# Intermittent fasting **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [January 14, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758 "2019-01-14T21:23:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/21 "2019-01-17T02:47:47Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > There are actually fairly few controlled human studies on “time-restricted feeding” (TRF) and those that there are generally are fairly small n. Moreover the studies are _early_-TRF, for example like [this 2018 one](https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(18)30253-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1550413118302535%3Fshowall%3Dtrue) in which prediabetic men were randomized into either a 12 hr period or a 6 hour period of feeding the latter with “dinner” done before 3 pm (and then crossed over). Total n was 8. > > Still such is the data we have, but there is of note from the review portion of the article that the early part of the TRF is of importance. > Let me highlight one line of that: > > **"restricting food intake to the late afternoon or evening (after 16:00 hr.; “late TRF” [lTRF]) either produced mostly null results or worsened postprandial glucose levels, β cell responsiveness, blood pressure, and lipid levels "** > > Their study even with the small n ended up showing some pretty significant results of early TRF on metabolic measures even without any, i.e. independent of, weight loss. Eating most of your calories fairly early and not having many late calories may be of real benefit .. Interesting to know. In fact, her main issue is that she doesn’t have regular work hours. She starts working some days in the early morning, and other days in the afternoon. However, she follows this “non-diet” by not eating late, in fact, and has a breakfast. Which according to this, would be the proper way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/22 "2019-01-17T02:48:54Z")
Thanks everybody who shared their experience with intermittent fasting. I’m reporting the informations. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/23 "2019-01-17T02:50:06Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Be careful with this if you have any history of disordered eating patterns. The hunger can trigger binge behavior, and for me it made me hard lapse into full anorexia which I hadn’t experienced in years. Thank you for the warning. However, she has no such problem. In fact, she had already very good eating habits. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/24 "2023-01-07T23:29:24Z")
My daughter has been doing time-based IF for a few months and has dropped 30 lbs without being tired or hungry. She says she has more energy now, which comes in handy with an active nine-year-old. I’m going to switch over to it, but my fasting period won’t be as long as hers. To start, I will eat from 8 AM to 6 PM (10 hours) and fast for the other 14 hours, which is mostly when I’m sleeping. This shouldn’t to be hard for me, and I’m not expecting a dramatic weight loss as a result, but if it gives me more energy during the day that makes it worth it. I exercise by walking/hiking at least 8 miles a day, every day. I’ll report back on my results when I have some. Since this thread was started in 2019 has any other doper successfully switched over on a permanent basis? Any drawbacks they want to share? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/25 "2023-01-07T23:42:59Z")
Here’s the thing: when I was a kid, we did this naturally, but didn’t call it by any particular name. We ate dinner around 6 pm and didn’t eat again until breakfast around 7 am. That’s a 13-hour “fast” right there. We did not snack in the evening. There was no rule at home against it-- it’s just that there weren’t snacks around. The idea of grazing in the kitchen after supper, eating cookies, candy, or chips-- it wouldn’t have crossed my mind. Also, you couldn’t buy snacks at any of the schools I attended (1954-1966, all over the country). At school, you ate lunch, either from home or in the cafeteria and there might be a cookie or some fruit, but that was it. When you got home, maybe you had a snack of some kind, but then you wanted to go outside and play until dinner. After dinner, homework. There was no sitting around in front of a screen (like I do now that I’m an Old Lady 🙄). My 2 cents. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/26 "2023-01-08T05:20:57Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Since this thread was started in 2019 No personal experience to share but an update on the literature. As noted before the data was sparse in 2019. Some better work since but not great news for the approach being superior. > **[Scientists Find No Benefit to Time-Restricted Eating (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/health/time-restricted-diets.html)** > > In a yearlong study, participants who confined meals to certain hours lost no more weight than those who ate at any time. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/27 "2023-01-08T06:55:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That’s a 13-hour “fast” right there. As noted above, not eating while sleeping is not fasting. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/28 "2023-01-08T09:30:56Z")
That’s why I put it in quotation marks. I guess you missed my point? No matter. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/29 "2023-01-08T16:46:54Z")
Unfortunately it’s behind a paywall… ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/30 "2023-01-08T17:07:48Z")
Here’s a free link > **[Scientists Find No Benefit to Time-Restricted Eating](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/health/time-restricted-diets.html?unlocked_article_code=_3kH0pUA2MTtD-q9ywrbE7T_dqyHzCdw-UT3KcMnaA8094LxkHWeA4KuILIW4SvUART0Jwf0m6bk0nGngaKBAEL3X4TvnrIBptuYNDMM7ICrLsr45SIWsTFt4JkNvy7phMaSVheaOLG1cWLTRMIFII9U6OHYrNx06zJDOyG_DSYVplHfa0YTjI7losGwhlaO9FDL4OIlMYfmmPUH1_z_cWCB7l8tjwocajDEcdMAGycijV2rQK9MNnEZj-Gc-F0eRhDMbUzcfqaiRcFqXJzJ51Xf7OB9dDCsTTcCI3Qdv7XVm-oGt1HNqN6xSVZzvqfR63zUA7g7BjiALZsLNio&smid=share-url)** > > In a yearlong study, participants who confined meals to certain hours lost no more weight than those who ate at any time. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/31 "2023-01-08T17:51:23Z")
Thanks, Ann\_Hedonia! Much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2023, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/32 "2023-01-09T23:16:36Z")
