Last year, we talked about intermittent fasting like it was the trendy new diet, which is what Chris Pratt made it sound like in December 2018. Intermittent fasting has been around for a long time, and it has roots in nearly every religion. But in 2018-19, fasting is being divorced from religion and being rebranded as a cool, interesting way to lose weight. Or something. The idea behind intermittent fasting is that you only allow yourself to eat solid food for a certain portion of the day, like a six-hour or eight-hour window, and then you “fast” (or only drink liquids) the other 16 or 18 hours of the day. Well, fasting is getting a new celebrity face: Jennifer Aniston is a fan.
Add Jennifer Aniston to the growing list of celebs who love intermittent fasting. The 50-year-old actress said she’s had major success on the eating plan, which requires fasting for 16 hours a day and eating only during an eight-hour period.
“I do intermittent fasting, so there’s no food in the morning,” she told U.K. outlet Radio Times. “I noticed a big difference in going without solid food for 16 hours.”
Instead, Aniston — a late riser who gets up around 9 a.m. each day — sticks to just liquids in the mornings, like green juices and coffee. “Today, I woke up and had a celery juice,” she said. “Then I started to brew some coffee, but I don’t drink coffee that early.”
Before sitting down with her cup of joe, Aniston said she meditated, worked out and fed her dogs. Her Morning Show costar Reese Witherspoon, on the other hand, is up with the sun because of her 7-year-old son Tennessee, who wakes her up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. But she, like Aniston, prefers a liquid breakfast.
“I just have a green juice and a coffee in the morning,” Witherspoon, 43, said. The mom of three also forces herself to start exercising in the morning. “I find it really hard to work out before 7:30 a.m. But that’s the time I start one; 7:30 a.m.,” Witherspoon said. “I probably do that six days a week.”
I’ve never been a breakfast person, and I only do a big morning meal if it’s brunch and there’s bacon involved. At this point in my life, I do force myself to eat something in the morning (yogurt and a banana) just because I know that A) I’ll be starving by lunchtime if I don’t eat something early, and B) I legitimately feel like that’s a healthier way to start my day. Several years back, commenters recommended starting my day, first thing, with a glass of water, so now I try to do that too (I drink about half a glass most mornings). My point is… I could probably not eat anything in the mornings, and I could probably stick to eating in an eight-hour window, but I would end up eating too much in that window of time. As for Jennifer… I wonder if she still does some version of the Zone diet too. She was so big on that?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid and Avalon Red.
So you just…drink calories instead of consuming them solidly? Is that what I’m reading here to the detriment of my functioning brain cells? That’s what they’re calling fasting?
Intermittent fasting you would not drink green juice it’s coffee tea or water it’s also not for weight loss. It’s really for giving your digestion system a break.
yes totally. I also do intermittent fasting and there’s no calories for 16 hours. she makes no sense. I have read that less than 40 or 50 calories would still be considered fasting so maybe celery juice is under that amount.
Drinking green juice isn’t skipping breakfast, I don’t know what she’s talking about. If she’s having green juice in the morning, she’s not fasting. Those things are loaded with calories and nutrients you’ve got to digest. Fasting isn’t just about “solid food” though I’m sure she’s less bloated or whatever going 16 hours without it. It doesn’t sound like Reese is claiming she fasts though, just Aniston.
celery juice and (black) coffee have next to zero calories. Even if you put a small amount of sugar in the coffee, it’s still only like 30 calories.
I could NEVER do this. I’m hungry when I first wake up, and need to get protein in my body pretty early.
Ah, celery juice makes a little more sense. I was thinking regular juice, which is pretty carb heavy. It just didn’t make any sense to me otherwise because you would still be taking in hundreds of calories.
I’m a morning/night eater myself. I can skip lunch if necessary, but I usually am really hungry in the morning and definitely after my workout in the evening. If I’m doing anything intermittent, it’s midday.
I’m light headed if I don’t eat within an hour of waking. Workdays I’ll have a protein shake for convenience to eat at my desk
yeah, regular (orange/apple/etc) juices have a LOT of sugar => a lot of calories, for sure. but celery itself is mostly water, so the “juice” is probably just celery flavored water…lol.
