Fasting

[Dirtlover2005]

How much extra life has that added?

Slightly more than you have wasted reading and criticising the contributors to this thread

Hows that for a first post....

I have fasted since October. Some weeks I do one day, others two depending on the exercise I am doing that week. This is a combination of an hour of an swimming session, circuits, 5 a-side or cycling the 22 mile round trip to work and back - the enjoyment of the latter has brought me here.
My family eat well, I have a reasonable knowledge of food and nuitrition from my career since leaving school (I'm 42).
At 6'2 and 13st 4 I'm not over weight so that is not a consideration.
I restrict my calories to 600 one or two days a week because while its is not easy it makes me feel better."Man cannot remake himself without suffering.." right?
Initially undertaken for the health benefits that may be associated I have found that I am also less slothfull and generally feel healthier.
I don't know what you do for your personal execise and diet, but if you do start a thread seeing if others have similar views to yours I'll try to respond with something constructive rather than deriding your personal choice.

Getting my coat and head back off to the Beginners section of the forum...

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Slightly more than you have wasted reading and criticising the contributors to this thread

Hows that for a first post....

I don't consider my time wasted. For a first post it was pretty bad. I'd give it a D-

I have fasted since October. Some weeks I do one day, others two depending on the exercise I am doing that week. This is a combination of an hour of an swimming session, circuits, 5 a-side or cycling the 22 mile round trip to work and back - the enjoyment of the latter has brought me here.
My family eat well, I have a reasonable knowledge of food and nuitrition from my career since leaving school (I'm 42).
At 6'2 and 13st 4 I'm not over weight so that is not a consideration.
I restrict my calories to 600 one or two days a week because while its is not easy it makes me feel better."Man cannot remake himself without suffering.." right?
Initially undertaken for the health benefits that may be associated I have found that I am also less slothfull and generally feel healthier.
I don't know what you do for your personal execise and diet, but if you do start a thread seeing if others have similar views to yours I'll try to respond with something constructive rather than deriding your personal choice.

Getting my coat and head back off to the Beginners section of the forum...

Please don't quote my signature out of context. It does not imply that you must starve or heavily restrict calories in order to suffer and was never related to that in any way.

Two of you now have avoided the question so I'll ask it again. Given that the original program was based on living longer via calorie restriction on certain days(a side effect of that being weight loss) how much longer have or will either of you live? Put it into a timeframe for me.

To quote the original article as referenced in this thread of all places.

Current medical opinion is that the benefits of fasting are unproven and until there are more human studies it's better to eat at least 2000 calories a day. If you really want to fast then you should do it in a proper clinic or under medical supervision, because there are many people, such as pregnant women or diabetics on medication, for whom it could be dangerous.

Scientists are uncovering evidence that short periods of fasting, if properly controlled, could achieve a number of health benefits, as well as potentially helping the overweight, as Michael Mosley discovered.

There are no firm rules because so far there have been few proper human trials.

 

[The Jogger]

That is not a reasonable question, this way of eating shows improvements in blood test results and blood pressure etc. How much less will someone live who doesn't go to the gym, doesn't have a personal trainer, has high cholesterol etc see you answer that one.

 

[black'n'yellow]

At 6'2 and 13st 4 I'm not over weight

borderline...

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

That is not a reasonable question, this way of eating shows improvements in blood test results and blood pressure etc. How much less will someone live who doesn't go to the gym, doesn't have a personal trainer, has high cholesterol etc see you answer that one.

You are defending this "diet" and it's unproven benefits but you can't quantify how much those benefits add up to.

Ironically. All 3 of those groups of people could outlive you or me. But then we aren't actually talking about groups of people so your question is wholly leading and unreasonable.

If you can prove that your life increasing diet will enable you to live longer, please do that. You've been challenged on this subject before (IIRC your original thread) an answer should be available.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Low calorie diet has been proven by several studies to prolong life. Fasting however is still very much in its infancy and results are few and far between. I wouldn't suggest it's harmful in any way though.

