I have reached my first goal and want to focus on my body composition (lose a little more fat). I have started researching intermittent fasting and it seems like a very safe way to encourage the body to burn more fat, level blood sugar spikes, and lower insulin levels. I really like that you don't have to be eating a certain diet to take advantage of the benefits it has to offer. I am currently listening to the book "The Complete Guide to Fasting" by Dr. Jason Fung and Jimmy Moore.

Have any of you tried this or are doing it long term after having WLS? Can you share your experiences? Thank you!!!

I've done IF for years and I love it. My issue of course was I used to be a binge eater, so fasting would trigger my binges. I do it now with no binging problems and it feels amazing. In fact, I'm in the middle of my fast day right now. I usually have about 200-500 calories in fresh juice on my fasting days.

And FYI, Dr. Greger (nutritionfacts.org) is coming out with a whole video series on fasting and what the latest, properly-performed, funded, and documented studies show. I personally wouldn't trust anything a personal trainer says about nutrition, they have no education in the field and are often spokespeople for supplements and shakes. Just because you can get cut doing something doesn't mean it's healthy (hello, steroids!).

One final thought is some reading I've done questioning the safety of fasting for women. The small studies we're talking about here are all done on men. They're based on male physiology which reacts differently to the stress response of no (or low) caloric intake. I'm really interested to see what the latest research says on this in the nutritionFacts.org videos because I'm a big fasting fan, and as a female, I really don't want to be causing more cortisol-inducing moments in my life!

2 hours ago, jess9395 said:

Yes! I do IF on and off.

For the poster above it's not long term fasting it's just extending your window from the last night to "break"fast. 5:2 is another style I've used.

There are actually scientific studies on it's immune system benefits as well studied in cancer/chemo patients. I did a three day clear liquid fast based on that research.

Great!

I am glad to see that there are several here that do this. I am still learning about the different types and I have heard of the 5:2.

I am interested in the 16:8 and also doing a 24 hour fast maybe 1-2 times a month. I am thinking it would be fairly easy to eat dinner on a Friday night and then fast till dinner on Saturday. Then I could fast until 1:00pm on Sunday and get another 16 hr. fast done. I am not a breakfast eater anyway so I think this style of eating would be perfect for me.

I can understand the idea of fasting when you hit maintenance... but during the first year postop, we are in a constant fasting state. We are already walking the razor's edge r.e. malnutrition. Hardly a day passes I don't see someone report low levels of this or that (protein, iron, etc.).

Let the surgery do its thing, and if you get to the point where the scale doesn't move for 2 months, but you have more fat to lose.. then by all means, shake 'er up!

41 minutes ago, fruitandveggies said:

And FYI, Dr. Greger (nutritionfacts.org) is coming out with a whole video series on fasting and what the latest, properly-performed, funded, and documented studies show.

You just made my day!!!!!! ?

3 minutes ago, Apple1 said:

I am not a Breakfast eater anyway so I think this style of eating would be perfect for me.

One thing I had to let go of is the “you must always eat breakfast!” mentality. For kids who are growing, definitely. But for adults, you “break your fast” when you eat for the first time that day. So if it’s 12pm, then you had your “breakfast”. Letting go of having to eat at “such and such time” can be a hard habit to break but can be done.

2 hours ago, DropWt4Life said:

I have read a bit on it, but don't know how that would work with someone that can only eat 1,000 calories per day.

She’s further out and maintaining, right @jess9395? So her calories for the day would be much higher (and given that she’s very active physically too) she can do this without a hitch. ?

9 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

I can understand the idea of fasting when you hit maintenance... but during the first year postop, we are in a constant fasting state. We are already walking the razor's edge r.e. malnutrition. Hardly a day passes I don't see someone report low levels of this or that (protein, Iron, etc.).

Let the surgery do its thing, and if you get to the point where the scale doesn't move for 2 months, but you have more fat to lose.. then by all means, shake 'er up!

Totally agree!

Yes to clarify, I didn't do IF till I got to goal and my "fast" days on 5:2 are around 500-700 calories. When I was losing I was maybe 600-1000 calories a day so that was fasting every day!

I do the 5:2 to combat regain if I get above my bounce range. I do the windows (usually 8/16 but up to 6/18 some days) just as a health thing. I've never been a nighttime eater so that's the easy one for me, putting it off in the morning is tougher for me. I've never got into the bulletproof coffee but I do extend the fast with coffee with heavy cream often!

Okay, I get it. So y'all are speaking on IF after being out at least a year, and preferably when your calorie load is higher than 1,000.

I will go ahead and revisit IF at a much later date then. I have done 2 week juice fasts before, but never tried IF. Interesting stuff.

31 minutes ago, DropWt4Life said:

Okay, I get it. So y'all are speaking on IF after being out at least a year, and preferably when your calorie load is higher than 1,000.

I will go ahead and revisit IF at a much later date then. I have done 2 week juice fasts before, but never tried IF. Interesting stuff.

Yes, I agree with everyone on waiting until we are in Maintenance. I am almost there weight wise, so I am just looking at doing this for the health reasons and also to try and direct the fat burn a little more.

2 hours ago, Berry78 said:

I can understand the idea of fasting when you hit maintenance... but during the first year postop, we are in a constant fasting state. We are already walking the razor's edge r.e. malnutrition. Hardly a day passes I don't see someone report low levels of this or that (protein, Iron, etc.).

Let the surgery do its thing, and if you get to the point where the scale doesn't move for 2 months, but you have more fat to lose.. then by all means, shake 'er up!

Yes I agree with you. I am just in the research phase. I wouldn't start this until I get to my 1 year.

3 hours ago, Berry78 said:

t the surgery do its thing, and if you get to the point where the scale doesn't move for 2 months, but you have more fat to lose.. then by all means, shake 'er up!

Actually after thinking about this more: why should I wait to begin reaping the benefits of IF as long as I am sure to continue consuming the same amount of daily calories during the 8 hour eating window? Really all I would be doing is waiting until 12:00 to break my fast and then eating normally until 8:00pm. Everyday.

My pre-op diet felt like fasting. That was enough for me!

Ok for those that have never heard of IF here are some of the health benefits:

When you don't eat for a while, several things happen in your body.

For example, your body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

Here are some of the changes that occur in your body during fasting:

• Insulin levels: Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which facilitates fat burning (1).
• Human growth hormone: The blood levels of growth hormone may increase as much as 5-fold (2, 3). Higher levels of this hormone facilitate fat burning and muscle gain, and have numerous other benefits (4, 5).
• Cellular repair: The body induces important cellular repair processes, such as removing waste material from cells (6).
• Gene expression: There are beneficial changes in several genes and molecules related to longevity and protection against disease (7, 8).

Many of the benefits of intermittent fasting are related to these changes in hormones, gene expression and function of cells.

6 hours ago, Berry78 said:

I can understand the idea of fasting when you hit maintenance... but during the first year postop, we are in a constant fasting state. We are already walking the razor's edge r.e. malnutrition. Hardly a day passes I don't see someone report low levels of this or that (protein, Iron, etc.).

Let the surgery do its thing, and if you get to the point where the scale doesn't move for 2 months, but you have more fat to lose.. then by all means, shake 'er up!

Hmm, it's a good point. What calorie range/deficit would you think of as being in a constant state of fasting? I'm usually eating 1200-1400 on my normal days, which granted is lower than a normal diet.