I do intermittent fasting for actual health reasons, my doctor actually recommended it. I skip dinner instead and eat breakfast. It has changed my life and health for the better. So much so I’m no longer on asthma medication. There Is a variety ways of doing it and breakfast is most common but you can skip any meal of your choice with different hours.
Aniston conveniently leaves out that shes smoked a pack a day for a looooong time.
Hey I can personally tell you this works ! I eat normally throughout the day (no dieting) and then don’t eat past 7pm. After a while you get used to it. I used to eat a lot at night in front of the t.v. but not anymore. It really makes a HUGE difference. Unlike Jen, I don’t skip breakfast. You basically just have to eat dinner early and then don’t snack afterwards.
But… and I don’t mean to be snarky, but you’re just eating healthily, that is, not eating outside of meals. Not eating anything after 7pm (or after dinner) is what most people do. That’s not fasting.
That’s not what most people do. Most people snack in the evenings.
@Snow it’s about consistency and it’s about giving your digestion system a break. Yes it’s intermittent fasting. People also do 18 24 36 hour fasts.
I can’t speak to her, but intermittent fasting is really what a lot of people probably do without realizing it. It’s basically skipping breakfast or not snacking at night. For me, it’s being mindful about it that makes me eat less. Those stray calories really add up.
My point is: that is the way everyone I know eats! I mean exactly what I said. It’s not the same as fasting a whole day or day and a half. Its just not eating between meals and nothing after dinner/supper however you want to call it. Call it intermittent fasting if you will, I call it ‘the way I always saw people eat and was taught to eat’. Around me, if someone has what we call a ‘midnight snack’ it’s an indulgence, and we know it’s not supposed to happen all the time.
Sigh. I just think that this over-industrialisation and high capitalisms teaches to eat all the time as it was something normal. It’s not. So-called intermittent fasting is what people have always done.
I don’t know where you’re from but this is a cultural thing I think. When I go to the US for instance, I find it weird how people are always slurping on sodas and eating whenever.
@DaisySharp
Ok, I must be having some sort of cultural meltdown. It is not normal to eat after dinner from where I stand. We always make fun of our teen because he makes a whole meal for himself at night after supper. But that’s because he is growing up. Most of my friends just don’t eat between meals, or if they do it is going to be a piece of fruit or chocolate but I don’t know anyone who will, outside of holidays or a particularly chill week-end, eat between meals and especially dinner. of course there is always that person who will do it, but it’s accepted that it is not super healthy.
I agree. Not eating in between meals and after dinner is just regular eating….
@ Snowslow
My original post said I used to eat late at night. I stopped eating after 7pm and on some days after 6pm and it has helped so much. Here in North America we are constantly seeing fast food/snack ads on TV. It’s hard not to want to eat while watching TV at night but once you break the habit it’s pretty easy to do. I am sure some cultures have always done it this way but in Canada/America this is not the norm…we snack A LOT…and usually while sitting and watching TV…very bad habit.
Ali, do you usually go 16-18!hrs without eating. No way is that the norm for most Americans
@Isabelle – I don’t snack during the day and as a family we don’t eat after dinner unless it’s a family movie night and we have popcorn. Dinner time depends on what the kids have going on.
We aren’t a fasting family. I said that eating three meals is just regular eating not a special diet.
There is something off about her. The only way I can explain it is that she has a bloated face?
Other than that she is lovely in the way a nice, wealthy, slightly out-of-touch lady sitting next to me at a wedding can be.
I think her face appears bloated because she uses fillers and botox.
Love that dress!!!! I like her in more conservative clothes!
I love intermittent fasting. I’ve tried it in the past but I have committed to it the past 2 months and it’s made a huge difference. I eat between 8am and 4pm. Eating breakfast has also been a game changer for me.
@Max: In what way has it been a game changer? Do you feel like you have more energy, or are you losing weight, or what? I think I could do that.
