One meal a day and fasting for 20 hours
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There is a pretty active Group here on MFP that has info and ideas and discussion about this.
OneMealADay Revolution. Here's the link to read and/or join:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/20634-omad-revolution
*edit to add (once I actually read the OP, she's doing more like Intermittent Fasting, which is how I've eaten for years.)
Oh well, I've been wrong before. I'm leaving the link. There are several IF Groups too. Someone else can worry about those links
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I find the same thing. When I eat a couple hundred calories every few hours I'm always looking for the next meal and constantly hungry. With 2 meals a day I'm not craving and I can stay within my deficit.elisa123gal wrote: »I've been doing 16 hours of fasting with an 8 hour window of eating every day. I can't see myself ever fasting for a day or longer periods of time.... but there are several fasting patters or i.e.: eating patters going on out there.
For the past two weeks.. I've been simply skipping breakfast and eating from 12:30- 8:30 ... It has been interesting... a few observations..
once I eat. I have no cravings.. I eat less..I've actually naturally cut portions in half and leave food on the plate when I never ever did that before in my life. This eating breakfast nonsense to keep from binging later is actually all wrong.. eating breakfast just keeps me thinking and wanting food all day long.
- exercise. I did it on the last hour of my fast..expecting to most likely feel faint and weak. Nope..totally absolutely fine...when before when I ate all day.. I had regular trouble with maintaining my blood sugar during hour long cardio workouts.
It is pretty bizarre .. and great.. it isn't magic... some think they can stuff their faces during the eating window.. but I don't do that.. and yes.. i can tell i'm losing weight.
This is exactly how I felt too. I was eating three smaller meals and three snacks....never ever felt full and was thinking about food all day long. I would tailor my day so I could eat right up until bedtime and I would wake up starving. I never stopped being hungry!
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I eat 1-2 snacks (usually pre-workout high fiber muffin and dessert after supper with 1 meal (supper) from 4:30pm -10:30pm, but I do have half-half in my coffee when I wake up so that could be breaking my fast sooner.
What are your stats (height, current weight, goal weight, age, activity level not counting exercise)? What about exercise? You may be shooting too low calorie wise.rinigirl76 wrote: »I eat between 1000-1200 calories .. have my 4 hour window open at 2:40 pm
Why do you stop eating at 6:40? Do you go to bed at 7 or do you have sleep disturbances/reflux if you eat too close to bed time?2 -
I find the same thing. When I eat a couple hundred calories every few hours I'm always looking for the next meal and constantly hungry. With 2 meals a day I'm not craving and I can stay within my deficit.elisa123gal wrote: »I've been doing 16 hours of fasting with an 8 hour window of eating every day. I can't see myself ever fasting for a day or longer periods of time.... but there are several fasting patters or i.e.: eating patters going on out there.
For the past two weeks.. I've been simply skipping breakfast and eating from 12:30- 8:30 ... It has been interesting... a few observations..
once I eat. I have no cravings.. I eat less..I've actually naturally cut portions in half and leave food on the plate when I never ever did that before in my life. This eating breakfast nonsense to keep from binging later is actually all wrong.. eating breakfast just keeps me thinking and wanting food all day long.
- exercise. I did it on the last hour of my fast..expecting to most likely feel faint and weak. Nope..totally absolutely fine...when before when I ate all day.. I had regular trouble with maintaining my blood sugar during hour long cardio workouts.
It is pretty bizarre .. and great.. it isn't magic... some think they can stuff their faces during the eating window.. but I don't do that.. and yes.. i can tell i'm losing weight.
This is exactly how I felt too. I was eating three smaller meals and three snacks....never ever felt full and was thinking about food all day long. I would tailor my day so I could eat right up until bedtime and I would wake up starving. I never stopped being hungry!
I never even tried to do this; I knew it wouldn't work for me and would drive me crazy. But some like it, so people are different.0 -
If it works for you, you do you. I just hope it's sustainable for life.
