Talk to me about Intermittent Fasting...

Ultimate_girl

Thanks for this thread. I just started intermittent fasting and am starting out by attempting two to three 24-hour fasts/week (I'm not working right now, so that makes it easier as I can avoid being around people if I'm hangry!). Yesterday was my first 24-hour day and it was ok...I kept myself busy cleaning, doing yardwork, watching a bit of TV etc. I was hungry, but could tolerate it. From what I understand, I should feel less hungry once my body gets used to fasting a few times each week.

My weight has been stalled for months and I already eat quite healthily and most days somewhere between 1,200-1,500 calories, so I've been at a loss for how to break the plateau.

Anyway, it's good to read about what others are experiencing.

jjpptt2

None of those plans tell you how many cals to eat, and number of cals coming in is the single most important factor in why you will or won't lose weight. I don't care when you eat the cals, how clean they are, etc etc. If calorie counting isn't working for you, then count more closely and/or reduce the number of cals.

You can't avoid cals in vs cals out. You just can't.

But to your question, IF simply dictates when you eat and when you fast. You can still eat a gajillion calories in your feed window and end up gaining weight in a hurry (ask me how I know). Or you can count cals, keep your intake in check, and lose weight. But in that case it's not the eating/fasting that will cause you to lose, it's the overall deficit.

kaotik2003

jjpptt2 wrote: »

None of those plans tell you how many cals to eat, and number of cals coming in is the single most important factor in why you will or won't lose weight. I don't care when you eat the cals, how clean they are, etc etc. If calorie counting isn't working for you, then count more closely and/or reduce the number of cals.

You can't avoid cals in vs cals out. You just can't.

But to your question, IF simply dictates when you eat and when you fast. You can still eat a gajillion calories in your feed window and end up gaining weight in a hurry (ask me how I know). Or you can count cals, keep your intake in check, and lose weight. But in that case it's not the eating/fasting that will cause you to lose, it's the overall deficit.

I agree. I am now using IF because I count my macros and do carb cycling meaning that to control my carb intake for some days it is easier if I do a 16/8 because than I can eat normal and stay inside my macro limits. And that works.
I am a big guy and I could do IF and still gain weight. I could just in one meal eat what your body needs for two days if I wanted. People that loose weight without counting are just lucky they don't eat that much.

rybo

kaotik2003 wrote: »

jjpptt2 wrote: »

None of those plans tell you how many cals to eat, and number of cals coming in is the single most important factor in why you will or won't lose weight. I don't care when you eat the cals, how clean they are, etc etc. If calorie counting isn't working for you, then count more closely and/or reduce the number of cals.

You can't avoid cals in vs cals out. You just can't.

But to your question, IF simply dictates when you eat and when you fast. You can still eat a gajillion calories in your feed window and end up gaining weight in a hurry (ask me how I know). Or you can count cals, keep your intake in check, and lose weight. But in that case it's not the eating/fasting that will cause you to lose, it's the overall deficit.

I agree. I am now using IF because I count my macros and do carb cycling meaning that to control my carb intake for some days it is easier if I do a 16/8 because than I can eat normal and stay inside my macro limits. And that works.
I am a big guy and I could do IF and still gain weight. I could just in one meal eat what your body needs for two days if I wanted. People that loose weight without counting are just lucky they don't eat that much.

We aren't lucky (at least not all). We have found a way to eat and remain in a calorie deficit without stress or worry. It's usually taken an evolving process to get here with some trial and error.

kaotik2003

rybo wrote: »

kaotik2003 wrote: »

jjpptt2 wrote: »

None of those plans tell you how many cals to eat, and number of cals coming in is the single most important factor in why you will or won't lose weight. I don't care when you eat the cals, how clean they are, etc etc. If calorie counting isn't working for you, then count more closely and/or reduce the number of cals.

You can't avoid cals in vs cals out. You just can't.

But to your question, IF simply dictates when you eat and when you fast. You can still eat a gajillion calories in your feed window and end up gaining weight in a hurry (ask me how I know). Or you can count cals, keep your intake in check, and lose weight. But in that case it's not the eating/fasting that will cause you to lose, it's the overall deficit.

I agree. I am now using IF because I count my macros and do carb cycling meaning that to control my carb intake for some days it is easier if I do a 16/8 because than I can eat normal and stay inside my macro limits. And that works.
I am a big guy and I could do IF and still gain weight. I could just in one meal eat what your body needs for two days if I wanted. People that loose weight without counting are just lucky they don't eat that much.

We aren't lucky (at least not all). We have found a way to eat and remain in a calorie deficit without stress or worry. It's usually taken an evolving process to get here with some trial and error.

True, that is what I am learning now. After I reach my goal I will use the knowledge gained these months to bulk for muscle growth or for maintenance.

amary2

You could do a 24 hr fast once a week (after dinner one night until a later dinner the next or some version of that) but this will only work if you don't then gorge the next day and eat 2x as many calories. If you keep your calories the same the other days it can help. Read Eat Stop Eat. I do this occasionally and it works for me and I am not hungry during the day and get full at dinner pretty quickly.