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Originally Posted by Ms Arielle
Is IF 24 hours, like 23/1 or more like 36 hours between last meal and next meal???
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One thing I've discovered is that there aren't really uniform definitions of what IF really is. I try to use the same terms that Dr. Fung uses:
Time-restricted eating (TRE)--16:8, 18:6, OMAD, etc. 24 hrs. is the same as OMAD and is really more like 23 hours.
Intermittent fasting (IF)--anything that involves going at least one full day without eating, up to about 3 days. This would be a minimum of 36 hours; start counting at the end of dinner, fast all day the next day, and go until breakfast on the next day.
Extended fasting (EF)--fasts of more than three days.
But lots and lots of people say "IF" when they're talking about TRE, so it gets confusing. I've even seen quite a number of people insist they're doing "EF," when they do anything over 24 hours.
Definitions aside, every approach has it's own benefits. IDM encourages their patients who are trying to lose weight to do at least three 36-to-42-hour fasts per week, aka alternate day fasting (ADF). Dr. Fung thinks that TRE is a good option for maintenance. But some people certainly have had weight loss results that they like doing TRE.
IDM patients are typically also trying to treat diabetes and that may require more than just TRE to begin to reverse. Also, autophagy doesn't really start to ramp up until 36 hours or so (as you can see from the discussion above, the science hasn't really advanced enough for us to really know when and how much). So, people that are fasting to treat cancer, PCOS, etc, probably want to stick to IF rather than TRE.