We’ve talked several times about intermittent fasting, where you only eat during a certain time window . Usually the window for eating is about 8 hours and you fast for 16, during which you sleep so not eating for so long isn’t as painful. Terry Crews doesn’t eat until 2pm for instance. Some celebrities take it to the extreme like Kate Walsh, who fasted for an entire 24 hours once a week. She admits that she did get “nutty” during that time and that she eats right afterwards, usually fasting from 6pm to the same time the next day. The way she phrased this sounds like she did it for a few weeks in preparation for a role and then gave it up though.
“I did it quite recently, before I started working intensely again,” [Walsh] told Us in November 2018 of the diet trend. “I saw results and I really felt like it was great.” Walsh reveals that the method she used was different than the 16:8 or the 5:2. “I was doing one day a week of fasting, from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. to 7 p.m.” Though she admitted “you feel a little nutty,” it was worth it in the end. “I did find that you definitely lose a lot of water weight,” she says, adding that she got through the hours by eating an early dinner, then drinking lots of water the following day. “And I feel like it’s really good for clarity and energy.”
This quote was in a longer one by US Weekly with different celebrities’ diet plans. Halle Berry is on keto, which helps with her type 1 diabetes, but she also does intermittent fasting. Moby, Kourtney Kardashian, Molly Sims and Hugh Jackman do it too. (Us forgot Terry Crews!) As I always say, I would rather eat sensibly and cut calories every day instead of being so hungry, but this does work for some people. Also I will admit to skipping dinner when I eat too much earlier in the day. Plus I agree with Kate that you need to drink a lot of water. I’ve been doing that lately and it helps. (Plus I get recurrent UTIs so it’s to prevent those too.) It’s not easy to diet whatever you do, but if you’re consistent it becomes second nature, like any other hard-to-adopt habit.
I know this is a bad photo of Kate Walsh, I just thought it was the best way to lead into this story!
photos credit: WENN and via Instagram
Lots of people do this. I’ve done a few 3 day water fasts, it was tough.
yah it’s not that hard. I do intermittent fasting and so I’m used to being able to do it. I do the 16 hours off, 8 hours on method, and sometimes do the 5pm only version. Havent done the 24 hours version but I could easily see doing it. you can sip on coffee and tea or even some broth and be fine.
During bombing, we lost water and electricity for several days. I didn’t eat cos I did not have normal toilet. So, yeah, i can do anything.
I love that you’re here to give us a dose of reality, Milla.
Celebrity: I do this insane diet to maintain my ridiculously unrealistic weight expectations for entirely superficial reasons!
Milla: When the bombs came, we did what we had to do.
Word.
Milla, where are you?
No bombings when I was growing up but something close to that and poverty. Yes there were days when I would eat only bread or go on for days eating only once a day (during my early adolescent years) because I was a picky eater and because there were not many variations of food even though my parents tried their best. I was underweight even when we had a lot to eat. It became a habit for me. I could live with a banana all day no problem. I can still do it but it takes some days to get used to it and it’s not fun. Plus I like to eat very high caloric foods, butter being one of them. And cheese. And stuff.
Celebrities and their crazy inventions to stay thin. It’s called starving folks trust me.
I have to do it a couple times a year for blood tests since I have an chronic endocrine disorder. Sucks, though. You literally feel the moments when your glucose levels start dropping and you get cranky.
I used to fast for religious reasons, when I was a holy roller. I haven’t done it in years.
I can’t even imagine. I’m a migraine sufferer – I’m not great at remembering meals, but when I gamble with that too much, it’s almost a guaranteed migraine. If I had to do it for a religious or cultural reason I’d be a mess.
I love it. I do every other day. I mean to lose weight though.
I do it every other day also! Basically, from dinner one day until dinner the next I fast. Then, I eat a nice big dinner and it’s amazing. I typically don’t eat breakfast, so on the days I am eating, it’s pretty much just lunch and dinner. Always healthy. I stay away from processed food as much as possible.
I am also trying to lose weight. I actually find I feel better doing it this way.
I used to fast for Lent
No. Because I love food and life is short.
But if it works for you, then great.
<< this, so much this!
My mom somehow does it and she gets so, so hangry. I couldn’t do it because the medication I take twice daily needs to be taken with food. I have a friend who does the eight hours window and she’s really seen results! I don’t know much about the science behind it, but it does seem to work.
I agree with the whole counting calories/being conscious thing as the most effective weight loss method. That’s when I’ve lost the most weight and kept it off. I especially love My Fitness Pal because it helps show your macros so you can make sure you don’t eat too much fat/carbs.
My parents are doing something similar. They fast 1 or 2 days a week, eat clean 4 days a week (veggies, lean meat, etc) and then have 1 day where they can eat anything. My mom has dropped 10 lbs in a couple of months and they feel good. My dad had very serious heart surgery last year, so anything that gets them eating well and feeling better is great news to me. My dad says for him the idea comes from way back in the early human days, sometimes you found things to eat and hunt, other days you did not.
Yes and I’ve done it before. I do intermittent fasting most days where I only eat in a certain number of hours 6 hour window and fast for about 18. It has helped my Asthma/immune system and was recommended by my Doc for Asthma control (less sugar and repairing my digestive track for immune support). I’ve lost about 30 lbs, no Asthma attacks this year and have been able to keep the weight off for 2 plus years.
I can but these jaws like to munch on stuff.
There’s no way. I would keel over without food for 24 hours. I’d get awfully irritable, too.
I’m not sure I could get behind even regular IF. Seems like it could mess with your metabolism more than it might help it. And keel over even after fasting for shorter stretches. Healthy food and moderation thankfully still work for me.
