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Unintentional intermittent fast.

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BT_rescuemom
BT_rescuemom Posts: 284 Member
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Too busy at work today to eat lunch. Normally I would be dying of hunger but I'm kinda ok with not eating lunch. My blood sugar thanks me I'm sure.

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  • Cadori
    Cadori Posts: 4,810 Member
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    That's how I started. Accidentally skipped breakfast one day...realized, hey, it's been 16 hours since I ate...awesome! :lol: Now I do 16/8 IF M-F.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
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    I do IF most days, eating breakfast has me eating all day, do IF and suddenly I am in control and not hungry/starving. I am happier with a larger lunch and a yummy dinner.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    I feel much better overall when I stick to about a 16/8 routine. Many times it easily goes to 18/6...
    I have the same issue as @Bonny132 with the eating all day if I eat breakfast. I had started eating breakfast because I started lifting weights and was hungrier. I figured I could eat more. I'm sure that's true, but I ended up eating all day long or feeling like I was hungry all day and trying to just have a nibble of little things just to make it to the next meal.
    I just did a 21 hour fast to sort of "reset" my fasting habit and I am doing 16/8 today with no problem.
    Back on track now I think! It feels much better as far as hunger control goes. Which seems totally backward, but is so true!
  • BT_rescuemom
    BT_rescuemom Posts: 284 Member
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    How about IF but still having BPC in the morning? For example, BPC, then not eating until dinner. I suppose I would need to almost eat two meals in the evening to not be way under calories.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    BT_rescuemom wrote: »
    How about IF but still having BPC in the morning? For example, BPC, then not eating until dinner. I suppose I would need to almost eat two meals in the evening to not be way under calories.

    I have BPC when I'm fasting. It's true it's not technically a fast, but it makes it possible for me to go that long so it's totally worth it if you need to do it.
    Basically, the closer to a water fast you get, the better.
    So if you can have a "true" BPC that's only coconut oil or mct oil and with or without butter, but skip sweetener and cream, that's the closest to water fasting you'll get while actually consuming some calories to help you get through it. Use as little as needed to keep you on course. No need to add multiple tablespoons of CO and butter just because the official recipe says to. Use as little as you can get away with.
    If not having cream or sweetener would cause you not to do it at all, then use them.

    You can eat lunch and dinner and just skip breakfast.
    Say dinner was at 6:30. If you don't eat again til 10:30 the next day, there's your 16 hour fast.
    If you can go longer, that's fine too.
    Some nights I have tea or coffee with cream and some cheese or other snack after dinner about 9pm. Then I usually don't eat til 2 or 3. So I get 18 or 19 hours that way. I actually go 18 hours more than anything.
  • BT_rescuemom
    BT_rescuemom Posts: 284 Member
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    This all sounds great. I'm going to go with BPC minus cream (so butter, CO) for breakfast for a while and see how it goes, try to eat dinner as early as possible
  • collegefbfan
    collegefbfan Posts: 346 Member
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    I fasted last week. Ate supper Wednesday night. Didn't eat supper again until Thursday night. 24 hours. I actually got my daily goal 12,000 steps in that day also. I didn't get hungry. I was thinking about doing it once a week. Not sure if I could.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    collegefbfan wrote: »
    I fasted last week. Ate supper Wednesday night. Didn't eat supper again until Thursday night. 24 hours. I actually got my daily goal 12,000 steps in that day also. I didn't get hungry. I was thinking about doing it once a week. Not sure if I could.

    If you can even do a 16 hour fast, it's very beneficial. But it's certainly not necessary.
    If you can do it fairly naturally, that really helps. And I think it's a huge help for fake hungries. I don't know why, but for me, it keeps my appetite in check!
  • BT_rescuemom
    BT_rescuemom Posts: 284 Member
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    So I basically went 11 hours without eating today. I was amazed at how energetic and good I felt! I think I would like to try a more extended fast sometime in the near future (if not pregnant). I love this feeling of freedom from hunger. Food no longer controls me, I control when and what I eat.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,370 Member
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    BT_rescuemom wrote: »
    So I basically went 11 hours without eating today. I was amazed at how energetic and good I felt! I think I would like to try a more extended fast sometime in the near future (if not pregnant). I love this feeling of freedom from hunger. Food no longer controls me, I control when and what I eat.

    Congrats! It's a great feeling isn't it?

