Awesome way to help you lose body-fat?

WARNING: Do NOT read this or watch the YouTube video if you have an ED or otherwise serious concern relating to food and weight.



So, I found this video, while looking for some tips from the guys who seem to know well. I've been told the same thing guy is refuting: that fasting or simply missing meals will lower your metabolism, thus making your body store onto body-fat as a reserve. After seeing that video, I kinda see how that doesn't even make sense - surely if you skip meals the body would use they very resource it puts aside, rather than continue to store it? Else, what would be the point of the body storing it in the first place?! xD

So, I'm contemplating trying this 1 day a week fasting thing, because I wanna lose weight ("belly-fat", I should say) and the faster the better, within reason. Because I don't work (well, I have a community volunteer job which is pretty active, but that's only every Monday) and have these MH problems, I do tend to--typically--be at home a lot, and that involves activites like being in-front of the computer for hours on end, playing the guitar, and working out almost daily. (resistance and/or cardio for 20-50 minutes 5-6 times a week)

My diet is also pretty good, by the way; I'm sure it's not perfect, but I watch that I get protein, vitamins, I take Omega 3 tablets 1-2 times a day, I occasionally eat fruit, I often eat quite a bit of veg', I try to only take in natural sugars (except in tea and breakfast cereal, which is temporary until I can get some raisins) focus on getting fibre, typically from breakfast, I calorie-count, have a diet-log, and so on.

What are your opinions on fasting, and other related to this?

Has anyone tried this so-called healthy fasting?

Do you also recommend fasting?

Thanks!

I have not consciously fasted, but sometimes I do end up skipping some meals. Fasting occasionally can be good, but not for too long. I do think it's best to consult a doctor first.

When I was a lot younger, I consciously fasted for 24 hours every Sunday-Monday. I chose those days because I usually had relaxed and nourishing meals on Sat through Sunday late afternoon. Then I wouldn't eat until Monday late afternoon. When I broke the fast, I usually did it with fruit and veg first, then several hours later would eat brown rice with fresh vegetables, sesame seed oil (for flavor and healthy oil) and tofu or salmon. I did that regularly for about five years, then got into a permanent relationship and it made it impractical.

I felt great and I did not have problems with my weight or physique. There have been recent reports that fasting properly can reset the immune system in a positive way. Last week my H and I fasted for 24 hours, as I outlined above. We felt really good, but around mid-morning I had some low blood sugar and slow thinking. But it passed.

We just completed our last meal for today and we'll fast for 24 hours. I went to the store and purchased organic oranges, beets, carrots, ginger root and kale, plus a pineapple and some watercress. To break our fast, I'll juice the well-scrubbed raw beets, carrots, ginger, watercress and kale, then mix it in the blender with the pineapple and oranges, so there will be plenty of pulp. With some cayenne pepper. Then a meal as I mentioned above.

When I was in my 20s, I fasted as long as 4 days, in a supervised way. That was too long for me. I hope we can work up to two or three days, max, because that's what the research says gives the best immune system boost. But right now 24 hours is long enough to start. Skipping meals due to stress is not the same thing as healthy fasting. Research done in the past shows people who fast or go on super-low calorie diets for extended periods almost always end up becoming obsessed with food in an unhealthy way. That's what I want to avoid. If I start fantasizing about food or feeling miserable and deprived, I'll stop the experiment. Don't need to add an eating disorder on top of everything else!

I've had episodes in my life where I could not eat (usually related to grief.) That was totally different. I was emotionally upset, full of adrenaline and cortisol, and not sleeping. Not eating just made things worse. That was not a fast. Not eating in response to emotional distress, combined with not sleeping, made me really sick.

Our goal is to give our immune systems a boost. My husband has recently had cancer -- currently in remission -- and we just want to be as healthy as we can be.

I'll let you know how this 24 hour period goes.

