Intermittent Fasting
Blubberbuster1
Posts: 265 Member
Hey there,
Has any one else tried Intermittent Fasting?
I started my weight loss on January 18, I dropped a lot the first month, and got stuck at the same weight for the next month till mid March.
So last week Monday I started my first Intermittent Fasting at a ratio of 16:8hrs (16 hours fast: 8 hours feed)
I would skip breakfast and lunch and start my first meal when I get home at 4:30pm.
It was pretty good, until mid week when I upped it a bit and started 20:4!
This is where I noticed a heck of allot of changes. I shredded through my plateau with moderately healthy/clean eating and dropped 6lb in one week.
In 10 weeks I have dropped 26.2lbs
Has any one else tried Intermittent Fasting?
I started my weight loss on January 18, I dropped a lot the first month, and got stuck at the same weight for the next month till mid March.
So last week Monday I started my first Intermittent Fasting at a ratio of 16:8hrs (16 hours fast: 8 hours feed)
I would skip breakfast and lunch and start my first meal when I get home at 4:30pm.
It was pretty good, until mid week when I upped it a bit and started 20:4!
This is where I noticed a heck of allot of changes. I shredded through my plateau with moderately healthy/clean eating and dropped 6lb in one week.
In 10 weeks I have dropped 26.2lbs
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Replies
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Wow. what are your stats? I have hit a plateau and have been toying with trying this. when did you eat on your 20:4 timing?0
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Amen Brotha! I used IF for a while, Just to throw it out there for anyone else "IF" should be used as a tool to implement in weight loss. I'd push breakfast to 1pm then a solid evening meal & 5pm. It's also an effective weight stalling breaker.0
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Congratulations on the weight loss.
I've used a few different fasting protocols when in weight loss, maintenance, and bulking. I naturally seem to slip into a 14:10 routine but I mix things up occasionally (usually base on family commitments). I like the simplicity that fasting gives me - and also the larger evening meals go down well.
I've tried a couple of 24hrs fasts, just for the hell of it and enjoyed them.
One thing is, I carried on calorie and macro counting all the time. I think that some people can struggle to eat enough when fasting and others can use it as an excuse to eat too much in that eating window.
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Amen Brotha! I used IF for a while, Just to throw it out there for anyone else "IF" should be used as a tool to implement in weight loss. I'd push breakfast to 1pm then a solid evening meal & 5pm. It's also an effective weight stalling breaker.
Should be used: Nope. Can be used: Yep.
For me, I see it as one of the many tools in my weight/health toolkit. When and how often i use it depends upon my goals at the time (although it is an old favourite of mine) but others may choose not to use it at all and still have massive success.0 -
so if i ate breakfast which is a couple eggs and 30g of whey in water then nothing until dinner and eat a normal dinner, does that "count" as a IF or is that just calorie deficit? I guess i mean ultimately, what defines IF?0
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Tomk652015 wrote: »Wow. what are your stats? I have hit a plateau and have been toying with trying this. when did you eat on your 20:4 timing?
May I add, one of the first places you could consider looking if you have hit a plateau is your diet, personally for me things like diary cheese etc had to be eliminated, another thing was to re-introduce carbohydrates for 24 hour period as I'm following a "low carb" plan. After that things began to normalize. And just to mention .. I was in "IF" when I stalled. Instead of two bigger meals a day I started to eat 3 regular size portions a day to replenish my metabolism and get it moving. It's one of the reasons why I mentioned to use "IF" as a tool and not for such a prolonged peroid of time, hope this helps
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Tomk652015 wrote: »Wow. what are your stats? I have hit a plateau and have been toying with trying this. when did you eat on your 20:4 timing?
I'm 6'3 and I'm at 268.8lb, big built, most people would guess me at 240lb.
Played rugby since age 8 and been lifting weights for 6 years on and off.
Feed
@ 4:00pm - 8:00pm (4 hours)
1 big meal at 4 and little healthy snacks till about 6, only if i was hungry would I eat something after that.
So really its more like 2 hour feeding window but i leave an extra 2 hours open in case I needed it.
Fast
@ 8pm - 4:00pm (20 hours)
All I can say is I drink a lot of water and 2 cups of coffee black no sugar and I chew on gum.
I leave my debit card at home, and keep no change, this way I'm forced to not give in while at work.1 -
This tool for me keeps me strict, and I don't need to meal prep breakfast lunch and dinner for 4 days.
I will do this for as long as it takes to get to my goal weight, then worry about adding the muscle. What's the point of having all that's hidden underneath layers of fat, I'm doing a different approach this time. I will worry about adding the muscle at the end of my cut.
Here is a good article I've found as well.
http://www.fitnessunderoath.com/the-five-stages-of-intermittent-fasting/
Also look at Martin Berkhan's leangains website who perfected the art of intermittent fasting.0 -
thanks Bud! I'll check out the recommended articles.0
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Amen Brotha! I used IF for a while, Just to throw it out there for anyone else "IF" should be used as a tool to implement in weight loss. I'd push breakfast to 1pm then a solid evening meal & 5pm. It's also an effective weight stalling breaker.