@kaye – so much more energy. I didn’t realize that waiting to eat at lunchtime was making me binge eat. Now I eat bfast exactly at 8am. I’ve also lost 8lbs without obsessing. It forced me to cook and eat at home and to stop binge eating in front of the tv at night. Im 40, and this is the first time I’ve consistently had bfast and I’ve noticed my mood is stable throughout the day.
I do between 10 and 6 and it definitely has made a difference for me.
remember when it was called “skipping meals”?
lol yes, and remember when health experts later told everyone that wait you should eat breakfast, because it’s the most important meal of the day? And Oprah told us not to eat after dinner within x hours of bedtime?
I read this stuff and, maybe I’m just in a mood, but it reeks of privilege. I get up at 6:30 because I have to be at work before 9. I’m a therapist so I need to be *on* at 9 for my client and then on for every client that day. I get maybe 2 min between sessions, when I rush to the bathroom, an hour for lunch at 12, when I also sometimes am writing my notes and making calls, and then four clients in the afternoon until 5. Go home through traffic, walk my dog, and I’m lucky if dinner happens by 7.
My schedule is tight but I guess I feel like I know more people with similar constraints than not. It’s easy to wake up at 9 (!), meditate, and not eat when you don’t really do anything all day, or you live on sets that will accommodate any schedule you throw at them. It’s a lot harder when you have real jobs that have very little room for movement in them, and you’re working with vulnerable people that expect you to be there and on it and don’t give a crap about your diet goals, just care that you can’t concentrate because your blood sugar is low.
Ugh. I’m just over wealthy thin white women telling me how easy it is to be healthy. /rant
I’m with you. I was trying to understand why this got to me a little and it’s just that ‘intermittent fasting’ can be, to me, ‘not having time to eat’ or else ‘too tired to eat anything after 7pm once the kids are fed and I’m done for the day before I hit the books again to work some more before sleep’.
And it is also the way you should eat anyway (apart from the skipping breakfast thing).
So much this: too tired to eat anything after 7pm once the kids are fed and I’m done for the day before I hit the books again to work some more before sleep’.
I so get this and co-sign.
I totally, TOTALLY agree. It’s easy to do this when you have no-one relying on you and only have to worry about yourself.
I know plenty of married people with dependents who do intermittent fasting. It actually works well if you have kids in bed before 9pm. Just don’t eat break and joy after nine it really isn’t that hard even with dependents. You slightly shaded single people btw. Remarks like yours makes it sound like you are a martyr and single people have no responsibilities, well they do and often way more active than committed people.
Isabelle, I think you missed Jensies’s main point. Anyone can do “intermittent fasting” (or skip meals) — but Aniston is talking about how she doesn’t get up until 9:00, and then has time to meditate, work out, etc., before she has to put food in her body. Plain and simple, it’s just easier for someone with that kind of incredibly lax schedule (regardless of whether or not they’re coupled/have children) to follow a diet routine like that! She is highly privileged and lives a very pampered life.
Yeah, I’ve been told that a 14 hour digestive cycle can be good for the body, etc, but how ar entry working out in the morning and then not eating protein within two hours? I tried this and I had to stop because I wasn’t building any muscle!
Yeah, I’ve been told that a 14 hour digestive cycle can be good for the body, etc, but how are they working out in the morning and then not eating protein within two hours? I tried this and I had to stop because I wasn’t building any muscle!
At this point, the only time I fast reliably is when I’m asleep lol.
But I have tried this before and with various Results because I always find That no matter how much you fast, at least for me, it’s sunk if I don’t eat healthy foods as well. And I am usually a one large portion and eat in the evening type of person which is my worst habit, not to mention it interrupts my sleeping pattern. I do find if I go to bed early and don’t eat for at least 14 hours to 16 hours straight it does kind of help
I actually can’t fast in the evening because I hit the gym after work. I’ve actually fallen asleep early without eating after 7pm and woken up nauseous and dizzy from my glucose levels dropping. It’s very strange. There’s definitely an element of scheduling that influences how you do it.
I tried to do an 8 hour window. 12 pm to 8 pm. Skipping breakfast and eating lunch at 12 is pretty easy, but trying to eat again before 8 pm was nearly impossible some days because I don’t get home that early.
