Fasting is something humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years.
Gonna nitpick and say modern human behavioral is only 50,000 years old.
Fasting is something humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years.
IF is amazing. I'm currently at around 100 lbs lost since April, primarily due to Tim Ferris' "Slow Carb Diet" and increased gym activity, but IF turned out to be gas on the fire. I lost exactly five pounds every single week (well where I didn't screw up) until I got down to a weight which is healthy for my height. Now I keep the diet and IF around to remain in a holding pattern while I try to turn body fat into muscle.
It was difficult initially honestly, but once I saw a month of it through it just became part of my life. I wake up extremely early almost every day, so skipping breakfast would be a no-go for me. I just feel.. sick and disorganized if I don't eat fairly soon within waking up. My current window is 8am-4pm, which obviously is kind of an early dinner but having an empty stomach seems to improve both my sleep and oddly my dreams.
Yeah, sort of. Usually it's a way to move focus off the self and material desire in order to focus on the divine or religious devotionAnyone know the religious reasons why people did/continue to do fasting? A form of self-sacrifice maybe?
I meant involuntary fasting too :) Hunter/gatherers weren't eating 3 Square meals.Gonna nitpick and say modern human behavioral is only 50,000 years old.
Magic it isn't. It just helps some people eat less.I did this for about three weeks and so no difference in my body or weight. So many of you are so lucky. It seems to work like magic for other people!
If anyone would like to post before and after photos, please do so! I always find those to be great motivators.
Meaning, two water fasts per week, instead of 16/8 daily. I never did that. I do 3 day fasts every season. But that's every three months, instead of fasting 24 hours twice per week.Entered the thread because I was curious about IF, however apparently I already am on it the last 3-4 years. The 16 hour one, since I don't eat breakfast. Eat lunch 12, dinner at 19.
Actually I am near the end of an diet, just an calory counting one.(done diets before so I am comfortable which methods I prefer and used to roughly calculating how much I have eaten.) I am less then an 1 kg from my target weight at 72, will have lost ~10 kg since the start of the diet.
I have done diets before where I do eat breakfast, that worked as well. I can't really say there has been any noticeable difference really between eating and skipping breakfast.
*edit* Something bugged my subconsciousness and I reread the op.
Op you say:
"You can do water fasts for one or two days. Two is pretty hardcore. Never got to that, but one day is rather easy. "
But then later you write:
"I also do 3 day water fasts seasonally"
Are some of the things you write quotes from someone else or?
Meaning, two water fasts per week, instead of 16/8 daily. I never did that. I do 3 day fasts every season. But that's every three months, instead of fasting 24 hours twice per week.
I did about a year of lifting fasted and I've just recently switched back. I'm fairly certain it was affecting my lifts.Does anybody else fast on workout days? Did some pretty intense lifting this morning but planning on doing 20/4 again.
Some caffeine is okay, even beneficial, but excessive caffeine consumption can mess with your fast and negatively affect your gut. Consider taking your caffeine early and switching to decaf later in the day.I'm in the midst of my first fast for like a year thanks to this thread. Doing a solid 24 hours right now and I'm pounding coffee
4 hours. May try that. So dinner time.Some caffeine is okay, even beneficial, but excessive caffeine consumption can mess with your fast and negatively affect your gut. Consider taking your caffeine early and switching to decaf later in the day.
Also, coffee in the AM and decaf green tea with ginseng later, is a pretty great approach I've found.
Anyway I've been 4 hr eating window for eight months, and I'm never going back. Good luck people.
Evening is actually better (if you're trying to maximize natural HGH production/benefits) and it just works for me. But I usually still eat twice. I start with the vegetables (aiming for 6-7 cups) and also take my supplements. About an hour or two later I eat the high fat / moderate protein meal. I've also incorporated some of the time restricted eating schedule (different than IF but they aren't mutually exclusive) so after that second meal, until noon the following day, I only consume water. At noon I take my black coffee and other IF compatible beverages.
The small eating window does purposely limit the amount of calories you can eat without feeling overburdened, however there are physiological differences between Fasting vs. just Eating Less (low calorie diets). For example, those that will eat 1,200-1,500 calories a day may feel like they're constantly hungry whereas you'll actually feel less hungry if you don't eat anything at all. Sounds crazy, but it's explained in the video below. I highly recommend anyone watch this video:
Personally I've been doing 16/8 IF such as in the OP for 5 years now and can NEVER go back. Lifestyle and social benefits, morning productivity and clarity, meal prep time saving -- and that is just from a convenience perspective compared to eating every 2-3 hours and having 4-6 meals a day. Not to mention the additional health benefits fasting provides such as autophagy (the body's ability to self-clean by hunting and eating old, diseased, and worn-out cells).
Alcohol?
During the fast window, you don't eat anything. Many people *think* they're fasting, but they actually aren't. They put sugar in their coffee, or othersuch consumption, that breaks their fast, incorrectly thinking it was a negligible addition/additive. You do that, and you're negating many of the benefits of fasting. You either have to understand what consumption is compatible with a fast, or you err on the side of caution and just don't consume anything that triggers an isulin (or any metabolic) response.In that video they say to not eat anything at all. That sounds like a great way to die.
Remember, you should be eating the same amount of calories for your goals. It's just the eating window that is smaller.I tried IF about 2 months ago and maintained it for about a month, which I saw as a decent first try. I liked the results it had on my physique but I had zero energy throughout it.
Thing is, in my window of eating I did aim to do that most days but there's only so much I can eat in say a 6 hour window.Remember, you should be eating the same amount of calories for your goals. It's just the eating window that is smaller.
That's why you should go with an 8 hour window.Thing is, in my window of eating I did aim to do that most days but there's only so much I can eat in say a 6 hour window.