The Day That I Stopped Eating Breakfast
jbh1026
Posts: 1 Member
365 Days ago, I began intermittent fasting. I was stuck in a fitness rut and needed to make a move. In the days leading up to this new radical lifestyle change I read multiple articles highlighting the pros & cons of IF and watched several videos of various people describing their IF experiences.
As I digested this mass of information and opinion, there was one view that really resonated with me. It originated from a physician explaining the mental and physical challenges associated with diets vs. IF, he essentially concluded that diets are mentally easy to accept but extremely difficult to physically adhere to consistently over time and that IF is exactly the opposite. IF sounds borderline crazy on the surface, not eating for 16, 17, 18 hours at a time but physically once your body adapts to this time restricted eating approach it becomes exceptionally easy to maintain.
Reflecting on the past year, IF has taught me several important lessons:
• It’s completely ok to feel hungry and choose not to eat. Whether we realize it or not our bodies were designed to go long periods of time without food consumption, think caveman. In today’s fast paced instant gratification society I realize this is a difficult concept to acknowledge.
• Discipline & personal accountability. I’ve always been a fairly disciplined person throughout most of my life but IF has taken both traits to a new level for me. A level that I didn’t know I had intrinsically. I’ve fallen in love with the “pay the piper” mentality associated with IF. You want to stay up late and eat that last slice of pizza or chicken wing? Fine but just know tomorrow instead of fasting until Noon you’ll have to extend it out numerous hours depending on when you satisfied that late-night craving.
• Simplicity. IF has dramatically simplified the way that I think about food. I typically break my fast each day sometime between Noon and 1pm, eat a snack around 3:30 pm (usually a banana or apple with almonds), have dinner at roughly 6:30 pm (my wife is a fantastic cook) then eat some sort of additional snack just before 8 pm. Rinse and repeat.
• Empty stomach cardio. This type of cardio can be tremendously effective for weight loss. For years I had heard about the benefits associated with this but was never fully able to participate due to my work schedule. With IF I’m routinely getting 4-6 empty stomach cardio sessions every week (I’m fortunate to work for a company that has an on-site gym).
Now on to the results, I’ve dropped 30 lbs. and feel phenomenal. My endurance is stronger as I’ve been running approximately 10 miles per week. Strength levels have dipped moderately which I anticipated given my reduced frame combined with the fact that I’m pushing 40 years old. Intermittent fasting has truly changed my life for the better with my only regret being that I didn’t start sooner.
As I digested this mass of information and opinion, there was one view that really resonated with me. It originated from a physician explaining the mental and physical challenges associated with diets vs. IF, he essentially concluded that diets are mentally easy to accept but extremely difficult to physically adhere to consistently over time and that IF is exactly the opposite. IF sounds borderline crazy on the surface, not eating for 16, 17, 18 hours at a time but physically once your body adapts to this time restricted eating approach it becomes exceptionally easy to maintain.
Reflecting on the past year, IF has taught me several important lessons:
• It’s completely ok to feel hungry and choose not to eat. Whether we realize it or not our bodies were designed to go long periods of time without food consumption, think caveman. In today’s fast paced instant gratification society I realize this is a difficult concept to acknowledge.
• Discipline & personal accountability. I’ve always been a fairly disciplined person throughout most of my life but IF has taken both traits to a new level for me. A level that I didn’t know I had intrinsically. I’ve fallen in love with the “pay the piper” mentality associated with IF. You want to stay up late and eat that last slice of pizza or chicken wing? Fine but just know tomorrow instead of fasting until Noon you’ll have to extend it out numerous hours depending on when you satisfied that late-night craving.
• Simplicity. IF has dramatically simplified the way that I think about food. I typically break my fast each day sometime between Noon and 1pm, eat a snack around 3:30 pm (usually a banana or apple with almonds), have dinner at roughly 6:30 pm (my wife is a fantastic cook) then eat some sort of additional snack just before 8 pm. Rinse and repeat.
• Empty stomach cardio. This type of cardio can be tremendously effective for weight loss. For years I had heard about the benefits associated with this but was never fully able to participate due to my work schedule. With IF I’m routinely getting 4-6 empty stomach cardio sessions every week (I’m fortunate to work for a company that has an on-site gym).
Now on to the results, I’ve dropped 30 lbs. and feel phenomenal. My endurance is stronger as I’ve been running approximately 10 miles per week. Strength levels have dipped moderately which I anticipated given my reduced frame combined with the fact that I’m pushing 40 years old. Intermittent fasting has truly changed my life for the better with my only regret being that I didn’t start sooner.
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Replies
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So, you succeeded in creating a calorie deficit. Well done. I'm glad you found what works for you.37
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Sounds kinda like why I started eating breakfast, yet completely different.18
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I'm glad you found IF and it's working well for you. But IF isn't really all that radical. Lots of people naturally aren't hungry in the AM so they skip breakfast and don't start eating until the afternoon. That's why the breakfast food companies have been advertising the "importance" of breakfast for 50 years, trying to get all those people to eat in the morning
I understand it is a radical concept for some people though, and congrats on your success so far!12 -
IF sounds borderline crazy on the surface, not eating for 16, 17, 18 hours at a time but physically once your body adapts to this time restricted eating approach it becomes exceptionally easy to maintain.
Being hypoglycemic and prone to feeling rather ill if I don't eat for a few hours, I don't know if my body would eventually adapt physically. I'm not really interested in unnecessary experimentation to see if it would, either, given how I feel when missing a meal normally!