I like food, I like eating. I do it every day, and I eat things I like. You could call over 100lbs "shrinking", too.2 -
I have an 8 hour window, but I tend to graze during it, and generally eat 4-5 smallish meals/snacks during that time. I only do the big meal thing on holidays.0
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cerise_noir wrote: »I eat 1-2 snacks (usually pre-workout high fiber muffin and dessert after supper with 1 meal (supper) from 4:30pm -10:30pm, but I do have half-half in my coffee when I wake up so that could be breaking my fast sooner.
What are your stats (height, current weight, goal weight, age, activity level not counting exercise)? What about exercise? You may be shooting too low calorie wise.rinigirl76 wrote: »I eat between 1000-1200 calories .. have my 4 hour window open at 2:40 pm
Why do you stop eating at 6:40? Do you go to bed at 7 or do you have sleep disturbances/reflux if you eat too close to bed time?
I got to bed around 10 pm ..
I exercise and walk about 10,000 steps a day.. its just at 1000-1200 calories because.. My fitness pal is saying I need that now to lose weight.. I am 5'4 222lbs.
no trouble sleeping I wake up around 1 am usually to go tinkle and sleep straight to 6am during the week.. this is the first weekend (sleeping in till 8am hopefully) I am doing the OMAD.. so lord help me ! no breakfast and no panda express for lunch
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rinigirl76 wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »I eat 1-2 snacks (usually pre-workout high fiber muffin and dessert after supper with 1 meal (supper) from 4:30pm -10:30pm, but I do have half-half in my coffee when I wake up so that could be breaking my fast sooner.
What are your stats (height, current weight, goal weight, age, activity level not counting exercise)? What about exercise? You may be shooting too low calorie wise.rinigirl76 wrote: »I eat between 1000-1200 calories .. have my 4 hour window open at 2:40 pm
Why do you stop eating at 6:40? Do you go to bed at 7 or do you have sleep disturbances/reflux if you eat too close to bed time?
I got to bed around 10 pm ..
I exercise and walk about 10,000 steps a day.. its just at 1000-1200 calories because.. My fitness pal is saying I need that now to lose weight.. I am 5'4 222lbs.
no trouble sleeping I wake up around 1 am usually to go tinkle and sleep straight to 6am during the week.. this is the first weekend (sleeping in till 8am hopefully) I am doing the OMAD.. so lord help me ! no breakfast and no panda express for lunch
MFP gives you 1200 (before exercise) based on "I want to lose xx pounds per week." Bring your weekly goal down to 1.5 pounds per week & your daily calories would increase.
1200 is before exercise, because some people can't do it. If you logged your exercise in MFP, or had an activity tracker synced to MFP you would "earn" more calories.0 -
Some days I can easily go from 5pm to 11am or noonish so around 18-19hrs.
Other days I wake up needing breakfast. I could have something to do with my zig zagging my caloires.
But I'm consistent at cutting off eating at 5pm. I have no idea why but having a cutoff time on eating seems to stop the snacking.1 -
I wouldn't be able to do that. I can't even skip breakfast without feeling nauseous from hunger. I saw this week when I had to fast for blood tests.
I sat in the restaurant and I guess my blood sugar/pressure dropped really quickly, and I felt really nauseous from hunger. The waitress came over to ask me if I was alright because I turned pale. Lol! I'll stick to my 3 meals and 1 snack.
If it works for you, great! Just make sure you get adequate nutrition. 0 -
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rinigirl76 wrote: »Is anyone else doing this? I have my coffee with stevia and half and half then drink water ( 64 oz a day) till I want a diet dr. pepper .. and wait for 2:40pm to come around so I can eat my snack.. then eat dinner around 4:30-5:30 pm ish.
I have more energy and see my stomach shrinking!
I have done this in the past, unintentionally, and it worked very well to lose weight and I also slept better at night. I had a cup of juice in the morning, then ate around 5pm (a huuuuge meal) then -sometimes- had a snack around 9pm (I usually was up until about 1am, got up at 8am)1 -
I love IF as well, but I do 16/8. I tried Fast 5 (19/5) and that worked well for me for a while. But honestly, after some months of it, I got burned out and stopped. I'm female, and I have read that the longer fasting times can be more difficult for us. Now with 16/8 I feel it's much more sustainable for me. It's hardly any work at all to wait until 1pm to eat. I've been at it for 3.5 months now, along with logging, and losing fairly steadily. I'll likely eat this way forever.
