Just did a 24hr fast for the 1st time in my life

[laz0001]

How was your first chocolate bar after the fast?

 

[USA!USA!]

I've done 15-16 hour fasting but not 24-48.

It seems to help with my digestion and also if I do it right I am less hungry once my body adjusts and I consume less calories.

 

[Jumpy]

I fast every single day. Didnt even start doing it intentionally just kind of fell into it and dont like eating during the day anymore.

I only eat at 2am-4am right before bed.

Isn't that actually not good for you though? Eating right before bed. Your metabolism has slowed down to a crawl at that point, making it harder for the food to digest. I'm just speculating here.

 

[ToxicShocker]

During my days of drinking about a fifth a day, i once went at least 2 weeks without eating a single thing. I did drink lots of water and take multivitamins. I actually didn't lose a single pound.

They say liquor is calories but I dont get it. I drank ~9-12 shots of gin or whiskey every night for 3 years (My BMI was fit). When I quit I didn't lose a pound.

I wonder if beer calories are different then hard alcohol calories

 

[90three]

24 hour fast is actually beneficial. I was reading that 24 fast is actually the minimum for cellular regeneration. anything less is just pseudoscience.

 

[IloveTHIS]

Isn't that actually not good for you though? Eating right before bed. Your metabolism has slowed down to a crawl at that point, making it harder for the food to digest. I'm just speculating here.

My theory is that because my body is essentially starved by that point, it works overtime to to digest the food. I also believe I retain more of the nutrients from the food. When your body doesn't get much of something or doesn't get it very often it has built in checks and balances, so when it does finally get those nutrients it makes them count as much as possible.


Is it good for me? I don't know. All I can say is I'm 27 and people say I look 18, and I have around 7% bodyfat eating anything I want when I do finally eat.


I'm not an expert on this shit by any means. its just an eating habit I naturally/instinctively settled on. For hundreds of thousands of years humans didn't have the ability to eat all day long multiple times whenever they wanted. They went hours or days with out food before finally taking down a buffalo or whatever.

 

[MikeMcMann]

Whut? Exercising or just moving in cold weather increases energy expenditure because your body has to expend energy to maintain its' temperature. Hot weather just makes you sweat and lose water.

Eating 3 squares a day + snacks is cultural, there's no scientific evidence that this is the frequency that the body feels most comfortable with. In fact there's plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Whenever there's insulin in the blood, even a small amount, it blocks cells from being able to release fat entirely. People who graze throughout the day, usually with foods that spike insulin (carbs + protein), have their insulin up constantly. Because the body can't access fat stores, people quickly feel hungry again and eating more snacks is the only way to get more calories. When people do this every day for years, there's too much insulin and the cell receptors that are meant to receive it become desensitized, the person becomes insulin resistant. Now that person constantly has insulin levels that are too high, even when they haven't eaten anything. Because even a little bit of insulin in the blood prevents the body from having access to fat stores, the person constantly feels hungry and grazes. And this starts the vicious circle of metabolic syndrome, where the person becomes overweight and obese, is incapable of losing any weight, is constantly hungry and constantly eating.

What fasting does, whether it's intermittent or short-term, is that it allows the body to take a break and reset its' insulin system, which is beneficial for people in western countries who are overfed. And with short-term fasting, e.g. 24 hours+, you get the additional benefits of autophagy (the body breaking down and recycling damaged cells) and neurogenesis.

Now if we were in a third world country and nobody was eating properly, I'm not sure fasting would have that much benefits. But I think the bodies of people in western countries are saying "Please stop, oh my GOD are you eating cake again? Stop, please. Gimme a break." I don't think you're triggering any kind of famine response. It's more like people are overeating as fuck, comparatively to our ancestors, and the body is happy to get a break.

You burn fewer calories when you exercise in cold weather than you do when it'shot. The hotter it is, the more extra work your heart has to do to prevent you from overheating. More than 70 percent of the energy produced by your muscles during exercise is lost as heat.
Do You Burn More Calories in Hot or Cold Weather? - Dr. Mirkin


Does Your Body Burn More Calories If You Are Hot or If You Are Cold?

You burn more fat and calories and can exercise longer when you do so in warm temperatures, according to the American Council on Exercise.

 

[MikeMcMann]

Whut? Exercising or just moving in cold weather increases energy expenditure because your body has to expend energy to maintain its' temperature. Hot weather just makes you sweat and lose water.

Eating 3 squares a day + snacks is cultural, there's no scientific evidence that this is the frequency that the body feels most comfortable with. In fact there's plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Whenever there's insulin in the blood, even a small amount, it blocks cells from being able to release fat entirely. People who graze throughout the day, usually with foods that spike insulin (carbs + protein), have their insulin up constantly. Because the body can't access fat stores, people quickly feel hungry again and eating more snacks is the only way to get more calories. When people do this every day for years, there's too much insulin and the cell receptors that are meant to receive it become desensitized, the person becomes insulin resistant. Now that person constantly has insulin levels that are too high, even when they haven't eaten anything. Because even a little bit of insulin in the blood prevents the body from having access to fat stores, the person constantly feels hungry and grazes. And this starts the vicious circle of metabolic syndrome, where the person becomes overweight and obese, is incapable of losing any weight, is constantly hungry and constantly eating.

