Intermittent Fasting.

Any of y’all had any experience?

I have a couple very fit friends who swear by it. They got in a debate with another friend who called it junk. Said it is simply caloric restriction. Others said it had to due with controlling insulin.


All had good points. I have no idea who to believe.

Thoughts.

I would say meh. I eat @ 6pm then not again until noon most every day and my weight has stayed the same.

I'm 78 years old. Back in 2018 my cardiologist told me I was on track for an early death and recommended I look into the work of Dr. Jason Fung regarding intermittent fasting. He's the author of the book The Obesity Code. That was perhaps the best advice I have ever received from a doctor.

Dr. Fung’s explanation as to why diet plans based on low fat and reduced calories do not work. His description of the cycle of losing weight for a month or two then gaining it right back was the story of my life. More importantly, his explanation of how and why intermittent fasting overcomes that failed diet syndrome made perfect sense.

After considering how some of the various intermittent fasting options fit my personal lifestyle, I embarked on a program that involved fasting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first week was a bit tough. The second week wasn't so bad. The third week wasn't a problem at all. I chose a pretty tough plan, but one of the beauties of intermittent fasting is that you can design a plan that fits your lifestyle.

So, what happened? When I began the intermittent fasting program I weighed 244 lbs. (I’m 5’9”). Six months later I was at 191 lbs. As my weight began to decrease so did my blood pressure. By the second week into the program I began to experience slight dizziness due to lowering blood pressure. I began cutting back on my blood pressure medication. By the fifth week I totally eliminated all blood pressure medication. My home resting BP readings are now consistently below 130 systolic and 75 diastolic. I sleep better, have more energy and feel better overall than I did before the fasting program. I still fast every Tuesday and Thursday. That's about a 36 hour fast twice a week (from dinner Monday night until breakfast Wednesday morning, and dinner Wednesday night until breakfast Friday morning. The rest of the week I eat like a teenager - anything I want whenever I want. It works for me.

Fung's book is a bit of a hard read. But he has a six-part lecture series on YouTube based on the principles in his book that I highly recommend.

Here's the first video in the series. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpllomiDMX0)

Actually, that is intermittent fasting. You're fasting for 18 hours every day. A very sensible plan for many people.

It works, Personal experience

100% agree.........

I've done intermittent fasting since 9/1/21. It does not work as advertised, as many studies have proven, the largest of which finished up last year. I know personally, I lost 6 pounds in 10 weeks through it. The reason why I keep doing it is I am a grazer. I eat when I see food...or I did. If I was bored, if I was just walking in the kitchen, whatever, I'd get food...not usually high calorie foods, but still more than I needed. Intermittent fasting keeps me disciplined to not do this. I am down 108.2 pounds since 9/1/21, but it's primarily because I eat a boatload of fruits and vegetables and very little processed foods. I do eat turkey sausage (ground and the link) and turkey bacon, but that's pretty much for processed foods. I don't eat bread anymore (I will eat a small piece of cake and ice cream on a few birthdays, but not always. I was not a big sweets person anyway. I eat a serving of protein (ground chicken, boneless/skinless thighs or breast, skinless leg quarters, ground turkey, lean beef, salmon, etc.), usually a fat like avocado or nuts, and 4 to 5 sides consisting of vegetables or fruits, with every meal. I watch my macros and that's what has helped the most. Sugar is so inflammatory, and salt is a killer...gotta figure things out. When I make stews, or chili, or rice, or anything using a broth, I get the reduced sodium or no salt added. The turkey bacon I eat is low sodium, and I wish to God Butterball would have a low sodium turkey sausage (if they do I haven't found it in any store)...

I wish you all good luck, but really, for me at least, it's been about watching my macros. My blood numbers are great, and when I had my blood pressure checked last week, it was 102/70 and a pulse of 61. I'll be 48 on April 7, and I used to weight 362 pounds before I started...never had high BP or any blood sugar issues, thank God....and I don't want any.

Only thing I can say is that it helps me keep my blood sugar levels a little more consistent. Took a few months of consistent effort to make a noticeable effect. When I do indulge with a little more sugar/carb loaded meal or eat a little later in the day, my levels return to normal sooner and without the yo-yo effect potential of adding fast-acting insulin to the mix. A1C went from 7.9 to 6.6 over the 5 months. Not really impressive, but progress for me. Can't mess up too much or it will unwind that progress.

I’m not sold on intermittent fasting.

People need to eat right, and in the right proportions and get in the gym for weight training and get better results.

Intermittent fasting is trendy right now but I doubt it’s long term sustainability.

