Anyone else found intermittent fasting to be a god send?
eadooo
Posts: 5 Member
October 1st I was 155.4lbs, with a BMI of 24.4
Now that’s not awful, but there was definitely some ‘Podge’ to shift and I’m the kind of person that has to set some boundaries or limits; simply saying to myself ‘oh, I’ll eat smaller healthier meals’ this month? Yeah. That’s lasting 5 mins. So I bought a smart scale, opened up this app and picked intermittent fasting (12pm-8pm eating window) with a 1,200 calorie limit. I’m two weeks in, 5.4lbs down (BMI 23.4) and haven’t felt hungry or like I’m ‘dieting’ once ?! Wish I knew about it sooner! Goal was 147lbs for my vacation on October 26th... fingers crossed!
I’ve never been a breakfast girl, so eating 12-8 pm is great for me - particularly since after 8 pm, when I’m chilling at home... that was snack o’clock before! I’m also having my usual dinners with my partner each night without any change or planning! I can also shift my eating window up a little later on the weekends if we head out. I also made an agreement with myself on day 1, that 2-3 glasses of wine on a Saturday night is fiiiiine, and not to even worry about the window for those; everything In moderation
Like, like, like!
Wondering if anyone else tried it and loved it? What their average day looks like for food?
My average ‘intermittent’ day:
< 12 pm just tea or coffee
Midday - light 250 cal meal (e.g roast chicken and balsamic green salad, Greek yog + granola + berries or chunky soup can)
2:30 pm - 100 cal fruit/veg snack (e.g carrot or cucumber + hummus, apple/pear, 2 satsuma, 2 plums)
4:30 pm - 100 cal sugar cravings treat (e.g tall light mocha frap from Starbucks or a fibre 1 brownie)
7 pm dinner 600-750 calories (whatever we fancy, I just make sure to stay inside these numbers for my portion and include greens)
^ PS. No set way to eat within your non-fast window - you do you. This kind of thing just works for me and around my breaks at work, cravings and lifestyle having my big meal at dinner means I’m never hungry in the morning either !
Now that’s not awful, but there was definitely some ‘Podge’ to shift and I’m the kind of person that has to set some boundaries or limits; simply saying to myself ‘oh, I’ll eat smaller healthier meals’ this month? Yeah. That’s lasting 5 mins. So I bought a smart scale, opened up this app and picked intermittent fasting (12pm-8pm eating window) with a 1,200 calorie limit. I’m two weeks in, 5.4lbs down (BMI 23.4) and haven’t felt hungry or like I’m ‘dieting’ once ?! Wish I knew about it sooner! Goal was 147lbs for my vacation on October 26th... fingers crossed!
I’ve never been a breakfast girl, so eating 12-8 pm is great for me - particularly since after 8 pm, when I’m chilling at home... that was snack o’clock before! I’m also having my usual dinners with my partner each night without any change or planning! I can also shift my eating window up a little later on the weekends if we head out. I also made an agreement with myself on day 1, that 2-3 glasses of wine on a Saturday night is fiiiiine, and not to even worry about the window for those; everything In moderation
Like, like, like!
Wondering if anyone else tried it and loved it? What their average day looks like for food?
My average ‘intermittent’ day:
< 12 pm just tea or coffee
Midday - light 250 cal meal (e.g roast chicken and balsamic green salad, Greek yog + granola + berries or chunky soup can)
2:30 pm - 100 cal fruit/veg snack (e.g carrot or cucumber + hummus, apple/pear, 2 satsuma, 2 plums)
4:30 pm - 100 cal sugar cravings treat (e.g tall light mocha frap from Starbucks or a fibre 1 brownie)
7 pm dinner 600-750 calories (whatever we fancy, I just make sure to stay inside these numbers for my portion and include greens)
^ PS. No set way to eat within your non-fast window - you do you. This kind of thing just works for me and around my breaks at work, cravings and lifestyle
having my big meal at dinner means I’m never hungry in the morning either ! 7
Replies
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Hi! I discovered IF in May and love it. It's not a dieet thing for me, it's a lifestyle. Not doing it just for weight loss, but all the other benefits that come with it (cell repair, self-discipline, better neural network). I love how it turned me from a hangry person, chasing down then next meal, to someone who is rarely ever actually hungry anymore. I mean, I can always eat, I get peckish for sure, but I'm almost never hungry. Not feeling faint, no headaches, now bloodsugar drops, no hunger pangs or cramps.
I usually do 16:8 or 18:6 every day (exceptions happen sometimes, no big deal) with once a week a 36h one.
