He also thinks there are two specific problems with 5:2: ''We have seen that the high protein intake associated with 5:2 and the short duration of the fast (ie 24 hours) seems to block the regenerative effect you get from fasting.’’
This is completely
contra what Longo thought and what his data formerly showed, according to the most recent Fast Diet book.
I wish to hell they'd make u p their $#@! minds.
I've been doing 5:2 or 4:3 with 16/8 and a 4-day every couple/few months since the beginning of the year. It's really helped with weight loss and while tough at first, after a period of time it does get quite a lot easier. But even with the caveat of "tough at first", it's hella lot easier than actually doing a deliberately calorie restricted diet. Knowing you can eat well tomorrow and that you won't have to stay hungry for the rest of your life to maintain health or weight is a very, very great comfort.
IMO the "body confusion" actually helps a lot with weight loss. There have been studies that show this to be the case. My plan right now is to do 4:3 for another couple few weeks to accelerate the weight loss, and then take a week or so off where I eat every day. Some days I deliberately break the 16/8 routine, too. Not often, but in the interest of varying the routine.
This is statement from the article is intriguing to me:
"What would be even better would be to encourage people on the non-fasting days to eat two to three times a day rather than going back to their old ways of grazing and snacking.'
I think doing this has helped me a lot, too. It's kind of a by-product of the 16/8, although you could theoretically eat 4 small meals in 8 hours. I am coming down from hyperglycemia and I've come to believe that frequent meals, even if small, just aren't good for some of us. And if they're too small and not calorie dense enough, while that helps control blood sugar levels, you eventually get cravings and fall off the wagon (what happened to me on the Zone). The frequent meals are like constant stimulation on the pancreas, which never quits putting out insulin, possibly resulting in "pancreas fatigue" and making cells insulin resistant over time.
Honestly, I think Longo may be shifting his stance a bit in response to feedback from people. His cautionary statements in the article tell me there have probably been quite a few complaints about how people are feeling while 5:2 or 4-day fasting. IMO those longer fasts (24+ hours) are not a particularly good "starting out" strategy for people who are seriously overweight, half-sick, used to eating a crappy, processed diet, and unaccustomed to listening to their body's feedback. And I suspect those are exactly the people who are trying it.
Edited to add: I also found that fasting disrupted my circadian rhythms a bit in the beginning, but now things are really even-ing out. Yesterday was a fasting day, and last night I only got up to pee one time, which is like a minor miracle. My routine is usually three times. I've learned to basically sleep through it, but I can tell this morning the quality of the sleep last night was better than usual.
After thinking back, based on my experience, I postulate there's an adjustment period when starting fasting where your body rebels and goes wonky over the new routine...just like when starting almost any significant health altering protocol. The more unhealthy you are, the more extreme may be the adjustment, and the longer it might take. I've been doing fasting since about February, and it's taken me this long to get settled and comfortable with it. It's always been easier than a calorie restricted diet, but it's still been ups and downs. After doing alternate day fasting for the first month I noticed I was getting stressed and a little strung out, so I stopped for a while. The circled back after I got feeling better again.
I also wonder if the fasting might have precipitated some "accelerated healing" or whatever that drove my recent need to increase methylfolate and mB12 again. The increase seemed to work, and I seem to have experienced another little jump forward in well-being after that step back. Everything seems a bit easier now than it did three weeks ago, including the fasting.