[HN Gopher] Fasting lowers blood pressure by reshaping the gut m...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Fasting lowers blood pressure by reshaping the gut microbiota
        
       Author : porterde
       Score  : 89 points
       Date   : 2021-07-17 16:50 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.sciencedaily.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.sciencedaily.com)
        
       | qwertox wrote:
       | When I do sports (riding bike every day for at least one hour in
       | mostly anaerobic mode) after not eating for at least 18 hours or
       | so (which I don't do often), I feel like I've got unlimited
       | resources of energy available.
        
         | nradov wrote:
         | Color me skeptical. In the anaerobic zone you're going to be at
         | something like 90% of max heart rate and getting almost all of
         | your energy from carbohydrate stores. Most people deplete those
         | in less than an hour, especially when fasted.
         | 
         | When I'm following a polarized training program I find I can do
         | the long, slow aerobic workouts just fine when fasted. But when
         | doing high intensity anaerobic intervals I fall apart quickly
         | if I haven't eaten some carbs before.
        
           | porknubbins wrote:
           | As a runner I was told that the liver holds about 600
           | calories of glucose, which would be roughly an hour of
           | exercise. Though the body doesn't run straight to the egde of
           | zero glucose, I think it alters the fat/glucose ratio during
           | the first hour of exercise and the 50/50 point is about 30
           | minutes. Obviously very roughly and assuming normal
           | physiology but matches your experience.
        
             | nradov wrote:
             | The fat/glucose ratio depends on effort intensity and
             | individual physiology. At very low aerobic intensities
             | metabolically healthy people get most of their energy from
             | fat. As intensity increases the mix shifts until you're
             | burning almost 100% glucose and 0% fat near max anaerobic
             | effort. This makes sense because fat metabolism requires
             | more oxygen and you hit a limit on how much oxygen you can
             | pull into your bloodstream. Once stored glucose is depleted
             | then either you need to consume some carbs, or drop the
             | intensity way down. The point at which that happens varies
             | widely based on multiple variables.
        
           | qwertox wrote:
           | I must add to this that I'm a bit overweight, since I don't
           | do any upper body training. I have a BMI of 28 with strong
           | muscles in the legs and probably a good heart, but a lot of
           | belly fat. My HRmax is usually a bit below 180, but
           | definitely above 175, so I'm in anaerobic mode at above 145,
           | where 150 to 160 is what I usually aim for, tending towards
           | the lower limit.
           | 
           | My theory is that at this point I'm somehow just taking the
           | energy out of the body fat, but I'm probably very wrong with
           | this assumption.
        
         | amelius wrote:
         | How do you ride bike in anaerobic mode consistently without
         | going dangerously fast?
         | 
         | I've been looking for a device that makes pedaling heavier if
         | activated but haven't found it yet.
        
           | nradov wrote:
           | Find a steep hill and you can pedal as hard as you like
           | without going very fast. But in general there's nothing
           | particularly dangerous about riding fast if you have decent
           | bike handling skills and watch out for traffic.
        
             | amelius wrote:
             | Unfortunately, changing the route of my daily commute to
             | one with more hills is not really an option.
        
           | snthd wrote:
           | A parachute?
        
             | slumdev wrote:
             | The tachycardia experienced by skydivers isn't the same
             | sort of stimulation that exercisers are looking for. But
             | it's an interesting thought.
        
             | amelius wrote:
             | Hehe, not practical on my daily commute. It also doesn't
             | work with strong tailwinds.
        
           | dillondoyle wrote:
           | stationary bike. but keeping a top % hr for an hour straight
           | is very impressive if true.
        
           | fahadkhan wrote:
           | A dynamo connected to a resistance will do. An old bike had a
           | dynamo connected to a rechargeable light, the bike felt
           | heavier the more the battery depleted.
           | 
           | Alternatively get a Turbo trainer or rollers with resistance
           | for stationary training. Lots of people love it but it's not
           | for me, though rollers aren't bad but the it gets very hot
           | even outdoors with a fan.
        
             | amelius wrote:
             | I investigated the dynamo solution, but it turns out that
             | modern dynamos have a large airgap which ensures that you
             | can only get a few watts of energy out of them (so you
             | don't overload the lights).
        