    I do IF weekdays, using only Truvia in my coffee in the mornings and not eating between 8pm and noon. I would do it on weekends as well but Saturday is usually breakfast with the grand kids and Sunday is breakfast with my family (dad, sister, her kids, my wife and daughter). I just stay keto on those 2 days.

    I also have the issue with eating breakfast - that leads to eating lunch, which leads to eating snacks, which leads to eating more, etc. Weekends take a lot of control to not overeat!
  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
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    I have gone to a regular 16/8 schedule over the last couple of weeks. Amazing given I used to just starving for breakfast before the WOE. Now, I plan to have lunch about 6 1/2 hours after I get up but often get distracted to the point that I end up more of a 17/7 or even 18/6 fast.

    My wife was concerned when I started doing this, but then she noticed I am never "hangry" like I used to be if I went more than just a couple hours without eating, so she has decided it must work for me.

    My only challenge is trying to get enough calories on some days. I don't do BPC. I do have black coffee in the morning, but I hate hot drinks, so I ice it - no sweetener, cream, or anything added.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    I find that nuts are amazing for getting in those extra calories when needed.
  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
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    tcunbeliever wrote: »
    I find that nuts are amazing for getting in those extra calories when needed.

    That is how I added some last night actually. Almonds, pecans and walnuts are all good for this. On a TMI note, they also seem to help if things get backed up, if you know what I mean.
  • Foamroller
    Foamroller Posts: 1,041 Member
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    OP, congrats on the freedom from feeding:) It's a wonderful feeling to NOT be hangry. Over the past 2 yrs I've experimented a lot with IF, slowly extending my fasting hours. I've tailored IF to my schedule. Making it flexible and easy without too many rules has made it a very sustainable lifestyle for me. Good luck!
  • BT_rescuemom
    BT_rescuemom Posts: 284 Member
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    Foamroller wrote: »
    OP, congrats on the freedom from feeding:) It's a wonderful feeling to NOT be hangry. Over the past 2 yrs I've experimented a lot with IF, slowly extending my fasting hours. I've tailored IF to my schedule. Making it flexible and easy without too many rules has made it a very sustainable lifestyle for me. Good luck!

    Freedom from feeding is a great feeling.
  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,757 Member
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    BT_rescuemom wrote: »
    Foamroller wrote: »
    OP, congrats on the freedom from feeding:) It's a wonderful feeling to NOT be hangry. Over the past 2 yrs I've experimented a lot with IF, slowly extending my fasting hours. I've tailored IF to my schedule. Making it flexible and easy without too many rules has made it a very sustainable lifestyle for me. Good luck!

    Freedom from feeding is a great feeling.

    ^^^^ A thousand times. I am just naturally fasting between 14-16 hrs. daily now. I had one day that was only 13. I love the feeling of control. The hardest part is getting in the calories/macro% when you aren't hungry all the time. Fat bombs and nuts are my friends for doing that. And yea for cauliflower crust pizzas o:)
  • Catawampous
    Catawampous Posts: 447 Member
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    OMG I envy you guys so much. I can not do this. It leads to binging for me :(. Perfect example is today. I forgot to make breakfast this morning and I had to go to work. So I went from 6PM last night to noon today without any food. Now my body was fine. My brain ... was not. By the time I got home my brain was in full "screw me up territory". I DID manage to stop it and ate a good lunch and dinner but WOW was it hard.
  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
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    Catawampous wrote: »
    OMG I envy you guys so much. I can not do this. It leads to binging for me :(. Perfect example is today. I forgot to make breakfast this morning and I had to go to work. So I went from 6PM last night to noon today without any food. Now my body was fine. My brain ... was not. By the time I got home my brain was in full "screw me up territory". I DID manage to stop it and ate a good lunch and dinner but WOW was it hard.

    It gets easier. You are right that it is a mental thing and not a physical thing. I found that skipping breakfast became very easy and the thought of eating breakfast just made me think about why I didn't want to slow down for it.

    My schedule is a bit messed up this week as I am in Barranquilla, Colombia on a mission trip, so my schedule and my food options are not completely my own. So far, so good. I have stayed under 40 carbs the last two days - not the under 20 I normally am. Today, it was easier to eat breakfast and a hearty lunch and skip dinner. Worked out fine. Not hungry at all as I prepare to go to bed - early start tomorrow morning.

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