I have some weight I’d like to lose and intermittent fasting seems to be the rage these days. But there seems to be a confusing variety of plans. You can limit eating to a 8 or 10 hour window, fast from dinner to the next dinner (24 hours), skip an entire day so you fast from dinner to breakfast on the 2nd day (36 hours), do a multi-day fast.
Has anyone tried one of these variants? Did it work for you? Was hunger a big issue?
I have not tried fasting personally and probably will not.
I do have a friend that had some success on a plan where she limited her calories to 500 on alternate days and then could eat unlimited calories on the other alternate days. While she lost weight while on doing this plan, she did gain the weight back when she quit the plan.
I found this, we’ve talking about intermittent fasting in the past
I’ll say this. Anytime you aren’t eating, you are consuming less calories. If it works for you to only eat within a certain window, then it works for you.
I’m skeptical that there’s any biological advantage as far as far burning or whatever the claims of intermittent fasting are. But that’s me.
Less calories = losing weight.
I liked reading the Obesity Code by Jason Fung who explains how IF works. I like the evidence that he presented about time use diaries from the years ago when people didn’t think you needed to have snacks between each meal. It’s pretty easy to do 16:8 schedule if you don’t eat a late dinner.
I never eat after 5pm due to GERD and afib (late eating is a trigger), My weight stays the same but is lower than it used to be, unintentionally. So I guess I have a 10 hour window. I think getting into more intense fasting invites disordered eating but some people say it works. I like consistency!
I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for more than three years. I started out with the 500 calories two days a week and eating normally the other five days. After about three months we were going on vacation, so I switched to only eating between noon and 8 p.m.
I lost 34 pounds in eight months. I kept it off for more than two years, but have put back 8 pounds over the summer, mostly because I have been eating like a pig lately.
Yes, I started when COVID lockdown started. I eat between 2pm and 8pm and fast the remaining time. I lost 45 lbs in 2020…kept it off until I gained 5 this summer because I added in too many carbs. I didn’t have issues with hunger but I primarily follow a high protein low carb diet.
From the research that I’ve read over the years, in terms of weight loss, IF is no better than straight calorie restriction. The one exception is that the research showed that IF worked really well for individuals with diabetes, because IF reduced insulin levels.
IMO, more importantly, the issue with IF is less effective in reducing body fat aka “body composition.” I’ve beat this dead horse elsewhere, but weight loss is better than being overweight or obese, but body composition (muscle versus body fat, and especially visceral fat) is much more important.
And also IMO, if you want to maintain and even build muscle, especially important as we age, and you exercise in the 16-hour fasting window (or worse 24 hours of fasting), 1) you need food for energy and 2) building muscle, shedding fat and changing your body composition requires protein.
So, those of us who want to exercise, build muscle, we’ll need to put protein and carbs in our bodies roughly 1 to 4 hours pre-workout and within approximately 60 minutes post-workout.
I have been doing IF since January with an eight-hour eating window. It’s easy for me as we always have eaten an earlier dinner. I had lost about 55 pounds over the course of several years but hit a plateau. I have lost another 15 pounds so far this year with IF. Totally a fan.
This is what my favorite nutrition columnist has to say about this topic:
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/wellness/what-to-know-if-youre-considering-intermittent-fasting/
Darn it, I was just going to post on this topic, which just happens to also be mentioned in your article from the Seattle Times:
As I said above, weight loss is great, less weight on your joints (ankles, knees, hips, etc.), but without knowing your body composition, you probably have lost a tremendous amount of muscle too. And what type of body fat did you lose most, subcutaneous or visceral?
You can easily be thin and unhealthy.
I think you have to exercise as you lose weight. I’ve been doing that, only eat 2 meals a day. In the beginning I did feel hunger pain, but eventually it’s not there anymore. It’s been a few years now that I lost all the weight, I did gain some back from a vacation, but not much.
In terms of exercise, according to the CDC, based on 2018 surveys:
[quote]* Percent of adults aged 18 and over who met the Physical Activity Guidelines for aerobic physical activity: 53.3%
I also think these surveys actually over-estimates people who think they get enough strength based exercise.
