Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Did you read my post (which you quoted), where I said the guidelines were "don't eat outside these hours", and calorie restrictions.?
The study summary did not say that participants ate healthy food, just a certain number of calories. If you blow all your calories on ice cream, your nutrition is going to suffer.
The abstract also didn't say how participation was monitored. Did the subjects just tell researchers, " Yup, I followed the guidelines"? That kind of study isn't nearly as weighty as one where participants are in a controlled situation where they can't change things up.
I'm not an expert, maybe the studies showing IF to be effective are also flawed. But this particular study doesn't seem to be giving it a fair shot.
You could find out the answers to your questions by subscribing to the service and reading the entire study. You have no idea what's in it, because you didn't read it. You're basing your opinion on the assumption that there's no substance to a study you never read.
I didn't read it either. But I'm not the one judging the value of the study.
I don't care about any studies, but I know I FEEL better eating less often. I hate the sensation of fullness, and prefer an emptier stomach to function on.
Last night we each had half of a home-made 12" pizza with just parmesan and pork loin on it---maybe one ounce of meat each. A few cherry tomatoes and that was it for the day.
I just feel better that way (DH being skinny, has another veg/pasta meal).
Seems we're all on our own to figure out what works best for us as individuals.
I've personally seen intermittent fasting help myself and others in many different ways. Here's some thoughts on this study that will hopefully put intermittent fasting into perspective and show that it is still a powerful tool.
#1: In this study both groups lost weight
By scanning the headlines it's easy to draw the conclusion that IF doesn't help weight-loss. But that’s not the case. They found both groups lost 14-18lbs, which is not bad. Their calorie restriction of 1,200-1,500 calories for women (and 1,500-1,800 for men) no doubt made these results possible.
Here’s something to think about:
If IF helps some people snack less and consume fewer calories, is it still effective?
#2: Intermittent fasting is a strategy, not a diet.
Intermittent fasting is a way to decrease calorie consumption (amongst many other health outcomes I'll get to in a moment). It is simply a structure of when you eat. It does not specify what you eat during that window of time. Some people are intermittent fasting but when they do eat they are drinking pop… bags of cheesy poofs… or frozen dinners. So they are not reaping the benefits of it.
The quality of food must be taken into consideration. And this study did not control for that.
If a future study controls for quality of food – we should pay attention (and below is one example of such a study).
#3: Health benefits of intermittent fasting beyond just weight-loss
Here are the markers the researchers looked at: insulin sensitivity, blood sugar levels, blood pressure or blood lipids. While these are important measures, they are not exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination. There are other benefits that go beyond these measures.
Here’s what they did not look for, but that previous studies uncovered:
BDNF: When you IF you release a neurochemical known as BDNF (Brain-derived neurotropic factor) which switches on genes that produce new brain cells (and build existing ones). It also makes you more resilient to conditions such as depression. Plus, it helps you learn quicker… boosts memory… and slows aging. One study found that 4 weeks of IF increased BDNF levels by 3.5x.
Autophagy: When you fast your cells activate a process called autophagy. Autophagy is like your body’s recycling system where the body cleans out damaged proteins, toxins, and other debris that fill the cell. It removes this “debris” and uses it either for energy or for creating new cell parts.
Ghrelin: IF helps regulate the hunger hormone ghrelin which keeps hunger at bay.
HGH: IF boosts human growth hormone (HGH). This powerful hormone helps decrease risk of heart disease, boosts metabolism, builds muscle mass, and is linked to greater longevity. A 2007 study found that fasting doesn’t just raise HGH a little. They found that it raised HGH by 1,300% in women and 2,000% in men!
IGF-1: A 2020 study had cyclists consume the exact same foods (while one group did IF and the other did not). The IF group lost weight, lost body fat and their IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) dropped significantly, which one of the most reliable markers for health and longevity. The higher your IGF-1, the higher the risk for certain types of cancers.
There's still a lot to learn about intermittent fasting but hopefully that helps put this topic into perspective.
Autophagy: When you fast your cells activate a process called autophagy. Autophagy is like your body’s recycling system where the body cleans out damaged proteins, toxins, and other debris that fill the cell. It removes this “debris” and uses it either for energy or for creating new cell parts...
One tidbit I read many years ago is a bit related. The health advice was to stop eating 4-5 hours before you go to bed. That gave your body time for the autophagy process. If you ate too close to bedtime, you body would busy with the digestion process instead.
When I did IF, I always tried to eat my last meal by 7. I still do.
One tidbit I read many years ago is a bit related. The health advice was to stop eating 4-5 hours before you go to bed. That gave your body time for the autophagy process. If you ate too close to bedtime, you body would busy with the digestion process instead.
