Health Tip: Fasting

I love these comments. I found IF helped to drop the last 10 pounds of stubborn baby weight in my late 30s (14:10), and have since read everything I can on IF. I am 9 years in remission from an aggressive skin cancer, so autophagy benefits and immune support is of interest to me also. I loved Dr Jason Fung's books- thanks for mentioning. I'm a mid-40s average 2 to 5 times a week Cross-fitter, former 2 sport collegiate athlete, who gets talked into running half-marathons by my husband (who hates lifting, loves running), and mom of 2 busy boys and 3 crazy dogs. I'm also an Emergency Physician- the shift work bounces me between days and nights. Because my sleep and eating schedule is so erratic, I find having a feeding window of 6-12 hours (depending on recovery, training, menstrual cycle, needing to eat my feelings some days, etc). I do NOT set alarms to eat, and allow room to break a fast early or extend it late if needed. I usually prefer to workout fasted (will grab a piece of fruit or something small for big/long workouts, or on a heavy lifting day). I am still making strength gains, and still PR'ing. I totally understand folks reservation- if you try it, and feel bad, you are not eating enough. For me, this fits into mindfulness practice. I feel like I did when I was a kid- eating an early dinner, going to bed at 8pm, and being hungry for breakfast in the morning. 

For those who want to understand more about intermittent fasting I recommend they read "The Obesity Code" by Jason Fung, MD. He discusses the health benefits of fasting referencing supporting medical study information. I have practiced time restricted eating for over 5 years, now following a 9 on 15 off cycle. It is definitely NOT about calorie restriction as I train 2 to 3 hours a day, 5 days a week (CrossFit) and consume a ton of calories to support my workouts. My nutritionist extended my eating window by an hour (originally I was following an 8/16 protocol) so that I could eat 4 meals a day because he wanted to increase my daily calorie consumption. As hinted at in this video, the health benefits have to do with the body's response to the "fasting" window, not the number of calories you consume. You can certainly reduce the number of calories you eat so that you also lose weight, but that is a separate decision. 

Fasting seems to have great results. But what of them comes from fasting and what comes from calorie reduction? I like that CrossFit encourages people to try these kind of tools, but I‘m not convinced that there is any magic involved in fasting. And it seems fasting has no benefit other than from caloric reduction. Can we put this in perspective? 

I've been intermittent-fasting for the last whole year. 

Now I'm doing 19:5 (19 hs fasting 5 hs eating window) just because fits my schedule. During weekends I'm more flexible, it's not a religion and I like sharing with friends and family.

I started doing it not to lose weight which I haven't, but for its multiple benefits such as inducing autophagy (Autophagy and the hallmarks of aging).
I workout twice a week in a fasted state (usually 12 hs fasted), I crossfit or run 10 km without a problem.

My recommendation is to start having breakfast later and dinner earlier and then reorder or reduce the number of meals.

If you don't want to lose weight just don't reduce the amount of calorie intake during the day.

To succeed you must FAST CLEAN which means you can consume only water, coffee or tea. Not even flavoured waters with 0 cal, any kind of sweet flavours will rise your insulin levels and when they go down that's when you feel hungry. 

If you feel like you need more information there are plenty of recent and serious research out there.

I felt like this video had a "This is interesting, you should maybe look into it" vibe.  So thanks for posting.  I wasn't disappointed that your 3 minute video didn't include a panel of an RD, Phd in nutrition, midwife, and a Shaman.  LOL.

A few things I wonder about this video. Does Dr. Mallin have any credentials or certifications in nutrition? I wouldn’t see a dietician for help when I break an arm, so I’m wondering why CrossFit is promoting nutrition advice from an emergency medicine physician. No doubt he is extremely knowledgeable in many areas, but I would like to hear from an expert in the field. 
Additionally, Dr. Mallin said he is careful when recommending fasting to athletes. It makes me wonder why then, CrossFit is promoting fasting to an entire population of athletes? As a former collegiate athlete, I could not imagine fasting during that time. And as an avid crossfitter now, I still could not imagine fasting. I just wonder who is considered an athlete in his mind. 
I echo Dr. Soper in requesting the references for the studies he is mentioning. 

Is there any links to the studies you mentioned? Everything I’ve read is equivocal at best, especially for women and more so in post menopausal women. Any improvements seem to mostly be linked to weight loss due to decreased calorie intake…. Do the studies you’re referencing have associations or are there any blinded studies?
could you please provide the references?
Thank you,
Rachelle Soper MD