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Question about Intermittent Fasting (IF) (Read 709 times)


Antipodean

    Hi,I'm a RWOL refugee with a question. Does anyone know about Intermittent Fasting (IF) or have tried it? I normally post in the BF, but this question would be lost there right now with all the spam.

     

    The version of IF I have looked at it not true fasting, but has two nonconsecutive days per week at a drastic reduction of calories - about 500 per fasting day for women, or a quarter of normal daily intake.

     

    I'm not sure if IF is for me, but I'm really wondering whether it is possible to combine it with running and how that could look. For example, I've read about fasting for a 24 hour period, so something like 2 pm one day to 2 pm the next, not going midnight to midnight like most would probably assume it works. The advantage for a runner could be that you would run early morning, eat a good breakfast, then fast until the next day at the same time. I guess  you'd eat a small breakfast the next day and then normally from lunch.

     

    Any ideas?

    Julie

     

    "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

    ~ Sir Edmund Hillary


    A Saucy Wench

      If you are already low to moderate carb adapted, it isnt hard to combine it with running.  If you are a runner who is used to fueling up with carbohydrates for a run it will be hell for awhile. 

       

      Although the version of IF that I have dallied with did not have anything close to a reduction of calories like that.  I'm guessing yours is more along the lines of eat-stop-eat?  Personally I find it much easier to end a fast in the afternoon/evening than to eat breakfast and then fast the remainder of the day .   And I dont do 24 hr fasts.  I've done something more along the lines of leangains or fast5.   With a daily less intensive fast, I actually found more energy for my running but I wasnt as much slashing calories.  I would usually get in a double at 5 am and then again at noonish (either running or some other workout) and then break fast with a LARGE meal.   But I was fairly adapted to running fasted before I started. 

      I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

       

      "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7


      Antipodean

        Thanks for your reponse. Yes, I am somewhat used to high carbs! And yes, it is more 'eat-stop-eat'. Maybe what you have done is better for running. Sorry if I've misread, but it is kind of like you skip breakfast and have a big late lunch? Have you been able to lose weight like that? Sorry, I don't even know if losing weight was an aim or not.

        Julie

         

        "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

        ~ Sir Edmund Hillary


        A Saucy Wench

          Wasnt my aim at the time, but yes - google fast 5 and leangains fasting and you'll get an idea.  I was eating 2 meals a day, one between 12 and 2 and dinner. 

           

          If you want to run and do ESE you might want to give yourself a few weeks of reduced carb running first just to ease in.  Not necessarily low carbs, just get used to running underfueled.  You will have to adjust your paces for the unfueled runs.  Are you planning on not running the fasted days?  2 days a week might not matter if you are running, eating, fasting, eating and then running again the next day.  I dont do well with the 24 hr variety.

          I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

           

          "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

          bojangles


            Are you looking to lose, maintain, or gain weight? I have done a version of IF to lose some weight and it worked quite well. Now IF isn't just restricted to losing weight. I know a few bodybuilders on that diet and they are making good gains as well. Here is a great website that I used when I did IF.... www.leangains.com

            It is very resourceful in my opinion. And the only true way to know if this will work for you is..... give it a try. What's is the worse that could happen...

            Rustico62


              deleted


              Antipodean

                Bojangles, I am looking to lose about 15-18 pounds. I'm the heaviest I've ever been apart from when I was pregnant. I will check out that website for sure.

                Julie

                 

                "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

                ~ Sir Edmund Hillary

                  Are you looking to lose, maintain, or gain weight? I have done a version of IF to lose some weight and it worked quite well. Now IF isn't just restricted to losing weight. I know a few bodybuilders on that diet and they are making good gains as well. Here is a great website that I used when I did IF.... www.leangains.com

                  It is very resourceful in my opinion. And the only true way to know if this will work for you is..... give it a try. What's is the worse that could happen...

                   

                  Body builder are trying to do two things - gain muscle (up to a point) and lose fat. Note that this is in contrast to power lifters, who often have quite a bit of fat. The fasting thing from a body building point of view is essentially aimed at the "lose fat" side of the equation, rather than the "gain muscle" thing. Most runners are also primarily interested in losing fat. Of course someone who is already heavily muscled and has low body fat might want to lose some muscle if they wish to become a faster runner... but this is an unusual circumstance - usually it's essentially about losing fat.

                  joescott


                    Julie,

                     

                    This is something that I have done from time to time, not for weight loss reasons but for other motivations.  I've never fasted more than 1 day  per week, so I can't speak to what that would be like, but I have done 1 day (~36 hr stretch -- e.g., bedtime Sunday to breakfast Tuesday) per week off and on, now and again.  My two major findings as a runner are (1) it can be done, but (2) it's really hard and that Tuesday morning run is really really slow & laborious.  I've never had the guts to try it during a serious training cycle & probably I think it would interfere with proper recovery, but between cycles when I'm just running the miles it can be fine.  Indeed, it does have the side benefit of weight loss if you pay attention to your intake the other 6 days of the week and don't end up "making up"  for those missing calories.  I don't feel I've ever suffered any ill effects from it other than the aforementioned brutal Tuesday morning slog.

                     

                    I hope this helps.

                     

                    Joe

                    - Joe

                    We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.

                      Before asking if it is possible, why would you want to do it? 

                       

                      If it is for weight loss, rather than cutting 1,500 calories from a one day diet, wouldn't it be better to reduce by 200-250 calories over 6/7 days a week? Danger of fasting - besides the health issues - is that you will compensate the next day, consciously or otherwise

                       

                      In any case, definitely not for me, I eat three meals a day and snack regularly. We need the carbs. But I eat a lot of fat free, and pretty high fiber (wholewhwar bread, pasta, fruits, veg) Intuitively, I feel fasting cannot do the body any good, even for a day at a time. If you want to clense the system, drink plenty of water. Maybe skip a meal and replace it with a fruit / veggie juice mix, but I wouldn't do more than that

                      Personal bests (bold = this year): 5K - 23:27 / 5M - 38:42 / 10K - 49:31 (track) / 10M - 1:24:26 / HM - 1:51:17 / M - 3:58:58

                      Next races: NYC Marathon, Nov 2014 

                      genebeveridge


                        link spam

                          I have been using intermittent fasting for about a year because of serious digestive issues and this has helped me to weather the storm. In my case, I eat breakfast at 7:30 or 7:45 AM, have an Insure at noon, and eat supper at 5:00 PM. This means approx. 14.5 hours between supper and breakfast. I eat large meals but it is hard to maintain my weight  If  losing weight is your goal, it does work but it takes discipline to maintain and you have to Insure you have enough gas in the tank to run. You would have to tinker with the quantity of food and the kind of diet to follow if you want to be successful. Good luck!

                          rlopez


                            Thou hast responded to a post from 2012. Reanimation!

                            AndyTN


                            Overweight per CDC BMI

                              Boo This Man GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

                              Memphis / 38 male

                              5k - 20:39 / 10k - 43:48 / Half - 1:34:47 / Full - 3:38:10

                              oldjd


                                Not sure that it matters any more, but my wife and I have been IF.  The version we use is to not eat for 16 hrs, then eat for 8.  Stopping eating by 5-7pm in the evenings has been beneficial for better sleep and waking up feeling better physically (able to get up and get the day going quicker).  We don't overeat during the eight hours of eating, but we certainly don't shy away.  We have both lost weight.  I don't feel much of any loss when it comes to working out/running during the mornings.  However my wife feels drained after her early workout - ready to eat (so she stops eating pretty early in the evenings.  That's our experience anyway.  Hope it's helpful for someone.

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