I was doing it in the 90's, Didn't know it had a name, I just new if I skipped breakfast and ate only lunch and dinner my body weight stayed slim.

x2

I still do it, again, not because it helps me to lose weight in the sense most people attribute it to, but because it keeps me from mindlessly eating. I am very disciplined on it and now if I get stressed, I deal with it versus eating. I'm down 120.4 pounds now and my BP on Friday was 96/68. I'll continue to do it for a while, as I'm coming up on my 2 year anniversary September 1. However, how much longer really depends on how I'm dealing with my stress and making sure I have healthy ways of dealing with it. I'm a stress eater/grazer. So, it can work, but I do not believe it works the way most people have touted it.

That was quite counter culture for that day and age.

Back then it was a carb loaded breakfast; pancakes, waffles and toast with a few pieces of bacon or sausage. For lunch you have a sandwich and some chips. Dinner was whatever the wife cooked, in our house it was usually something fried like pork chops or chicken, mashed potatoes and canned green beans. People prided themselves on cleaning their plates.


Not a big surprise why obesity skyrocket in the following decades.

Actually, I think the skyrocketing obesity can be attributed to the 'fats are bad' mentality and adding sugar to EVERYTHING to improve the taste of the 'fat free' foods...among other things.

Refined Sugar is bad, very much so.

But over eating is over eating. More calories in vs. calories spent equals weight gain.

I was skipping breakfast, only eating lunch and dinner, I was eating carbs back then wasn't aware of the no carb diets, it just kept me in shape.

Fasting = < calories

https://www.drugs.com/news/fasting-...l?hash2=1b3808ddf124b1d7e72b1b885397e947

A different view on fasting. Could be worth a try for some.

There is tons of scientific evidence on the benefits of fasting. In fact, 3 meals a day is something that has only been around 100 years or less. Our biology has us designed to fast. I have been doing intermittent fasting for a couple of year but recently started only eating one meal per day at dinner. Its a HUGE meal. I have already dropped 6 pounds and started lifting again for the first time in six years. I am amazed at how much more energy I have and how much more focused I am at work. Yes, it works. I have a family member that does one meal and day and lifts weights and at 45 he looks better than he did at 25 when he did competitive body building. I too before pics and I hope to have some awesome after pics in a few months.

Trendy? Its been around for 1000s of years, most people up until the 1900s ate only one or maybe two meals a day and worked outside all day long. Religions have been fasting for years as well, lots of research says they knew it cleared the mind and helped with refocusing. We used to run around chasing our food, finally kill it, eat it, then spend two or three days without eating chasing our food again.

My great grandmother lived to be 106. I always noted that she ate like a bird. Never snacking and no lunch. Very small breakfast and dinner.

Ever owned a pet bird or chickens? Birds don't eat lightly.

Trendy? This is literally how we as a species fed ourselves many thousands of years ago. An animal was hunted, killed, and consumed until we were full. Then when we got hungry again ( a few days later due to lack of carbs in diet causing hunger signals), we would eat again. And the cycle would repeat itself.

But somewhere along the line, we got out of the lion’s den and got into the pig pen, which is how most people eat nowadays. All of the processed junk lacking nutritional density causes people to over eat. And the trend we’ve had for the last several decades is to become fatter and sicker as a society. Roughly 80% of the US population is obese.

I love to skip breakfast, once it is lunch time for me the food just taste better and I tend to get fuller faster as well.

I am 100% sold on it.

I have done it for months at a time. I can gain weight on it or lose weight on it depending on how much I eat in those 6 hours. So really for me it just comes down to caloric intake, nothing more nothing less. It has not changed my BP at all

The best diet in the world is the wine diet...........I went from230 to 170 and eat a ton of nuts and yogurt and green vegetables............My sawbones said he has never seen such an improvement in health.............both pulmonary and cognitively .............and upped the magnesium intake.

Fat people dont get old.............you just dont see fat old people.

That's good news fade. Well done.

Yep a fermented gut is the gut of jesus........lol

Now that’s funny!

They are around, you just don’t see them. They have a hard time moving around.

I am now down 27 pounds in 66 days on the carnivore diet. I only eat meat and the occasional cucumber. The only carbs I normally have are from a stick of gum. I only eat 1 large meal a day and then maybe a snack. To put this in perspective; I started at 190 pounds and am down to 163 as of this morning. I went to buy new clothes today and my waist size is now 30 and was 35 ish before. Last time I had a 30 inch waist was high school..

Congratulations. I'm a, mostly red, meat eater, but the monotony would drive me bonkers. We've given up a lot. So now, I crave potatoes more than any dessert I've ever wanted in my life. I know what the next step to give up is...and I'm balking quite a bit - (Gotta go chill my glass.)

Thanks Creek. I have given up alcohol except for maybe twice a month.