           | porknubbins wrote:
           | Without hills the only way is to ride in a suburban or rural
           | area. You can do 25-30mph safely for miles between lights
           | there which, should be hard enough for most people. Big
           | cities are fundamentally not safe serious athletic cycling,
           | anaerobic or otherwise. At best you spike your heartrate
           | sprinting between lights then stress your body with high HR
           | waiting at a light. Or guys will do near 30mph in a paceline
           | around Central Park and act offended when some tourist steps
           | out in front of them.
        
         | reedjosh wrote:
         | Yes, your body is then running on fat via ketones.
         | 
         | I once did a 6 mile hike in (and up) weekend camping trip with
         | just some salt for electrolytes and a pack of hotdogs.
        
       | frereubu wrote:
       | This study is in rats, and if I'm reading the article correctly
       | it also involves a population of rats that are bred to be
       | predisposed to hypertension. So although it sounds like there are
       | some interesting anecdata stories in the comments, this is very
       | far from being generalisable to human populations. Seems like it
       | would be a pretty easy study to do in humans though, to the point
       | where I wonder if it hasn't been done already, even if not
       | specifically focused on gut bacteria.
        
         | tdaltonc wrote:
         | Intermittent fasting has previously been shown (in humans!) to
         | lower blood pressure.
         | 
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29754952/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28202779/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19793855/
         | 
         | Also improve insulin sensitivity, reduce glucose and/or insulin
         | levels, improve lipid profiles, and reduce markers of
         | inflammation and oxidative stress.
         | 
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23408502/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27833048/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27569118/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23497604/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16051710/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23591120/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20921964/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27233359/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15833943/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15640462/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28035343/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25251676/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17291990/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22889512/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29258678/
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25546413/
        
       | walshemj wrote:
       | Interesting after I had been on antibiotics continuously for an
       | extended period - the corelectoral surgeon prescribed a course of
       | symprove probiotic.
       | 
       | Which does seem to make me feel a lot beter il have to experiment
       | with fasting as well.
        
       | zkirill wrote:
       | Fasting was one of the most memorable and shaping experiences of
       | my life. I fasted for three days (72 hours of nothing but water)
       | and observed so many interesting and fascinating things happening
       | to my body each day: skin flare ups and subsequent clearings,
       | changes in mouth and gut odour, periods of brain fog and brain
       | clarity, cravings followed by complete loss of feeling of hunger.
       | Every passing day had different effects. The most memorable was
       | an astronomical improvement in my olefactory senses. By day two I
       | was able to pick out the smell of individual ingredients in any
       | dish being prepared in my vicinity. By day three, I lost the
       | majority of my muscle mass.
       | 
       | The one and only time I ever did this was when I was young and in
       | extremely good health (daily intense exercise, excellent diet, no
       | health conditions). Slightly worried about doing it again today.
       | Also, quite concerned having since learned that brain mass is the
       | first stored energy source your body will go after during what is
       | effectively starvation. Perhaps someone more knowledge on here
       | can comment on how true that is.
        
         | xedrac wrote:
         | I highly doubt you lost the majority of your muscle mass,
         | unless you had very little fat on your body. More likely is you
         | depleted all glycogen stores in your muscles which is mostly
         | water, making your muscles deflate significantly.
        
           | zkirill wrote:
           | Maybe you're right. It was a long time ago. The only points
           | of data that I have is that I had a "college athlete" level
           | of fat around my heart as per my sonogram and it took me
           | months of work to rebuild my muscle mass.
        
             | ekabod wrote:
             | You don't seem to know what a muscle is.
        
       | snthd wrote:
       | https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.318155
        
       | inglor_cz wrote:
       | N == 1 here.
       | 
       | I had a _huge_ drop in blood pressure once I started fasting
       | daily. Even though I lost only a modest amount of weight (approx.
       | 10 pounds; I was never obese, only slightly overweight with BMI
       | cca 27), my blood pressure plummetted from 150 /95 _with
       | medication_ to some 115 /75 _without medication_ within a month.
       | 
       | This holds even when I no longer fast daily, only a few times a
       | week. Additional Concor, taken against post-Covid arrhythmias,
       | reduced my BP to some 105/70 when relaxed. Going any lower would
       | actually mean a risk of fainting.
       | 
       | This seems to be consistent with the theory of gut microbiota
       | being reshaped. I can also tolerate milk slightly better than
       | before; my tolerance still has limits, but I won't get a rash
       | after a single cappuccino, which I most definitely used to
       | before.
        
