Fasting thread-- is this an anorexic / extreme weight loss idea?

[Anonymous]

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/405317.page

Admittedly I am not familiar with this "program," but when people are talking about not eating, and feeling faint, it doesn't sound safe. I'm not sure we should be providing a forum for anorexics or others with food issues to share ideas about "fasting."

[Anonymous]

Why don't you do a bit of "research" on the "diet" before deciding it's not "safe" and hinting that we should shut the thread down? I mean, if you're that concerned about your fellow DCUMers' welfare, you could at least read a wikipedia article. Here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermittent_fasting

[Anonymous]

IFing is safe and effective. Real fasting - multiple days of no calories - is not. Big difference. I IF'd a few years ago and found it tolerable as a diet and effective for slow and steady weight loss. Two days a week, I didn't eat after dinner on, say Tuesday, then skipped breakfast and lunch Wednesday and ate a normal dinner on Wed. Google "Eat Stop Eat" and "Brad Pilon Blog" to get more info. It is definitely not for anorexics. The fasting period is so short, relatively speaking, that it does no metabolic damage, and since the caloric reduction on a weekly basis is about 20%, it works the same as a regular 500-calorie-per-day reduction - but without the need to count calories on a daily basis.

[Anonymous]

I think there are a lot of people with food and control issues here. Many posters demonstrate seriously disordered eating in the way they perceive certain foods or adhere crazily to very strict diets. I generally approve of people eating healthy, whole foods, but any time someone posts condescending remarks about "processed foods" and crows about how much they love Trader Joe's, I cringe because it seems like they have a very poor understanding of what "processed" really means.

My experience is that any change in diet require adjustment. When I was overeating, I was starving after one dinner because my body was used to receiving seconds, or dessert, or a snack. If you go from consuming 3000 calories/day to consuming 1800 calories/day, you are going to feel hungry. If you go from 1800 calories/day to 500 calories/day, you are going to feel hungry. It takes a few days to adjust to any new dietary behavior.