Intermittent Fasting

Hey everybody,

Did a search on the subject but didn't really find anything, so I thought I would start a new thread.

Does anybody try intermittent fasting? I've dabbled in the past, primarily with water-only fasts that typically run anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. I usually feel great when I'm nearing the end of the fast, almost revitalized. With that said, I've never been able to tell if it's just a "placebo effect" from all the research that I've done. Hunger pangs aside, I usually feel very alert and sharp when I'm on a fast.
The theory is that it gives your body a break from digestion and allows it the chance to heal and restore.

Just curious to see if anybody else has tried it, and if they had good (or bad) results.

 

I love IF. Aside from the weight loss benefits, I feel more alert during the day, and I feel like I have more energy during the day.

Keto + IF for weight loss, and IF alone to maintain. Been doing this for a few years and love it.

 

I tell you what, I do a 16 hr fast daily. About 2 years ago I was on the verge of high blood pressure. I went to the cardiologist and had numerous test done. They wanted to put me on medication, I said screw that. So for 2 weeks I started fasting, believe it or not, all I ate was ribeyes and avocados. Along with that I also rode bike daily for 2 hrs. I ended up dropping 10 lbs and my blood pressure dropped 11 pts. I'd say it works.

 

Interesting. I had to fast for two days a while back for an (old guy) medical procedure. I actually felt pretty good, considering.

 

I'm a medical guy and this is my zone. i mostly stay out of discussions here though.

actually you are not giving your digestion a break. you are allowing it to complete itself.

consider your motor. you put in fuel to burn and you refill after you've been burning down the fuel load. what happens if you refill fuel before creating space for it? congestion. we are not talking about clean fuel congestion in the body though... we are talking about 'bolus'. a sticky gluey and possibly phlegmy mess. that is a nasty brand of congestive stuff that, if not digested out, encumbers your circulation pathways in multiple systems from the alimentary canal right up to your nerve fibers all through the gut.

if you look at how the low & slow circulation dynamics of digestion go, you'll see how incomplete gut digestion leads to upper body sensory congestion. another way to say that is when your intestines are behind the 8 ball your sense organs go foggy. the effects of small intestine vs. large intestine congestion are different and i use these details diagnostically in the clinic.

when you fast you're giving digestion time to catch up and burn down your temporarily congesting fuel load. your circulation pathways clear out somewhat, normal fresh circulation comes back on delivering fresh O² among all the other factors, cells get normal metabolism, normal function restores. and you are not encumbered by foggy congestion. most people live in this congested state all the time in degrees.

it's not placebo obviously, but it's also true that a lot of subtle things are happening in all these systems, and some of that shuffle around your psycho-emotional state. some report 'false sense of well being' for example, although the false part isn't always false.

anyway, digestion is really all we do physiologically as humans. controlled fasting has a time & place but isn't right for everyone and needs to be timed right. those with actual dysfunction need to be treated differently from folks here who are simply congesting themselves by overeating and haven't pushed into chronic dysfunction yet.

 

Awesome information here, and thank you for contributing.

I think this is so common in our society because we quite literally have food within an arm's reach most of the time. Whether you're at home, work or in the car, access to food or snacks is ubiquitous. Our system can't fully process the last meal because we have a tendency to continue putting food into it.

It makes sense, and it makes you want to reprogram yourself to look at eating from an entirely different perspective. It's healthy and natural to consume nothing but water for a period of time, but our environment is not conducive to that practice.

 

I have been intermittently fasting since I was about 24 or 25, (I am 30 now) when I got relatively much more focused on fitness and my overall health. For times as long as 21 hours typically, sometimes more, but not over 24 usually. I usually do it on gym days, which for me falls on my days off. Two days a week, normally within that time period I am sleeping which is easily 6-7 hours alone, the time in between involves me having completed eating dinner at 5 or 6PM the previous night and then completing my gym routine then coming back home at about 2PM the following day to eat breakfast.

I cannot say I feel particularly MORE healthy because of it. I actually really only do it because I refuse to work out as hard as I always have and risk throwing up the breakfast I had. (Good old military taught me how to routine properly)

Normally I'll just pound down water all day long and I generally do not feel a crazy appetite or need to eat. I have reason to believe it helps a lot both for my situation and in general and am going to continue to do it because of the positive results it has always brought to me.

Funny, because all of my family members have somehow just discovered all of these secrets outside of my own advice and act like it's something revolutionary and brand new, when in fact I have been telling them about it for years, but I guess you can only lead a horse to water right?

I hope this has been helpful.

 

@oscolivar1 here's a good thread for your IF aka skipping breakfast diet

 

lmao

 

I have been doing intermittent fasting for the last 4 months (16:8) and have been doing keto for 3 months. I'm doing it because IF has been shown to help with autoimmune disease (of which I have one) and because of the longevity effects.

I feel absolutely wonderful doing it. IT has really improved my attitude around food which has actually allowed me to get to the leanest I've ever been in my life(sub 8% right now).