When I did IF, I always tried to eat my last meal by 7. I still do.
Exactly! Eating the last meal by 7 is great.
Your body also has a system called the glymphatic system (similar to lymphatic system) that is responsible for washing/cleansing your brain at night. It is much more active during sleep and relies on quite a bit of blood flow. So if you are devoting that blood flow to digestion that system can't do it's job as well.
For me, it absolutely works. I don't eat junk food. I still manage and control what I eat. For me low carb is the key. Higher fat and proteins.
May not work for everyone but it definitely works for me mostly because I am a grazer. So once I start "snacking" I continue down that path for hours. Better to not start at all.
Your body also has a system called the glymphatic system (similar to lymphatic system) that is responsible for washing/cleansing your brain at night. It is much more active during sleep and relies on quite a bit of blood flow. So if you are devoting that blood flow to digestion that system can't do it's job as well.
Eating no later than 7pm is not going to create a calorie deficit, or trick your body into losing weight. Again, there is nothing magical about the time you finish eating for the day. There are plenty of slender folks who eat late in the day, and rise for an early breakfast, and snack or even graze throughout the daylight hours.
And there are plenty of obese people who stop eating before 7pm.
What you eat to provide your caloric intake for the day, and what you do with those calories, is the primary factor that determines how much you'll weigh. That doesn't include sickness that causes you to shed pounds (such as various types of cancer), or medicines that cause you to retain water or bulk out (such as steroids).
Notwithstanding "special circumstances" - the thing about having your last meal earlier rather than later has to do with the fact that it's close to bedtime, and your body still has to finish digesting. If you're asleep, it means you're not burning very much energy at all. Food is energy and nutrition. If you don't DO anything with that energy, it'll just stack up. So you finish eating earlier in the evening rather than later, and maybe go dancing, or do a little exercise, take a walk, finish cleaning the house, some physical activity before you wind down for the night.
Hint: MOST people eat only during a specific window lasting between 8-12 hours during a 24-hour period. If you get up at 7AM and eat something for breakfast before 8, then eat something at noon, and then eat dinner around 6 at night, and don't eat again until the next morning then congratulations - you just ate like a normal American human being.
Actually that's not the norm for most Americans. Sounds good to me though!
I find that a very low carb diet, eating twice or once a day (OMAD), combined with intermittent fasting (IF) works best for me. After a few days of low carb eating, the appetite is naturally suppressed, and then I can do OMAD very easily if I choose.
My IF window cuts out the possibility of the last night snacking I was addicted to, as I'm finished eating for the day by 5PM at the latest. My body responds well to IF. Brain fog is lifted, I feel more energized, memory recall improves, and weight loss begins. If I add a regime of consistent light exercise, the benefits increase. I'm lazy about exercise, so it's not too consistent, but I try.
I read all the research I could find before trying IF, and could see no danger to this method, and a ton of people's testimony to it's efficacy, so I gave it a whirl. Glad I did!
The first week or two of IF/low carb is challenging. But once the appetite decreases and I get into the groove, it is the most effective way for me to lose weight and feel better overall.
Obviously, nothing works for all people. But this path is worth exploring if you're looking for a new way to lose weight and feel better.
I find that a very low carb diet, eating twice or once a day (OMAD), combined with intermittent fasting (IF) works best for me. After a few days of low carb eating, the appetite is naturally suppressed, and then I can do OMAD very easily if I choose.
My IF window cuts out the possibility of the last night snacking I was addicted to, as I'm finished eating for the day by 5PM at the latest. My body responds well to IF. Brain fog is lifted, I feel more energized, memory recall improves, and weight loss begins. If I add a regime of consistent light exercise, the benefits increase. I'm lazy about exercise, so it's not too consistent, but I try.
I read all the research I could find before trying IF, and could see no danger to this method, and a ton of people's testimony to it's efficacy, so I gave it a whirl. Glad I did!
The first week or two of IF/low carb is challenging. But once the appetite decreases and I get into the groove, it is the most effective way for me to lose weight and feel better overall.
Obviously, nothing works for all people. But this path is worth exploring if you're looking for a new way to lose weight and feel better.
Same here. IF/OMAD has worked the best for me as far as weight loss and retaining it as well as additional health benefits.
IF/OMAD definitely isn't for everyone. But it has stopped me from snacking, which was the thing that was killing me.
For me, being passive (not eating or eating less, etc) is easier to maintain long term than active (exercise, etc.).
I still exercise once in a while but find myself falling off the wagon a bit. But with IF/OMAD, it's a sustainable lifestyle change.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
