IF / 16:8 questions

jaga13

It sounds like a lot of people who limit eating to 8 hours a day chose roughly 12pm to 8am. For those in this boat, do you opt for this specific time frame so that you can eliminate one meal (breakfast) and have 2 meals (lunch and dinner), allowing you more room for snacks writhing your calorie budget? Or do you still have 3 square meals?

I never intentionally set out to "fast" but my schedule just happens to fit 16:8; breakfast at 9am, lunch at 1pm, dinner at 5pm. But it doesn't leave room for snacking and I think id rather skip or reduce a meal to get more snacks. I'm up really early so I'm truly hungry by 9am so 12-8 won't work. I'm considering dropping "dinner" and planning
On just afternoon snacks so that I get 2 meals (9am and 1pm) and then a satisfying amount of (prelogged) snacks. Does anyone else do this, out of curiosity? I have had success with mfp and Calorie deficit
And just experimenting to continue to keep hunger at bay to lose the last 10ish lbs.

sunandmoons

There are quite a few that do. If you do a search under community you will see several groups. I do IF. One week 12 hours the next 16. However Im am thinking of quitting. I have ran into a rut several times and and get famished then have to wait several hours....Sometimed waiting that long to eat messes with blood sugar..for me anyway. There have been times I have felt faint upon standing and had brain fog. It seems to get worse as I age. Ive been at it for several years.

It has taught me that I can learn to control my cravings..and then has lead me to not overeat.

IF is not for everyone. I wish you luck on your journey.

vismal

It doesn't matter when you eat. Many people choose to do IF because of it's convenience factor, because it fits their lifestyle, or because it helps them stay satiated. Since the timing is of minimal importance, you can pick your 8 hour window for whatever times helps you achieve the aforementioned benefits the best. I work night shift and choose to eat from 4pm - midnight when I utilize IF (usually only when I'm in a weight loss phase). If I want to eat before or after that period of time for one reason or another, I do. I find keeping the window mostly consistent helps with compliance, but life happens and an 8 hour window isn't always an option. Again, because when you eat doesn't matter, you can be flexible. IF should fit your lifestyle, not the other way around.

rainbow198

On a normal day I naturally start eating in the late morning and I stop eating in the evening until the next day.

I don't snack so 2 good-sized balanced meals and occasionally a smaller meal if I need the calories works for me.

It has worked great to help me maintain my weight, but I can't speak on weight loss. Hopefully you will get more replies.

As long as you are staying in your calorie range, keep on experimenting and see what works for you. Try not to overthink it.

TeaBea

Here are a couple of the groups.....

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

vgnfarmer

During the week IF works easily for me because I'm a teacher so my "lunch break" is at 11am. I eat my breakfast then. At 3pm when kiddies go home I have an afterschool snack (which is more like my lunch) and then dinner at 6 or 7pm.

I know its weird (but think this happens to others) that If I ate at 6 or 7am before school I would be JUST as hungry as if I hadn't! I grew up thinking you had to eat within an hour of waking and I could never get a handle on my appetite or see why "the most important meal of the day" was not quieting my appetite. Now I can have 3 bigger meals rather than 4 smaller and I am for the first time feeling some control.

ahoy_m8

vgnfarmer wrote: »

During the week IF works easily for me because I'm a teacher so my "lunch break" is at 11am. I eat my breakfast then. At 3pm when kiddies go home I have an afterschool snack (which is more like my lunch) and then dinner at 6 or 7pm.

I know its weird (but think this happens to others) that If I ate at 6 or 7am before school I would be JUST as hungry as if I hadn't! I grew up thinking you had to eat within an hour of waking and I could never get a handle on my appetite or see why "the most important meal of the day" was not quieting my appetite. Now I can have 3 bigger meals rather than 4 smaller and I am for the first time feeling some control.

This is so logical! I'm not a teacher, but this is my eating schedule most days, too. I had a several month stretch where dinner just couldn't happen at a reasonable time a couple nights a week, and those days I always stressed about it until I just decided to skip dinner those days. What a relief! OP, experiment to see what works for you. The time of your "eating window" should be what's best for you.

jaga13

Thank you all. I understand timing doesn't matter. I'm curious if keeping my typical 9-5 window, but changing from 3 meals to only 2 meals + snacks may help me feel more satisfied (allowing me taste A LOT OF THE THINGS ). Will see.

feisty_bucket

jaga13 wrote: »

changing from 3 meals to only 2 meals + snacks may help me feel more satisfied

Maybe. I've found that eating big meals (600+ calories at a time) is way more satiating than trying to space out calories in little dribbles (ie: grazing, snacking). One IF variant, the "Warrior Diet" is a 4-hr eating window - pretty much one big meal.

I've done that and it's a bit much for me, but I try to hit closer to a 6 hr window with most of it after exercise. If I have my druthers.