Intermittent Fasting, Yes it Works

[COcheesehead]

I am 6 or 7 days in. I can’t remember when I started. I don’t find the 16-18 hour fasts that hard. I lost a pound, but that wasn’t really my goal. I am pretty lean to begin with. I was trying to lose the little tire around my waist that I have had almost my entire life, even when I was really, really skinny when I was doing some marathon cycling. I might be hallucinating, but I am noticing a reduction in my spare tire and in my body fat in general. Going to keep it going because I see no harm and I see some benefits already.

 

[ddoorn]

I have been using various forms of IF for the past few years, along with full fasting. I’ve successfully recovered from morbid obesity reaching 450 pounds at my highest.

For the past 15 years I’ve been maintaining between 210-220. More recently over the past few years I’ve been fasting weekly from Sunday night to Tuesday noon. If the scale doesn’t reach 211-212 by then I’ll toss another day of fasting through Weds noon.

For the rest of the work week I’ll IF from 8 pm to noon. Saturday & Sundays I eat 3 meals.

I’m a vegetarian and avoid all processed carbs such as breads, grains and sugars. Although it’s lower carb than most Americans, I still allow for fresh fruits, nuts and yogurt. My lunch breaking of fasts is usually a huge bowl of baby spinach with 3 hard boiled eggs sliced into it along with as many different fresh veggies as possible along with raw sunflower seeds and sometimes a few berries. Dressing is some variation of oil & vinegar. I never drink anything with calories and mostly just water and black coffee. I never worry about portion control.

This has been a very comfortable approach for me as long as I allow for occasional “strayings” off my plan and get right back to what works for me.

Following decades of being an out of control carbo-holic, it feels wonderful to at last have control over my body, having wrested it back from the corporate food companies who seem to be out to kill us all with junk “food.”

 

[vafoodie]

How does this version work? I need my creamed up coffee too.

 

[FIREarly]

From my understanding the most powerful aspect of fasting is that it induces autophagy:
“It’s one way your body cleans house. In this process, your cells create membranes that hunt down scraps of dead, diseased, or worn-out cells; gobble them up; strip ’em for parts; and use the resulting molecules for energy or to make new cell parts.
In one 2012 study on mice, researchers found that autophagy protected against:

cancer
neurodegenerative disorders
infections
inflammatory diseases
aging
insulin resistance

Exciting, powerful stuff!

Wonderful post and topic. I have been intermittent fasting for months (not certain exact length) and love it. Over time, like almost anything, it becomes habit forming. The first meal of the day always tastes delicious! It also allows for more time to work, relax, play, or whatever else you do when you only eat for 8 hours a day (if you are doing the 16/8, which is very common).

Also, there is a topic that many people use that says we only have so many great decisions our body makes in a day and then our decision making starts to fade. Good decisions might still be made but it is harder on the mind/body. Intermittent fasting reduces the decisions related to food made each day. Hope you followed that as this is being written quickly. If memory serves correct, I think Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs uses this thought process. It is a reason people wear the same outfits day-after-day, to make more important decisions about more important topics.

Now just blabbering while typing. Hope it followed topic and helps you!

 

[ddoorn]

I’m a huge fan of keeping things simple and fasting and IF offers that for me. No fretting about what to eat, shopping, eating, all that time saved!

Like Jobs & Zuckerberg I’ll wear the same outfit multiple days too, lol

 

[FIREarly]

Like Jobs & Zuckerberg I’ll wear the same outfit multiple days too, lol

Imagine if we all wore light color jeans and a black turtleneck:

https://images.app.goo.gl/EwgZgZjUhMoTDnRDA

 

[LakeRat1]

IF is great !!!!! I too have been doing this, I normally eat after a visit to PF for 1.5 hours, then swim 2 hours in deep water...... Eat between 11AM to 4PM daily.... around 1200 to 1500 calories, my meals are 70% Fat, 20% Protein, and 5% Carbs ...... I have lost 120lbs, my DW has lost 50lbs, we have energy and have not been this weight in over 30 years ...... IF works !!!

 

[eroscott]

I started Jan 1 doing 16:8 and for the past week have been doing 18:6 thinking I would get more benefit. (ie. more hours after the switch to your body using fat for energy). I was going to stick with the 18:6 for seven days per week. Not sure tho.

I've only read a few things about vary the hours of intermittent fasting between 16:8, 20:4, 18:6, etc. Have any others watched good videos or articles on switching this up during the week. ie. Sun to Mon do 20:4, remaining week do 16:8 (or even taking 1 day off each week) ??

 

[Fynen]

Intermentant fasting.

Yes, I tried it, using the 5-2 diet. I lost 25 lbs (12kg) in 3 months. My type 2 diabetes improved drastically. I was taken off one of my diabetes medicines, and years later haven't regained my lost weight and am still controlling my diabetes with pills and diet, rather than going on to injecting insulin.

 

[ncbill]

Yes, I tried it, using the 5-2 diet. I lost 25 lbs (12kg) in 3 months. My type 2 diabetes improved drastically. I was taken off one of my diabetes medicines, and years later haven't regained my lost weight and am still controlling my diabetes with pills and diet, rather than going on to injecting insulin.

Do you also do time-restricted eating on the normal days, fast days, or both?

 

[ychuck46]

Starting it, Kinda. Sorta

My level of IF is gearing, whenever/wherever possible, my main meal towards noontime. I find if I eat the biggest meal then, followed by a much lighter dinner (no later than 6-7 ending time), that I feel a lot better on the days I do an early morning five mile run. I am obviously not adhering to a strict definition of IF but rather nibbling around the edges to see what works for me. Now if I can cut out a lifetime of loving dessert I might just lose the five pounds or so I have built up around the stomach after 66 years on God's good Earth.

