDL is up by 15 points. Our eating window is 3 pm to 7 pm and we eat one meal and one snack. We also eat mostly whole 30 type meals (very little processed) but we also drink alcohol on occasion and have desserts as well.

We’ve done Weight Watchers multiple times but we couldn’t stick with it. IF is a way of eating and lifestyle that will be with us for the rest of our lives.
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We feel the same way, we will do this forever. Our window is in the afternoon. We are usually done eating by 3 or 4. We like the flexibility though, so one day a week we cook dinner for our daughters family when we babysit our granddaughters. When we go on vacation, we will still fast, but have a longer eating window. When we get back home, then back to our normal schedule.
 
I eat all those things. Love sweet potatoes! We usually eat between 0900 (ravenous from workouts - we don't eat before the gym) and 5 or 6 p.m.

So, it sounds like we may be doing IF already, without thinking about it.

flintnational said:
My DW is also lean and does IF. We eat between 11AM and 6PM. We both eat low carb. However, to maintain weight, she eats more healthy carbs than I do. She eats extra fruit, sweat potatoes and beans. All of these tend to put weight on me also and so I limit them.
Click to expand...
 
I have also been doing IF for about 2 years. I have lost 15 lbs and seen my A1C go from 5.7 to 5.4 but the biggest drop was in my Triglycerides that went from 200 to 126 and my Blood Pressure 140/90 to 110/75. My BMI is around 25.9 down from 27.

I have done two forms of IF. The one I started with was a 1 day-weekly fast. I stopped eating at dinner on Wednesday night and then started with dinner on Thursday night. That made me feel better but was maybe difficult on some Thursdays because of schedule.

Then I found mycircadianclock.org. They promote what most people here are talking about which is fasting a certain number of hours of the day each day (typically 16 to 18) and they say instead of IF it is more properly termed "Time Restricted Eating" (TRE). You eat as much as you want, focusing on healthy foods, but of what you want. I find I eat less because it is impossible to eat what I use to in an unrestricted time. My time window is 8.00 am to 6.00 pm (14 hours).

The nice thing about MyCircadianClock.org is that they provide a smart phone app (for free) that motivates and helps you track your day. Their website also has scientific article links. The app is suppose to be part of a "Clinical" study. I have found TRE the better approach for me over IF (IF being at least 24 hours of fasting).
 
I followed the 5-2 diet

Dieting 2 days a week for three months did wonders for my diabetes. Was able to drop most medicines and avoided going on insulin. I lost 10kg while fasting. It is tough to follow, being allowed only ca 600 calories per fasting day. However I started on a ketogenic diet around 5 years ago and it makes fasting pain free as hunger pangs are hardly noticed when in ketosis. The ketogenic diet is also hard to follow at first, but after sometime I felt so much healthier and stopped longing for carbs (almost, but can't resist my homemade bread at times.).
 
WWDog said:
An alternative to fasting and caloric restriction.


Caloric Restriction, Fasting and Nicotinamide Riboside



I have been using Nicotinamide Riboside (brand name Niagen and there are a few others) for some time and it has great benefits. It is a bit costly but I think the cost is less than treating all the potential metabolic health issues.
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I have read about Nocotinamide Riboside, and have been curious about it. Can you tell me what benefits you have noticed from it, and also whether you experienced any unwanted side effects? It seems to be safe, from everything I've read about it, as it is produced in the body anyway, but maybe not in sufficient quantities as we age. At any rate, I would be interested in your experience with taking it, and how much you take, etc..Thanks.
 
You could try eating dinner at let's say 3pm and then nothing afterwards until breakfast at 7am. I have done that a lot but it hasn't changed my weight any.
 
My big issue is that in the morning I like to have hot tea and I cannot have it without putting something in my stomach. I also like my grapefruit juice- gives me a rush to wake up.
 
I've reduced my weight and BMI into the healthy zones, and my weight seems to be plateauing, at least for the time being. I'm not going to stress about losing more weight. Watching the numbers go down on the scale was rewarding, but I can get too preoccupied with that sometimes. I know I'm gaining muscle mass, and that's more important than losing weight. As long as I'm the healthy weight range, I'm good. I haven't been there for decades, lol.

I know there are other benefits to fasting (autophagy), but weight loss isn't a strong motive for fasting, at least for me. I'm happy with my plateau weight. I'm tired of buying new pants.
 
I started 2 weeks ago, aiming to spend about 16 hours or more not eating each day. At first it was quite hard, but maybe I wasn't really hungry, just used to eating at certain times. Anyway, with some effort but no real difficulty, I have lost a belt notch (1"). I'll learn more about any health changes when I see my Doc for annual physical.

Members observations have been very helpful.

Ha
 
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Awesome! Glad to hear its working for you. For the first week or so I felt like I "Should" be eating in the morning, but then I realized I was just missing routine. And it was weird watching my husband eat, and not eating with him. But after I (and he) got used to that, it was fine. Sometimes I sit and drink coffee with him when he eats and sometimes, I use those extra few minutes getting the kids off to school or whatever. Let us know how your physical goes!
 
RAE said:
I have read about Nocotinamide Riboside, and have been curious about it. Can you tell me what benefits you have noticed from it, and also whether you experienced any unwanted side effects? It seems to be safe, from everything I've read about it, as it is produced in the body anyway, but maybe not in sufficient quantities as we age. At any rate, I would be interested in your experience with taking it, and how much you take, etc..Thanks.
Click to expand...

