Short term fasting. Is it good for us?

Not eating between meals isn't really fasting, so I can't see the harm in having nothing after dinner until the next morning.
As for the rest of it; I don't think it's a good idea to go without food for long stretches of time.
Not that I'm any expert, and I'm overweight anyway.

I do 16:8 five days a week from 8pm to 12am. If I feel a bit hungry, then I have a drink. I do have to take painkillers with food every morning, so I have a small smoothie with kefir, banana matcha and flaxseed with them. If I don’t need painkillers I wait until 12 to have it.
I don’t fast at the weekend as I believe in the 80/20 principle and also can have an enjoyable breakfast with my husband two days.
This works brilliantly for me, it has helped with IBS and keeps my weight and body fat on a nice low level. So easy to do as the rest of the time you can eat what you like! (Which usually involves a piece of cake about 4pm!).

Our eating habits have changed over the years. How many of us can remember eating our main meal in the middle of the day (dinner) and a small almost snack sized meal at say 6 pm. (Teatime).That was what I was reared on and maintained until about the 00s. Never had a weight issue and have tried to think of anyone in my age group who did. The old style eating system seems to be the forerunner to fasting, long gaps in eating we adopt nowadays to address weight issues.

Is it ok for people with hypothyroidism? My metabolism is absolutely shot at and I’m not sure what it would do on fasting. Maybe ok?

Fernhillnana, I too have hypothyroidism and have no problems at all with intermittent fasting. I fast for anything between 14-20 hours. I don't feel hungry and I've noticed I sleep much better and generally feel better in myself. You do have to be careful to ensure you eat good healthy food when you do eat though because you've reduced the number of meals you are eating. That's not to say you can't eat the goodies too. I'm 69 and have done every diet going over the years, this is the easiest one ever and I feel the best I've felt in a long long time.

I’m an advocate for fasting particularly after reading Michael Moseley’s fast 800 and do the intermittent fasting 8:16. I have cereal and fruit about 10, salad if I fancy at lunch, not always and dinner at 5 ish. Not hungry in the evening and it keeps weight in check.

I do not eat breakfast and aim to finish eating in the evening by about 6.30 - so do not eat for about 17 hours on a typical day - and I don't miss breakfast at all! I used to love it - but now really do not crave toast and marmalade, or whatever, when I get up. As others have said, cave men and women would have been forced to fast regularly, and we have evolved to live that way. I have read that when our bodies are not busy eating or digesting, they get on with repair work.

Not suitable for people with metabolism/digestive disorders, otherwise it’s up to you.

How old were cavemen when they died, on average?

I’ve been doing the 5:2 on and off for several years now (off being when I wasn’t 100%, when I was recuperating from a broken arm and on occasional high day and holiday weeks when it was hard to fit a fast day in). It’s helped keep my weight in check and my blood pressure down and I feel healthier for it. I also find I’ve a better appreciation of my food on the non-fast days. I must admit I usually skate closer to the 800 calories top limit these days than I do to 500, but it’s still fasting.

The 16:8, 18:6 type of fast didn’t suit me - I’d rather get it over with in 2 days and couldn’t easily fit my wine into the schedule!

*MissAdventure 30-35, in both paleolithic and neolithic.

4allweknow We went back to having our main meal at lunchtime when we retired.

We found before that, that a light breakfast, followed by a light lunch led to snacking in the afternoon.

A few years ago I would not believe the eating regime I am on now. The transformation is extraordinary and, even more strange, I didn't find it even remotely difficult. Life is so good.

I’ve been doing IF (Intermitant Fasting) for four months .I’ve lost 17 lbs in weight so very happy with the regime .
I fast for 16hours from about 7pm to 11am and eat a low carb diet for 8 hours during the eating hours , mostly fresh fruit and vegetables with chicken or fish and drinking lots of water or tea during fasting hours . I’ve got so used to this way of fasting that I find it easy to maintain. It’s not for everyone but it has worked for me.

Another fan of fasting. There is growing evidence of its benefits and alot of You Tube videos to explain how it affects the metabolism.

