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Questioning Intermittent Fasting
kakitis
Posts: 8 Member
in Debate Club
I am on IF for bit over a week now, and must say - I love it so far! Probably, easiest weight-maintenance plan I've come across. Mind, I've never really been a breakfast-person, so I alternated my plan to 19:5 schedule. I fast from ~9PM-15PM and break fast ~15PM-8PM. Sometimes changing the hours to later, if I have a workout.
However, although this helped me to lose excess water-weight over the week, I am still questioning the point of the IF in general... If you starve yourself (that I guess is why you lose weight) and then basically are allowed to binge for 8 hours (not binge really, but eat all your macros) that can be a lot of food! And also normally in the evening, before sleep... how the hell does that even work, lol?
Of course, I do make smart choices and still base my food on higher protein intake, less carbs, etc.. but still?
Anyone else on IF and what are your reviews in a longer run?
However, although this helped me to lose excess water-weight over the week, I am still questioning the point of the IF in general... If you starve yourself (that I guess is why you lose weight) and then basically are allowed to binge for 8 hours (not binge really, but eat all your macros) that can be a lot of food! And also normally in the evening, before sleep... how the hell does that even work, lol?
Of course, I do make smart choices and still base my food on higher protein intake, less carbs, etc.. but still?
Anyone else on IF and what are your reviews in a longer run?
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Replies
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It works because if you do it properly you have a calorie deficit over the course of a week. I wouldn't consider a short-term fast starving oneself, and I would avoid the method if I had tendencies toward bingeing, personally, but I don't think having a window for eating=bingeing. I'm most familiar with the 5:2 method, though, as I've read about it and considered trying it (haven't yet).0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »It works because if you do it properly you have a calorie deficit over the course of a week. I wouldn't consider a short-term fast starving oneself, and I would avoid the method if I had tendencies toward bingeing, personally, but I don't think having a window for eating=bingeing. I'm most familiar with the 5:2 method, though, as I've read about it and considered trying it (haven't yet).
I played around with the 5:2 at one time. I found that 500 was a little low for me. What I did was raise it to 800 and then on the other 5 days I just ate slightly below maintenance. I found that doable and enjoyed it actually.
I am thinking about doing it again.
OP...in my way of thinking as long as you get your weekly deficit in and eat a balanced diet how you do that is up to you.0 -
I have a marathon on Sunday so don't want to change anything up before that, but I might try it starting next week.0
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I have used 5:2 and later IF when losing weight. I am now eat based upon my training and so do not restrict calories as much (but monitor them as I have a tendency to overeat).
I love IF because:- It allows me to have some epic evening meals
- I've never been that much of a breakfast person
- It simplifies my food prep
What I would say about using it long term is that, if you like it, it is sustainable when employed sensibly and with an overall calorie balance at maintenance.0 -
For the short time I was doing it, it worked because it was not much different than what I kind of do anyway.
1) I can skip breakfast easily - in fact, if I have something to do, I don't even realized I haven't eaten anything until lunch
2) I can skip lunch with some effort - again, if I have something to do it's easier. On the other hand, this is one of the worst times of day for me to overeat. I get to coding and start snacking and it's all over. If I can't snack, no more problem.
3) I'm always hungriest at night. Smallish early dinner, and then at least one more meal after that. I can't go to bed hungry or I don't sleep.
Only reason I didn't stick with it is that my schedule is not my own on the weekends and I'm not free to change that. Switching from IF during the week to three same-sized meals on Sat. and a large brunch and small dinner on Sun was really screwing me up.0 -
2) I can skip lunch with some effort - again, if I have something to do it's easier. On the other hand, this is one of the worst times of day for me to overeat. I get to coding and start snacking and it's all over. If I can't snack, no more problem.
3) I'm always hungriest at night.
This is another reason I love IF - helps to keep yourself under control. Its actually easier to wait for a certain time to eat, instead of snacking, which ends up to grabbing another one, another one.. and another one. I think, IF can be seen as a kind of self-discipline plan, rather than actual, scientifically-based diet
On the other hand, I start noticing, that the longer I'm into IF, the more hungry I feel during the day. Its hard not to grab a nut or lick a spoon of honey before actual fast-break. Yet again - as a tool for self-discipline, IF does help to stay in track and ''wait juust a little bit until break'', while Id simply give up on a normal plan..
