It's best to keep a hunger on.

Dennis Wilson said that to James Taylor when they were laying out the game plan for the cross country race against Warren Oats and his GTO in the cult classic Two Lane Blacktop. That line stuck with me from the first time I watched the movie. And anytime I was undertaking a long drive I remembered those words and ate lightly.  I don't know if it helped or not but that's not really the point of this post.

A couple weeks ago I was doing what I normally do in the evening, sitting on the couch,  and dosed off with Youtube playing. When I woke up from my little nap a video with Dr. Jason Fung was playing. He was talking about fasting and the entire range of health benefits that come from it. It peaked my curiosity. So I watched a couple more videos and decided I would give it a shot. 

Now I'm not particularly a health nut. I don't really pay attention to my diet except I've got some food allergies and have made a conscious decision a couple years ago to try and remove as much processed food as reasonable. Although I don't stress out too much about it.  And I've never worked out a day in my life. I decided to do this not necessarily to lose weight, although that never really hurts, but for the myriad of other health benefits that studies have proven comes from fasting. However I realize that weight loss is the easiest way to see any improvements without going to get blood work done. I'll ge to my weight and loss here in a minute but before I do that I'll say that for the last three years or so my weight has been very consistent. Within a pound or two every time I've checked it and also my blood work has been good for the last three years. 

I started out with a 24hr fast. That wasn't too difficult for me. Dr. Fung says that he does two or three 24hr fasts a week. So I waited a couple days and wanted to go 36hrs. I started then the bosses said they were buying lunch the next day so I decided to cut it short at around 28hrs or so. After a day of regular eating I decided to try the 16/8 method. Where you fast for 16 and eat for 8. I didn't really like that as I never really felt like I was pushing myself. And many studies show that the benefits don't really start happening until 18-24 hours. So this week I really wanted to do 36 and did that over Monday. Then ate normally Tue and Wed. Then I did another 24 today. 

So what have I noticed? 

Firstly, and something that I did not expect was all of my niggling aches and pains went away. My knees, shoulder and back pain that I've lived with for years is completely gone when I'm fasting. I was running around at work and realized I wasn't in any pain. After looking into it it appears that the food I am eating is pretty inflammatory. Maybe I need to pay more attention to what I am eating after all. 

Another thing that I heard about in the videos I'd watched but didn't put much stock in was mental focus/clarity. I didn't expect to notice much in this area and although it's hard for me to quantify or even put into words the improvement in mental focus, there is a marked difference in focus and I've found my mind doesn't wonder around all over the place throughout the day. 

And that leads me into my mental state. It's been like flipping a switch. I've been in a pretty bad way for a good long while. All I can say is I feel renewed and those negative thoughts that consumed me and spiraled downward out of control throughout the day don't even get a chance to enter my mind. Two weeks ago I was miserable, today I am content. And that's a vast improvement. 

So that's what I've noticed in my two weeks of intermittent fasting.  I plan to continue. Maybe not as often in the future, especially if I feel I'm losing too much weight. Maybe I'll cut back to once a week or twice a month. Because for me it has made a tremendous positive difference in my life and how I feel both physically and mentally.

And speaking of weight. I'm 6' tall and two weeks ago I weighed myself at 188.5lbs. That according to the BMI charts put me just into the overweight category. Today I weighed in at 184.3 which dropped me into the normal range on the BMI chart. Not that I put much stock in the BMI charts, it's just a metric to measure myself against. 

 In summary my energy level is up. My weight is down. My pain is much less. My mind feels sharp and I feel like I'm in a good place with myself. And I NEVER would have thought that just two weeks could make such a massive difference in my life. But it did and I just wanted to share.

 Obviously I'm not a doctor and there may be some serious health complications especially if you're on any medications so please consult a Dr or at least do some research on your own. I'm not really advocating fasting, just sharing my story. 

Dr Jason Fung  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Aw0P7GjHE

Interesting. I'll have to look into this some. Can't get to youtube right now, so will explore Dr. Fung later, but my knowledge, which is extremely limited, is that this is OK from an overall health perspective as long as you don't have a heart issue (and/or cholesterol issue, which is really one and the same)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4473164/

--The study basically says that skipping breakfast leads to weight loss, but also elevated cholesterol. Obviously this isn't the same as a 24 hour fast, so who knows if it follows through. 

Looks like there is evidence that it can improve memory: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19171901

Penn jillette had two episodes of his podcast (Penn’s Sunday School) with Dr. Michael Klaper (July 15 & 18 2018) talking about 14+ day medically supervised water fasts.  Very interesting to listen too.  But all of the effects you mentioned, pain/swelling in joints, mental state and clarity, etc. have been documented with fasting.  Penn has arthritis in his hands.  He did a 14 day fast just around when those episodes came out.  He said his arthritis has almost completely disappeared after it.  

