The benefits of mini fasting !

[mommysboy]

I wouldn't want to confuse this with dieting, although there may be an overlap.

I can still remember as a young kid in my school holidays, mum would boot us out to play in the mornings after breakfast, and that was that no bottle of water or snacks, and sometimes we'd arrive back on the doorstep waiting for lunch, sometimes hungry as can be, but no go, she would tell us to wait, maybe let us drink some water, or a fruit squash in summer. We didn't have any money so no nipping down to the sweet shop. We were skinny and healthy as can be.

Recently, I picked up somewhere that after a few hours of fasting the glucose stored in the organs gets utilised, so I am wondering whether fasting is a good way of keeping organs in tip top condition.

Sometimes now I consciously skip breakfast and see how many hours I can go without food or with only the milk in my tea my only source of energy.

My theory is that fasting like this is healthy, as it cleans the body up, and gives the digestive system a chance to rid itself of unwanted bacteria overgrowth. Maybe not so important for healthy eaters, but my diet is at least 70% junk or processed. Gives me a fighting chance at longevity I hope.

Does anybody agree ?, or would just be interested to hear reasonable opinions. Particularly wondered about any scientific fact.

[h90]

If you eat later an egg or so, your body will switch to fat burning and with relative little hunger you can continue that for a long time.

The switch is of course not always for everyone easy.

[Pungdo]

I have been on a LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) diet now for about 4 1/2 months and have lost 12 kg, part of that regime is what they call intermittent fasting.

The fasting period includes the time you are asleep, they recommend a 16/8 period, that is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours that you eat in, not the whole time but you eat only when hungry during that 8 hour period.

I find myself regularly doing 18/6, not eating until around lunch time when I start feeling hungry and then I try to have my dinner no later than 6pm if I actually feel hungry and don't eat anything after dinner.

[Bob12345]

My theory is that fasting like this is healthy, as it cleans the body up, and gives the digestive system a chance to rid itself of unwanted bacteria overgrowth.

That does not make any sense to me. There are millions of people who never fast and they do not have clogged digestive systems or bodies overgrown with bacteria.

The body is designed in such a way that there is no need for fasting or cleansing.

Maybe not so important for healthy eaters, but my diet is at least 70% junk or processed. Gives me a fighting chance at longevity I hope.

Why not go for the proven way of improving your health and longevity? Like stop eating junk and processed foods.

[JHolmesJr]

Fasting usually involves 3 days or more of abstinence…that is what it takes for the body to switch from metabolising food to repairing itself….thats my understanding.

You can do all the fasting in the world but of your diet consists of 70% junk food you might as well not bother. Processed foods jam up your metabolism and play havoc with your gut….

[KDK]

You may find the vid on this link interesting. Goes into 3 day fast as well as a two day a week reduced caloric intake regimen. Explains some benefits. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvdbtt

I used to do 2 days fast every few months when I was still working in the hotel kitchens, mediocre diet, booze, lack of sleep. two days fast would do wonders to recharge things.

[John_Betong]

Has anyone tried the latest 5-2 diet?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5%3A2_diet

Edited September 17, 2015 by John_Betong

[JHolmesJr]

Has anyone tried the latest 5-2 diet?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5%3A2_diet

I know a guy who does it…he became even fatter.

[mommysboy]

Oddly enough I am in pretty good health save for allergies. I think being active and going to gym helps. Not an ounce if fat on me.

[h90]

I have been on a LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) diet now for about 4 1/2 months and have lost 12 kg, part of that regime is what they call intermittent fasting.

The fasting period includes the time you are asleep, they recommend a 16/8 period, that is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours that you eat in, not the whole time but you eat only when hungry during that 8 hour period.

I find myself regularly doing 18/6, not eating until around lunch time when I start feeling hungry and then I try to have my dinner no later than 6pm if I actually feel hungry and don't eat anything after dinner.

