The Science of Fasting (2 Viewers)

[Zack Lee]

I recommitted myself two days ago. I have a feeling I’m going in the opposite direction of the majority because I have noticed the urge to try and junk food my stress away. So far so good though, 23 hours day one and 22 yesterday.

 

[Krewe of Clyde's]

My wife has been using this method for weight loss for a little over 3 weeks. So far, she has lost about 5 pounds.

 

[CajunInVA]

I switched from 23 hour and longer fasts twice a week to 16:8 recently and am having great results. The longer fasts almost made me feel like I was developing an eating disorder.

I received a notification the other day from Zero (the fasting app I use to track my progress) and one of their medical staff was saying that it may not be a good idea to do multi-day fasts right now. Didn't read the whole article because I'm not doing long ones anymore, but they seemed to be recommending shorter durations to aid in immune system responses, etc. Will see if I can find it and detail more about it.

 

[Zack Lee]

so March ended up overall a success. I started out well, ended the first week with a loss of about 7 pounds. Then the shirt hit the fans and I got off for a while with the stress eating. But I decided I would control this one thing since so much of my life is not in my control right now. I started March at 187. I started April at 176. Not bad on the whole and that only leaves me 6-8 pounds off where I was when I stopped doing it like 9 months ago.

CajunInVA I would love to read that article if you find a link.

 

[saintmdterps]

Bump

So, long story short I was hit by a car the other day while out for my am run. I got a trip to the ER (driver fled, cop said he's getting a felony charge if caught) and luckily the only real injuries are a bruised ankle and (I **** you not) a "contusion to the right buttocks", which is on the discharge papers much to the delight of family and friends.

I'm in overall good health but my BP and cholesterol have been creeping up over the years. Less time in the gym more snacking, less time to cook as healthy....

During the follow-up with my PCP today she noted my BP at 142/88 and now wants me on low-salt high complex carb diet, and I'm also instructed to incorporate 16/8 fasting. She doesn't think I need BP meds, but I need to go back for another follow-up visit in 2 months. She is a force to be reckoned with, all 100lbs of her, so I guess Ima try this fasting. I need to overhaul my diet anyway and get back to a stricter gym schedule

 

[SoggyBottomBoy]

Bump

So, long story short I was hit by a car the other day while out for my am run. I got a trip to the ER (driver fled, cop said he's getting a felony charge if caught) and luckily the only real injuries are a bruised ankle and (I **** you not) a "contusion to the right buttocks", which is on the discharge papers much to the delight of family and friends.

I'm in overall good health but my BP and cholesterol have been creeping up over the years. Less time in the gym more snacking, less time to cook as healthy....

During the follow-up with my PCP today she noted my BP at 142/88 and now wants me on low-salt high complex carb diet, and I'm also instructed to incorporate 16/8 fasting. She doesn't think I need BP meds, but I need to go back for another follow-up visit in 2 months. She is a force to be reckoned with, all 100lbs of her, so I guess Ima try this fasting. I need to overhaul my diet anyway and get back to a stricter gym schedule

Well, you've had an interesting last few days. Good to hear it wasn't severe injuries. Also interesting to hear a fast and diet was recommended to you. Refreshing that you weren't simply given a prescription.

The easy thing for me is that I generally skip breakfast. That right there puts you close to or beyond your 16 hour fast. Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[RazorOye]

Bump

So, long story short I was hit by a car the other day while out for my am run. I got a trip to the ER (driver fled, cop said he's getting a felony charge if caught) and luckily the only real injuries are a bruised ankle and (I **** you not) a "contusion to the right buttocks", which is on the discharge papers much to the delight of family and friends.

I'm in overall good health but my BP and cholesterol have been creeping up over the years. Less time in the gym more snacking, less time to cook as healthy....

During the follow-up with my PCP today she noted my BP at 142/88 and now wants me on low-salt high complex carb diet, and I'm also instructed to incorporate 16/8 fasting. She doesn't think I need BP meds, but I need to go back for another follow-up visit in 2 months. She is a force to be reckoned with, all 100lbs of her, so I guess Ima try this fasting. I need to overhaul my diet anyway and get back to a stricter gym schedule

thankfully you're okay!