There is some interesting stuff about potatoes. If you cool them down after cooking you get a resistant starch which is a whole other food compared to a hot tater like we are used to.

Thomas DeLauer on YouTube has a fairly recent video about it.

Intermittent Fasting means a lot of different things, catch word if you ask me. I eat once a day at night, that works great for me. Been doing that for a few years now. I'm 62, I wear same jeans I wore in high school. I may snack on peanuts or something during the day, but that is about it. Every now and then I'll have an official breakfast or lunch for fun... Bottom line don't eat too much, that is the key. And nothing wrong with pigging out every now and then, just don't do it too much.

Maybe crack open the wallet and buy a new pair…

In all seriousness though, I am down 32 pounds since going on a mostly meat, no carb diet. I wear the same size pants that I did in high school. Like you, 1 big meal a day and then maybe a snack.

I wore a 28 waist jeans in high school at 130 lbs. I never want to be that light again.

[quote=BayouGuy]I'm 78 years old. Back in 2018 my cardiologist told me I was on track for an early death and recommended I look into the work of Dr. Jason Fung regarding intermittent fasting. He's the author of the book The Obesity Code. That was perhaps the best advice I have ever received from a doctor.

I didn’t think there was such a thing as an early death at 73. I never thought I’d make 30.

I’m 80. I spent most of my life at 6 ft tall and 150. Polio survivor from about 8 yoa that hit me in the legs and back. Learned to walk again and have always had a weak back. It drew up my hamstrings and I was walking on my toes. Lots of physical therapy learning to walk again.

Raised on a farm/ranch so I got plenty of exercise and have had a somewhat normal life, mostly back issues at times. It didn’t keep me out of the USAF. I have spent my life walking up to a wall in the morning, putting the ball of my foot on the wall and stretching forward. No big deal. I generally go to a city park to walk a mile per day to stay ambulatory. I’ve climbed a lot of mountains and crossed deserts hunting and just exploring. Hunted Africa and fished off the Southern coast of Mexico.

Spent 25 days in ICU a couple of years ago due to a busted colon. I came out with no muscle tone and couldn’t do anything but sit on my butt for 90 days while healing. Gained a lot of weight just sitting. Then back to walking a mile twice per day. Got back in shape. But, can’t lose the excess weight. I’m 210 and neither snacking nor over eating.

About 6 months ago my legs and back started hurting. Doctors disagree about whether it is post polio syndrome or just plain arthritis thats getting me. Doesn’t matter which or whether both. The biggest thing is to do the exercises, take 2 extra strength Tylenols 3 times per day and keep doing my walking. The walking and weight lifting is a PITA but it beats the alternatives. The worst alternative is being a shut-in.

None of the above is whining. I’m enjoying life. Not a lot of 1942 models left who can travel, hunt, fish and go shooting. Actually, most of the survivors of my high school class of 1960 are staying active. We get together once per month for lunch. About 25 show up.

Movement is life, Dont quit!! ever

Fueling your body is an individual scenario. What works for one may OR may not work for another. We are all different with different physiology going on and varied genetic factors. Find what works for you and do it. I am in my mid 50's and eat a meal every 2-3 hours but never after 7 p.m. My weight has not changed more than 3# in 15 years. Longest I go without fueling my body in some way is 10-12 hours. Intermittent fasting? Who drew the line on the sundial dictating at what hour it becomes fasting much less intermittent?

Remember - Movement is medicine.

How tall are your and your weight?

I am 6' 2" and 235lbs, if I ate every two hours I would be like 300 lbs

Hgt/Wgt matter less than what you eat and how much.


I am 5'8" 170#. Every meal has protein, carb, and fats and get smaller as the day goes on.

It's worked well for me in the past, about to hit it again.

I'm 5'11" and my healthy weight runs between 225 & 235 when weight training.

It's easy to let yourself go and become 240/250/260 and fat.

I felt really good the last time and looking forward to getting back in shape, after Thanksgiving.

I fast between breakfast and lunch, and lunch and supper.

Ah, to have THAT metabolism again.

No doubt!

I do a bit of fasting, but I've found the older I get, the less effective it seems to be.

Yes Sir.

I eat 1 meal a day. Maybe a snack in the evening. I am 5’10” and as of this morning weigh 155 pounds. Trying to add some carbs back into my all meat diet so I can stop losing weight.

I haven't found that to be the case for me.

Been doing one meal a day since August 1. I eat a huge meal at dinner. Fast for 24 hours between my one meal. Started lifting weights again in the mornings. I do drink an all natural protein powder after working out. Down from 228 to 208. I am lifting just as much weight at 42 as I was at 22. Leaner and more muscle. Feel so much better. Sleep better, you name it.