Good to hear more people are discovering the benefits!!4 -
That actually doesn't seem so bad, I always been afraid from the term fasting lol. I'll give it a try sometime 0
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I was doing IF before I even realized what IF was. I'm like you, not big on breakfast so my first meal was usually lunch around 12-1. I typically stick to the 12-8 window, but my work office is so cold that I need to have sugar-free hot chocolate around 10am in order to stay warm and focused, so that technically breaks my fast.
But to your point, IF helped me lose 70lbs in 10 months in addition to exercise. It definitely has been successful for me!0 -
@l4a_p Interesting how different it made you feel.... I may have to give it a try on just eating between 12 & 8 - that's doable with my schedule. Everytime I try to fast, I wind up super light headed on active days.2
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I started about 3 weeks ago, I had been yo-yoing from 160-165lbs and nothing i was doing was breaking it. So i chose to try it, from 10-7 and it was tough at first, mostly because of the deprogramming i needed to do but after the first week, it was easier and more doable. I do drink black coffee around 8-9 though, breakfast at 10-11, lunch 2:30-3- right after workout when i'm not too hungry anyways, then dinner at 6:30 or 7, my heaviest meal which includes some type of dessert
usually my go to is grapes
I didnt think i could stick to it but i find it liberating in a way, i noticed i'd be hungrier on days i had early breakfast. Now I aim to drink plenty of water in between (about 2L before noon), i usually average 1200-1500cal a day. It's taken me a bit but i stepped on the scale last night and found i was 3# lighter and finally, oh sweet baby Jesus, finally in the 150's!! it's been a decade since i've seen that number!
I have never felt better in my life!!
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cayenne_007 wrote: »@l4a_p Interesting how different it made you feel.... I may have to give it a try on just eating between 12 & 8 - that's doable with my schedule. Everytime I try to fast, I wind up super light headed on active days.
@cayenne_007 I must admit the very first few weeks I sometimes had that "thing" that makes your ears feel clogged. I think it's related to low blood pressure? But that was all of negative side effects I ever experience and as soon as your body is fat-adapted (aka, used to getting its energy from your fat instead of bloodglucose) it never came back. I also love sport (especially cardio) when fasted. It makes me feeling like I'm glowing on the inside (weird I know, don't know how else to describe it!
I'm aware it's not for everyone tho. Let me know how it goes! 4 -
cayenne_007 wrote: »@l4a_p Interesting how different it made you feel.... I may have to give it a try on just eating between 12 & 8 - that's doable with my schedule. Everytime I try to fast, I wind up super light headed on active days.
@cayenne_007 I must admit the very first few weeks I sometimes had that "thing" that makes your ears feel clogged. I think it's related to low blood pressure? But that was all of negative side effects I ever experience and as soon as your body is fat-adapted (aka, used to getting its energy from your fat instead of bloodglucose) it never came back. I also love sport (especially cardio) when fasted. It makes me feeling like I'm glowing on the inside (weird I know, don't know how else to describe it! I'm aware it's not for everyone tho. Let me know how it goes!
Well - starting today was a failure. Company meetings and I was greeted with a home made breakfast burrito.... LOL! Looks like I'll be starting tomorrow.4 -
I know it's probably good for me and I tried a while ago. But I just get soooo hungry around 9-10am. (I get up at 6am) I'm only drinking coffee when kids are eating breakfast so I eat at my work around 10am.
In an ideal world, my 1st meal at 12 (brunch) and dinner done by 8. (fasting 16hrs) I just don't know how I can survive without eating from 6 in the morning till noon.
Is it something you get used to? Just sip on coffee or water for 6hrs?1 -
I found it helped for a period of time when meal planning and cooking at home just weren't very feasible. It definitely helped keep me on track, I did more of a variation on OMAD.
I'm a volume eater though (I like a lot of food when I sit down to a meal), so still had to track calories in order to lose weight.2 -
weatherking2019 wrote: »I know it's probably good for me and I tried a while ago. But I just get soooo hungry around 9-10am. (I get up at 6am) I'm only drinking coffee when kids are eating breakfast so I eat at my work around 10am.
In an ideal world, my 1st meal at 12 (brunch) and dinner done by 8. (fasting 16hrs) I just don't know how I can survive without eating from 6 in the morning till noon.
Is it something you get used to? Just sip on coffee or water for 6hrs?
Well, I haven't been a breakfast-eater for years now (just came naturally in college, after I left the 'routine' of being a child in a household) so I only start to feel peckish at 10 or 11, and even them I'm convinced it's only because you are conditioned to expect food nearing noon. That used to be an actual feeling of "im hungry" at the start but has been significantly reduced to "yeah I could eat" and knowing it's just wanting to eat because I like food than actually needing food
So there is definitely a huge part of getting used to it. And indeed drinking lots of water or coffee. 3 -
It's working for me.
