The FastDay Forum

Thank you all so much for sharing your input and experiences.

I thought of eating times the this morning and on non-fast days I usually eat within a 10 hours window. I rarely have breakfast before 11am and I rarely have dinner after 9pm.

I could try skipping breaky (I do on fast days although I hate it) but I can't deny me my double espresso with a splash of low fat milk. It's honestly a splash (like a TS or so) and only 1,5% fat. That means that on days that I won't go out for dinner (I do once a week), I could easily do an 18:6 and on the day that I will go out for dinner I will try a 16:8 or at least a 15:9.

I think I can start today, since I ate dinner last night at 9 and I had lunch just a while ago (6pm) because I was too busy and too stressed to eat. That was 19 hours without eating, YAY!

So, if I have all your blessings to have one coffee with a splash of milk and then plan my lunch time depending on my dinner time then I think I can do it!

Hi, I haven't read all the responses yet, but what I'm doing (I'm starting today) is I'll eat whenever I want, as long as it's within the 8 hour timeframe. I'm going to be real strict with that.

Also, the book I'm reading (8 Hour Diet) says that you can have up to 40 calories of milk in your tea/coffee during the fasting phase. I've searched on the net about that, and all the info says 40 to 50 calories won't break your fast. I'm sticking with 40.

REALLY??? I'm saved by the milk, LOL!

Hi TML, I have the book here, The 8 Hour Diet by David Zinczenko, and there's a chapter titled "The 8 Hour Cheat Plan." He says among other things that "A cup of joe with a little whole milk and sugar is more like 40 calories, and that's an acceptable cheat."

He also says you can only do the plan 3 days a week, but I'm doing it every day. But I will take advantage of that 40 calorie cheat!

This is all very interesting.

I have looked at the 16:8 book and read other info on the net about 16:8. I have yet to understand what it offers.

Under 16:8 you don't eat for 16 hours and can eat as much of anything you want for 8. So if you want to lose weight under 16:8, you need to figure out your TDEE (say 2000), figure out how much you want to lose (say one pound a week), figure out how often you want to eat for only 8 hours a day (say 7), and then figure out how many calories you can eat in 8 hours to lose the weight you want to lose (1500).

It is very easy to eat/drink 1500 calories in 8 hours - I can easily do it in one meal. So calorie counting is necessary, as 16:8 does not carry with it any calorie restriction. While 5:2 says only 500/600 cal. in a 32-36 hour period, 16:8 says eat as much as you want every day of the week - just eat those calories in an 8 hour time frame. So how is this different than deciding to eat 1500 calories a day without worrying about eating them in an 8 hour period?

There are no known health benefits for not eating for 16 consecutive hours - just as there are no known health benefits for not eating between meals.

16:8 makes no sense to me at all. But if someone thinks it helps them eat less, fine. Go for it. But if I was going to go on a reduced calorie diet (say 1500 cal. a day), I would like the freedom to eat them when I wanted to, not in some unnecessary 8 hour period.

simco, I totally disagree with you, but I'm not here to argue. I've done the research and I'm totally convinced it's the way to go for me. The one thing I don't like about the 8 Hour Diet book is that it's overhyped. Pigging out is not the way to go, but other than that, the research is definitely there.

We all have to find what works for us individually.

Good luck to you, and have a nice day.

simco, I totally disagree with you, but I'm not here to argue. I've done the research and I'm totally convinced it's the way to go for me. The one thing I don't like about the 8 Hour Diet book is that it's overhyped. Pigging out is not the way to go, but other than that, the research is definitely there.

We all have to find what works for us individually.

Good luck to you, and have a nice day.

As I said, each to their own.

But please explain where I am inaccurate in my comments.

Thank you.

If you look at this link http://www.menshealth.com/MH-QSG/8-hour ... -hour-diet from the magazine Michael Z. edits you will see you cannot eat whatever you want in the 8 hour window - there are lots of do's and don't's, limit alcohol etc. so it is pretty much like a standard low cal diet.

Actually, its pretty confusing as on one side of the page they say one thing, and on the other they tell you to eat what you want!!!!

TML - I'd go for it if I were you - what do you have to lose???
(Except that last pound LOL )

I did 16:8 back in June for the first time - after I was behind a serious car accident, and didn't know whether I'd feel like fasting that week ... It was a half- way house choice, just to keep things ticking over - and guess what? That week I lost 2 lb!

So that was it, I continued missing out the breakfasts (except for Sundays!) and I think it has helped a lot. 5lb of my 7lb lost have been since start July.

Go for it. It may well just work for you ...

