Intermittent fasting

BBee5064

Has anyone got any thoughts on intermittent fasting?
16/8 or 20/4
Which is best for weight loss?

awalshy14

I do 16/8 and am full keto currently. Took about 10days to get used to it and i'm on competition prep. Personally it depends on the reasons your doing it but there are a lot of good studies and reviews for IF.

kommodevaran

Any diet or meals schedule that makes you stick to an appropriate calorie goal is best for weight loss.

A consistent calorie deficit creates weight loss.

I personally like the structure of eating three meals per day 3-4 hours apart, which translates to either 16:8 or 18:6.

I think there is too much hype. I know that hype sells.

Nony_Mouse

IF has no magical weight loss properties, it's simply another way of achieving a deficit (which is how you lose weight) if it happens to suit you, so neither is 'best', if by best you mean which will make you lose weight faster.

cepiotrowski3

My husband and myself do intermittent fasting of 16:8 and eat mostly hflc. In two weeks I have dropped 2kgs and I eat the same amount of if not more then I did before.
I have had Bariatric surgery so I can't get a whole lot in anyway so I'm using both that and IF as a tool to reduce my weight a tad more and my fat...
My husband has lost 20kgs over all but he has been doing it a lot longer. He still drinks his alcohol so it has slowed his weight loss which isn't a concern. It's better then eating multiple times a day as we aren't spiking our insulin. It's great for reducing fat... I don't do the calorie counting thing as it's NOT a diet but a whole way of life.

Hermie123451982

Been doing intermittent fasting for 175 days and loving the ease of it. It's not a magic solution but stop my late night binges which is my downfall. I'm 40lbs down and loving the simplicity. Never hungry and always have energy even with a little one that doesn't sleep lol. Add me if your also doing intermittent fasting.

JewelsAU

IF does nothing specific for weight loss as in there is no magic way to eat your "allotted calories' in the day to promote better or faster weight loss.

Its ALL about adhering to your calorie deficit at the end of the day/week. I have been doing three meals a day for years which puts me in the 16:8/17:7 range.

xxzenabxx

BBee5064 wrote: »

Has anyone got any thoughts on intermittent fasting?
16/8 or 20/4
Which is best for weight loss?

I intermittent fast these days doing 18:6 or 20:4 on various days throughout the week. It helps to control cravings and it helps to control calorie intake too. It also has many health benefits such as improving insulin sensitivity, better digestion, less bloating and many more that I can't think of! It also seems to free up a lot of time for me as I'm not thinking about food every two/three hours. It has helped me to control myself which is what will help me to lose 30lbs.

nmagdy2017

I am on IF for almost 10 days now. Seems good so far. I keep on my calorie deficient (not all the time), lost 1kg (my next weighting is in 2 days I hope to see more results).
What I have read and make me want to follow IF is the fact that it help with insulin and I do a 20 mins cardio before eating which is supposed to help targeting body fats when you are fasting.
I am still on trial can keep you posted with my results. Please add me if you are on IF.

RodaRose

Either way works. What matters is the number of calories at the end of the day.
Some people like their small meals and snacks throughout the day. Others like one or two big meals.
Here's a group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

Mark_Joseph

For me I have been doing either 15/9 or 16/8 and to my surprise I has been working to my benefit. Why? Because I am more mindful of what I eat, how I eat, and how my body overall reacts. Also it fits my schedule well. I have fasted this whole month of August and would say my eating habits have been better than my starvation highschool diet I did.lol. Ah discipline is what I learned... Well sorta learned lol. Its a work in progress,and Ihave still have bad days every so often.

Mark_Joseph

Ha to answer your question, experiment what works for you! I heard of fasting from a Tim ferris podcast and told myself I gotta try this out(15/9, 16/8) because of all these benefits Dr Rhonda Patrick stated. Plus it seemed realistic for me to accomplish.

BulletProofSkim

I am a huge fan of IF.

In my experience it has worked wonders with fat burning and my research indicates this has something to do with reduced insulin levels in the blood and tapping into body fat stores.
When I've been at my healthiest, I did 16:8 most days and find that this works well with my lifestyle. For me, it means I skip breakfast and have a good lunch and dinner of protein, heaps of veggies and good fats (avocado, nuts, etc). I've also done longer fasts and find them quite easy to do by drinking lots of water with pink Himalayan salt through the day. It's also much easier when following a LCHF diet.