I love being in ketosis while fasting. I have tons of energy and am much more alert (it has helped my ADHD as well). I sleep so much better as well.

I've done a couple 24 hour fasts, nothing longer yet. Lately I've been doing OMAD because I got sick and needed to go on Prednisone and had to stop much of my exercise so I've switched to OMAD to reduce caloric intake. And I'm going to be honest, people talk about how Prednisone makes you ravenous... I have not experienced that at all while taking it. I think IF has my insulin so under control the drug really doesn't effect me in that way (which is great).

 

My first experience with fasting in general was with a 7 day juice fast. I felt amazing! That lead me to numerous 3-4 day fasts with both all organic green juice fasts and water only. I started last year with IF and my body loves it! I was 200 lbs on average for the past several years, now I can fluctuate from 180’s to low 190’s. I’m a merchant mariner so the choices out here diet wise aren’t the greatest options so it makes eating clean difficult.?If ever I have the chance to transition to a land job, I would love to IF/OMAD cleanly for a whole year and see how I do.

 

I've noticed similar results. I'm the leanest now I've ever been (6' 4" and 182 lbs.) and I know for a fact that IF has allowed me to "normalize" my current weight and maintain my overall health and well-being. Just two years ago I was 240 lbs. with minimal muscle mass.

I rarely get sick now, and I seem to recover from my workouts and strength training much faster than I used to. Also, to add to your other point, I feel that my sleep is much more restorative than it used to be, which certainly would help me recover and build muscle from my exercise routine.
Back in the day when my diet wasn't as clean and I didn't fast at all, my system was too busy processing all that junk food and sugar to assist with healing the rest of the body.


As of 6:00 PM today, I will be completing a 48-hour water fast and I feel great. I have a slight headache, which I've noticed is normal during a water fast, but otherwise I have plenty of energy and I feel sharp and very responsive. Almost as if my hand-eye coordination is spot-on and I have very good awareness and reaction time to external stimuli.

This brings me to another topic to add to the thread: What is everybody's preferred method for ending a fast? I like to start out with a small amount of fermented food, such as sauerkraut, then follow up with some fresh fruit and light vegetables. Tons of water. Sometimes I will have a cup of organic chicken bone broth as well.
I won't consume any meat, nuts or grains until well after I've broken the fast with lighter options first.

 

My method of breaking a fast usually involves stuffing a fat egg, sausage, ham, hash brown, Chipotle sauce and sour cream home made breakfast burrito in my mouth. It's the reward for going so long without eating and for the hard workout session I just got finished with.

I know it sounds funny, because it sort of is, but it's filling, but not filling enough to the point where I feel full. I have a lot more space but I don't take it further than that breakfast item and just continue on with my daily day off regimen which usually involves a lot of activity around the house taking care of things.

 

I think you may be talking about a fast under 24 hours. Do that after a 72 hour fast and that breakfast burrito won’t stay down long lol

You have to be careful how you break extended fasts.

 

Been doing it since before it was a "thing". 16/8 for me. Some days if I'm just super busy, I won't even eat. Just start back with the 16/8 the next day.

Just turned 50 and healthy as a horse and am (never have been) not taking any prescription meds for any conditions. That was actually my goal for 40....so I'm 10 years ahead!

My eating style would most resemble Mediterranean with touches of Keto mixed in.

But I do have a sweet tooth for fine desserts. Everything in moderation and no guilt at all.

 

Extended fasts yeah, that I can believe, I just don't think my body is capable of going that long without food. Most of my fasts are just shy, or just barely break the 24 hour mark. It works really well for me on the day's I do them. Once I get better from this nasty virus I had I am going to hop back into my weekly routine and get right back into it, but for the time being all of my life has been on hold until I am back to 100%

 

Your body was designed to survive periods without food. The human race has only had a steady source of food the last 100 years, and arguably not even that. We had periods of feasts and famine.
Its only been since people have been able to eat whatever they want whenever they want has obesity been a problem.
The body wasn’t meant to constantly take in food.

Prolonged fasts aren’t something you jump into. I’d tell people to do 16:8 for a bit then work up to fasts extending over 24 hours. Until you get your insulin under control it can be challenging.

 

I do have to say that lately because of an illness myself I have been on Prednisone for the last week.

I have had absolutely no problems with the hunger it causes. I switched to OMAD/20:4.
I really think fasting helps control that side effect.

 

I've been doing 16/8 since early September this year. Working out great! I was already half-assing breakfast anyways, so it was easy enough for me to drop. I do get some hunger pangs in the morning, but I just drink some water and coffee and it's taken care of. I otherwise feel about the same. I'm saving on my food budget, and I'm losing 1-3lbs a month without any other extra effort. I'm not being super careful about my eating, and I'm not working out much right now.

Only downside is I really, really like breakfast foods. So I eat it for dinner.

 

I frequently do bacon and eggs for dinner !

7-9 egg scrambles have also been my thing.