One of the contributing factors to being overweight or obese is portion size. Some may think 3 meals a day is a healthy way of life-especially if they supplement it with 3-4 pieces of fruit daily. Often overlooked is content of these meals.

IME smaller portions, more often if required, keep the metabolism running efficiently and reduce any hunger pangs, like sweets, crisps and chocolate. I know far to many people who will eat an unhealthy meal but feel they are eating healthy because they have added some veg to the plate. Or afterwards have eaten an apple!! All this does is ADD calories. Reduce portion size and add the veg!

As i have mentioned before i have one or two days a week (depending on training load) where i eat fruit and veg only. I have found this to add energy to my daily life and reduce my body fat %. Listen to your body, it usually knows what it wants and needs.

Edit: I might also add that there are several good lifestyle/diet choices out there. We can stand by our own though this does not mean it will suit everyone.

 

[jazzkat]

If you can prove that your life increasing diet will enable you to live longer, please do that. You've been challenged on this subject before (IIRC your original thread) an answer should be available.

I don't believe it's about living longer. It's more about quality of life in old age.
I don't want to be like my father, chomping loads of tablets with breakfast and injecting insulin. Yes I could probably have the same effect if I counted the calories and eat smaller portions. It's a choice like so many we all make and maybe I'm just lacking in the necessary willpower to change my diet completely but I would rather 'eat what I like' for five days the trade off being that for two days I eat very little. It isn't an issue for me and so I am happy to do it.

I read somewhere that statistically athletes live shorter lives than non athletes, but, the athlete will have a much more useful old age than the non athlete. I suppose I'd rather have a full and useful old age and die at 70 (I hope it's more than that though lol) than being sat in a vegetative state not being able to go to the toilet on my own at 80.
Maybe we should all stop riding bikes if we want to live longer

 

[Hitchington]

I've been doing it since October and have shed 1 and a half stone. I fast (600 calories) on a tuesday and thursday. I find it quite easy to do and i've thought more about what and how much i eat in general. I decided to try it after watching the Horizon with Michael Mosley. I stopped over christmas but started it again lastr week. I know medical opinion wouldn't recommend this as a diet but it's more than that and I thought the science demonstrated in the horizon programme was robust enough for me to give it a go.

Restricting calories restricts the production of IGF 1 which is a growth hormone. This means the body goes into repair mode and may reduce the chances of getting certain diseases such as cancer, diabetics, dementia etc. in later life, therefore not only is life expectancy increased so is quality of life.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I don't believe it's about living longer. It's more about quality of life in old age.
I don't want to be like my father, chomping loads of tablets with breakfast and injecting insulin. Yes I could probably have the same effect if I counted the calories and eat smaller portions. It's a choice like so many we all make and maybe I'm just lacking in the necessary willpower to change my diet completely but I would rather 'eat what I like' for five days the trade off being that for two days I eat very little. It isn't an issue for me and so I am happy to do it.

I read somewhere that statistically athletes live shorter lives than non athletes, but, the athlete will have a much more useful old age than the non athlete. I suppose I'd rather have a full and useful old age and die at 70 (I hope it's more than that though lol) than being sat in a vegetative state not being able to go to the toilet on my own at 80.
Maybe we should all stop riding bikes if we want to live longer

I don't(as I'm sure you guessed) believe in it at all. Sure it has side effects (weight loss) but nobody has actually been able to prove benefits in humans. The premise of the article and documentary referenced was longevity of life, based on the mice observed. Last time I checked we are not mice confined to a lab and selectively fed.

Articles that use the words "could" "may" and "possibly" a lot before claims made,should never be allowed to be published. This one is no different.


Scoosh summed it up brilliantly. A post that I will be quoting at least once every page/thread on related diets.

IIRC, the main purpose of the fasting research - and of the journalist in the programme - was NOT WEIGHT LOSS.