When I went in for my BP years ago and it was 155/115 I was immediately put on a DASH diet and it did wonders for my BP.

It wasn't that hard to do, after the first week. And the results were pretty incredible.

I also decided to lose weight and that also helped. 85 pounds later and I was 116/76 and I've pretty much been there ever since.

The one thing that convinced me to really focus on my IF is the last screening I had - elevated fat in my livers. A common issue with age, and something I can control - but IF is an efficient, effective way to get rid of it.

So, it's been 5 weeks of IF and running 2-3 times/week. 20 pounds down and clothes already fitting better. Though at 6'6" it doesn't show as much as on others. Still, it feels a lot better and I am pretty strict in counting calories (with LoseIt app), exercise 2-3 times/week, and min 16 hours fasting.

As Soggy pointed out, skipping breakfast helps a ton.

I tried IF last year, and figured I could have a cup of coffee - except I take cream and sugar. And though I wasn't aware of it, that 150 calories after a couple of coffees had stopped the fasting effects.

Five weeks of doing it properly and I can definitely tell the difference between this and the sorta IF I was doing.

I have two cups of coffee, still, with 2 tsp of 18% cream in it - that's 40 calories. Keep it under 50 and the fasting cycle continues.

I teach or exercise in the morning and many days I skip lunch. My fasting app tracks how long I fast for and most days I am at 18-20 hours because I'm not eating until I get home b/w 2-4 (I stop eating at 8).

 

[Zack Lee]

glad you are ok Terp. wow. I can tell you that a 16/8 is super easy. Once you do that a couple of days you won't even know you are doing anything at all. The best 8 hours to pick differ on each person though in terms of making sure hunger doesn't strike. For me its really easy to skip in the morning until about 11 or so. But its also a good idea to cut it off a few before bed (if I go right to bed after I eat I will be hungry the next morning)

 

[CajunInVA]

Two things to mention here. I did two 23 hours fasts a week for about 12 months last year/early this year. I was really interested in the autophagy aspect of the longer fasts because I had some live damage related to chronic Hep C I got from a blood transfusion when I was an infant. I took Harvoni a couple of years ago and am now clear of Hep C. I don't know if the fasts had anything to do with it, but my recent labs were perfect. All of the markers that had indicated I had something going on in my liver were back within normal ranges. So without proof of its help either way, I'm going to say the long fasts did help my body heal.

But, I had to quit the 23 hour fasts because I almost felt like I was developing an eating disorder. I didn't have any problems with 23 hours no food, but I would binge when those hours were up, and definitely over compensated for what I had not eaten. The last few months I switched to 16:8 fasts and had some good results there, but now I'm back to a similar scenario. No problem not eating, but eat poorly during my 8 hours. I know that my real problem is fatigue and the fact that my system craves sugar when I'm tired. I work five to six days a week in a manufacturing plant where I usually walk 5-7 miles a day. I start at 6 AM (with a 45 minute commute) and usually get home around 5 PM. My wife is a nurse who works until 9:30 and gets home around 10 PM. If I want to see her and visit a little, I'm usually not in bed until 11 PM. I'm 45 years old now and 5-1/2 hours of sleep with a high activity job just doesn't cut it anymore. But my wife and I definitely need that time together each day. And the negative cycle of being too tired to exercise (have a nice water rower at the house) to help build up my stamina/energy is in full effect. So, I think I'm now gaining weight because of the fasts and binging on high sugar items. I've thought about trying for 20:4 hour fasts to limit my window to over eat, but as a Cajun depriving myself of two meals a day, everyday is hard to conceive. I love food and eating! Food is such a part of our culture (but so is heart disease). Right now my only strategy is hoping for a promotion to a role with an 8 AM start time. A couple of more hours of sleep may help me turn the corner on this, in the meantime I'm open to suggestions for combatting my binging (oh, and I probably have a sugar addiction) and poor eating.

