Hi, I’m wondering if not eating at all has benefits over eating just a little (600 calories a day). What are the differences in benefits? All advice is appreciated. Thanks
By far, I’ve found abstinence more effective than calorie restriction. You’re activating your nutrient sensing pathways but not satiating your hunger. Simply fasting then eating a nice size meal is also psychologically satisfying.
Both styles thrive because the work for different kinds of people. See which is easier/more maintainable for you and run with it
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Abstinence (depending on length) comes with a lot of benefits the longer you go. You’re guaranteed that your body is either heading towards or in those benefits since there’s no room for us to screw up on when or what we eat. However, it’s very important to mind electrolytes during and restocking your vitamins and minerals properly in between fasts. People also sometimes struggle with not overeating when breaking their fast
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Calorie restriction only really means you’re limiting calories. That doesn’t mean you’re eating nutritionally valuable calories. You’d still need to tailor your meals to make sure you get proper nutrition over the course of a week. If you were interested in something like ketosis, you’d still need to follow a keto plan etc etc. Autophagy, gut rest, etc are pretty much off the table and you’re only focusing on weight loss instead of general wellness
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I will say personally: I think calorie restriction is much harder to do correctly and maintain but there are people who find it much easier than abstinence. So experiment and see what works. The thing you can stick with is the best option even if it’s the one that will take longer to achieve your goal (a plan committed always beats out the plan quitted)
Google Valter Longo. This is his approach.
One of the challenges with fasting, and really any health promoting behavior, is adherence. Some people do better with a small amount of food than with no food. Longo says that by consuming very specific nutrients in very specific quantities you can get all the benefits of fasting along with greater adherence. I’ve done a few rounds of his program and I find it easier to simply not eat than to be thinking all day about my next tiny meal. The food also wasn’t a big switch for me as I was already vegan and don’t drink so I feel I needed less easing into it than someone coming off a more standard western diet.
It’s whatever works for you, at a specific point in time. If you find calorie restriction effective and you can stick to it more than you can with fasting, go for it. It will likely be slower but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
You won’t be getting some of the probable benefits of full water-fasting.
Longer term, you may need to vary things for ongoing maintenance. Sticking to 600 calories a day for the rest of your life is probably unsustainable and inadvisable.