My Day Fasting Success!
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BabyGyrlGraves
Posts: 4 Member
Hello MyFitnessPal Community!
I am about to start week 4 of day fasting. What does that mean do you ask? I am basically doing a daily 24 hour fast. I am fasting from after dinner to dinner the next day and only drink water during the day (tons of water). The results I am seeing have been tremendous. I am down a total of 12 pounds but the most impressive thing I see is a change in the composition of my body. My stomach area fat has decreased significantly and my face is slimmer.
The tricks I have found is getting through the first 2 days mentally. The hunger pains are real as your body has just gotten used to eating multiple times a day. Additionally, you need to be careful about the types of food you eat while breaking your fast. You don't want your body to have excess fat that it begin to store it thinking you will need it for later. Lastly, I have integrated a cardio workout 3-4 times a week to add additional caloric burn (and allow me to have a couple cocktails at night
)
My main goals for this lifestyle is to decrease my caloric intake (weight loss) and to gain mental toughness and fortitude. I plan on doing this for another 3 weeks (completing my baseline of 6 total weeks) and then I will transition to a 16:8 fasting cycle (only eating lunch and dinner) for 6 more weeks. My scale goal is to lose a total of 30 pounds and several inches and long term maintain my new weight.
I hope this helps someone in their fitness journey!
Kristyn
I am about to start week 4 of day fasting. What does that mean do you ask? I am basically doing a daily 24 hour fast. I am fasting from after dinner to dinner the next day and only drink water during the day (tons of water). The results I am seeing have been tremendous. I am down a total of 12 pounds but the most impressive thing I see is a change in the composition of my body. My stomach area fat has decreased significantly and my face is slimmer.
The tricks I have found is getting through the first 2 days mentally. The hunger pains are real as your body has just gotten used to eating multiple times a day. Additionally, you need to be careful about the types of food you eat while breaking your fast. You don't want your body to have excess fat that it begin to store it thinking you will need it for later. Lastly, I have integrated a cardio workout 3-4 times a week to add additional caloric burn (and allow me to have a couple cocktails at night
)My main goals for this lifestyle is to decrease my caloric intake (weight loss) and to gain mental toughness and fortitude. I plan on doing this for another 3 weeks (completing my baseline of 6 total weeks) and then I will transition to a 16:8 fasting cycle (only eating lunch and dinner) for 6 more weeks. My scale goal is to lose a total of 30 pounds and several inches and long term maintain my new weight.
I hope this helps someone in their fitness journey!
Kristyn
52
Replies
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What you are doing is considered OMAD (one meal a day). Its used by some here as a way of eating. As long as you get all your daily required calories in that one meal, it's fine and safe to do. There's nothing special about it besides personal preference. If you ate that same amount in 3 or 6 meals you would see the same results.
However if you are eating only one normal sized meal a day (the same dinner you would have eaten before you went to OMAD), then that's a big no no and you ate undereating. Thats going to be unhealthy and unsustainable. You can't eat that way the rest of your life, so what happens when you stop? The weight is going to bounce back.
If you only want to eat one meal a day, please make sure it is a full days worth of calorie and nutrition in that meal.28 -
You want to lose 30lbs in 6 weeks?
Sounds very unhealthy unless you're 100lbs over weight.21 -
@BabyGyrlGraves, thanks for sharing and your detailed explanation. It sounds to me you know what you're doing. We have a small yet growing Intermittent Fasting group here at MFP of enthused fasting practitioners. I'm sure they'd love to read of your fasting experience. Why don't you consider stopping by and saying hello and maybe adding a post sharing as you've done here. Here's how you get there:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting
I've got about 6 months under my belt practicing IF in my current journey and just started OMAD. As an experienced practitioner, I can appreciate all that you share and understand the mental part of it you speak of. Hope to see you at our little group. Keep fasting and be safe.27 -
BabyGyrlGraves wrote: »The hunger pains are real as your body has just gotten used to eating multiple times a day.