My wife and I have been doing this for nearly 3 years. We have breakfast around 8, dinner around 2 and then nothing. I do some snacking during the morning; she largely does not. I have lost no weight (wasn’t trying to); she has lost about 15 lbs, but wants to stop losing. I am sure we sleep better on an empty stomach. It took almost no time to adjust to this and it is in no way difficult to follow. For 3-4 weeks each years we are visiting one or the other of our three kids and do not try to follow it then. Then we get back to it with no effort. Also we will occasionally have an evening meal at a restaurant with some friends, but not often. We started this because of an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that suggested it dampened inflammation. It did not recommend it for weight loss. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/33 "2023-01-11T02:22:07Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > thisspaceforrent another anectode : I am doing intermittend fasting for some 5-6 years now, and still wear the same size jeans I wore when 18 years old (w30 / L32) … I am now in my mid-50ies works for me, my mental structure and metabolism … I start eating at around 14.00h and eat normally until bedtime (22.00h?) … and then nothing until about 14.00h next day … so a 16:8 type of thing … I don’t do this religiously, for ex. tomorrow I have a business breakfast and will def. dig in there … but on average its probably 5 days per week… don’t even get hungry anymore before noon ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/34 "2023-01-11T02:46:29Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Some better work since but not great news for the approach being superior. They compared an equal number of calories, though. IF is mostly about appetite management–i.e., it’s easier to restrict calories by reducing the timeframe. Maybe true, maybe not, but that study doesn’t address it. Since weight management is IMO 99% about appetite management, it seems to be that a study focused on that would be far more valuable. Caloric restriction isn’t sustainable if the person feels hungry constantly. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/35 "2023-01-11T03:07:45Z")
True. It tests the claim that the same number of (restricted) calories will have different impact if consumed as IF. It does not address if excess calories are handled differently or if it impacts total intake. Both are still possible. ---
**Author:** ![bretbernhoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bretbernhoft/32/13007_2.png) [@bretbernhoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bretbernhoft)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/36 "2023-01-11T14:09:12Z")
I’m a big fan of IF. It has changed my body and life forever. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/37 "2023-02-02T14:50:52Z")
After about 3 weeks on IF I’ve lost 10 lbs, which surprised me. I’m on a 19/5 IF. I eat my first meal at around 13:00 and my second meal ends by 18:00. I feel better, and I’m sleeping better. I think my weight loss had more to do with calorie restriction than Ketosis. I used to snack all day long and well into the evening. Deleting breakfast and snacking reduced my calorie intake considerably. I’m also walking 10 miles a day. I’m 68 and adjusted to IF very easily. I just don’t feel hungry in the morning anymore. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/38 "2023-02-02T16:56:47Z")
i eat at the office 8:30-5. i eat at home on the weekends, 8 hours from when ever i start. started during the covid isolation. lost 10 pounds right off, then a pound or 2 here and there haven’t regained any. if i get hungry at night i will have a piece of cheese, chicken, or glass of milk/hot chocolate. works well for me. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/39 "2023-02-02T17:19:10Z")
I’m a big fan of individuals finding what works for them best. That said I have a concern that occurred to me in @Dr_Paprika’s weightlifting (really strength training) promotion thread. One goal of a nutrition plan (including for someone trying to lose fat mass) should be maintaining (or evening growing) fat free mass at the same time as much as possible. Strength training during caloric restriction coupled with adequate protein available throughout the day allows for muscle mass increase even during caloric restriction (cites in that thread that I can link to if desired). Looking to try to find something to answer the concern that IF would impact the potential of strength training to preserve or grow muscle mass I can find this: > **[A Muscle-Centric Perspective on Intermittent Fasting: A Suboptimal Dietary...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8219935/)** > > Muscle protein is constantly “turning over” through the breakdown of old/damaged proteins and the resynthesis of new functional proteins, the algebraic difference determining net muscle gain, maintenance, or loss. This turnover, which ... I think that if the plan includes strength training with muscle preservation or gain as part of the desired outcome, there may be concerns, depending on the details. “May” though. Still best to find what works for each of us as individuals. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758/40 "2023-02-02T17:35:06Z")
Interesting article, certainly something to think about, especially longer term. OTOH, this study showed that a ketogenic diet has a positive impact on people with Alzheimer’s disease, and may even be able to forestall it if it is started per-symptomatically. > **[Ketogenic Diet in Alzheimer’s Disease](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6720297/)** > > At present, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating neurodegenerative disorder, is increasing. Although the mechanism of the underlying pathology is not fully uncovered, in the last years, there has been significant progress in its ... Why is this important? AD runs in my family, my mother and maternal grandfather died from it, and I was born with APOE4 times two, which makes me much more likely to get AD than the average person. If IF and a healthy ketogenic diet can keep me from getting AD, or it means I get it later that I would otherwise, it’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make. As you said, you have to find what works best for your particular situation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-fasting/827758.md?page=3)