Originally Posted by
MinnMan
Carbonfiberboy says "fasting doesn't work", and I'm not knowledgeable enough on the subject to argue for or against the different theories of how fasting changes one's metabolism or affects fat burning, etc. But there are may be multiple reasons why intermittent fasting may affect diet and weight.
For me, I am and always have been a snack-eating person. As my comparatively low body weight demonstrates, it's not out of control and many of the snacks are healthier things - fruits, nuts, good quality protein bars, etc. yes, I like tortilla chips too much, - nobody's perfect. As stated earlier, I exercise a lot and I eat only 2 smallish meals/day - without the snacks, I'd be undernourished
If I restrict the hours of the day when i allow myself to eat, then I'm going to consume fewer calories. I'm not about to replace that 10 PM snack with an additional snack between 2 pm and 4 pm or make the afternoon snacks (or meals) larger. . And so I will eat less. And particularly if my motivation for not eating at 10 PM is - "I don't want acid reflux" rather than "I probably shouldn't consume more calories today", then I'm likely to stick with it. The calorie reduction is a bonus, but not the original motivation.
As to the mornings, I really don't miss breakfast if my morning exertion is limited to that little commute and then sitting at my computer. Provided I have my coffee, that is. I'm still going to eat breakfast before any real morning bicycle ride.
Among my riding companions, I'm known as a good climber. I can't sprint worth a damn, but when we hit the hills, I'm often the one putting on the hurt. Were I to lose 5-10 additional lbs., so much the better.
You slightly misunderstand me. Yes, IF will result on lower calorie intake at least in the beginning, like any other form of calorie restriction dieting and with about the same long range outcomes. I was just saying that beyond that, there do not seem to be any more providential outcomes, or they don't show up in studies.
What I look for in my dietary practices is results on the bike. Can I go harder longer? I had one odd experience many years ago, when I did a very hard long ride on Saturday with my usual nutrition. Then I did a (ha, ha) recovery ride with friends on Sunday, about 60 miles at moderate intensity. I ate a small breakfast on Sunday. My muscle glycogen was fine as I was burning mostly fat, but I had a liver glycogen bonk. My head went blewy. I couldn't put two thoughts together. I stopped and did a couple hundred calories of liquid high GI carbs and was fine in a few minutes, no further problems. I always ate a good breakfast before a ride after that. Of course that wouldn't have happened on a 20 mile ride.
We only have about 400 calories of liver glycogen. Most of that gets used up to fuel our brains during the night. Our brains are a lot busier during sleep than people realize. All that dreaming burns a lot of calories. So that's where that "breakfast is your most important meal" comes from.
https://www.ncsf.org/blog/163-early-...-or-not-to-eat
Low-carbers who really do it and go ketogenic don't have an issue with glycogen depletion because their brains run on ketones rather than sugars. They also can't put out the power that burning carbs allows. There's a downside to everything.