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So - day 1 of skipping breakfast for me.... going to give it a go!4
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I like to do two consecutive days. It seems to have a greater effect. 0
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I consistently keep to approx 16:8 to 18:6 with my start a couple cups of black coffee at 3 pm, regular large dinner with hubby at 6 or 7 pm, protein and fat snack at 11 or midnite. I work 9pm-5:30am on patrol, so I like to have an empty tummy for several hours before I go to bed at 6am. I was never a very hungry person just after I got up, even in elementary school. If I ate too early, I would vomit.1
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I want to figure out an IF schedule that works for me. I typically do a high intensity bootcamp at 6am 4 days a week.By the time I am ready to leave for work around 8, I'm starving. I can put it off an hour with coffee or tea, but by 9, I am ready to eat my arm. With my kids s schedules we eat dinner at 6:30 or 7, and it's important to me we eat together.
How do others handle the workout piece?0 -
I typically eat from 12-8pm or so and I workout around 3:30pm. I'd rather workout on an empty stomach, but that's just not possible with my schedule. So I keep lunch light and eat a snack after my workout, we usually eat dinner around 6pm. In the summers I workout in the morning and eat after 12pm and I like that much better, but I work with what I can for the moment!0
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It has been helping, I think I partially eat just out of habit. Skipping breakfast has made it easier for me to stay under on my intake for the day.2
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SarahintheLou wrote: »I want to figure out an IF schedule that works for me. I typically do a high intensity bootcamp at 6am 4 days a week.By the time I am ready to leave for work around 8, I'm starving. I can put it off an hour with coffee or tea, but by 9, I am ready to eat my arm. With my kids s schedules we eat dinner at 6:30 or 7, and it's important to me we eat together.
How do others handle the workout piece?
Hi SarahintheLou,
I do a very light workout or just walk on IF days. There is NO way I could do a high intensity workout and not eat within an hour of completing the workout. I would have no arms left 🤣
Could you do 16:8 on your “off days from bootcamp”?
Here’s an article that might help.
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-exercise-safely-intermittent-fasting#6
Best Regards.
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bees0knees wrote: »SarahintheLou wrote: »I want to figure out an IF schedule that works for me. I typically do a high intensity bootcamp at 6am 4 days a week.By the time I am ready to leave for work around 8, I'm starving. I can put it off an hour with coffee or tea, but by 9, I am ready to eat my arm. With my kids s schedules we eat dinner at 6:30 or 7, and it's important to me we eat together.
How do others handle the workout piece?
Hi SarahintheLou,
I do a very light workout or just walk on IF days. There is NO way I could do a high intensity workout and not eat within an hour of completing the workout. I would have no arms left 🤣
Could you do 16:8 on your “off days from bootcamp”?
Here’s an article that might help.
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-exercise-safely-intermittent-fasting#6
Best Regards.
I drink black coffee (which I used to hate) before my 6 am spin class or run and then I drink another cup after. Which seems to distract me. Around 10 am I am starving and I have a cup of tea with a splash of half and half. So I break the fast with 35 calories and then wait until noon to really eat. It was hard for me at first, but i am used to it. The hunger goes away2 -
I've been doing IF for about 7 mths now. I've had success in the weight department, but also just feel amazing. I know this is an older thread, but I am new to this group. Anyone still doing it?0
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I love IF, I usually do 16:8 fasting from 8pm to noon 3 or 4 days a week. I did keto for a while and that is where I learned it from. Now I am going to do a combo of the two with bulletproof IF. Actually reading a book about it. I have not finished it yet but loving all of the science. Will probably not apply all that they teach but some of the concepts I will most definitely try.
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I don't "officially" do IF, but I don't normally have an appetite in the morning so I usually just have some coffee and then eat whenever I actually feel hungry, closer to lunch time. Some mornings I wake up really hungry and on those days I eat. If I try to ignore the "ravenous hunger" cue I will get sick and can't focus on my work.
And then in the evening I try not to eat a couple hours before bed, otherwise I'm prone to acid reflux. I sleep much better if I've had at least a couple hours to digest before bed. So the result is I tend to follow a ~16:8 eating pattern without stressing it too much.
My advice though is to listen to your body. Some mornings I really need food, especially if I'm about to do a long workout. Sundays are my "long cardio" day (at least an hour of running or cycling), and I need to eat a banana before I do that or else I won't be able to complete my workout. And after that long workout I might make something quick like some scrambled eggs, otherwise I won't be able to recover well. My workouts during the work week are usually much lower in intensity and so I don't feel the need to eat right after.
Also you can slowly work your way up to a longer fast. If you aren't used to skipping a meal, just push your breakfast back ~30 minutes, then another 30 minutes, etc...you'll get used to it. That's more sustainable (to me) than trying to just power through 4 hours without food when your body isn't used to that kind of schedule.1