I have never found this to be the case. When I fast (for religious reasons), I tend to find it easy until dinner time, and then I get hungry (but it's manageable). But then I spent time in college and off and on during part of my 20s having nothing before dinner except for coffee with some milk and diet soda. I maintained at a healthy weight during that period.
OMAD wouldn't work for me now, though, since I couldn't eat a healthy diet of the required calories in one meal -- in particular I couldn't get in my 10+ servings of veg or adequate protein. I understand some people don't have difficulties with that, however.
I also would feel bad now eating that many calories before bed, as I prefer to spread my calories into two or three pretty equal meals. (On occasion I'll save calories for a big restaurant meal, but usually that's an earlier dinner than my norm and I'll be up for hours afterwards.)Additionally, you need to be careful about the types of food you eat while breaking your fast. You don't want your body to have excess fat that it begin to store it thinking you will need it for later.
I don't understand this. If you are in a deficit you simply cannot store net fat (but will burn fat), no matter what you eat. Of course you should eat a healthful diet, but for health, not fat loss specifically.to gain mental toughness and fortitude.
I have a different approach -- I think weight loss is most likely to be sustainable if it is done by a method that feels the most natural and takes the least amount of effort. Will power is finite and there are many things in life outside of eating to use it on. I think mental toughness is important, but don't really see how I eat as part of that (some athletic goals, sure, and things in other parts of life, of course). But then to me not eating for several hours in a row really isn't that tough, as noted above.
I don't care for the idea that the only way to diet correctly is to do something that seems hard or about self-deprivation. IF would cause me to cut calories in part because I don't find it that difficult to skip a meal or even put off eating until dinner. But it would also mean I'd either eat too few cals or less healthfully, so wouldn't work for me. I think it works great for others, so congrats on finding something that works for you!
A friend of mine is using 5:2 to maintain, and it works for her because she finds it easy and enjoys it.20 -
@lemurcat2, thanks for sharing. Your approach reflects good discernment by you and it works for you, just like the approach others choose reflects their discernment and it generally works for them. We're all different and by sharing we learn. The OP's approach is different and it's working for her. My approach is working for me. It's great when we can share and know that our audience is supportive of our sharing.19
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BabyGyrlGraves wrote: »Hello MyFitnessPal Community!
I am about to start week 4 of day fasting. What does that mean do you ask? I am basically doing a daily 24 hour fast. I am fasting from after dinner to dinner the next day and only drink water during the day (tons of water). The results I am seeing have been tremendous. I am down a total of 12 pounds but the most impressive thing I see is a change in the composition of my body. My stomach area fat has decreased significantly and my face is slimmer.
The tricks I have found is getting through the first 2 days mentally. The hunger pains are real as your body has just gotten used to eating multiple times a day. Additionally, you need to be careful about the types of food you eat while breaking your fast. You don't want your body to have excess fat that it begin to store it thinking you will need it for later. Lastly, I have integrated a cardio workout 3-4 times a week to add additional caloric burn (and allow me to have a couple cocktails at night )
My main goals for this lifestyle is to decrease my caloric intake (weight loss) and to gain mental toughness and fortitude. I plan on doing this for another 3 weeks (completing my baseline of 6 total weeks) and then I will transition to a 16:8 fasting cycle (only eating lunch and dinner) for 6 more weeks. My scale goal is to lose a total of 30 pounds and several inches and long term maintain my new weight.
I hope this helps someone in their fitness journey!
Kristyn
My only concern is the rate of weight loss. I believe you are saying you want to lose 30 lbs in 12 weeks, is that correct? That averages out to 2.5 lbs per week, which is very aggressive unless you are well over 250 lbs. Fast weight loss can have many drawbacks. I think you could make a good argument that the reason so few people maintain weight loss is because they lose it as fast as possible and don't learn how to just eat normally for the rest of their life. It can also lead to more muscle loss than necessary, which can lower your BMR and energy. Please consider eating a little bit more at your meal and lowering your goal a bit.