I have never been the type of person who can eat a huge meal in the morning. Literally my body would not want anything solid before 11am, I could only have a glass of water or water with lemon. I had been intermittent fasting without even knowing it! lol.
That being said, eating a solid or heavy in calorie breakfast is not part of every culture. I was surprised when I went to Italy and their breakfast is like a coffee with maybe a biscuit, in my home country it’s an entire plate of really heavy food.
My point is, it really depends what your body wants and the energy you’re gonna be expending until you have your next meal. Not everyone needs to live by the “breakfast is the most important meal/eat the most in the morning for energy” type of regimen.
For me, if I forced solid food in myself before 11am I would feel too full and sluggish.
Same. And it took me years to only eat when I’m hungry and to internalize that it`s ok to eat irregularly because for me it works.
I hardly ever have breakfast and if I have eggs / heavy food in the morning it will almost make me sick.
@Elisa
Same! Well actually I’m still trying to learn not to eat when i’m not hungry/past being full. It just seems to naturally work that way in the morning for me for some reason. And same on the egg front, the earliest I can have eggs is close to afternoon Brunch.
@Mixed Berries
Love how your name fits perfect with ur comment haha. Yeah something fruit/berry based could be something I can eat for breakfast too sometimes, but yeah the nausea can be real with the more traditional stuff.
Also, all breakfast foods you mentioned sound delicious, hopefully i could have ‘em for brunch someday haha
I’m the same. Sometimes I actually get nauseous if I eat breakfast. I can have a big green smoothie, fruit salad with berries, or something fruit based but I don’t like breakfast so I drink tea, coffee, water, etc, before breaking my fast with a fruit platter at midday most days. The only time I can stomach heavy food (traditional Western style breakfast of eggs, toast, and hash-browns or pancakes) for breakfast is when I’m travelling and the hotel buffet looks good or when I’ve skipped dinner the night before. I love Japanese (rice, fish, pickles, miso soup, etc) and Taiwanese breakfasts (rice porridge, pickles, egg, and various light accompaniments; or egg crepes with those Chinese savoury donuts wrapped inside and all types of delicious buns) though, and always have them if I’m travelling.
IF is awesome and helped me lose 15KG plus and keep it off. And it’s convenient not to have to think about food all the time.
I’ve been fasting pretty much since early 20s. But I don’t break up a single day. Not normally anyway. A good fast for me is a day, day-and-a-half or longer. If I know we’re doing something (party, restaurant, festival, whatever) I fast a stretch before.
Our culture consumes so much food and we carry around eating disorders like anvils. My mother was…well…it was hard growing up under the influence of vanity. I raised my family to enjoy food. To try everything. To listen to their bodies. And to ignore diet plans, even eating three meals a day. These rules are useless unilaterally and not eating food for a spell, imo, is far healthier than America’s type of meals three times daily, plus snacks, plus sugared drinks, etc. Obviously I’m not advocating starvation lol. I’m advocating controlled restraint and occasional indulgences. Balance is everything in all things.
Having said all that, I truly dislike eating anything before noonish. The only time I’ve ever eaten breakfasts was during vacations, holidays, special occasions lol. When we were on a cruise, I think I ate all day, every day! Normal mornings for me are simply coffee.
I am with you. I do everyday 16 hours and once a week 24 hours fasting. When I know I will eat a lot for a party or something I fast the whole day. It was a game changer for me, I feel much better, a lot of energy and dont feel as hungry. Another thing I noticed is that my body does not handle well heavy foods and alcohol anymore because it is more clean, so now I have a glass or two of wine on the weekends only and that´s all. When I eat I eat healthy because that is what my body craves for.
I’m a IF-lifestyler / permanent IFer and I totally agree with the not handling heavy foods as well point. I don’t crave fried stuff anymore and can’t have too much of it when I do have it. Don’t drink alcohol so don’t have any personal insights on that.
And yes, three meals are too much for most people. They profit us off eating too much and then others profit off the obesity, high-cholesterol, and diabetes medication we have to take!
