OP. It was a disaster for me (female). Lost a lot of muscle. I understand it can be effective for a 20 something woman but as we age it's a bad idea. Not a clue about pro's and con's for guys.

Anonymous wrote:I've read that it's only effective insofar as you're restricting calories, which you could do on any timeline.

I still find it a little easier to cut breakfast because I tend to just eat carbs and dairy and it's my least nutritionally dense meal, and of course not drinking and snacking at night helps. But I haven't seen strong effects.

If you eat a paleo/keto diet it helps you go into ketosis and burn fat. But if you’re not, then you are correct technically. But even when I’m eating rice and potatoes, I still like it. I think it helps regulate my metabolism…but it’s a feeling, not evidence.

OP here. This is helpful. I'm thinking of trying two fasting (or one meal at 500 calories) days per week.

I've tried that in the past and lost a small amount of weight, but I spread the calories through the day instead of one meal. I also didn't really watch what I ate the other days, so I am gonna try that with a healthier diet.

Has anyone tried 5-2 IF? How'd it go?

Anonymous wrote:I've read that it's only effective insofar as you're restricting calories, which you could do on any timeline.

I still find it a little easier to cut breakfast because I tend to just eat carbs and dairy and it's my least nutritionally dense meal, and of course not drinking and snacking at night helps. But I haven't seen strong effects.

That’s what I’ve read too, as far as losing weight goes at least. If you do IF for 12-18 hours but eat your normal calories in the remaining window, you’re not going to lose weight.

But, there’s research claiming IF has lots of health benefits too, like regulating your metabolism. Michael Moseley’s book cites a few studies that say it throws you into keto after about the 14th hour, so you get the metabolism boost without the unhealthy diet.

I've read that it's only effective insofar as you're restricting calories, which you could do on any timeline.

I still find it a little easier to cut breakfast because I tend to just eat carbs and dairy and it's my least nutritionally dense meal, and of course not drinking and snacking at night helps. But I haven't seen strong effects.

Will add I was always thin growing up, and mid 40s/post 3 kids I am the same weight as I was in college.

I've been doing this since before it was a "thing." I've never felt like I *have* to eat first thing in the morning for as long as I can remember. It would drive my Mom crazy that I would not eat before school. I don't feel hungry until 11am-1pm. I usually have a herbal tea in the AM or an 8oz green juice (all greens no carrots/apple/beet to add sugar) and go on with my day. At night I stop eating by 7pm unless we have a late dinner out (rarely happens here in the US, mostly when we travel.)

I don't think it helps or hurts, for me. My BIL swears by it, though. He does extreme days-long fasts to keep his weight in check and "reset".

I did IF and lost a lot of weight but like a PP, I also cut out refined sugar carbs and kept whole grain carbs to very little or once a week. No sugar and limited alcohol to once a week a drink or two.

I tried fasting for 16 hours - for a year. Nothing happened. No weight loss, no blood glucose changes. It's just a fad.

Yes. I was a 210 lb 5’10” 30 year old male with high blood pressure that was maxed out on meds. Next step was “pre-diabetes.” Intermittent fasted and paleo got me down to 175 in 6 months. I’m mid 40s and every time I come off the routine the weight comes back, but if I’m diligent it stays off and I don’t crave junk. I don’t eat after 8 pm or before 11 am. It’s just skipping breakfast.

What’s I’ve found is simply intermittent fasting (skipping breakfast) isn’t enough for. I have to keep to a paleo style diet - no gluten, no sugary foods, no dairy protein (cheese, milk), etc. once I got to a healthy weight I was able to maintain with sporadic rice, potatoes, and other non gluten starches.

I fast 14-16 hours. It helps me not gain weight. It hasn’t helped me lose weight.

I started doing it to lose weight, which was not effective for me (extreme insulin resistance), but now that I'm on Zepbound, I do it because my digestion is slow.

I try to fast for 18-20 hours one day per week. It’s been awesome for me, have lost a meaningful amount of weight and it really wasn’t that difficult once I got used to it.

If so - what was your schedule and results?