I have a question about fasting...

[Goldie]

Do many people here do intermittant fasting? Has it helped in your goals at all? Could you give some detail?

Have you tried it and really disliked it?

I ask because I was surprised to see it as a suggestion. Obviously i'm no expert and I take the advice here and in the NF blog as suggestions - i know that what works for one person may not work for another.

Since starting exercise and researching on the web everywhere you look it states you shouldn't go longer than 3 hrs without eating, beware of starvation mode, you'll ruin your metabolism... you get the picture.

So have i taken those warnings too literally and they actually mean if you drop cals significantly for a long period of time you do damage (I got the impression from the articles etc that you did damage as soon as you went beyond that 3-4 hour window without eating!) and that doing it once in a while can be beneficial?

[sumdawgtwigg]

I did a fast to drop some quick weight a few years ago. I was trying to get into the military and they suggested it. It did work and I honestly didn't feel that bad, actually had a lot of energy. This is my personal exp and I honestly don't know enough about it to suggest it. Looking back on it I honestly feel dumb for just doing it without all that much research.

[mightstone2k]

I started IFing every day a couple months ago, and I like it for two reasons. First, I don't need to worry about eating breakfast. I'm just fine without it. Second, I can eat bigger meals later in the day The "starvation mode" talk is not true, in my experience. I was on the "meal-every-three-hours" plan a while back and it drove me nuts trying to stick to it.

There's more scientific answers related to repeated elevation of blood glucose and/or insulin that strike against the "meal-every-three-hours-or-starvation-mode" hypothesis. Dr. John Berardi is a fasting researcher; he'll probably have better answers for you than I will if you Google him.

[Namednoname]

I've messed around with it quite a lot, I find it works as long as you eat enough during the eating window. Otherwise I find I get quite a lot of cravings and hunger during my windows. During my fasting period however I feel fine, no hunger, no cravings.

However, personally I find it easier to stick to the a meal every 3 hours routine. Also I find I eat much much cleaner this way. So I think it's more important for you to find what works for yourself! If you find you can easily stick to IF and your happy with it, Stick to it! I personally think it's more beneficial then the 3 hour way. I just find IF harder to stick to.

[notanartmajor]

"Starvation Mode" is a myth. Your metabolism is really not affected very much by anything unless you have some very rare disorder.

[catspaw]

We have a huge (albeit kinda overwhelmingly too-huge now) thread dedicated to just that!

The Official Fasting Support Thread

As notanartmajor mentioned, the "if you don't eat constantly you'll go into starvation mode" thing is a myth.

Fasting is a tool that can be useful to control the quantity you eat, by allowing you to have fewer larger meals. There are also some benefits to spending your morning in a fasted state. Personally, I've really gotten a lot of use out of it in the last year. That said, it's not magic -- then again, nothing is.

[Hermione Gainser]

We have a huge (albeit kinda overwhelmingly too-huge now) thread dedicated to just that!

The Official Fasting Support Thread

As notanartmajor mentioned, the "if you don't eat constantly you'll go into starvation mode" thing is a myth.

Fasting is a tool that can be useful to control the quantity you eat, by allowing you to have fewer larger meals. There are also some benefits to spending your morning in a fasted state. Personally, I've really gotten a lot of use out of it in the last year. That said, it's not magic -- then again, nothing is.

The first post of the epic IF thread has links to a lot of helpful resources. So, if you find reading through it is too much, those would be a good place to start if interested in understanding it better (regardless of whether or not you do it).

Otherwise, I 100% agree with what I've bolded above.

[Kirkor]

Just to pile on, yep IF is awesome! I do a shortened feeding window most days, and toss in a 24hr fast every few weeks.

[Goldie]

Thanks everyone.

I decided to give it a go and did a 24 hour fast and I was suprised how effective it was coupled with exercise.

Obviously I doubt very much that it succeeded in driving weight loss but it was odd how fine I felt and how there was no hunger after a while. Also it seemed to help shed a lot of water weight and the following day I felt less 'puffy'.

Definitely will be doing it again if for nothing else but the awesome feeling.

[weirdquark]

You should be careful with the fasting because as Krista from Stumptuous points out, fasting will not work the same way for a woman as it does for a man. So I think long term it may not be a good idea (though it depends on the kind of fast and what else goes on with your body) because it can mess with your hormones (and if your hormones get messed up and you stop producing enough estrogen? You store fat because it's the only estrogen you've got and your body will do whatever it can to hang on to it) but I have had good luck with doing a 24 hour fast once a week to do a small cut for about six weeks and find it more comfortable than other methods of restricting calories.

[Kristen]

I have to step in and add that I'm not a fan of any kind of extreme diet, and IF is one of them that really freaks me out.

I encourage you to read the article weirdquark linked, plus this one. http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/reviews/how-intermittent-fasting-saved-mewhile-slowly-killing-me/

and this one http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/train-man-eat-woman

And, like everything else, if it doesn't work for you, STOP DOING IT. Don't kill yourself trying to make it work. There's not one solution for everyone.

