Intermittent fasting

joeyi0606

Hello everyone! I'm new to my fitness pal and have been trying to obtain the goal of weightloss while maintaining strength. So far, intermittent fasting has been a helpful tool when trying to achieve the this goal. Does anyone have any tips as far as foods, times of day and other general ideas on how to improve my use of intermittent fasting? Anyone else's experiences help and i love hearing stories to learn from.

Thick_n_Fit_Mom

I currently am doing IF to lower my BF% not to lose weigh, I started July 12th (16:8) method, and this past week, started (20:4) method. I started at a 29% BF I'm currently sitting at 26.2% There are a few different methods, my best advice, to do your homework and research .. there is a lot of info out there. Bodybuilding.com has informative articles about IF. There are forums on here(community) you can join, with information. Good luck! You are more then welcome to add me, but get a profile pic up first, you'll find it easier to add friends

aeloine

Do a search on the threads. It gets discussed daily.

nikkie482

I am doing IF as well but I am finding it hard to stop eating after my cut off time but it's probably because I don't meal prep. Also looking for friends on here to stay motivated

jjpptt2

It's all personal preference. IF is just another tool to use, but it's not right for every person and every job. IF doesn't dictate what you eat, how much, when to exercise, or what to do. Use your own preferences and goals to dictate those things.

jessiefrancine

The IF group here on MFP is very helpful. Lots of info and threads there that you could read through to see what others are doing.

Caesalpin

Recommend you read "The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting" by Jason Fung, MD. To reduce hunger and speed up weight loss, eat low carb, high fat (LCHF) or ketogenic diet. Like T&F Mom said, there is lots of info out there.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Caesalpin wrote: »

Recommend you read "The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting" by Jason Fung, MD. To reduce hunger and speed up weight loss, eat low carb, high fat (LCHF) or ketogenic diet. Like T&F Mom said, there is lots of info out there.

fung is a quack and keto/lchf does not make you lose fat any faster..you will lose water faster but thats about it.

buffgrl

Please keep in mind that Intermittent Fasting (IF) can be really hard on the female body...many of us are vulnerable to hormonal imbalance brought on by stress, and extended fasting can be perceived as stress by the body contributing to the overall stress load.

Fasting naturally after dinner and overnight while sleeping is normal for our bodies, but extending the fast on through the next day can be stressful causing excess cortisol production. Many women are very sensitive to stress and the resulting excess cortisol production and eventual adrenal fatigue. (IF seems to work better for men in this regard) Whenever you cut calories, alarm bells go off in your body and it is stressed somewhat to begin with. Add to that prolonged periods without food and the result for many women is excess CORTISOL. You may lose some pounds at first ..if.. you're in a significant caloric deficit, but you may notice your belly won't budge or that it may in fact grow larger. (When the body is stressed it tends to hoard fat in the belly!) In time, you may notice that you stop losing altogether or even GAIN as your body makes metabolic adjustments to get you through long periods with no food.

Alternatively, when you eat at regular intervals throughout the day you're telling the body that it isn't starving and there's plenty of food available, even though you're still in a caloric deficit! So hence less stress and less cortisol production= more fat burning! I find that eating at regular intervals and staying within macronutrient ratios and prescribed calories works best for most, with a "free" day once per week to keep the metabolism and motivation burning strong. Yes, I said free DAY, but only if: 1.) you follow your diet PRECISELY throughout the week 2.)Are exercising correctly and regularly 3.)Eat ANYTHING you want but keep portions under reasonable control, in other words, DON'T BINGE and eat like 10,000 calories. So yes, if you're ON POINT all week, MOST people can enjoy a "free" day once a week and eat WHATEVER they want within reason and still lose weight. People with food addiction, emotional eating problems, or trouble feeling full no matter how much they eat will need to modify the "free" day or constrain it to just one meal vs. the whole day.
For most women, the key to weight loss seems to be reducing stress as much as possible by: 1.)Eating correctly 2.)Drinking enough water 3.)Getting plenty of quality sleep 4.)Making lifestyle changes to reduce stress where possible, i.e. job, relationships, etc. 5.)Exercising correctly. The more you are able to dial it all in, the better your results will be. But the stress factor explains why a lot of women have so much trouble losing weight despite doing everything else right. Check your stress! Peace and love to you, good luck with your program!

CharlieBeansmomTracey

buffgrl wrote: »

Please keep in mind that Intermittent Fasting (IF) can be really hard on the female body...many of us are vulnerable to hormonal imbalance brought on by stress, and extended fasting can be perceived as stress by the body contributing to the overall stress load.

Fasting naturally after dinner and overnight while sleeping is normal for our bodies, but extending the fast on through the next day can be stressful causing excess cortisol production. Many women are very sensitive to stress and the resulting excess cortisol production and eventual adrenal fatigue. (IF seems to work better for men in this regard) Whenever you cut calories, alarm bells go off in your body and it is stressed somewhat to begin with. Add to that prolonged periods without food and the result for many women is excess CORTISOL. You may lose some pounds at first ..if.. you're in a significant caloric deficit, but you may notice your belly won't budge or that it may in fact grow larger. (When the body is stressed it tends to hoard fat in the belly!) In time, you may notice that you stop losing altogether or even GAIN as your body makes metabolic adjustments to get you through long periods with no food.

