To fast or not to fast? (So much contradictory information!)

[EyUpMiDuck]

Good morning everyone. I just wondered if anyone has any lived experience on whether fasting is good or bad for women?

I've been doing 16:8 or 18:6 for around a year. I then read some information and listened to podcasts by Megan Ramos and Jason Fung, who recommend even sometimes doing a 24 hour or 36 hour fast. There seems to be lots of research etc about the benefits of fasting.

However, I then heard Stacy Sims talking on a podcast, saying women shouldn't fast!

For context, I'm interested in fasting partly for health benefits but also I'm trying to lose 7-10 pounds. I'm not overweight (BMI 22), but I'm quite short and definitely feel/look better around 7-10 pounds lighter. I've been trying to lose these few pounds for around 6 months but nothing is working (I track every calorie and only eat around 1200 a day plus I'm quite active).

I've now really confused myself about whether to stick with 16:8 every day, do a 24 or 36 hour fast sometimes or completely stop fasting!

@loveyouradvice- that’s a nice success story. Do you mind sharing what food do you typically eat when IF

Hi @DoItLikeAWoman

Initially I ate a lot of lean meat and veggies, but I've got much healthier now and am very into cultivating my gut biome (which I think may have helped the weight loss too)

So typically

• yogurt, kefir, berries, muesli and nuts
• 90% dark choc and nuts
• lots of fish, salad, olive oil, veggies
• eggs, gazpacho

Interesting discussion 😊 I have loosely done IF for about a year now I think, with a break over Christmas 😂 I now typically fast from 6-7pm until 9-10am, so 14-16 hours usually. Although I don't count my morning cup of tea which has some soya milk in it so technically it's not a true fast. For me it is about reducing the time window of eating, to reduce overall intake. I think it helps my health, I don't really know if IF on its own helps me lose weight though but I do find that when I am IF, I don't get as hungry during the rest of the day in my 'eating time'. I have found that I can't manage IF in the week before my period is due, I am just too hungry. As soon as I get my period, I can manage fine again.

I am combining IF with cycling 3-4 times a week and 1-2 short weight sessions for upper body and core. I have also hugely cut down on carbs and sugar, and try to eat more mindfully, try a drink first if I'm hungry etc.

@DoItLikeAWomanI’m similar to you. 5’7 and 73kg. I’d love to somewhere around 66 kg. I go on holiday in 13 weeks. I’ve been trying to exercise out a bad diet and not working. I’m terrible for binging and snacking between meals. Maybe IF might work for me. I tried it a few years ago and felt I really missed breakfast. Also love milk in my tea and coffee in a morning. Will IF work with milk in tea/coffee and just eating
between 12 and 8?

@EyUpMiDuck I came across a concept called weight set point in Andrew Jenkinson’s books. Basically, your body has a weight set point that is considered safe and thinks you are at risk of starvation or under existential threat if you go lower. It adjusts its own metabolism rate so that you don’t lose any more weight and in fact regain extra. If you already have a BMI of 22, perhaps that’s what is going on with you?

The author argues that most diets don’t work for this reason as eventually your body will fight back and usually wins. Apparently for most of human history, starvation was a common event and that’s how our bodies evolved.

He does have some ideas for working within the set point - only eating minimally processed foods, don’t snack, getting enough sleep and reducing stress. He does explain why. I think I saw a thread here for people who follow that approach?

I mainly have black coffee but allow myself an occasional tea with a dash of milk. Will this work for you to take the leap back into IF? I think it can really work (so long as you don’t eat 2 huge meals like I did in the beginning)

@DoItLikeAWoman - it can make SUCH a huge difference. Be prepared to have a rough first 2-5 days, and then hopefully your body has adapted

Some people are fine with a dash of milk in tea first thing, others aren't ... it might make you hungrier earlier, or more importantly for some people it breaks the fast.

If you can grit your teeth and have coffee/tea black do try it for the first bit if you can.... but if not, just go for it and minimise the milk. Better to do it than to delay!!

This new (small) piece of research is interesting - and sort of relevant to this thread
https://theconversation.com/intermittent-fasting-is-it-the-calories-or-carbs-that-count-254752

Interesting thread as I’m also torn! I’ve been needing to lose the same 10lbs since lockdown, I find restricting to 1500 calories a day too little across 3 meals and find I binge (I work out 3 times a week, usually running with a bit of weight lifting).

I started doing approximately 16 hours fasting in the autumn, finishing eating around 8pm and starting from 12-1pm with lunch, and it definitely helped me stick to 1500 calories within that window, having skipped breakfast. But I’ve also wondered about fasting in the week before my period due to conflicting advice, and I do get absolutely starving after a run which I do fasted in the morning. I “dirty” fast with a splash of milk in tea and coffee, 2-3 cups (decaf mainly) before lunch.