Having dealt with weight and mental issues, I do have to say that I am intrigued by the possible positive effects of this.  Keep us up to date on how you are doing with it.  

In reply to mtn :

There have been some studies done on rats that indicate tremendous gains in the brain in relation to preventing and possibly reversing some of the effects of age related issues including Alzheimer disease.  I'm not aware of any human studies being completed at this time but it's promising. Not to mention the increased life expectancy of rats studied.

Nick Comstock said:

In reply to mtn :

There have been some studies done on rats that indicate tremendous gains in the brain in relation to preventing and possibly reversing some of the effects of age related issues including Alzheimer disease.  I'm not aware of any human studies being completed at this time but it's promising. Not to mention the increased life expectancy of rats studied.

Mind linking those? 

I really try to read the actual science behind these things, as your diet is literally everything. I'm working to getting back to plant based (basically vegan, unless that bratwurst is just too irresistible), because studies are generally pointing towards that being the healthiest. But I really am intrigued by this, and as someone who needs to lose a lot of weight in the next week, I'll be looking for everything I can find in the next 2 days to read on it.

Oh, I don't know what Dr. Fung is saying, but my layman's recommendation would be to take a multi-vitamin every day while you're doing this. 

In reply to mtn :

Here is one although I haven't read it. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946160/

Figure 1

Fasting extends lifespans of yeast, worms and mice

A) lifespan of E. coli incubated in either LB medium or nutrient-free buffer (Gonidakis et al., 2010); B) lifespan of S. cerevisiae incubated in either medium or water (Wei et al., 2008); C) Lifespan of C. elegans in standard medium or in medium with a 90% reduction or complete removal of bacterial food (Kaeberlein et al., 2006); D) Lifespan of mal C57BL/6J mice on alternating day fasting initiated at 1–2 month of age (Goodrick et al., 1990).

When during the day do you usually start the fast?

In reply to bluej :

I usually just eat dinner the night before. I drink lots of water. Coffee will not break a fast as long as it has no sweeteners or cream in it and appears to offer several benefits during the fast. I usually break the fast with bone broth a couple hours before I eat actual food.

No carbs or real food after 4:00pm. Eat again the next day for dinner. At least one day a week for me and weight just keeps coming off. Couple people at work are doing this 3-4 days a week and they all seem better.

I need to read the articles and I will but my first thought is....... does the actual fast make these changes or the fact that you are reducing the amount of toxins, processing chemicals and poor diet affects by cutting back overall..

Depriving the body of food/nutrients for a given amount of time does not to me seem like a good idea. Why not eat healthy food/ drink everyday instead? Would you feel the same benefits without the possible issues with fasting. Just a thought!

In reply to rustybugkiller :

It's been proven that the fasting changes hormones in the body. Increasing hgh levels, increasing stem cells allowing for the body to repair itself on a cellular level. It's about the period of time without eating. 

My 27 year old son does the 16/8 fast.   He feels good.  He sees the benefits.  

I read the thread title and knew exactly where that line was from.  And I have noticed that when doing a long drive, drinking lots of water and eating minimally does seem to help keep me awake.  if we break for a real meal I usually end up feeling groggier afterwards, or at least not as focused.

I've heard about this whole fasting thing....my problem is, if I go without food for any longer than a few hours I feel really terrible.  The flip side of this is, I usually eat pretty small meals.  Breakfast is a 1/2 cup of trail mix and water.  And I typically snack throughout the day, usually trail mix (we make our own, so it's just nuts and dried fruit and seeds) or a piece of fruit.  I have found that I feel much better if I stay hydrated- I follow the "half your weight in ounces" rule for water- E.g., I weigh 185 lbs, half that is 92.5, so I drink (at least) 92.5 fluid ounces of water per day.  And that's just straight water.  

We don't eat much processed food; pretty much follow the same routine as the OP mentions.  

Fasting intrigues me, but I'm worried about that terrible feeling.  I even have trouble fasting for blood work; I wake up and I need to eat something within 30 minutes or I get shaky.  Bloodwork hasn't turned up any issues, cholesterol and BP and sugar levels are all pretty normal.  

Now, Brother-In-Law (BIL) just came to visit for a few days, and I was talking to him last night about his Paleo diet.  He did it the right way- lean meat, lots of veggies, no alcohol at all, etc.  Lost like 15 lbs and stays he feels much better.  He was pretty slender to begin with and looks really lean now.

