5 ms·

"For one it makes you stupid. Obviously it interferes with everything requiring effort, from running to sex." Fasting (one way to alter insulin sensitivity wit

"For one it makes you stupid. Obviously it interferes with everything requiring effort, from running to sex." Fasting (one way to alter insulin sensitivity without drugs) has been reported to increase focus and energy. I have been doing intermittent fasting (16 hour fast/8 hour feast, with an occasional 24 hour fast) for the past four or five months (I started logging my results about 3 months ago, but I started before that in an imprecise sort of way). I haven't noticed a significant change either way. I feel fine, with normal levels of energy and the like. I don't think I'm stupider because of it, though I probably ought to do some A/B testing to be sure. I've never taken metformin, and haven't done any real research beyond reading the article and the Wikipedia page about it, so I don't really know what it does to someone, but as I understand it sounds like your main concern is the effect on insulin sensitivity. But, insulin sensitivity seems to be a major factor in weight and health, and growing evidence suggests that actions improving it also improve general health. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I don't think it's reasonable to dismiss it or to assume the most simplistic explanation of how the body works (e.g. glucose makes brains smarter, or glucose makes bodies energetic) is the correct or complete one.

1024core 9y ago
What do you consider "fasting"? No food at all? What about drinks like coffee/tea? How about water? Just curious about fasting, need to get into it.
- SwellJoe 9y ago
  There's quite a bit of information out there about the various sorts of intermittent fasting people are doing. Some people do longer, less frequent, fasts. Some people combine it with other diets. My intermittent fasting looks like this: For eight hours from midday until evening (the exact times shift a little based on my waking and sleeping schedule; 2PM to 10PM is a pretty common schedule for me), I eat like a responsible adult. Minimal junk food, desserts in moderation, try to make my meals balanced, don't eat too much sugar or simple carbs. I don't deny myself anything I crave, generally speaking, but I try not to eat garbage. I am also a vegetarian, occasional vegan, but I've been doing that for 23 years...it is unrelated to my current diet and fasting. During the other 16 hours of the day, I eat nothing and drink nothing with calories. I drink water and unsweetened green tea (iced or hot depending on the weather; right now, it's summer and I'm in Texas, so it's iced tea). I don't drink coffee, but I normally don't drink coffee so that's not a change. Some people who fast drink coffee without sugar or dairy; I assume it has no or very few calories. I never stop drinking water and don't know of any evidence that supports dehydration as a beneficial practice. I'm not seeking spiritual enlightenment or going on a hunger strike, I'm trying to maintain good health as I age. The goal of intermittent fasting (as practiced by the folks I pay attention to) is to force your body to improve insulin sensitivity and to reduce caloric intake by 20-30% without having to count calories or give up favorite foods. I don't know if it's the optimal practice, but it seems to be working OK for me, so far. I have lost about 15 pounds (and I'd lost about 5 pounds before that on a reduced calorie diet), which averages out to a little less than a pound every week since I started. Weight loss has slowed somewhat in the past month or so. I have begun lifting weights a couple times a week, though, so that may be offsetting my weight loss with regained muscle. You probably need to come up with a fasting schedule that works for you and fits your existing daily routine. Skipping breakfast was easiest for me, and I know I have trouble sleeping well when I'm hungry, so eating late in the day is the right schedule for me. 16/8 is a reasonable balance, for me, as well. I find it's really quite easy to maintain; I go to bed two or three hours after my evening meal and then sleep through the next eight hours of the fast. Then I've only got five or six hours to go after I wake up before eating. I sip tea through that time, and most days barely notice my hunger. I don't know if I'll do this forever but, assuming evidence continues to mount about the benefits of caloric restriction and improved insulin sensitivity, it seems like I'll keep at it for the foreseeable future.
  - jff 9y ago
    > For eight hours from midday until evening (the exact times shift a little based on my waking and sleeping schedule; 2PM to 10PM is a pretty common schedule for me), I eat like a responsible adult. Minimal junk food, desserts in moderation, try to make my meals balanced, don't eat too much sugar or simple carbs. I don't deny myself anything I crave, generally speaking, but I try not to eat garbage. So if you shift your example schedule two hours back to 12PM-8PM, isn't that just saying "I don't eat breakfast any more"? Lunch at noon, dinner at 6, a snack in between meals, and dessert at 7:30 would fit all the criteria you laid out, and indeed is something I end up doing pretty frequently, just without a faddish name like "intermittent fasting".
    - SwellJoe 9y ago
      I call it that, too, in the very comment you've replied to: "Skipping breakfast was easiest for me". The faddish name makes it easy to google for research on the topic. You can, of course, call it whatever you like. I'm not advocating anything, I'm just sharing what I'm doing. That said, the name does have useful meaning and context. "Fasting" hints at the metabolic response you're trying to achieve with the practice, in a way that maybe saying "skip breakfast" doesn't. And, the word "fasting" has thousands of years of history, which can also be mined for information; it's even part of the word, "breakfast". "Skip breakfast" leaves room for "but, I had a donut at the 10AM meeting".

