Thoughts or experience with Intermittent fasting?

KaidensMom13

Fluffy, what are your stats, daily calories etc[/quote]

I'm currently 185lbs
Have lost 25lbs in 4mths

This is all there in my graph, of course.

I'm 5"3 and 44 years old. My daily calories are based on what I weigh, so they change daily. I use the following formula in a spreadsheet to tell me how many calories I can eat that day:

=if(D128="","",IF(iseven(day(B128)),((10*D128)+(6.25*'front end'!$C$4)-(5*'front end'!$C$5)-161)*1.5*0.25,((10*D128)+(6.25*'front end'!$C$4)-(5*'front end'!$C$5)-161)*1.5*1.25))

This takes my height ('front end'!$C$4), age (front end'!$C$5) and activity factor (1.5) into account and works out my TDEE when I add my weight to it. It then gives me a hungry day calories total (TDEE*0.25) if the date is even, or a feast day calorie total or (TDEE*1.25) if the date is odd.

Today my calorie limit is 2742. Yesterday is was 550. It changes every single day.

You can lose 2.2lbs a week as you have done, and it's probably a borderline safe rate of weight loss, but if you choose to lose it a bit slower you'll be retaining more muscle. This is stuff you will have read in all those books there.[/quote]

@Fluffyasacat, are you using a TDEE calculator or using a body bug or Fitbit to find your TDEE? I am interested in this method. I would love to see your food diary to see what you are eating on both days!

Iwishyouwell

Yes, IFing is awesome...if it's awesome for you.

I've lost a lot of weight using it. But I've also maintained on it, and even gained.

I don't follow any particular protocol. I fast when I want, and eat when I want. It varies week to week. I do real fasts, as in no food and only water. I do not log or track calories, and personally see no point in doing so with IFing (speaking only for myself here).

My maintenance plan is 5:2, which will give me a pretty hefty caloric allotment on my eating days.

TBH I can't imagine not IFing anymore. It fits me extremely well. Looking back, the only time in my adult life when I was at my leanest was when I was doing some form of IFing, yet it wasn't even conscious.

Christine_72

Fluffy, I know you're right! I have to stop looking at the high numbers others are losing on a weekly basis, and just concentrate on me.
This is the first time I've ever had to lose weight. And I've only been on a structured "diet" for 2mths, so am very new to this way of life. Yes, I tried the garcinia etc etc etc before IF, obviously all bunkum!!
Up until a couple of years ago I could eat what I wanted and stay the same weight.

fluffyasacat

KaidensMom13 wrote: »

@Fluffyasacat, are you using a TDEE calculator or using a body bug or Fitbit to find your TDEE? I am interested in this method. I would love to see your food diary to see what you are eating on both days!

I've stopped logging (as much) on my up days, sometimes I log just till mid afternoon to make sure I'm tracking within bounds. I tend to eat very healthy at home (big salads, fish, chicken, not so much pasta, rice and bread because it tends to be a big calorie investment) and a bit more to fast food on up days at lunch while I'm at work. I like that I can eat what I like and still lose weight, so I don't beat myself up about a piece of fried chicken every two days.

I use the Miffin Equation for calculating TDEE.

Danny_Boy13

My experience with IF was both good and bad. Good in that while i was on a strength program my lifts in the gym were always seeing positive results. I also participate in a very high intensity style sport (speed skating) and I saw my performance diminish. I had a big lack of energy. My feeding window was between 1pm - 9pm and I don think that my body had enough time to process the food from 1pm to be ready as energy for my 6pm practice sessions. As soon as I came off of IF my performance on the skate floor increased.

End thoughts, if i am on a strength lifting program it will work. If I am on an HIT plan it does not work.

WalkingAlong

fluffyasacat wrote: »

WalkingAlong wrote: »

fluffyasacat wrote: »

So at 1642 you'd be eating 410 on your down days and 2052 on your up days.

Hey fluffy- Where do you get the 125% of TDEE on up days from? I forget a lot but it seems like Johnson says to eat TDEE on up days and Mosley and Varady say to eat ad libitum (how much you feel satisfied on)? Or is that Mosley who says to aim for 125%? I read his first so might be forgetting details.

@WalkingAlong I've loaned my Varady to a friend so I can't check up, but I believe she told her participants that if you're at 25% on your down day you can have up to 175% on your up day to break even on TDEE. She then accounts for a deficit by suggesting 125%, but found in practice that most of her participants never exceeded 110%.

I think having an down day of <25% then having an up day of <100% annoys me more than is reasonable because for me it takes the thing that makes it achievable and even enjoyable and turns it back into one of those fussy punishing deprivation diets my mother was a fan of through the 70s. Grapefruit and a diuretic, anyone?

I think she says to eat whatever you want on your non-fasting days, and that a big part of why people stick to it better is the lack of tracking? My book is loaned too but Mercola has a little summary.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/08/alternate-day-fasting.aspx

After 3 weeks of strict JUDDD (TDEE on up days), I found Varady's a relief and much more to my liking. JUDDD did feel fussy, but I wanted a break from constant logging and restricting after 5 months of it.

But on Varady's, I was losing so slowly it also felt like too much work at the end for the returns, and I wasn't eating very healthy on either type of days, so I stopped. I might do better after doing something different for a while. I'm glad it's in my tool bag. I learned a lot about myself and about eating and hunger and habits.