Unreal weight stalling breaker for sure. If 16:8 don't work for one week, do 20:4, if that don't help, do 22:2.
It all depends on what % of what you are at.0 -
Today is my first day starting it. However, I haven't decided exactly what hours I will make my feeding time. I want it for the evening for sure. And I will be drinking my coffee, because I don't know how I would get through my day without it plus I read that it is an appetite suppressant.0
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Today is my first day starting it. However, I haven't decided exactly what hours I will make my feeding time. I want it for the evening for sure. And I will be drinking my coffee, because I don't know how I would get through my day without it plus I read that it is an appetite suppressant.
Rest assured "IF" is dynamic. So whatever works for you!0 -
Above all, CICO rules. IF may help some to achieve that but you know that IF is not some sort of magic that in itself helps you to lose weight?
It is just a method of eating which can be used to lose, hold, or gain weight. You could quite easily gain weight whilst on 16:8, 20:4 and possibly even 22:2.
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Today is my first day starting it. However, I haven't decided exactly what hours I will make my feeding time. I want it for the evening for sure. And I will be drinking my coffee, because I don't know how I would get through my day without it plus I read that it is an appetite suppressant.
Exactly what Jacob said.
You don't have to jump into anything extreme off the start, you can always adjust.
I was off coffee for 8 weeks, then started drinking it for the meal suppressant. The gum helped too!
Let me know how your first week went.
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StealthHealth wrote: »Above all, CICO rules. IF may help some to achieve that but you know that IF is not some sort of magic that in itself helps you to lose weight?
It is just a method of eating which can be used to lose, hold, or gain weight. You could quite easily gain weight whilst on 16:8, 20:4 and possibly even 22:2.
Of course.
IF mixed with IIFYM is effective for lose, maintain, gain, just like eating 6 meals a day with IIFYM is effective.
I'm not using it as magic. I'm using it for how strict it keep me, and how it fits my schedule.
And the fact that the past weeks results has been great for me, so I will continue to go about it till I need to adjust again.0 -
Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?0
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StealthHealth wrote: »Above all, CICO rules. IF may help some to achieve that but you know that IF is not some sort of magic that in itself helps you to lose weight?
It is just a method of eating which can be used to lose, hold, or gain weight. You could quite easily gain weight whilst on 16:8, 20:4 and possibly even 22:2.
from my experince using IF helped alot but prolonged peroid of a fasted state with lower amounts of fat then i should be getting put my body into fight or flight mode, so my body said "heck I'm not getting any fat & I'm stressed out so I'll just hold onto this body fat" Becuase fat is a survival gland. That's why it's a tool. And not a weight loss program. Unfortunately my lifestyle at the time hindered me to get enough fat and eat on time I regulated in IF. That's why you can gain or hold weight on IF. So I make sure when using IF to get sufficient amounts of fat "if your on a low carb plan" and eat when i should to avoid any mishaps.0 -
Tomk652015 wrote: »Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?
That is not the intention for Berkhan's IF protocol but can be achived if desired. To safely run IF you should be counting calories to ensure you are neither eating too many or too few calories with respect to your goal.0 -
Tomk652015 wrote: »Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?
Nope, the intent is to get all the calories/carbs/fats/protein that myfitnesspal suggests you to eat in the feed window (4 hours).
I eat 2000 Calories in 4 hours.0 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Tomk652015 wrote: »Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?
That is not the intention for Berkhan's IF protocol but can be achived if desired. To safely run IF you should be counting calories to ensure you are neither eating too many or too few calories with respect to your goal.
so if you fast for a prolonged period but then consume the same calorie goal for weight loss, whats the point of it?0 -
It is not all that dramatic. I eat the calories the MFP set for me.Tomk652015 wrote: »Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?
Most days my first meal is around 6:00 pm. I have a large snack around 9:00 pm.
This goes with my natural rhythms and work schedule as I hate eating when I first wake up and have no time to eat lunch during the work day.
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Tomk652015 wrote: »StealthHealth wrote: »Tomk652015 wrote: »Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?
That is not the intention for Berkhan's IF protocol but can be achived if desired. To safely run IF you should be counting calories to ensure you are neither eating too many or too few calories with respect to your goal.
so if you fast for a prolonged period but then consume the same calorie goal for weight loss, whats the point of it?
It helps some people with compliance. If you're on (example) 1800 calories, then you can have fun with those in a 8 hour window. Eathing the same over a 14 hour window (8am til 10pm in 3 meals and 3 snacks makes for 3 x 400 cals meals, and 3 x 200 cals snacks) can feel like less food. But hey, it's not for everyone.0 -
Here is a group. They do various versions:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting
5:2
16:80 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Above all, CICO rules. IF may help some to achieve that but you know that IF is not some sort of magic that in itself helps you to lose weight?
