The major con for fasting is that not everybody is willing to expend the effort to do it. It’s easy to give in to food, especially when you are new to it, you have to train your body to accept fasting as part of your new lifestyle.
Once you do incorporate fasting into your life, the benefits are massive and affect just about every part of your life. You start to feel like you, not your hormones, are in control of your body, how much food you eat, and how much weight you will carry around.
It depends on what you’re trying to get out of it. If your goal is to loose weight so you can continue the same lifestyle that had you overweight in the first place, no, it’s self-torture. If it’s to loose weight amongst other steps taken to maintain a lower body weight and improve your health or well being then IMO yes, it’s totally worth it.
Some other benefits I didn’t see listed:
-my overall sleep has improved drastically
-hunger no longer controls me and I can recognize what is real hunger or just my stomach complaining
-I cut my food budget in half! Snacks are expensive! I will literally save $1,000-$2,000 on food this year easily.
-my appetite is drastically reduced overall as long as I eat healthy and nutritiously during my eating periods
-I save a lot of time not having to plan more meals
-I am no longer addicted to carbs
Some cons:
-For some reason people feel the need to try and tempt you to fail. Literally people have waved food in my face or told me to lighten up
-People annoy you by telling you you’re being unhealthy despite all evidence to the contrary. I’ve lost 30 pounds, my muscles are bigger, I am in the best shape of my life, and a lot of joint pain is gone…yet they think I’m starving to death
For me? Definitely.
For you? YMMV.
It’s worth a try for everyone to understand hunger better to fast for a few days. It’s mind-blowing the understanding that hunger goes in waves and doesn’t just build.
It’s has been for me. I lost 60 lbs since February totally half assssing it. Prolonged fasting got rid of my acid reflux (actually Barrett’s esophagus) so I’m not on the 40 mg Pantoprazole anymore. I was having some ED issues and that’s straitened itself right up. I feel better, look better, move better. Almost Everyday I see someone who notices. It’s worth it for sure.
I first learned about fasting on a Friday afternoon around 2 PM. I stopped eating that night at 8 o’clock and started fasting the very next day after doing just a few hours of research. I am almost 2 years in and I will keep fasting every day for the rest of my life. I do believe humans were not meant to eat for 12 to 14 hours a day. Our bodies were just not designed that way. I eat for 4 to 6 hours a day. I am also an avid cyclist and can ride for three hours with no food, no bonking, no problems. My two pieces of advice, throw the scale in the trashcan and Just do it
At some point yes and some no. My biggest disadvantage why I just stopped fasting was the fear of getting stomach cancer. Which can happen if you skip meals a lot. Also gallstones is not fun either which can happen due to fasting. I lift weights and do cardio as well so I need the energy. I liked the hunter’s high which you can get from fasting but I can achieve that with exercise as well. It’s better for your health. When I’m cutting I just calculate the tdee I need for my current weight and height.