If you lost 12 kg in 4 1/2 months than continue like you do. But I found it helpful to reduce fat on my low (well basically no fat) fat diet. It is of course still relative high fat, but trying to keep away as much fat as possible did help loosing faster, specially together with hard muscle training.

[timber]

Depends on how old you are, generally advise seeing a doctor to get OK depending on degree. Fruit juice fasting is popular.

[mommysboy]

My theory is that fasting like this is healthy, as it cleans the body up, and gives the digestive system a chance to rid itself of unwanted bacteria overgrowth.

That does not make any sense to me. There are millions of people who never fast and they do not have clogged digestive systems or bodies overgrown with bacteria.

The body is designed in such a way that there is no need for fasting or cleansing.

Maybe not so important for healthy eaters, but my diet is at least 70% junk or processed. Gives me a fighting chance at longevity I hope.

Why not go for the proven way of improving your health and longevity? Like stop eating junk and processed foods.

Fair point. Maybe the 8 hours sleep we get is quite enough anyway. I was just wondering if there was any extra benfit. I guess it makes me feel good anyway.

"Stop eating junk and processed foods"- well that's all the tasty, sugary, fatty, delicious stuff I would have to go without. Seriously, I am not sure health food is really that healthy, or junk food that bad. As you say the body is designed to handle these things. I must admit the amount of sugar I consume makes me shudder, and I think that is the really my point about fasting it clears all the glucose out I think.

Weight is not an issue for me luckily.

[Transporter]

I had the op for sleep apnea a couple of years ago (Tonsils and Ovula out and laser). I wasn't able to eat a thing for a week. I was dizzy on day 2 and 3 but that went away on day 4 and I felt great. I presume I began living off my own fat. I lost 6 kilos in week 1 and a further 4 kilos in week 2. I have never felt better. Now I watch my intake but always good to know how easy it is if I do gain a few kilos.

[h90]

I had the op for sleep apnea a couple of years ago (Tonsils and Ovula out and laser). I wasn't able to eat a thing for a week. I was dizzy on day 2 and 3 but that went away on day 4 and I felt great. I presume I began living off my own fat. I lost 6 kilos in week 1 and a further 4 kilos in week 2. I have never felt better. Now I watch my intake but always good to know how easy it is if I do gain a few kilos.

6kg fat in 1 week=42.000 kcal. Normal people without sport use a 17.500 kcal per day.

Did you run 2 marathons every night while sleeping and not eating on the day?

[JHolmesJr]

I had the op for sleep apnea a couple of years ago (Tonsils and Ovula out and laser). I wasn't able to eat a thing for a week. I was dizzy on day 2 and 3 but that went away on day 4 and I felt great. I presume I began living off my own fat. I lost 6 kilos in week 1 and a further 4 kilos in week 2. I have never felt better. Now I watch my intake but always good to know how easy it is if I do gain a few kilos.

6kg fat in 1 week=42.000 kcal. Normal people without sport use a 17.500 kcal per day.

Did you run 2 marathons every night while sleeping and not eating on the day?

I know it sounds crazy but i have lost 12 kg on a 7 day detox fast....and then 4 more in the 3weeks that followed by following a gluten, processed food, rice and sugar free diet....just bumped up intake of fresh fruit, salads etc. the trick is to change diet for ever not just for a few weeks.

[wpcoe]

Several kilos of weight loss is supposedly attributable to fluids lost when carb intake is reduced. Not all of it is from fat being burned.

[Friendly Stranger]

Several kilos of weight loss is supposedly attributable to fluids lost when carb intake is reduced. Not all of it is from fat being burned.

And, some of the weight loss is muscle, since one should eat enough protein and do some sort of resistance training in order to spare it.

[chilli42]

Intermittent fasting is terrific. Have been doing this for about 8 years now. There has beenuch written on it. There are also many different approaches: number of hours a day, number of days a week etc. There are a couple of good ebooks written by Brad Pilon any others but his work comes to mind).. Some think his approach too extreme but he explains the science behind fasting and the benefits very clearly. It's accessible and easy to understand.