We fasted for 24 hours, give or take. Felt fine last night and slept well, but woke up this morning feeling ravenous. By 7:00 a.m. I felt as if I wouldn't make it, so I put an orange in a quart of cold water in the blender and pureed it. Shared it with H. That was all that was needed to get us through. We went to the gym and both had good workouts, although I used lower weights than usual and chose to work my upper body because my leg workout is a killer. Didn't think it would be good to do that while fasting.

Broke the fast with the juice I described in my previous post. I did make a mistake though. Previously, I had set everything up the night before so all I had to do was prepare the fruit/veg to be juiced. I didn't do that last night. I'm not a clean freak, but when it comes to juicing raw foods, I go the extra mile to make sure everything is clean and sanitized before I start. That felt like a major pain this afternoon, a complete ordeal. In reality it took about 15 minutes. If/when we fast again, I'll make sure I do all my prep the night before.

I noticed my frustration tolerance level had grown rather low by the time I was ready to juice and cook. But after eating (brown rice, salmon, carrots, kale, Chinese cabbage, broccoli) I feel really good.

We had hoped to extend the fast by a few hours over what we did last week. Didn't make it. Last week I was not hungry but I was this time. It probably had something to do with what we ate yesterday.

I was also extra thirsty and my mouth did not feel fresh. That didn't improve until I put a few drops of lemon juice in my water. If anyone else tries this, be sure to keep hydrated. We get a certain amount of hydration from the water in the food we eat, as well as the fluids we drink. I had to increase my water by about a quart to quench my thirst and freshen my breath.

If anyone else tries this, I'd love hearing about your experiences. We're still aiming to fast 2-3 days, but for right now 24 hours is good enough. H is enthusiastic. I'm okay with the idea, but not feeling eager beaver. Feeling like making a decision one day at a time will work best for me.

I skip meals, not consciously, just tired and not hungry. I'm up at 6am and work til one then I'm tired so I usually eat two meals a day. It has definitely helped my metabolism, I eat less than I used to and have maintained my weight for eight years!
I think it's harmless honestly. If you don't have an ed and eAt healthy other days go for it!
Btw I've been using my floor like you suggested!

Nice one, atomicc! Keeping kicking butt. What sort of exercises are you doing?

I use to fast in my 20s (back in the 1970s :-) when that fad went by at that time. I would not recommend it for weight loss. I guess if I had 20s and 30s to live over I would spend more time working on my day-to-day healthy eating and habits and less on looking for magic/special diets and trying to fix what wasn't broken. One's body is not an enemy to be subjugated, it's part of one's self.

For us, it's not a fad diet to lose weight. It's about boosting the immune system. My husband is recovering from cancer and he has more treatments ahead to prevent recurrence. I, too, have chronic medical problems related to the immune system that can be life-threatening.



There is scientific evidence that fasting in older people and cancer patients can boost the immune system by shifting stem cells from dormancy into renewed production.

Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system -- ScienceDaily

For us, this is serious business. We're starting slow in order to learn from our mistakes and to find out what works and doesn't work for us, and we're doing it with the approval of our doctors. Cancer doc says it's been known for quite a while that fasting helps treatment but few docs suggest it because it's too hard for people and just makes them feel guilty for failing. We're going to try. Without guilt. Wish us luck!

I did end up actually talking to my step-mother about all this fasting business, and then to her brother, both of them really knowing their stuff. They both were very against it, saying they don't recommend it.

I still don't quite understand why it's not a good idea, but if there's even a chance I could undo hard work or make things worse, I'm not gonna take it. Because of the nature of my workouts, I need to make sure I'm well fed (still dieting, though) so as not to starve my body of they much-needed nutrients to break down and build up my muscles.

I might be OK, at least according to my step-mother and her brother, to fast if I weren't working on muscles, as well. I personally think they're both biased, though, as my step-mother was anorexic when she was a kid (and/or bulimic) and her brother tried to help her; he's the reason she got into fitness and stuff.

That's pretty awesome. You don't need luck - you have each other.