What fasting does, whether it's intermittent or short-term, is that it allows the body to take a break and reset its' insulin system, which is beneficial for people in western countries who are overfed. And with short-term fasting, e.g. 24 hours+, you get the additional benefits of autophagy (the body breaking down and recycling damaged cells) and neurogenesis.

Now if we were in a third world country and nobody was eating properly, I'm not sure fasting would have that much benefits. But I think the bodies of people in western countries are saying "Please stop, oh my GOD are you eating cake again? Stop, please. Gimme a break." I don't think you're triggering any kind of famine response. It's more like people are overeating as fuck, comparatively to our ancestors, and the body is happy to get a break.

And I don't disagree with the rest of this post. I was not arguing against any of that.

I am just not sure you cannot get the same benefits without fasting by just eating a proper balanced diet and eliminating most/all snacking.

It is possible to eat a well balanced diet that has healthy insulin levels and that requires the body to seek to burn fat stores between meals.

to me I see tons of cross over between my friends who Fast and those who go from binge drinking to teetotaling. everyone is looking to a quick fix to reset prior bad habits.

i would never be a teetotaler when it comes to alcohol but I also do not binge drink. I drink moderately and regularly which is far better than needing to quit for X period of time before I binge again.

I remain unconvinced (but recognize I might be wrong) that Fasting brings any benefits that a good balanced diet could not achieved and I also think fasting has the negative corollary effect of telling the body we still live in Famine times so all our abilities to store excess calories as fat, when they are available should be kept sharp.

I honestly cannot see how you are not training your body for an upcoming Famine (store fat and hold it as long as possible) if you continually subject it to Fast conditions which historically it will associate with food shortage and danger to life (Famine).

 

[MikeMcMann]

Isn't that actually not good for you though? Eating right before bed. Your metabolism has slowed down to a crawl at that point, making it harder for the food to digest. I'm just speculating here.

Ya there are all sorts of countering opinions on 'when to eat' etc and if the only thing that matters is 'calories in V calories out' but I think you find the vast preponderates of information would find against his practice. When I was his age you could just get away with anything though so if it works for him fine. It may cause him problems as he ages though.

Generally speaking the reason to eat and exercise earlier in the day is to kick start your metabolism so it burns everything at a higher rate all through the day. If you do not eat all day your body can go into self preservation mode and try to slow the metabolism to avoid calorie burns (Famine mode). Everything is just working slower than it would if you had a good balanced meal early and got some mild exercise in early.

 

[Deleted member 220895]

How fast?


amitrite?

 

[KhabibTheBeagle]

I've done it before, and I didn't lose any weight, just felt weak and had a serious appetite afterwards. I generally stay away from fasts longer than 12 hours, because I don't want to lose muscle mass over time.

 

[tmnpothead]

I try but my blood sugar always drops and I feel like shit. Is there anything i can do about it?

 

[Doomer]

Every man should fast at least twice a month.

 

[loyalyolayal]

I try but my blood sugar always drops and I feel like shit. Is there anything i can do about it?

The 1st 2-3 weeks is hell. It doesn't change even if you're just starting out or do it occasionally. Just power through until your body adjusts.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

I just can't wrap my head around Fasting as a positive. i mean, i can see the short term benefits but long term, the intuitive side of me says its all wrong.

 

[tmnpothead]

The 1st 2-3 weeks is hell. It doesn't change even if you're just starting out or do it occasionally. Just power through until your body adjusts.

Sometimes that just doesn't feel safe though. Ill get extremely dizzy and light headed and break out in a sweat. I hate it, this will happen to me quite often I may need to get it checked out.

 

[loyalyolayal]

Sometimes that just doesn't feel safe though. Ill get extremely dizzy and light headed and break out in a sweat. I hate it, this will happen to me quite often I may need to get it checked out.

I'm no doctor but those were normal for me every time I start intermittent fasting. And I had to train in fasted state everyday, eating only at around 11 pm.

 

[tmnpothead]

I'm no doctor but those were normal for me every time I start intermittent fasting. And I had to train in fasted state everyday, eating only at around 11 pm.

Damn son you've got a stronger will than I. I pretty much completely shut down when I get to that state. How long before it passes?

 

[Fugazy]

Wow, a WHOLE 24 HOURS???

Congratulations on literally nothing.

 

[robotsonic]

I've just started doing Intermittent Fasting. I'm basically doing a daily 16 hour fast, eating all my food in an 8 hour window. I drink black coffee in the morning, and eat between 2pm and 10pm. I'm two weeks in and loving it.

I train bjj most lunchtimes and was really worried about training on an empty stomach, but to my surprise I legitimately feel like I have more energy, not less. I also feel like I need less water.

I'm also really noticing how fatigued I get when I do eat. Food digestion really does take up a surprising amount of energy.

I'm not doing it for weight loss. In fact, that's my one worry. I'm a skinny dude already, so I need to make sure I'm still getting enough calories. I'm doing it for gut health and general health, after reading about how potentially beneficial a daily fast can be for hormones and also for letting your body repair and heal more effectively.

It's very early days, but I can easily see myself doing this for the rest of my life. It's FAR easier than I thought it'd be (I never get hunger pains or anything) and it just feels more natural and better for me.

Would recommend.

I've been doing 16/8 for ages now (not to sound like a hipster, I heard about this a good while back). I don't even really see it as a 'diet' or a regime anymore, it's just how I eat. I haven't had breakfast in 5 years. It's good to see how popular IF is becoming now I've been trying to get people into it for years, breakfast is not really as important a meal as people think it is.