Does anyone "Fast" for weight loss?

smiley_skydiver

Hello all,
Do any of you fast during the day for weight loss? If so, when do you fast and is there specific reasons to fast during certain times?
Thank you!!

AdrianChr92

Yea I delay or skip breakfast as much as possible. Makes eating too much quite hard but I won't call it a fast.

Sued0nim

Yeah there are a bunch of people who follow intermittent fasting and some groups

works for them

either 16:8 or 5:2 or similar

sijomial

I did 5:2 to lose weight - worked very well for me.

I've also dabbled with 16:8 for small weight adjustments and that worked as well - skipping breakfast doesn't make me any more or less hungry by lunchtime.

The major reason was to allow me to hit a weekly calorie deficit goal in a way that was easy to adhere to for me.

There were some additional minor benefits:
Being more creative with meal choices.
Understanding my hunger signals better.
Fasted training improved my cycling endurance and reduced the need to feed on rides.

Worth experimenting with but it's not magic and doesn't work for everyone.

There are groups of people best advised not to do IF so do your research.

Jonna13

No fasting for me! I like to space my meals throughout the day. If I miss a meal it just makes me ravenous and I'm more likely to make poor choices.

smiley_skydiver

sijomial wrote: »

I did 5:2 to lose weight - worked very well for me.

I've also dabbled with 16:8 for small weight adjustments and that worked as well - skipping breakfast doesn't make me any more or less hungry by lunchtime.

The major reason was to allow me to hit a weekly calorie deficit goal in a way that was easy to adhere to for me.

There were some additional minor benefits:
Being more creative with meal choices.
Understanding my hunger signals better.
Fasted training improved my cycling endurance and reduced the need to feed on rides.

Worth experimenting with but it's not magic and doesn't work for everyone.

There are groups of people best advised not to do IF so do your research.

Thank you!

88meli88

Definitely not for long term weight loss. Feeling hungry can lead to bad food choices, and strong urges to compensate and fend off hunger with high fat high sugar food - these can be hard to resist. I am partial to distributing calories evenly during the day.

MelaniaTrump

I'll eat a big green salad as my "fast". Almost no calories and keeps hunger away. Easy.
One person said once "It just sets you up for bingeing". Watch out for that. Ok?

Lourdesong

I've been delaying breakfast since the beginning of January, not for weight loss since timing doesn't really matter, but rather as a strategy to try to ensure I don't run out of calories by the end of the day. I was getting into a cycle of running out of calories early and then "borrowing" calories from the next day, which made that next day really tough and I'd end up "borrowing" again.

I still eat small portions and space out of my food, just spaced out over a smaller window of time now. I do miss eating right after waking though, not doing so and waiting and drinking coffee on an empty stomach for several hours is the toughest part for me.

eddycaa

I don't follow any particular fasting method, I just don't eat anything between 7pm-7am which gives me a daily 12 hour fast. This was hard at first because I was accustomed to night time snacking. When I stick to it, and include a lot if walking in my day, I tend to lose weight rather effortlessly. want to work up to 5:2 eventually because of what I read about it helping restore leptin sensitivity (leptin is the gatekeeper of fat).

Trump2016

On most days, I'll be fasted for 20 hours and eat two big meals within the remaining 4 hours.

Small meals aren't nearly as satisfying and eating the same total within a condensed period of time prevents me from over-eating and leaves me with a happy stomach.

It's just personal preference. Play around and do what works to control your appetite.

emmaprocopiou

I didn't set out to intentionally fast, but I don't really do breakfast and I like having bigger evening meals as well as snacks in the evening,
It's not fasting for weight loss but more a tool to portion out my calories in a way that I find satisfies my appetite

MelaniaTrump

@eddycaa Love the idea of 12 hour fasting. Nothing I eat after dinner is ever good. Nothing.

Sarahb29

I skip breakfast because I like having a bigger supper later :P

bigianmma

I 16:8 fast (although its more like 20:4) on a daily basis and stick to Keto in the times I can eat and losing around 4lb a week at the moment - it does slow down a bit the lighter I get though.

kommodevaran

I have settled on four meals per day, and I recently found out that trying to hit them with 3+3+4 hours intervals is a great help for me to avoid cravings and anxiety; it creates a steady rythm and predictability, and 14 hours between evening meal and breakfast is perfect - for me. I don't know if you are doing IF now, or just looking for information, but anyway: Nothing intrisically wrong with IF. Everything has to be seen in context. Do what works for you! Give it a shot. Make it fit your schedule and social life and make sure you get the proper amounts of macros and micros. Just because something doesn't work for a lot of (or even most) people, doesn't mean that it won't work for you.

murp4069

I've seen a lot of posts about people doing intermittent fasting that seems to help them with weight loss. Seems it depends on the person what works for them to keep their calories at a deficit. I follow a 16:8 type of fasting, though not really purposely. I don't eat breakfast because I'm not hungry, not because I'm purposely fasting. If I eat breakfast, I'm not hungry for lunch, and in turn I'm starving around 4pm - which is generally several hours before I leave the office and have dinner. Keeps my calories in check as I prefer to have a larger meal at dinner. Works for me but doesn't work for everyone.

Danimri84

I naturally fast. I don't like eating in the morning. It upsets my stomach and makes me hungrier throughout the day. I don't each lunch until noon, have a snack mid afternoon, eat dinner, and sometimes have a small evening snack. All my food is consumed between noon and 7 or 8 at night. I don't do it on purpose, it's just how I've always eaten, even when I wasn't actively trying to lose weight. When I'm counting calories though, it works really well.

erinc5

I also skip breakfast, as many have said. I found that once I started counting calories and relying on hunger cues, I'm not really hungry until noon or so. I've found that even if I feel a tiny bit hungry in the morning, I try to not eat until lunch, as I like having all my calories within a 8 hour window (medium lunch at noon - no snack and then big dinner at 7/8). Just makes me feel like I'm not on a deficit at all.

However, I don't follow any strict "rules". If I'm very hungry in the morning, I will eat. I'm a night owl, and if I have calories left at 11PM or midnight, then I will eat then. Timing doesn't really matter, just do what makes you feel best and gets you the results you want.

laur357

I'm an accidental faster. I don't like breakfast-time meals (other than black coffee), and I don't feel good when I force myself to eat it. I naturally settled in to mostly eating two largish meals a day, and only snack if I'm going to exercise after work or meeting friends for a really late dinner. My eating happens between 12:30PM-6:30PM. Not fighting it and trying to eat when I'm not feeling it has helped me a lot.