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Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss, Wellness and Longevity
There’s a growing army of people who fast during the day, or part of the day, depending on their goals and personal circumstances. Calorie restriction and fasting are thought to contribute to wellness and longevity, weight loss, beneficial blood lipids, decreased inflammatory markers, diabetes control, arthritis, possibly even lowered incidence of deadly illnesses like cancer. Short-term, intermittent fasting is a simple, almost enjoyable way to achieve this.
I thought fasting was done for spiritual purposes, or, honestly, something the outer wing of wellness seekers did for a sort of beyond-reasonable self-denial. I’m all for self-discipline and its practice, wish I were even better at it, but consideration of muscle wasting or even accidental anorexia caused a nearly automatic mental shutdown when the topic of fasting arose.
Today I’m solidly in the opposite camp: It sounds more radical than it is. From the physical and mental point of view, there’s something to emptying the stomach and the associated blood chemistry changes, and from what we’ve been able to find, muscle wasting simply doesn’t happen under short, intermittent fasts. Just another entry in the “tall gym tales” book, apparently.
While I’m only today finishing week two of a limited version of daytime fasting, beginning by extending the overnight fast from about 10 hours to 15, the report so far is extremely positive. I feel terrific, energetic, clear-thinking and absolutely enjoy the lighter feeling of an empty stomach. The weight loss has slipped into place, even just a little, at about a pound-and-a-half, but it’s notable since the past two months at 1,350 daily calories really made no budge in the scale weight.
Not yet prepared to file a report, but since Dave wrote about it this week left me needing an overview spot to drop you off, I’ll recap a bit from our recent forum thread, and leave you with a link to the wiki page where you’ll find material for your own research.
About the idea dieters will burn off muscle tissue by fasting, Byron Chandler helps us get over some issues:
“If you are ever going to lose any fat, you’re going to have to burn some stored energy! So you have to get over the muscle mag mentality that running off stored energy is a bad thing because you’ll burn muscle. Also, you have to believe that what muscle gets used for energy is rapidly replenished; it is only a very temporary loss. I have spoken to a fair number of people and really there just doesn’t seem to be a problem losing muscle when eating this way. I personally am convinced that burning stored energy sources is a good thing. I think it will lower blood sugar (even on the non-fasting regular-diet days), improve insulin sensitivity, lower triglycerides, lower LDL and improve HDL, and burn bodyfat. This to me says that fasting would improve the use of fat as an energy source, improve insulin sensitivity, and prevent spare protein from gluconeogenisis, which would all be good.”
To the question of improved cholesterol blood lipids, he goes on to explain:
“Crude version of cholesterol metabolism: You make LDL out of excess calories. You make HDL to bring the LDL back to the liver and use it. This is normally a slow process, takes like maybe five DAYS. Probably because if you’re already feeding your face, your body never really needs to get around to burning off LDL — it is never a priority. LDL is associated with feast and rest; HDL is associated with work and fast. If you make yourself hungry, your body will get after that LDL, make some HDL and burn it.”
More links and further information (scroll down a bit for the new stuff; the wiki page was written for those who hadn’t necessarily seen this blog post): Intermittent Fasting
Laree Draper
on August 23rd, 2007 at 3:29 am
Hello, I had been fasting for spiritual reasons, and ended up losing over 20 pounds. Guess God knew something about our bodies that we don’t.
on October 3rd, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Congratulations Laree!
I used to be pretty possessed by the musclemag mindset, never skipping a meal, always making sure to get this amount of protein and that amount of carbs with so-and-so little fat, six times a day.
I am a personal trainer and therefore I keep up with news from the fitness world and one day The Warrior Diet was a part of the scene. Sincerely I thought it must be rubbish but being curious by nature I decided to give it four weeks.
Fasting by day, eating in the evening… This was mid-year 2006 and I am still doing this diet, obviously convinced. I lost a few pounds to begin with, mostly retained water, but my strength and endurance only increased and in two months my BF% went from 13.3 to 7.7 without muscle-loss. What to say?
on October 13th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Hi… I have been doing the intermittent fasting (20 hour fast… 4 hour feed) Since February of 2006. I feel great and am losing weight. Looking forward to get back into running and if anything I have more energy then ever before.
Dyan
on September 19th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I am interested in giving intermittent controlled fasting a try. However, as a recent convert to weight training (5 months after a weight loss of 220 lbs. after gastric bypass surgery in 2006) how to coordinate days in the gym around periods of fasting?
Big fan of Dave, mhk
on September 24th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Michael, you’ll discover this on your own as you try it, but my guess is the short fasts are not enough to have any affect on your workouts. That has been my experience, anyway.
If that’s wrong, you’ll have to change either your workout time or your feeding window to better suit your training if you want to continue with the IF.
Congratulations on 220 pounds lost. You must feel terrific!
on November 6th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
@Kiel, I have just have to say that your weightloss is fantastic. I don’t think people actually realize how enjoyable it is to deprive yourself while being aware that you are actually doing yourself (and others) a great good.
on September 16th, 2009 at 11:32 am
I’ve been eating this way for almost three years now. Not only have I lost over 100 lbs, but I have found I have more energy, no longer obsess over food and feel better than I have ever felt!!
on November 27th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Very informative. Thanks for the great post.
on April 3rd, 2010 at 6:37 am
In an effort to maintain my weight loss this time, I have taken up Intermittent Fasting. So far, the results have been good, though I tend to go back to low carb eating, when my weight starts to edge upward.
I am currently skipping breakfast everyday and extending the fast until dinner one or two days a week, which seems to really work.
on July 12th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
I am on my second week of IF. I feel great. The problem is sometimes I have to workout out first thing in the morning do to Childrens schedules. I eat a 44P30C Protein shake that is 300 calories. I count these calories toward my daily total. Does anyone think that this recovery drink eaten around 8am and then breaking fast at 5 or 6pm messes the diet up? I don’t eat anything after 10pm.
on July 12th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
I think we’d have to say, messes it up for what? You say it’s working for you and you feel great… should be good enough.
You’ve modified your intermittent fast to what works for you — you’re fasting through the day and again at night. It’s not the long fast discussed above, more like two shorter ones, but you’ll still get some of the benefits, if not all. I don’t think anyone knows for sure if you’re talking about things like blood chemistry.