[h90]

I had the op for sleep apnea a couple of years ago (Tonsils and Ovula out and laser). I wasn't able to eat a thing for a week. I was dizzy on day 2 and 3 but that went away on day 4 and I felt great. I presume I began living off my own fat. I lost 6 kilos in week 1 and a further 4 kilos in week 2. I have never felt better. Now I watch my intake but always good to know how easy it is if I do gain a few kilos.

6kg fat in 1 week=42.000 kcal. Normal people without sport use a 17.500 kcal per day.

Did you run 2 marathons every night while sleeping and not eating on the day?

I know it sounds crazy but i have lost 12 kg on a 7 day detox fast....and then 4 more in the 3weeks that followed by following a gluten, processed food, rice and sugar free diet....just bumped up intake of fresh fruit, salads etc. the trick is to change diet for ever not just for a few weeks.

OK, after rethinking it, it seems more possible. I guess you were heavy before (not weighting 70 kg and afterwards 58 ) and with a lot unnecessary water in the body. If the body has a problem with bad substances it takes more water in to dilute them. By cleaning up the diet you get rid of that water.

[ravip]

This might be off the topic of the OP... But concerning healthy eating which seems to 'balance' the pH of the body.

Acid Alkaline Imbalance in the body >>> http://www.naturalhealthschool.com/acid-alkaline.html

Any relevance (proven) to Muscle building, weight loss etc?

[h90]

My theory is that fasting like this is healthy, as it cleans the body up, and gives the digestive system a chance to rid itself of unwanted bacteria overgrowth.

That does not make any sense to me. There are millions of people who never fast and they do not have clogged digestive systems or bodies overgrown with bacteria.

The body is designed in such a way that there is no need for fasting or cleansing.

Maybe not so important for healthy eaters, but my diet is at least 70% junk or processed. Gives me a fighting chance at longevity I hope.

Why not go for the proven way of improving your health and longevity? Like stop eating junk and processed foods.

Fair point. Maybe the 8 hours sleep we get is quite enough anyway. I was just wondering if there was any extra benfit. I guess it makes me feel good anyway.

"Stop eating junk and processed foods"- well that's all the tasty, sugary, fatty, delicious stuff I would have to go without. Seriously, I am not sure health food is really that healthy, or junk food that bad. As you say the body is designed to handle these things. I must admit the amount of sugar I consume makes me shudder, and I think that is the really my point about fasting it clears all the glucose out I think.

Weight is not an issue for me luckily.

fatty is no problem....sugar is....

you can have a healthy pizza, burger, steak, etc...maybe not soaked in cheap oil like the commercial one but still with plenty of fatty cheese on top of the fatty meat or sausage. Maybe not 3 times per day. But once a day no problem.

[h90]

This might be off the topic of the OP... But concerning healthy eating which seems to 'balance' the pH of the body.

Acid Alkaline Imbalance in the body >>> http://www.naturalhealthschool.com/acid-alkaline.html

Any relevance (proven) to Muscle building, weight loss etc?

the body has always a balanced pH...automatic no matter what food you eat. If not you are in serious trouble.

[Pungdo]

I have been on a LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) diet now for about 4 1/2 months and have lost 12 kg, part of that regime is what they call intermittent fasting.

The fasting period includes the time you are asleep, they recommend a 16/8 period, that is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours that you eat in, not the whole time but you eat only when hungry during that 8 hour period.

I find myself regularly doing 18/6, not eating until around lunch time when I start feeling hungry and then I try to have my dinner no later than 6pm if I actually feel hungry and don't eat anything after dinner.

If you lost 12 kg in 4 1/2 months than continue like you do. But I found it helpful to reduce fat on my low (well basically no fat) fat diet. It is of course still relative high fat, but trying to keep away as much fat as possible did help loosing faster, specially together with hard muscle training.