[Hermione Gainser]

Nothing is a one size fits all. It's important for people who have had both good and bad experiences to tell their stories (how horrible for Krista to feel like she was alone in her desire to question IF!), but neither side is the absolute truth.

Honestly, that stumptuous article kinda pissed me off. It sounds like she had some serious issues and some of them may or may not have been related to fasting. I've had great experiences with fasting. My sleep patterns are no different than they were before I fasted and I am not obsessed with food. I don't think about food all the time. I don't count down the seconds until I can break my fast. I don't binge regularly. I don't crave any one macro more than any other. And, if I do, I make the effort to eat a little more of it. It felt a bit like she was insinuating that women can't have anything but a food obsessed, hormone f*cking experience on IF. I'm sure that's not her intent, and I'll chalk that up to my pms (which, btw is much more predictable and regular--the whole cycle-- since I started IF, which was a very unexpected benefit).

If my experiences change, then I have no qualms about looking at my lifestyle and experimenting to figure out what works for me and what doesn't. I'm sorry she had a hard time doing that, but that's not every woman on IF.

With all things, anyone who wants to make a change in their life should research it. We are nerds. That's what we do. Do the research, decide if you think it sounds like something that would fit in your life, try it, adjust as necessary, repeat.

[lyranedara]

I, too, feel Krista blamed IF for problems that resulted from other factors, particularly the low bodyfat levels she was trying to reach. Some women's bodies simply do not function well ultra lean. Other women can feel perfectly normal at 14-15% bodyfat. Just be aware that yes, some women do not react well to fasting, while others are perfectly happy. Personally, IF is what restored my relationship with food. I eat when I'm hungry, and don't when I'm not. I don't watch the clock waiting until my next meal. I never crave a particular food, nor feel the need to binge. My menstrual cycle is actually regular (no PMS, cramping, cravings). I sleep more restfully, and wake up without an alarm. Maybe IF is for you, maybe it isn't. If you'd like to discuss IF with more women who follow this lifestyle, search Facebook for the group "Fierce. Fit. Fearless."

[Kristen]

I don't think the intention of that article was just to knock IF, but to push the more important lesson that if a program isn't working, STOP IT! Quit trying to make it work. Just because something works for a lot of people doesn't mean it works for everyone. Just because it works for you for a while doesn't mean it will continue to work.

...and I have to throw in this disclaimer: I got a little bit of "told you so!" satisfaction out of this recent backlash, because IF really, really, freaks me out. (but so does eating every 3 hours) I know it works for many people, but I think they are an exception rather than the norm. I don't intend to discourage anyone from TRYING it, but I advise extreme caution.

[Atalan]

I don't think the intention of that article was just to knock IF, but to push the more important lesson that if a program isn't working, STOP IT! Quit trying to make it work. Just because something works for a lot of people doesn't mean it works for everyone. Just because it works for you for a while doesn't mean it will continue to work.

...and I have to throw in this disclaimer: I got a little bit of "told you so!" satisfaction out of this recent backlash, because IF really, really, freaks me out. (but so does eating every 3 hours) I know it works for many people, but I think they are an exception rather than the norm. I don't intend to discourage anyone from TRYING it, but I advise extreme caution.

Not eating in the morning freaks you out? I'm confused by this. What about not eating in the morning seems a bad idea?

[Hermione Gainser]

I don't think the intention of that article was just to knock IF, but to push the more important lesson that if a program isn't working, STOP IT! Quit trying to make it work. Just because something works for a lot of people doesn't mean it works for everyone. Just because it works for you for a while doesn't mean it will continue to work.

...and I have to throw in this disclaimer: I got a little bit of "told you so!" satisfaction out of this recent backlash, because IF really, really, freaks me out. (but so does eating every 3 hours) I know it works for many people, but I think they are an exception rather than the norm. I don't intend to discourage anyone from TRYING it, but I advise extreme caution.

I think the stumptuous article was written with a slightly more belligerent tone (i mean, it is listed under rants. i rant plenty so, i get it). But I didn't get that feel from either of the other articles posted (Kaleigh's story, for instance). And, even as an IF fan, I found them beneficial to read. I like perspectives and anecdotes.

But I definitely agree that if people are interested in anything they should do the research and pay attention to how they react when something new is introduced. It's good to have a place where people can say, "oh thank goodness, that didn't work well for me either." But it's also good to have a place where we can say, "hooray, this has done wonderful things."

There was a time when I was extremely skeptical of IF. But the more research I did, the better I came to understand it. It's beneficial, if something concerns us, to learn as much as possible about it. We may not always agree or like it, but it's best to have a well rounded understanding before advising people for or against anything.

[Kristen]

Not eating in the morning freaks you out? I'm confused by this. What about not eating in the morning seems a bad idea?

It's not just not eating in the morning. It's the longer fasts--when it becomes not eating for a day or two at a time.

[Kristen]

We may not always agree or like it, but it's best to have a well rounded understanding before advising people for or against anything.

I'm not advising for or against anything, I'm advising caution.