It's not for everyone though, so do what works for you.

***

Here is my intro I posted earlier in another thread:

I'm 49, female, live in Sydney, work full time, fat, obese actually. I'm a size 16, up from a size 10. Highly embarrassed to be back at MFP after gaining 25kg back AGAIN. Possibly more. I haven't weighed myself for a couple of months and didn't weigh or measure myself this morning but it's my best guess. Ugh. Why why why did I let myself get here again!

I don't have any excuses except all of my excuses... Sugar addiction being the main reason why I'm here in this hellish hole again. I'm not an alcoholic but I have all the trademarks of being a sugar addict of the hopeless variety. I've got a problem with food. Actually, no food isn't the problem but I use or abuse food as the solution to all of MY problems. It's got to stop.

When I eat well I look after myself. When I don't eat well I don't look after myself. It's a horrible downward spiral and I've had enough.

So I'm back here AGAIN to assist with the weight loss process in conjunction with some very serious 12 step Recovery work. I need to stop the cycle of my addictions or I'll die a very slow and painful death of food related and self indulgent diseases and be carried out through the window of my house via a crane into a coffin.

I'll be doing LCHF/Keto and will be back in the weights room very soon. I look forward to getting my mojo back again!

Hope to find some friends along the way.
from Skim

Thick_n_Fit_Mom

Been IF'ing since July 12th, started out 16:8 method, currently doing 20:4... lovin it! Goal has, been to drop BF% not necessarily to lose weigh

Uscary83

I do IF variably during the week due to training early in the morning.On weekends is usually over 20-19 h fast, one day pushed to 24 h no problem, while during the week is between 14.5 ans 15 hours

IF is a practice that aids the body recovery more than weight loss. weight loss is incidental, and sometimes doesn't occur if the body is not in caloric deficit.
What IF is amazing for is the amount of scavenger cells sent out to clear the organism from rubbish, dead cells etc, while not busy digesting food. It also calls for more hydration with the plethora of benefits that comes with it, and sharpens the brain focus.
It also teaches mindfulness around food and gives us back the sense of real hunger, and pushes us to face the fact we eat because bored most of the times.
I love it, and hope to get to do a 30-40 h fast soon

blambo61

See OMAD, Intermitten Fasting, and 5:2 forums.

I've lost 45-lbs doing a 20:4 with one splurge day a week and maintained for a year mostly doing a 16:8.

The longer the fast, the less calories you will likely consume and lose more weight, but it has to be something you can do long term and not quit on so you need to find a schedule that is feasible and sustainable. My recommendation would be to start with a 16:8 (every-day with no splurge days), eat a big low-carb salad for your lunches (don't add too much high calorie stuff to it), and then eat a dinner that gets you full. Getting full is key for me for sustainability. If that doesn't work, shorten your eating window tell it is working. You don't necessarily need to count calories by doing it this way and if the scale says your losing, that is good enough. If it says your not, shorten the eating window tell it does work. Try a schedule for a couple of weeks to see if it is working. IF is liberating in that you do much less meal planning and it is cheap!

kommodevaran

Uscary83 wrote: »

I do IF variably during the week due to training early in the morning.On weekends is usually over 20-19 h fast, one day pushed to 24 h no problem, while during the week is between 14.5 ans 15 hours

Fasting is just not eating, but no official "protocols" have shorter fasts than 16 hours (not sure if you were referring to 15 hours not eating as a fast).

IF is a practice that aids the body recovery more than weight loss. weight loss is incidental, and sometimes doesn't occur if the body is not in caloric deficit.
What IF is amazing for is the amount of scavenger cells sent out to clear the organism from rubbish, dead cells etc, while not busy digesting food. It also calls for more hydration with the plethora of benefits that comes with it, and sharpens the brain focus.

Weight loss always happens if you're in a calorie defcit, and never if you aren't.
The rest is so much woo that it's difficult to even know where to begin

It also teaches mindfulness around food and gives us back the sense of real hunger, and pushes us to face the fact we eat because bored most of the times.

All this is great and I totally agree.

I love it, and hope to get to do a 30-40 h fast soon

Not "necessary" for anything, but it can possibly be educational and strengthen your self-esteem.