         | aNoob7000 wrote:
         | What was your fasting routine? and for how long did you do it?
         | Just interested in seeing what others are doing. I know there's
         | 16-8 (16 hours no-eating, 8 hours where you can eat).
        
           | inglor_cz wrote:
           | See my other reply here:
           | 
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27868099
        
         | pokot0 wrote:
         | Do you mind sharing your daily fasting routine. I only tried
         | intermittently and always wanted to give it a more serious try
         | and I have to start somewhere.
        
           | inglor_cz wrote:
           | My sweet spot seems to be 18/6.
           | 
           | I prefer to go without breakfast and have a lunch and a
           | dinner 6 hours apart, because I hate to sleep with an empty
           | stomach. I drink unsweetened coffee and tea (0 calories and
           | may act as appetite suppressant). I generally limit sugar in
           | my food, though not to zero.
           | 
           | On my non-fasting days, I have a breakfast, but I try to have
           | no more than 3 meals a day. No snacking.
           | 
           | I decide whether to fast or not by the state of my hunger in
           | the morning. If I am ravenous, I have a breakfast and a non-
           | fasting day. If I feel only slightly empty, I go without
           | breakfast to a total length of 17-19 hours of fasting.
           | 
           | I am now experimenting with continuous glucose meter to find
           | out what meals send my glucose too high. This, again, seems
           | to be individual. Rice and potatoes seem to act really crazy.
           | Interestingly, pizza not so much.
        
             | 1_player wrote:
             | 18/6 has never done anything to my BP, I've been doing it
             | for 10 years.
             | 
             | I suspect the biggest impact was trying to lose weight and
             | changing your diet. In my case changing my diet has
             | noticeable and immediate effect to any physiological metric
             | than any other "trick".
        
               | inglor_cz wrote:
               | I didn't change composition of my diet much back then,
               | but I noticed that on days when I fast longer, my BP goes
               | even lower. I could probably fast myself into
               | lightheadedness now on Concor (not that I want to).
               | 
               | People are fairly diverse, so different reactions are to
               | be expected. Our gut microbiota is diverse, too.
               | 
               | I also noticed that even slight amounts of alcohol (1
               | glass of wine) are visible on my BP for about 24 hours
               | after. An increase of 5-7 points.
        
         | thatguy0900 wrote:
         | Last year I fasted for a week just to see if I could do it, I
         | really wish I had before/after stats and bloodwork done. I
         | don't think it's something I will do again.
        
           | 11235813213455 wrote:
           | It depends on your internal (fat) reserves. I'm 58kg 1m83
           | (BMI 17.32), so I wouldn't really try such a long period. But
           | there are days I eat a lot, I build some glycogen reserves
           | (easily available fat, made from glucose) due to my diet with
           | much fruits, or other stuff like rice, honey, then the next
           | days I can fast intermittently and use that glycogen. As a
           | result I can't really gain weight, it always balance itself
           | to that weight.
           | 
           | I think people with more weight, have deeper fat, and it'll
           | take longer to use it. I remember seeing an article that our
           | ancestors possibly were hibernating. The more fat, the more
           | time you can spend fasting, even on a dry fasting (fat holds
           | water), but in that case it's important to limit physical
           | exercise
        
           | inglor_cz wrote:
           | A week! That is a significant fast. My max was 70 hours or
           | so; I do not plan to do that again, either.
        
             | thatguy0900 wrote:
             | Well I would say that it gets easier as you go, other than
             | you feeling progressively weaker and weaker. You probably
             | made it through the worst of the hunger and cravings at 70
             | hours
        
               | inglor_cz wrote:
               | At the 70 hour mark, I wasn't exactly hungry, but a bit
               | irritable, cold and distracted. And yes, a little weaker.
               | Pulling off any demanding work in that condition would be
               | nigh impossible for me.
        