Most studies done on fasting are done on men, and I’ve read conflicting information on women fasting more than 18 hours. 24 hour fasts are good for autophagy (cell renewal) but I’ve read that for women it can mess up hormones. I’ve done 24 hr water only fasts when I’ve been too busy to eat. You get to a point where nothing sounds good so it’s easy to keep going. I usually have a lot more energy when it happens. I’m also Keto so I don’t have to deal with the carb hangries. Keto hungry is not a big deal.
I intermittent fast but only for 15hours as that is the max my doctor recommended.
It can mess up your hormones over time to fast longer than that according to her.
I figure with the quality of food, water and air our hormones are always taxed so throwing in some fasting won’t hurt.
A full day though.. that is a giant nope.
I’ve fasted for up to 18 hours and been fine. I wouldn’t do a full day, though, especially not when I’m working out.
The worst and best I ever felt was one time when I went on an eight day water only fast.It was tough the first two days,and then became gradually easier.My body was detoxified,sleep was easy,mental clarity the best.All said that was very rewarding,but long ago,and of course it was not smart to do without the permission of a doctor. I don’t care too much for food,so I can give that up,but I need my coffee and diet soda!
This definitely sounds like something you should discuss with your doctor before doing often. Which is why I don’t love celebrities spouting this stuff.
Good for her.
Honestly, I am so sick of diet culture and the way the every detail of celebrities diets are dissected. Hollywood is not representative of how a normal human should live. Actresses are often underweight and malnourished, yet we see these bodies on our screens every day and normalise them. I’m not saying Kate isn’t healthy, blah, blah… but honestly the pressure on women to fit a certain societal standard is ridiculous, and let’s not pretend it’s about health.
Signed,
Someone With Severe and Enduring Anorexia.
I actually do that too, but not once a week, more like twice a month. I drink a ton of water and just don’t do food for 24 hours. I didn’t intentionally seek it out, just once I was traveling and super busy and honestly didn’t get a chance or feel like eating. Then I realized, “Hey. I never realized I could do that without wanting to strangle people.” So I stuck with it.
I fast for 24 hours once a month. I also eat plant based four out of 7 days and have one day a week where anything goes.
I fail to see how this is healthy.
Mostly it’s not. It’s like riding a car on fumes only and expect it to go a long way and give good results at work. Truth is the energy you don’t take from food has to came from somewhere and if you do it for an extended period of time the energy comes from your own fat and muscles. I was far away from home for three months recently for work reasons and the conditions were not optimal for me to eat as I wanted. That combined with stress made me drop 6 kg and although from the outside I don’t look very different I have lost all my muscles and I have no strength. I am back home now and I am eating and sleeping only. I will wait a month before heading to the gym because my stomach still doesn’t accept the same amount of food it did before. I need to fix that and then start training to regain my muscles.
Egla – as you’ve described it here, your eating pattern was not fasting.
There is evidence that fasting can kickstart a process called autophagy, which is theorized to help suppress tumor growth, along with a wide range of other potential benefits. Some proponents advise a 3-5 day fast a couple times a year. Starting around 36 hours, fasting will start to put people into ketosis as well, which is good for fat-burning. Other studies show it can lower blood pressure and blood sugar readings, although diabetics do need to consult a doctor before fasting.
Regarding muscle loss – a 24 hour fast would be protective, however, some lean-mass loss will start to occur within the first couple days of a fast. The longer the fast, the smaller the rate of muscle loss. This might be a concern for some athletes, or people in poor health.
i don’t know that the evidence supports that fasting is some great cure-all, but for most people, it is safe. For some people, it might help them lose weight, but I think that’s really individual. It helped me, for sure, but I like to take looooong breaks from it!
@Killjoy I might understand some restrictions for health reasons here and there but in many religious cultures that apply fasting of some sort it’s evident that is a form of sacrifice and purification (spiritual one) and not regarding any health reasons per se. What I see with celebrities is that they sell people this miraculous solutions of detoxing and cleaning and purging toxins when in fact it’s just starving and the end goal is loosing weight and keeping it down. How may people , women mostly have come forward in their later years and have admitted to have starved all their lives to stay thin.
Nope.
I used to fast because of religious reasons which meant not having any food or water for a long time for an entire month, from sunrise to sunset. Which is absolutely bonkers when we have long summer days. It’s unhealthy for people. Especially for people who may have undiagnosed health concerns, as well as people with diabetes, PCOS, hormonal imbalances, heart condition etc. etc.
Now I can’t fast even for a few hours because I need to take medication & also because I can’t see why some all powerful God would need people to fast for him. It’s all bs.
There is absolutely zero medical evidence for intermittent fasting being beneficial for anyone’s health other than hacks like Percolla who peddle snake oil.
Not true at all. Fasting has been around since the beginning of time. What’s new is the concept that you have to constantly eat. You are not going to go into starvation mode, your body is not going to consume muscle after fasting for a few days (hello, that’s what fat reserves are for) – nor is your metabolism going to be damaged that quickly.
Fasting is not an eating disorder. Fasting is not a diet.
Most of the things we think of as healthy and normal (like eating three meals a day + snacks; you have to breakfast; breakfast is the most important meal of the day, blah blah blah) are actually relatively new concepts and behaviors that haven’t even been around that long. For most of human history, people had eating patterns that included fasting – and most people certainly weren’t eating three squares a day. A large portion of the world population doesn’t do that today.
A quick google search will show that as modern medical professionals conclude more research on fasting they’ve discovered that it can help with a number of medical issues.
Actually there are a significant, and growing, number of studies that link longer term fasting (24+ hours) to a process called autophagy which leads to cellular repair and has been linked to increased life expectancy. It’s a fascinating subject, the body really is miraculous. But I agree that no fake sky lord needs us fasting just to praise them.
Yeah don’t do this.. why the hell would you want to? Absolutely stupid