Everytime I go find some answers on Quora about fasting, majority of people say to not fast because it’s unsustainable for weight loss and bad for your health. I been intermittent fasting for quite some while now and I feel great and I’m finally losing weight. Fasting makes me feel light and clears my mind and I find that my energy levels increase dramatically. Moral of the story is don’t go to Quora for fasting advice because they don’t know what they are talking about.
they probably still believe that eating 100 small meals over 16 hours will build a fast metabolism and make you burn calories. they also probably believe that fat is the real enemy, not sugar. they’re basically stuck in the lies of the 80s. breakfast is the most important meal! and it should be this bowl of sugar, with a glass of sugar, and a glass of milk! god that makes me want to puke
A lot of IF newbies struggle with binge behavior —over fasting followed by overeating. This is disordered eating… IF out of context sounds a lot like light anorexia.
So I think a lot of folks don’t successfully make IF a “lifestyle” —and struggle through disordered eating cycles (I see it all the time on this sub). Not everyone is successful at getting through the first few weeks.
The whole point of an IF program is to recalibrate and optimize your physical relationship with food. Weight loss can occur, but I am in love with the lifestyle as it has solved or alleviated a lot of small chronic issues in my body, eg: heartburn, urticaria, GI bloat, insomnia.
I try to explain it like that. I haven’t lost weight on IF in close to a year, but do it because my body feels so much better.
Follow the money. It’s not advised, because it isn’t profitable. When fasting long term, hunger decreases and the amount spent on any kind of food decreases.
While fasting one might get to thinking of dietary choices and wonder if fast or other junk food still fit into their current lifestyle.
As you say, you are losing weight and feeling great. Well done. If anyone asks you can explain. Some people will be receptive. Others won’t.
In the end we all lead different lifestyle and all need to do what works for ourselves. I treat everyone I meet as the expert in their own life.
A lot of people hear “fasting” and mentally translate it to “starving yourself” and “eating disorder.” That’s what they’re warning against.
Obviously, intermittent fasting is not the same as starving yourself. But they aren’t really aware of that.
Also, a lot of people on Quora are working from outdated info. They’re still totally bought into the idea that six small meals a day will keep your metabolism up, and skipping a meal will always lead to overeating at the next meal. They’re not really experts in the field, and they haven’t kept up with more recent studies.
TL;DR Just ignore Quora. They aren’t really an authoritative source.
The truth is, there’s no absolute truth to fasting. It isn’t a definitively good or bad practice. It can be, and is, helpful for a lot of us but it can also be harmful to a lot of other people (anyone with an eating disorder, the elderly, the young, those with heart conditions, pregnant, certain severities of diabetes etc.).
It’s also worth mentioning that fasting has been hijacked by a lot of bad faith individuals (the vast majority of popular fasting Youtubers) who are ultimately using it to sell you their $$$$ counselling or diet plans or even tummy tea. And their supporters in the comments sections are even worse, encouraging others into extremely dangerous behaviours (e.g. telling them to continue extended water fasting beyond the point of vomiting and passing out)
In general, you can find any answer you want on Quora to align with your personal beliefs on a subject so I wouldn’t worry so much, there’s plenty of pro-fasting people on there too.
Short but simple: if fasting works for you, who cares what others think? That may just be their personal experience, it was bad for them, they tell others it’s bad because of that. Fasting is good for you, you tell others it’s good because of that. Both of these realities can exist at once.