Fasting for Health? Obstacles.

[badatmath]

My university campus had no cars and I often had 10 minutes to get from one end of the campus to the other. I lost 16 pound in my first year - mostly from walking. Yeah, it does w*rk. Don't think I could walk that much now, some 60 years later.

I lost a lot of weight in college (unintentionally) too for the same reason. That and stairs to get up to my dorm room. . . elevators often slow, dirty, broken. . . 9 floors is a lot of stairs when you do it all day.

 

[Koolau]

I wouldn't go quite that far. What I've seen in the medical literature is that slightly overweight individuals over 65 years of age have a lower mortality rate than those in other groups. But "slightly overweight" is not the same as obese.

I read someplace that the "sweet spot" is BMI = 27. I have no citation for that, but since I'm close, I'll take it.

 

[MarieIG]

. . .

Chronically high insulin levels is what ultimately leads to the pancreas wearing out as more and more insulin is required to regulate blood sugar because the body, muscles etc., develop insulin resistance in a high insulin environment. Vicious cycle. The pancreas wearing out means the body has lost the ability to regulate its blood sugar and that is when a person may be detected to have developed type 2 diabetes.

It’s all about keeping that insulin down by not eating foods that overload the blood with sugar. Time restricted eating helps by giving the body a good long rest, letting blood insulin levels drop and providing a time period where the body can burn some of its stored fat. I suspect it also tends to retrain the hunger system, reducing cravings etc.

Some of us choose to restrict carbs to keep blood sugar low and insulin low most of the time. Chronic high insulin levels and high blood sugar damage the cardiovascular system, causing inflammation, etc. People with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes can develop some very nasty side effects - neuropathy such as losing sensation in extremities (hands, feet) which can result in amputation, kidney disease and ultimately kidney failure, NAFLD - non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and even cirrhosis, eye problems leading to blindness, it’s a very long list.

. . .

That's what I am doing now. I changed my diet (and feeding window). Previously, a large percentage of my diet was whole grains because I thought they were healthy. Personally, I find that I am a lot less hungry, and have a lot less cravings, eating this way. (My carbs are primarily organic high fiber, low starch vegetables.)

I read someplace that the "sweet spot" is BMI = 27. I have no citation for that, but since I'm close, I'll take it.