IMHO, tying your diet to your toughness or discipline can be unhealthy, but that's just me being an amateur therapist
Please keep your mind open to adjusting your goal a little to ensure long term (not just short term) success, and best of luck!25 -
No thanks11
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BabyGyrlGraves wrote: »Hello MyFitnessPal Community!
I am about to start week 4 of day fasting. What does that mean do you ask? I am basically doing a daily 24 hour fast. I am fasting from after dinner to dinner the next day and only drink water during the day (tons of water). The results I am seeing have been tremendous. I am down a total of 12 pounds but the most impressive thing I see is a change in the composition of my body. My stomach area fat has decreased significantly and my face is slimmer.
The tricks I have found is getting through the first 2 days mentally. The hunger pains are real as your body has just gotten used to eating multiple times a day. Additionally, you need to be careful about the types of food you eat while breaking your fast. You don't want your body to have excess fat that it begin to store it thinking you will need it for later. Lastly, I have integrated a cardio workout 3-4 times a week to add additional caloric burn (and allow me to have a couple cocktails at night )
My main goals for this lifestyle is to decrease my caloric intake (weight loss) and to gain mental toughness and fortitude. I plan on doing this for another 3 weeks (completing my baseline of 6 total weeks) and then I will transition to a 16:8 fasting cycle (only eating lunch and dinner) for 6 more weeks. My scale goal is to lose a total of 30 pounds and several inches and long term maintain my new weight.
I hope this helps someone in their fitness journey!
Kristyn
If you only have 30 pounds to lose total than a healthier rate of loss would be one pound a week for the next 10 or 15 pounds, then a half a pound a week for the rest.
You simply don't have the fat reserves to keep losing mostly fat at that rate - you will be losing a lot of muscle as well.
And undernourishment can lead to hair loss as well.12 -
BabyGyrlGraves wrote: »Hello MyFitnessPal Community!
I am about to start week 4 of day fasting. What does that mean do you ask? I am basically doing a daily 24 hour fast. I am fasting from after dinner to dinner the next day and only drink water during the day (tons of water). The results I am seeing have been tremendous. I am down a total of 12 pounds but the most impressive thing I see is a change in the composition of my body. My stomach area fat has decreased significantly and my face is slimmer.
The tricks I have found is getting through the first 2 days mentally. The hunger pains are real as your body has just gotten used to eating multiple times a day. Additionally, you need to be careful about the types of food you eat while breaking your fast. You don't want your body to have excess fat that it begin to store it thinking you will need it for later. Lastly, I have integrated a cardio workout 3-4 times a week to add additional caloric burn (and allow me to have a couple cocktails at night )
My main goals for this lifestyle is to decrease my caloric intake (weight loss) and to gain mental toughness and fortitude. I plan on doing this for another 3 weeks (completing my baseline of 6 total weeks) and then I will transition to a 16:8 fasting cycle (only eating lunch and dinner) for 6 more weeks. My scale goal is to lose a total of 30 pounds and several inches and long term maintain my new weight.
I hope this helps someone in their fitness journey!
Kristyn
I hear you say you've lost weight and are still losing and getting closer to your weight loss goals! Well, congratulations are in order then! Keep it up!
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Hi All! I love the healthy discussion and comments. I appreciate all of them. Thank you to the one that spoke to the name of the method (OMAD).
To address a few of the concerned comments...I am focusing on getting my allotted calories and nutrients for my day in my evening meal which right now is about 1500 calories. I am focusing on lean meats with fruits and veggies. But I am also not over eating as one person commented, I can't get to state of being completely stuffed as my indigestion kicks in like crazy.
To the comment about my mental health state I again appreciate the concern. There is no way I could convey a sense of mental stability through text but what I am pushing for is to not allow food to run my life. When I am happy (which thankfully is the point I am at now) I usually tend to not be too disciplined in my eating habits and eat too much and too much of the wrong things. Putting a focus on being in the this mental state and fostering good eating thinking in the types of food I put in my body has been a great result of this temporary lifestyle. I remember my parents fasting and praying when I was growing up and I didn't quite understand. But now that I have some years under my belt I get it. I wouldn't say I am spending hours in my prayer room but with daily meditation I am getting to my spiritual center.
