Intermittent fasting.
Taytaylynn92
Posts: 230 Member
I’m going to begin intermittent fasting tomorrow. What are the best and worst parts about it. My eating period is probably going to be between 12-8. Any tips on this?
I workout in the mornings before work and am hoping I’m not too hungry and fail at this!
I workout in the mornings before work and am hoping I’m not too hungry and fail at this!
5
Replies
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16:8 intermittent fasting is pretty easy, you won't have a problem. I did it quite strictly for some months (11 am to 7 pm) and lost 50 lbs but last week I relaxed the rule to "no eating after 7 pm" so I could have breakfast when I wanted to. However, I've only done that twice, to have a piece of fruit before 11 am. My 16:8 approach is still pretty much in tact despite no longer being "policy", because it's so much easier to not exceed my calorie target when I confine my eating to an 8 hr window.
Worst parts:
- takes 2-3 weeks to really get used to it, meaning no longer feeling super-hungry outside the eating window
- can be a PITA to stay with IF if you have a social or work schedule that conflicts with it, for instance what happens when you're out with friends at 11 pm?
Best parts:
- 2 "real" (non-diet-y) meals every day instead of 3 smaller meals or 4+ mini-meals - real, non diet, food in big portions so you feel totally satisfied.
- it's much easier to make a limited number of calories work when you only have 8 hrs to use them
- if nighttime snacking is a problem, IF is the solution
- with large, filling, non-diet-y meals every single day, there is little desire to have "cheat" meals or off days. I had exactly one binge meal in 4 months, and only because I was out with friends and the bourbon was flowing. Binging results from feeling deprived and from craving things or quantities you can't eat while "on your diet", but on IF you are eating your crave foods in real quantities constantly, in my case every day. Tonight I had a gigantic piece of lasagne for dinner.
- IF also has some nice non-weight-loss benefits, primarily going to sleep on an empty stomach. It'll give you a nice low pulse rate and lower blood pressure in the evenings and at night - very relaxed with better quality sleep. It takes a lot of work for your body to digest food, but on IF most of the time you're not digesting food, so your body isn't working as hard.
- You quickly get used to being a little hungry sometimes, and hunger becomes more of just a slightly annoying physical sensation than a psychological craving for food. You become the boss of your body, rather than the other way around. That may sound theoretical or philosophical, but I think it's actually one of the big benefits of IF. YOU make the rules, not your stomach juices. IF kind of liberates you from being a prisoner of your own hunger and cravings ... if you stick to it.
Tips:
- "No" means no. As in "no eating after 8 pm" if that's your rule. That means zero calories. Nada. Zip. No creamer in coffee, no sugar in drinks, not one pickle or almond. Make that commitment and really try to stick to it everyday. Learn to overpower your hunger pangs and you'll have acquired a very, very useful dieting skill.
- You still have to eat a calorie deficit. IF itself will do nothing on its own to hasten your weight loss. That's gonna come solely from eating less food.18 -
So basically you are just skipping breakfast. Many people skip breakfast regularly, it's very common. I did it in my late teens and 20s, and didn't think it was any big thing, it was just how I preferred to eat.
Now, I often run in the morning and like to eat breakfast after I run, I think it's nice to get in carbs and protein post run and do tend to be hungry if I don't. If that's an issue for you, you could move your window earlier.
I don't get the big thing about IFing, while it's super popular, the perceived difficulty of it is often over-dramatized IMO. For some it likely makes reducing cals easier, and it's the "it's easier" part that is important.
If the schedule doesn't work for you, try a different schedule. I lost 90 lbs eating at 6:30 (post run or pre bike), noon, and 9 most days. No negative effects from not IFing, for me the important thing that made it easy for me was not snacking.5 -
Great “executive briefing” @lgfrie.2
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Taytaylynn92 wrote: »I’m going to begin intermittent fasting tomorrow. What are the best and worst parts about it. My eating period is probably going to be between 12-8. Any tips on this?
I workout in the mornings before work and am hoping I’m not too hungry and fail at this!
And if IF doesn’t work out for you, why would you consider that failure? There is nothing magical about condensing your eating into a particular window. If it makes it easier to adhere to a calorie deficit - great! If it makes it hard, then there’s no particular advantage to it for weight loss compared to any other plan which helps you eat at a deficit.15 -
This16:8 intermittent fasting is pretty easy, you won't have a problem.
seems inconsistent with thistakes 2-3 weeks to really get used to it, meaning no longer feeling super-hungry outside the eating window
- can be a PITA to stay with IF if you have a social or work schedule that conflicts with it, for instance what happens when you're out with friends at 11 pm?