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Is that commonly an issue you seek to avoid?DancingDarl wrote: »I use IF intuitively. Mainly because I don't want my brain to be confused when I eat when it is already aware I am not hungry :-p
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I do IF off & on LOVE IT. The trick to curve appetite is drinking ONLY black coffee or Tea. Both curve your appetite. After it is time to eat NO MORE coffee or Tea. One should do IF for 16hrs then have an 8hr feeding window. If you can NOT hold out for 16hrs at the 12hr *mark eat 1 apple, It will curve your appetite. ONLY 1. I would take a caffeine pill, lift weights, get a GREAT PUMP, then start my 8hr eating window. Eating I would TRY to eat my suggested calories. I would eat 2 large meals, 1 like a king the 2nd meal more strict. Body-fat drops FAST.0
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DancingDarl wrote: »I use IF intuitively. Mainly because I don't want my brain to be confused when I eat when it is already aware I am not hungry :-p
Step away Tobias. Just Step away.0 -
IF definitely should not be starving and binging!
It's just not eating for a period and eating in another period.
I've done 5:2 (losing and maintaining), 6:1 (losing and maintaining) and also intraday IF (effectively just skipping breakfast) when maintaining.
Useful tools to make adherence to a calorie goal easier (for some people) and can help reveal what real hunger is as opposed to habitual eating or just plain greed.0 -
Hello! I do 16:8 at the moment and find that the biggest change it has helped me with is stopping my habit of snacking in the evening. My eating window is 12 noon and 8pm, and I stick to my calorie goal in that time; if I was eating after 8pm and before midday, I would be going over my limit, so it has helped me immensely 0
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I've been doing IF 5+ years now (before being fad, mainstream).
Benefits I've noticed: improved body composition likely from being in a fat loss state for prolonged periods of time & improved insulin sensitivity from having regular/consistent fed states.
IF Disadvantages: GERD & GI upset from cramming in so much food in a short window of time...there's no way you can eat 2500kcal+ "clean" food in say a 4 hour time (it's like being a competitive eater; just too stressful on the abdomen). To ameliorate this issue, I eat high density (high-fat) foods. The other issue is the whole "you can only absorb so much protein in 1 meal/sitting/interval of time"...yes, I would agree IF is not ideal for gaining, but superior for fatloss or achieving a lean body composition.0 -
IF definitely should not be starving and binging!
It's just not eating for a period and eating in another period.
I've done 5:2 (losing and maintaining), 6:1 (losing and maintaining) and also intraday IF (effectively just skipping breakfast) when maintaining.
Useful tools to make adherence to a calorie goal easier (for some people) and can help reveal what real hunger is as opposed to habitual eating or just plain greed.
That sums it up nicely for me and also summarises my experience.0 -
Based from what I've read and own experience - snacking on apples to curb appetite is a bad idea, as apples tend to boost your appetite. Proven fact
I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..0 -
Based from what I've read and own experience - snacking on apples to curb appetite is a bad idea, as apples tend to boost your appetite. Proven fact
I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I wouldn't concern yourself with the "IF effect "
The basic plan is solid, but some of Martins later claims were overblown.
His early stuff was solid and reasonable, but then he went full guru, lost his mind, and rage quit the internet.0 -
FunkyTobias wrote: »Based from what I've read and own experience - snacking on apples to curb appetite is a bad idea, as apples tend to boost your appetite. Proven fact
I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I wouldn't concern yourself with the "IF effect "
The basic plan is solid, but some of Martins later claims were overblown.
His early stuff was solid and reasonable, but then he went full guru, lost his mind, and rage quit the internet.
I don't have a tendency to rage over any diet plan. Keeping my head cool, and you can tell from subject title- still questioning the reasoning behind:)0 -
You don't starve yourself if you eat all your calories (and macros/micros) every day, or at least week, and calories can't tell time
Apples as a snack has to be among the least helpful advice out there - all my meals have protein, fat and vegs, THEN I add starch and fruit.
Restricting in a way that doesn't feel restrictive to YOU - I think that is important to make healthy eating a lifestyle.0 -
FunkyTobias wrote: »Based from what I've read and own experience - snacking on apples to curb appetite is a bad idea, as apples tend to boost your appetite. Proven fact
I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I wouldn't concern yourself with the "IF effect "
The basic plan is solid, but some of Martins later claims were overblown.
His early stuff was solid and reasonable, but then he went full guru, lost his mind, and rage quit the internet.
I don't have a tendency to rage over any diet plan. Keeping my head cool, and you can tell from subject title- still questioning the reasoning behind:)
I didn't think you did. Martin just got a little loopy towards the end.
Leangains is a solid plan, just don't worry about the minutiae (hormonal benefits, etc). IIRC it's pretty flexible and customizable to your training schedule.
I did it for awhile and had decent results (dropped a weight class and improved both my lifts) but it wasn't something I could do permanently.0 -
I am on IF for bit over a week now, and must say - I love it so far! Probably, easiest weight-maintenance plan I've come across. Mind, I've never really been a breakfast-person, so I alternated my plan to 19:5 schedule. I fast from ~9PM-15PM and break fast ~15PM-8PM. Sometimes changing the hours to later, if I have a workout.
