I fast for 13+ hours most days. It actually kicks my fasting glucose up, which apparently is is known phenomenon for diabetics. However, intermittent fasting has some support for reducing breast cancer. I could do a 16-hour fast easily (especially on Ozempic, which kills appetite and is nauseating), but I have medications that need to be taken with food and timed in less proximity than an 8-hour window allows.
I’ve frequently skipped breakfasts because my stomach just hasn’t woken up. I can make it all the way til 5 PM without feeling hungry this way.
I don’t know if this is good or bad for my prediabetes.
That should have been pre-symptomatically… I hate spell check.
IANAD, but assuming you’re not eating massive carbs in the evening you should be in ketosis for most of the day when you are fasting, which may actually be good for your prediabetes, assuming you do that daily. That’s a good question for your doctor.
My brother has been doing this for a while, and swears by it.
FWIW, while perusing this thread, an ad for some kind of product related to intermittent fasting showed up. That’s got to be some kind of record timing.
I started IF about 2 years ago, lost 25 lbs, and have kept it off without issues. I have a ton of energy while fasted in the mornings. I generally eat breakfast around 10, and stop eating around 6. Mostly healthy food. It was a little hard the first week or two, now it just feels normal. It’s certainly easier than following a meal plan or counting calories.
Not just diabetics. When your blood sugar falls, your body attempts to fix it by releasing glucagon from the pancreas to prevent it from going too low.
Different forms of glucagon are prescribed for people with diabetes for use as an emergency treatment for severe low blood sugar.
Think of glucagon as the opposite of insulin.
mmm
I see that intermittent fasting’s popularity correlates with renewed interest in the legendary Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless Diet.
And remember, if you take things too far:
““Fasters who died from too long a fast did not die from lack of food, but actually suffocated in and with their own waste.” (Ehret, 1926)”
Just a thought:
I think IF is sometimes criticized by “professionals” - because compared to other types of weight-loss-programs, there is no real “product” to sell in IF.
Just eat what you always eat, but not during the X to Z hours … No low-carb, no calorie-burners, no supplementals, no paleo-mumbo-jumbo etc…
if you want to have some facepalm fun, just look at some random supplemental cr@p webpage (radom link: DMHA, DMAA & Ephedra Fat Burners | Best Selling of 2022/2023 – Supplement Warehouse )
## Description
## Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals Stimerex Hardcore with Ephedra | Weight Loss Support Supplement
This formula with its distinctive black radial-printed capsule, is the advanced form of Stimerex, everyone’s favorite energy and diet supplement. This hardcore formula is known for its mega energy boost and hard hitting ingredients to help you lose weight faster than ever. This potent fat burner contains 25 mg Thermo-Z™ brand ephedra extract, DMHA and other cutting edge ingredients to help you increase and energy and burn fat. With this Hardcore formula, the team at Hi Tech Pharmaceuticals took the ever popular original Stimerex and tweaked it with some cutting edge technology to not only boost the way you feel, but to get you shredded faster than ever. Stimerex Hardcore is Hi Tech Pharmaceutical’s most densely-dosed, jam-packed, jacked-up, hardcore stimulant yet!
This formula is going to give you the stimulant effects you have been looking for. And because it is not only a diet aid and energy supplement, it’s going to provide you with all the fighting ingredients to get you the shredded physique you have been hoping for.
.
Seems there is not much $$$ to be made from IF -
It works fine for me.
What products do you think that health professionals who are dubious about intermittent fasting are out to sell?
Now there’s the convincing evidence we were waiting for.
Strong is the passive-agressiveness in your post … user Jackmannii
bear in mind we are not in FQ but IMHO … and if you go upthread, you will find lots and lots of anecdotical individual experiences being shared, well aligned with what is to be expected in the IMHO forum. Amongst those anecdotes you will find … well mine …
Having said that … I take responsibility for what I write, but not for what you read into my writing …
I regret you are unable to recognize sarcasm, or to answer why you think health professionals might question intermittent fasting, other than to protect their ability to sell “products”.
Well, “professional” just means people who make their living at something, and those selling useless to harmful supplements or programs are making money at it … so some “professionals” may be “skeptical” of anything other than their product.
@Al128 may not take responsibility for how others read what they write … but yes it reads like the ads aimed at rubes … about how the “health care industry” does want you to know this secret simple easy approach (click here!) to fatness!
Reality is that there are plenty selling books and websites on IF, and the con-folk selling supplements often fund those websites by being prime advertisers.
The articles linked to in this thread that express concern about muscle impact, and report the lack of efficacy compared to a calorie matched low calorie plan, were not written by supplement hawkers.
And FWIW many nutrition and obesity experts/professionals embrace IF as an option that may work well for some, as long as focus also remains on the nutritional quality of what is eaten as well. (“Just eat what you always eat” they’d object to if what you always eat is not quality nutritionally.)
Are there any major nutrition organizations or respected medical associations that endorse intermittent fasting?
As noted in the previously cited article on the website of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics*:
“Intermittent fasting is not currently a recommended treatment for weight loss or any other health condition. There needs to be more research, especially regarding any negative side effects of fasting, such as the risk for nutrient deficiencies. Intermittent fasting may pose a health risk for certain individuals, so it is not recommended for people with diabetes, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and individuals with a history of eating disorders or disordered eating. Anyone considering fasting should first discuss it with a doctor, especially if taking medications that may need to be adjusted.”
*“Representing more than 112,000 credentialed nutrition and dietetics practitioners, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.”