Me too, I’ve pretty much always eaten like this and I haaaaate rules about eating. I eat whatever sounds good to me whenever I’m hungry. My appetite is just naturally “intermittent fasting” and maybe that’s why I’ve never had a weight issue? Idk, but I like my eating habits being validated!
I’m with you all. I think the three-meals-a-day-mentality doesn’t work for everyone. I remember in college when my dad, who is very health-conscious/active person, told me I should eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m satisfied (and not stuffed). That helped me so much to just listen to my body and throw out the “rules.” There are no actual one-size-fits-all rules.
With that said, I started doing intermittent fasting in college and didn’t realize it, when I had class allll day and never got around to eating until dinner. I do 20:4 now a few days a week and my window to eat is around 3:30pm-7:30pm, sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes at different times or whenever is convenient. I have young kids and a job, I love brunch on weekends, have work lunch outings etc etc so I make it work for whatever works for me. I’ve never been a big breakfast person and I’ve always had a hard time eating small meals all throughout the day (was never satiated!), so one or two larger meals makes it really easy for me because it’s way more satisfying. And when I used IF to lose baby weight x2, for me it’s easier to stick to a calorie deficit when I can eat those calories within four (or five or six) hours…
Doubtful she’s keeping that figure solely on fasting, diet and exercise. It does irritate me because if what I’m reading (still) on the gossip sites over the years is true, then she’s a hypocrite. Just own up, say I still smoke but cutting back, or trying to quit etc. Because if she’s still smoking, it’s weight control.
I have known plenty of overweight smokers so this doesn’t track. Smoking is not an appetite suppressant. People who quit gain a few pounds because they are eating more out of nervousness and to ease withdrawal symptoms. I’m pretty sure Jen eats healthy and works out to keep her figure.
Well Mabs we must have very similar mother’s in the sense where vanity was important to them.
I also fast/ intermittent fast regularly but its not a diet for me it listening to my body.Breakfast is not something I’ve ever eaten regularly -I do no like it and feel sluggish if I ever eat in the morning.
I also feel and sleep best if it stop eating by 7 PM.
To me it’s just a way of life and is what works for me,but I’m would never tell something else to do the same,but to listen to you body.We had a late dinner last night and it involved too spicey marinara sauce and I’m in a sluggish mood today 😩
Not everything is a diet invented by famous wealthy celebrities,and shouldn’t me marketed by them as such,sometimes people just eat when they are hungry and stop when full.
Sorry this was intended as a reply to @Mabs post up thread
Jeesh also please excuse the mistakes in my wording re my comment,my auto correct is working way faster than me today!
Yes! I can’t eat late evening. In fact I really try to stop putting food in my mouth by 6pm, but 7 sounds about right most nights.
I do it. 16 hours fasting 8 hour eating time, 5 days a week then OMAD on Friday & Saturday so I can drink some wine 😊. Very effective for losing and maintaining weight. During your window of opportunity to eat, you have to limit your caloric intake. Dr. Mosley thinks it helps prevent diabetes. I have a ton of energy and plan to do it for life. I would use the green juice to break the fast tho.
Smee..
So fasting between 8pm and noon the following day?
I could do that.
you totally could! I thought it would kill me but it didn’t. I love it now, go figure
Awesome to see IF has so many people testifying to its efficacy for weight loss, weight maintenance, and good overall health. Fasting isn’t just a fad diet with a HW following; it’s been studied extensively and there are lots of studies on its health benefits.
She is not fasting if she is drinking Green juices. This year I will complete 3 years of intermitent fasting. It was great for me and I will never go back to the old ways. Sometimes I do 24 hours fasting as well.
Lili, if I may ask, what were “the old ways” and what would you say has been the biggest difference in the past 3 yrs of doing IF?
