Intermittent fasting

SherrieWall

What are some pros and cons on intermittent fasting? How can I get it to effectively work?

nutmegoreo

If you are wanting to use IF for weight loss, it can help with hunger, which can help keep within calorie limits. You still need to create a calorie deficit. Some people find they can do that successfully without counting calories, others still need to count.

SherrieWall

Thank you sooo much for this piece of information!

jjpptt2

Pros and cons are 99% subjective. IF is simply a schedule for when you eat and when you don't. It says nothing about how much you eat, what you eat, etc... so weight loss will still come down to calorie deficit, and health will come down to a reasonable intake + a reasonably balanced diet.

If having a tighter schedule for when you eat helps you better control how much you eat, then there are almost no cons to IF. If it doesn't help with that, then there are almost no pros to it.

sijomial

There are many different versions of IF - which are you interested in?

But agree with the above post - what suits one person and their goals won't suit another person even if they have identical goals.

My personal pros and cons were:
Liked 5:2 (helped with adherence to a weekly moderate calorie deficit)
Disliked 16:8 (made me feel like I was on a diet even at maintenance calories)
Don't do either now but do eat flexibly and often skip breakfast and sometimes have a low calorie day when it suits me.

overjoy

I'm just starting but I think it's going to boil down to watching what I eat & exercising. I think we have to find what works for us. Some people are able to eat what they want and never gain a pound for others they can look at food and gain. Find what works for you.

gman7676

For me it is a mental game. I seem to have trouble sticking to the calorie count I need while doing intermittent fasting.

AnvilHead

Just a few of the previous discussions about IF in the Debate forum:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10677884/how-do-you-feel-about-fasting

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10649426/intermittent-fasting-just-an-acceptable-way-of-starving-yourself

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10687890/intermittent-fasting-clean-fasting-debate

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10701946/intermittent-fasting-dr-jason-fung

HoneyBadger302

Pros and Cons will vary from one person to the next. For me, personally, it works great with my current lifestyle and my natural eating patterns. Meal prep and smaller meals actually accomplishes faster weight loss for me, but it does NOT work with my lifestyle or natural eating patterns very well. Both boil down to CICO.

My days can vary widely - from traveling for work, traveling for the track, race weekends, track days, visiting friends, 'regular' work days - I get a bit of a routine from Nov-Feb, but from Mar-Oct, my life is crazy.

Because of how I prefer to eat and what my body prefers, I'm not doing a true "fasting" diet. I like my morning coffee with my flavored creamer, I've tried giving up my creamer in the past, and screw that. So that's not going anywhere, and I like a small (like 200 calorie) afternoon snack to stave off the afternoon hungries.

Most of my calories come with dinner, where I get to enjoy a nice, full meal and can even include some things like - OMG - butter and sauces I love and still stay in my calorie range.

Even with this, however, I still have to cook most food at home, and if I'm constantly eating out (where I'm prone to making poor choices), I am still unlikely to lose much weight. At least this method stopped the gains.

I stick with this because it works for my body, and my lifestyle. It certainly doesn't work for everyone, but it does work for me. I've had a slow, steady loss this way, and it feels very sustainable for me as I naturally don't like breakfast and have no problem waiting until later in the day to consume any food.

SherrieWall

Thank you all for all these proc and cons and even links to other resources! I appreciate all your input and opinions. Thanks everyone!

pinggolfer96

There’s nothing about it that”works” it’s just an eating schedule/ preference. The pros and cons are subjective to the individual being that its just a timed eating window

J72FIT

jjpptt2 wrote: »

Pros and cons are 99% subjective. IF is simply a schedule for when you eat and when you don't. It says nothing about how much you eat, what you eat, etc... so weight loss will still come down to calorie deficit, and health will come down to a reasonable intake + a reasonably balanced diet.

If having a tighter schedule for when you eat helps you better control how much you eat, then there are almost no cons to IF. If it doesn't help with that, then there are almost no pros to it.

IMO, this is about the best description of IF I have ever read...

kds10

I lost 25 lbs doing IF - it took me 4 to 4.5 months to do this. I did on average a 18:6 day. I have about 8 to 10 lbs at this point to lose and have decided to switch to an 16:8 instead. I know the last bit of weight will come off slowly anyway and sometimes especially work days I miss having a breakfast even if it is mid morning.

So this morning I went to the gym before work, did about 30 minutes (fasted since 5:30 last night)..now at about 9:30 I will have a light breakfast.

I like IF but consistency is the key with it. ONe huge benefit for me is I always think about the eating window and even if I am eating not great that day, as long as I stay in the eating window it makes me feel like I have control over my eating.

Phoebe5164

It scares me because I feel like your hungry/full sensations can get messed up. If you’re only eating because the clock says it time .... that doesn’t sound like a good idea. Some fast and eat 1600 calories in four hours?? Is this not a slippery slope to amessed up body ? To each their own , i fast when I’m sleeping 😴

overjoy

I hit something by mistake, now it won't let me out unless I reply