Alternatively, when you eat at regular intervals throughout the day you're telling the body that it isn't starving and there's plenty of food available, even though you're still in a caloric deficit! So hence less stress and less cortisol production= more fat burning! I find that eating at regular intervals and staying within macronutrient ratios and prescribed calories works best for most, with a "free" day once per week to keep the metabolism and motivation burning strong. Yes, I said free DAY, but only if: 1.) you follow your diet PRECISELY throughout the week 2.)Are exercising correctly and regularly 3.)Eat ANYTHING you want but keep portions under reasonable control, in other words, DON'T BINGE and eat like 10,000 calories. So yes, if you're ON POINT all week, MOST people can enjoy a "free" day once a week and eat WHATEVER they want within reason and still lose weight. People with food addiction, emotional eating problems, or trouble feeling full no matter how much they eat will need to modify the "free" day or constrain it to just one meal vs. the whole day.
For most women, the key to weight loss seems to be reducing stress as much as possible by: 1.)Eating correctly 2.)Drinking enough water 3.)Getting plenty of quality sleep 4.)Making lifestyle changes to reduce stress where possible, i.e. job, relationships, etc. 5.)Exercising correctly. The more you are able to dial it all in, the better your results will be. But the stress factor explains why a lot of women have so much trouble losing weight despite doing everything else right. Check your stress! Peace and love to you, good luck with your program!

nope, you can only burn so much fat at a time. and I have had no issues with cortisol doing 16:8 IF. too much exercise can result in stress on the body and also raise cortisol levels.you dont have to eat throughout the day either. meal timing has no relevance on anything unless you have a health issue or diabetic and need to eat every so many hours. for people without these issues meal timing means squat.

DananaNanas

buffgrl wrote: »

Please keep in mind that Intermittent Fasting (IF) can be really hard on the female body...

Do we know that the OP is female...? Pretty sure his profile says "male."

Do you have any references for your "keys to weight loss and reducing stress"?

andrederosier

Ketosis may help you out by going Low Carb High Fat. Benefit would be reduced hunger during fasting period along with maintaining muscle. When in ketosis, your body doesn't break down protein in muscle tissue while in a calorie deficit. Many body builders go into ketosis during their cut phase to maintain muscle. You can research sites like bodybuilding.com for info. Also check into carb cycling to see if that might be right for you.

johnwelk

buffgrl wrote: »

Please keep in mind that Intermittent Fasting (IF) can be really hard on the female body...many of us are vulnerable to hormonal imbalance brought on by stress, and extended fasting can be perceived as stress by the body contributing to the overall stress load.

Fasting naturally after dinner and overnight while sleeping is normal for our bodies, but extending the fast on through the next day can be stressful causing excess cortisol production. Many women are very sensitive to stress and the resulting excess cortisol production and eventual adrenal fatigue. (IF seems to work better for men in this regard) Whenever you cut calories, alarm bells go off in your body and it is stressed somewhat to begin with. Add to that prolonged periods without food and the result for many women is excess CORTISOL. You may lose some pounds at first ..if.. you're in a significant caloric deficit, but you may notice your belly won't budge or that it may in fact grow larger. (When the body is stressed it tends to hoard fat in the belly!) In time, you may notice that you stop losing altogether or even GAIN as your body makes metabolic adjustments to get you through long periods with no food.

Alternatively, when you eat at regular intervals throughout the day you're telling the body that it isn't starving and there's plenty of food available, even though you're still in a caloric deficit! So hence less stress and less cortisol production= more fat burning! I find that eating at regular intervals and staying within macronutrient ratios and prescribed calories works best for most, with a "free" day once per week to keep the metabolism and motivation burning strong. Yes, I said free DAY, but only if: 1.) you follow your diet PRECISELY throughout the week 2.)Are exercising correctly and regularly 3.)Eat ANYTHING you want but keep portions under reasonable control, in other words, DON'T BINGE and eat like 10,000 calories. So yes, if you're ON POINT all week, MOST people can enjoy a "free" day once a week and eat WHATEVER they want within reason and still lose weight. People with food addiction, emotional eating problems, or trouble feeling full no matter how much they eat will need to modify the "free" day or constrain it to just one meal vs. the whole day.
For most women, the key to weight loss seems to be reducing stress as much as possible by: 1.)Eating correctly 2.)Drinking enough water 3.)Getting plenty of quality sleep 4.)Making lifestyle changes to reduce stress where possible, i.e. job, relationships, etc. 5.)Exercising correctly. The more you are able to dial it all in, the better your results will be. But the stress factor explains why a lot of women have so much trouble losing weight despite doing everything else right. Check your stress! Peace and love to you, good luck with your program!

This whole post is pretty much nonsense, you really need to find better sources of information about human biology and nutrition.

To the bolded:
Adrenal fatigue is a completely fake disease. It was invented by a quack chiropractor in the late 90s in order to sell books and make a quick buck on the worried well.

Seriously, learn how to vet your sources.