The FastDay Forum

Greetings from Denmark

I’m thinking of starting on the interval fasting and are right now in the investigation process.

I’m 53 years old male and would like to cut just 2-3 kilos off my weight (5ft 9 and currently 72kg), and would also like to be able to have a coke and snacks on weekends without having to watch what I’m eating the following days. More important though, I need to reduce my LDL cholesterol from 7 to 5. Since I don’t need to lose a lot of weight, could I get by with just one day of fasting each week, and would that still get me the positive effects in relation to cholesterol.

In short; Can I expect a 1/6 schedule to help me reduce my LDL cholesterol?

Thanks N.

[Moogie]

Hi Niels and welcome

I'm not sure if any of us are qualified to answer that as I don't think many of us have been able to have blood tests to confirm. There might be one or two members who can advise?

Otherwise I would suggest tweeting Dr Mosley himself - @DrMichaelMosley as he's quite good at answering questions like this.

My guess is that he would say that to be sure of the health benefits, you need to do 2 days a week. But he himself has stated that for maintenance he tends to do 6:1, with an occasional 5:2 week for good measure. Maybe try starting with 5:2 as you've not much weight to lose it will come off more slowly, and then cut down to alternating between 6:1 and 5:2 to be sure of the benefits?

[carorees]

I guess it depends what is driving the high LDL. Losing weight for people who are overweight pretty much always improves cholesterol levels. If you don't need to lose weight, it is less certain. However, it is possible that fasting in itself will bring a reduction. If you could manage a 24 hour complete fast two days a week, such as from 18.00hrs to 18.00hrs (that is to say, no need to calorie restrict at the end of the 24 hours), that may give a better result than having 600 kcal for one day a week.

Do you know if you have any other blood test results that need improvement? For example, fasting blood glucose? Or high blood pressure? If so, that would suggest that you have what is termed 'metabolic syndrome' which would definitely be improved by fasting and particularly by having long periods with no energy intake.