Hello all! I just got into fasting as a way to lose weight. My goal is to lose about 50 lbs. Right now I’m fasting twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday because I didn’t know if fasting more than that would be dangerous but I can see that some of y’all are fasting for weeks at a time!
What would you recommend for me? Is there a limit on how many days per week I should fast? Is an extended fast of a week or so a good way to lose weight? What can I expect as far as benefits and pitfalls?
Do what you find is best for you. Currently you are doing 2x 24hour, why not see if you can do 2x 48 hour, then 2x 72 hour…. Once you have reached your goal weight cut back to once a week if you wish.
Struggles of course are we are not used to not eating, we have been conditioned to believe if we don’t near constantly eat, we will fall over and die. That is hard conditioning to break, but once broken, there can be some good gains from that.
As you do longer fasts (maybe 72 hour+), be wary of your electrolyte balance, taking some supplements if you are doing these can be a good idea. Another pitfall/area of concern in longer fasts is the results of breaking a long fast can be…. messy. Break a long fast at home when you have good access to a bathroom.
I’ve had best results doing OMAD.
It’s pretty sustainable and the results are long term.
At what point does “fasting” become “starvation”, ya know?
I welcome the hate, but some of this just seems unnecessary and pointless if weight is quickly gained back.
The question is what is sustainable for you.
What is best for you is what you can consistently do over several months (or more). What fits into your schedule and lifestyle. If you stick to your schedule, that’s roughly 8 days a month you are fasting, plus more time on the refeed day until you break it. Imo that is very sustainable, and the goal is to avoid over eating on your feed days.
My general week is fasting on Tuesday and Thursday. On Wednesday and Friday i dont eat until after 2 (preferably after 4). Aiming for two 40-44 hour long fasts per week. I find this pretty sustainable for my lifestyle, and i allow flexibility when life happens.
If you want to do some extended fasts, you can definitely go ahead. I think the are benefits to it. It can be fun and empowering in a way to put your body through that stress and come out on the other side. I dont try and do this too often though. My aim is to limit lean/organ/skeketal mass loss, as that weight will need to be regained in the end. And i think regular extended fasts don’t help me in my goals.
Ultimately, longer term weight loss and maintenence comes from long term habits and changes. When you get near your goal, reduce to one day of fasting per week to help land the plane imo.
I think for 50 lbs the way you’re doing it is good, you could try to extend one fast a little longer once a month to force your body into deeper ketosis and have it get used to pulling from your fat stores.
For autophagy, if I remember correctly, it’s at its highest level after around 18-20hrs fasted and then dips after 40-48 hrs, so you could try to make sure that the days you fast you’re somewhere in between there so your body could consume loose skin and take advantage to repair itself.
Also, I would recommend that the days you eat don’t do low calories so your metabolism doesn’t slow down.