       | mavci wrote:
       | Did you know that fasting for one month a year is obligatory in
       | Islam?
       | 
       | "O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was
       | decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.
       | 
       | Fast a prescribed number of days. But whoever of you is ill or on
       | a journey, then let them fast an equal number of days after
       | Ramadan. For those who can only fast with extreme difficulty,
       | compensation can be made by feeding a needy person for every day
       | not fasted. But whoever volunteers to give more, it is better for
       | them. And to fast is better for you, if only you knew." - Surah
       | Al-Baqarah 183-184
        
         | elliekelly wrote:
         | I wonder whether anyone has studied the weight (or even gut
         | bacteria) of observant muslims compared to the population at
         | large.
        
           | MeinBlutIstBlau wrote:
           | Ramadan is for one month and you'd be hard pressed to find a
           | lot of obese people seeing as much of the Islamic world is
           | not only still developing or war torn, but also very poor.
           | You would have to do a study of ones closer to normal western
           | standards of a daily diet to get a better control. Otherwise
           | of course the weight of a country where you work 12-16 hours
           | a day and eat 1600 calories max is going to be full of thin,
           | lightweight individuals. The fact that they fast one month
           | out of the year would have no large scale effect. Also,
           | during Ramadan, you can eat/drink before and after
           | sunset/sunrise. So if you gorge, your stomach size increases
           | and then naturally adjusts to the schedule so you whole
           | digestive system sustains itself over a longer period of time
           | as opposed to churning calories as they are incurred.
           | 
           | Edit: my comments on the Islamic world were not a slight.
           | It's a factor that should heavily be taken into consideration
           | when comparing them against Western nations that do not have
           | even remotely the same medical problems in regards to weight.
        
             | slumdev wrote:
             | ROCOR's Lenten fast would make a more interesting study.
        
             | nradov wrote:
             | Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have some of the highest
             | obesity rates in the world.
             | 
             | https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/
        
               | MeinBlutIstBlau wrote:
               | I can cherry pick places in a set that do not conform to
               | the rule too...
               | 
               | The Arab world is about 423 million people[0]. The places
               | you've referenced are ~41 million people[2][3][4]. 10%
               | that do not conform to the rule is still not the rule.
               | 
               | This does not include other Islamic countries but for the
               | sake of berevity we'll just fact in the whole Islamic
               | world (including Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia,
               | Bangladesh, etc) of 1.8 billion people[1]. Now your
               | subset just went from 10% to ~ < 1.25%. You're argument
               | is absurdly invalidated statistically right there.
               | 
               | [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_world
               | 
               | [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_world
               | 
               | [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia
               | 
               | [3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar
               | 
               | [4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait
        
               | kadoban wrote:
               | You said: "you'd be hard pressed to find a lot of obese
               | people". ~41 million isn't enough?
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | roveo wrote:
         | As far as I know, during Ramadan you're only allowed to eat and
         | drink when it's dark, which is more like a pretty extreme
         | version of intermittent fasting (depending on daylight
         | duration).
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | dillondoyle wrote:
           | And the Iftar tradition basically to break fast with a giant
           | meal each sun downn. Makes it seem even more extreme up and
           | down.
        
           | mavci wrote:
           | yes depending on your daylight, approximately, it takes
           | between 13 and 18 hours. I am fasting one month a year, more
           | than 10 years, and I can't call extreme, it's more like need
        
       | omosubi wrote:
       | I just did a 40 hour fast to see if i could do it and it was a
       | lot easier than i thought it would be. I'm trying to build up to
       | a week long. We'll see how it goes.
       | 
       | It's a shame that fasting has been eliminated from the culture,
       | but i guess that's what happens to things you can't make money
       | on.
        
         | WA wrote:
         | So many gurus right now make a ton of money from the IF
         | (intermittent fasting) craze. You CAN make money off fasting.
         | Sell books and courses. Promise a lot etc.
        
         | thatguy0900 wrote:
         | I did a week long fast. My advice is to be constantly drinking
         | water and sleep as much as you can. Make sure you get enough
         | electrolytes in your water or you will start feeling like
         | you're gonna have a heart attack.
        
         | thebean11 wrote:
         | When you say a week of fast, what are you consuming? Surely you
         | need something beyond water for such a long fast right?
        
           | coldtea wrote:
           | You don't need anything "more than water", but you do need
           | some electrolytes thrown in for correct hearth operation.
        
           | dageshi wrote:
           | Average healthy but overweight (yes I know this might be a
           | contradiction in terms) person can fast that long pretty
           | easily without eating anything. That's why the body stored
           | the fat in the first place...
        
