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Intermittent Fasting - Is it a good idea?

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Replies

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    I like IF but it just doesn't work for me when I work out in the mornings. I'm not going to get up at 5am, work out, and have nothing to eat until noonish. Just isn't going to happen. If I don't work out in the mornings, skipping breakfast is wonderful. Interesting to read about the adverse effects it can have on women though. (Well, female rats anyway) Never had any issues with fertility or my cycles though.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I'd much rather have two biggish meals than a bunch of little ones. I do get hungry midday, but I know I'm getting enough food so I have to work through that. Little meals frustrate me.

    IF works for me for that reason. I'll have 800 calories in the morning, a couple hundred midday, and 800-1000 a couple hours before bed.

    I'd much rather have 3 decent-sized meals than a bunch of little ones (grazing would make me miserable and I dislike snacking), which is why I tend to break meals up into 3 generally similarly-sized ones (breakfast is a bit smaller than dinner when I'm not on a deficit).

    On days when I plan to have a larger dinner (restaurant plans), I commonly skip breakfast and have an early lunch instead, so 2 meals.

    I think this gives me benefits pretty similar to the ones people who like IF experience from IF even though quite often I am far from an IF schedule (I eat before I go to work, so before 7, and I cook dinner after I come home, which means I often eat dinner around 9).

    I think meal schedules tend to be personal and about what works for people, so especially for those who don't feel hungry in the morning IF can be a great plan. Since I like breakfast and like cooking and eating dinner at home, it doesn't work for me, but I get the appeal as I think it's not that different from my preference for not snacking.
  • Bodyopus
    Bodyopus Posts: 25 Member
    IF has a lot of benefits aside from weight loss. Well that’s what I’ve read anyway. Personally I just find it easier to eat in an 8 hour window. I’m never hungry in the morning so skipping breakfast is easy for me. But IF is not magic. You still have to maintain a deficit to get results.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
    I find it interesting that for a lot of people IF=skipping breakfast. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day so when I IF I stop eating by 4, so I skip dinner and the eat-all-the-sweet-snacks-before-bed danger zone. Fasting between 4pm and 7ish the next morning works best for me. I love that I can feel very full midday, make sure I get all my nutrition and cals in, and then forget about food for the rest of the day. I have more time too now that I'm only prepping and cleaning basically 2 meals a day.

    I often skip dinner. You are good.
  • cemetree
    cemetree Posts: 17 Member
    I think it works for some, but not all. It might work for me, but I know it isn’t sustainable because I’m a food addict and being that hungry just doesn’t work well for me.
  • Bodyopus
    Bodyopus Posts: 25 Member
    @Hungry_Shopgirl I work out in the evenings so skipping dinner is not an option for me.
  • Sparkle7
    Sparkle7 Posts: 15 Member
    @cemetree - I have been doing IF for about 5 years now and it had the opposite effect on me. I’m muuuuch less hungry now whereas before I was hungry all the time while eating more.

    I usually eat around 1pm and stop eating around 10pm. I don’t limit myself to 2 meals. I may also have some snacks. But, I’m never hungry outside my window. Just food for thought. :smile:
  • Phoenixsunflr
    Phoenixsunflr Posts: 78 Member
    Nah not for me. Food is fuel B)
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
    I ran no dinner for a while during losing weight. I eventually found it wasn't particularly helpful, and after back and forth with the research analysis on it, I felt I'd rather getting in more meals in day to get that little bit of protein synthesis going on. I'm not sure that it makes a difference to preserving or gaining muscle, but I'm very confident it won't hurt it, so I err on that side.
  • JohnnytotheB
    JohnnytotheB Posts: 361 Member
    I always feel that if it's not a sustainable thing, it's probably not worth doing. Int fasting is one of those I feel that you're (probably) not going to do 1, 5, 10+ years for now. I also believe it's all based on calories in and eating less for your desired outcome, not really based on fasting or not fasting for a few hours.
  • lukejoycePT
    lukejoycePT Posts: 182 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    IF has an insane amount of health benefits if done correctly. Plus it helps keep your calories down.

    Not necessarily - IF is my natural eating pattern and I have lost weight, gained weight and maintained weight eating that way... it all comes down to calories in the end.

    of course, i agree but i merely meant that if you are tracking calories that by not eating for the fasting window allows for the calories to be consumed later meaning it makes its easier to stick within a calorie goal.