do u think this kind fasting is a good idea for losing weight?

[sibut]

I do a 3 day fast twice a month, just drinking lemon water. I also eat low carb most of the rest of the time and have occasional cheat days. I've lost ~150 pounds in the past year. Intermittent fasting is unenjoyable as fuck but it's very effective.

[Simca]

Intermittent fasting is really effective. I've tried it for brief stints here and there, even with eating very high fat/calorie foods on off days. It's been a significant net weight loss every time I've tried it.

I think the key to making it less miserable is to find a very very low calorie beverage (so that your daily calorie intake stays below 500) that you like the taste of. For me, I switched from Coke to Coke Zero and adapted to the taste over a couple of weeks. (Strangely, now Coke tastes awful to me and Coke Zero tastes like Coke used to, as if my taste buds adapted to my expectations.) On my 'on' days, I just drink a dozen or so cans of Coke Zero and sometimes eat maybe a 150-calorie pack of crackers in the middle of the day. By the time you're really starting to feel uncomfortable, it'll be late at night and you can just go to bed.

[Gurum]

you don't actually need that. Sometimes it is enough to stop eatting after 19PM and a couple of workouts in the gym.

[EntertainmentNihilist]

To the people who don't seem to understand why somebody would want to do this:

Calorie-Counting every day of your life for the rest of your life sounds like a living hell to some people (including me). I don't want to constantly be on a diet at all times. But eating normally most of the time, and intensely working on weight in small bursts is preferable.

Frankly, if it's a choice between being fat and maybe dying 20 years earlier vs. being on a perpetual non-stop diet, I would choose the former. I get that having a consistent diet is "healthier" (as in, there is some *measurable* health benefit), but obsessing over being perfectly healthy is pointless.

[Fatbeaverlol]

Weekly intake matters more. Just count your calories. 6 days of a steady dieet 1 day of a cheat of 500-1000 calories extra.
My cutting dieet was 2600 calories for 6 days and 3500-3600 on a cheat day. I always ate more on a cheat day. ( rofl )
I fasted from 6:30 till like 12 or something, 18:00 or later.
Ate most calories in the evening. Went from 13% to 7,1%.

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To the people who don't seem to understand why somebody would want to do this:

Calorie-Counting every day of your life for the rest of your life sounds like a living hell to some people (including me). I don't want to constantly be on a diet at all times. But eating normally most of the time, and intensely working on weight in small bursts is preferable.

Frankly, if it's a choice between being fat and maybe dying 20 years earlier vs. being on a perpetual non-stop diet, I would choose the former. I get that having a consistent diet is "healthier" (as in, there is some *measurable* health benefit), but obsessing over being perfectly healthy is pointless.

If you want to lose weight in a normal way its pretty usefull to count the calories. You dont have to do it your whole life. But when you want to lose weight its pretty usefull to know what you eat. Look at competitive bodybuilding.
I fast half a day in several cutting weeks just so i can eat a big meal later in the evening that feels very satisfying. 1,450 calorie meal in a cut awesome.

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Yes. But the question is *how* you achieve the caloric deficit.

The reason the original 5-2 diet is so successful is because it requires you to calorie count on only two days out of every seven. So long as you eat/drink 'sensibly' on the remaining five days, you will still achieve significant weight loss.

It's much more practical.

Mondays / Thursdays - those are my 600 cal days. I know exactly what I have to do. They're not fun, I get through them. The remaining five days: woohoo. I do what I like while trying to stick to some basic rules: 1) No snacks in the evening 2) Avoid carbs as much a possible 3) Avoid all junk/processed food 4) only drink gin & slimline tonic. 25ml gin (2cal per ml) + 150ml Fever-Tree light = 72.5 calories

It's definitely each to their own. But I found the whole MyFitnessPal / counting and consuming 1600 cals per day on a permanent basis completely impossible & unmanageable. Intermittent fasting is definitely a lot easier, for me.

Lol dude i aint a scientist but 600 calories well 1200 since you eat on monday and thursday. Thats way to low. No idea if you are a male or female but i think you should get a blood check. A male needs a certain amount of fats in the body same for females. If females eat a low amount like that they wont even get their monthly period.
The thing what you are doing is prolly giving alot of damage to the body.

[Athredas]

Plain 8/16 IF is the simplest solution for fat loss. If you eat clean, it's simply too hard to overeat in an 8 hours window. Just don't believe the ridiculous bullshit some of the "intermittent fasting experts" claim, like how it can cure cancer and boost testosterone by 200%.

