Intermittent fasting experiences?

alexastoutxo

So if you've seen my other posts you probably know by now that I struggled a bit to figure out how I could time my meals or atleast try to intermittent fast.
I've decided to experiment with a 15:9, 14:10 ratio with about 4 meals instead of 5. My last meal would be my two snacks combined instead of breaking them up. I'll be eating from 5-6pm and stopping at 3am.
I'm hoping by trying this out I'll still have energy for my runs which I go for after my first meal and that It'll fit within my work schedule.
1.Anyone think 4 meals in 9-10 hours is doable?
2. Would this be a good idea for someone who runs 6 days a week, 45-55 miles to have enough energy?
Also, if you've done or are doing intermittent fasting can you share your experiences and how it's affected your workouts, energy and overall lifestyle?

malibu927

1. You can eat as many or as few meals as you want, as long as you're getting enough calories
2. I can't say as I'm not a runner...if you find you're hungrier after your runs, maybe have your eating window moved up a bit.

livingleanlivingclean

It doesn't matter how many meals you eat, or when you eat them. Total calories are what matter.
Only you can decide if its working for you to have enough energy to run. If not, change it.

vicmackey30

I love intermittent fasting. I've done it off and on since 2011. I feel fantastic physically and mentally sharper when I'm doing it consistently. I do 16:8 minimum but a lot of times it's closer to 20:4. I've trained hard for half marathons and logged many miles while doing IF. I've experience absolutely no negative impact while running in a fasted state. I haven't experience a single negative by doing IF in general actually. Like Malibu said, eat whenever during the eating window. 1 meal or 39 meals. It's not relevant. Do what is convenient and what works for you.

feisty_bucket

>1.Anyone think 4 meals in 9-10 hours is doable?

Sure. Some people have 4-hour feeding windows ("Warrior Diet").

>2. Would this be a good idea for someone who runs 6 days a week, 45-55 miles to have enough energy?

Eh, I guess. That's a hell of a lot of running.


I do weekly IF (6:1 or 5:2), but not the daily variety strictly. I guess it works out to about an 8-hr daily window though because I start my day with a list of foods in mind I know I'm gonna eat. Then I eat 'em all, as my stomach space allows. Then I'm done for the day. After that, it's just decaff drinks 'til bedtime.

A "meal" is arbitrary, it's all just food. Eat your food. Only make it as complicated as it has to be. Which is not very.

FWIW, I've been doing this for a couple years now. Feeling great. 47, no health problems, everything's fine.

deanwillmore23

Personally I don’t enjoy it, will a good diet and stay within your calorie deficit you will lose weight

kommodevaran

alexastoutxo wrote: »

So if you've seen my other posts you probably know by now that I struggled a bit to figure out how I could time my meals or atleast try to intermittent fast.
I've decided to experiment with a 15:9, 14:10 ratio with about 4 meals instead of 5. My last meal would be my two snacks combined instead of breaking them up. I'll be eating from 5-6pm and stopping at 3am.
I'm hoping by trying this out I'll still have energy for my runs which I go for after my first meal and that It'll fit within my work schedule.

1. Anyone think 4 meals in 9-10 hours is doable?
It's doable, but it ain't intermittent fasting.

2. Would this be a good idea for someone who runs 6 days a week, 45-55 miles to have enough energy?
Maybe, try it out for yourself.

Also, if you've done or are doing intermittent fasting can you share your experiences and how it's affected your workouts, energy and overall lifestyle?
I'm usually eating all my meals (3) within 6-8 hours, and it makes not difference to my "workouts" (I don't really exercise) and energy, but my lifestyle (and quality of life) has improved because my eating schedule is more flexible, so I can get more things done, I'm no longer worried my "metabolism" will slow down because I don't eat often enough, and I've gained confidence that I won't overeat because I'm "starving" from not having eaten for a few hours.

nowine4me

I only do IF when I’m over my maintenance range, essentially I skip breakfast and cut 300 cals. I eat 12-7 and still run 4-5 miles every morning regardless. Doesn’t impact performance on a short-term basis — but it might over an extended period

alexastoutxo

nowine4me wrote: »

I only do IF when I’m over my maintenance range, essentially I skip breakfast and cut 300 cals. I eat 12-7 and still run 4-5 miles every morning regardless. Doesn’t impact performance on a short-term basis — but it might over an extended period

Okay now that worries me i really want to try it out but if it's going to negatively impact my running performance them I'm very hesitant..

alexastoutxo

vicmackey30 wrote: »

I love intermittent fasting. I've done it off and on since 2011. I feel fantastic physically and mentally sharper when I'm doing it consistently. I do 16:8 minimum but a lot of times it's closer to 20:4. I've trained hard for half marathons and logged many miles while doing IF. I've experience absolutely no negative impact while running in a fasted state. I haven't experience a single negative by doing IF in general actually. Like Malibu said, eat whenever during the eating window. 1 meal or 39 meals. It's not relevant. Do what is convenient and what works for you.

