The science of intermittent fasting

[Afro_Vacancy]

As I'm out my goal weight and want to attempt some other things, I'll be doing my last long fast this week. I'm hoping to go at least seven days total, but not consecutive as I have required social meals on Wednesday (a date that's likely to be canceled) and Thursday (annual workplace picnic) and will this be breaking it into two parts.

Today was my last meal until Wednesday night. The protein was two pieces of pollock, a white fish. Glass of red wine (Chilean Malbec). 1 small avocado, and a stir fry of onion, garlic, ginger, shitake mushrooms and a zucchini in butter, coconut oil, and spices. Dessert was a small basket of blackberries.

I feasted rather nicely, was a little over 1200 calories I think, and now I try to fast

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Sometimes it's a little harder to organize a long fast. I wanted to do a long fast this week, maybe 5-7 days. Back on Sunday night I cooked myself a glorious meal with vegetables, fats, fish, and a glass of red wine. And then ...

- I was drafted to organize a work lunch on Monday for a workplace visitor. I was told this Monday morning.
- I was invited to a work meeting over dinner time on Tuesday;
- A woman delayed a dinner date to Wednesday night;
- There was the annual workplace picnic, yesterday, on Thursday. A lot of talking over food. And I'm new here.

I don't feel bad, of these four I'd say that three were "essential", at least, but it's a good example of the logistical challenge of organizing a long fast. It's sequential days of avoiding the number one social activity in our culture: eating together.

So that's four days in a row of which three were OMAD and are now out, lol. I'm trying again starting today. I should at least do three days (Friday/Saturday/Sunday), but hopefully longer. I'm at my goal weight, I want a safety margin and then I want to take a break to try other things.

************

I'm on day two now, I had about 300 calories yesterday, 150 so far today (a latter and some sauerkraut), hopefully I can do several consecutive days. I'm including probiotics like sauerkraut, pickles etc because the doctor put me on antibiotics to fight bacne.

May 6th, 2017, 174.0 lbs, 78.9 Kg.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

I'm on day 4 right now, I'm not taking it super strict since I'm on an antibiotic for acne, and thus I want to take in bacteria (probiotics) and fiber.

May 6th, 2017, 174.0 lbs, 78.9 Kg.
May 7th, 2018, 172.2 lbs, 78.1 Kg
May 8th, 2017, 172.6 lbs, 78. 3 Kg

Yesterday I had a yogurt and some pickles/sauerkraut for breakfast (~200 calories), and for dinner some sauteed vegetables, a miso soup with spinach+seaweed, pickles, sauerkraut, and a small glass of kombucha (~350 calories total). Thus far today I had a latte (~150 calories) and will have a similar dinner to yesterday.

It's my first time gaining weight on a fast, I did have ~500 calories but it's still very close to fasting. That shows the power of salt to assist in water retention.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

May 6th, 2017, 174.0 lbs, 78.9 Kg.
May 7th, 2018, 172.2 lbs, 78.1 Kg
May 8th, 2017, 172.6 lbs, 78. 3 Kg
May 9th, 2017, 170.6 lbs, 77.4 Kg (might have been 170.8, lol)
May 10th, 2017, 168.0 lbs, 76.2 Kg

Record low with two more days to go. Possibly three more.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

May 6th, 2017, 174.0 lbs, 78.9 Kg.
May 7th, 2018, 172.2 lbs, 78.1 Kg
May 8th, 2017, 172.6 lbs, 78. 3 Kg
May 9th, 2017, 170.6 lbs, 77.4 Kg (might have been 170.8, lol)
May 10th, 2017, 168.0 lbs, 76.2 Kg
May 10th, 2017, 166.8 lbs, 75.7 Kg

Not sure if I should do one or two more days.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

May 6th, 2017, 174.0 lbs, 78.9 Kg.
May 7th, 2018, 172.2 lbs, 78.1 Kg
May 8th, 2017, 172.6 lbs, 78. 3 Kg
May 9th, 2017, 170.6 lbs, 77.4 Kg (might have been 170.8, lol)
May 10th, 2017, 168.0 lbs, 76.2 Kg
May 11th, 2017, 166.8 lbs, 75.7 Kg
May 12th, 2017, 166.4 lbs, 75.5 Kg

Last night for dinner I had miso soup with seaweed and spinach; some pickles and sauerkraut, small, high-fat yogurt with hemp seeds and cinnamon, and sauteed vegetables, and a glass of komucha. So around ~500 calories. Drank coffee and tea throughout the day with no added sugar or milk.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Fast over and now time to take a break. I'll go back to posting science here rather than my log. For the time being I'm just going to eat "healthy", the only "fasting" I'll do is eliminating/reducing snacking.

 

[Rudiger]

OK I'm finally going to commit to a fast, 500 a day seems extreme though. I'm assuming you aren't training lately? I can't imagine my weak energy levels on that kind of intake, not to mention it would be pretty pointless anyway as I'd hardly grow much muscle with no calories.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

OK I'm finally going to commit to a fast, 500 a day seems extreme though. I'm assuming you aren't training lately? I can't imagine my weak energy levels on that kind of intake, not to mention it would be pretty pointless anyway as I'd hardly grow much muscle with no calories.