Organizations or Associations? Not that I know of. Respected leaders in major centers, real serious experts on nutrition and obesity, professionals in that sense? Major center endorsed pieces? Yes a few.
So on. Again the authors of the study that failed to show efficacy vs a matched not time restricted calorie reduced plan were supporters of the approach and still think that it is useful for some despite their own negative findings.
Many serious professionals endorse it as an option that may appeal and work for some, albeit no magic involved, data still sketchy, and clearly not for everyone.
Speaking of sketchy:
Among the “real serious experts” promoting intermittent fasting is Joe Mercola, who you may recall as a member of the Disinformation Dozen and a doc the N.Y. Times called “The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online”. Mercola loves intermittent fasting, to cleanse “toxins” and “impurities”. Says Joe:
“Intermittent fasting promotes cell regeneration by triggering autophagy, which is a natural process needed to renew damaged cells. It helps inhibit cancerous growths and chronic disease development.”
There’s about as much evidence for such claims as for the idea that your car will run smoother and last years longer if you periodically let it run out of gas.
Mark Hyman M.D. and fellow so-called functional medicine docs also gush over intermittent fasting, to revitalize one’s mitochondria and perform other wonders.
With boosters like those (and “serious” types who handwave away negative studies), it might be a good idea to wait for more compelling evidence and recommendations by major medical and nutrition organizations.
Yes. As noted there are hucksters trying to make money glomming onto IF.
Is it your position that such makes the more nuanced beliefs of the many serious medical experts on nutrition and obesity, who believe that it offers an approach that seems effective for some anyway, invalid by association?
If Mercola said a Mediterranean diet plan was great, because it cleared toxins and invoked alien powers, click here, would you argue that therefore the diet plan was to be avoided?
Me, I am trying to have a high protein high fiber breakfast after my morning exercise session, usually snack on unsalted almonds or mixed nuts, and dried fruit during the day, and have a dinner later than I’d ideally like due to the fact that most evenings one of my wife or I work late and eating together matters. IF is not for me. It is for some others.
ETA, the data so far shows little risk of harm anyway, aside from the concern regarding fat free mass if one is also strength training. So avoiding it categorically seems a bit much, as skeptical of it as we both may be.
You might want to take a closer look before concluding there’s “little risk of harm anyway”.
“The American Cancer Society reports there are many short-term side effects of fasting. These include headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, low blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms. People who are fasting may experience an impaired ability to conduct certain tasks, such as operate machinery or drive a vehicle. Fasting could also cause flareups of certain conditions such as gout or gallstones. Fasting could impair the body’s ability to absorb certain medications or even alter drug interactions in the body.”
"* Fasting may also lead to an increase in the stress hormone, cortisol, which may lead to even more food cravings.
- Overeating and binge eating are two common side effects of intermittent fasting.
- Intermittent fasting is sometimes associated with dehydration because when you do not eat, sometimes you forget to drink."
The Dangers of Intermittent Fasting - Center For Discovery.
Regarding pediatric practice, I’m sure you’ve heard of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ newly issued guidelines on managing childhood obesity. I haven’t heard of the AAP endorsing intermittent fasting.
*I did run across a Dr. Berg online who’s enthusiastic about intermittent fasting for kids. It turns out that he’s a chiropractor. But maybe he’s had a good idea at some time or other in his career. 
My wife and I started IF (3 PM to 8 AM every day) after reading an article about its effects in the New England Journal of Medicine. Of course more research has to be done, but by that time we will likely be dead. But it seemed pretty reassuring that there are no ill effects. I had previously lost enough weight that my doctor told me to stop losing and I have not changed weight in three years since we started. My wife has lost about 25 lbs and needed to. Now she is trying to stop losing. And we don’t miss supper at all. Maybe I should mention that when we visit our kids, we follow their meal schedules, usually gain a few lbs, then quickly lose them when we return home.
Now you get into “Oh come on!” territory.
You cannot seriously be citing these “people say”, mostly focused on “Fasting can range from juice-only fasts to fasts that exclude all food and fluid, such as dry fasting.” as actual evidence of risks associated with the defined programs of IF, which are not juice only or dry fasts, just time restricted feeding.
What we can say is that the NEJM study that found a lack of efficacy when matched isocalorically to a calorie restricted plan, also found “there were no substantial differences between the groups in the numbers of adverse events.” Nor have frequent adverse effects been reported in the many other studies. There simply is no evidence of significant risks associated with time restricted eating plans used by adults. Of course larger studies might have some show up but we can only state what is currently known.
I can find one study correlating having used IF with eating disorders in teens and young adults … and am familiar with many the more strongly prospectively correlate calorie restriction dieting behaviors in teens with future eating disorders, and with developing obesity in the future as well.
Indeed IF is not a recommendation of the new AAP obesity guidelines, and neither is a calorie counting diet approach. I would specifically advise against IF in children, and there is in fact evidence that breakfast skipping in children causes harms. I also strongly advise against calorie counting diets in kids. The cornerstone intervention recommendation is “Intensive Health Behavior and Lifestyle Treatment” and a chronic disease perspective in the context of family and community.
Kids are not little adults but my preference would be for a similar approach for big folk too. Focus on quality nutritional choices, regular exercise, and impacting the family and community culture surrounding obese and at risk for obesity adults, more than calories, IF approaches, or even the scale as the goal, and better health is almost assured to result.
But again, individual adults need to find what works for them as individuals.