 

[Rianne]

Sugar has always been my downfall. After watching "Magic Pill" on Netflix (and listening to Dr. Attia "The Drive" podcasts) which directly talks about Keto eating and fasting, I realized how the processed food industry confused Americans about eating. I see so many obese people who I guess are Type 2 diabetics. Dr. Fung is interviewed briefly in the Netflix documentary. I'm done with sugar. I'll eat 86% dark chocolate to ease the cravings.

I'm open to eating more meat if the animals were humanly treated. Open field, natural grazing and allowing them (pigs, cows, chickens) to live how they were meant to live. My DB buys a 1/2 cow at a time. He's seen where they live, on a farm in an open field, grazing on grass, NO CORN FEED. They grow up naturally with wide open spaces in Southern Ill. I find that humane and will eat that beef.

 

[FIREarly]

My understanding is that black coffee and tea are OK, but adding sugar or milk/cream is out.

Concur, if you want to get REALLY TECHNICAL then only water but black coffee and tea are great and they taste good!

 

[garyt]

Ok. I'm interested. Is there a book or a specific website I should be looking at? Does black coffee count?

https://leangains.com/ I highly recommend this site. I believe this guy is the first to call it IF and has tons of studies ,etc on his site. He says black coffee doesn't count, and even allows for a very small amount of cream.

 

[audreyh1]

Concur, if you want to get REALLY TECHNICAL then only water but black coffee and tea are great and they taste good!

I gave a link above that indicated that black coffee actually helps increase autophagy.

 

[PNWK]

IF absolutely saved my life. Saw a BBC documentary about fasting 6 or 7 years ago and was intrigued. 50+ yo male, 6' 1" and had carried between 350 to 425 lbs most of my adult life. Have had two gastric bypass surgeries - one at 19 and a second, more radical procedure at 35. That got me down to 350, but no further.

Started IF using the "Fast 5" [mod edit] method and immediately started shedding weight. In 18 months I'd lost 150 pounds. That was 6 years ago and maintenance has been effortless.

Like many others have said, I never really wanted to eat in the mornings, but would consume a "healthy" breakfast of oatmeal and fruit which would trigger a ravenous hunger throughout the day until I finally fell into a food coma at night.

My IF has remained pretty much consistent throughout the years. First meal is between noon and 2:00 PM usually and then stop eating anything 6 - 8 hours later, depending on circumstances. Every day. I do have coffee with a splash of cream and Splenda in the morning. I don't get hungry, I eat what I want and like magic, a lifetime of obesity, radical surgeries and trying every diet on the planet was fixed by a 6 - 8 hour window.

 

[RandomPJ]

What is PF??


And I can't find a list of all these terms. Does it exist somewhere?
TIA

 

[street]

Here I hope this helps.
http://www.early-retirement.org/for...slang-frequently-used-on-the-forum-34884.html

 

[aja8888]

Here I hope this helps.
http://www.early-retirement.org/for...slang-frequently-used-on-the-forum-34884.html

PF is not on the list you linked.

 

[lucky penny]

What is PF??

I'm guessing Planet Fitness.

 

[JJpop]

I've been intermittent fasting for over 2 years. My typical eating schedule ends by 4 pm. Then resumes at 6:00-7:00 the next morning. There are times I eat later b/c of social situations. I just started listening to Dr. Peter Attia podcast "The Drive", suggested on this forum. So impressed with the in depth discussions on this podcast. Dr. Attia fasts on a regular basis.

-My energy level increased, a lot
-Weight loss and stayed off
-Digestion improved, drastically
-Yearly blood work excellent



Has anyone else tried this?

Peter Attia does not fast in the way you do. He actually goes multiple days without eating. Most of the benefits from fasting come from real fasting,not what you are doing. I actually do the same thing you are because there is some benefit and I am comfortable doing it. I have no desire to not eat for two days in a row on a regular basis.

 

[REWahoo]

Peter Attia does not fast in the way you do. He actually goes multiple days without eating.

I did that once in survival training. I don't recommended it.

 

[eroscott]

I started Jan 1 doing 16:8 and for the past week have been doing 18:6 thinking I would get more benefit. (ie. more hours after the switch to your body using fat for energy). I was going to stick with the 18:6 for seven days per week. Not sure tho.

I've only read a few things about vary the hours of intermittent fasting between 16:8, 20:4, 18:6, etc. Have any others watched good videos or articles on switching this up during the week. ie. Sun to Mon do 20:4, remaining week do 16:8 (or even taking 1 day off each week) ??

Live Q&A: Should You Intermittent Fast Every Day - Clearing Up Confusion - SKIP TO MINUTE 6 FOR INFO

Jump to 6 minutes into this video answers my question:

 

[JJpop]

I would not seek information on you tube unless it is from well documented research. The 2 best sources of info on fasting are Dr.Peter Attia who has a podcast. Brilliant guy who has some of the best researchers and doctors on the planet.The second is Rhonda Patrick,a scientist who has many of the worlds best experts with interviews of many who have run clinical trials about this and other topics. Attia and Patrick both focus on living longer healthier with functionality.

 

[VungTau]

For me, going the IF route wouldn't be a case of listening to my body (at least the way it has always spoken to me). I don't enjoy being hungry, having low blood sugar makes me feel nervous/distracted. I will wake up in the middle of the night if I'm hungry. When I awake, I'm ready to eat. I'm not overweight now, so I'll probably stick with what I'm doing already (rigorous 8 hour fasting every night, with several 2-4 hour fasts during waking hours ) rather than try to alter my metabolism with a new eating plan. But I'm still interested in reading the literature on it.

I am with you. Not overweight, health is excellent, exercise regularly and such. But I am still interested in this topic and I am now more careful not to snack, at night especially, and just eat lighter meals in general. It really helps my energy level!