-4 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »This16:8 intermittent fasting is pretty easy, you won't have a problem.
seems inconsistent with thistakes 2-3 weeks to really get used to it, meaning no longer feeling super-hungry outside the eating window
- can be a PITA to stay with IF if you have a social or work schedule that conflicts with it, for instance what happens when you're out with friends at 11 pm?
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There are many things in life that are pretty easy once you get used to doing them. Shaving with a safety razor, growing tomatoes on the porch, using Word, sharpening a knife, online banking, making chicken parmesan, ad infinitum. IF is just another easy thing that takes a little getting used to. I found it easy, but you do have to learn to accept being a little hungry for a while, until your body submits to your will and stops sending you hunger signals all the time. Takes a couple/few weeks. Then suddenly one day you're not hungry at all outside the window because you know you just flat-out aren't going to get a molecule of food and your mind and body have adjusted to that.10 -
The only issue I have with IF is that some people seem to make themselves miserable just to stick rigidly to their IF schedule. To the point of not eating when they're hungry and avoiding or at least not participating in events, social occasions, etc just so they can maintain their 'IF' status.
IF can make eating in a calorie deficit much easier for some people but it also needs to be approached with some flexibility and rationality. As long as the overall calories consumed remains the same then eating outside your calorie window will not in anyway negatively impact your weight loss progress.
By this I mean, lets say 1800cal between 12pm and 8pm.
Today you woke up really hungry. Eating a couple of pieces of toast worth 200 calories then the rest of the 1600cal during your eating window will provide the exact same weight loss results.
Or, tonight you'll be going out to a late dinner and extending your eating window to 9:30pm instead of 8pm. As long as the calories remain the same this will not in any way change your results.
So if it works for you by all means use this tool to achieve the required calorie intake but please, understand that being flexible so that IF fits your life is, I think, a much better approach than trying to make your life fit IF.14 -
- "No" means no. As in "no eating after 8 pm" if that's your rule. That means zero calories. Nada. Zip. No creamer in coffee, no sugar in drinks, not one pickle or almond. Make that commitment and really try to stick to it everyday. Learn to overpower your hunger pangs and you'll have acquired a very, very useful dieting skill.
- You still have to eat a calorie deficit. IF itself will do nothing on its own to hasten your weight loss. That's gonna come solely from eating less food.
This is probably fine for some people. However enough people have come through here very hungry and not having met the calorie goal because they had to work late that this rule needs to be amendable when life gets in the way. I hate seeing grown adults starting threads begging for permission to eat dinner because it is outside their window.
The most important part about any way of eating is that the person doing it needs to be in charge of the rules and have some common sense about when to set them aside.18 -
- "No" means no. As in "no eating after 8 pm" if that's your rule. That means zero calories. Nada. Zip. No creamer in coffee, no sugar in drinks, not one pickle or almond. Make that commitment and really try to stick to it everyday. Learn to overpower your hunger pangs and you'll have acquired a very, very useful dieting skill.
- You still have to eat a calorie deficit. IF itself will do nothing on its own to hasten your weight loss. That's gonna come solely from eating less food.
This is probably fine for some people. However enough people have come through here very hungry and not having met the calorie goal because they had to work late that this rule needs to be amendable when life gets in the way. I hate seeing grown adults starting threads begging for permission to eat dinner because it is outside their window.
The most important part about any way of eating is that the person doing it needs to be in charge of the rules and have some common sense about when to set them aside.
That is true of any WOE, not just IF, no? Learning when and how to use the Pause key is critical to any diet.4 -
I suppose fail wasn’t the correct word to use.WinoGelato wrote: »Taytaylynn92 wrote: »I’m going to begin intermittent fasting tomorrow. What are the best and worst parts about it. My eating period is probably going to be between 12-8. Any tips on this?
I workout in the mornings before work and am hoping I’m not too hungry and fail at this!
And if IF doesn’t work out for you, why would you consider that failure? There is nothing magical about condensing your eating into a particular window. If it makes it easier to adhere to a calorie deficit - great! If it makes it hard, then there’s no particular advantage to it for weight loss compared to any other plan which helps you eat at a deficit.
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Just realized that yesterday was the one year anniversary of resurrecting IF in my current fitness, health and wellness journey. I began on September 15, 2018 and have practiced this lifestyle EVERY DAY since then.
I began my current fitness, health and wellness journey last August 31, 2018 and the morning BW scale readings weren’t budging despite eating a controlled about 1,800 calories a day. I even gained a couple lbs. but this was likely water weight. Frustrated, I jumped on the IF pony based on favorable experiences in the past with the first one being 9 years earlier during Lent 2009.
