Intermittent Fasting, yae or nay?

sandiikat

One of my friends swears by intermittent fasting & personally I do think it's best to not eat breakfast. 1 more cals in my day 2 not that hungry 3 isn't hunger a good thing. I don't know the facts (those were only my opinions) so anyone on here intermittent fasts? I am curious to know how that's going & if you recommend it to other people.

100df

I love it. It's the way I eat normally. Breakfast isn't something I enjoy so don't miss it. Would rather save the calories for later in the day. IF doesn't do anything to make you lose weight. You still have to eat less than you burn.

If you can skip breakfast and not be hungry it's great. If you are hungry, I don't think it would be good for you.

Look in the groups. There is a large IF group. Lots of people here eat like that.

tara_means_star

I do 16:8 and it works for me because I like two big meals rather than 3-6 small to tiny meals. I love it but its not for everyone. If you'd like to try it, experiment with it for a few weeks. I felt hungry during my fasts at first but that's mostly gone now as your body, over time, will learn to get hungry when its time to break your fast. Nothing magical about IF, still need to watch your calories and be in a deficit.

rybo

Try it. For some, its a great natural way to eat. For others it's impossible to adhere to. I like it, because it fits my schedule and lifestyle. There are a few different styles of fasting, I roughly follow the 16:8 schedule. I've had friends that loved the 5:2

sandiikat

tara_means_star wrote: »

I do 16:8 and it works for me because I like two big meals rather than 3-6 small to tiny meals. I love it but its not for everyone. If you'd like to try it, experiment with it for a few weeks. I felt hungry during my fasts at first but that's mostly gone now as your body, over time, will learn to get hungry when its time to break your fast. Nothing magical about IF, still need to watch your calories and be in a deficit.

what is this 16:8 you guys are talking about? @rybo @tara_means_star I guess to do more research!

tara_means_star

I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8. My eating window is noon to 8 pm. I only eat during those hours.

RoxieDawn

Intermittent fasting is not to loose weight. It is just an eating schedule.

For example, you just put off your "break fast" till later in the morning and then eat your "break fast" and all the rest of your calories up to a point in the day, like ending food intake at 6:00 .p.m. You start at 11:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m.

I basically have been eating like this all my life and found that it has name. And I always always exercise fasted.

brb_2013

I follow a plan that has me fasting between Dinner to Lunch the next day, which works out to 16 hours fasting, 8 of eating. It's not difficult at all, my body doesn't want food in the morning and having two larger meals per day satisfies me more and it helps me stick to my plan. If I were eating in the morning that's just one more variable and one more opportunity to fall off track.

Francl27

It depends on how you like to eat. I used to skip breakfast, but when I started working out in the morning, I realized that I needed some food beforehand, and when I reduced my calories to lose I started getting really hungry in the morning anyway.

If you're not hungry in the morning, it's probably perfect for you.

niniundlapin

It's like dividing your total calorie budget (daily or weekly) into different equal or unequal portions. So that means OP your (1) is not correct. Eating breakfast doesn't mean more calories, cuz it's just the way you plan your total calorie consumption. I personally cannot do day-to-day fasting cuz I get hangry easily, lol, but I found "stop eating after dinner" a good way to help my sleep and digestive system (peristalsis, to be specific). I also like "feeling hungry in the morning," which pushes me out of bed to start my day.

For your (2) & (3), feeling hungry is not necessarily good or bad for weight-loss, if this is what you were referring to. It's the food you consume (calories and nutrition) that matters. If you go overboard and eat over your total calorie budget during the non-fasting days, chances are you're just jeopardizing the "sacrifice" you have during fasting days. On the other hand, if you don't eat enough for a long period of time (calorie restriction and make almost every day a fasting day), your body won't know your weight-loss plan and might go for protective mode (naturally human body experiences low calories during disasters). It might end up with decreased metabolic functions and disrupted hormonal secretion. That means you're just pushing yourself away from healthy, permanent weight-loss.

biodigit

I did it last year for about 6 months. I followed the 16:8 method. There were benefits and drawbacks. The benefits were having to eat two large meals and not having to worry about getting hungry all the time. The drawback was working out fasted. In the beginning it was great, I had all the energy necessary to do the lifts, but my body slowly started to adjust to not having enough energy.

In my opinion, its' great for folks who are always on the run and don't have time to eat all the time. 2 large meals a day can do wonders if you're strapped for time. Body composition wise, it will not make any difference.

biodigit

gia07 wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is not to loose weight. It is just an eating schedule.

For example, you just put off your "break fast" till later in the morning and then eat your "break fast" and all the rest of your calories up to a point in the day, like ending food intake at 6:00 .p.m. You start at 11:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m.

I basically have been eating like this all my life and found that it has name. And I always always exercise fasted.

Yup! I would have brunch as my first meal. Breakfast and Lunch together as a one large meal. I can never skip breakfast food. Always loved it!

shanighias

Great way to control your calorie intake by taking one or two big meals a day and still be in calorie deficit mode! If you are not in calorie deficit you will not lose weight even you are fasting for many hours!

PowerStrong

I have been IF for years without even knowing ppl used this as a eating system. I follow the 16:8 as well and the only issue I have is getting in my post workout shake/food. I workout at night and sometimes find it hard to establish my cut time based on my workout conclusion. That being said if you can handle going without breakfast this can work for you. Half of the fasting window is spent sleeping anyways. Good luck...

