Hi everyone,
This was in the papers yesterday and shows how the interest in fasting is unstoppable, there are some lovely photo's of healthy food with lots of sensible advice including the pro's and cons of various types of fasting:
standard.co.uk/lifestyle/we...
Yesterday was World health day and this is about an actress who used IF to lose weight for her next film, I find it charming how her pet name was aloo (potato) as she was always a well rounded youngster.
Thanks for posting Hidden
I'm always a little sceptical about health news articles, and the author was doing fine until she decided to invite readers to get in touch with her team to discuss fast mimicking diets. Then I started to feel I'd just read an ad 
She also says that "Periodic fasting can also induce ketosis, with the body switching from using glucose (found in carbohydrates) to burning stored body fat." Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that fat burning can begin much sooner than days and days of fasting. Even a 16:8 cycle will burn fat?
One can go in light nutritional ketosis on 16:8 routine. A lot depends on what and how much one has eaten during 8 hr feeding window.
If you're eating low carb, what would be a reasonable figure for glucose levels at the start of the fasting period, and how much of that would we use up with normal activities (excluding exercise)?
Below is a presentation by Dr Bosworth who explains 'Keto Transitioning' in an easy-to-understand manner. You might get all the answers you are looking for.
Thanks for sharing the video. I've never come across Dr Bosworth before but her video is informative and a little scary. I'm afraid my liver might not be in the best of nick. Don't know if I dare watch stages 3, 4, and 5.
Hidden
Please do not take the numbers given in the presentation as absolute truths. Everyone is different and responds differently. It is more important to understand the basic reasoning/concepts in these presentations.
Trust your own experience. As long as you are losing weight (if that is your goal) in a healthy way, you are doing fine.
As an example, my fasting BS in the morning is rarely as low as mentioned in the presentation. In fact, most of the days it is around 100 mg/dL ( 5.6 mmol/L) or more, but based on my personal experience, I know I am in ketosis and losing weight. When I got stuck, I knew why it was so. One can be in ketosis and still not lose weight or even can gain weight.
I understand from the video that as I typically fast 16:8, I'll never go beyond stage 2. But I'm OK with that. In March I moved off the plateau I'd got stuck on, and continue to lose weight this month. I believe that 16:8 fits in with my lifestyle and I'm seeing results, so once I reach my target, I should be able to maintain a steady weight following the same plan.
Now that you are in "fat burning mode", and have been in 16:8 for a bit, you could do a 40 hour fast occasionally.
Thank you for explaining this Parveen55. 👍
Hi nazz88, I guess its how we perceive things as I didn't read either article as an advert but thought they were interesting and pertinent to the group. 😊
Why is it that everyone tries to re-define standardized phraseology?
Two of the worst errors in the article:
Studies have shown that intermittent fasting is as effective as ongoing calorie restriction for improving weight loss, insulin sensitivity and other health markers
This is, of course correct, but it implies that you do not need to eat less to lose weight.
don’t usually feel like eating breakfast
Another popular misconception... I eat breakfast, and fast 14:00 to 10:00.
It seems that everyone is always looking for "the one magic bullet" to lose weight - when what works best is a combination of techniques:
Eat less
Eat the Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat diet
Exercise if you can.
Do Not Eat All Day aka Intermittent Fasting.
Good catch! Basic rule of weight loss is unchanged i.e. calorie in should be less than calorie out.
Hi, Praveen55 , Thank you for your support and input.
I had noticed that you are a member here - and I had thought that, if anyone asked a complicated question, I would try tagging you.
Yes, basic arithmetic and biochemistry dictate that weight loss (lb) is about ((calories out) less (calories in))/3,500.
But this does not seem to work very well for people with metabolic problems... but IF can help get one into "fat burning mode", get one off a weight-loss plateau, and make it happen.
IF stimulates the metabolism, and calorie reduction suppresses it - so the apparent "calories burnt" is better if you IF.
Yes, you are right - standard calories restricted diet is perceived as a threat to the body and therefore it goes into conservation mode reducing BMR. That results in reduction in calories out. IF overcomes that.
BTW I am a learner not an expert.
Health benefits of fasting backed by science article in the Times of India. 
Fasting for Health