What are your thoughts on fasting?

[MEG2131019]

I recently came across a piece on fasting talking about its health benefits, like detoxing the body or weight management. I have heard about the benefits of fasting before in regards to getting more energy and even revitalising the body but not for detoxing or weight management and wanted to see if anyone had more experience with this. Some of the methods discussed were kind of interesting.

http://www.freefitnesstips.co.uk/6-types-of-intermittent-fasting.html

[slysam · Accepted solution]

Not sure. I think it can be beneficial for some and maybe not for others. There are some interesting research on certain types of fasting. I tried one of them for about a month--I tried the one day a week mentioned and actually tried it because I previously did a strength training program that Brad Pilon (mentioned in the little graphic of the six types) was involved with. A lot of the women on this program had good results with this type of fasting once or twice a week or every two weeks. I also watched the Horizon Documentary "Eat, Fast and Live Longer" that raised some interesting points about the possible benefits of one day a week and alternate day fasting. The method I used, you eat a normal, healthy dinner than don't eat food until dinner the following night (it can be any meal, but I mainly heard of people doing this with dinner and so did I as that is least intrusive to having a normal life). I think the main intention is some fo the chemical changes that take place are believed to be beneficial (up to a certain point) but it also did help with weight loss more than I expected. On non-fasting days I kept my deficit small like 250 calories a day and would eat to maintain once a week. I found for me it works best to fast on a rest day. My results: I lost weight well, got more in touch with my actual hunger cues (vs comfort or boredom eating) became more in control of food choices, and my energy increased. Why I stopped? There isn't enough research using human females on the subject. Sometimes in studies with rats, fertility and hormone balance was effected by fasting. On some of the fasting forums, women would post about losing their periods (though some were fasting more often than once a week i.e. doing the method where you confine your eating in an 8 hour window and sometimes carried a higher deficit). But I was just concerned at this point about it possibly disrupting hormone balance so I stopped. I think I would consider doing it short term for a month or so in the future or reconsider when more credible information is available. It seems quite beneficial for a lot of men when done right, though.

[admlshake]

I've tried it and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I do one day a week usually where I just don't eat.  Being a diabetic I have to be very careful about my sugar levels and activities but I've only had a few times I've had to break it to eat some sugar. 

[slysam]

Just to add, from what I read most of the human research on fasting involved people who fast for religious reasons. There is quite a bit on Muslim athletes and Ramadan, for example. That is part of the reason I felt the methods of eating only dinner on fasting days or the method where food was limited to a confined time period seemed "safest" to me. I've never tried a "Master cleanse", "Juice Fast" or anything like that. I did drink water while fasting which may be different than what people do on a religious fast (depending on the religion of course). And in those studies the fasters were not usually intentionally limiting calories in general just not eating for limited periods of time. So I am not sure how well it applies to people deficit dieting + fasting.

[MEG2131019]

This was a very interesting and informative read thank you!

[Gershon]

In the Jewish writings I've read from the 1500's, it said that people have changed so that fasting is no longer a good idea. Jews do fast a few days a year, but people are told that if they don't feel well, they should break the fast. The longest fasts are for 24 hours, and I see few people make it the whole time. We "cheat" out of sight so as not to discourage others. 

Some people I know do juicing fasts for a week at a time, and they say it makes them feel good, but I've never tried one.

If a person is really trying to fix up their colon, I'd suggest reading "The Itinerary of a Breakfast" by John Kellogg. It's an old book from the early 1900's, but I haven't found any contemporary writing that contradicts it.

[janaz]

I follow the Fast 5.  I only eat from 5 pm until 10pm each day.  Anything I desire for 5 hours.  I let my body rest for 19 hours each day.  My body burns calories stored in my liver.  For me it is freeing.  You get used the the Window of Eating (WOE).  And no restrictions during your WOE.. 

[Dominique]

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@janaz wrote:

I follow the Fast 5.  I only eat from 5 pm until 10pm each day.  Anything I desire for 5 hours.  I let my body rest for 19 hours each day.  My body burns calories stored in my liver.  For me it is freeing.  You get used the the Window of Eating (WOE).  And no restrictions during your WOE.. 

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First time I hear about Fast-5. Just curious: why did you pick up this particular type of intermittent fasting rather than another one? How long have you been following it? What are/were your goals doing it, and what results have you achieved?

[janaz]

Hello Dominique!  I visited your beautiful country last year.  Cruise ship stopped in Helsinki.  About the most beautiful people I have ever seen.  I kept reading about fasting and first started on the 8/16 hour diet.  Saw a few results, but was probably overeating.  I read on Facebook about Fast 5.  It was easy to switch.  I have done it for a year, although I havent lost as much as I think I am supposed to (wine, chocolate), my clothes are much looser.  I have joined a Facebook page recreated by Bert Hering, author of the diet.  If you facebook, I can add you. 