Joe Rogan had a guest on the show who talked about the reasons why intermittent fasting is good for us.   basically, the first calories you consume in a day are what starts the gut activity for the day.   (i hope i say this next part correctly).   Gut efficiency decreases over time, especially after about 8 hours of gut activity.   and it takes about 16 hours to get gut efficiency back to its max level.   so yeah, if you have breakfast at 7AM and dinner at 9PM, you're asking your gut to work for 14 hours and only letting it rest for 10.

my anecdotal support:  because of my schedule, i skip traditional breakfast ie i don't eat before i get to work.  but i pack a lot of (mostly good) food for lunch, and i start eating about 9-10AM.   i have one cup of coffee with this first food of the day.   eating late in the day affects my ability to sleep, so i don't eat after 7PM unless i'm really hungry or bored.   that's a flaw in my programming:  i eat when i'm bored.   i'm 51 years old, 5'9".   in the winter i'll get up to 175#, and i'm currently about 166# because i'm running somewhere around 35 miles per week.   anyway, i'm holding up pretty good for an old dude.   your mileage may vary.

I have been fasting (three small meals, no snacking, water and coffee to drink) one day a week for years.  I always feel like I have more energy on those days.

I do have to resist the temptation to stuff my face at breakfast the following morning.  It tastes so good, but I regret it a few hours later due to the bloated feeling.

Increase in HGH. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC329619/

Increase in stem cell regeneration. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1934590914001519

A wack of years ago I was living in Vancouver, and I was sure the air quality was causing me health issues.  Others (who only ever lived in Vancouver) said I was nuts and it was my diet.  At the time, I was fasting once a week. So I figured I would show them.

I cut all ALL additives, ALL preservatives, all (added) sugar (kept the natural sugars that were fruit, for example), as well as everything I knew I was sensitive to, as well as had been tested for by Naturopaths, which included dairy and molds (like cheese, mushrooms).

Right away I lost 18lbs and stuck at 136lbs. I also slept better, had more energy, and felt more positive (have struggled with depression for years). I was also hungry ALL the time.

I couldn't keep that up, so I've slipped back, but I try to eat healthy.  I weigh the same as I did in University 22 years ago.

And moving out of Vancouver made a HUGE difference on my health.  I was right - it was the air.

I’m catching up on this thread as I sit inside White Castle waiting for the 30 sliders I just bought for my customer. 

Id rather take customers something other than donuts.  

I'd like to try this. But I get massive, debilitating headaches if I don't eat regularly. When I have to fast before a doctor visit /surgery,  I have to prepare for the headache that is garunteed to follow. 

I also regulate my blood sugar with diet and insulin,  because, yay diabetes. How can someone like me give this a try without loosing consciousness or downing a bottle of ibuprofen?

In reply to Appleseed :

My suggestion to you is to look into what Dr. Fung says. He is a nephrologist and deals mainly with people that have type 2 diabetes. His work lead him to using fasting therapy, both prolonged and intermittent, in his patients. If you have the time definitely watch some of his material on YouTube. That's exactly what he does for a living. He reports case after case of people being able to completely stop using insulin and metformin and the like with fasting therapy.

From what I understand fasting dramatically lowered insulin levels so the danger for a diabetic is that you could go hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic. Which would be very bad. If I were in your shoes I definitely wouldn't jump into it without doing a lot of research and possibly consulting a doctor. 

Edit; some research. http://www.endocrinologynetwork.com/t2-diabetes/type-2-diabetes-and-fasting-how-dangerous-could-it-be

Amazing! Good work.

I know personally I could easily do 24 hr or 36hr fasts. I often miss breakfast and lunch on the weekends if I'm really focused on something all day, and I won't even notice I missed the food. My wife however gets achy/headaches/irritable/etc if she misses just one meal. Clearly we are very different I just think it is interesting.

In reply to Nick Comstock :

That's the exact reason I don't consider this fasting technique. The most I fast is 12 hours before blood work. I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic a couple years ago. I went on the diabetic diet of smaller healthier meals cutting out a lot of sugar and carbs, 3-4 meals a day and no snacking between meals. Also started exercising regularly. Admittedly I was hungry for a few months. Accomplished the goal of keeping the diabetes at bay for a while but now on small dose of Metphormin to help meet that goal. Another side effect was I lost 35-40 pounds. I'm about 5'11" and went from 210-ish down to about 175. I'm now at the weight I was for most of my army career and I retired 22 years ago, yes that makes me 60 years old now. Another side effect was the aches and pains went away. I do feel bad if I don't eat regular intervals. Does mess with the blood sugar levels. When I travel I keep some peanut butter crackers for when I don't have a chance to get a regular meal.

In reply to wlkelley3 :

It's certainly not for everybody. I'm glad to hear you're doing well.