What's the general consensus on intermittent fasting for weight loss. I'm currently hoping to see a gastrologist (been referred but waiting to hear back) and am currently dieting and exercising reasonably strenuously for 30-40 mins 5 times a week to help with NAFLD. So far my weight loss has been consistent at around 1.5lb a week however has tapered off and so I was thinking about doing some intermittent fasting. I was thinking about trying alternate day fasting and couldn't see much in the way of problems as I don't have any eating disorders. Has anyone got any experience in it or a similar diet
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Gbsteve
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Firstly, and most importantly, please check with your doctor if you have any underlying medical conditions before taking anyone's advice (mine included) on diet. The below is general advice for someone who is looking to lose weight, but is otherwise healthy.
There is a lot written about weight loss, and it is an incredibly lucrative industry. Ultimately it really is quite simple - if you eat fewer calories than you expend, and you will lose weight. Now, this can get clouded as all things being equal, the body likes to maintain its weight, so your resting metabolic rate (the calories your body uses when doing nothing) may decrease if you reduce your calories too far etc.
Your weight loss of 1.5lb a week is a sensible target, but you should expect to plateau at some point - this is normal. It is quite likely that if you stick at it, your weight loss should start again. That said, if you have lost a lot of weight, then your body is using fewer calories when exercising, moving or just at rest, so you might need to drop your calories a tiny bit (50/100 perhaps). Dramatic reductions are the road to nowhere, as when the weight loss stops you have nowhere left to go.
Ok, intermittent fasting ... it's just another way to reduce your overall calorific intake over a week. Some people will find it easier to stick to a plan that lets them eat 'normally' for some days and fast during others. The really important thing is to find a healthy eating plan that you can stick to for the long term, that is the way to avoid yo-yo dieting. Personally I do this by only eating 'whole foods' - which I describe as single ingredient foods - generally speaking I don't eat anything that has an ingredient list (I make one or two exceptions, but very few). I eat a lot of veg, fruit, whole grains etc. Doing this I have to eat a huge volume of food to maintain my weight.
Thanks for the response. As you say, weight loss is just a case of off setting your calorie intake which is what I'm trying to do. Currently I eat porridge with a small handful of blueberries for breakfast. A piece of fish or chicken breast for lunch with either a sweet potato or brown rice and veg like peas, sweetcorn, carrots, broccoli, asparagus, green beans etc. Then homemade veg soup for dinner using homemade stock from a chicken I roast on a Sunday evening. I tend to eat and Apple, orange, grapes and some nuts if I'm a little peckish. The only processed food i eat is the occasional rice cracker or plain popcorn I have in the cupboard and a couple of coffees with skimmed milk. Fortunately I enjoy cooking and am pretty reasonable at it so I don't have any issues with what to eat.
I'm really just looking for people's experiences with the fasting and if they found it managable or with it.
Sounds like you have the diet nailed, I would honestly expect you to see more weight loss if you stick at it through the plateau. Sorry, I can't help with direct experience of fasting (hopefully others on here will have stories to share), I hope you find a solution that works for you.Paul.
For my sport I have tracked my weight and calories very accurately for years (I still weigh all my food). Depending on my training cycle, I'm normally either looking to gain or lose weight. I find I need to look at a longer period of time to see real trends - I can keep calories absolutely static for months on end and I see gain (or loss) in little spurts - I just keep plodding along at the same calorie level and I get to where I want in the end.
Oooo Steve no l wouldn't recommend intermittant starving at all especially as you are excercising so well, you will run out of steam in no time. Also starving reduces your metabolism greatly meaning that the rate at which you burn off calories will slow down and become sluggish. You have to be eating 3 meals per day, a handful of protein, a handful of carbs and 3/4 of your plate full of salad or vegetables as your main mean. Porridge with fruit for breakfast as oats are slow energy releasing meaning you will feel full for longer without bloating you like wheat does. Go onto the weight watchers or slimming world websites for more advice. While on a weightloss programme it is perfectly usual for weightloss to 'plateau' meaning it appears you have stopped losing weight but it is only temporary as long as you don't give up so just push harder through that barrier rather than giving up thinking it's not working. So keep going Steve but please don't starve yourself or skip meals, remember you are healing your liver so don't give it any more problems to deal with.🤾♂️🏋️♂️⛹️♂️
What you said about slowing the metabolism is what I was thinking too however the 5:2 diet is listed on the NHS as being something that may help people with weight loss. That's why I'm looking for people's experiences directly with it.