I’ve been doing it about 2 years and love it. I eat from 11-7 most days. It’s really helped control my weight. I also exercise and do moderate weight lifting, about 3 times a week.
I thought there were health benefits other than weight loss. Is that true?
So, what are the guidelines for exercising?
I feel like I exercise, “enough,” and have a good mix of running/walking/circuit training with light weights, but I don’t know.
Sorry, this got LONG!
I did a deep dive on IF when I started to see whether there was science behind the hoopla. What I found was that there was tons of science on mice and other animals but not on humans, though indications were good the benefits applied. Because I found a 16:8 IF so easy and similar to what I had been doing I stuck with it. I was amazed how the weight came off as I had been at essentially the same weight for a year. For me personally, I can say that all my bloodwork stayed the same or showed improvement except cholesterol. I’ve always been borderline on my cholesterol so I was bummed that the total number was higher but my ratio of HDL to LDL was still in the normal zone and had improved with a higher HDL, just like was mentioned in the Seattle Times story linked above.
The main thing I read about was autophagy. I’m not a doctor (and don’t play one on on cc) so I won’t try to explain it. Here’s an article from the Cleveland Clinic that explains it: Autophagy: Definition, Process, Fasting & Signs.
Like @sushiritto, I get regular DXA scans and after losing about 12 pounds on IF in four months (remember, this was after a YEAR at a plateau weight) two of those were of muscle, but that is similar to other chunks of weight loss I’ve had where a portion is muscle. I like lifting weights but don’t love it and should do more so I wasn’t surprised that I had lost some muscle. I blame me not IF for that. I should note that I haven’t changed what I’ve eaten. I’m not eating keto or paleo or whatever. I’m eating what I always have eaten, which has gotten “cleaner” over the years. Other than protein bars, I eat almost no processed foods. I used to be Queen of the Lean Cuisine. No more. And, yes, I did talk to my doctor about doing IF, and he was good.
The biggest difference I’ve seen in addition to the scale is where the weight has come off. I know you can’t spot reduce, but my torso/stomach has had the greatest loss, according to my DXA and the mirror. I’m an apple so that makes sense to me if autophagy is targeting fat cells. I may be misunderstanding the science and it’s all in my head – but at least it’s no longer on my gut so I am thrilled.
Here’s my bottom line: Could it be like Dumbo’s feather, and he just thinks that’s the reason he can fly or, in my case, lose weight? Sure. But it really is working for me. Here’s why I think it’s working for me – I am more likely to pass up an evening snack if I think I am going to counteract any autophageal effects of the past/future 24 hours. So, yes, I may be getting fewer calories, which, duh, leads to more weight loss, but I also am not eating closer to bed time, which if you’re a calories in/calories out person then that wouldn’t matter, right? I, personally, don’t believe it’s just about calories. We all know calories aren’t created equal. Like I said above, I sometimes used to eat two Lean Cuisines a day because they were calorie-controlled. But science tells us that processed foods affect obesity/belly fat. Once I cut those out two or three years ago I had another drop in weight.
A British documentarian taped a personal journey with IF that was a nice intro to the idea. I can post it if people want. I wasn’t sure whether it would violate TOS. Anyway, good luck if you decide to do it! I would discuss with your doctor. I know not everyone is on board with it. The nutritionist associated with my university-sponsored exercise class is not a fan, but in hearing her talk about it she points to extremes. I’m not doing anything remotely extreme, IMO. I’m just not snacking after an early dinner and holding off an hour or so for breakfast. No big deal to me, but it introduces a framework for my eating I didn’t have previously.
I have done IF without knowing for yrs, because I hate eating breakfast. I never ate before 11am because it makes me nauseous and I take my coffee black with no sugar. I don’t like eating dinner later than 7pm because I go to bed by 10ish on weekdays.
I didn’t lose any weight as I was at my ideal weight when I stopped forcing myself to eat breakfast.
I was super thin years ago because I didn’t eat breakfast until 11am, not hungry, just had a cup of cafe au lait.