The Science of Fasting (5 Viewers)

[Madmarsha]

None taken and I probably should've explained myself more at what I was trying to convey. And I can see how it would be "fasting training." I just have to make the leap. The problem is that I love food.

Oh, I love food, too. And, as mentioned, the activity of eating food. Honestly, I believe that's why it's important to have the experience of fasting, whether you continue it or not. My personal feeling is it's good to give the body a break, rather than eating constant small meals as we are "advised" to thereby keeping our blood sugar and digestion in constant flux.

Anywho, just a thought.

 

[Galbreath34]

Totally different kind of fast, but saw this on /r/todayilearned and found it pretty amazing. I can't believe the body could handle this.

https://thoughtcatalog.com/dr-chet-...a-year-and-he-lost-more-than-half-his-weight/

In 1965, an extremely obese 27-year-old male, weighing in at 456 pounds fasted for 382 days (one year and 17 days) and lost 275.5 pounds.
Doctors from the University of Dundee monitored his condition throughout his fast. During his fast, he obese man recorded low glucose levels for 100 days and defecated every 40 to 50 days. He was given potassium tablets to keep his heart healthy and multi-vitamins every day.

 

[SWJJ]

Okay I am a week into fasting 18 hours every day. Every day I only eat in an 8 hour window from 4pm-12A and most days I try to keep it in a 4 hour window 6-10pm.

I do feel like I have more energy and I have not weighed myself since I started but someone today told me I look like Ive lost weight.

I drink coffee and water in the morning and it curbs any hunger pains.

Im probably drinking a cup of black coffee per hour from 8 AM - 1 PM.

I started at 216 pounds. I'll try to remember to weigh again and see how I am doing.


I plan to also limit my meat intake to under 8 ounces per day, and limit red meat to 3 servings a week.

Yesterday I weighed in at 205. I had two nights of drunken trash eating, but stayed in my 8 hour window. I'm 12 hours into a 36 hour fast.

I do feel like I have more energy and seem to need less sleep.

 

[slaym]

 

[Zack Lee]

she is making a compound butter lol

 

[Beast]

Are any of you doing extended fasts concerned with loss of lean muscle tissue? This is typically the tissue that's difficult to gain back, and I've heard/read that extended fasting can lead to this.

 

[Madmarsha]

34.5 hours. Trying to get to 36.

 

[Madmarsha]

Are any of you doing extended fasts concerned with loss of lean muscle tissue? This is typically the tissue that's difficult to gain back, and I've heard/read that extended fasting can lead to this.

When you read about the science of fasting, it makes sense.

Disease, atrophy from disuse, aging contributes to muscle loss. Only use [exercise] builds muscle tissue. Fuel [food] cannot build muscle.

 

[Madmarsha]

Went ahead and broke it. I was already feeling stressed (but not from not eating), so it felt better to just go ahead and stop letting hunger add to the stress. And nearly 36 hours is not a bad run for just getting back into it.

I'd prefer a short re-feeding window but it won't happen today. So I will attempt another [hopefully] 36 + starting after dinner tonight and ending some time on Thursday with a [hopefully] shorter re-feeding.

I keep saying "hopefully" because there are many factors besides willpower that enter into the length of a fast. For me, anything beyond 36 has always been tough (though, that's when you really start learning new things about the effects of a fast). But you have to keep listening to your body for a signal that it may be time to break and then re-start again.

 

[Zack Lee]

that's when you really start learning new things about the effects of a fast).

care to expound or link?

 

[Beast]

When you read about the science of fasting, it makes sense.

Disease, atrophy from disuse, aging contributes to muscle loss. Only use [exercise] builds muscle tissue. Fuel [food] cannot build muscle.

I'm not sure how you can say that fuel/food cannot build muscle. Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, are the basis for lean tissue creation within the body. Amino acids cannot be created by the body and must come from a food source. Without that, you're not laying the foundation for any muscle growth via exercise.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430042/

That's why I was asking if anyone doing extended fasting was concerned about the loss of lean tissue via fasting. Most research says anything beyond 16 - 18 hours becomes catabolic in nature. Beyond a certain point, the losses may minimize, but it's still loss of important tissue.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

I'm not sure how you can say that fuel/food cannot build muscle. Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, are the basis for lean tissue creation within the body. Amino acids cannot be created by the body and must come from a food source. Without that, you're not laying the foundation for any muscle growth via exercise.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430042/

That's why I was asking if anyone doing extended fasting was concerned about the loss of lean tissue via fasting. Most research says anything beyond 16 - 18 hours becomes catabolic in nature. Beyond a certain point, the losses may minimize, but it's still loss of important tissue.

I've read stuff by pro-fasting sites that claim that you can go up to 3 days or so without losing muscle, as long as you keep working the muscle. I think they linked to a study, but I'm not sure.

I suspect it's a YMMV kind a thing.

The basic idea is your body isn't stupid... if you are using your muscles (and by that they mean actually pushing them hard, not light work), then your body will know that they are needed and burn fat, since it assumes you will need those muscle to procure more food.

I don't have links to those studies, so....

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

Oops... just searching around and I think I'm wrong. I think muscle breakdown can start occurring after 48 hours of fasting.

 

[Madmarsha]

care to expound or link?

From Dr. Jason Fung


https://idmprogram.com/fasting-and-muscle-mass-fasting-part-14/


"It seems that there are always concerns about loss of muscle mass during fasting. I never get away from this question. No matter how many times I answer it, somebody always asks, “Doesn’t fasting burn your muscle?”

Let me say straight up, NO.

Here’s the most important thing to remember. If you are concerned about losing weight and reversing T2D, then worry about insulin. Fasting and LCHF will help you. If you are worried about muscle mass, then exercise – especially resistance exercises. OK? Don’t confuse the two issues. We always confuse the two issues because the calorie enthusiast have intertwined them in our minds like hamburgers and french fries.

Weight loss and gain is mostly a function of DIET. You can’t exercise your way out of a dietary problem. Remember the story of Peter Attia? A highly intelligent doctor and elite level distance swimmer, he found himself on the heavy end of the scale, and it was not muscle. He was overweight despite exercising 3-4 hours a day. Why? Because muscle is about exercise, and fat is about diet. You can’t out-run a bad diet.

Muscle gain/ loss is mostly a function of EXERCISE. You can’t eat your way to more muscle. Supplement companies, of course, try to convince you otherwise. Eat creatine (or protein shakes, or eye of newt) and you will build muscle. That’s stupid. There’s one good way to build muscle – exercise. So if you are worried about muscle loss – exercise. It ain’t rocket science. Just don’t confuse the two issues of diet and exercise. Don’t worry about what your diet (or lack of diet – fasting) is doing to your muscle. Exercise builds muscle. OK? Clear?"

 

[Zack Lee]

that is all interesting and I don't have a dispute with any of it Marsha, but the part I quoted was in regards to 36 hours being a milestone where you get effects that you would not in a shorter fast.