It is just a method of eating which can be used to lose, hold, or gain weight. You could quite easily gain weight whilst on 16:8, 20:4 and possibly even 22:2.
Of course.
IF mixed with IIFYM is effective for lose, maintain, gain, just like eating 6 meals a day with IIFYM is effective.
I'm not using it as magic. I'm using it for how strict it keep me, and how it fits my schedule.
And the fact that the past weeks results has been great for me, so I will continue to go about it till I need to adjust again.
I Agree IF is a great for disicplining yourself. This "IF Post" actually motivated me to implement IF again! I think I'll start tommorow for a few weeks!0 -
Tomk652015 wrote: »StealthHealth wrote: »Tomk652015 wrote: »Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?
That is not the intention for Berkhan's IF protocol but can be achived if desired. To safely run IF you should be counting calories to ensure you are neither eating too many or too few calories with respect to your goal.
so if you fast for a prolonged period but then consume the same calorie goal for weight loss, whats the point of it?
This is a good question, this is the exact point as to why it is not magic. It is for ease of schedule and its keeps your eating strict. (for most people I've read about who are doing this).
This is how i see it.
If you are in a deficit, you will lose weight.
If you are in a deficit and eating the exact amount myfitnesspal or iifym suggest you eat along with a 20hr period of fasting, your body take what it needs when you feed it, and will burn STORED FAT when it took what it needs and can't find no more.0 -
Tomk652015 wrote: »Ultimately the intent is a rather dramatic calorie deficit here right? Not like you fast for 20 hours then eat 3000 calories and hope to lose weight?!? What is your calorie intake for the fasting days ?
Yea bro! You always eat in a calorie deficit ( to lose weight ) regardless of what "diet or plan" your following. It's Dynamic so you can choose how far up you push breakfast, ( don't miss breakfast ) if your considering it start moderately. first meal would at 1pm ( if it suits you ) that's why it's dynamic! You tailor it to your lifestyle ! 0 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Above all, CICO rules. IF may help some to achieve that but you know that IF is not some sort of magic that in itself helps you to lose weight?
It is just a method of eating which can be used to lose, hold, or gain weight. You could quite easily gain weight whilst on 16:8, 20:4 and possibly even 22:2.
Of course.
IF mixed with IIFYM is effective for lose, maintain, gain, just like eating 6 meals a day with IIFYM is effective.
I'm not using it as magic. I'm using it for how strict it keep me, and how it fits my schedule.
And the fact that the past weeks results has been great for me, so I will continue to go about it till I need to adjust again.
I Agree IF is a great for disicplining yourself. This "IF Post" actually motivated me to implement IF again! I think I'll start tommorow for a few weeks!
I don't think I will ever go back to eating the way the Rice Crispy, Lucky Charm, etc industry wants you to believe is correct.0 -
so it doesn't make sense to me that the OP would suddenly lose 6lbs in week when consuming the same calories that he was before fasting. *not doubting his claims* It seems to be contrary to the "meal timing doesn't matter claims" and CICO theory.0
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StealthHealth wrote: »Above all, CICO rules. IF may help some to achieve that but you know that IF is not some sort of magic that in itself helps you to lose weight?
It is just a method of eating which can be used to lose, hold, or gain weight. You could quite easily gain weight whilst on 16:8, 20:4 and possibly even 22:2.
from my experince using IF helped alot but prolonged peroid of a fasted state with lower amounts of fat then i should be getting put my body into fight or flight mode, so my body said "heck I'm not getting any fat & I'm stressed out so I'll just hold onto this body fat" Becuase fat is a survival gland. That's why it's a tool. And not a weight loss program. Unfortunately my lifestyle at the time hindered me to get enough fat and eat on time I regulated in IF. That's why you can gain or hold weight on IF. So I make sure when using IF to get sufficient amounts of fat "if your on a low carb plan" and eat when i should to avoid any mishaps.
I'm struggling to get what you are saying here but I think you might be saying "I ate too little fat whilst on IF and failed to lose the weight because of some biological "break" which prevents fat loss". I'm hesitant to put words in your mouth lest I get accused of creating "Straw Man" but if I've accurately described your thoughts - You're wrong. As Robert Sapolsky stated in "Why Zebra's Don't Get Ulcers" that fight or flight stress response is very short term. Additionally, look up the Minnesota starvation experiment for details on the myth of starvation mode.
I agree that it is a tool that some find useful (in fact I stated that in my first post in this thread) and that you can gain on IF - but not because of low, medium or high fat but because of high calories.0 -
Tomk652015 wrote: »so it doesn't make sense to me that the OP would suddenly lose 6lbs in week when consuming the same calories that he was before fasting. *not doubting his claims* It seems to be contrary to the "meal timing doesn't matter claims" and CICO theory.
I was just like you 2 weeks ago, it took me a week to research and see what people had to say.
Just try it for a week my friend. Create your own results.0
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