Intermittent Fasting Tips

I've read a couple of Gin Stephens' books, but the first book I read was Dr. Jason Fung's. He is a nephrologist who was dealing with a lot of diabetics who were on dialysis because diabetes had destroyed their kidneys. He decided there had to be a better end than this for diabetics. He researched all the existing well-designed research on weight and diet. And found that many beliefs of conventional thinking around diet had no basis in fact. Diabetics have been (and still are) fed the line that they should eat numerous small meals a day. However every time you put food in your mouth, your body secretes insulin, aka the fat storage hormone. Whatever is leftover after your body's immediate metabolic needs are met is stored in the liver. As fat. As a pre-diabetic, I was interested in a way of reversing/avoiding becoming diabetic.

Dr. Fung has never said it's wrong to eat when you're hungry. It is a way of life and not a diet. There's no "cheating" except in the minds of people still captivated by diet mentality. If you're celebrating a special event, enjoy. There are no rules--it's just what his research has determined is most effective for people. Take it or leave it.

So his approach all along has been a more healthy lifestyle, rather than being thin. In the interests of full disclosure, I find lately an industry around him has sprung up involving things like fasting teas, so I'm not wild about that. But I believe in the science.

However that being said, I think ways of eating are highly individual and it's not one size fits all. I tried being a pescatarian for five years, but it didn't work for me; I was always hungry. A vegetarian diet never provided me with satiety. I was constantly eating carbs and never feeling satisfied. It's individual. Certain people can eat a protein bar and be good to go. I am not one of those people.

I lean more toward keto, but I'm definitely not hard-core, because I need some carbs for serotonin release and mood. Too much fat doesn't work for me either, and doesn't really make sense, since I have plenty of fat stores to provide energy.

The common view of fasting is that it is deprivation, but the reality for me is, I actually feel better fasting than not. I feel more energetic. 

I have not, but my oldest daughter is. What would you say the difference is between when she doesn't eat for three days, and when an IF person does the same thing? My kid will be clearly not fine, anxious and upset, but claim that she feels better by not eating. 

I have friends I've unfollowed on FB because they love to post about the almost blissful state they reach after several days with no food. All the damn time. These women are junkies, is all. They love the feeling that they are "better" than all the people who still, omg, eat food on a regular basis. (How disgusting! Only fat, lazy people still actually, you know, eat. The good people know that regular eating is a bad habit we Americans have adopted.)

As the parent of a young adult with an eating disorder, I object to the harmful message these women send by talking about the awesome clarity and bliss they feel when failing to properly nourish their bodies. And I object to people who then turn around and say that I clearly can't have a valid opinion on all this because I've "failed" at the one goal every American woman should have - fitting my body into an arbitrary size range decided on by people who want to sell me something.

I've eaten every day that I've followed an IF lifestyle and never felt I was being asked to stop eating for days at a time. 

The longest I have ever fastest was 20 hours. I do not ever plan on doing a 24 hour or more fast. Nope! To me and for me that would be insane. I know many physicians and dietitians personally, my daughter will be a physician next April, and I am the mom of two recovered anorexics. There's was exercise-induced anorexia because they thought they were being healthy by barely eating and working out a lot. IF is good for you (in my opinion and talking to my friends and daughter). I didn't start IF until last year. I did it for my joints because I had back surgery due to OA. And Gin very much states that this is NOT about losing weight. It just happens to be a side effect for some. She even says it may be 6 months or more before you see weight loss happen. Great things are happening inside the body, and I am hear to say yes to all of that for me.

Anorexia is a psychological condition with a physical effect. Someone going 3 days without food isn’t fasting, they’re starving. As an anorexic, you tell yourself a lot of lies, and since the goal on the outside is weight loss (on the inside it’s something else- often control or self esteem) you tell yourself you’re feeling great because of your psychological condition. Another thing anorexics do is take a 1200 calorie diet and keep cutting back until they’re down to 500, 400, 300 calories, telling themselves they’re just really good at dieting when in fact they’re starving. Healthy weight loss and anorexia are not the same - just as obsessive eating is not the same as overeating a little.  It’s easy to confuse healthy eating habits with disordered eating because food is involved, but there’s nothing wrong with learning to cut back on overeating, getting used to eating a little less frequently, and maintaining a healthy weight. 

I feel the same about FFR. Don't waste your money. I found her tedious reading and too 'charty'.  Just give me the facts. Dr. Fung is the best IMO. I like The Guide To Fasting a lot. 

I did IF for most of last year, and I was so obsessed with what time it was, when I could eat, how to plan weekends, etc. that it did bad things to me mentally. I lost a bit of weight but not enough to jump in and tout it as a lifestyle.

I read Gin Stephen's DDD and joined the Facebook group - and what a bunch of judgmental people. Every time you ask a question a moderator jumps in and tells you to read the book. I DID read the book, I had a QUESTION! Left that group and felt better about it!

Now this year I am doing more exercising and strength workouts (I drank the Peloton koolaid, woohoo) and look so much better than I did last year when all I could think about was what time I could eat. And my constant headaches and diarrhea every time I did eat are gone.

I did come out of it with a newfound love for Topo Chico seltzer, so there's that at least

Love Topo Chico. Texas’ big secret is out.

Yes, I found that online communities dedicated to fasting - really to weight loss of any kind - can be brutal to people who have questions or don’t buy the party line. Kind of like I’m getting here.

But I’m all in favor of making our bodies strong and fit through exercise. You go, girl. I started a four week “reset” with some strength training and a gradual ramp up of HIIT and I’m feeling great about it.

Sure. Whatever you say.

I’m sure all the peas who struggle with guilt and shame over this issue are happy to have your support.

Why? Why should I stop trying to lift up people who have struggled with body issues?

The OP asked for any opinions related to IF. I don’t believe she specified that they could only be positive ones. I’ve been there and done that and have a viewpoint to share that’s just as valid as yours.

If you want to show support for people with body issues, you might refrain from posts in any thread equating “overweight” (definition, please?) with “sick.” Doctors still don’t understand why some people get diabetes and others don’t - and thin people get it, too. Same with heart disease, joint issues, and a variety of other things commonly associated with “overweight.”

That is correct--her Ph.D. is in education. She teaches elementary thus she can write so I understand it but she can also read and understand research. I am never hungry, and this works for me. I don't feel it's a diet; it's a lifestyle. And it certainly isn't for everyone at all. Keto or plant-based diets would never work for me. I don't see those as a lifestyle for me at all. Everyone's bodies are different thus you need to find what works for you.