However, although this helped me to lose excess water-weight over the week, I am still questioning the point of the IF in general... If you starve yourself (that I guess is why you lose weight) and then basically are allowed to binge for 8 hours (not binge really, but eat all your macros) that can be a lot of food! And also normally in the evening, before sleep... how the hell does that even work, lol?
Of course, I do make smart choices and still base my food on higher protein intake, less carbs, etc.. but still?
Anyone else on IF and what are your reviews in a longer run?
As far as the point of IF in general, people can use it in various ways.
- Provides an eating schedule that is more convenient without as much prep work.
- Avoid hunger at certain times
- Provide more energy at certain times of the day
Any of the claims of metabolic advantage and the like are suspect at best.
The main advantage I gained from it is that it gave me more calories to play with during periods where I commonly overrate (ie. Night time).
I don't really do any formal IF anymore, I mainly just try to delay my breakfast until i feel genuine hunger and then eat which allows me to push my other meals later and later to avoid hunger as much as possible.
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I'm not as knowledgeable about IF as a lot of people, but my understanding is it's just shifting your calories around to a specific time period in the day. You would get the same effect on weight loss as spreading it out over the course of the day, so it's not really 'starving and binging'. I personally can't do IF, my blood sugar will crash. I do best on eating several times a day, just smaller amounts. But there are people that do better consolidating their calories for the day. To me, it's just a different way to organize your diet, and if it works for you, awesome.0
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I'm with @dubird on this one. When I diet with exercise, I end up doing four meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and a late snack to make up for whatever I've exercised away. I've got my goal set to my first mini-goal bmr and I don't want to net below that. My exercise is counted by my fitbit. I hardly ever enter anything else, except when I do a bit of food prep.
For me, IF would make me weak, and then give me headaches, and then make me feel weak again. My moods would be all over the place, too.0 -
I'm not as knowledgeable about IF as a lot of people, but my understanding is it's just shifting your calories around to a specific time period in the day. You would get the same effect on weight loss as spreading it out over the course of the day, so it's not really 'starving and binging'. I personally can't do IF, my blood sugar will crash. I do best on eating several times a day, just smaller amounts. But there are people that do better consolidating their calories for the day. To me, it's just a different way to organize your diet, and if it works for you, awesome.
Nailed it.
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Sorry to bring this up again, but anyone know anything abot ''refill'' days when you should break the protocol and eat through the day?I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
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Sorry to bring this up again, but anyone know anything abot ''refill'' days when you should break the protocol and eat through the day?I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
Now and then I'll eat through the day. To be honest, if I eat much earlier in the day I just want to keep eating through the day. Not that it really bothers me, it's just different.
I've eating on a somewhat modified 16:8 type diet most of my adult life. I just don't eat a lot early in the day. I grab my coffee, maybe a bagel or something sometimes, and the rest of my calories are usually after work. I can eat more or less what I want later in the day, so it's not restrictive.
The only real exception I've made is I've started eating some before longer/harder workouts. I usually have no problem working out with the energy level, but some carbs before the fact are good insurance. Plus, if I workout in the afternoon and burn 1000+ calories, well then the 3000 calories I have to eat before I go to sleep is just a LOT to eat. It's more comfortable to me to split it up some.0 -
Sorry to bring this up again, but anyone know anything abot ''refill'' days when you should break the protocol and eat through the day?I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I've not heard or read about anything like this (but IF is not a subject that I spend much time researching - I have a method that works for me and I stick with that) but I can tell you that I sometimes eat all day.
I tend to have the occasional full day of eating when to do otherwise would be a pain. So, for example when travelling I've been in situations where the family have wanted to go out for a special breakfast. Not wanting to miss out on that (and knowing that I find it VERY hard to eat breakfast then fast until an evening meal) I'll have the breakfast and then just have a small lunch to tide me over.
I guess that if you are using IF in maintenance then recharge days are not required and you only need to put them in if you feel like it. But, for those using IF as their method of calorie restriction would need to be more careful about how long they were in deficit and, similar to with other methods of calorie restriction, may find that the occasional, planned "cheat day/cheat meal/re-feed/refill" is a decent strategy for managing that.