1024core 9y ago

What do you consider "fasting"? No food at all? What about drinks like coffee/tea? How about water? Just curious about fasting, need to get into it.

SwellJoe 9y ago
There's quite a bit of information out there about the various sorts of intermittent fasting people are doing. Some people do longer, less frequent, fasts. Some people combine it with other diets. My intermittent fasting looks like this: For eight hours from midday until evening (the exact times shift a little based on my waking and sleeping schedule; 2PM to 10PM is a pretty common schedule for me), I eat like a responsible adult. Minimal junk food, desserts in moderation, try to make my meals balanced, don't eat too much sugar or simple carbs. I don't deny myself anything I crave, generally speaking, but I try not to eat garbage. I am also a vegetarian, occasional vegan, but I've been doing that for 23 years...it is unrelated to my current diet and fasting. During the other 16 hours of the day, I eat nothing and drink nothing with calories. I drink water and unsweetened green tea (iced or hot depending on the weather; right now, it's summer and I'm in Texas, so it's iced tea). I don't drink coffee, but I normally don't drink coffee so that's not a change. Some people who fast drink coffee without sugar or dairy; I assume it has no or very few calories. I never stop drinking water and don't know of any evidence that supports dehydration as a beneficial practice. I'm not seeking spiritual enlightenment or going on a hunger strike, I'm trying to maintain good health as I age. The goal of intermittent fasting (as practiced by the folks I pay attention to) is to force your body to improve insulin sensitivity and to reduce caloric intake by 20-30% without having to count calories or give up favorite foods. I don't know if it's the optimal practice, but it seems to be working OK for me, so far. I have lost about 15 pounds (and I'd lost about 5 pounds before that on a reduced calorie diet), which averages out to a little less than a pound every week since I started. Weight loss has slowed somewhat in the past month or so. I have begun lifting weights a couple times a week, though, so that may be offsetting my weight loss with regained muscle. You probably need to come up with a fasting schedule that works for you and fits your existing daily routine. Skipping breakfast was easiest for me, and I know I have trouble sleeping well when I'm hungry, so eating late in the day is the right schedule for me. 16/8 is a reasonable balance, for me, as well. I find it's really quite easy to maintain; I go to bed two or three hours after my evening meal and then sleep through the next eight hours of the fast. Then I've only got five or six hours to go after I wake up before eating. I sip tea through that time, and most days barely notice my hunger. I don't know if I'll do this forever but, assuming evidence continues to mount about the benefits of caloric restriction and improved insulin sensitivity, it seems like I'll keep at it for the foreseeable future.
- jff 9y ago
  > For eight hours from midday until evening (the exact times shift a little based on my waking and sleeping schedule; 2PM to 10PM is a pretty common schedule for me), I eat like a responsible adult. Minimal junk food, desserts in moderation, try to make my meals balanced, don't eat too much sugar or simple carbs. I don't deny myself anything I crave, generally speaking, but I try not to eat garbage. So if you shift your example schedule two hours back to 12PM-8PM, isn't that just saying "I don't eat breakfast any more"? Lunch at noon, dinner at 6, a snack in between meals, and dessert at 7:30 would fit all the criteria you laid out, and indeed is something I end up doing pretty frequently, just without a faddish name like "intermittent fasting".
  - SwellJoe 9y ago
    I call it that, too, in the very comment you've replied to: "Skipping breakfast was easiest for me". The faddish name makes it easy to google for research on the topic. You can, of course, call it whatever you like. I'm not advocating anything, I'm just sharing what I'm doing. That said, the name does have useful meaning and context. "Fasting" hints at the metabolic response you're trying to achieve with the practice, in a way that maybe saying "skip breakfast" doesn't. And, the word "fasting" has thousands of years of history, which can also be mined for information; it's even part of the word, "breakfast". "Skip breakfast" leaves room for "but, I had a donut at the 10AM meeting".