KANGOOJUMPS

YES!!! I DO IT!!! IT WoRKS!

Igotthatcake

I'm doing it right now, I have never been a fan of breakfast anyway. With my daily schedule it really works well. I'm in the middle of my eating window right now and I feel good and energised, this morning I felt lighter and not bloated at all. It works very well.

ClassicVegan

I would say yae and nay. I do it most days by holding off eating until noon. But, if I'm really hungry in the morning, I eat. Most days, I strive to eat in an 8 hour window. I think it can be a useful tool to control hunger, and limit the number of times I need to make decisions about food.

FiNnY22

Read that as fisting ..... im going now.

cityruss

Personal preference and adherence.

shabaity

Personal preference I'm not a morning eater and solid food before like 10 makes me queasy. So morning energy drink is the most I'll do and when I'm following 16 8 I won't even do that. Currently do to the sheer randomness of my current schedule between school, work, and mma training I'm giving 5:2 a shot because it fits better and honestly works better with the absolute gnaw my own arm off I'm so hungry feeling that 2 to 4 hrs of training leaves me with.

kissedbythesunshine

I do 20:4, 19:5, give or take. I have only been doing this for two weeks and I absolutely love it. I love to eat big dinners so with this way of eating I'm able to have my big dinner, then have my dessert/snacks. I can't say how absolutely awesome this has been for me. I drink unsweetened green tea and water throughout the day. No I don't skimp on my calories either. I enjoy every one of them. A bonus for me has been how good food tastes now. I swear food tastes 100% better when you are actually hungry as opposed to simply eating on a schedule. I'm the type of person who simply likes to eat. That's how I got into the situation I'm in. For me, I can't spread 1400 calories throughout the day and be satisfied. Some people can, I can't. I will always end up going over either around dinner time or wanting a small snack after dinner. I even had a problem with overnight eating. With this method I am completely satisfied until the following day. When I make it to maintainence I plan to continue this method of eating. Did I mention how much better food tastes lol. So yes, I recommend IF as a method of eating. It's not for everyone though.

lithezebra

I could skip dinner every day and be perfectly happy.

tara_means_star

One thing I like about it...it gives me practice controlling myself when hungry. Used to be a problem to go anywhere with food when I was hungry because I would eat the first high calorie thing I found. Now it's not such a problem.

starwhisperer6

I haven't ever called it anything, but unless I am on vacation and enjoying breakfast with a group, I don't eat breakfast. I looked at how my calories are split up yesterday.... like 15 to lunch and the rest was dinner and snacking at night. If I eat breakfast it seems to make me hungrier through the day.

cwolfman13

sanrocha8 wrote: »

One of my friends swears by intermittent fasting & personally I do think it's best to not eat breakfast. 1 more cals in my day 2 not that hungry 3 isn't hunger a good thing. I don't know the facts (those were only my opinions) so anyone on here intermittent fasts? I am curious to know how that's going & if you recommend it to other people.

If you're doing IF, you're eating the same calories you would be eating if you did any other diet plan, you just eat in a certain window. So it's not like you're skipping breakfast and cutting out those calories...you're just eating them within a certain feeding window.

People use IF to lose, maintain, and gain.

BoaRestrictor

gia07 wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is not to loose weight. It is just an eating schedule.

For example, you just put off your "break fast" till later in the morning and then eat your "break fast" and all the rest of your calories up to a point in the day, like ending food intake at 6:00 .p.m. You start at 11:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m.

I basically have been eating like this all my life and found that it has name. And I always always exercise fasted.

Yep, I was doing 16:8 without knowing it!

Mediocrates55

I like 5:2 personally. I feel less deprived than trying to hit a deficit every day. If I want something I tell myself I can have it tomorrow. Usually tomorrow comes and the craving has passed. I'm not prone to the hangries or low blood sugar or headaches, so it's a great tool for me to use. And again, personally, I enjoy the feeling of being hungry every few days. It's a reminder to me to be mindful in all things, take nothing for granted. Almost a spiritual reminder, if you will. Of course in the end it's just a simple CICO tool, so your mileage may vary profoundly.

lulalacroix

I personally love it. I have always been a night eater so I've just rearranged my eating schedule to fit with what works for me. As others have said, IF alone doesn't help you lose more weight, eating in a calorie deficit does. IF just allows me to stay within my calorie allotment easier than if I ate all day long.

lithezebra

Intermittent fasting is one of the things you can do to promote the formation of new brain cells.
https://www.ted.com/talks/sandrine_thuret_you_can_grow_new_brain_cells_here_s_how?language=en

Negative_X

I've been IF'ing and training fasted for over 5 years straight now. I'll never eat or train any other way. Cardio days I push my fast to 20 hours, weight lifting 18 hours. I use the same eating schedule whether I'm bulking or cutting.

For me it was a game changer. Everything in terms of my health, fitness and overall physical & mental performance improved. But as with everything tho... YMMV. Do your research.

A great resource for IFing and training fasted...
http://www.leangains.com/

CaffeinatedConfectionist

IF is my natural eating pattern, and I strongly prefer not to eat before 3 or 4pm. I find I get hungrier if I eat breakfast and I enjoy being able to have fewer but larger/more calorie-dense meals. However, like others have said it's not a magic weight loss tool - it simply helps some people adhere to an overall deficit, which is the key.

If you're interested in reading more about it, I have found these helpful:
http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Research
http://www.lift-heavy.com/intermittent-fasting/ (this has more to do with alternate-day fasting)