           | gwd wrote:
           | > Surely you need something beyond water for such a long fast
           | right?
           | 
           | You need electrolytes for sure; but unless you've recently
           | been prepping for a body-building competition, you don't need
           | any calories for quite a bit longer than that. I did a week-
           | long fast for religious purposes many years ago, before the
           | whole IF health craze was a thing. All I had was water, and
           | occasionally some salt. I still had plenty of fat at the end
           | of it, and I wasn't particularly heavy before.
           | 
           | According to the book I read at the time (again, focusing on
           | fasting for religious purposes), it's only after 3-4 weeks
           | that a typical person experiences a more urgent type of
           | hunger pang, which is the indicator that your body is
           | starting to cannibalize critical infrastructure (and that
           | it's probably time to stop fasting if you don't want to
           | damage your health). People who are actually overweight
           | presumably have enough calories to last for months.
           | 
           | Vitamins and minerals are obviously another thing. You're not
           | going to get a nutrient deficiency in a week, but you might
           | well in a month or two. (I am neither a nutritionist nor a
           | doctor.)
        
           | sneak wrote:
           | Water, electrolytes, and a multivitamin should be more than
           | sufficient.
        
           | ijidak wrote:
           | The body stores fat for the exact purpose of surviving
           | limited access to food.
           | 
           | Most Americans could go weeks without eating, and they'd be
           | mostly fine.
           | 
           | Sudden refeeding is an issue, of course, because of
           | electrolyte balance.
           | 
           | But we have a misunderstanding of how long the body can go
           | without food, by design.
           | 
           | What we mainly need is water during periods without food.
           | 
           | After about 3 days without food, the body stops telling you
           | your hungry and switches to fat metabolism.
        
         | Engineering-MD wrote:
         | Just a word of caution, after 7-10 days of fasting, you can get
         | refeeding syndrome. This can be pretty unpleasant and
         | dangerous, and is best avoided.
        
       | shoto_io wrote:
       | I regularly do IF and have seen great results for my weight and
       | blood pressure.
       | 
       | Just a word of caution about this study: it's still only an
       | animal model (rats). Should be added to the title for clarity.
        
       | rozab wrote:
       | Does anyone have any fasting advice from a reputable health
       | authority?
       | 
       | For some reason the NHS doesn't really have any online, even
       | though a sizeable proportion of the population observe Ramadan.
       | They usually have good, well-cited articles on this kind of
       | thing.
        
         | tdaltonc wrote:
         | What sort of advice are you looking for?
         | 
         | I wrote this, most of the links are to primary research on
         | fasting.
         | 
         | https://usetemper.com/learn/metabolic-fitness-no-bigger-oppo...
         | 
         | Most of the primary research isn't really focused on generating
         | "advice." If I had to pick the protocol with the best direct
         | evidence, I'd pick "early time restricted feeding" (eTRF).
         | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29754952/ That's what Brian
         | Johnson practices. It's not a fasting protocol I would actually
         | recommend to most people because it's pretty inconvenient, but
         | it's been directly studied as an intervention.
        
         | reedjosh wrote:
         | Governmental health bodies are very behind on this topic.
         | 
         | They used to even claim fasting was terribly unhealthy.
        
       | malux85 wrote:
       | I have been intermittant fasting for a month now and the results
       | are fantastic. The mental clarity alone is worth it, let alone
       | the weight loss and general well being (better sleep, better
       | digestion)
       | 
       | I only eat for 4 hours a day, some days 1 meal and grazing, other
       | days 2 meals, but nothing outside those hours except water and
       | tea (with no milk)
       | 
       | I feel fantastic, I'm never going back to any other food
       | schedule.
       | 
       | The downside was that the first week was incredibly hard, I felt
       | dizzy and had spells of intense anger, but I distanced myself
       | from those I love so as not to accidentally explode at them and
       | just got through it, now after nearly a month, it feels normal
       | and I just feel great. Highly recommend it.
        
