Health Benefits of Intermittant Fasting and OMAD (one meal a day)

I am overweight and don't have any problems with wanting to eat all the time. I don't believe in the whatever kind of fasting. Eating 3 times a day seems good to me.
 

Happyflowerlady said:
If people passed out from not eating for 4 hours, while living an active life, humanity would not have survived until today. Most of our forefathers lived hard lives, worked hard all day, and were lucky if they had even 2 meals per day.
The native people, or even the pioneers, had to hunt for their food, and might have had to go several days without eating before they found something substantial to eat.
Bad weather conditions, being attacked by another tribe, or just not finding any source of food , was pretty common up until maybe the last hundred years, for many people in almost any part of the world.
Our body was designed to be able to burn fat as fuel when necessary, and can store much larger quantities of fat than it can store of blood sugar in the bloodstream or glycogen in the liver.
This is why people that are burning sugar for fuel need to eat more often than when they are burning fat for fuel.
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As I wrote, if I didn't eat my normal breakfast of a bowl of oatmeal and a slice of garlic bread, and I went out to a tree job, I'd probably pass out.

With all due respect to your info on past cultural norms, I wasn't raised back then. I know my body well, and I know that one time I did, indeed, miss breakfast because I was running late. An hour into the job, I became faint and felt terrible. I let my crew finish it. My BMI runs between 9-12%. I do not have much fat to burn.

It's a mistake to try and point out historical/modern generalities to an individual who knows himself/herself very well. As I always tell folks, and write about, in here, know your own body well. Listen to what it tells you, daily. My body tells me that the fasting trip will definitely not work, for me.
 
@fancicoffee13
I just started out cold turkey, ate my dinner one day and ate the next dinner at 6pm the next day. You can ease into it if you wish, skip breakfast at first then skip breakfast and lunch next. How faithful you are to the regime will decide how much you lose. You can eat as much as you want and whatever you want during the 'meal time'' and those meal hours can be at your discretion, but the more narrow the meal hours window and the less you eat will determine how much you lose. However, logic says that you should eat healthy food for the sake of your health. Tonight I made me a homemade pizza and had a glass of wine, a slice of cake with my coffee, and a banana. Now I won't eat again until tomorrow night.

I eat between 6-8pm and the rest of my waking hours I drink water, coffee, and one cup of cranberry juice for lunch. As far as I'm aware I don't have side effects except for a craving for food in the afternoon hours. As I mentioned before, I'm bad about cheating. I had 24 lbs to lose last September and if faithful to the diet, I could have lost them in 3 months or so, yet here I am one year later and I still have to lose 11 lbs. Grrr!
 

PVC said:
@fancicoffee13
I just started out cold turkey, ate my dinner one day and ate the next dinner at 6pm the next day. You can ease into it if you wish, skip breakfast at first then skip breakfast and lunch next. How faithful you are to the regime will decide how much you lose. You can eat as much as you want and whatever you want during the 'meal time'' and those meal hours can be at your discretion, but the more narrow the meal hours window and the less you eat will determine how much you lose. However, logic says that you should eat healthy food for the sake of your health. Tonight I made me a homemade pizza and had a glass of wine, a slice of cake with my coffee, and a banana. Now I won't eat again until tomorrow night.

I eat between 6-8pm and the rest of my waking hours I drink water, coffee, and one cup of cranberry juice for lunch. As far as I'm aware I don't have side effects except for a craving for food in the afternoon hours. As I mentioned before, I'm bad about cheating. I had 24 lbs to lose last September and if faithful to the diet, I could have lost them in 3 months or so, yet here I am one year later and I still have to lose 11 lbs. Grrr!
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Don't feel bad @PVC. You still lost about half and kept it off!
 
treeguy64 said:
As I wrote, if I didn't eat my normal breakfast of a bowl of oatmeal and a slice of garlic bread, and I went out to a tree job, I'd probably pass out.

With all due respect to your info on past cultural norms, I wasn't raised back then. I know my body well, and I know that one time I did, indeed, miss breakfast because I was running late. An hour into the job, I became faint and felt terrible. I let my crew finish it. My BMI runs between 9-12%. I do not have much fat to burn.

