science

Except that's not what 99% of the punditorium espouses - for the last 15 years it's been a continuous litany of "intermittent fasting is THE answer", and anyone disagreeing is roundly condemned.

Despite 80 years of diabetes research that contradicts much of the argument for fasting.

Weight loss is a measure of taking in fewer calories than you burn. That's the formulae.

That's how people usually think of it, but there are other, faster, ways. Such as amputation.

Of course, it's not better. There is no way around the laws of thermodynamics.

Well said. No diet is going to magic away the math. Haha.

Yep. 16-8 fasting is just, skip breakfast and don't snack at midnight. It's just an easy way to restrict calories.

And I know that there's no science behind this, but anecdotally I feel better when I give my digestive system a bit of a break.

It's not terrible after you get used to it. I just naturally started skipping breakfast when I moved out, read the meme, thought there might be something to this. Did a little reading and was on the daily type for about two years and have fallen into the weekly type in the last year or so naturally. I lost tons of weight, granted I started working out too. But I've been maintaining it just fine without being too strict with myself.

It's not for everyone, but it was a good fit for me.

I do it all the time. I eat around 7:30pm and don't eat until 1:00 p the next day. Usually have only 1 or 2 meals a day. Breakfast is bullshit. Most important meal my ass. I do just fine without it.

Just try it and see if it works for you.

I've found one or two 20h fasts per week very effective at shedding fat without losing too much muscle mass. Much less effort than counting macros every day.

So, it works?

Yep. I've hard it all comes down to calories out minus calories in.

Really anything that comfortably and sustainably controls calories in, for your individual lifestyle and metabolism, is going to work.

For some people, I imagine that could be intermittent fasting.

Personally, I just got out of the habit of eating breakfast, at some point, and I found it helped control my total daily calorie intake. (I don't know if that counts as intermittent fasting?)

The key thing I had to internalize is that my "diet" can not just be something I do for awhile - it has to be my new normal, for any positive change to stick.

I know a lot of people that have lost weight using that method. I don't have weight problems but it's the method I use when I'm cutting and it works as I expect it to. I think it's probably the best way to get used to eating less. The trick is not gorging yourself when you do eat.

Yup. Works. I'd suggest looking at the types, which are basically schedules:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/diet/types-intermittent-fasting-which-best-you/

I'd also suggest looking into some charts that help you decide how much you can lose based on your height/weight/age/sex.

https://simple.life/blog/intermittent-fasting-by-age-chart/

Trial, error, stick to a schedule and it works; yes.

I've been doing something OMAD-like for about 4 or 5 months now. Went from 210lbs to 190lbs today. Here's what I was doing:

1. Each week, set a goal weight that is 1-2 lbs lower than your current weight/last week's goal. The leaner you get, the harder it is to lose, so having a goal of 1 or even 1/2 lbs can be good for lean people. I'm 6'4" and decently athletic. Right now at 190, I'm starting to show abs, so my goal rn is 1/2lb per week.
2. Each morning, wake up and weigh yourself. If you are at or below this week's goal weight, great! Have a nice breakfast. If not, no breakfast. Then, skip lunch. Sometime in the evening, eat dinner. No need to beat yourself up if dinner isn't perfect, but obviously, eating tacos at home is better than ordering a pizza.
3. Using a little text document on your phone or whatever, write down everything you eat every day. I hate estimating portion sizes, and instead just record for the sake of tracking food quality - typically if I eat pizza and beer and cake, I gain weight, lol.
4. Each week, review your progress and your food log. Did you achieve your goal? If so, celebrate! If not, review your food journal. Ask yourself - did you cheat or eat unhealthy foods? If so, why? And do you regret it? I think it is fine to have a slice of cake at someone's party every once in a while, and I don'r regret that it might slow my progress a little. But if I go to McD's 5 nights a week, then I'll regret that. So then, you reflect on why you did the things you not regret, and ask yourself if there is some way you can make it easier to avoid these temptations in the future - like having dinner made already at home (crockpots ftw!), or finding a way to reduce stress in your life so you are less interested in binge eating.

I will also note that I exercise quite a lot. I lift, I go rock climbing, I go hiking. Sometimes I play hacky sack or pickleball or ultimate frisbee. I recommend exercising as well - it isn't necessary according to CICO, but we all know it helps. Find some kind of fun, social exercise that you can keep coming back to and enjoying.

Another note: many people will feel like the progress I've made is quite minimal and slow. In my defence, (1) I'm already pretty lean relative to most people with body comp goals (2) this has been an extremely painless and very sustainable process and (3) losing weight slowly is the way to go, as it preserves muscle mass and ensures your diet is sustainable long term.

If you find it easier to skip a meal than to stop eating, go for it.

It works for me. Been accidentally doing it since I was 13. Parents didn't give me an allowance, but they did give me lunch money, so if I wanted to buy games I had to skip lunch. Never went back and I've always been a healthy weight without much exercise.

Coffee for breakfast, water all day, and a double serving size of dinner. Lately, with the rising cost of food, I have been doing a lighter dinner and supplementing with a protein shake for lunch.

One thing that isn't talked about enough with IF is that it's very easy to pick up an eating disorder. Once you learn how to be hungry, it's very easy to say "I can wait another 30 mins" and do that 5 times and then it's been 24 hours since you've eaten. Or to get obsessive about waiting so you lose just a little bit more. When it's time to eat, you need to eat. If you already have a bad relationship with food, this isn't going to make it better. Just be aware that it's not foolproof.

I don't do intermittent fasting because I think it's superior, I do it because I'm lazy.

Eat normally 4 days a week, eat nothing 3 days a week, boom, calorie intake dropped by 40%. No counting meals, portioning broccoli, or cutting carbs.

Right, but it's not special is all, or innately more effective.

However one can control their intake, that's what works.

i'm not an expert but i use IF for autophagy and gut health. it's the only thing i've tried that worked for me for weight loss. i'm down 40+ lb from a year ago.

i think a lot of "studies" are ordered up by some organizations that hate intermittent fasting, because rather than replacing one food with another food, you're reducing the food, period. which means you're spending less money. which corporations hate.

so, pooh-pooh on IF

i just finished eating for the day, will not eat again until tomorrow, and i'll sleep great because of it

Tell me one that is more effective than others or deficient not that its typical

I mean, basically every reasonable idea works about the same. Eat real food, not too much, go exercise. As long as your diet does that, it is all about long term adherence - your diet only really works if you can stick to it the rest of your life.

The desire for a silver bullet, though, is what drives the wackball solutions.

Well, none of the people I know who have done it, have done it because of weight loss specifically.

What have been their reasons?