[ank.nsit]

Thanks for sharing so many details in easy to understand language.

I have 1 basic question - won't IF make our body go into starving (energy saving) mode and reduce the metabolism rate?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ank.nsit

Thanks for sharing so many details in easy to understand language.

I have 1 basic question - won't IF make our body go into starving (energy saving) mode and reduce the metabolism rate?

Thank you for your kind words.

That is a good question. Body will slow down the metabolism only when it does not have access to energy. When you are in a severe calorie restricted diet, but are still eating 5 small meals a day which are primarily carbs, you keep your insulin spike in the body constant. With the presence of insulin, body will not be able to tap into the fat reserves for energy, and at the same time it does not have enough energy due to the calorie restriction. When this situation continues for long, body naturally will slow down the metabolism.

In case of IF, you are not loading the body with small meals that spike insulin, but are giving a solid fasting time when insulin level is very low. And the body has access to all the fat it stored. As it can access the fat, it does not have energy deficiency and hence it does not shrink the metabolism.

Even in IF, you naturally create a calorie deficit. But the insulin response of both these approaches makes IF the superior one.

I also completed my month end long fast.



With longer fasts, it is important to break the fast gently, without producing a sudden insulin spike. The longer the fast, the longer the duration one needs to take in ramping up insulin. As 36 hours is not too long, I broke the fast with a bowl of curd, followed by a couple of fried eggs after 15 minutes, followed by a few puris with lots of dal after another 45 minutes. For a 48 hour or 72 hour fast, it would be recommended to avoid a carb rich meal like the puris during the first meal. Instead, have a meal rich in protein/fat as first meal, and then introduce carbs in moderation from the next meal.

I have been doing 36 or 48 hour fasts once a month at the end of every month for the past 6 months. I did a 72 hour fast once. But I find a 36 or 48 to be more practical.

Below is my previous week's fasting history. I do 16 hour fasts on all days (there was one day where I had to cut it short last week), with a couple of 20+ hours fast. I have been doing this routine for the past year and find it very good in terms of variation, energy levels, benefit from autophagy etc.

[drrajasaravanan]

Hi
Very inspiring post. I agree to your views in lot of things and kudos for your achievements. Post 40Y what you eat matters a lot. You either eat right choice of food or choose to eat a whole lot of medicines at a later stage. Personally i am a diabetic and switching over and eating planned food i was able to stop all insulin shots and presently on oral hypoglycaemics alone. In the last 7 years my sugars have stayed in control and never once has crossed above threshold and even when i over do during celebrations it does not spike. Your post has given a push for me to switch to get more healthier. I am starting with IF and will start stepping up on training gradually. Thank you.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by drrajasaravanan

Personally i am a diabetic and switching over and eating planned food i was able to stop all insulin shots and presently on oral hypoglycaemics alone. In the last 7 years my sugars have stayed in control and never once has crossed above threshold and even when i over do during celebrations it does not spike. Your post has given a push for me to switch to get more healthier. I am starting with IF and will start stepping up on training gradually. Thank you.

Thank you so much for the kind words. It is very commendable how you have been able to reverse your diabetes from insulin to oral medicines. I am also very glad to know that you are planning to start IF. With this approach, I am sure you will be able to get rid of the oral medicines as well soon. With IF your fasting insulin levels, insulin resistance and hbA1c will come down soon.
Looking forward to your success.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by camitesh

However, I would like to highlight the disclaimer section in particular which is very important.

Absolutely. Not everyone gets annual health checks done, so many conditions go unnoticed. Insulin resistance and age play a big role as well. Also, when someone decides to go on an extreme change of diet, it will need a proper review by a professional to be on the safer side. Extreme Keto has shown positive changes for people with mental health issues and other conditions but may not be the right choice for others. For vegetarians, Keto is (almost) impossible, low carb is simple and easier to follow.

Another thing is we don't realise many a time that we're overeating and loading ourselves with carbs and dishes/sweets with added refined sugar.

In my personal experience, I've seen a lot of change in my weight loss journey just by cutting extra refined sugar, reducing milk intake (I do take butter milk, curd, paneer and cheese), avoiding sweetened juices/soft drinks, cutting down on wheat and rice. This has become a lifestyle now and when I combine this with Intermittent fasting, the results are better. Exercise only helps me stay fit, keep the body flexible, not really for weight loss.