[armani08]

So I decided to fast as part of a spiritual awakening journey that Im on and found it to be very stimulating for my body in regards to health. I set a goal of at least 2 weeks and ate between the hrs of 12pm-6pm which meant that I was fasting for 18hrs. Most ppl will do whole day fast but because this was my first day doing anything like this I knew that I wanted to take baby steps and it was so rewarded. The only thing that touched my lips during the 18hrs was water(sometimes with a lemon/lime wedge in the morning). when i did eat i made sure that I got a great portion of protein and veggies especially close to 530pm. First few days were hard in remembering not to eat out of shear habit but then I adjusted quickly, by week two it was almost a lifestyle. I woke up feeling great, my skin was well hydrated from all the constant water drinking, my bowel movements were active in a way that i never experienced before, and my sense of purpose as why I was doing it made it all worth it.

[Dominique]

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@slysam wrote:
I tried one of them for about a month--I tried the one day a week mentioned and actually tried it because I previously did a strength training program that Brad Pilon (mentioned in the little graphic of the six types) was involved with.

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As it happens, I started experimenting with Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat a couple of weeks ago. This review of his ebook gives you a pretty good idea without reading it. I just started my third fasting day (currently doing it one day per week), 6pm to 6pm the next day. The first two days were surprisingly easy. Pilon recommends doing strength training three times a week so as not to lose muscle mass. I was already doing strength training five days a week, so that side was covered. It looks like I'm going to continue for a while. I'm a (older) guy, so unlike @slysam, I don't have hormones and fertility to worry about

I like the fact it's dead-simple to follow (no calories to count, no special arrangements before and after the fasting day) and flexible (the fasting day doesn't have to be the same day of the week every time and the starting time of the day can be any time you choose).

[heyjack]

Detoxing as a concept is totally bogus. Your body does the only detoxing it's going to get done without your intervention. That isn't to say, however, that eating clean isn't the absolute best - it is. You'll feel better than ever by cutting out the crap, but the whole idea of 'toxins' is just junk science.

Weight is lost by simply creating a calorie deficit - more out than in through exercise and making your daily calorie intake count. I personally wouldn't fast as I don't think I'd feel well in myself on fast days. That said, I have seen great results from it - my own father lost a lot of weight through 5:2 and he's relatively sedentary.

I'd be interested to hear more experiences!

[Dominique]

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@heyjack wrote:

I personally wouldn't fast as I don't think I'd feel well in myself on fast days.

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How would you know, if you haven't tried? I'm currently 3/4 into my third fast day and I can't say I feel any different from normal days. A colleague of mine who has been doing it (24 hour once a week) for several years with his wife reported he's getting headaches on the fast day itself, and on the next day as well. His wife, OTOH, isn't experiencing any headache. I haven't either, and I don't think I'd want to continue otherwise.

I just walked & jogged 2 x 8 km this morning (after having fasted since 6pm yesterday) and I wasn't feeling weak or dizzy in any way. The main difference in my daily routine are more frequent trips to the bathroom, as liquid (water + coffee/tea without anything added) is the only intake "allowed" during the fast.

I don't count my calories intake, but based on what Fitbit says I burn and the fact my weight has been more or less the same for the past 1.5 years, I know it is around 2500 per day. For me, the once-a-week 24-hour fast is just a handy way to create an average 360 (2500 / 7) daily deficit.

[CherawGirl]

I am going to try the Fast 5.  I've been following a more Leangains kind of fasting which is fasting 16 hrs and eating in an 8 hrs. window.  I haven't experienced the results I've wanted on that type of fast, probably due to eating more than I should.  I have controlled the carbs and have been strengyh training harder as per the plan, but my bodyfat % has not come down over the last month at all.  I'm thinking it should not be much harder to do the Fast 5 as I only have to change my eating window from 11 am - 7 pm, to 2pm - 7 pm, or maybe 3-8.  I think on this plan I can eat a little more at one time, controlling hunger.  The only thing I worry about it having enough fuel in the tank for my morning workouts.  I really can't move my workouts to evening, during the eating period. I don't really want to lose weight, just reduce my BF% from 20% down to 15%.  Now I'm 125 lbs. at 20% BF.  Before I have been able to reach 15% BF at 123 lbs. I'm 56 years old, 5' 5" tall.

Has anyone been able to use Fast 5 and reduced their BF% without giving up the muscle?  Would love to hear your success stories for doing this. 

[Dominique]

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@CherawGirl wrote:

I don't really want to lose weight, just reduce my BF% from 20% down to 15%.  Now I'm 125 lbs. at 20% BF.  Before I have been able to reach 15% BF at 123 lbs. I'm 56 years old, 5' 5" tall.