Note: The theories around cheat days/meals seem to focus upon the idea that eating at higher cals (and especially higher carb loading) increases Leptin which then reduces hunger for a longer period of time. But, from my (limited) reading on that matter, it seems that a day of eating at higher carb & cals (let alone a single meal) is insufficient to have an effect upon leptin and the most likely advantage to a cheat meal is psychological (something to look forward to) and allows the dieter to indulge in some foods that they may not have the calories to eat otherwise.0 -
Sorry to bring this up again, but anyone know anything abot ''refill'' days when you should break the protocol and eat through the day?I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I never understood the purpose of a 'recharge' day if you're doing IF. I would think that if IF works best for you, why do you need to shift your calories around one day from time to time?0 -
Dr Mercola interviewing Dr Varady does a very nice job explaining IF and she backs it with studies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzkVmXe9NMU 0 -
FunkyTobias wrote: »FunkyTobias wrote: »Based from what I've read and own experience - snacking on apples to curb appetite is a bad idea, as apples tend to boost your appetite. Proven fact
I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I wouldn't concern yourself with the "IF effect "
The basic plan is solid, but some of Martins later claims were overblown.
His early stuff was solid and reasonable, but then he went full guru, lost his mind, and rage quit the internet.
I don't have a tendency to rage over any diet plan. Keeping my head cool, and you can tell from subject title- still questioning the reasoning behind:)
I didn't think you did. Martin just got a little loopy towards the end.
Leangains is a solid plan, just don't worry about the minutiae (hormonal benefits, etc). IIRC it's pretty flexible and customizable to your training schedule.
I did it for awhile and had decent results (dropped a weight class and improved both my lifts) but it wasn't something I could do permanently.
One thing Martin mentions for women, though, is to be aware of negative hormonal changes. I experienced this doing 16:8 for an extended period. Once I adjusted to 14:10 I lost steadily with no issues. (Note: Once I transitioned into maintenance, I found I couldn't physically eat so much in that window, so I no longer IF really in order to eat enough.)
Sorry to bring this up again, but anyone know anything abot ''refill'' days when you should break the protocol and eat through the day?I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I never understood the purpose of a 'recharge' day if you're doing IF. I would think that if IF works best for you, why do you need to shift your calories around one day from time to time?
When I was IFing, I would have a few days once a month (ahem...) where I was actually hungry in the am and I would just push through with water, coffee or tea. When my little bro moved backed to town we would have an early Sunday morning brunch once a month or so (I have never let a "diet" interfere with family fun - one day isn't going to hurt). I just thought my body got used to IF eventually. Maybe that was an unintentional recharge day?
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Mischievous_Rascal wrote: »FunkyTobias wrote: »FunkyTobias wrote: »Based from what I've read and own experience - snacking on apples to curb appetite is a bad idea, as apples tend to boost your appetite. Proven fact
I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I wouldn't concern yourself with the "IF effect "
The basic plan is solid, but some of Martins later claims were overblown.
His early stuff was solid and reasonable, but then he went full guru, lost his mind, and rage quit the internet.
I don't have a tendency to rage over any diet plan. Keeping my head cool, and you can tell from subject title- still questioning the reasoning behind:)
I didn't think you did. Martin just got a little loopy towards the end.
Leangains is a solid plan, just don't worry about the minutiae (hormonal benefits, etc). IIRC it's pretty flexible and customizable to your training schedule.
I did it for awhile and had decent results (dropped a weight class and improved both my lifts) but it wasn't something I could do permanently.
One thing Martin mentions for women, though, is to be aware of negative hormonal changes. I experienced this doing 16:8 for an extended period. Once I adjusted to 14:10 I lost steadily with no issues. (Note: Once I transitioned into maintenance, I found I couldn't physically eat so much in that window, so I no longer IF really in order to eat enough.)
Sorry to bring this up again, but anyone know anything abot ''refill'' days when you should break the protocol and eat through the day?I've also read on leangains that you are supposed to do the ''recharge'' periodically - eat full day, to recharge metabolism in order to boost the IF effect. Anyone does that? I think there is full plan description once you buy his book, but I'm not planning on doing that..
I never understood the purpose of a 'recharge' day if you're doing IF. I would think that if IF works best for you, why do you need to shift your calories around one day from time to time?
When I was IFing, I would have a few days once a month (ahem...) where I was actually hungry in the am and I would just push through with water, coffee or tea. When my little bro moved backed to town we would have an early Sunday morning brunch once a month or so (I have never let a "diet" interfere with family fun - one day isn't going to hurt). I just thought my body got used to IF eventually. Maybe that was an unintentional recharge day?
Well, celebrations and special time with friends and family I can see breaking IF for. But then, I'm a Southerner and we celebrate everything with food. XD So unintentional recharge days would happen and I can totally see that. I just don't get the logic of planning for it.0 -
bruhaha007 wrote: »Dr Mercola interviewing Dr Varady does a very nice job explaining IF and she backs it with studieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzkVmXe9NMU
Dr. Mercola...
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