         | MeinBlutIstBlau wrote:
         | I know this is rude but what was your weight before you
         | started? In my experience and what I've observed, people who
         | chant praises of weight loss techniques always fail to disclose
         | that they were overweight/obese (in the technical bmi sense).
         | It isn't hard to lose weight when you're in that category at
         | all. Everybody who is in the obese category can lose 20-30 lbs
         | in about a couple of months without question simply by
         | maintaining a decent sized caloric deficit. Intermittent
         | fasting was not what caused you to lose weight. It is just a
         | fad esoteric movement that instructs you to have some self
         | restraint. Kinda like a religion.
         | 
         | The one tried and true, definite till the end of time means of
         | losing weight is a simple caloric deficit. Eventually with
         | intermittent fasting you will hit a wall because you still
         | consume the same amount of calories and your body will adapt to
         | the schedule. It will consume your energy over the course of
         | time as opposed to immediately which will halt your weight
         | loss.
         | 
         | I speak of this as someone who essentially did intermittent
         | fasting unintentionally. I would skip breakfast and not consume
         | anything besides coffee until 12:00. My last meal would be
         | before 20:00. So essentially I'd go 16 hours without eating. I
         | couldn't lose weight because after I got done exercising, I
         | gorged. I replenished every calorie I burnt off on top of the
         | residual I also could consume for the day. My stomach expanded
         | to be able to hold the large amount of food intake too. Once I
         | ate smaller portions over the course of the day, not only did
         | my caloric intake shrink (because I helped shrink my stomach
         | back down to size before feeling full), but I couldn't eat as
         | much. So I felt "gorged" on 400-600 calories.
         | 
         | Don't listen to that "2000 calorie" rule. That is for people
         | who exercise significantly or have physical labor jobs. When
         | that number was created, it was assumed people worked
         | physically. If you have a sedentary job, you do not need more
         | than 1200 calories a day and can very easily get your nutrients
         | with just that alone. If you exercise, it gives you an
         | additional reason to eat more and more opportunities to
         | replenish said nutrients.
        
           | malux85 wrote:
           | It's not rude I don't mind, I started at about 115kg, and I'm
           | about 105 now, in about a month.
           | 
           | I will also add a wee disclaimer: I'm also exercising a lot
           | too, I walk 7km every second day, so no doubt that's
           | contributing.
           | 
           | I'm happy with the weight loss, but really the mental clarity
           | that comes with IF has made me a much better programmer, I'm
           | 36 now, and I feel like I have the energy and mental clarity
           | like I was 18 again. Even if IF didn't give me the weight
           | loss, I would do it for the mental clarity alone.
           | 
           | Yeah I totally get that IF isn't for everyone, I have been
           | overweight my entire life, since very early childhood and I
           | tried many different things, the smaller meals, cutting out
           | carbs, vegan, no sugar, and they all worked to some degree,
           | but the weight and bad habits always came back.
           | 
           | IF has been so positive for me, I just thought I'd share my
           | story for others who may want to try it,
           | 
           | It sounds like you eventually settled on a method that works
           | for you, so that's great! Human bodies and society is so
           | complex, I have no doubt different methods will work for
           | different people...
        
           | neetle wrote:
           | > If you have a sedentary job, you do not need more than 1200
           | calories a day and can very easily get your nutrients with
           | just that alone.
           | 
           | That's not really close to true, at all. As someone standing
           | at 180cm, my basal metabolic rate is about ~1,300
           | calories[0]. That's assuming I weighed 40kg. A healthy weight
           | for me would be considered to be between 60kg and 80kg, which
           | would put my basal metabolic rate at 1,600-1,800kcal.
           | 
           | Not everyone can be 5'3".
           | 
           | [0]: according to the revised Harris-Benedict
        
             | MeinBlutIstBlau wrote:
             | I am 173cm (5'8.5"), 65kg. I also run three 8km's and two
             | 5km's a week with a 4:20-5:00/km pace. I do this on at or
             | about 1200-1500 calories. And I still have fat. I am not a
             | flat bellied skinny person either.
        
           | 11235813213455 wrote:
           | Totally agreed. You basically digest food better this way,
           | and use the most of your food, good advices (eating when you
           | feel like it, and only how much you need)
           | 
           | People will often turn to a lot of physical exercises when
           | they want to lose weight, but the important part is your food
           | consumption, minimal exercise is of course still a good idea
        
           | dragonwriter wrote:
           | > Don't listen to that "2000 calorie" rule. That is for
           | people who exercise significantly or have physical labor
           | jobs.
           | 
           | No, its pretty much what a young adult male of median height
           | [0] and ideal weight for height [1] and sedentary, not
           | active, lifestyle needs [2].
           | 
           | [0] 5'9"; https://www.healthline.com/health/average-height-
           | for-men#:~:....
           | 
           | [1] 145 lbs is the center of the normal range for 5'9";
           | https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323446#body-
           | mass-i...
           | 
           | [2] https://www.calculator.net/bmr-
           | calculator.html?ctype=standar...
        
