Starvation: A good thing when concerning the Obese.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2006

something about using "starvation" and "good" in the same sentence that gives me an uneasy feeling... To me good starvation is an oxymoron. Pictures of starving, bloated people pop up in my head. Nothing good about that. Perhaps it is the wording that bothers me.
Kris

I think that did throw us off.

What the poster is really after is some information about weight loss and fasting.

mvanz9999, RN · Sep 25, 2006

i agree with [color=#330000]smilingblueyes. you have to take care of the mental/emotional side as well.

i think fasting would be a huge mistake. i'm very active, fit, and know a thing or two about weight. if you fast, what's going to happen is you're going to lose weight, of course. but you are not going to choose where you lose the weight from. this is going to result in a total mass loss from both fat and muscle. you're going to lose muscle, which is going to slow your metabolism down even further from what it currently is. when you start eating properly again, you're going to put all that weight back on, and then some.

this is not at all the correct way to lose. you need to combine exercise with reduce (not absent) calories. it's going to take longer this way, but the weight will be much easier to keep off if you lose no more than 2 lbs/week. even if you are grossly obese, do not attempt to lose more than this.

you need exercise to both keep your metabolism high, and exercise to either increase or maintain muscle mass. you also need to modify your diet so that you are not intaking more calories than you need to maintain your weight. it's a lifetime commitment. you cannot simply lose a ton of weight and then go back to your current lifestyle.

you also need patience. you didn't become overweight overnight, you cannot undo it this quickly either.

that's my take on the issue. there's no magic pill. time, commitment, and lifestyle change is the only way to lose weight permanently. i would rather you keep the weight on than yo-yo up and down.

oh, and depsite all the diet fads, they are all nonsense. they are just that...diet fads. you need to permanently reduce intake of all foods, and that's the end of it.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Sep 25, 2006

[Comment edited per request, SBE.]

That said, I finally found the thread that this thread reminded me of. OP, you might want to check it out for some interesting information:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/logical-were-warned-against-losing-3lbs-wk-but-gastric-bypass-ok-159384.html

SmilingBluEyes · Sep 25, 2006

Can we please keep the word "troll" out of this thread? It seems to me, at least, to have value. Like Tweety said, if you find the thread annoying or flaming, please report problematic posts and then leave it to us to help out. Otherwise, yes, it can easily become a flame-fest.

Thanks so much.

Liddle Noodnik · Sep 25, 2006

i agree with [color=#330000]smilingblueyes. you have to take care of the mental/emotional side as well.

i think fasting would be a huge mistake. i'm very active, fit, and know a thing or two about weight. if you fast, what's going to happen is you're going to lose weight, of course. but you are not going to choose where you lose the weight from. this is going to result in a total mass loss from both fat and muscle. you're going to lose muscle, which is going to slow your metabolism down even further from what it currently is...

and the main muscle of importance is the heart. :)

ahsitters · Sep 25, 2006

Maybe you should seek a doctor supervised diet instead of believing things you read on the internet and manipulating physiology research. Sounds like you are heading in the wrong direction, or better yet speark to a RD.

mabebu · Sep 25, 2006

I'm not going to weigh in on whether fasting is or is not a good way to lose weight...

But I'm curious, do you think you would be able to fast for that length of time? I had to fast for two days for a bowel prep and I thought my stomach was going to eat my pancreas....If you haven't tested it, you might want to try going a day or two without food to see how well you can function. You may learn that fasting is not for you.

IMO, Slimfast works pretty well and is not all that different from fasting :monkeydance:

augigi, CNS · Sep 25, 2006

The OP asked if fasting can lead to a "healthy" body fat.

No. Fasting is NOT HEALTHY.

Of course you'll lose weight if input is less than output. It is not sustainable (there is any number of articles I just found which say that the only people who were able to maintain longterm weight loss were those who maintained both moderate caloric restriction and exercise).

Just look at the bariatric data to see the effects - people get literally malnourished. They have to take a stack of supplements, and their hair falls out regardless. They lose weight sure, but they are NOT healthy.

Just depends on the risk/benefit ratio like any other intervention. If you're about to drop dead from cardiac failure, perhaps a severely restricted short term diet would be beneficial. In the longterm, it is not sustainable. Period. If you need data on this, check out the longterm results of appetite suppressant medications. They basically speed up the metabolism AND ensure moderate fasting, and people bounce back to the same or greater weight as soon as they stop the therapy and start eating again.

If you need to lose weight, go and seek the help of a professional dietician, and start slowly to introduce exercise. It really is the only way to succeed.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2006

I'm not going to weigh in on whether fasting is or is not a good way to lose weight...
But I'm curious, do you think you would be able to fast for that length of time? I had to fast for two days for a bowel prep and I thought my stomach was going to eat my pancreas....If you haven't tested it, you might want to try going a day or two without food to see how well you can function. You may learn that fasting is not for you.
IMO, Slimfast works pretty well and is not all that different from fasting :monkeydance:

I'm the same way. I personally think my mind and body is constitutionally incapable of fasting. I get severely aggitated and even cardboard looks good. They say you have to work past that, but I can't seem to do it. :monkeydance: