Intermittent Fasting

[FellowHawkeye]

I just read an article about a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist talking about how internmittent fasting will stimulate growth of stem cells and get rid of old immune cells that could be malfunctioning. While he doesn't mention if this would help spinal cords in regenerating, it reminds me of how intermittent hypoxic training stimulates growth of proteins that help sci people walk better. They both shock the system into working more efficiently and the intermittent fasting is safer, cheaper, and more convenient from the perspective of a sci person who tried IHT for a few weeks. This article explains the benefits and how to do it. I'm going to plan on this but as a vegan it'll be more of a challenge...

https://realfarmacy.com/neuroscienti...6yLXavT6EEaq-Q

[funklab]

I think intermittent fasting is probably a good thing when not done to the extreme. If you think about it our ancestors all used to undergo intermittent fasting because life in the preindustrialized world was generally nasty, brutish and short. People starved because there was no food. We've created an amazingly complex food delivery network that means the vast majority of us eat three (or at least two) regular meals a day, which was essentially unheard of for most people a few hundred years ago.

I don't think it's going to magically make your spinal cord regenerate, but so long as you don't become malnourished you shouldn't do yourself any harm.

Also I don't see why being vegan would make it more of a challenge, just be sure to eat enough protein and fats and calories (which you obviously have to do anyway as a vegan whether or not you fast).

[niallel]

I've been doing this for years, I've found it the best way to keep my weight under control. Most days I have one meal a day, nothing else.

Although I've never had any stem cells, I have seen ZERO regeneration.

[Oddity]

That's not really "intermittent" if you're doing it everyday, is it? That's a regular diet/caloric intake restriction. The functionality of 'intermittent fasting' is only truly realized if you're eating normally most days then only a few hundred calories ~1 day a week. My buddy has lost a few dozen pounds doing only that for a year.

[El Bandido]

Two meals a day for me, 12:00-20:00 approx. I do most activities in the morning in a fasted state, it is an approach that could be useful for the bowel management.

[Silvio GS]

I've been doing this for years, I've found it the best way to keep my weight under control. Most days I have one meal a day, nothing else.

Although I've never had any stem cells, I have seen ZERO regeneration.

same here

[Silvio GS]

That's not really "intermittent" if you're doing it everyday, is it? That's a regular diet/caloric intake restriction. The functionality of 'intermittent fasting' is only truly realized if you're eating normally most days then only a few hundred calories ~1 day a week. My buddy has lost a few dozen pounds doing only that for a year.

Intermittent fasting is when you fast and eat intermittently. The most common and easier IF is the 16/8 when you fast for 16 hours and only eat in the 8 hours window. And repeat every day. For even better health benefits, you can do longer fasting, or simply eating one meal a day(OMAD). And when doing the IF or OMAD you need to make sure that you get all the nutrients you need, like the fats and proteins, vitamins and minerals. The good thing about it, especially the one meal a day, is that you can have a mini feast every day as don’t really need to count your calories, but of course within the common sense, and try to avoid some carbs like white bread, sugar, etc.
The one you mentioned above would be more like an occasional calorie restriction

[niallel]

Intermittent fasting is when you fast and eat intermittently. The most common and easier IF is the 16/8 when you fast for 16 hours and only eat in the 8 hours window. And repeat every day. For even better health benefits, you can do longer fasting, or simply eating one meal a day(OMAD). And when doing the IF or OMAD you need to make sure that you get all the nutrients you need, like the fats and proteins, vitamins and minerals. The good thing about it, especially the one meal a day, is that you can have a mini feast every day as don’t really need to count your calories, but of course within the common sense, and try to avoid some carbs like white bread, sugar, etc.
The one you mentioned above would be more like an occasional calorie restriction

Perfect description.

One thing that makes a difference is what you drink. I drink water or black coffee. If I drink carbonated drinks, even zero calorie drinks like Coke Zero then it doesn't work. There is something about how your body reacts to them because it thinks it is getting food even though its not.

[Silvio GS]

Perfect description.

