5 ms·

I'd like to share my findings from a sample size of one... I've been fasting for about 2 years now. I've done a couple of 5-days water fasts, and a few 7-days

by mickel 7y ago

I'd like to share my findings from a sample size of one... I've been fasting for about 2 years now. I've done a couple of 5-days water fasts, and a few 7-days water fasts. The past 250 days I've been consistently following 16:8 and adding in a few 23:1's in there for good measure. I was healthy before I started, but have since then felt even better. My stomach feels calm, I sleep better, I feel stronger (even though I exercise less) and my overall focus has improved. This results in a better mental state, somehow calming my mind. I've been a practitioner of meditation before, but have not felt the need for it the past year. My body is calm and well-rested => my mind is mindful. But the number 1 benefit of fasting (and all other non-conventional habits, such as cold showers in the morning), is mental resilience. Every time you realize that you perform well, if not even better, without food, you get a confidence boost. This effect compounds with time. I've found out that this in turn makes it easier to take on other habits as well, because your habit muscles are stronger now than before. Eating 5 meals a day is easy... eating 1 is hard => you grow a little if you manage to do it.

mongol 7y ago
What does 16:8 and 23:1 mean?
- davidgh 7y ago
  16 hour fast, 8 hour “eating” window per day. 23 hour fast, 1 hour “eating” window per day.
  - glandium 7y ago
    aka "2 meals a day" and "1 meal a day"
  - p1necone 7y ago
    So as someone who doesn't like eating breakfast I've been fasting 16:8 all along anyway?
    - jcims 7y ago
      If they don't snack after 8pm and eat lunch at noon, yes. Anecdotally it at least partly explains to me why all the folks that I knew that skipped breakfast seemed skinny despite what I was hearing about breakfast being essential for 'kickstarting' the metabolism. Just another 'L' in dietary advice for folks that grew up in the 80's/90's
      - p1necone 7y ago
        It's just calories in/calories out. Skipping a meal is likely to result in eating less calories, unless you make up for it later.
        thefz 7y ago
        No, simple caloric restriction does not trigger autophagy, insulin sensitivity and other fasting related benefits.
        p1necone 7y ago
        I was just referring to weight loss.
      - etherealG 7y ago
        The breakfast kickstarting myth came from research tainted by funding from the breakfast cereal industry. It’s fake, and completely not true. Historically breakfast came from breaking the fast of the day before, which would be around modern lunch time. Eating so early isn’t natural at all, and for people that prefer it, it really is likely only a habit more than anything related to physiology.
      - BerislavLopac 7y ago
        I used to skip breakfasts and my weight kept going up. After I started eating a very small breakfast every day (a single croissant, or a cup of porridge) I lost over 10kg in a few months.
    - 7y ago
georgeburdell 7y ago
No offense but self-reported results aren't scientifically worth much. There are too many crackpots in health. Now, if you had some sort of external objective measure, like "I was able to stop taking X maintenance medicine after starting my fasting routine" that would be much more compelling.
- arcturus17 7y ago
  Yea, counter-point: IF makes me more anxious and irritable, and no way it makes me stronger as someone who lifts regularly (5x week)... IIRC some studies I’ve read say that IF increases cortisol levels which would explain the anxiety and which I believe is bad for muscle-building.
  - mickel 7y ago
    I haven't replaced exercise with fasting, I think you still need both! Of course you wouldn't be as strong as someone who lifts 5 times/week if you didn't. I'm speaking of strength relative to body weight here... I see no benefit in being able to bench press 200kg, I rather do 15-30 chins with no effort. Sleep, exercise, a good diet and relationships are all required for good long-term benefits in any endevour.
- mickel 7y ago
  Yeah, I'm aware :) I think people that are healthy can try it for themselves in small steps (with supervision of a doctor, if possible), and see how it makes them feel. I have been objectively tracking my mood (Remente), sleep (Ouraring), strength (only body weight exercise, tracking reps, cadence and more). Overall it's been improving in all categories, from very good to even better. If it's a result of the fasting or something else I've changed is hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure fasting is not making it worse for me at least.
Pimpus 7y ago
Cool! I did a 5-day fast recently and it was surprisingly easy. Didn't do any supplementation, although I already was used to intermittent fasting. The main benefits were mental and not physical. I can definitely see why virtually every religion encourages fasting - and I've noticed that generally, what is spiritually healthy winds up being physically healthy as well.

by mickel 7y ago

mongol 7y ago

What does 16:8 and 23:1 mean?

davidgh 7y ago
16 hour fast, 8 hour “eating” window per day. 23 hour fast, 1 hour “eating” window per day.
- glandium 7y ago
  aka "2 meals a day" and "1 meal a day"
- p1necone 7y ago
  So as someone who doesn't like eating breakfast I've been fasting 16:8 all along anyway?
  - jcims 7y ago
    If they don't snack after 8pm and eat lunch at noon, yes. Anecdotally it at least partly explains to me why all the folks that I knew that skipped breakfast seemed skinny despite what I was hearing about breakfast being essential for 'kickstarting' the metabolism. Just another 'L' in dietary advice for folks that grew up in the 80's/90's
    - p1necone 7y ago
      It's just calories in/calories out. Skipping a meal is likely to result in eating less calories, unless you make up for it later.
      - thefz 7y ago
        No, simple caloric restriction does not trigger autophagy, insulin sensitivity and other fasting related benefits.
        p1necone 7y ago
        I was just referring to weight loss.
    - etherealG 7y ago
      The breakfast kickstarting myth came from research tainted by funding from the breakfast cereal industry. It’s fake, and completely not true. Historically breakfast came from breaking the fast of the day before, which would be around modern lunch time. Eating so early isn’t natural at all, and for people that prefer it, it really is likely only a habit more than anything related to physiology.
    - BerislavLopac 7y ago
      I used to skip breakfasts and my weight kept going up. After I started eating a very small breakfast every day (a single croissant, or a cup of porridge) I lost over 10kg in a few months.
  - 7y ago

georgeburdell 7y ago

No offense but self-reported results aren't scientifically worth much. There are too many crackpots in health. Now, if you had some sort of external objective measure, like "I was able to stop taking X maintenance medicine after starting my fasting routine" that would be much more compelling.

arcturus17 7y ago
Yea, counter-point: IF makes me more anxious and irritable, and no way it makes me stronger as someone who lifts regularly (5x week)... IIRC some studies I’ve read say that IF increases cortisol levels which would explain the anxiety and which I believe is bad for muscle-building.
- mickel 7y ago
  I haven't replaced exercise with fasting, I think you still need both! Of course you wouldn't be as strong as someone who lifts 5 times/week if you didn't. I'm speaking of strength relative to body weight here... I see no benefit in being able to bench press 200kg, I rather do 15-30 chins with no effort. Sleep, exercise, a good diet and relationships are all required for good long-term benefits in any endevour.
mickel 7y ago
Yeah, I'm aware :) I think people that are healthy can try it for themselves in small steps (with supervision of a doctor, if possible), and see how it makes them feel. I have been objectively tracking my mood (Remente), sleep (Ouraring), strength (only body weight exercise, tracking reps, cadence and more). Overall it's been improving in all categories, from very good to even better. If it's a result of the fasting or something else I've changed is hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure fasting is not making it worse for me at least.

Pimpus 7y ago

Cool! I did a 5-day fast recently and it was surprisingly easy. Didn't do any supplementation, although I already was used to intermittent fasting. The main benefits were mental and not physical. I can definitely see why virtually every religion encourages fasting - and I've noticed that generally, what is spiritually healthy winds up being physically healthy as well.