Intermittent Fasting question

kopmom

I want to start out by saying I am just asking a curious question....no anti IF people or bashing please.

I have realized that when I eat breakfast especially I am super hungry all day but when I skip breakfast (and sometime lunch) and just eat a big dinner I have so much more energy and am not hungry most of the day.

I am curious for anyone who follows IF

When you eat do you limit calories?
Do you follow strict macros when you do eat?
Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT)
Is their a specific IF program you follow?

Lalasharni

I think if it works for you, do it.
I'm not a follower of "breakfast is the most important meal etc,etc" I don't eat breakfast 6 days out of seven and my Sunday breakfast is brunch, around 12 noon. That may represent IF to some.
I wouldn't advocate being food free all day - your blood sugar must be robust to stand up to that. Have you ever tested before you eat your first food of the day? If it's lower than 5 mmol then I'd re-think.
To answer your other points:
I don't follow strict macros when I eat - I just log and stay within my calorie limit
I can work out on no breakfast, but need something when I finish. I do take on a lot of water when I exercise.
I don't follow a strict IF program, but eat when I feel I need to.
Works for me - 59 lbs down and still going down.

Clemmi17

I follow the 5:2 IF plan and have lost 8kg in just under 3 months. I restrict calories to 500 a day for 2 days a week (usually Monday and Wednesday) and eat 2000 on the other days.

I really enjoy the fasting days and seem to have more energy than usual. For instance, 4 hours working in the garden followed by Zumba in the evening.

I still have quite a bit of weight to lose and intend to continue with it.

Melissa11412

1. When you eat do you limit calories? I don't really limit, but my calories are structured at a deficit so I lose weight (which is what my goal is for now)

2. Do you follow strict macros when you do eat? For the most part yes, but i'm kind of easing toward IIFYM here and there. My diet is about 35-40% protein, and the rest carbs/fats, i follow it for the most part.

3. Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT) Not at all. I find that i'm more focused when I train fasted. I lift heavy weights using compound movements (i'm currently doing a 5x5 program) and running 3.1 miles 3 or 4 times a week.

4. Is their a specific IF program you follow? No. I've read the entire Leangains site to garner information and build a foundation. I then tailored the program to fit my needs. I currently have a 6-8 hour eating window (12p-6-8p or so) and the rest of the time i'm fasted. I drink coffee, tea, water and a diet soda here and there in between (and I also chew gum sometimes). I'm not hungry in between either. I have a cheat day every Sunday and i eat what i want and don't log, i just make sure it's within my window of 12p-8p. (Since I don't work Sundays, I just get up, wash my car, laundry, etc, keeping busy until the window is open)

Oh and i've been doing IF for almost 1 year. I love it, because I like eating big. It's easier to plan meals and to cook as well. It fits my lifestyle perfectly. I remember about a couple months into IF, I was reviewing how I felt about it and I started crying lol because I finally found something that works for me.....yay

kopmom

3. Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT) Not at all. I find that i'm more focused when I train fasted. I lift heavy weights using compound movements (i'm currently doing a 5x5 program) and running 3.1 miles 3 or 4 times a week.

I do Stronglifts also. Have you noticed when IF and lifting a difference between lifting fasted vs during you eating window?

aelunyu

1. Yes, also consider any diet within the confines of a caloric goal.
2. Depends on what your performance/fitness goals are. The more fit you are, the more you'll probably have to worry about macros, regardless of IF or not.
3. For the first 2 weeks of a 16/8 regimen every cut season, I feel hypoglycemic...which I probably am, as I work out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Then the body adjusts, and I feel perfectly optimal in those training conditions. Actually I don't eat anything for 9 hours before and all the way to 4 hours after my workout. No strength loss, no endurance loss beyond what's expected from a general calorie deficit. My working rep ranges are anywhere from 3-6 on heavy days and 8-15 on volume days.
4. For the serious weight lifter, perhaps a program like 20/4 is too restrictive. The only and main consideration about this is that assuming you only eat for 4 hours a day, you can only have a real net nitrogen surplus for those 4 hours plus 5-8 hours after your eating window. Which means, maximally, you are going to fall into a nitrogen deficit at some point 9-12 hours after your window ends even if you have a huge meal to finish. This is a no-no for anabolic response. 16/8 ensures 8 hours of feeding (positive nitrogen balance + another 5-8 hours of residual digestion...= 16 hours possibly in a state of protein synthesis). Which is optimal, theoretically.

MrsDangerousCurves

When you eat do you limit calories? yes i do, especially on my down/low cal days. even on my up/high cal days, I still limit calories.
Do you follow strict macros when you do eat? No
Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT) No. I find on down/low cal days I have more energy
Is their a specific IF program you follow? JUDDD

I say try IF to see if works for you, Good luck!

Beeps2011

"When you eat do you limit calories?
Do you follow strict macros when you do eat?
Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT)
Is their a specific IF program you follow?"

I do limit my calories - through a "weekly" allowance, rather than a daily - so some days are "up" and some days are "down", but it has to fit into my weekly budget.

I do not follow strict macros when I do eat. I try to make protein my highest macro in the day, though.

I work-out fasted and I do not find that being fasted interferes at all with my work-outs.