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by graaja

LCHF Diet guidelines:

Eat: Meat, eggs, fish, vegetables, fat...
<Snip>

Keep protein in moderation, typically one serving per day of meat, poultry, fish etc. Use fatty cuts of meat instead of lean cuts. Have chicken with skin as skin has more fat.

In many posts earler, we come across the above, mainly advocating a small serving of meat every day.

If you see the various diet plans across cultures, traditions, and countries that have low incidences of Diabetes, Cancer, and heart diseases, the one thing that stands out is - avoid meat.

While different diet strategies say different things, most of the times at odds with one other, this is one broad thing that they all agree on. Ofcourse, this is more from the point of being disease free, and not necessarily weight loss - though both are closely related and one leads to the other.

The meat which we get today is also suspect - lots of antibiotics injected into them, the cramped conditions that increase toxicity in them, the mercury levels in seafood, etc. While pesticides in plants are also a concern, the general thought (now I may be wrong here) is that, it is still less compared to the toxic substances in meat.

Given this, it seems like even a small portion of meat daily is quite a lot, when considered over months and years.

Thoughts?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by PearlJam

If you see the various diet plans across cultures, traditions, and countries that have low incidences of Diabetes, Cancer, and heart diseases, the one thing that stands out is - avoid meat.

The meat which we get today is also suspect - lots of antibiotics injected into them, the cramped conditions that increase toxicity in them, the mercury levels in seafood, etc. While pesticides in plants are also a concern, the general thought (now I may be wrong here) is that, it is still less compared to the toxic substances in meat.

There is no correlation on this. I haven't come across any study that correlates vegetarian diet to lower risk in diabetes or heart diseases. Can you point to any study? I would like to check it out.

The reason why I mention keep one portion of meat is because you need to keep protein in moderation. Many assume that a low carb diet means replacing carbs with protein and overdo it. This can affect weight loss as excess protein can also be metabolized into glucose.

The biggest culprit is always carbohydrates, irrespective of what the diet is - non-vegetarian, vegetarian or vegan.

Pesticides in vegetables and grains, hormones in meat etc., are a concern as well, but this is an universal problem covering both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. That is why in vegetarian, it is better to eat organically grown produce and in meat, consume free range or grass fed meat.

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by graaja

I haven't come across any study that correlates vegetarian diet to lower risk in diabetes or heart diseases. Can you point to any study? I would like to check it out.

There are lots of articles on this on the internet. But the one that I think stands out is the long term study done by Colin Campbell, in his book "The China Study".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study

[graaja]

Originally Posted by PearlJam

There are lots of articles on this on the internet. But the one that I think stands out is the long term study done by Colin Campbell, in his book "The China Study".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study

They have analyzed data from 100 people each from 65 counties in China, and concluded that the counties that consumed more animal based food had more risks. Total of 6500 subjects is too small a sample size. This may show correlation, but not causation.

Also, they base lots of facts on blood cholesterol level as a correlation to heart disease, cancer etc. This has been totally debunked of late.

I have seen many articles and documentaries about veganism. But none of them provided any scientific facts. They were are anecdotal.

I have not come across any solid argument backed by scientific facts proving veganism is good for health, whereas I have come across hundreds backing up LCHF or IF or Keto or even a carnivore diet. That is why I never pursued on this diet.

I totally respect people choosing veganism for their own reasons and have never opposed it per se. But personally, I have not been convinced that veganism is good for health.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by PearlJam

There are lots of articles on this on the internet. But the one that I think stands out is the long term study done by Colin Campbell, in his book "The China Study".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study

Dont want to enter into an argument here. But the China study is not a scientific study and has been refuted enough. Enough resources towards that is available even online

[GLAD73]

I first heard about LCHF around 5 years ago when my Father in law decided to start it in a bid to control his diabetes. After losing around 10 kgs. and bringing his sugar levels within the normal range he sadly had to discontinue due to a severe case of piles. At that time I was befuddled that such a diet could restore health, it seemed to go against all the principles we had learnt. Today there is much more literature available and I'm convinced about its merits. In fact from this month I've started the LCHF diet not just to lose weight but also to improve overall health.

[Surprise]

At the outset, a big THANKS for sharing your experiences & clarifying many of the questions. What a tremendous transformation & that kind of swimming, running & cycling

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by graaja

Below is my previous week's fasting history. I do 16 hour fasts on all days (there was one day where I had to cut it short last week), with a couple of 20+ hours fast. I have been doing this routine for the past year and find it very good in terms of variation, energy levels, benefit from autophagy etc.