One thing that makes a difference is what you drink. I drink water or black coffee. If I drink carbonated drinks, even zero calorie drinks like Coke Zero then it doesn't work. There is something about how your body reacts to them because it thinks it is getting food even though its not.

Yeah spot on. Any drink that has calories will break the fast milk, cream, sodas, alcohol, some supplements and so on.
I as well just have water and black coffee or water with lemon juice while on the fast.
Back to the main argument, yes IF putts your body into the autophagy state where your body works on a celular level, rejuvenation and getting rid of the unwanted components. Also it promotes a major increase in the growth hormone production, which helps with tissue regeneration between other very important things.
But no I haven’t noticed any form of improvement on my injury. But IF does make a huge difference when it comes to general health, wellbeing, looks, energy levels, bowel movement, etc.

[roll170]

I agree 100%. Even as a C4 quad I’m able to lose weight by doing intermittent fasting. During the winter months I like to eat several meals a day which inadvertently makes me gain weight. However it also keeps my body warmer. During spring and summer I will go on intermittent fasting and will lose weight very comfortably. The big difference between calorie restriction and intermittent fasting is that you still feed your body what it needs. After the first week you don’t even crave breakfast anymore. Normally I’m trying to do a 18/6 schedule. If it is really hot outside I can easily do a 20/4. I do this from Monday till Friday. On the weekend I will have breakfast and snacks along with my regular meals. It is especially effective on your midsection. The best part about it is that I eat what I want. In my case there is nothing I don’t eat. Which makes it possible for me to keep doing it. To clarify my last statement: I only eat during my eating window and after a while on intermittent fasting you eat smaller portions. At least with me, I can tell that I’m faster full. During my fasting window I drink coffee and water. That’s it, no snack, no soda or anything. There are several books on that subject which are really good and explain what is happening in your body while fasting. Another positive which I just thought of, if you fall off the wagon one night you just go back on intermittent fasting the next day. That’s it, no guilt. This mught not work for everybody but it definitely works for me.

[royb]

It's another fad diet.

[Silvio GS]

It's another fad diet.

No it’s not.
It only came to light in the recent years. People have been doing this since forever without even thinking about it. Our bodies are not supposed to be fed continuously on food processing.
And is all backed up by numerous serious studies. The more you know about it the more it makes sense. Plus the millions of people that practice it all having the results we talk about.
The 3 meals a day concept is modern and wrong diet. Probably encouraged by the big food corporations.

[niallel]

It's another fad diet.

Fad diets tend not to have scientific research done on them.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/sear...sort=relevance

But, ok.

[FellowHawkeye]

Thanks for the helpful discussion. I listened to Dr Matson's TED talk and definitely want to try this but I don't need to lose bodyfat and I don't have a big stomach so will need more caloric foods. Maybe a meal replacement shake.....

[funklab]

Two meals a day for me, 12:00-20:00 approx. I do most activities in the morning in a fasted state, it is an approach that could be useful for the bowel management.

I've done this for pretty much all of my adult life, mostly because I detest mornings and refuse to get up 10 minutes earlier to make breakfast when I could be sleeping for those ten minutes. I don't really think of it as intermittent fasting, but I suppose by some people's definitions it is (or at least "time restricted feeding" per the wikipedia page on intermittent fasting).

Some of my family members (mostly for religious reasons, but also with some hope for health improvement) have fasted up to at least two weeks or so, but never on a very regular schedule.

I assume (though I'm not familiar with the actual research on this topic) that you're not doing much for yourself until your liver runs out of glycogen and you hit ketosis, which takes days of fasting. Physiologically this is much different than a 16 hour fast where you never deplete your glycogen stores. At least for myself, I'm damn sure not getting anywhere near ketosis, I eat plenty of food in the afternoon and evening.

That being said, there may be some benefit to the 16/8 diet. Like I said, I definitely am not a strict adherent to it, it just happens to be the habit I've fallen into through not fault of my own. But also I eat whatever I want and as much as I want (which really isn't all that much after not eating for 14-16 hours) and I don't exercise and I maintain a very healthy weight without really trying to.