If you look at this link http://www.menshealth.com/MH-QSG/8-hour ... -hour-diet from the magazine Michael Z. edits you will see you cannot eat whatever you want in the 8 hour window - there are lots of do's and don't's, limit alcohol etc. so it is pretty much like a standard low cal diet.

Actually, its pretty confusing as on one side of the page they say one thing, and on the other they tell you to eat what you want!!!!

My point exactly. There is nothing inherent in 16:8 that causes calorie restriction. The only way to achieve calorie restriction under 16:8 is to eat and drink less than you have been eating or drinking. That is simply a reduced calorie diet.

If you are going to do a reduced calorie diet, why do it in 8 hours when you can more easily and comfortably do it in 24?

Please don't ask me to quote sources as I can't off the top of my head but, I understand that there is evidence that consuming a set amount of calories within a restricted window will ensure weight loss as opposed to eating the same number of calories in an unrestricted time frame. It's the fasting that does it, not what you eat.

I don't count calories, I don't limit my alcohol intake, no food group is excluded from my diet although some are limited and it works for me and, obviously, it works for a lot of other people as well. I have no interest in my TDEE, although I am aware of what it is, and I eat whatever I want.

The thing is, this comes naturally to me, it is how I ate when I was young and slim and I'm now back to eating this way now I'm no longer young but I'm definitely slim again.

Put VERY simply, I don't eat breakfast and I don't nibble late in the evening, call it whatever you like but it works for me.

Ballerina x

I have found a few references that imply that you need to fast for a minimum of 16 hours which is possibly what 16:8 is based on. Below are a few excerpts from one site

"To be effective, in the case of daily intermittent fasting, the length of your fast must be at least 16 hours....This is because it takes about six to eight hours for your body to metabolize your glycogen stores; after that you start to shift to burning fat. However, if you are replenishing your glycogen by eating every eight hours (or sooner), you make it far more difficult for your body to use your fat stores as fuel". http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitnes ... efits.aspx

However, I think that when it comes to losing weight your energy intake has to be less than your energy output whether you are doing 5:2, 16:8, counting calories, WW, SW or any other diet. For me, the whole point of doing 5:2 is for the health benefits and weight loss has been a bonus.

Simcoeluv what Navwoman says is correct it is the fasting gap that enables fat stores to be utilised. The summary book I have quotes research done in the USA, & one in 2007 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition noted "that those who keep their food intake to an 8 hour period decreased their concentrations of cortisol. The hormone cortisol causes your body to store fat". So although eating a healthy range of foods is recommended for all of us it is the time frame within which it is eaten that benefits us & eating even a calorie restricted diet throughout the day doesn't give our bodies enough down time to utilise fat stores & to go into repair mode, which is what fasting does.

On page 43 of his 'Fast Diet' book, Dr M says........

" I recently came across one particularly fascinating study suggesting that when you eat can be almost as important as what you eat"..........

He then goes on to relate studies done by scientists from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The experiments were carried out on mice and involved two groups, one group on a restricted eating window of 8 hours and the other group unrestricted, both groups had identical foods to eat over every 24 hour period. Although DR M acknowledges that these are not human trials he does talk as though the same criterea applies to humans........

"The Salk researchers explanation for this is that all the time you are eating your insulin levels are elevated and your body is stuck in fat-storing mode. Only after a few hours of fasting is your body able to turn off the 'fat storing' and turn on the 'fat burning mechanisms."

These are his words, not mine, I just eat like a huge mouse

Ballerina x

Simco, here is reference to studies. I got some printouts from a relative who lost over 20 lbs. doing The 8 Hour Diet and she gave me a bunch of research, since she's a research nerd. She used to post on here. You'll have to google the links yourself, too lazy to get them for you, but here are the names of the articles:

Salk Study may offer drug-free intervention to prevent obesity and diabetes

Los Angeles Times+Nighttime fasting may foster weight loss

Dr. Mercola+Burn Away Fat Cells With This Simple Eating Trick

Dr. Mercola+The Power of Intermittent Fasting

Dr. Mercola+The Intermittent Fasting Dilemma: How Many Meals Per Day Should You Eat?

Dr. Mercola+Intermittent Fasting Finally Becoming Mainstream health Recommendation

Dr. Mercola+ How Intermittent Fasting Stacks Up Among Obesity-Related Myths, Assumptions and evidence-Backed Facts

Scientific American+How Intermittent Fasting Might Help you Live a Longer and healthier life

oh, I might add that Dr. Mercola does the 16/8 thing himself. Although he put on 3 lbs. of muscle, he said he lost inches.



If you ever should read the studies, sorry, but I'm not up for debate about them if you disagree.

Have a great day.