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It's very unlikely you can reduce your BF% from 20 to 15% without losing weight. 20% of 125 lbs is 25 lbs. 15% of 125 lbs is 18.75 lbs. You would therefore need to lose 6.25 lbs of fat and gain 6.25 lbs of muscle mass at the same time. Not likely to happen, especially at 56. In order to lose 6.25 lbs, you need a cumulative deficit of 21,875 calories (3500 x 6.25). If you'd go for a daily deficit of 500 calories, you would need 44 days to achieve that. Of course, it's also unlikely 100% of your weight loss would be fat, though you could minimize muscle loss with adequate strength training and protein intake.

In order to gain muscle, you need to eat at a caloric surplus. The potential for gaining muscle with proper strength training ranges from 0.5 to 2.0 lbs per month, depending on how long you have been training.

How long ago were you 123 lbs / 15% BF, vs. your current 125 / 20%?

[CherawGirl]

Hi Dominique, Thanks for the help and replying to my post.  The last time I was 15% @ 123.5 lbs was in 2003.  I wrote a Visual Basic application in 2002 to record my measurements and calculate BF%, lean mass, and fat weight.  I don't think the calipers are super accurate but I use the results it gives me as I have no other way to measure the %.

So obviously 2003 is a long time ago.  I've crossed the 50 years old line and believe me its made a lot of difference in my fitness level.  It used to be that exercise was 80% of the fitness equation and diet was 20%.  Now it's the opposite, 80% (maybe even 90%) and the rest exercise.

Your numbers make sense, and yes I will have to lose weight to achieve the 15% BF.  Problem is when I drop to below 117 I start to look scrawny, hence the desire to keep the muscle I have fought hard to gain.  I have been slack over the winter with my diet and have gone up to 125 from 118.  So now I'm trying to get bikini ready.  I live at the beach so that's important! 

Given all that, I'm not totally unhappy with how I look or feel.  Hey, I can still wear a bikini at 56 years of age. LOL.

[Gizmo1970]

That's an interesting idea and time frame. As i work nights that would be really good for me. I'm off for the next day but will plan on trying that over the next month to see if it helps with weight loss and enery level. thanks for the info.

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@janaz wrote:

I follow the Fast 5.  I only eat from 5 pm until 10pm each day.  Anything I desire for 5 hours.  I let my body rest for 19 hours each day.  My body burns calories stored in my liver.  For me it is freeing.  You get used the the Window of Eating (WOE).  And no restrictions during your WOE.. 

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@janaz wrote:

I follow the Fast 5.  I only eat from 5 pm until 10pm each day.  Anything I desire for 5 hours.  I let my body rest for 19 hours each day.  My body burns calories stored in my liver.  For me it is freeing.  You get used the the Window of Eating (WOE).  And no restrictions during your WOE.. 

[CherawGirl]

Well, its been a little over a month since this posting.  I've managed to lower my BF% down to 17.4% at a weight of 120lbs.  I'm am happy with this and don't want to drop too much more weight. I do want to keep the muscle I have though.

I had to change my diet to the Paleo diet - Autoimmune Protocol due to food allergies.  I'm still easing into it and after a week I've lost 3 lbs. during the phase-in (mostly because I had a hard time finding meals at first and didn't eat anything).  Due to the low carb content of Paleo, I am not as gung ho in my workouts.  That supposedly passes after about 3 weeks.  On the other hand, I feel better than I have in over a year.  No chest pressure, less aches and pains, better sleep.  Here is hoping this diet lives up to all the hipe

I tried moving from an 8 hour feeding window to the fast 5, but it was just too long to go after my morning workouts.  I because extremely hungry and stressed due to it.  I was not too bad on a 6 hr window, and a 7 hrs was doable also.  So now I stick with the 7-8 hr window most days.

[tiger-lily]

well it depends how long u fast for as wether or not its bennificial for your body it also wont make u lose weight when ur finished frasting ur most likely going to be really hungry so youkl binge and eat a bunch of crap andf ur body will save fat from it because ur body will be in starvation mode

[Corney]

I'm a Physical Therapist and an exercise consultant for a surgical bariatric program.  If you are going to try fasting please talk to a Dietitian or a Nutritionist and have them explain the fallacies of fasting and the dangers that accompany it.  Please do not listen to Dr. Oz, or buy any of his products, he and they are a sham.  Weight loss is easy, but fat loss takes work.  For those who say they have come across and article or piece on fasting, please consider the source.  Fasting can be dangerous, and will probably lead to YoYoing, lose weight, gain back more, lose weight, gain back more...........