Old way would be eating 3 meals a day. I lost 10 kilos and I feel more energy, I feel less hungry, some foods taste weird because it is like you can taste the chemicals on it because your body is more clean. Also I used to drink alcohol a lot, now my body cannot take it anymore. I have a lot of energy when I fast I feel like I can work harder and faster and with way more focus. I think if you decide to fast accomodate to your body, for me for example I feel hungrier on lunch time, so I don´t eat breakfast. I eat a good lunch and a light dinner. My first meal is around 2:30 Pm. There tons of good materials on the internet and You Tube, I´ve made a lot of research, all I can say is that I am happier with fasting and I feel healthier…
It clearly doesn’t stop wrinkles or dry lifeless hair, though.
/end snark
Nothing stops wrinkles. We all age. A woman aging is not a moral failure.
I mean FOR REAL. The woman is 50 YEARS OLD. 50 year olds have wrinkles. My god.
I commented up top but to add, I really think it boils down to metabolism and, maybe, age and lifestyle. I have taken that God awful diet pull over the counter And the side effects are terrible. And potentially dangerous. So basically It will help me reach my ideal weight but they’ll only notice how skinny you look in an open coffin
This cracks me up when Aniston talks health. She’s been smoking a pack a day for decades.
Right! It’s like people obsessively buying organic/fairtrade but then regularly taking cocaine.
Men must find her conversations riveting. lol.
Gwenyth does the same thing!
Though according to the interwebz , Jennifer quit a few years ago,
So was I the only one who laughed at her being a “late riser” who gets up at 9 am?? It’s not like she’s sleeping in until noon. I guess I don’t know what the norm is, but is it Witherspoon’s waking up with the sun? I figured it all has to do with your work schedule, and 9 am works for some people. I couldn’t do that but I wouldn’t call it “late,” either.
I a lot, if not most, are people at work by 9am, so maybe she’s comparing herself to those with jobs that have more regular hours than an actor. Although a lot of actors have really early work calls, specially female actors, so maybe comparing herself to those with early calls too.
I’m a student so waking up at 9am would be sleeping in for me as well.
9 am seems super late for a wake up time. My husband leaves for work at 6:30 am. I work from home so don’t have to leave to get to an office but my younger is up between 5:30-6 seven days a week. I wake my middle schooler up at 6:30 he goes to school at 7:30, the little guy goes to school at 9. I can’t imagine just waking up at 9 am….
I think it’s just a fancy, LA’d dressing up of an idea I find helpful, which is to give my digestive system a break for 10-12 hours a day. I was having minor stomach issues — stopping eating a few hours before bedtime helped so much, and delaying a bit in the morning helps my digestive system wake up again. But the hoopla and the naming of it all always feels off to me. Just do what feels good/right/healthy and be happy.
I think, in addition to giving your system a break, IF is about actually putting your body into ketosis and activating autophagy, and this could involve 24-hour-plus fasting / longer fasting periods than you mention. Fasting has been studied extensively (see science and health journals) and does induce ketosis and autophagy, which have proven weight-loss and health benefits including slowing aging.
I can’t imagine not having breakfast. I wouldn’t be able to focus by the time 11 am rolled around. I have a light breakfast and we have big late breakfasts on weekends (late is 9 to 10am in our house) I love morning and I love eating so those teo things combined work for me. The no solids could work for me only in I had luxury of going to the gym and then shower and then maybe stretch that till early lunch. But that’s not my life.
What is wrong with Aniston’s hair though? Iggy Pop seems to have a more Aniston hair than Aniston herself: https://www.gq.com/story/iggy-pop-still-wants-to-be-somebody.
I was a breakfast eater my whole life and thought I would keel over if I didn’t have something as soon as I wake up. But I was intrigued by IF and decided to five it a go.
At first it was difficult not eating in the morning but you do get used to it especially if you are busy and can distract yourself.
Now I try to do IF from 12-8. If I do I notice I am way less hungry for the rest of the day. There are lots of podcasts/books and information out there about IF. Dr Michael Moseley mentioned above says the most effective way of eating to maintain is IF combined with a Mediterranean diet.
There is a lot of research being done on IF and it’s benefits aside from weight loss.
God I wish the diet culture got cancelled all together.
Everyone needs to find their own rythm and what works for their own body and insulin levels.
Why do women CONSTANTLY talk about dieting, food, calories, weight, looks?
