When I first got the idea to fast, I asked for people’s experiences in the forum. Member Rokku is the guy who recommended me Eat Stop Eat because he had done it for several months. Here are some of his posts:

I’ve been following, off-and-on, 18-24hr fasts for the last 6 months or so. When I did it regularly, I lost weight and had much more energy (especially the day after breaking a fast).

Generally I start a fast after my midday meal, and break it with either a mid-morning snack or lunch the next day. Fasts include no calories at all, but plenty of water!

For some great, scientific info check out eatstopeat.com and the author’s blog at BradPilon.com. Brad’s basic premise is that, after 16 hours of zero calorie intake, your body’s production of growth hormone increases rapidly, helping in fat release hormones etc. I’m no scientist, Brad explains it much better.

The idea is to eat a diet of good, whole foods and let the intermittent fasts take care of one’s calorie deficit.

I’m gearing up to begin intermittent fasting again from this week to include 2 24-hr fasts a week. Based on past experience I expect to drop a good amount of weight, and also have plenty more energy for my lifting days. – Rokku.

Forum member Nburge asked how much weight Rokku lost on Eat Stop Eat and how long it took him. He also asked whether he would fast on workout days or the day before. Rokku’s reply:

I didn’t lose a great deal, but got down to 10lbs lighter than I am now (mind you, I’m quite fat). I think I probably lost 10lbs in a month or so. I never did any weights work while fasting, although I didn’t do any heavy weights really at the time. I think, going forward, I will mainly be doing cardio on days where my evening training is mid-fast.

Providing my eating was clean(ish), weight loss happened straight away. I tend to lose 4-5lbs overnight, and can retain 1-2lbs of this over the next few days after beginning to eat again.

Hope this makes sense! – Rokku.

I fast the day before I lift weights and break the fast the morning before I go to the gym (2hours before). I also start the fast 1x per week post lifting, about 8h later on the same day.

Another question by Nburge: do you drink anything else than water during the fast when doing Eat Stop Eat? And what about 72h fasts?

I drink diet coke when I need something more exciting And one can drink black tea/coffee w/o sugar or sweetener. Basically, if it has 0 (or minimal) calories, it’s free to have. On Eat Stop Eat’s “plan”, it’s zero cals to ensure you hit that growth-hormone increase created from fasting.

Check this video from Brad Pilon where he covers how growth hormone helps burn fat:

(Note, you can get an increase in GH from intense exercise, too, obviously)

It’s great to see IF being discussed here on SL

Regarding you fasting for ~72, why not two 24 hour fasts, with whatever healthy (or semi-healthy) food you can get otherwise? I think you’d get limited benefits after 36 hrs or so… – Rokku.

I drink water with or without apple cider vinegar during a fast. For weight loss, weight control or overall health, Brad Pilon recommends 1 or 2 fasts of 24h per week combined with strength training. No 72h fasts.

Last post by Rokku about Eat Stop Eat:

The trick when breaking one’s fast is to eat like you never fasted in the first place (ie, don’t eat pizza just because you think you ‘earned’ it — something it took a while for me to learn!)

Pilon’s approach is to do what’s right for you; his aim is to break the obsessiveness around nutrition. Personally, I try and space my fasts out evenly during the week, but whatever feels right – sometimes I just decide to start fasting

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