I did not see any benefit from taking NR for 6 months and developed side effects. Actual side effects (pain in my side). I think my liver could not metabolize all the NR and started to have troubles, this is a reported side effect. When I quit my troubles went away. I tried to restart at 1/2 the previous dose and was immediatly struck by the same stool problems and internal side pain. I have since read about the metabolism of the NAD+ cycle and see humans have a limited ability to convert NR. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) is supposably closer to NAD+ in the metabolic pathway and after the difficult step. I haven't tried this, but if I was to try again or even for the first time, I would go here instead. By the way I am a retired (35 years) drug developement (largest pharmaceutical firm in the world) biochemist with no ties to any of these products.
 
haha said:
I have read that fasting can really improve one's metabolic health. I cannot remember but I think that there are fasters on our board. My metabolic issue is blood sugar that while not diabetic, is higher than normal, (A1C's from 5.2 to 5.5.) I would like to break below the 5 % level. I have a really strong dose of diabetic tilting genes. My Dad had diabetes but did manage to live almost 50 years with it, into his late 80s. My sister and all brothers have it, yet are doing well, I think mainly with low carb discipline that they started after they had been diagnosed.

I watched a Youtube video by an Aussie pathologist named Ken Sikaris M.D. I recommend this to anyone who has an interest in DM. He presented a lot of unexpected and non-intuitive findings that suggest for long term well being, it is really worth the effort to push those A1C readings down, even if they do not seem particularly bad. He thinks A1C is the gold standard diabetes test, as it essentially integrates blood sugar exposure over time by measuring glycosylation of the rbc (s), which measures average blood sugar over a period of 2-3 months.

Fasting would help me, but wow, fasting seems almost overwhelming. I am pretty sure I could walk 10 miles/day 6 days/week in the rain carrying a pack more comfortably than I could get by on one meal/day. Yet supposedly that one meal per day will do more for blood sugar than heavy exercise. My BMI is 22.5.

Ha
Click to expand...

I found this site very helpful with my LCHF diet. The fasting part grew out of the diet as eventually once my weight was down I wasn't hungry. That's when I found out about fasting and it's benefits.
There's lots of great information on this site. https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting
I'm amazed as 50+ year old, 190 lb guy how little I actually need to eat.
 
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I could not fast all do or even limit myself to one big meal a day. But, I can do the 12 hour fast, which some studies have found gets a much of the benefit for a relatively low effort. We each have to do what is sustainable.
 
Safe Harbour said:
I did not see any benefit from taking NR for 6 months and developed side effects. Actual side effects (pain in my side). I think my liver could not metabolize all the NR and started to have troubles, this is a reported side effect. When I quit my troubles went away. I tried to restart at 1/2 the previous dose and was immediatly struck by the same stool problems and internal side pain. I have since read about the metabolism of the NAD+ cycle and see humans have a limited ability to convert NR. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) is supposably closer to NAD+ in the metabolic pathway and after the difficult step. I haven't tried this, but if I was to try again or even for the first time, I would go here instead. By the way I am a retired (35 years) drug developement (largest pharmaceutical firm in the world) biochemist with no ties to any of these products.
Click to expand...


My experience was a lot of energy starting on day three. I also take CoQ-10 and B complex. I cycle off of NR for a week after 30 days using. I did get some pain in my side but not severe which goes away when I become active. The stuff is not cheap.
 
Chuckanut said:
I could not fast all do or even limit myself to one big meal a day. But, I can do the 12 hour fast, which some studies have found gets a much of the benefit for a relatively low effort. We each have to do what is sustainable.
Click to expand...



One of my issues with a limited eating schedule is that am pretty active, so if I am only eating twice a day with no snacks I really have to pack in some prodigious amount of food at the mealtimes. And I don’t like that stuffed feeling!
Ha
 
haha said:
One of my issues with a limited eating schedule is that am pretty active, so if I am only eating twice a day with no snacks I really have to pack in some prodigious amount of food at the mealtimes. And I don’t like that stuffed feeling!
Ha
Click to expand...

You can eat as often as you want within a allotted time window. That's all that intermittent fasting is about. So say you have a window 10AM to 6PM which would then be a 16 hour fast from 6PM to 10AM the next day. Well, you could fit three meals plus even snacks in those 6 hours from 10AM to 6PM, or two main meals and a snack or two, whatever.
 
I encountered the definition of intermittent fasting the other day. One of the variants - time restricted feeding - is what I've been practicing since 2007. My version has a major meal around 11 am and then an optional light snack around 5 pm (I call this the 1 to 1.5 meals-a-day plan).

I giggled when I saw the definition because from my perspective anyone eating more often than 1.5 times a day is engaged in intermittent gluttony. I rarely get hungry, have had a BMI of 19 since 2004 with little fluctuation in weight, and enjoy excellent physical health (am taking zero meds) - YMMV. :greetings10:
 
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walkinwood said:
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/inter...standard-diets-for-losing-weight-doctor-says/


- better to eat at regular times each day. Irregularity in eating schedules are bad. So eat every day at the same times (3 meals) and don't snack in between. If that means you fast for 8-10 hours a day, great.

- total calories matter
- Lots of things make you feel better in the short-term but have bad long-term effects.
Click to expand...

That's kind of amusing. The CBS program feartures Dr. David Agus, a professor at USC who is a cancer specialist. Meanwhile, Professor Valter Longo, director of USC's Longevity Institute, has a whole program built around fasting or fasting-mimicking diets. Maybe they should have lunch and chat? :LOL:

On the regular meals leading to better outcomes -- I read one of the referenced studies: it compared a "regular" pattern of 6 meals a day at designated times to a pattern of 3-9 meals a day at varying times. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27305952 9 meals a day? 6 meals a day? Ummm...yeah, not quite what I had in mind.

I watched my Hb1AC drop materially when I went to 2 meals/day. N=1, but :dance:
 
I simply don’t believe that eating at regular times each day is critical for health. Humans did not evolve that way.
 
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