Is it healthy to fast for longer?

This topic contains 5 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by Fatboy to Slim… 7 years, 4 months ago.

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

Fatboy to Slim…

1:32 pm
4 Jul 17
Permalink

Hello.

Firstly to set the scene. I’m an idiot when doing a diet. I become utterly single minded and generally annoy everyone around me as I’m constantly thinking about it. I look at everything I eat with forensic precision to make sure I’m not consuming anything that could have hidden calories. It makes life a little more difficult as I then tend to relapse back into take away foods as soon as I reach my goal. Which leads me to my current position.

So when jumping on the scales I was horrified to see 15st 11lb. Almost ashamed! I’m 6ft 2″ so hide it well but my wife was harder to conceal from. I decided the 5-2 diet was the way forward and jumped in like a man possessed and haven’t eaten any more than 600 calories a day for around 10 days now. I have reduced to 15st 1lb in those 10 days (whilst also doing moderate exercise), however it occurred to me… am I doing more damage by not eating at all. Should I give my body a break and have a rest day or 2. I feel fine and don’t have many hunger issues but did wonder if I needed to relax slightly.

Any advice or encouragement would be superb. I think I should try and calm down a bit but don’t want to lose focus.

Thank you.

bigbooty

2:14 pm
4 Jul 17
Permalink

@FBtoS. Everyone is different and everyone goes about things differently. You need to ask yourself a very simple question. Is what Im doing sustainable for the rest of my life? If you can honestly answer yes then don’t change a thing. If your honest answer is no then Id start looking at changing things up and doing it differently. Once you reach your goal weight whatever that is, then what? Is what youre doing now setting yourself up for success in the future or will you just go back to eating too much of whatever it is that got you to where you are now?

I started my journey two and a half years ago. Weighed in at 202 lbs. Took me one year to hit 154 lbs and have been in maintenance for one and a half years now. I decided to stop eating sugar and processed carbs and I water fast every Monday. No exceptions. I find this easy to do, its not a chore. So as far as Im concerned its a do-able way of life for me.

The only right way is what works for you and is something that you can do forever. Im guessing what youre doing is unsustainable, but I could be completely wrong. Only you can answer that though. If its not sustainable then come up with an eating method that is. That will guarantee success.

Good luck with it.

lmrenfrey

5:42 pm
4 Jul 17
Permalink

@FBtoS – what you are doing sounds more like the blood sugar diet, which is more usually done at 800 calories for an 8 week kick start to reducing weight and visceral fat. That is similar to how I started my journey, though I was generally averaging nearer 1000 calories daily as I didn’t feel that diabetes was particularly an issue, but felt I wanted more of a kickstart than just slightly reducing calorie intake.

If you lose the weight too fast it is difficult for your skin to shrink back etc. and does become very unsustainable.

If you feel you need the kickstart I would suggest you do some reading around the blood sugar diet and increase your calorie intake slightly, but then set a time limit for switching to a more sustainable plan based on 5:2.

Also, set a reasonable target weight based loosely on a healthy BMI for your height and aiming at a waist to height ration of less than 0.5. It might be worth calculating your TDEE for mainteneance based on that target – see https://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/ if you haven’t already done that, and then you can work out a manageable calorie defecit for the weight loss.

CalifDreamer

9:31 pm
4 Jul 17
Permalink

Good answers here and just one thing to add. I would fear that cutting so far back, 600 calories every single day, could lower your metabolism and make it more difficult to maintain weight once you are at your goal. Fasting for a couple days doesn’t seem to affect it because you’re back to eating regular meals after 1 or 2 days. I think that’s why this way of eating is so effective. And as bigbooty mentioned, it’s sustainable for many people for the long term.

bigbooty

11:09 pm
4 Jul 17
Permalink

Your metabolism does slow down while “fasting” but I don’t think it is permanently set to this lower level like some people fear it is. Ive measured different parts of my body using an IR thermometer. And yes while fasting I do run colder. I measured my tongue, ears, armpits, face and belly. It backed up the “feeling” that I usually felt colder while fasting. Do I think you run the risk of permanently resetting your metabolism at this lower level? No. But it may take weeks (or longer) to reset it if you have been eating a calorie restricted diet for an extended period. Your body isn’t stupid it will respond in a manner that protects itself.

Fatboy to Slim…

11:20 pm
4 Jul 17
Permalink

Some interesting comments here. Thank you for your thoughts. I hadn’t considered my metabolic rate and I might be making it harder for myself by fasting for longer periods. Hopefully in the morning I’ll see my weight begin with a 14 which I’ll be delighted with and can then move to the more sustainable approach.

5-2 is certainly very achievable for me as I often work through lunch and never eat breakfast. I just need to make sure I don’t ‘Pig Out’ (as my wife calls it) when I get home.

Thank you again and good luck with achieving your goals. I’ve decided I won’t let weight be a concern anymore and I’m determined. 🍰🤐