Lastly, this isn't a complete lifestyle but something I do plan on taking with me in years to come when I want to get back to my center. I am a lifelong athlete and connecting my mental with my physical is something I miss and on my way to being 40 sooner than later I and striving for my return. When I stop as I mentioned I am moving to a 16:8 cycle and maintaining my daily calorie goals to get to my overall 30 lbs of loss. And by the way...that isn't my weight loss goal in 6 weeks as I am very well aware that is not healthy. That is my overall loss goal and I will get there when I get there. I plan on enjoying this journey to fitness and healthy living and when I get to my scale goal it is just another milestone to celebrate but I don't plan on stopping there! At that point it is just where I get to shift to another fitness goal (like running some fun 5Ks this fall with my son ).
Thank you all again for your comments. Go in love and peace!! Make it a great week everyone.
P.S. The support of a community like this is awesome.10 -
Just wondering how you can eat 1500 calories worth of lean meat and vegetables in one go?!? That is a massive amount!3
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I think one could easily get to 1500 calories in one meal...butter, oils, cheese, sauces made with heavy cream...
All of those calories add up quickly.5 -
I'm currently practicing OMAD and my highest is 2,450 calories during my feeding, which is 2 hours. I take "breaks" and space it out but typically finish before the two hours is over. Don't find it that difficult but I'm a dude.
In an earlier discussion here, I shared how I ate 901 calories in 6 minutes. Others said they could do better.7 -
pierinifitness wrote: »I'm currently practicing OMAD and my highest is 2,450 calories during my feeding, which is 2 hours. I take "breaks" and space it out but typically finish before the two hours is over. Don't find it that difficult but I'm a dude.
In an earlier discussion here, I shared how I ate 901 calories in 6 minutes. Others said they could do better.
The issue, as I see it, would be that eating absolutely nothing for 22 hours each day before 'releasing the hounds' could definitely encourage a bingeing mindset in many people, and might set a very dangerous precedent. Or, if they can't last that long and break down and eat something, they may feel like a failure because they're lacking the discipline or mental fortitude that is, apparently, one of your benchmarks.
And since long fasts have no proven extra magic benefits outside of perhaps helping someone achieve the necessary calorie deficit needed to lose weight (because science), and can be achieved many other ways without going to these extremes, I feel caution is warranted, here, for the people that are new to MFP in general, and intermittent fasting in particular.
Upthread, you said,pierinifitness wrote: »I've got about 6 months under my belt practicing IF in my current journey and just started OMAD. As an experienced practitioner, I can appreciate all that you share and understand the mental part of it you speak of.
6 months? For the record, I've been doing (not just practising) intermittent fasting for over 3 decades. Long before it had a name and all of these fancy terms, catagories, restrictions and scientifically unproven benefits. (I'm looking at you, Fung!)
For me, it was (and still is) simply Skipping Breakfast - a meal I'm rarely hungry for anyways. I have my vitamins and supplements in the morning with a cup of coffee (because coffee!) and rarely eat before 1 p.m.
This pattern leaves me enough calories to have a good lunch and dinner when I genuinely *am* hungry, with room for a few snacks as well.
It is, however, entirely possible to gain weight on IF. Here's where the 'not magic' part comes in:
Weight management has nothing at all to do with *when* you consume your calories, and everything to do with *how many* calories you're eating per day, averaged out over time.
It's really that simple. Not necessarily easy, but beautifully simple.
If intermittent fasting helps someone stay in enough of a sustained calorie deficit to facilitate weight loss by shortening the period of time that one eats every day, that's awesome! It works for me.
But if it doesn't for you, please know that it has nothing to do with your lack of discipline or personal fortitude. It simply means that this isn't the method of calorie restriction that will work best for you.