The purpose of the TV programme was to see if fasting could reduce the journalist's internal body fat - the (nasty killer) stuff which attaches itself to the internal organs. His result after 4 weeks of fasting, whether 600 cal 2 days/week; full fast [no food 1 or 2 days/ week] or whatever, was that there had been a change for the good in his internal body fat. It was a measurable change after only 4 weeks. This was of significant interest to him, as he has a genetic history of the 'bad fat' attaching itself to his internal organs. He did not want this to be the cause of his early death and the research he had been reading was indicating that fasting could improve general health and longevity. The programme was seeking to find if there were any truth/ personal application in the research.

As a side effect of eating quite a lot less per week than normal, his weight dropped a few pounds, in part because he found that his food consumption on the non-fasting days had decreased as well. This was very much a side effect and NOT the main purpose of his research nor of the programme.

 

[jazzkat]

I don't(as I'm sure you guessed) believe in it at all. Sure it has side effects (weight loss) but nobody has actually been able to prove benefits in humans. The premise of the article and documentary referenced was longevity of life, based on the mice observed. Last time I checked we are not mice confined to a lab and selectively fed.

Articles that use the words "could" "may" and "possibly" a lot before claims made,should never be allowed to be published. This one is no different.


Scoosh summed it up brilliantly. A post that I will be quoting at least once every page/thread on related diets.

There is an awful lot that we still have to learn about how our bodies work. There are trials going on apparently, it will be interesting to see how it pans out. Having said that people have always fasted either out of choice e.g. religion or when forced to i.e. times of famine.

I saw the programme by the Dr on Horizon (and I saw the recent appearance on breakfast TV). As an intelligent adult I made a choice to follow his path. I have never followed a diet before, it may seem a bit hypocritical but I don't believe in diets - once you stop dieting the weight comes back. What you need to do is change your lifestyle. I have changed my lifestyle - it involves fasting!

I understand that you may consider us being sheep blindly following science that isn't proven but then you quote scoosh seemingly to agree with us!?!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

There is an awful lot that we still have to learn about how our bodies work. There are trials going on apparently, it will be interesting to see how it pans out. Having said that people have always fasted either out of choice e.g. religion or when forced to i.e. times of famine.

I saw the programme by the Dr on Horizon (and I saw the recent appearance on breakfast TV). As an intelligent adult I made a choice to follow his path. I have never followed a diet before, it may seem a bit hypocritical but I don't believe in diets - once you stop dieting the weight comes back. What you need to do is change your lifestyle. I have changed my lifestyle - it involves fasting!

I understand that you may consider us being sheep blindly following science that isn't proven but then you quote scoosh seemingly to agree with us!?!

Scoosh didnt agree with you. Weight doesnt come back when you stop dieting.

 

[The Jogger]

Scoosh didnt agree with you. Weight doesnt come back when you stop dieting.

If that's the case why do a lot of people balloon when they stop dieting.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

If that's the case why do a lot of people balloon when they stop dieting.

It's not a hard fast rule like was suggested of course,some may argue that we in fact "diet" all of the time to different extremes. Generally two things happen.

1. Go back to your old eating habits that were responsible for the weight in the first place
2. Heavily calorie restricted - thus metabolic rate shot to hell(helped by muscle loss) and eating "normally" again piles on lbs + some for good measure. The term "starvation mode" is thrown around a lot to describe this, although it simply isn't a mode,it's a famine response.

 

[The Jogger]

Well all I know is, I've got the choice and after years of trying various diets and yoyo weight results, this is the way to go.

 

[jazzkat]

Scoosh didnt agree with you. Weight doesnt come back when you stop dieting.

Ok, scoosh was just pointing out the content of the programme in your quote.


Cambridge dictionary online gives the following definition of the word diet:
when someone eats less food, or only particular types of food, because they want to become thinner or for medical reasons
I'm going on a diet next week and hope to lose two kilos before Christmas.
a crash/strict/calorie-controlled diet
The doctor put me on a low-salt diet to reduce my blood pressure.

I only used an online dictionary as I couldn't be bothered to get off my turbo trainer to look it up in the OED.
If a diet is when someone eats less food it implies that when a diet stops you eat more and the weight returns. Calories in = caloies out and any extra is stored as fat. Although that is a little irrelevant in my instance because as you say weight loss is a pleasant side effect of this diet rather than the be all and end all.