So I’m pretty skinny, and I want to fast for the health benefits, but the main the obstacle I immediately see is I’m already thin. I’m afraid fasting will make me underweight or make me lose even more weight. In fact, it wouldn’t be bad if I actually gained pounds. It’sa dilemma and it’s pretty annoying.
Skinny human in their 40s here. I’ve been fasting for three plus years now primarily for the health benefits. If you’re looking for a tip I’d recommend counting calories so you know how many it takes on a daily basis to maintain your current weight based on how active you are. Then make sure you get those calories during your window.
I usually do 16:8 (weekend) or 20:4 (weekdays). I rarely go over 24 hours so I don’t have any tips for longer fasts. I weigh myself every morning and eat slightly more or less every couple of days based on my weight. That seems to work for me.
I’m not an expert, seek a professional, hope that helps.
If you want to put in pounds, specially during heavy lifting, look up GOMAD, which stand for Gallon Of Milk A Day. Trust me you’ll put in the weight.
What particular modality of fasting are you looking at? Remember that diet is what you eat, fasting is when you eat. If it is an intermittent regime you can still try and pack the calories in-between.
You should probably provide height/BW/BF% so people understand where you are starting.
If you haven’t started weight training, then weight training and gaining muscle mass would be a good way to increase your body fat percentage while gaining muscle.
I maintain a weight at the lower end of the healthy range and doing rolling extended fasts works well for me. I’m pretty used to it so I don’t see the huge drop in water weight that most people do, and I also eat really calorie dense food when I’m not fasting so I gain back anything I lost.
My go to bowl of oatmeal has like 700 calories in it, and it’s not overly filling… just has yummy things like protein powder and walnuts and dark chocolate.
So over a typical month, my weight may range from 118, which is a little underweight, to 128, which is perfectly healthy for my height (5’8). As long as you’re eating enough calories and not having any issues digesting them, you won’t lose weight permanently from fasting alone.