16 -
Bodies gotta burn calories no matter what, so the only thing it can do when it doesn't have enough is signal to the brain to take action, e.g. be hungry or slow down (fatigue). Homeostasis is da bomb. Fasting is a technique that adjusts thoughts and habits, not so much the body, so do what works for you.
Also, I'm gonna be that person, I'm sorry. It's hunger PANGS. PANGS. Not pains. Bone apple tea, everyone.14 -
I think one could easily get to 1500 calories in one meal...butter, oils, cheese, sauces made with heavy cream...
All of those calories add up quickly.
Yes, this is how I would have to eat to eat that much in one meal. What I personally could not do is eat sufficient protein and the amount of vegetables and fiber I consider important for nutritional purposes in one meal, and also have sufficient calories.
I definitely could not do it in a diet made up of lean meat and veg, as was stated.
But people are different -- I just do think it would be hard for lots of people.
More to the point, while some would enjoy/prefer eating that way, I tend to prefer the size of meals when I have three, or occasionally 2. Others have different preferences. It's of course important to understand one's own preferences.
I do think the notion that how often one eats in a day or when = strength and fortitude is a little odd. People just have different patterns that work for them. I find it reasonably easy to fast until dinner (although I typically do not for the reasons stated above) and never snack between meals, but I don't think that people who like 6 meals a day are weak. I think I'd be miserable eating to such a pattern but that it works for them.5 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »I'm currently practicing OMAD and my highest is 2,450 calories during my feeding, which is 2 hours. I take "breaks" and space it out but typically finish before the two hours is over. Don't find it that difficult but I'm a dude.
In an earlier discussion here, I shared how I ate 901 calories in 6 minutes. Others said they could do better.
The issue, as I see it, would be that eating absolutely nothing for 22 hours each day before 'releasing the hounds' could definitely encourage a bingeing mindset in many people, and might set a very dangerous precedent. Or, if they can't last that long and break down and eat something, they may feel like a failure because they're lacking the discipline or mental fortitude that is, apparently, one of your benchmarks.
And since long fasts have no proven extra magic benefits outside of perhaps helping someone achieve the necessary calorie deficit needed to lose weight (because science), and can be achieved many other ways without going to these extremes, I feel caution is warranted, here, for the people that are new to MFP in general, and intermittent fasting in particular.
We do get a lot of people here in the forums with binge tendencies and absolutely I think this word of caution is necessary when "discipline" and "toughness" are being discussed. For some people, structuring long periods of not eating can be helpful to get out of the mindset of constantly thinking about eating. But for others, long periods without food can do the opposite - it can lead to increased obsessive thoughts and a greater possibility of bingeing when the window opens. Neither thought pattern is correct or better, it's just different strokes.
No one should feel like it is more admirable to strictly control your eating pattern, or that they are weak or undisciplined if that strategy fails for them.
Some people can eat a lot all at once, others can't. Some people can stomach a high fat diet, others can't. Some people are triggered by carbs, others aren't. Some people end up hungry all day if they eat in the AM, others stay hungry all day if they don't eat in the AM. None of these are better or worse, or make you a strong person or a weak person. Figuring out which one you are, without judgement, and strategizing based on that to make eating the right amount of calories easy, is the key. 15 -
The word “fasting” is a good way to get a thread locked. And for good reason.4
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@snickerscharlie, thanks for your comments. Good for you that you're a seasoned IF practitioner, therefore "qualified" to make the comments you have based on your experience. I've never gained weight practicing IF.
Thanks also for your comments about how fasting provides no other benefits besides contributing to a calorie deficit but I prefer to get my information about this from more qualified sources.
Obviously weight management success comes from only eating when you're hungry and knowing the difference between real hunger rather than an excessive desire to eat out of boredom, habit or an emptiness in your life that you will with food. For some, it does become a little more challenging after fasting for 22-hours and that was likely your case with the weight you gained while practicing IF.
Wishing you the best.22 -
Yeah, anyone who is saying fasting has no benefits other than calorie deficit really ought to look up autophagy. Just saying.23
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