I currently target 18:6 but am flexible because I can “afford” it. Recently, while on vacation, I had several 14:10 days. Some might not call 14:10 IF but I do because of a lifestyle mindset I maintained on those days.
My current 7-day average is a fasting period of 17 hours 18 minutes. I’ve been running more lately and find this affects my real hunger.
Have been using the Zero Fasting app for 197 consecutive days since first using it.
What are the fruits of my EVERY DAY IF lifestyle?
A consistent 40 lbs. lighter than when I began and a firm morning BW on the low side of my 5-lb. ideal weight range that is firmly “stuck” like Super Glue.7 -
Lgfrie covered it pretty well. I do time restrictioned eating (TRE), also 11-7, and workout in the mornings. TRE helped me to get in touch with real hunger versus just bored/habit eating. It’s also takes less for me to feel satiated now and I like not eating close to bedtime. Water is key, if you think you are hungry, drink water and give it 5 minutes, it usually goes away. That said, it pays to be flexible, some days you may need to fuel up and others you may find you have extended the fast without thinking about it. Good luck!4
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Good luck with your IF journey. All I can really add to the discussion is that IF can work for some people, but not for others. Whilst IF is strictly speaking more of a time restrictive eating window (how can a regular fasting/feeding regime ever be truly intermittent if you do it at the same time every day?
) it is still relatively easy to overeat during that feeding window, especially right at the start when you may well be hungry and facing calorie dense or highly palatable foods. So make sure you also stick to your calorie target for the day as well. Once you get into the habit it becomes easy, but only if it works. The big trick for me is drinking lots of water and black coffee and filling up on veggies. Once you get used to it then the fun really begins as you try to extend the fasting window out towards 24 hours and beyond. Try that once a month when you get going. 3 -
So glad i found this thread as i'm planning on starting tomorrow. Huge congrats to those who have lost and good luck to all who are starting it. we've got this!!!5
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I've been doing IF for some years now. My eating window is 2pm to 10pm. I work out fasted in the morning without a problem. I don't go mad about keeping the eating window to the same every day - if I need to go out to lunch for 1pm that's fine. You do have to count calories, so don't think you can eat what you want in the eating window. It just makes meals more satisfying, as has been said above.
If I go away for a short trip I will ignore the eating window and have 3 meals a day with my husband. I try to count calories but don't go mad (it's a holiday!). If I go away for longer it's usually on a cruise where I can ignore breakfast and go to the gym in my usual routine. I still put on a bit of weight as I refuse not to have the occasional indulgence, but the IF helps me a lot in keeping that under control.
When I started, if I felt hungry I would have a mug of green tea. I promised myself that if I still felt hungry 30 mins later I would have something to eat. Most of the time I had forgotten about feeling hungry. It is (to my mind) important to go through this procedure because it proves to you that the feeling of hunger does not last/increase until you eat something. It comes and goes and is not nearly as grim as you think, if you can just ignore it for a while.8 -
Pros: This has been my natural way of eating for more than 20 years so it is easy. Unless it is a special occasion eating breakfast when I am not hungry is kind of a chore. I also have a form of hypoglycemia that makes eating carbs in the morning problematic so it is easier to skip. When I started losing weight I also wanted to get my acid reflux under control so I started eating less and less dinner until I realized I was not hungry for dinner most of the time either. This gives me a huge amount of flexibility.
Since this is my natural state controlling my hunger has always been as easy as just not eating. This assumes I had enough calories the day before. If not, I can be quite hungry at lunch time. Back in my early days of running a business I accidentally fasted a few times for an entire day. That was bad for me because I overcompensated the next day with food but it happened. Once I start eating at 11:30 though I have to see it through. I can't just eat a small snack and quit or I will be distracted by hunger. If I don't eat at all I can go much later in the day. I don't do this normally because I need to keep a schedule but I have done it when appointments have delayed my lunch.
Cons: You can gain weight EASILY eating less meals/less hours of the day. You have to make mindful choices or count calories because food selection can still put you in a surplus.
It has reportedly made many people who tried it quite miserable or fatigued. They had to stop because it wasn't making their goals easier to achieve it was making it harder. My wife eats a 120 calorie bar along with coffee and cream in the morning. Even if she drinks the coffee if she skips that small portion of food which is the least amount she has found she can eat she gets terrible headaches. That bar would set me off but it is enough to satisfy her hunger until lunch and prevent the headaches. She doesn't benefit as much as someone who eats no calories in the morning but keeping her first meal down to a snack also gives her more to work with the other 2 meals of the day.