I have been trying to lose weight for the last couple of years and getting nowhere and had been on that ridiculous Low Fat rubbish diet for the last 20 or more years, in a nutshell we have been lied to by our nations health authorities, for more than 30 years about what we should and shouldn't eat.

To cut a long story short, your body is a dual fuel machine, it can function off either Sugar (in all it variations) or Fat. If you remove the sugars from your diet, then your body has no option other than to burn Fat, once you get into a Ketonic state, you become a fat burning machine.

Carbohydrates, before they even reach your stomach, are being turned into Sugar, so bread, indeed all grains, Root vegetables and fruits high in sugar, sugary drinks etc, and unfortunately BEER, need to be either cut out all together or reduced to next to nothing. Carbs also take longer to tell your brain that you are full and should stop eating and even then it is a short time before you feel hungry again.

Fat on the other hand, makes your food taste better, it tells your brain very quickly that you are full and continues to tell your brain you are full, that is why I can go 18 hours without eating, the fat is telling my brain that I am not hungry.

Now as I have tried to explain to my friends that seem to think I am killing myself and will clog my arteries and drop dead of a heart attack or stroke, High Fat does not entail eating a baby seal or half a pig everyday, what is does entail is increasing the amount of "Natural" fats via the consumption of Butter rather than Margarine, Olive, Coconut and at a stretch Rice Bran oil instead of all those other highly processed oils and when selecting a piece of meat, instead of looking for the piece with the least fat, picking the bit with maybe 5-10% fat and consuming that fat rather than cutting it off.

To finish off, I have just had a full medical and at 57 years old and a long time smoker, everything is as it should be and nothing is out of whack, so I will indeed continue with this diet, I might also add that I have lost that weight with almost Zero exercise, which I will get back into shortly, but nothing more than a daily walk and maybe some light weights.

PS: An LCHF Diet has been proving time and time again, over many years of research, that it can completely reverse Type 2 Diabetes.

[h90]

I have been on a LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) diet now for about 4 1/2 months and have lost 12 kg, part of that regime is what they call intermittent fasting.

The fasting period includes the time you are asleep, they recommend a 16/8 period, that is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours that you eat in, not the whole time but you eat only when hungry during that 8 hour period.

I find myself regularly doing 18/6, not eating until around lunch time when I start feeling hungry and then I try to have my dinner no later than 6pm if I actually feel hungry and don't eat anything after dinner.

If you lost 12 kg in 4 1/2 months than continue like you do. But I found it helpful to reduce fat on my low (well basically no fat) fat diet. It is of course still relative high fat, but trying to keep away as much fat as possible did help loosing faster, specially together with hard muscle training.

I have been trying to lose weight for the last couple of years and getting nowhere and had been on that ridiculous Low Fat rubbish diet for the last 20 or more years, in a nutshell we have been lied to by our nations health authorities, for more than 30 years about what we should and shouldn't eat.

To cut a long story short, your body is a dual fuel machine, it can function off either Sugar (in all it variations) or Fat. If you remove the sugars from your diet, then your body has no option other than to burn Fat, once you get into a Ketonic state, you become a fat burning machine.

Carbohydrates, before they even reach your stomach, are being turned into Sugar, so bread, indeed all grains, Root vegetables and fruits high in sugar, sugary drinks etc, and unfortunately BEER, need to be either cut out all together or reduced to next to nothing. Carbs also take longer to tell your brain that you are full and should stop eating and even then it is a short time before you feel hungry again.

Fat on the other hand, makes your food taste better, it tells your brain very quickly that you are full and continues to tell your brain you are full, that is why I can go 18 hours without eating, the fat is telling my brain that I am not hungry.