0 or 500 a day for a temporary period is totally fine. As insulin crashes by 70% and human growth hormone rises by 1000%, muscle will be spared and that's been measured. Energy levels also rise on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th day of a fast and you end up back to normal. There's a guy in the FB group I'm in, a power lifter. He fasted for 20 days in a month. He went back to the deadlift at the end and he was still lifting 405 lbs. His strength was spared.

I've started training again. It's going to take a while to regain the strength lost from the injury, but it gives me something to look forward to lol.

 

[Rudiger]

0 or 500 a day for a temporary period is totally fine. As insulin crashes by 70% and human growth hormone rises by 1000%, muscle will be spared and that's been measured. Energy levels also rise on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th day of a fast and you end up back to normal. There's a guy in the FB group I'm in, a power lifter. He fasted for 20 days in a month. He went back to the deadlift at the end and he was still lifting 405 lbs. His strength was spared.

I've started training again. It's going to take a while to regain the strength lost from the injury, but it gives me something to look forward to lol.

Thanks, I'll have a 5 day fast, and pick it up again on Monday.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Why did you change your screen name?

 

[Rudiger]

I was probably sick of "h.l." after 200 posts never mind 2000, it was just a quick mindless name so I could ask about treatments probably. It was too anonymous, people forget we've conversed about different things on here before.

By removing your first name are you attempting to be less anonymous? I like your new one though.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

I was probably sick of "h.l." after 200 posts never mind 2000, it was just a quick mindless name so I could ask about treatments probably. It was too anonymous, people forget we've conversed about different things on here before.

By removing your first name are you attempting to be less anonymous? I like your new one though.

I'm trying to be more anonymous. The old one could help people find me, I do write some controversial sh*t on this forum, it could be damaging to me potentially.

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I'm one week post-fast right now. A change I notice is that I have less appetite for food. I'm constantly full. That didn't happen or I don't recall it happening with my last long fast. I guess that's a good sign.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

@Rudiger what's up ?

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

I did a maintenance fast last week. I fasted 72 hours, eating dinner on Sunday night and then a very light dinner on Wednesday night, ate normally on Thursday, and then fasted on Friday.

May 6th, 2017, 174.0 lbs, 78.9 Kg.
May 7th, 2018, 172.2 lbs, 78.1 Kg
May 8th, 2017, 172.6 lbs, 78. 3 Kg
May 9th, 2017, 170.6 lbs, 77.4 Kg (might have been 170.8, lol)
May 10th, 2017, 168.0 lbs, 76.2 Kg
May 11th, 2017, 166.8 lbs, 75.7 Kg
May 12th, 2017, 166.4 lbs, 75.5 Kg
June 13th, 2017, 173.8, lbs, 78.8 Kg
June 14th, 2017, 170.8, lbs, 77.5 kg
June 15th, 2017, 170.8, lbs, 77.5 kg
June 17th, 2017, 169.4 lbs, 76.8 kg

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

A roundup of recent research results and news.

https://news.usc.edu/63669/fasting-triggers-stem-cell-regeneration-of-damaged-old-immune-system/
Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system
Protection from chemotherapy immunosuppression indicates effect could be conserved in humans

Ketogenic diet plus extra oxygen to fight cancer:

That's impressive.

Sugar vs. Cholesterol: John Yudkin vs. Ancel Keys
http://mtpr.org/post/sugar-vs-cholesterol-john-yudkin-vs-ancel-keys
A history of the 1970s-era debate. The side blaming heart disease on dietary cholesterol and fat rather than sugar won, leading to the famously bad recommendations of the 1970s and 1980s and 1990s and today.

Can Changing When And What We Eat Help Outwit Disease?
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-...ging-when-and-what-we-eat-help-outwit-disease
This one is an article of a woman in an intermittent fasting study, they're seeing if eating 18:6 affects gut bacteria.

Reminder, the main hormonal response to fasting, insulin goes down, glucose goes down, human growth hormone goes up, that's why it works:

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Associating between insulin levels and HS-CRP

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

This looks like a win for the idea that gut bacteria influence obesity. I got it from Dr. Ludwig's twitter.

Prebiotic Reduces Body Fat and Alters Intestinal Microbiota in Children With Overweight or Obesity

This study has 22 subjects in group A, 20 subjects in group B, all kids. They tested the prebiotic "oligofructose-enriched inulin" at a level of 8 grams a day in a double-blind study over 16 weeks. Body weight, body fat, and trunk fat all decreased with significance.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016508517356986

 

[rclark]

Good talk on intermittent fasting. It was presented by a PhD scientist at NSCA's 2013 National Conference.


[video=youtube;-rzx_LAf6dk]

[/video]

This is related to general health, not to hair loss. I know of no link between hair loss and calories eaten.

I've now done three 36 hour fasts, as in:
Eat dinner on Monday, go to sleep, eat nothing on Tuesday, wake up on Wednesday morning and have breakfast

It makes me feel great and I plan to do 1 36-hour fast a week when not travelling in perpetuity.

Do you think Indian food is healthy for people because it's hard to digest? It doesn't stay
in the body for a long time.

Would that make it like calorie restriction? Or is the damage done once we over eat for a long
period of time?

Part of me wants to fast, but I'm borderline diabetic.

I'm really concerned that if I do it, I will lower my metabolism down. Or is there no truth in that?

 

[hairblues]

Do you think Indian food is healthy for people because it's hard to digest? It doesn't stay
in the body for a long time.

Would that make it like calorie restriction? Or is the damage done once we over eat for a long
period of time?

i think its very unhealthy Indian food.