intermittent fasting

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP of the "hangry" thread. 5'11, 34 year old female, 50 pounds of baby weight to lose.

The fasting idea is really appealing to me. I'm not that hungry in the morning anyway. I'm usually too busy making breakfast/serving breakfast for my toddler and baby, plus cleaning and unloading the dishwasher, etc etc. I usually don't eat until well into the morning and even then I'm not famished.

So, this might work for me. I freaking hate finding healthy breakfast ideas too. I just want a bowl of cereal if anything.

Can someone point me to a website with more info on WHY this "works"?

Or, can someone write up a book summary for me?

I have weight to lose, two babies at home, and therefore no time to read a book about this.

[Anonymous]

I read The Obesity Code by Dr Fung. Basically he says it's not as simple as calories in/out. Weight gain/loss is dependent on insulin levels. Fasting is a way to do this. He goes way in depth about how the body processes food but that stuff went over my head. Coffee is fine. Black coffee is best but if milk helps you comply then it's ok. Diet sodas are not fine (sugar subs raise your insulin). Some people do 2 days of fasting to five eating. I do 16:8, do basically I eat from noon-8. Around ten I may feel hungry, but I drink water, stay busy and it goes away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read The Obesity Code by Dr Fung. Basically he says it's not as simple as calories in/out. Weight gain/loss is dependent on insulin levels. Fasting is a way to do this. He goes way in depth about how the body processes food but that stuff went over my head. Coffee is fine. Black coffee is best but if milk helps you comply then it's ok. Diet sodas are not fine (sugar subs raise your insulin). Some people do 2 days of fasting to five eating. I do 16:8, do basically I eat from noon-8. Around ten I may feel hungry, but I drink water, stay busy and it goes away.

What happens if you DO eat something? Like, if I *forget* and eat a sweet potato square, does it throw off the whole thing?

[Anonymous]

Dr Fung seems to be the most visible expert - though there is a lot of other researchers/science who say some form of fasting has health benefits. I read his book Obesity Code which was a lot on the why and then the complete guide to fasting. guide to fasting was the more helpful on the how, though gave condensed science. Believe there are you tube videos, podcasts, etc. and there are book summaries on amazon (not sure how great they are).

I always thought it would be hard for me as I get low blood sugar easily (bad genes/ pre-diabetic but never bmi overweight), run & work out a lot, and crazy work/kid schedule. But once you start, it does get easy really fast. I have around 15+ lbs to lose but not expecting fast weight loss. I worked slowly up to 16:8 (16 hours fast, 8 hour window to eat). If my schedule is tough, some days its just 14:10. I think with the 16:8, you don't lose weight that fast - I've lost about 3 lb in 2 weeks. Some of the other fasts, you lose more faster and his guide walks you through the options. I get the impression that a lot of people who follow him tend to do certain types of diets with fasting, but it doesn't seem a requirement. He also has a great attitude about the social aspect of this - there are days to "feast" and to celebrate life, it shouldn't be a restraint.

I like to eat an early dinner than fast until later morning. I still do a 5:30 workout with this method and I feel fine. I have 2 tablespoons of whole milk with espresso (he write 2 tablespoons in book is fine) and make it to late am. At least at the beginning, you do need to make sure you "eat enough" especially at last meal or else it feels long.

There are many variations of fasting. 5:2 is really popular in UK (mentioned by pp). 5 days regular eating, 2 days fasting -So there are books/blogs on that.

If you are not that hungry in the am, it should feel pretty natural to you.

Btw - It makes me feel so much better - I think I would do it even if there were no weight loss benefits. The other medical benefits are reason enough to try it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read The Obesity Code by Dr Fung. Basically he says it's not as simple as calories in/out. Weight gain/loss is dependent on insulin levels. Fasting is a way to do this. He goes way in depth about how the body processes food but that stuff went over my head. Coffee is fine. Black coffee is best but if milk helps you comply then it's ok. Diet sodas are not fine (sugar subs raise your insulin). Some people do 2 days of fasting to five eating. I do 16:8, do basically I eat from noon-8. Around ten I may feel hungry, but I drink water, stay busy and it goes away.

What happens if you DO eat something? Like, if I *forget* and eat a sweet potato square, does it throw off the whole thing?