[Bigbazz]

If we're giving anecdotal evidence, I did intermittent fasting a few years a go (16-20 hours every day) and now I loosely stick to the method (just not strictly). My health improved, immune system improved, I lost weight and I was able to take up cycling again because the inflammation issue hurting my knee eased off a lot. In addition to that I stopped getting food cravings and adapted to where I didn't feel the need for breakfast (and still don't) and can function fine for long periods without food, including during exercise, it's difficult at the start but your body just adapts after a while.

I always say do your own research on stuff like this, I did mine and it's hilarious how much absolute shite people spout out regarding their perceived negatives of doing fasting based diets without themselves having read any of the research material, or advice from experts. It effectively changed how my body works for the better, I struggled to not be overweight my entire life and now I don't even track my calories and I'm at my ideal weight, fit and healthy and my weight has been the same for a few years.

There is an overwhelming amount of positive research out there from specialists, while the mainstream is still largely clueless on the topic there is nothing stopping you reading the research.

[LeGin Tufnel]

/snip

I find there's nothing better than a few strips of beaver jerky to stave off hunger.

It's not quite cow, but it does fill a hole.

[Alvito]

fast one day, eat normal another, fast one day, eat normal another... do u think this is good for losing weight?

Like that no, not at all. That is a great way to make your body flip flop in and out of starvation mode and kill your metabolism. How and what you eat after you fast can completely sink the fast.

[RobertoCarlos]

I wouldnt jump into the deep end of the pool right away. Start off by eating less and less in the morning and seeing how long you can go before you need a decent meal.

I dont get hungry till about 10-11am in the morning. But after a period of about 20-30mins the hunger passes then I can go till about 3-4-5pm in the afternoon depending on how busy work is. Some days you'll naturally be hungrier than other days.

Couple weeks into a month and its no sweat. I sometimes eat a banana in the morning if im feeling super hungry and I know its gonna be a busy day then have a dinner after work and thats me done

[D2trophy]

I doN't think its something you can maintain in long term, seems like torture

[martygraham]

it'll work for the short term but not great long term. based on what I know, it's all about eating healthier (avoiding fatty, processed, and junk foods + sugar).

[KevinMcCabe]

I have been doing intermittent fasting for a while now. Not much success so far. I stay hungry for hours and then usually I binge I food. Also drinking black tea makes me more hungry.

[alexa01]

This is a wrong way to lose weight. I don’t suggest this

[Dakara]

So much misinformation in this thread from now debunked theories... but I can't really blame anyone for regurgitating it, we've all had it drummed into us for decades and people are often resistant to change their ways and let go of long held beliefs.

10 years ago I would of said 100% to eat less, move more. I would of warned of "starvation mode" (FFS this needs to die) and agreed with so many in this thread. Why? Because eat less move more worked for me... when I was 25. At 40, after several injuries and years of bad habbits, I was surprised to discover that what worked in my 20's no longer did. Why? Insulin Resistance.

Firstly, there's plenty of research into Fasting for those who want to find it, infact it's a proven method to help reverse type 2 diabetes. Just google fasting and insulin resistance for starters. What can mess up your metabolism is extremely low calorie diets as they still cause an increase in insulin (limiting your bodies ability to burn fat) but don't provide enough food energy. As such, your metabolism slows, you feel like crap and barely lose any weight.

Fasting however, (the absence of food entirely) promotes our body to do exactly what it was designed to do... burn body fat in the absence of food. Thus, your metabolism isn't effected. This is how Humans survived for centuries before the modern world had us eating 3 - 6 times per day. In the presence of Insulin, our bodies store fat and burn food.

Now, I'm not saying "just don't for a week" to lose weight. But putting down the fork for a period of time and condensing your food intake to 2 meals per day could help lower insulin and promote weight loss. Longer fasts, as used to help treat diabetes can also reverse insulin resistance caused by years of bad eating habits.

Personally, I found the 16:8 method (which has become a bit of a fad) helped stop my bad heating habits from shift working, but when I started doing 1-3 36hr fasts each week I finally managed to lose the weight... and keep it off.

As for eating every other day suggested in the OP, some people do it and it works, but it's too extreme and rigid for me. I liked the flexibility of choosing my fast days based on my work and social calendar. Day on Day off just wouldn't work for me. Also, as someone who suffered from Binge eating, allowing myself 4-5 days of normal eating seemed to keep the cravings at bay and prevent binging. When I tried OMAD (one meal a day) for example, I got little results due to binges.

[sean47]

fast one day, eat normal another, fast one day, eat normal another... do u think this is good for losing weight?

It depends upon your level of fitness, and what kind of goals you are trying to achieve. In my case I preferred the whole week plan, which was fully resonated with my workout plan and other lifestyle habits.