to think some people overreact about fasting?

I eat one meal a day.

I don’t go on about it, but I lost 16 stone and reversed a load of health issues, so people ask me.

It’s like I’ve told them I eat kittens.

I will definitely die from eating once a day. They said nothing when I was pushing 30 stone and cramming greggs into my face all day, but yes, eating one meal a day of unprocessed food is what going to end me.

And when I say they ask me, it’s usually becuase they are accusing me of WLS or jabs, and getting angry because I won’t “admit” to doing something I haven’t. So of course, I have to tell them it’s fasting. Then they tell me I will die or that I have an ED, I can’t fucking win.

I think dieting is like religion or politics, you should only ever discuss it with people you are 100% sure are on the same page as you

For what it's worth I do intermittent fasting because it helps enormously with my ibs....I think l I've only ever discussed it with a GP though

It’s a racism issue.

I think that some people will hide an ED behind this for sure.

Fast or don't fast. It should be a private matter, the oversharing by some is inappropriate.

Many binge rather than fast anyway. Ramadan for example, a massive feast before dawn and a massive feast at dusk. Same calories over a 24hr period just done at different times. It's no hardship.

I think it’s unfair to suggest that sensible fasting encourages eating disorders. If you want to target eating disorders then it’s media portrayals of beauty standards you need to be going after, not fasting.

If fasting encourages eating disorders then so does the gym because many people with eating disorders exercise excessively as a way of trying desperately to lose weight. Should we ban gym memberships? What about weight loss injections? - there are people that abuse them too and lie online to get hold of them so let’s ban them too. They shouldn’t be talked about either.

I find it bizarre that people are focusing only on fasting but not other weight loss methods that people with EDs are known use to abuse

This.

i have seen posters on her on 72 hr + fasts. Some even for a week.

if gives those with disordered eating an “exuse” to not be eating. I know when I was in the thick of it a massive part was making sure others didn’t think you had a problem. Fasting gives someone a reason to be sitting at dinner with a glass of water with everyone else thinking you’re acting reasonably.

it doesn’t work for me.

I remember doing 24 hour fast for charity as a child in the 80's...

There might not be from the chap you mentioned but I've had several first-hand experiences of people whanging on about fasting - or whatever other dietary habits they've latched on to - like it makes them the virgin Mary. So when I hear somebody else strike up about fasting, or beetroot juice, or cider vinegar, or whatever else it is, I no longer listen politely for long.

I think a lot of people think of fasting as something you do for long periods and that it’s a fairly extreme thing to do. In reality, it refers to a huge spectrum of durations. Most people fast for 12 hours every night.

Anything relating to food and its restriction seems to make people emotional. One size does not fit all and even intermittent fasting (16h plus) makes me feel unwell. Each to their own I suppose!

Do you realise that many cultures had fasted from the beginning of time?

It’s not all about disordered eating

And there is much scientific evidence that autophagy Is hugely beneficial

Yes but others see that as a disqualifier… that if they don’t say the intermittent part then they don’t mean that type.

You do realise the clue is in the name

Intermittent fasting is a form of fasting

As other have asked, are they reacting against the idea of fasting itself or are they reacting against somebody else banging on about fasting, quite possibly with holier-than-thou undertones? There's nothing more boring than hearing about the intricacies of somebody else's diet regimen so while I sort of do the 'intermittent fasting' thing myself - almost inadvertently - I don't feel the need to bring it up in conversation and if anybody else does I very quickly get to 'STFU I don't care you tedious git' stage.

so you think It’s borderline unhealthy, but then admit that you do it
That doesn’t really make sense

There’s nothing remotely unhealthy about having 16 hours for example of not eating

That still leaves eight hours to be eating your food which is enough for anyone

I don’t really care what anybody else chooses to do and have done intermittent fasting before myself but I do think some of the concern with fasting is that it can end up in a binge/restrict cycle which moves into disordered eating.

If you fast for say 16 hours and then just eat your normal breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner etc then that’s great and works for lots of people.

But if you fast for 16 hours and then are so starving hungry that you spend the first 2 hours eating your entire days worth of calories it’s not great and that’s the cycle lots of people fall into.

However that’s true of lots of methods of weight loss really, and exercise, everything taken too far can become negative for someone.

Only the smug ones.
you likely wouldn’t know about the non smug ones would you as they’d just be doing it and not talking about it

As can be seen on this very thread. There is a division between those who do not class intermittent fasting as actual fasting and those who do. Which was my very point. It causes agro because people are looking at the topic from different definitions.

Intermittent fasting seems like the "right" way to eat to me, what our Grandparents would have done, if you mean 8am breakfast, 5:30pm dinner and no evening snacking. I don't know why there'd be any "backlash" to that.