         | hnrodey wrote:
         | What are you eating during your four hour feeding window?
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | malux85 wrote:
           | Vegetables, steak and fish. I try to avoid carbs
        
           | matwood wrote:
           | I'm not a no carb person. I've tried no carb and it's just
           | too hard to get the energy I need for my activity levels (I
           | know it can be done, but I also like to do things I can
           | maintain for years). But, I do think about my carbs. Meals
           | consist of cooked veggies (my trinity is peppers, onions,
           | mushrooms) or standard salad. Then some type of protein like
           | fish or chicken. Carbs I'll add if I think I need them that
           | day. Rice or I'll cut up potatoes and saute or oven roast
           | with rosemary and a little OO. I'll also graze on something
           | like hummus and raw veggies and mix in some pretzels.
           | 
           | I avoid sweets though.
        
             | hnrodey wrote:
             | fwiw I've had better success with low carb diets and energy
             | for workouts when in full blown ketosis (as measured by
             | blood meter). Otherwise, you're kind of in energy purgatory
             | if you simply go low carb.
        
               | 11235813213455 wrote:
               | low carb is a good idea for people more sedentary (who
               | commute with a car), in my case I ride a bike almost
               | every day, so I really need glucose/fructose and carb
        
         | matwood wrote:
         | IF is great. I've been doing the 8 hour window (basically skip
         | breakfast) for years. When I started I was also an eat as soon
         | as I get up person. It took about a week to get past that
         | feeling (headaches, agitation, etc...). Now, I don't ever
         | really get hungry. I get up, work out, train BJJ, work, etc...
         | all before lunch and have plenty of energy and clarity.
         | 
         | I leaned up which was fine, but I've had to add some grazing in
         | to stay at my goal weight.
        
       | vericiab wrote:
       | I don't tend to experience hunger and, as a result, interrupting
       | my activities to eat multiple times per day can feel like a bit
       | of an inconvenience. So I've frequently fasted daily since before
       | "intermittent fasting" entered the common lexicon. It's not
       | really intentional though, I will quite literally forget to eat
       | or otherwise just don't make it a priority.
       | 
       | In my experience, I'm not sure it's quite the panacea it's
       | sometimes made out to be. Perhaps there are psychological
       | benefits to intentionally fasting that I'm missing out on. In any
       | case, quite often when I'm wondering why I feel like shit I end
       | up realizing something like I haven't eaten in 24 hours or in the
       | last 48 hours I've eaten less than 1000 calories. Oops. I'm
       | trying to be better about regularly eating 2 meals per day
       | because I really do feel better if I've been eating consistently.
       | 
       | I'm not sure it's doing my blood pressure any favors either.
       | Despite regular fasting and having a BMI of 18.1 (technically
       | slightly underweight, as the lower bound of a "healthy" BMI is
       | 18.5), my blood pressure is usually around 140/95. But who knows,
       | maybe it would be higher without the fasting.
        
         | dlp211 wrote:
         | Intermittent fasting is not the same thing as malnutrition or
         | fasting in excess. Continually not eating for 24-48 hours
         | and/or depriving yourself of necessary calories isn't good for
         | anyone.
        
