CanadianBiker32

Would there be any benefits to sometimes fasting a few days. Here and there
Intermittent fasting? anyone do this to lose weight? benefits? just wondering?

CliffordK

Be careful with muscle loss if fasting.

I'd think it would be better to choose a low calorie, high protein diet with lots of exercise, and perhaps a few extra vitamins.

wolfchild

The only benefits of fasting is a lower grocery bill.

Seattle Forrest

Apparently the posters above me are wrong. Fasting helps people with insulin resistance, inflammation, and may be good for heart and brain health. It also tends to make it easier to stick to a healthy lifestyle because you've taken a lot of temptation off the table. Meal timing won't have any effect on weight loss, though.

Here's a "getting started" guide.

The Beginner's Guide to Intermittent Fasting

Carbonfiberboy 

A fast friend of mine got into fasting one day a week while in India. He continued doing that when he returned to riding hard here. He discovered that it just killed his riding and quit it. Consistent training is the way to get stronger. Fasting spoils that by interrupting the glycogen cycle. Forest posted an interesting link, but I don't know anyone who does that successfully and I know many, many people who got faster eating regular meals. And of course one of the benefits of fasting cited in that link is weight loss . . . OTOH my riding buddies are all endurance athletes. Maybe it's different for a bodybuilder who doesn't have the same need for full liver and muscle glycogen stores.

I fast once a year on Yom Kippur. it's not hard, but it's enough.

CliffordK

Insulin Resistance and fasting might be interesting for people with Type II Diabetes or at risk of developing it. Being careful, of course, if one is taking insulin injections.

Like many types of home remedies, the actual controlled testing is minimal. Is there data to support the articles and blogs?

Unfortunately, making new drugs is big business. Eating less isn't. Likewise, it is difficult to prove benefits of taking generic vitamins beyond a simple minimal does (often found in food).

It appears as if some of the "fasting" is actually intermittent low calorie days... which is different.

Seattle Forrest

I feel like there's a big conflict between losing weight and performing well in any kind of sport. You have to choose one, you (probably) can't do them both at the same time.

wolfchild

I used to practice fasting a lot when I was much younger and it didn't do anything positive for me...It was usually for just one day at a time but there were few times when I would go 3-4 days without any food while being physically active.... I was experimenting on my own self to see what would happen and how my body and mind would react to going without food...The only thing that fasting did was to kill my strength, burn muscle, kill my energy and make me very skinny... Fasting is just another "fad" and it's the worst thing to do for any person who is into any kind of sports...Fasting is for monks who spend their days meditating and daydreaming up in some cave on top of the mountain.

CliffordK

There are several sports that have benefits from weight loss. Cycling. Wresting. I would assume sports like gymnastics too. Running?

But, it has to be done in a way that muscle and strength are maintained.

Another point is that everyone isn't equal. So, a person that is 50 pounds overweight might benefit from extreme weightloss methods.

On the other hand, a person that is near their ideal weight would not, and it could be more detrimental to them.

Seattle Forrest

Intermittent fasting is a technique of dividing your allotted calories up on a particular schedule. It's not a technique of reducing calories.

Seattle Forrest

"Weight loss" can be a process, or a result. When I said "there's a big conflict between losing weight and performing well in any kind of sport" I meant the process. You can tell, because I said "loosing weight." You're talking about the result, not the process.

There's probably a range of ideal weights for people and their sports. Cyclists benefit from having less mass, which is bad for football players and body builders. However, while you're losing weight, you're necessarily at a calorie deficit, which means you're not performing at your best, you're taking longer to recover, you're losing muscle mass, etc. Cyclists who have weight to lose will do best to lose it in the off season.

CliffordK

Wrestlers have a unique situation because they feel losing weight allows them to wrestle against smaller opponents.

Many will knock themselves out losing weight in the last 24 hours before weigh-in. There usually are a few hours between weigh-in and a match when one can eat and drink. But, one has to wonder.

Carbonfiberboy 

I've always been able to lose weight between New Years and July, but slowly. Maybe 1 lb./month. I'm have to be extremely careful with my macros and meal sizes, but do my usual rides and workouts. I tape myself once/week and hold even on my legs, lose size on my arms and waist. I don't lose anything on my squat. Since I'm losing fat, I'm probably gaining muscle on my legs, but only a little. I get noticeably faster, partly being lighter, mostly being more fit. So I tend to do the bodybuilder thing and bulk up a little in the fall, but add no more weight than I can lose in the spring. I know this is backwards from the usual advice but it works for me.

wolfchild

I know what intermittent fasting is too. I've done something similar it was called "warrior diet"...It's basically one large meal per day, no breakfast and almost no food throughout the day, only very small light snacks starting after noon hour, about 70%-90% of your daily calories are eaten during a 4 hour re-feeding cycle late in the day and evening.

SHBR

I tried this last summer and lost a few KG.
I will continue again this summer.
Its all about self control.
I find its very difficult to fend off the munchies when it gets colder in winter.

Almost anyone who is relatively healthy should be able to go without eating for at least 8 hours, 12 is better, 16 is best. (in my experience)

Gut size decreases, along with appetite, and eventually metabolism becomes more efficient.

WarrenR

There are many types of fasting and many reasons to fast.

I started occasional fasts in my mid twenties. The type of fasting I have experience with are water only fasting. Starting out with 1 day fasts and then some 3 day and 1 5 day. I was a skinny kid and it had nothing to do with weight loss just experimenting with what happens to your body functions during fasts. From a science point of view I had learned in Biology class that our bodies have two major metabolic functions; catabolism, the breaking down of organic matter (digestion) and anabolism, the building up of components of cells (think repair). Modern humans get up in the morning and have breakfast and digestion starts, by the time digestion is tapering off, we have lunch and so on through supper. We spend too much time in digestion mode and very little in repair. During a fast it's all about repairing your body. I remember marveling at how fast my acne would clear up and if I had a cut how quickly it would disappear during the fast.
While fasting at 150 lbs I would lose 3 or 4 lbs and within 4 or 5 days of normal eating I would pretty much gain it all back, because it was water lose.
Now at age 60 I've done a few 1 day fasts lately. Certainly when I bike on those days I don't have the stamina to do a fast century but I can do a slow one. My reserves are more now at over 200 lbs. But two days after the fast I feel like superman and that usually lasts for a week or so. I'll lose 4 to 7 lbs during the fast and put about four back on after two days or so, and the rest in the weeks that follow.

noglider 

Fasting is tricky even if you don't find it hard. I think it's safer to change your diet. Change it slowly.

I lost weight over the last couple of years by cutting BACK on sweets. I have not cut anything out.

Spoonrobot 

I wouldn't worry about muscle loss, at least the important ones.

I went to a super restrictive diet when I was racing and lost significant lean muscle mass in my upper body and arms over a period of 2-3 months while at the same time increasing my w/kg and setting new personal records for speed and race performance.

Intermittent fasting was a disaster for me long term but short term it has interesting benefits to focus and energy levels. Re-feed is an extremely delicate balancing act if you are cycling longer distances and I can't manage it so I don't do it anymore.