Fasting

[SleepyJones]

Has anyone done much prolonged fasting? Or even intermittent fasting? I'm wondering if anyone has noticed any benefits either in weight loss, overall health or mental well-being. Apparently fasting has incredible benefits.

 

[anonymous22]

I’ve done fasting for autophagy.

I can say it’s helps with metabolic reset. I’ve noticed my glucose levels even out and stay lower, which probably has less metabolic stress on other things. A good example is my brain seems to get clearer.
So a win-win.

Otherwise, it doesn’t really do anything to fat per say, unless you use it as a way to control your total calories. Habitual eaters can sometimes benefit from that, if you can stay on that path and count all your calories and macros for one meal.

It doesn’t do anything for muscle building. Matter of fact it kind of slows it. Which eating all the time to feed muscle growth is why I like to reset everything from time to time and do a good 24 hour fast.

If you go on the internet, you always hear wild stories from “it does everything” to “it does nothing.” It’s not going to cure a disease, and it won’t make you lose weight if you can’t control your total calories, but it doesn’t not do anything.

 

[Southpaw1331]

I’m currently doing intermittent fasting losing some weight but more importantly lowering my A1-C, diabetes runs in the family so have to keep an eye on it.

 

[gbflyer]

I've done the 16/8 thing. I lose 15lbs in 45-60 days. Unfortunately I've lost motivation over a real shitty winter to stay with it and ballooned back up. It helps with my overall state of well being. I fight borderline high BP and Afib, for me the 1# of weight loss equaling one point off my BP runs pretty true. I'm on a beta blocker now that makes me lazier and hungrier. Lol.

 

[Vaultman]

There is some other info on rokslide here too. Search "OMAD". There are quite a few who have done it. This is the one I recall that I first posted my experience in.

Post in thread 'Extended Fasting while hunting?'

Feb 15, 2022

I sense there is some tongue in cheek posting here from OP (@AustinL911 )....

My experience:
I was overweight (technically I defiantly still am). But I've been IF-ing since August of 2021. Started slowly by doing an 16-8 or an 18-6 (depending on how late I ate dinner). I have since been a OMAD (One meal a day) faster. I am not super strict with it, but in the last 5 months there have been maybe 10 times that I have eaten more than OMAD.

I was not on a backpack hunt (as we were at a basecamp every night with the wall tent and truck), but I did a 9 day hunt on OMAD. This was...

• Vaultman

• 

I've done it. It works. Inflamation down, energy up. This book has a lot of info, and I read it before I did my first one:
The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting.

I just watched "Fasting: The Healer within" on amazon prime. I probably wouldn't go about it the way the two brothers did (water only, isn't my thing), but there were some other testemonials in that documentary that I enjoyed.

 

[justinspicher]

I’ve been doing it for about 30yrs now, before it was a thing, at least before I knew it was a thing.

It was mostly out of convenience due to a busy work schedule and after a bit it just became a lifestyle. I don’t each much, until dinner and then try to eat sensible, but that doesn’t always work if I’ve had a busy day.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized my outlook on fitness is very different from most, but it works for me and that’s all that really matters.

 

[Jake Larsen]

16/8 significantly lowers my overall inflammation. I’ve got some GI damage due to food allergies. I’m noticeably less bloated, more comfortable, and more consistent stools when intermittent fasting.


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[brca005]

I started doing a 36 hour fast once a month for the gut reset and health benefits associated with it, I highly recommend it.

I will get real hungry from hour 21-24 or so, and then after that I'm good to go. I will do them on weekends/off days but also try to stay busy as well, so I'm not just holding down the couch wanting to eat or thinking about how hungry I am.

For me, I will feel the benefits normally a day or two after I'm done with the fast. I will also keep taking the normal supplements I do every other day (greens, beet powder, creatine, LMNT, etc.) and I'll also drink a little more water than I normally do on a normal day.

 

[Skerhunter]

I have been “intermittent fasting” for ~20 years. I just have a coffee in the mornings, which means I fast for around 16-18 hours every day. What are the exact benefits, I have no idea! I will say that I have never been fat/overweight or on any type of diet.

 

[SleepyJones]

I just broke a 120 hr fast. Started by going for just 48 hrs, then each day I figured I could do one more day. Probably could have done the 144 days, but I was worried that would be taking it a bit too far. Only thing I really noticed was my sense of smell got better.

 

[Ashy Larry]

16/8 is basically just skipping breakfast. It’s pretty easy. When I did it I always thought 18/6 or 20/4 was way more effective at fat loss. I lift in the mornings typically so I added a 50g protein shake in the mornings and I think I like that system better.

 

[nphunter]

I water fasted for over 100 days in 2024 between Feb-Sept., multiple-day fasts, several 7-day fasts, a lot of 5-day fasts and a 10-day fast. I enjoyed the fasting and my blood work improved a lot, historically over the last 10 years or so I had eaten keto and alwayed tried to go into hunting season in ketosis.

During the water fasts I still did all of my normal stuff, I even backpacked 7 miles deep in the eagle caps with my wife hauling camp on my back on days 3 and 4 of a fast, I did pack some salt and a bag on nuts and jerky incase I needed it but felt great. I love hiking and hunting while in ketosis because I can go all day without bonking out, I've went on a ton of multi-day backpack hunts with just a small bag of pepperoni, almonds and some cheese. My buddies think I'm crazy when they are plowing through mountain houses and PBJ's but I'm not even hungry. I plan on starting every archery season on zero carbs and becoming fat adapted, it makes it so even if you're eating a more normal high carb diet during the season your body will switch to burning fat without getting hypoglycemic.

I didn't see much weightloss with the fasting, I dropped a lot of water weight during the fasts but it always came back, even though I was eating keto between fasts. My A1C dropped which I wasn't worried about and inflamation was low. I fasted quite a bit prior to '24 off and on but really wanted to see if I could do 100 days. Completing 5-10 day water fasts definitely takes some mental fortitude, and I think everyone should do it at least once.

 

[Deli]

Been doing the 16/8 or even 18/6 for about 10 years now. It's pretty easy after about a month and I'm never hungry in the morning. I do a couple of 2-5 day water fasts (with black coffee) throughout the year if I feel I've been eating crappy, have stomach issues, or am getting sick a lot as it's a great way to "reset" the body/gut. A few days a week now I have a protein shake right after my morning workout to try and fool my metabolism so that my body doesn't get used to one way of eating.