       | foobiekr wrote:
       | The gut biome must be at least strongly influenced by the
       | environment you create - change should be assumed as soon as you
       | change that environment.
       | 
       | But does the change mean anything?
       | 
       | I think this is going to turn out to be an incomprehensible
       | problem that we will never really get a handle on due to the time
       | it would take to even begin to understand things. We just aren't
       | able to run those experiments and this is the general domain
       | where science for us fails and degenerates to just-so stories and
       | observational correlations "studies."
       | 
       | To illustrate...
       | 
       | Last year I did 5 months of OMAD to lose weight. I'd gained a
       | bunch in the first few months of lockdown. It wasn't hard but it
       | wasn't easy especially because my wife, who is effortlessly
       | slender and eats a ton, needs to eat a big breakfast every day.
       | 
       | I often wonder if a gut biome transplant from her would give me
       | that - I'd love to see someone actually do that experiment.
       | 
       | But not on me.
       | 
       | Her and her brother can literally eat bags of iced mothers
       | cookies per week and stay slender - her GP says she needs to gain
       | weight. It just isn't going to happen. It took me awhile to
       | understand what's going on but my observation is they get really
       | warm and fidgety for the hours after overeating and just burn it
       | off sitting there. Her whole family is pretty lazy, they don't
       | exercise recreationally. They aren't running it off or whatever.
       | 
       | Whereas my chronically overweight family lives ends up with
       | moderately high boood pressure, they also all live long lives
       | mostly free of debilitating illness until the end. Her family, on
       | the other hand, has all manner of terrible issues once they hit
       | their 70s...
       | 
       | Obviously this could just be "genetics" but whose? Their nuclear
       | genetics or their inhabitants? And do the long terms come out of
       | that?
       | 
       | I honestly don't think we will ever know without experiments. And
       | given things like the above I wonder if they can be even done,
       | even if you decided to ignore the potential long term...
        
         | beckingz wrote:
         | OMAD = One Meal A Day
        
         | 11235813213455 wrote:
         | > I often wonder if a gut biome transplant from her would give
         | me that
         | 
         | Our urine is charged with more or less of our gut biome, and
         | enzymes, not only toxins. so maybe.. drinking it (some people
         | do, at least it's not dangerous)
         | 
         | You could consider switching diet to reshape your gut biome.
         | Some people advise no-sugar diet, but in my case, I switched to
         | a monkey diet, a lot of fruits, and lost a bit of weight (I
         | used to be more 65-70kg for 1m83, now at 58kg) and gained
         | energy, vitality, immunity (never ill), overall health, I can
         | eat only fruits during some days or weeks. When there are less
         | fruits I'd eat rice, lentils, honey, more rarely fish. So maybe
         | try to switch your diet, find the one that works the best for
         | you
        
         | winrid wrote:
         | Makes me wonder if having a higher metabolism somehow "wears
         | out your body faster".
         | 
         | My wife and I are the opposite. I can eat a cheeseburger every
         | night and stay slender + low chloresterol etc. I do OMAD twice
         | a week, which probably helps a little. It doesn't feel natural
         | to always say three meals a day.
        
           | dkdk8283 wrote:
           | I recall a paper (I can't locate it) associating high levels
           | of metabolic activity with disease.
           | 
           | For example if you have an incredibly physical job and put
           | away 8000 calories daily but maintain a low BMI you suffer
           | more cell damage. Similar for users of stimulant narcotics
           | (legal or illegal).
           | 
           | Perhaps a reader here is familiar with this study.
        
           | foobiekr wrote:
           | I actually feel great doing OMAD as long as I eat by 3pm.
           | That works great for me and I guess I should have mentioned
           | that to tie up the fasting part of that post. I lose about
           | 2lbs a week as long as I'm doing it, more if I stop lifting
           | (which is exactly why I keep lifting while doing that).
           | 
           | It's just challenging in the context of real life. A friend
           | wants to grab lunch, a friend wants to have dinner, my spouse
           | the Cookie Monster is busy polishing off three eclairs next
           | to me while I'm having my morning black coffee.
        
         | reedjosh wrote:
         | There's a theory that the difference you're seeing is insulin
         | tolerance.
         | 
         | In your case, you're fat cells listen to the insulin and you
         | gain weight.
         | 
         | In your wife's case, her blood sugar probably runs higher as
         | her fat cells aren't taking the excess.
         | 
         | Getting fat acts as a sort of protection. You may be
         | overweight, but healthier than a thin person eating junk.
        
           | foobiekr wrote:
           | Totally, I accept this is true, but it's possible imho that
           | gut biome influences this.
           | 
           | There's also the fat distribution question. I often wonder
           | about differences in visceral fat.
        
             | reedjosh wrote:
             | Yeah, it's definitely possible too. Could be that it
             | affects digestive glycemic index.
        
           | Seich wrote:
           | Do you have a source you can share for that? I'd love to read
           | up on it. A cursory google search didn't reveal much.
        
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