So anyway, if you continue on 20/4 and start to feel like you can't keep going, don't give up on IF, but try another method. Good luck!!1 -
rinigirl76 wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »I eat 1-2 snacks (usually pre-workout high fiber muffin and dessert after supper with 1 meal (supper) from 4:30pm -10:30pm, but I do have half-half in my coffee when I wake up so that could be breaking my fast sooner.
What are your stats (height, current weight, goal weight, age, activity level not counting exercise)? What about exercise? You may be shooting too low calorie wise.rinigirl76 wrote: »I eat between 1000-1200 calories .. have my 4 hour window open at 2:40 pm
Why do you stop eating at 6:40? Do you go to bed at 7 or do you have sleep disturbances/reflux if you eat too close to bed time?
I got to bed around 10 pm ..
I exercise and walk about 10,000 steps a day.. its just at 1000-1200 calories because.. My fitness pal is saying I need that now to lose weight.. I am 5'4 222lbs.
no trouble sleeping I wake up around 1 am usually to go tinkle and sleep straight to 6am during the week.. this is the first weekend (sleeping in till 8am hopefully) I am doing the OMAD.. so lord help me ! no breakfast and no panda express for lunch
There is no reason why you shouldn't eat up until 9:30-10pm... The "don't eat after 7pm" thing is just one of those diet myths. Also, at 222lbs with 10000 steps a day, I find it hard to believe that mfp is giving you 1000-1200 calories unless you told mfp you are sedentary, which you aren't.
I am 5'4" 34 and 170lbs and MFP gives me 1200 calories for 1lb per week loss at sedentary.
You should be eating 1200 net calories at least.3 -
This is me. I eat a small lunch around 1, then dinner at 7. No other meals/snacks scheduled other than coffee in the AM. It's working well 0
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I do this by accident. Is this why I lose weight more easily than some people? lol. I ate a LOT but only once per day pretty much for the last 3-4 days and I'm down 3.4lbs lol let it be noted one day I didnt eat at all and some might be extra water weight I was holding but even if I lost half of that in 3-4 days that's a lot. Maybe this contributes to it?0
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To those of you that do 16/8 do you limit fluids also in the morning, such as milk/cream in your coffee/tea?0
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I eat similarly. I have black coffee and water until around 2pm when I have a protein shake or bar, then a large dinner around 6, and usually a snack just before bed. It works for me and I hit my nutritional goals easily eating this way.1
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Christine_72 wrote: »To those of you that do 16/8 do you limit fluids also in the morning, such as milk/cream in your coffee/tea?
I put heavy cream in my coffee (zero carbs), and I count the calories but don't count it as a true "meal".
On the other hand, if I put in half and half it messes with my insulin and hunger but not the heavy cream. (I dislike coffee black.) I did attempt to drink it black for a short while but did not enjoy it at all.1 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »My personal issue with that would be protein. Eating 70-120 grams of protein in one meal would be extremely hard for me. It would make me gag. I wonder how those who do it handle that.
My afternoon shake has 32 grams of protein and I usually have meat and salad for dinner. I haven't struggled to meet calorie or macro goals.
Personally I was always confused by people who eat several small meals all day. When I tried it I was never satisfied, always hungry, and couldnt stay in goal because I went over trying to feel satisfied.
To each their own I guess3 -
I put soy milk and agave in my coffee. I'm not doing IF on purpose just normal for me not to want breakfast on some days. It does not make me hungry.0
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Christine_72 wrote: »To those of you that do 16/8 do you limit fluids also in the morning, such as milk/cream in your coffee/tea?
I put heavy cream in my coffee (zero carbs), and I count the calories but don't count it as a true "meal".
On the other hand, if I put in half and half it messes with my insulin and hunger but not the heavy cream. (I dislike coffee black.) I did attempt to drink it black for a short while but did not enjoy it at all.