So FED UP
Agree, I’m so tired of it. Eating healthy is code for eating so you can stay skinny. They can word it however they want, most people do diets and “healthy” eating to stay skinny. Because being fat is the worst thing ever! *sarcasm *
Right..? I mean.. I just… Ugh.. Can’t with the whole:
Shame on you for how much physical space you take up on this planet.
“How dare you!” *dramatic British gasp* “MAKE YOUSELF SMALLER, people have to have something – they’ve been conditioned is beautiful – to look at!”
YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS.
Also, listen to your doctor, not celebs or others. Especially if you have any blood sugar issues.
I eat when I get hungry. Sometimes it’s not until a couple of hours after I get up when I’ll have some yogurt and berries, other times it’s not until 1:00PM. Last night I had a fairly heavy dinner for me – seared ahi tuna steak, noodles and spicy veg. I could NOT fall asleep after that and I knew it was because I ate too much. Today I didn’t eat until 1:00 and just finished the leftover spicy noodles and veg. I really have to keep protein to a minimum at night or insomnia strikes.
So all the calories in liquor dont count cause she strikes me a wine a lot at night kinda gal?
I have lost 40 pounds over the last 6 months with intermittent fasting (8:16) and calorie counting (1500). I give myself a free Friday where I eat like a great white shark. I started at 243 and am now 203. I don’t do IF or calorie count on holidays. I don’t think I would be able to consistently loose weight if it wasn’t for IF. It just gives me ‘rules’ about when I can eat.
Good on you and congrats on finding something that works for you; as a fellow IFer (for life), I know how you feel.
Heaps of people naturally eat this way, esp as the fasting time includes sleep.
Not as big a thing as it sounds!
I’m sorry, but not eating for 24 hours is not healthy. Not eating after dinner or until noon is fine but to not eat for 24 hours is not good.
Depends on the person and how you do it. Alternative day fasting (fasting for 24 hours or more every second day) has been studied extensively and it’s proven to have health impacts even if you’re already in a healthy weight range. See peer-reviewed studies on fasting for moe info. Ultimately, experiment carefully and listen to your body.
@ChillyWilly: I think that many, if not most of us have been “brainwashed” into believing this. That said, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was won in 2016 by a Japanese doctor for his research on autophagy, something which is brought about by fasting.
Is jennifer getting a Homer Simpson face?
I have some pathology in my bowel that I have dealt with my entire life. That’s all I’ll go into with that, but the key thing is to eat a very high-fiber diet and then allow my system to rest a lot. Basically…I’ve been intermittent fasting since I was a teenager. ha ha. It’s not trendy, and it’s not a whole lot of fun. I certainly don’t think people without bowel trouble should do it all the time. I wish I didn’t have to.
Any time you take something basic like eating food and turn it into a nightmare of rigid rules, you’re gonna develop a bad relationship with that basic thing.
I do this for health reasons, and it’s been supported by my doctors my whole life, and it serves me well. It’s a compensation for pathology; it’s not a “best practice for everyone with normal digestion.” I don’t have hours on the clock type rules. It’s more of a “don’t force your bowel to work all day long every day and don’t eat stuff that will just hang around down there.” When I have flare-ups, I will do a clear liquid fast for three days. That is torture, not “a good way to maintain weight.” I’d give a whole lot to be able to snack all day without medical consequences. It looks super fun.
Fasting…is not a normal way to eat as a lifestyle choice. I think this mess could get dangerous in the hands of people who aren’t seeking medical care alongside it.
Fasting for faith reasons or for short periods for specific reasons is fine. We’ve done it as a species since before historical records began. But “just don’t eat” isn’t a diet. It’s…it’s not.
How tf do you work out with an empty stomach? I’d collapse in two minutes.. that’s not healthy at all.
I work in retail, where “intermittent fasting” = “no time to take a meal break.”
(Secret: my workplace provides free bagels and PB&J, so sometimes I stash a bagel in my apron pocket and take bites between customers. I’m often the only person in my department and can barely leave the counter to take a pee break.)