Now as I have tried to explain to my friends that seem to think I am killing myself and will clog my arteries and drop dead of a heart attack or stroke, High Fat does not entail eating a baby seal or half a pig everyday, what is does entail is increasing the amount of "Natural" fats via the consumption of Butter rather than Margarine, Olive, Coconut and at a stretch Rice Bran oil instead of all those other highly processed oils and when selecting a piece of meat, instead of looking for the piece with the least fat, picking the bit with maybe 5-10% fat and consuming that fat rather than cutting it off.

To finish off, I have just had a full medical and at 57 years old and a long time smoker, everything is as it should be and nothing is out of whack, so I will indeed continue with this diet, I might also add that I have lost that weight with almost Zero exercise, which I will get back into shortly, but nothing more than a daily walk and maybe some light weights.

PS: An LCHF Diet has been proving time and time again, over many years of research, that it can completely reverse Type 2 Diabetes.

My opinion is that we in the middle of Europe or more north, had most of the year mostly fat and protein to eat. For sure all the winter. But in autumn we got plenty of carbohydrates and sugar, eating that made us quickly hungry again which was a big advantage because in autumn we must gain a lot fat to be able to survive the winter.

That is just perfect for humans in natural environment, but not so if there is a McDonalds on every corner even in winter....

yes we are dual full. My opinion is ketone should be the main fuel. When training a lot or hard working (like making wood in the forests of Sibirsk than Carbohydrates are good to maintain power and don't starve.

Even with moderate exercise I can happily live with just dinner (24 hours between meals) and there is even enough place for 1-2 beer, that isn't enough to mess it up.

Or short: I complete agree with your posting.

[Bob12345]

Just came across this article on detoxing:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance

(hope linking the Guardian is allowed, otherwise google for a December 2014 article with the title "You can't detox your body. It's a myth. So how do you get healthy?")

[oncearugge]

Just came across this article on detoxing:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance

(hope linking the Guardian is allowed, otherwise google for a December 2014 article with the title "You can't detox your body. It's a myth. So how do you get healthy?")

Nothing will convince those who believe the nonsense that is "detoxing"

Much better to stand back and watch those with little knowledge of science or medicine waste their money enriching Quacks, charlatans and fraudsters.

[JHolmesJr]

Just came across this article on detoxing:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance

ridiculous article….I wonder if the writer has himself tried a detox instead of just opposing for the sake of it.

I have personally been through a number of these and I am pretty sure I am not imagining the benefits which are visible and tangible, external as well as internally manifested.

[oncearugge]

Just came across this article on detoxing:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance

ridiculous article….I wonder if the writer has himself tried a detox instead of just opposing for the sake of it.

I have personally been through a number of these and I am pretty sure I am not imagining the benefits which are visible and tangible, external as well as internally manifested.

Easy to rubbish an article which does not accord with your own beliefs.

Can you now produce evidence of the scientific research which does support your beliefs, which has been peer reviewed, published in respected journals and, in addition has been replicated?

Once you have done that you should publish your own research which challenges the findings of Prof Edzard Ernst.

http://edzardernst.com/

[JHolmesJr]

Just came across this article on detoxing:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance

ridiculous article….I wonder if the writer has himself tried a detox instead of just opposing for the sake of it.

I have personally been through a number of these and I am pretty sure I am not imagining the benefits which are visible and tangible, external as well as internally manifested.

Easy to rubbish an article which does not accord with your own beliefs.

Can you now produce evidence of the scientific research which does support your beliefs, which has been peer reviewed, published in respected journals and, in addition has been replicated?

Once you have done that you should publish your own research which challenges the findings of Prof Edzard Ernst.

http://edzardernst.com/

Screw Prof Edzard Ernst…..I would rather believe what I have personally experienced than what some academic publishes.

I don't force anyone to believe the benefits of detox or healthy eating …..everyone has their own way of pursuing their version of good health….if loads of red meat, processed food, dairy and heroin do it for someone, Im happy for them.

[oncearugge]

What a very revealing response from "chozen" !