I could easily hold out til 12-1pm before eating anything, but this is only because i drink tea with milk all morning which keeps me full, but the milk totals 270 calories all up. I would love to swap to real cream, but the calories would drown me lol
Also, i cant just have 1-2 cups of tea or coffee in the a.m like normal people, i have a cup of tea constantly by side all morning, and swap to water once my 'ration' of milk runs out. I wish i could handle tea/coffee black, but blaaahhh can't do it.0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »My personal issue with that would be protein. Eating 70-120 grams of protein in one meal would be extremely hard for me. It would make me gag. I wonder how those who do it handle that.
My afternoon shake has 32 grams of protein and I usually have meat and salad for dinner. I haven't struggled to meet calorie or macro goals.
Personally I was always confused by people who eat several small meals all day. When I tried it I was never satisfied, always hungry, and couldnt stay in goal because I went over trying to feel satisfied.
To each their own I guess
That sounds more doable. I have days where I skip meals and I often eat within an 8 hour window without trying because I stop usually eating early, I always have. I also sometimes do the single meal a day thing when I have a dinner out or have a fast day, and on those days I don't stress about protein. Generally, I have a varying appetite and just eat when I'm hungry and don't when I'm not, which could mean anywhere between grazing all day and having one meal a day. It's just that all the protein in one meal sounds more intimidating than all the protein within a certain eating window, which is more doable once you spread it out like you do. My question was meant specifically for those who only eat one meal and nothing else. Do you really eat 15 oz of chicken?
No judgements of course, it just feels unappealing to me because I tend to think of major sources of protein as inferior in taste to other foods, so having a very large portion makes the meal unpleasant. Imagine a thick crust pizza margarita with only a spoonful of cheese, yes it's technically pizza which is supposed to taste technically good, but the ratios are all wrong making it unpleasant and feels like it's not worth the calories if you know what I mean.0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »My personal issue with that would be protein. Eating 70-120 grams of protein in one meal would be extremely hard for me. It would make me gag. I wonder how those who do it handle that.
My afternoon shake has 32 grams of protein and I usually have meat and salad for dinner. I haven't struggled to meet calorie or macro goals.
Personally I was always confused by people who eat several small meals all day. When I tried it I was never satisfied, always hungry, and couldnt stay in goal because I went over trying to feel satisfied.
To each their own I guess
That sounds more doable. I have days where I skip meals and I often eat within an 8 hour window without trying because I stop usually eating early, I always have. I also sometimes do the single meal a day thing when I have a dinner out or have a fast day, and on those days I don't stress about protein. Generally, I have a varying appetite and just eat when I'm hungry and don't when I'm not, which could mean anywhere between grazing all day and having one meal a day. It's just that all the protein in one meal sounds more intimidating than all the protein within a certain eating window, which is more doable once you spread it out like you do. My question was meant specifically for those who only eat one meal and nothing else. Do you really eat 20 oz of chicken?
No judgements of course, it just feels unappealing to me because I tend to think of major sources of protein as inferior in taste to other foods, so having a very large portion makes the meal unpleasant. Imagine a thick crust pizza margarita with only a spoonful of cheese, yes it's technically pizza which is supposed to taste technically good, but the ratios are all wrong making it unpleasant and feels like it's not worth the calories if you know what I mean.
I'm allergic to wheat and before I found a lot of the alternative foods I got used to eating mostly meat, eggs, yogurt, cheese, and veggie. I eat other stuff now but after years its just habit eating that way most of the time. I usually eat about 8oz of chicken, or other main protein source at dinner. 8oz of chicken breast can have close to 70g protein. I dont need to eat 20oz. Im not sure where that figure came from.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/519259-what-foods-would-give-30-grams-of-protein/0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »To those of you that do 16/8 do you limit fluids also in the morning, such as milk/cream in your coffee/tea?
I put heavy cream in my coffee (zero carbs), and I count the calories but don't count it as a true "meal".
On the other hand, if I put in half and half it messes with my insulin and hunger but not the heavy cream. (I dislike coffee black.) I did attempt to drink it black for a short while but did not enjoy it at all.