I do not follow any specific IF program....although I have heard that what I do (i.e. I fast from 9 pm through until 12:30 pm the following day) is actually called "intermittent feeding" as opposed to "intermittent fasting" - unsure.

homeyjosey

I want to start out by saying I am just asking a curious question....no anti IF people or bashing please.

I have realized that when I eat breakfast especially I am super hungry all day but when I skip breakfast (and sometime lunch) and just eat a big dinner I have so much more energy and am not hungry most of the day.

I am curious for anyone who follows IF

When you eat do you limit calories?
Do you follow strict macros when you do eat?
Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT)
Is their a specific IF program you follow?

yes when i was on a cut phase

when i was on a cut my macros were not strict but got a minimum amount of protein and just kept carbs and fat below a certain number depending on the day

nope, but i took bcaa's before a fasted workout

leangains

Dfracassa

I follow the 5:2 IF plan and have lost 8kg in just under 3 months. I restrict calories to 500 a day for 2 days a week (usually Monday and Wednesday) and eat 2000 on the other days.

I really enjoy the fasting days and seem to have more energy than usual. For instance, 4 hours working in the garden followed by Zumba in the evening.

I still have quite a bit of weight to lose and intend to continue with it.

I do the same thing. This will be my fourth week on IF and I have lost 4 pounds. Not much, but it's more than I have lost in the past few years, and for me, that's something. I have 500 calories on Tuesday and Thursday and I can eat up to my TDEE, which is 2487 for me. Try it!

Showcase_Brodown

I want to start out by saying I am just asking a curious question....no anti IF people or bashing please.

I have realized that when I eat breakfast especially I am super hungry all day but when I skip breakfast (and sometime lunch) and just eat a big dinner I have so much more energy and am not hungry most of the day.

I am curious for anyone who follows IF

When you eat do you limit calories?
Do you follow strict macros when you do eat?
Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT)
Is their a specific IF program you follow?

I sort of "limit" calories. I am trying to gain a little weight, so I eat above maintenance calories on lifting days.

I generally don't get too picky about macros. I try to get a lot of protein in, but some days I'll have more carbs than fat or the other way around.

I usually have a meal and maybe a snack too before I go to work out. I have not noticed any decrease in energy.

I do a 16:8 schedule where I eat between 2-10pm. I discovered this approach through leangains.com.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

I want to start out by saying I am just asking a curious question....no anti IF people or bashing please.

I have realized that when I eat breakfast especially I am super hungry all day but when I skip breakfast (and sometime lunch) and just eat a big dinner I have so much more energy and am not hungry most of the day.

I am curious for anyone who follows IF

When you eat do you limit calories?
Do you follow strict macros when you do eat?
Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT)
Is their a specific IF program you follow?

Yes, but it's much easier to keep it reasonable when eating in a four hour window.
I try for at least 40/30/30 but recently more like 25/25/50.
I have more energy when I lift fasted (I take BCAA's pre workout as well).
20/4.

sweetnlow30

I follow the 5:2 IF plan and have lost 8kg in just under 3 months. I restrict calories to 500 a day for 2 days a week (usually Monday and Wednesday) and eat 2000 on the other days.

I really enjoy the fasting days and seem to have more energy than usual. For instance, 4 hours working in the garden followed by Zumba in the evening.

I still have quite a bit of weight to lose and intend to continue with it.

I do the same thing. This will be my fourth week on IF and I have lost 4 pounds. Not much, but it's more than I have lost in the past few years, and for me, that's something. I have 500 calories on Tuesday and Thursday and I can eat up to my TDEE, which is 2487 for me. Try it!

I am also doing 5:2 and I am losing much faster than I did at a steady 1400 every day. I do two days of about 550 cals and 5 days at 1500- 2200 cals. I have always done a form of IF by eating a light snack at 9pm then not eating again until noon the next day just because I am not usually hungry until then. I am partially disabled so my only exercise is walking. I am honestly surprised 5:2 is working so well for me!

RepsnSets

Im doing 5:2 at the moment, 500 cals twice a week (Tues and Thurs) and 2100 cals the other 5 days.

First week I lost 2.86 pounds Im now into my second week and this will by far be the easiest week. Have heard it only gets easier as the fasts go by.

I also lift heavy and the energy levels have been great, no need for pre or post food either

momzeeee

I want to start out by saying I am just asking a curious question....no anti IF people or bashing please.

I have realized that when I eat breakfast especially I am super hungry all day but when I skip breakfast (and sometime lunch) and just eat a big dinner I have so much more energy and am not hungry most of the day.

I am curious for anyone who follows IF

When you eat do you limit calories?
Do you follow strict macros when you do eat?
Do you find you have less energy when you workout (I run, do heavy lifting and do HITT)
Is their a specific IF program you follow?

I did alternate day IF for weight loss, as outlined in the book, The Alternate Day Diet by Dr. James Johnson. This plan does have a calorie restriction aspect to it. This is also called JUDDD.
Now I'm in maintenance and do 8:16 IF with an eating window of 11am-7pm and I do a two meal/no snack foemat. Doing this has allowed me to stay in my maintenance range without having to track calories or log anything. I do spot check here and there, to see where my macros are at and I'm hitting pretty close to 40f/30p/30c, which is what I'm aiming for

As for exercise, I do strength training and walk 4mph (a very brisk pace), in a fasted state and have no issues.

kopmom

Thanks all for the feedback