As I understand it, unless its very small - it "breaks the fast", which means your insulin/hormones start kicking in - but that's explained more in books. If that happens, then you just go to regular eating and start the fast again that night (if you doing something like 16:8). Most people shape the hours that work for them and you are sleeping for half the hours. Your body gets more used to it that it's not hungry and doesn't forget. And its perfectly ok not to have a "fast" day. Note: Dr. Fung and other doctors try to do a lot on trying to get people not to be dangerous or go crazy with fasting. It needs to be a healthy approach.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Fung, btw, is not a diabetes doctor and his science is iffy. He's a nephrologist.

Intermittent fasting is permission to skip breakfast, if you need it. I generally skip breakfast because I find that I get hungry for lunch when I have breakfast. Generally, though, the way to lose weight is to cut calories a lot, not just skip breakfast or, in a more extreme form of IF, only eat one large meal per day.

[Anonymous]

Sure, skipping breakfast is a genius idea.

http://time.com/4786181/skipping-breakfast-health-benefits/

[Anonymous]

I restrict calories when I am trying to lose weight (roughly 1200 calories a day not counting fruits or vegetables), and I typically skip breakfast because it's just an easy way to consume less calories. I am not that hungry in the morning, so I want to 'save' breakfast calories for later. If I get hungry, I have a boiled egg or a banana before lunch. Basically, I skip breakfast, and for lunch & dinner, one of them is a normal meal and the other one is a healthy one with no carb, depending on my schedule that day. Have no idea if this is healthy, just doing it for pure vanity reasons.

[Anonymous]

Dr Andy berg is local and I have binge watched his you tube videos to learn more about intermittent fasting.


https://youtu.be/lwCRjwDs1Ek

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dr Andy berg is local and I have binge watched his you tube videos to learn more about intermittent fasting.


https://youtu.be/lwCRjwDs1Ek

Dr. Eric Berg!

[Anonymous]

Dr Fung doesn’t base his opinions on sound science. There is some evidence that fasting greater than 16+ hrs isn’t ideal for women. I follow a keto diet and do occasionally do a 24 hr fast, mostly as a reset and for the autopahagy. But, I will eat close to my normal calories on that day. If you’re looking to lose fifty lbs, look at calories in/calories out and at the quality of your calories. I lost weight by counting calories and being keto means my calories are more filling and energizing.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I fast between breakfast and lunch, and then between lunch and dinner, and then between dinner and breakfast.

I also don't eat too much carbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure, skipping breakfast is a genius idea.

http://time.com/4786181/skipping-breakfast-health-benefits/

You posted an article that says they think IF could cause inflammation and "needs further research?" That does not deserve the eye roll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dr Fung doesn’t base his opinions on sound science. There is some evidence that fasting greater than 16+ hrs isn’t ideal for women. I follow a keto diet and do occasionally do a 24 hr fast, mostly as a reset and for the autopahagy. But, I will eat close to my normal calories on that day. If you’re looking to lose fifty lbs, look at calories in/calories out and at the quality of your calories. I lost weight by counting calories and being keto means my calories are more filling and energizing.

Oh please. His science is sound and he also has more clinical experience with women fasting than any other clinician in North America. Literally more than a thousand women, most of whom very safely and successfully fast beyond 16 hours with only health benefits. I'm one of them. I read a lot of the women fasting scaremongering online and then I read about how many women are in Dr. Fung's practice and decided to go with someone with actual real world experience. I regularly do 16:8's and 18:6's, do usually two 36-42 hour fasts per week, and fast 3-5 days to start each month. My markers just get better every month, and I feel great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dr. Fung, btw, is not a diabetes doctor and his science is iffy. He's a nephrologist.

Intermittent fasting is permission to skip breakfast, if you need it. I generally skip breakfast because I find that I get hungry for lunch when I have breakfast. Generally, though, the way to lose weight is to cut calories a lot, not just skip breakfast or, in a more extreme form of IF, only eat one large meal per day.

IF is much more than just skipping breakfast, though that is one model. A better model is actually eating breakfast and lunch and then fasting through to the next breakfast; it aligns better with natural cortisol and glucose spikes. And there are many other types.

Dr. Fung's nephrology practice is mostly people with T2D since diabetes is the #1 cause of kidney disease. He's not a board-certified endocrinologist, but he has vast clinical experience with reversing Type 2 diabetes through LCHF diets and fasting.