It's a mistake to try and point out historical/modern generalities to an individual who knows himself/herself very well. As I always tell folks, and write about, in here, know your own body well. Listen to what it tells you, daily. My body tells me that the fasting trip will definitely not work, for me.
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We're all different, and as you say, we each have to know our own body and pay attention to its messages. I live a mostly sedentary life except for cooking my own meals and some light yard work. Your job is much more physical and you lead an active life. And you don't have any extra weight to lose, so this diet won't work for you. You might do well to fast a couple of times a year for a minimum of 3 days each time to get rid of toxins in your body, but that's another thread subject. I've only done it twice and it was hell, not only physically but I kept thinking of all those poor people in the world who are starving without a choice and it depressed me.
 
We sure are all different.
I was born fat & a chubby 10 year old kid. I constantly wished I was thin like most of the other kids in school. I got tired of being constantly made fun of, so I skipped breakfast one day; I figured maybe I'd lose weight if I didn't eat. My school was only 1 mile from home, so I rode my bike. I made it to school, but when I got off my bike, I noticed that my hands were getting numb. As I walked to my first class, my legs were wobbling. I got to my class & flopped down in my seat. Then the bell rang & we had to stand up & look at the flag while a bugle played. The next thing I remember was the school nurse wheeling me to her office in a wheelchair.
I said, "What happened?" She said, "You passed out & you were unconscious for 20 minutes. We called your mother to come & pick you up & you have to see a doctor before you can come back to school."

I didn't know it then, but that was hypoglycemia - low blood sugar, just from skipping breakfast & that 1-mile bike ride to school. I didn't get diagnosed with diabetes until 45 years later. I have to be careful not to wait too long between meals or snacks. It has happened several times since when I get busy with something & not pay attention to how I feel. I wish I could try fasting but it would be disastrous for me.
 
win231 said:
I didn't know it then, but that was hypoglycemia - low blood sugar, just from skipping breakfast & that 1-mile bike ride to school. I didn't get diagnosed with diabetes until 45 years later. I have to be careful not to wait too long between meals or snacks. It has happened several times since when I get busy with something & not pay attention to how I feel. I wish I could try fasting but it would be disastrous for me.
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For diabetic people, this OMAD or any other fasting diet MIGHT be dangerous. You've done great and have kept off the weight for a long time, so you're on the right track, just keep it up.

I'm not a doctor, so Happy Flowerlady's paragraph is kind of confusing to me. IS IT safe to fast for diabetics? Would fasting help diabetics?
{{Now, when we are doing intermittent fasting, OMAD (one meal a day), then during the fasting period, several amazing things happen !
The first thing is that fasting lowers our insulin resistance better than anything else can do. A 3 day fast will lower a person’s insulin resistance by about 70%. The good news is that about 2/3 of that happens during the first 24 hours, so simply eating one meal a day, and fasting for 16-23 hours will lower your IR almost as much as a 3 day fast, and the more you do IF, the more it lowers your insulin resistance. }}
 
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PVC said:
@fancicoffee13
I just started out cold turkey, ate my dinner one day and ate the next dinner at 6pm the next day. You can ease into it if you wish, skip breakfast at first then skip breakfast and lunch next. How faithful you are to the regime will decide how much you lose. You can eat as much as you want and whatever you want during the 'meal time'' and those meal hours can be at your discretion, but the more narrow the meal hours window and the less you eat will determine how much you lose. However, logic says that you should eat healthy food for the sake of your health. Tonight I made me a homemade pizza and had a glass of wine, a slice of cake with my coffee, and a banana. Now I won't eat again until tomorrow night.

I eat between 6-8pm and the rest of my waking hours I drink water, coffee, and one cup of cranberry juice for lunch. As far as I'm aware I don't have side effects except for a craving for food in the afternoon hours. As I mentioned before, I'm bad about cheating. I had 24 lbs to lose last September and if faithful to the diet, I could have lost them in 3 months or so, yet here I am one year later and I still have to lose 11 lbs. Grrr!
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Very good! Thank you for the information, I may give it a try. I am sure I will have weak spots also. Just losing pounds means a lot to me. I will give it a try. Thanks again.
 
C'est Moi said:
Just a slight correction; for acid reflux you should sleep on the LEFT side.