But I'm glad you found something that works for you and makes you feel good. Many people swear by IF, others just swear at it...
Fortunately we're all individuals and can choose the method that suits us best - well done on finding yours, and congrats on your loss! 15 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »So, you succeeded in creating a calorie deficit. Well done. I'm glad you found what works for you.
Sooooo many levels to this perfect answer. 7 -
Thank you so much for sharing! I just started IF Monday night. 16:8 and have been doing 18:6 the rest of the week. I eat lunch at 12:00 and finish dinner just before 6:00. Before IF I went whole foods / plant based almost 2 years ago. I was doing great and lost 49 pounds (couldn't get to that 50 pound mark). But then I was letting processed foods back into my diet, combined with major surgery back in December and I put back on nearly 20 pounds. I'm down 5 pounds just since starting IF. It doesn't feel like a "diet". It's a lifestyle. It's making me drink more water which is wonderful for the body. I've got a 6-8 hour eating window to eat whatever I want but I've been making healthy choices. Haven't had processed foods or even chocolate since last weekend. That's huge for me. I love reading all of the success stories.3
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@jbh1026 thanks for sharing your wonderful IF experiences which are familiar to me and many other IF practitioners.
If you haven’t already done so, stop by our MFP Intermittent Fasting Group and share there. You’ll be preaching to the church choir.5 -
Congratulations on reinventing the wheel and discovering that it works for you. (Honestly, no snark. IF is an eating pattern that has been around for centuries, if not millenia, but many people do better when discovering something for themselves instead of being told what to do).3
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• It’s completely ok to feel hungry and choose not to eat. Whether we realize it or not our bodies were designed to go long periods of time without food consumption, think caveman. In today’s fast paced instant gratification society I realize this is a difficult concept to acknowledge.
I skip breakfast so I am not hungry.• Discipline & personal accountability. I’ve always been a fairly disciplined person throughout most of my life but IF has taken both traits to a new level for me. A level that I didn’t know I had intrinsically. I’ve fallen in love with the “pay the piper” mentality associated with IF. You want to stay up late and eat that last slice of pizza or chicken wing? Fine but just know tomorrow instead of fasting until Noon you’ll have to extend it out numerous hours depending on when you satisfied that late-night craving.
I skip breakfast so I require less discipline. I don't need unnecessary rules and regulations. I need only what is absolutely required to maintain a calorie deficit and keep me in the vicinity of happy doing it.• Simplicity. IF has dramatically simplified the way that I think about food. I typically break my fast each day sometime between Noon and 1pm, eat a snack around 3:30 pm (usually a banana or apple with almonds), have dinner at roughly 6:30 pm (my wife is a fantastic cook) then eat some sort of additional snack just before 8 pm. Rinse and repeat.
Simple is better• Empty stomach cardio. This type of cardio can be tremendously effective for weight loss. For years I had heard about the benefits associated with this but was never fully able to participate due to my work schedule. With IF I’m routinely getting 4-6 empty stomach cardio sessions every week (I’m fortunate to work for a company that has an on-site gym).
Last I checked science has yet to verify any benefit to fasted workouts.
OP, you have a GREAT reason to be excited. You found your piece of the puzzle. It fits you and the way you have implemented it fits your personality. I only caution you that before you start preaching to the choir or anyone else that your personal path to success will end up being a path of failure for MANY maybe even MOST other people.
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I use the IF concept where I don't eat/snack until I'm driving home from work around 3PM. I don't believe in the effects others claim. It's just a great way for me to get home from work, sit down for dinner, and know I have 1500 calories I can enjoy.7
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Geez! People can't be happy for the guy without the snide commentary?9
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it definitely helps me.. I don't have set hours or put a label on it but some days I don't eat until dinner.
fasted cardio doesn't really do anything special. All that matters is maintaining a caloric deficit over time and not eating anything during part or most of the day makes that easier.1 -
IF sounds borderline crazy on the surface, not eating for 16, 17, 18 hours at a time but physically once your body adapts to this time restricted eating approach it becomes exceptionally easy to maintain.
Being hypoglycemic and prone to feeling rather ill if I don't eat for a few hours, I don't know if my body would eventually adapt physically. I'm not really interested in unnecessary experimentation to see if it would, either, given how I feel when missing a meal normally!
But I'm glad you found something that works for you and makes you feel good. Many people swear by IF, others just swear at it... Fortunately we're all individuals and can choose the method that suits us best - well done on finding yours, and congrats on your loss!
I'm with you on this! I wish I could fast during the day but I'd be a shaky, irritable,dizzy mess😵0 -
I do NOT miss breakfast, and my 'fasting' times are called sleep. 😳4
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Geez! People can't be happy for the guy without the snide commentary?
People seemed perfectly happy for him to me.
What there was some pushback on were the 'Wonders of IF' claims
If it is a way of eating that suits you - fine.
If it helps you create a calorie deficit (presuming you are trying to lose weight) - also fine.
But it isnt new, wonderful,miraculous disclipined, any other superlative - it is just a way of food timing that suits some people,, that's all.
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jeffjeff85 wrote: »I do NOT miss breakfast, and my 'fasting' times are called sleep. 😳
Same. I guess you could say I'm IF at 12:12 ? I quit eating at 7 pm and start back eating at 7 am. anyway, to OP, congrats on whatever is working for you to stay at calorie deficit.
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