I do remember my Nanna had one day a week when she did not eat at all just drank boiled water with lemon juice. She swore it rid her body of toxins.

I’m Diabetic. I’ve found that not eating breakfast works for me. I have my evening meal between 5 and 6ish then I don’t eat until about 11ish the following day when I have lunch.

jenni123 are you T1 in which case as you say you need regular meals.
I'm T2 and fast from 6pm - 9am I couldn't go longer though some on a T2 facebook page I belong to go 16-18 hrs or longer.

I’ve been doing the 5:2 diet for a couple of weeks - no food, just clear liquids on fast days and keeping to 1000 calories on the days I do eat. I’ve lost half a stone. My partner has type 2 diabetes and is overweight and wanted to do the diet with me once he saw that the weight loss results. We had a conversation with his diabetes nurse who said it was fine for him to follow the diet as long as he regularly checks blood sugar and eats around 1500 calories on the other days. The current NHS thinking is that very low calorie diets (including meal replacement products) and those that include intermittent fast days can reset high blood sugar levels and in some cases put type 2 diabetes into remission with sufficient weight loss. It’s not recommended to follow the diet for more than 12 weeks and the advice is to check in with the diabetes nurse regularly throughout.

I was overweight by a good 10 kgs for my short stature and could feel it.

I was also pre-diabetic.

So I decided to start intermittent fasting (when DH was away meaning I could do it under my own steam without pressure to make breakfast and lunch, and perhaps see him eat. Drool.).

So I've been eating my main meal at around 6pm and having nothing to eat until 6pm the next day. Yes - I do think about at lunch but hopefully that will stop in time. And I try to keep myself busy at around that time! In the beginning I did have sugar lows but that stopped after a few days.

I have managed to lose 10kgs and can fit into my work trousers again (hooray!). My cholesterol levels are normal again too.

I do drink plenty of water or green tea during the day (I stop green tea at around 4pm because it contains caffeine so I have ginger and lemon tea or camomile tea after that).

Around lunch time I mix a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water and drink it through a straw (to prevent tooth enamel erosion). I have found the apple cider vinegar has stopped my sugar cravings and my sugar levels have normalised (Whew, because my GP started talking about my going on to tablets for diabetes. But not now!).

As for my hypothyroidism - fasting has had no ill-effects on it. I take my tablet as normal first thing in the morning.

DH is terribly overweight. He loves food even when he is not hungry. Food is always on his mind (runs in his family and so does obesity). I had to gently remind him of the position his mother finds herself with ill health, diabetes, and much more due to her obesity.

Now that DH is home (works at sea for 3 to 4 months at a time) I've suggested he try intermittent fasting with me - not only would it encourage me to keep it up, but having someone to do it with - makes it easier. He's started... and lost 5kgs. He's still got a long way to go to reach his work's doctor's goal. But it is a start. (I reminded him of some of the Muslims who have lost weight when fasting during Ramadan - I have seen his cabin steward looking slimmer when Ramadan ended!) Finger's crossed for DH.

Fasting may not be for everyone but I do believe there are some health benefits. For me yes: I lost excess weight, sugar levels are back to normal limits as are my cholesterol levels.

MissAdventure

How old were cavemen when they died, on average?

Exactly!!! Cannot believe that anyone these days compares what we eat and how we live with our by-gone ancestors!!!!

Very interesting comment!

giulia

Very interesting comment!

Sorry! This was supposed to be reaction to 4allweknow's comment.

I do all my eating during an 8hr period in the daytime if I can, which then gives me a 16hr fast but my biggest bugbear during the day is the amount of carbs I was eating. So for the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to cut carbs, ie, bread, pastries, buns, cakes, biscuits, sweets only allowing myself chocolate which is more than 70% cocoa (one or two squares per day rather than 2-3 full bars per day). Also, trying to eat more fresh rather than ready meals. It's costing me an absolute fortune which I can't sustain for much longer and I'm realling missing toast. I'm not quite Keto. That would be going too far.

I only eat moderately from midday to 7pm. I started doing this several years ago and feel much better. I believe it gives my body the time it needs to process the food I have eaten. So essentially I fast for 17 hours.