I'd really like to speak to dietician or gastrologist about it all but unfortunately that doesn't look like its going to be the case, at least for a while. When I spoke to my GP she wasnt all that helpful.
That 5: 2 is probably ok to kick start wrightloss if you don't have liver issues. So l agree look into getting some professional liver dietry advice before you change your eating habits.
The book the Obesity Code I found to be very helpful, Dr Jason Fung. It recommends missing one meal a day so I skipped breakfast, had lunch and an earlier dinner around 6 -7 pm, this I found a lot easier than the 5;2. I also cut carbs and sugar inculding sweetners and little fruit.
Also you can ask Admin at GP for a copy of your blood results. Which if they have tested for fatty liver will give you an idea of your level. I also found everyone unhelpful, but did eventually get fibroscan, which was OK and and I was over 6 stone overweight. I had the left sided pain too.
Steve, I am only 2 months into my fatty liver journey, and this is my first post on this forum. Finding consistent information has been really tough as one professional recommends X and another recommends Y.
As with everyone else, I am not a doctor, but I 100% agree with snow22 about Dr Fung and The Obesity code. I also would add in information from Dr Berg's video on a low carb/keto diet with intermittent fasting. I am currently doing a 16:8, which is basically skipping breakfast. And here is the problem, it directly conflicts with the advice Laura gave you.
One other recommendation is cutting out almost all fruits . Quite a few doctors and nutritionists recommend a generic "healthy" diet with plenty fruits and vegetables, but the sugar in fruit (fructose) can only be digested by the liver. I used to eat an apple and a banana every day, but those are extremely high in fructose. So I have cut those out, along with grapes (another fav), and now just stick to berries like strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. They have a much lower sugar total and carb total.
Below are a few short videos I found very helpful that got me started. Hopefully you find some of this information helpful. This keto-ish diet and intermittent fasting has reduced my ALT back into acceptable range in about 30 days. All I can say is, do your own research. Don't just believe one source. There are a lot of "experts" out there, including ones in the medical field, who don't know really understand diets and healthy eating
Thanks for the reply. Think a lot of it really depends on the person and the diagnosis as like you said, you can give up high fructose containing fruits but ultimately I'm not just trying to loose weight I'm trying to eat more healthily and repair my liver and sometimes there two factors can contradict themselves. I have never eaten breakfast, unless I'm in holiday and it's an all you can eat full English! I'm actually looking at one that's a little more drastic like the 5:2.
I think my plan moving forward with be to stick what I'm doing for the time being and seeing if the weight loss picks up at which point I'll revisit it.
One thing though, and which is very relevant to what you said regarding taking things with a pinch of salt.....
Dr Berg was formally a chiropractor and has been fined for making false statements in the past. I've seen several of his videos that look good but I've also seen GP's response videos that directly call out what hes saying as fundamentally incorrect. I'm sure some of his stuff is very good and correct but fundamentally he sells himself as a qualified expert, which he's not. Definitely worth double checking anything he says!
Agreed 100% on the trying to do something healthy and more importantly sustainable. My goal is to not end up in the same boat in 12 months, because I followed some fad diet that I couldn't stick with.
I was explaining my diet to a friend, and basically it is about substitutions. Where I used to eat a lot of potatoes, I am subbing those with other lower carb/sugar versions like celery root, rutabaga...etc. Where I used to drink soda, its now water. Where I used to eat chips/crackers, thats been replaced with almonds. Cereal is replaced with eggs. But you get the idea. Thats why I call it "Keto-ish". Its my version of low-carb for what works for me.
I really do encourage you to read The Obesity Code. That was what got me pointed in this direction. You may find some insights or tricks that can adopt for what works for you. And definitely cross check it. As you said, each source may not be what they seem
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A diagnosis of Cirrhosis.
just wanting to offload - things are going downhill fast
Cirrhosis confusion and medication for other conditions (cortisone injections)
Raised GGT & ALT and generally feeling unwell. 
Sick all the time. Need advice.