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Geez, thanks! Sounds like I had it all wrong. When you look at a body with the organs showing, the stomach slants to the right, so I figured that's where all the acid would rest and away from the esophagus if you sleep on the right side. I haven't had any problems so didn't worry about it.
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Don't sleep on your right side. For some reason, this seems to prompt relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter — the tight ring of muscle connecting the stomach and esophagus that normally defends against reflux. Do sleep on your left side. This is the position that has been found to best reduce acid reflux.
 
PVC said:
Geez, thanks! Sounds like I had it all wrong. When you look at a body with the organs showing, the stomach slants to the right, so I figured that's where all the acid would rest and away from the esophagus if you sleep on the right side. I haven't had any problems so didn't worry about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't sleep on your right side. For some reason, this seems to prompt relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter — the tight ring of muscle connecting the stomach and esophagus that normally defends against reflux. Do sleep on your left side. This is the position that has been found to best reduce acid reflux.
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Do what works for you.
 
PVC said:
@fancicoffee13
I just started out cold turkey, ate my dinner one day and ate the next dinner at 6pm the next day. You can ease into it if you wish, skip breakfast at first then skip breakfast and lunch next. How faithful you are to the regime will decide how much you lose. You can eat as much as you want and whatever you want during the 'meal time'' and those meal hours can be at your discretion, but the more narrow the meal hours window and the less you eat will determine how much you lose. However, logic says that you should eat healthy food for the sake of your health. Tonight I made me a homemade pizza and had a glass of wine, a slice of cake with my coffee, and a banana. Now I won't eat again until tomorrow night.

I eat between 6-8pm and the rest of my waking hours I drink water, coffee, and one cup of cranberry juice for lunch. As far as I'm aware I don't have side effects except for a craving for food in the afternoon hours. As I mentioned before, I'm bad about cheating. I had 24 lbs to lose last September and if faithful to the diet, I could have lost them in 3 months or so, yet here I am one year later and I still have to lose 11 lbs. Grrr!
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What a great post. Everything you’ve stated makes perfect sense. I’m going to lose 20 pounds by December 25. That’s 8 weeks. I will do this.
I’m SO inspired. This is just what I needed to read today. Yayyyyy.
I will prove it works.
 
PVC said:
Would fasting help diabetics?
{{Now, when we are doing intermittent fasting, OMAD (one meal a day), then during the fasting period, several amazing things happen !
The first thing is that fasting lowers our insulin resistance better than anything else can do. A 3 day fast will lower a person’s insulin resistance by about 70%. The good news is that about 2/3 of that happens during the first 24 hours, so simply eating one meal a day, and fasting for 16-23 hours will lower your IR almost as much as a 3 day fast, and the more you do IF, the more it lowers your insulin resistance. }}
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This is my understanding also; that the fasting lowers insulin resistance thereby helping diabetics.
 
Keesha said:
This is my understanding also; that the fasting lowers insulin resistance thereby helping diabetics.
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I don't trust my memory. I think you said you're diabetic? An acquaintance of mine was diabetic and got tired of shots so started doing the Atkins diet and was able to control it without the needle. I've lost touch for more than a decade so don't know if he's still doing it.
 
PVC said:
I don't trust my memory. I think you said you're diabetic? An acquaintance of mine was diabetic and got tired of shots so started doing the Atkins diet and was able to control it without the needle. I've lost touch for more than a decade so don't know if he's still doing it.
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No I’m not diabetic. My father in law is so if my man becomes diabetic I’d like to keep up on latest diet advancements on the subject. I’ve known diabetics control their disease through diet also plus our past dog became diabetic and we lost her so it’s a topic close to my heart for those reasons alone.
 
It’s only been two days but this diet seems to be working well for me. I eat between 12:00 and 6:00 and then fast for the other 18 hours. My energy increased, cravings decreased to almost non existent, mental alertness seems clear. I’m really liking this. I’m only go to weigh myself once a week.
So next Monday I’ll see how much I lost.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
Along with the intermittent fasting books, I discovered some of the information that is in a book called “The Obesity Code”, by Dr. Jason Fung. He is actually a specialist (Canadian) for kidney diseases, but he realized that most kidney failure comes from three main sources, either heart problems, diabetes, or obesity; so he started studying what the relationship is between insulin and how our body processes food.
It is actually a really great explanation about what causes diabetes, and why insulin resistance is the basis for it.