Finding your particular lane is important. The internet has made intermittent fasting/time restricted eating into a magical health/virtue signalling good. It is not that fantastic it is just a tool. Try it for a time but I suggest calling it an experiment so you don't get yourself mentally trapped into something that can potentially hurt more than it helps.9 -
- "No" means no. As in "no eating after 8 pm" if that's your rule. That means zero calories. Nada. Zip. No creamer in coffee, no sugar in drinks, not one pickle or almond. Make that commitment and really try to stick to it everyday. Learn to overpower your hunger pangs and you'll have acquired a very, very useful dieting skill.
- You still have to eat a calorie deficit. IF itself will do nothing on its own to hasten your weight loss. That's gonna come solely from eating less food.
This is probably fine for some people. However enough people have come through here very hungry and not having met the calorie goal because they had to work late that this rule needs to be amendable when life gets in the way. I hate seeing grown adults starting threads begging for permission to eat dinner because it is outside their window.
The most important part about any way of eating is that the person doing it needs to be in charge of the rules and have some common sense about when to set them aside.
That is true of any WOE, not just IF, no? Learning when and how to use the Pause key is critical to any diet.
True but that is not how you worded it... 3 -
16:8 intermittent fasting is pretty easy, you won't have a problem. I did it quite strictly for some months (11 am to 7 pm) and lost 50 lbs but last week I relaxed the rule to "no eating after 7 pm" so I could have breakfast when I wanted to. However, I've only done that twice, to have a piece of fruit before 11 am. My 16:8 approach is still pretty much in tact despite no longer being "policy", because it's so much easier to not exceed my calorie target when I confine my eating to an 8 hr window.
Edited for length
Tips:
- "No" means no. As in "no eating after 8 pm" if that's your rule. That means zero calories. Nada. Zip. No creamer in coffee, no sugar in drinks, not one pickle or almond. Make that commitment and really try to stick to it everyday. Learn to overpower your hunger pangs and you'll have acquired a very, very useful dieting skill.
- You still have to eat a calorie deficit. IF itself will do nothing on its own to hasten your weight loss. That's gonna come solely from eating less food.
I agree with the majority of you words except for the bolded. I think people have to use some common sense when it comes to the TRE hours. Ex:
My window Is 11am to 7pm. I rarely eat outside of those hours. What I found was that there were several days that I didn't even come close to eating my calorie goal. After dinner I would total my calories eaten and realize that I had not eaten enough and I was out of time or to be honest I just didn't want any more food. I tried to eat more at "brunch" but then I didn't want my normal afternoon snack so I still wasn't eating enough. Then I tried to increase my dinner and then I didn't want my little dessert afterwards.
This week all of this showed up in how I felt...I was tired so now I am trying to fix all of this...it isn't going well. I love "skipping breakfast"/IF/TRE" or whatever anyone wants to call it. I also am sleeping better at night not going to bed on a full stomach. It has virtually stopped all of my cravings and snacking episodes...almost too well. I think at the end of the day one has to weigh...window is closed against "have I eaten enough?".
IMO...Sometimes we don't stress enough to make sure that our "skipping breakfast/IF/TRE" (or whatever floats your boat) doesn't put us into too large of a deficit. I can't speak for anyone else(nor am I putting my WOE superior over anyone else's) but I am not IFing/TRE/skipping breakfast because of some "miracle"...I just wanted to get my uncontrollable eating under control.9 -
The only issue I have with IF is that some people seem to make themselves miserable just to stick rigidly to their IF schedule. To the point of not eating when they're hungry and avoiding or at least not participating in events, social occasions, etc just so they can maintain their 'IF' status.
IF can make eating in a calorie deficit much easier for some people but it also needs to be approached with some flexibility and rationality. As long as the overall calories consumed remains the same then eating outside your calorie window will not in anyway negatively impact your weight loss progress.
By this I mean, lets say 1800cal between 12pm and 8pm.
Today you woke up really hungry. Eating a couple of pieces of toast worth 200 calories then the rest of the 1600cal during your eating window will provide the exact same weight loss results.
Or, tonight you'll be going out to a late dinner and extending your eating window to 9:30pm instead of 8pm. As long as the calories remain the same this will not in any way change your results.
So if it works for you by all means use this tool to achieve the required calorie intake but please, understand that being flexible so that IF fits your life is, I think, a much better approach than trying to make your life fit IF.
This I agree with 100%.3
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