Thanks for the informative thread @graaja.

Started on this journey for a while now. Let's see how long I can sustain it interesting to note my running schedule is hardly affected by it. It's the late night working hours that are the troubling areas to bypass.

Key concerns for me to address
- the meetups with friends that happen once in a while, generally happens in the night (and subsequent eating and sorts) which falls right in the middle of fast period
- leaving liquor off the table - should be relatively easy for a while atleast
- the occasional day when I give-in to cravings during the fast period (hasn't happened so far)

Btw what is an ideal app to track the IF routine? Saw you posting screen shots above.

[deetee]

This thread couldn't have come at a better time.
I was 105kg in May 2020. Yet I was able to ride(cycle) a 100km under 5hrs or walk briskly for an hour without much exertion. However, my eating habits were so horribly wrong that no matter how much exercise I do, the weight was not going down.

My wife being a Yoga therapist, she had been telling me about the importance of IF for a long time. May, being the lockdown month, with lot a of time in hand, I decided to reevaluate myself. Slowly started IF and was able to easily hold 16hrs fasting. Gradually increased it to 18hrs.
Had been doing strength training, Yoga, reformulating my diet to LCHF, cycling , walking all this along with IF contributed to bring my weight from 105kg to 90kg today.
I drink nothing but water during IF. I don't take tea or coffee normally, so never had headaches during intial stages of IF. Body adapted easily.

Its still a journey and am going to discover better times.

Edit: by the way, being fat is not bad, its just that what kind of fat it is , is important. I, along with family members , have taken lipid profile tests about two months back ( while I was around 95KG). Despite being visibly fat, I was the one who had healthy ratios of good vs bad cholesterol, whereas slim and slender profiled 'in laws' and wife had broderline to dangerous amounts of bad cholesterol. So, Guys, despite being slim, you can have bad cholesterol. Making key adjustments to diet and IF is key to turn tables on bad vs good cholesterol.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by GLAD73

In fact from this month I've started the LCHF diet not just to lose weight but also to improve overall health.

Great to know you are starting LCHF. Wishing you all the best. I would also suggest you to try intermittent fasting along with LCHF. Even if you want to relax on LCHF for some reason in the future, IF can be easily sustained as a lifestyle.

Originally Posted by Surprise

At the outset, a big THANKS for sharing your experiences & clarifying many of the questions. What a tremendous transformation & that kind of swimming, running & cycling

Thank you for the kind words

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Started on this journey for a while now. Let's see how long I can sustain it interesting to note my running schedule is hardly affected by it. It's the late night working hours that are the troubling areas to bypass.

Key concerns for me to address ...

Btw what is an ideal app to track the IF routine? Saw you posting screen shots above.

Great to know you have started IF. In my experience, IF is very easy to make a lifestyle, and very small chances of falling back.

Regarding your concerns: As IF is a lifestyle, don't worry about those occasions when you have to drop the fast or vary the timing window. Take it in the stride. Once you get used to IF, you will automatically adjust. For example, when I have to eat a late dinner because of a meet with friends, I just delay my first meal on the next day. Or I just have my first meal on time and let the fasting period short for one day. As long as you are aware and do not make this a habit, it will be perfectly fine.

I use an app called Zero Fasting. They have both iOS and Android versions.

https://www.zerofasting.com/

The advantage of this app is that it provides lot of motivation. Sometimes, even though I felt like cutting short a fast, I have maintained descipline just to see a green on the timer.

Originally Posted by deetee

Had been doing strength training, Yoga, reformulating my diet to LCHF, cycling , walking all this along with IF contributed to bring my weight from 105kg to 90kg today.

That is an awesome transformation. Make sure you consider this IF + LCHF as a lifestyle change so that you are able to maintain this state of health throughout your life. Wishing you all the best.

Originally Posted by deetee

Edit: by the way, being fat is not bad, its just that what kind of fat it is , is important. I, along with family members , have taken lipid profile tests about two months back ( while I was around 95KG). Despite being visibly fat, I was the one who had healthy ratios of good vs bad cholesterol...

Actually, cholesterol as a measure of health is being debunked of late. Lots of research happening on this. It is not cholesterol that settles down in the arteries that create blocks. Cholesterol is something very essential to the body, and body produces almost 80% of cholesterol on its own for its needs. We consume only 20% of body's cholesterol needs through dietary fat.