Sounds great. glad to hear it worked for you but I'm curious, when you were training for half marathons, how many meals did tou have in your 8 hour window?

RoxieDawn

Training for half marathon right now (my 4th one) and I eat 16:8 basically, have been doing this for years and its just an eating schedule, nothing do with running, losing or maintaining weight, etc. and to include it has no impact on training performance.

I eat 3 meals with a couple of snacks a day sometimes many snacks a day, sometimes I do 2 meals a day. Doesn't matter as long as I consume all my calories to assure proper energy balance.

eta: what and when you eat comes down to personal preference, your training load, etc. Trial error is what it will take to find what does and does not impact your individual training load and performance.

kimny72

@MonaRaeHill That's not IF. IF is either eating during a specific window every day, or eating very low cal 1 or 2 days a week and more on the other days to make up for it. The OP is not talking about water or juice fasts.

Momepro

I've done it for a while, and now am kind of almost IF ish, lol. In my case I would start eating from 5 pmish to 1 am, and skip breakfast and lunch, or if I was really hungry something vert small to tide me over. I find I can operate a little hungry, but I can't sleep that way, lol.

I couldn't really keep it up after i started the gym though, because I had too many headaches. So now I eat a very light breakfast and lunch, and try not to eat snacks until later in the day, but still save bulk for evenings

lightenup2016

kommodevaran wrote: »

alexastoutxo wrote: »

So if you've seen my other posts you probably know by now that I struggled a bit to figure out how I could time my meals or atleast try to intermittent fast.
I've decided to experiment with a 15:9, 14:10 ratio with about 4 meals instead of 5. My last meal would be my two snacks combined instead of breaking them up. I'll be eating from 5-6pm and stopping at 3am.
I'm hoping by trying this out I'll still have energy for my runs which I go for after my first meal and that It'll fit within my work schedule.

1. Anyone think 4 meals in 9-10 hours is doable?
It's doable, but it ain't intermittent fasting.

Yes it is... see below, but there is more information if you Google 14/10 IF. This tends to work better for some women than 16/8 or longer fasting intervals.

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/diets/diet-wars-is-the-1410--the-new-52/news-story/e02789a67c1088ebea8029a8054be5ab

kommodevaran

lightenup2016 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

alexastoutxo wrote: »

So if you've seen my other posts you probably know by now that I struggled a bit to figure out how I could time my meals or atleast try to intermittent fast.
I've decided to experiment with a 15:9, 14:10 ratio with about 4 meals instead of 5. My last meal would be my two snacks combined instead of breaking them up. I'll be eating from 5-6pm and stopping at 3am.
I'm hoping by trying this out I'll still have energy for my runs which I go for after my first meal and that It'll fit within my work schedule.

1. Anyone think 4 meals in 9-10 hours is doable?
It's doable, but it ain't intermittent fasting.

Yes it is... see below, but there is more information if you Google 14/10 IF. This tends to work better for some women than 16/8 or longer fasting intervals.

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/diets/diet-wars-is-the-1410--the-new-52/news-story/e02789a67c1088ebea8029a8054be5ab

Ok, it just proves my point - "intermittent fasting" is silly and people can call anything anything and eat all the food all the time I'm outta here

alexastoutxo

RoxieDawn wrote: »

Training for half marathon right now (my 4th one) and I eat 16:8 basically, have been doing this for years and its just an eating schedule, nothing do with running, losing or maintaining weight, etc. and to include it has no impact on training performance.

I eat 3 meals with a couple of snacks a day sometimes many snacks a day, sometimes I do 2 meals a day. Doesn't matter as long as I consume all my calories to assure proper energy balance.

eta: what and when you eat comes down to personal preference, your training load, etc. Trial error is what it will take to find what does and does not impact your individual training load and performance.

