Fasting strategies for healthy waist management

Since the poll choice inputs don't allow for much explanatory text, here's some further info on some of the approaches:

Leangains: Obviously it depends on more factors than the "feeding window" - otherwise you could simply skip breakfast and then stuff yourself with junk food. You can go to Leangains.com and read more about the whole approach, but fasting 16h each day is the cornerstone.

The Warrior diet: It actually suggests to snack throughout the day (low calorie, healthy food like fruits and small amounts of nuts) and then to eat a large, but not necessarily huge meal in the evening.

The Alternate Day Diet: It doesn't suggest to do a 100% fasting day every other day ... instead it recommends to eat about 20% of your normal caloric intake on such a fasting day, and to distribute that into 3 "meals".


Now ... if you vote, I'd love to read your comments about whether you tried some of these approaches, and whether they helped in your weight loss efforts in a sustainable way (e.g. not just for a few weeks or months). Please also note that all the approaches that I listed should be sustainable - there's no reason why one shouldn't continue to eat this way even if there's no weight to be lost. Of course you can skip some of the fasts then, and add them back in whenever you feel that you're gaining again.

Personally, I currently like the Leangains approach best, because it's really easy to comply with, and so far (about 3 weeks into it) I've been getting good results and feeling great.


Edited by Mr ProgFreak - May 30 2010 at 10:46

Well, Mr.ProgFreak, you seem to have created several threads about food, diets and all. You seem to be a bit... worried about that subject... Any reason, mmmm...?

No fasting, eat two good meals a day plus a smaller one and snack something healthy every few hours to keep the stomach working and making your metabolism smoother; Also, of course, MOVE. 

- Eat early

tuxon wrote: stonebeard wrote: 1. Eat food. 2. Monitor weight. 3. If weight is undesirably high... 4. Eat less food. Hot damn I'm a genius.   yeah you really are a genius. that's the best thing since sliced bread.

Which is coincidentally something you'll probably have to eat less of if you're following my awesome plan.

No fasting, if you're eating too much, eat less and create a new baseline. Drastically cutting your caloric intake temporarily does nothing.

I will rival the proven genius Stonebeard with my own recipe.  

1. Eat food and do at least 45 minutes of physical training a day (for example walking instead of driving)
2. Monitor weight.
3. If weight is undesirably high...
4. Put in some extra training sessions.

Eat less does not work for everyone. It can make you depressed and you may do something you may regret. Kicking your partner out of the house for example or wiping out your local village in rage. People, like myself, only loose weight through cycling, golf or walking. I am back from a 130 km/8 hours long round-trip on my bike in the local mountains so I should know. That's some grammes with gained muscles and probably a kilo or two off my surplus weight.

 

Edited by toroddfuglesteg - May 31 2010 at 10:47

CPicard wrote: Well, Mr.ProgFreak, you seem to have created several threads about food, diets and all. You seem to be a bit... worried about that subject... Any reason, mmmm...?

"Interested" would be a better word ... or even "fascinated". It amazes me that there are so many conflicting points of view about such basic human activities as eating and exercising. 65% of all adults in the US are overweight, most of them eat at least three meals a day and take care not to eat too much fat ... yet I'm getting weird looks when I propose things like eating less carbs, or to occasionally skip a meal, or to spend a day without food.

Can't I be glad that I am losing fat and gaining muscle, and isn't it ok to try to help others to achieve the same results? I know that many overweight people don't care about their body, but some do - some try to lose weight and fail, and to some of them threads like this one might be helpful.

Here's some more info on the alternating day diet (alias "feast or famine diet"):

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/feast-or-famine-diet/

"Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago designed an alternate day regimen that restricted food on “famine” days to 25% of estimated energy needs. Sixteen obese participants went through a 10-week program: a 2-week control period, 4-week alternating day 25%/”controlled intake” period, and 4-week alternating day 25%/”self-selected intake” (albeit with diet counseling) period. The results? (Can you guess, IFers?) Subjects lost weight consistently in both 4 week periods and showed improvement in key blood markers (total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure)."

And also this:

"Dr. William Davis of the Heart Scan Blog, a blogroll friend of mine, did a great sequence a few weeks ago on grazing, fasting and postprandial patterns. As he emphasizes, the postprandial (aka “after eating”) period is the most damaging for artery plaque buildup. In our society, we’re encouraged to be starting the next meal before the previous one has even been fully absorbed. Our systems rarely, if ever, have the chance to return to zero. Fasting allows for that resetting."

Your crusades tend to lose steam after a while good Mike...