 

[Beast]

Two things to mention here. I did two 23 hours fasts a week for about 12 months last year/early this year. I was really interested in the autophagy aspect of the longer fasts because I had some live damage related to chronic Hep C I got from a blood transfusion when I was an infant. I took Harvoni a couple of years ago and am now clear of Hep C. I don't know if the fasts had anything to do with it, but my recent labs were perfect. All of the markers that had indicated I had something going on in my liver were back within normal ranges. So without proof of its help either way, I'm going to say the long fasts did help my body heal.

But, I had to quit the 23 hour fasts because I almost felt like I was developing an eating disorder. I didn't have any problems with 23 hours no food, but I would binge when those hours were up, and definitely over compensated for what I had not eaten. The last few months I switched to 16:8 fasts and had some good results there, but now I'm back to a similar scenario. No problem not eating, but eat poorly during my 8 hours. I know that my real problem is fatigue and the fact that my system craves sugar when I'm tired. I work five to six days a week in a manufacturing plant where I usually walk 5-7 miles a day. I start at 6 AM (with a 45 minute commute) and usually get home around 5 PM. My wife is a nurse who works until 9:30 and gets home around 10 PM. If I want to see her and visit a little, I'm usually not in bed until 11 PM. I'm 45 years old now and 5-1/2 hours of sleep with a high activity job just doesn't cut it anymore. But my wife and I definitely need that time together each day. And the negative cycle of being too tired to exercise (have a nice water rower at the house) to help build up my stamina/energy is in full effect. So, I think I'm now gaining weight because of the fasts and binging on high sugar items. I've thought about trying for 20:4 hour fasts to limit my window to over eat, but as a Cajun depriving myself of two meals a day, everyday is hard to conceive. I love food and eating! Food is such a part of our culture (but so is heart disease). Right now my only strategy is hoping for a promotion to a role with an 8 AM start time. A couple of more hours of sleep may help me turn the corner on this, in the meantime I'm open to suggestions for combatting my binging (oh, and I probably have a sugar addiction) and poor eating.

Lack of sleep will also cause weight gain. It causes stress, which induces cortisol release. And coritsol will make you retain water. If you're eating lots of carbs (which absorb/retain water) along with that, that's a certain recipe for weight gain.

I saw this in an IF group I follow the other day:

 

[RazorOye]

So I started IF (16:8) three months ago.

I also counted calories (with the LoseIt app) and began a 5k running regimen. 2-4 times per week.

I am 30 pounds down. 10 pounds a month seems to be pretty consistent.

I hit a plateau for a couple weeks at 25 lbs lost but then it started going down again. 2-3 lbs per week the last couple weeks.

I stop eating at 8pm and don’t eat until noon or later. Usually it’s not until 2 or 3 due to my work schedule.

the issue is now with my running. I am getting faster and running longer and using more calories. I find that I really need to be careful when I eat and exercise and have something in my stomach.

I can tell a difference because I’ll push myself in a higher intensive workout and get light headed and a bad headache and nauseous.

when I was burning 200 calories a workout no big deal. But now at 600-700 it’s a much bigger deal.

so going forward I am going to have to change something.

but the 30 lbs makes a huge difference. All the Covid gain is gone, and then some.

 

[RazorOye]

Lack of sleep will also cause weight gain. It causes stress, which induces cortisol release. And coritsol will make you retain water. If you're eating lots of carbs (which absorb/retain water) along with that, that's a certain recipe for weight gain.

I saw this in an IF group I follow the other day:

I can 100% attest to this. The only week I have not lost weight the last three months was the week where my stress was super high and had two anxiety attacks. Stress was undeniably a factor

 

[saintmdterps]

So I'm down about 10 lbs to 176, and would like to shed 6 more and get to 170. I am getting to the gym at 6am religiously which gives me 20 mins cardio and 30-35 mins weight training. BP checks have me running about 136/76, down 12 points on the top and bottom. My pulse rate tends to hover in the low-mid 50's. It's been tough but it's working. Eliminating snacking has been an ongoing struggle

As I sit here drinking a Dogfish Head 60 min IPA. Oh well 3 hrs yard work and a 6.5 mile run this morning earns me some latitude

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

I prefer slowing to fasting. It's actually much more healthy.

 

[kcirdor]

Best way I found to break a plateau is to have a big cheat day... then get back at it. Works like charm.