Thanks for the info. Do you eat the same food everyday since you switch up thr amount of meals you have?

rikkejohnsenrij

I do 5:2 usually monday and wednesday...it works fine for me. I have a small soup for lunch and a small portion of normal food for dinner on those days

dmcnur

Most days I IF 16/8 but occasionally 15/9 depending on my work schedule. I work 12 hour shifts so on working nights I eat before going to work and again when I get home with no snacking in between. On non work days I still stick to 2 meals with maybe a snack of a glass of almond milk and a few berries. Occasionally I do a 24 hour fast. I don't run but regularly walk 8km at a very brisk rate and have plenty of energy.

RoxieDawn

alexastoutxo wrote: »

RoxieDawn wrote: »

Training for half marathon right now (my 4th one) and I eat 16:8 basically, have been doing this for years and its just an eating schedule, nothing do with running, losing or maintaining weight, etc. and to include it has no impact on training performance.

I eat 3 meals with a couple of snacks a day sometimes many snacks a day, sometimes I do 2 meals a day. Doesn't matter as long as I consume all my calories to assure proper energy balance.

eta: what and when you eat comes down to personal preference, your training load, etc. Trial error is what it will take to find what does and does not impact your individual training load and performance.

Thanks for the info. Do you eat the same food everyday since you switch up thr amount of meals you have?

I am maintaining weight. My goals are to eat plenty of nutrient dense food while hitting a protein minimum. I have a carb range that works for me and my training. Dietary fat is also a minimum goal for proper hormone balance etc.

I have a fairly consistent eating pattern, sometimes schedule gets in the way but I eat all my calories regardless at the end of the day and I make sure my diet is varied while hitting the goals mentioned.

jjpptt2

alexastoutxo wrote: »

nowine4me wrote: »

I only do IF when I’m over my maintenance range, essentially I skip breakfast and cut 300 cals. I eat 12-7 and still run 4-5 miles every morning regardless. Doesn’t impact performance on a short-term basis — but it might over an extended period

Okay now that worries me i really want to try it out but if it's going to negatively impact my running performance them I'm very hesitant..

Stop. Just stop. You have to try it. End of conversation. Some people respond well to it, others don't. You just have to try it and see for yourself.

Marjayhan

To me it was a fail, but i know one lady who maintains a good healthy weight doing so. But for me i eventually snapped and ate more and then some,,,,hence the reason I am constantly here lol

inertiastrength

I do accidental intermittent fasting. I hate breakfast and therefore never eat before 1pm. On the weekends I do get hungry at 11am but since I'm so used to my 1pm+ schedule I hold off until then. I don't know why but the earlier I eat the hungrier I am throughout the day, so this works as an adherence tool for me. CICO over everything; there is nothing magical about a timing window. It's literally a tool that allows you to respect your calorie goals while also respecting your personal preferences.

rybo

jjpptt2 wrote: »

alexastoutxo wrote: »

nowine4me wrote: »

I only do IF when I’m over my maintenance range, essentially I skip breakfast and cut 300 cals. I eat 12-7 and still run 4-5 miles every morning regardless. Doesn’t impact performance on a short-term basis — but it might over an extended period

Okay now that worries me i really want to try it out but if it's going to negatively impact my running performance them I'm very hesitant..

Stop. Just stop. You have to try it. End of conversation. Some people respond well to it, others don't. You just have to try it and see for yourself.

This, you are greatly overthinking this. It works for some, not for others even when significant training schedules aren't involved. I have no problems following a 16:8 schedule and training very hard. Eat one meal in your window or 7, none of that matters in the grand scheme. Sometimes on a mileage level that high you're going to need to eat some pretty calorie dense foods. Nothing wrong with that.

vicmackey30

alexastoutxo wrote: »

vicmackey30 wrote: »

I love intermittent fasting. I've done it off and on since 2011. I feel fantastic physically and mentally sharper when I'm doing it consistently. I do 16:8 minimum but a lot of times it's closer to 20:4. I've trained hard for half marathons and logged many miles while doing IF. I've experience absolutely no negative impact while running in a fasted state. I haven't experience a single negative by doing IF in general actually. Like Malibu said, eat whenever during the eating window. 1 meal or 39 meals. It's not relevant. Do what is convenient and what works for you.

Sounds great. glad to hear it worked for you but I'm curious, when you were training for half marathons, how many meals did tou have in your 8 hour window?

I never once thought about meals. Like someone else said, food is food. Does not matter if you eat 1800 calories in one meal or five. Just do what you enjoy while still hitting your goals. I personally think it's annoying to eat a million meals. Most of the time, I probably had one or two actual meals with some snack mixed in. I honestly never even thought about it. I ate when I was hungry and logged what I ate. They last half I ran, my eating window was 4pm -12am. Most of my runs were done between 8am-2pm and always had plenty of energy.