Topic: My Skeptical alarms are going off......intermittent fasting guys? (Eat Stop Eat)

[341gerbig]

Just about every diet "works." The trouble is, no one can stay on them for long.

I did know a woman who managed to use something like this and had great success with it. Hilda married young to a jerk. She then gained a prodigious amount of weight, becoming morbidly obese over several years. About four years in, she divorced Mr. Jerk, and decided to get down to fighting trim. She fasted every other day, and on alternate days ate reasonably. Inside a few months, Hilda would have looked at home on the pages of Playboy.

But, that was years ago and I haven't seen her since. These things usually don't turn out well in the long term. I have serious doubts as to the health effects of starvation diets.

There is a big difference between every second day and 1-2 days per week.

Although there is no long term studies i could find on intermittent dieting, but studies have followed people on a 2 day a week fast for 3 years and it impacted their general health positively.

And do your doubts come from a rational base? or just a gut feeling about "starvation diets"

[lonely moa]

Regardless of whether this works--I'm with plastique, it sounds awful. I get light-headed and grouchy if I go 5 hours without eating, let alone 12, nevermind 24.

I'd hate to wake up next to you after you had been fasting overnight for 10 or 12 hours.

[lonely moa]

There is more than one take on intermittent fasting.  I like the PB take... just miss the odd meal once in a while.  Doesn't do much for weight loss, but it keeps your body on it's toes.  And it is very nice to be able to go from tea at 1900, wake up (not hungry) go for a ride, work till noon and eat a nice lunch and carry on.

[341gerbig]

There is more than one take on intermittent fasting.  I like the PB take... just miss the odd meal once in a while.  Doesn't do much for weight loss, but it keeps your body on it's toes.  And it is very nice to be able to go from tea at 1900, wake up (not hungry) go for a ride, work till noon and eat a nice lunch and carry on.

PB?

[pandamonium]

Regardless of whether this works--I'm with plastique, it sounds awful. I get light-headed and grouchy if I go 5 hours without eating, let alone 12, nevermind 24.

I'd hate to wake up next to you after you had been fasting overnight for 10 or 12 hours.

I am a terribly angry person in the morning, actually.

[lonely moa]

There is more than one take on intermittent fasting.  I like the PB take... just miss the odd meal once in a while.  Doesn't do much for weight loss, but it keeps your body on it's toes.  And it is very nice to be able to go from tea at 1900, wake up (not hungry) go for a ride, work till noon and eat a nice lunch and carry on.

PB?

Primal Blueprint

[neurotraveller]

A recent interview with David B. Agus, M.D. on Dr. Kiki's Science Hour discussed a bit about how changing up your eating schedule is actually much worse for your health. You're better off eating right while in a set routine.

[Plastique]

A recent interview with David B. Agus, M.D. on Dr. Kiki's Science Hour discussed a bit about how changing up your eating schedule is actually much worse for your health. You're better off eating right while in a set routine.

What does "worse for your health" mean?

[neurotraveller]

A recent interview with David B. Agus, M.D. on Dr. Kiki's Science Hour discussed a bit about how changing up your eating schedule is actually much worse for your health. You're better off eating right while in a set routine.

What does "worse for your health" mean?

It was a brief interview, so he didn't go into too many details, but I'd suggest listening to it yourself? You can also check out his book here

http://www.amazon.com/The-End-of-Illness-ebook/dp/B004T4KQYS

Generally, when you eat less regularly, your body doesn't know how to handle it and will store more fats and such, generally making your general health and weight worse. When you eat right and on a regular daily schedule, your body will fall into that and expect that, thus making it easier to regulate your weight, energy, etc.

[341gerbig]

A recent interview with David B. Agus, M.D. on Dr. Kiki's Science Hour discussed a bit about how changing up your eating schedule is actually much worse for your health. You're better off eating right while in a set routine.

What does "worse for your health" mean?

It was a brief interview, so he didn't go into too many details, but I'd suggest listening to it yourself? You can also check out his book here

http://www.amazon.com/The-End-of-Illness-ebook/dp/B004T4KQYS

Generally, when you eat less regularly, your body doesn't know how to handle it and will store more fats and such, generally making your general health and weight worse. When you eat right and on a regular daily schedule, your body will fall into that and expect that, thus making it easier to regulate your weight, energy, etc.

Seems strange that our body wouldn't know what to do, when we were hunter/gathers, we didn't eat every day.....

[neurotraveller]

When we were hunter/gatherers we were constantly active, so it wasn't exactly an issue. However, with the sedentary lifestyle most people tend to have these days, we need to regulate our bodies. Eating and sleeping on a regular schedule is a big part of that. We aren't hunter/gatherers now. Nor does the fact that, during part of human history, we were hunter/gatherers mean that our entire system is tuned to that evolutionarily. Remember, not all evolutionary traits are beneficial, and if one trait is present but, as in the case where during that time we wouldn't need to worry about how our body responds to a sedentary lifestyle, the trait isn't overtly harmful, then it won't necessarily be selected against either.

[LumpyFish]

Sometimes I skip lunch, get home from work at around 5:30 and eat dinner around 6:30 or 7:00

Admittly, I am hungry when I get home, but I cook my dinner and eat that time.

I find that if I eat lunch at work I am often still hungry when I get home, so sometimes skipping helps me eat less calories (I don't over compensate with a larger-than-average dinner)

[neurotraveller]

Sometimes I skip lunch, get home from work at around 5:30 and eat dinner around 6:30 or 7:00

Admittly, I am hungry when I get home, but I cook my dinner and eat that time.

I find that if I eat lunch at work I am often still hungry when I get home, so sometimes skipping helps me eat less calories (I don't over compensate with a larger-than-average dinner)

It's definitely best not to over-compensate. I skip lunch myself often enough if work is busy. Basically, when you're on a regular schedule, your body expects food at certain times. When you aren't on a regular schedule, your body will store more fats for energy because it doesn't know when you'll eat next. In the case of hunter/gatherers in the evolutionary chain, it would have done the exact same thing, except with their active lifestyle, they'd burn those fats off pretty easily. Now, if you're eating at random, and your body stores extra fats, you aren't necessarily burning it off, which reduces energy and increases weight. If you can eat and sleep on a regular schedule and keep semi-active, you can regulate pretty well and your body will work with you instead of against you.

[LumpyFish]

I always thought that this 'starvation mode' and things and their effects are vastly over exaggerated, but I don't know.

[Plastique]

When you aren't on a regular schedule, your body will store more fats for energy because it doesn't know when you'll eat next.

For prolonged periods of starvation, sure. But the effect of a day of fasting here and there, or the occasional skipped meal, is negligible at most.