I have been reading some of his blog articles, and then I joined the Facebook Group, and this man has some really great information about how obesity works in our body, and the huge part that insulin and insulin resistance plays in making people gain weight.
The ebook is almost $10, and I usually do not spend that much on ebooks; but I really wanted to read this whole book, and more than the little parts that he discusses on the website.

It is very interesting, and Dr. Fung does a great job of explaining something in layman’s terms, while yet giving a complete explanation of how something works in the body.
I am about 1/3 of the way through the book, and I definitely recommend buying the book, or at least, checking out some of the information on his website, especially of you re diabetic, or even overweight.
He totally recommends low-carb/keto, as well as fasting to not only lose weight, but to help completely detox and heal your body.

Here is one review of his book, and it really gives you a good overview of the basic premise of this book.

http://www.diagnosisdiet.com/obesity-code/
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Checking it out.
 
Keesha said:
I’ve only just realized this thread isn’t just intermittent fasting; it’s only eating ONCE a day and fasting the other 23 hours. 😳
Ohhh boy. 🥺
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Well, I am now eating only between 5-7pm, bumped it up one hour so that I have more time to digest before I go to sleep at 10-11pm, my usual time. I WAS calling it OMAD but found out yesterday that my way is actually called ''time-restricted diet''. That does sound more accurate because I feel free to eat during those two hours. Sooooo many labels! Don't worry Keesha, the main thing is that you fast between any hours that you choose, the fasting forces your body to use fat for energy rather than the sugar/carb that is more easily available to it.

It's best to only weigh yourself once a week, otherwise if you're not losing day to day you will get discouraged. I manage to lose 2lbs a week if I am good and don't overeat or cheat, you might lose less or more depending on your metabolism. Since you're much younger than me you might have a more active metabolism and lose more. Good luck, I'm rooting for you!
 
I've been doing intermittent fasting for a few years now...I love it because I can eat all my favorite foods and whatever foods I want in my 4-8 hour eating window and not gain any body fat, and without losing my hard earned muscle...Plus all the great health benefits are an added bonus, like autophagy, anti-aging, increased growth hormone levels, etc...If you want to be healthy and live longer you should go hungry sometimes and not be full of food all the time like most people.
 
You made me look up ''autophagy'', had no idea what it meant. Thanks for the brain-boost, LOL. According to this, you would have to fast at least 36 hours to get the benefit. I did a 3 day fast a couple of times in the past to ''clean out the toxins'' and it was murder physically and very depressing mentally. I kept feeling sorry for all the people in the world dying of starvation against their choice.
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Autophagy is the body's way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells, according to Priya Khorana, PhD, in nutrition education from Columbia University. “Auto” means self and “phagy” means eat. So the literal meaning of autophagy is “self-eating.”

How long do you have to fast for autophagy?
There are no exact rules or recommendations (yet?), but researchers agree that extended fasting for autophagy — like going for 36, 48, or even 72 hours without food (like Jack Dorsey's three-day water fast) — is something that healthy people should do at most 2 or 3 times a year, and only after conferring with a doctor
 
PVC said:
You made me look up ''autophagy'', had no idea what it meant. Thanks for the brain-boost, LOL. According to this, you would have to fast at least 36 hours to get the benefit. I did a 3 day fast a couple of times in the past to ''clean out the toxins'' and it was murder physically and very depressing mentally. I kept feeling sorry for all the people in the world dying of starvation against their choice.
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Autophagy is the body's way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells, according to Priya Khorana, PhD, in nutrition education from Columbia University. “Auto” means self and “phagy” means eat. So the literal meaning of autophagy is “self-eating.”

How long do you have to fast for autophagy?
There are no exact rules or recommendations (yet?), but researchers agree that extended fasting for autophagy — like going for 36, 48, or even 72 hours without food (like Jack Dorsey's three-day water fast) — is something that healthy people should do at most 2 or 3 times a year, and only after conferring with a doctor
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Yes fasting 16-20 hours will not give you the full benefits of autophagy but you will get some...I do a 72 hour fast once every couple months for autophagy benefits, cleansing, and spiritual reasons, I'm not religious though...I've never had any health problems and my blood work was always good, but since starting intermittent fasting my blood work still improved even more and my natural testosterone level rose a bit, and I'm in my 50's...I agree, going hungry for extended periods of time really puts some things into perspective and you gain a much greater appreciation for what you have, and you also gain a deeper empathy for those who are suffering.
 

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