Zwang, Congrats on finding a workout you like and doing it!

We have big concerns, too, about undoing the hard work we've done to build muscle mass.

We wouldn't fast at all to lose weight, just to boost the immune system because of the Big C and immune system disorders. The research does show that two to three days of fasting really can reset the immune system, but ... (let me go look up the research notes.)

But prolonged fasting, as in weeks or months, can be really dangerous. At the end of WWII, the military wanted to know the effects of starvation and the best ways to reverse it so they ran controlled experiments. I learned about this in college nutrition classes. The results of the study:

"Among the conclusions from the study was the confirmation that prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases in depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis as measured using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Indeed, most of the subjects experienced periods of severe emotional distress and depression.[1]:161 There were extreme reactions to the psychological effects during the experiment including self-mutilation (one subject amputated three fingers of his hand with an axe, though the subject was unsure if he had done so intentionally or accidentally).[5] Participants exhibited a preoccupation with food, both during the starvation period and the rehabilitation phase. Sexual interest was drastically reduced, and the volunteers showed signs of social withdrawal and isolation.[1]:123–124 The participants reported a decline in concentration, comprehension and judgment capabilities ...."

Minnesota Starvation Experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Long-term follow-up showed that some of the participants never recovered all the way emotionally. They became obsessed with food and anything that brought on feelings of deprivation (of any kind) could trigger emotional meltdowns. The calories allowed during the semi-starvation period are actually higher than many popular diets allow today. Makes ya' think!

Zwang, your approach of working out to build muscle sounds smart to me. Keep up the good work and thanks for opening this discussion and putting in the warning for people who have ever had an eating disorder. This is dangerous territory and we're treading it with care. It's been helpful to be able to talk about our experience. Thanks.

Good stuff, SnakeCharmer.

Prolonged starvation would very likely also make your body result to desperate measures to get nutrients: muscle-mass. I imagine it'd be more so on someone who isn't overweight, but quite healthy. In your case, though, losing some muscle-mass VS fighting cancer and stuff = no competition. Do what you gotta do, but try not to go OTT... humans do need to eat.

You may find that starving your body of important nutrition will have effects worse than what you're doing this for. If you haven't already done so, look up all the nutrients and you'll get an idea what I mean; they are all so important and each play a roll in our growth and maintenance. I'm quite surprised your doctor is backing this, to be honest, but I guess as long as it's monitored and it's not just a typical case. (although I do wonder why you're doing it, as you don't have nor had cancer, am I right? Or is it a moral support thing?)

If possible, let me know how it goes - be nice to get some insight from people who are actually doing it, and have a doctor backing them.

By the way, I don't believe the test was all that valid, or noteworthy. I think the sanity of some of those people may well have been questionable to start with. I'm just guessing they used soldiers to do this experiment, and back then, perhaps people were very stressed, likely suffering unrecognised/unaccepted/ignored mental-health problems.

Look at all the people with anorexia and stuff who starve themselves; I doubt they are all "mutilating" themselves. I know self-harm is a wide-spread issue, particularly in young people, but given those with eating disorders are (perhaps typically?) that way inclined because they hate how they look/feel and want to change that; they do stuff to make their body look better, in their eyes, as opposed to mutilating it in such a way as to make it look less appealing; that said, I have spoken to quite a lot of self-harmers who are also anorexic, over the years, so I could be way off. (I'm not without understanding on SH, don't get me wrong; I self-harmed for years - 4 or so years clean)

The other results seem somewhat to be expected. If you're starving, you're not going to be interested in anything, because all you can think about--all your body is shouting to you: EAT. I imagine you know what I'm getting at, from your old days of anorexia. I don't think that's a particularly dangerous thing, unless incredibly prolonged, but even so, I'd say you'd die before going insane, due to the severe deprivation of important nutrients.

I'm really starting to understand why some people are so against fasting; I'm trying to appreciate the idea of short-term fasting (24-hours) but any longer, and I lose faith.