I could easily hold out til 12-1pm before eating anything, but this is only because i drink tea with milk all morning which keeps me full, but the milk totals 270 calories all up. I would love to swap to real cream, but the calories would drown me lol
Also, i cant just have 1-2 cups of tea or coffee in the a.m like normal people, i have a cup of tea constantly by side all morning, and swap to water once my 'ration' of milk runs out. I wish i could handle tea/coffee black, but blaaahhh can't do it.
I did have to cut back to 2 cups of coffee. But that is okay. I would rather have 1 or 2 quality cups of coffee with cream than none at all. I would quit coffee completely if I had to drink it black. I add cinnamon instead of sugar. Yum0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »My personal issue with that would be protein. Eating 70-120 grams of protein in one meal would be extremely hard for me. It would make me gag. I wonder how those who do it handle that.
My afternoon shake has 32 grams of protein and I usually have meat and salad for dinner. I haven't struggled to meet calorie or macro goals.
Personally I was always confused by people who eat several small meals all day. When I tried it I was never satisfied, always hungry, and couldnt stay in goal because I went over trying to feel satisfied.
To each their own I guess
That sounds more doable. I have days where I skip meals and I often eat within an 8 hour window without trying because I stop usually eating early, I always have. I also sometimes do the single meal a day thing when I have a dinner out or have a fast day, and on those days I don't stress about protein. Generally, I have a varying appetite and just eat when I'm hungry and don't when I'm not, which could mean anywhere between grazing all day and having one meal a day. It's just that all the protein in one meal sounds more intimidating than all the protein within a certain eating window, which is more doable once you spread it out like you do. My question was meant specifically for those who only eat one meal and nothing else. Do you really eat 20 oz of chicken?
No judgements of course, it just feels unappealing to me because I tend to think of major sources of protein as inferior in taste to other foods, so having a very large portion makes the meal unpleasant. Imagine a thick crust pizza margarita with only a spoonful of cheese, yes it's technically pizza which is supposed to taste technically good, but the ratios are all wrong making it unpleasant and feels like it's not worth the calories if you know what I mean.
I'm allergic to wheat and before I found a lot of the alternative foods I got used to eating mostly meat, eggs, yogurt, cheese, and veggie. I eat other stuff now but after years its just habit eating that way most of the time. I usually eat about 8oz of chicken, or other main protein source at dinner. 8oz of chicken breast can have close to 70g protein. I dont need to eat 20oz. Im not sure where that figure came from.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/519259-what-foods-would-give-30-grams-of-protein/
Makes sense. I was basing it on the raw weight were 1 lb has 100 or so protein (edited to 15). It doesn't matter though, it's just interesting.0 -
I drink coffee in the morning during my fast.. i read i should keep any cream to under 50 calories of you break the fast.. so that's what I've been doing..using minimal creamer...and keeping it to well under 50 calories.0
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Christine_72 wrote: »To those of you that do 16/8 do you limit fluids also in the morning, such as milk/cream in your coffee/tea?
I'll drink diet soda/water/black tea with 0 calorie sweetener. But that's it before 11am if I'm doing an IF day.0 -
elisa123gal wrote: »I drink coffee in the morning during my fast..i read i should keep any cream to under 50 calories of you break the fast.. so that's what I've been doing..using minimal creamer...and keeping it to well under 50 calories.
This is a very good point. I probably should drop the coffee to 1 cup and creamer down to 50 cals. I might be able to drink coffee plain with only cinnamon, or maybe I should just eliminate coffee. I don't want any hindrance.
I suppose I could simply drink coffee with cream during my 8 hour "window" and simply count the calories as part of my "brunch". The advantage is that I could add more cream. Then I get the coffee and don't break the fast until the 8 hour window arrives. It may take a couple weeks to adjust to the caffeine timing.0 -
I do what has settled into 17/7, your schedule sounds great! I eat a smaller lunch and a larger dinner and some sort of dessert in the evening.
I find that personally as soon as I start eating, my hunger kicks in for the day. When I began just going with this tendency, staying within my calories has been remarkably easy.1
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