Intermittent fasting

haydee_cruz1

So its settled guys and gals. I made up my mind. I’m not going to do the Keto-diet. Lol
I did some more research and I believe I will be doing the intermittent fasting. 16:8. Im excited. I actually started today.
Lets see how this goes. I also will be pairing It with some exercise in the morning.

Wish me luck! 🤞🏼😇

lgfrie

16:8 has been great for me! My previous diets kind of died after 10-15 pounds, but now I'm at 58 lbs lost and still going strong!! I pair it with very strict calorie counting and lots of morning cardio. Never been this content while dieting before. I've taken a grand total of 7 off-meals in 6 months because I'm so happy with what I'm eating and the overall IF approach. Don't forget to log and count those calories - IF itself won't get you there without disciplined calorie counting. Calories first, everything else second. Good luck!

NovusDies

Please think of as experimenting with 16:8 instead of just "doing it". It is not for everyone and for some people it makes them quite miserable. Since it is not necessary for weight loss don't be afraid to ditch it and eat normally for yourself just less food.

L1zardQueen

Are you sure? Losing weight takes a calorie deficit. It is counting calories for weight control.

CardinalComb

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

NovusDies

CardinalComb wrote: »

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

Based on?

Usman70lbs

I'm currently doing IF with 15:9
I usually stop eating by 5/6pm and restart at about 8/9am. Waking up with a headache and trying to drag myself out of bed is the least favourite part for me.

mmapags

CardinalComb wrote: »

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

That is not even remotely true.

SCoil123

CardinalComb wrote: »

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

Not true at all

neversaynever_43

Good luck!! I started back with 16:8 last week. The first few days were a little tough. I drank a boatload of water during fast. I'm also counting calories. I am stunned by people who do it without counting and still lose weight. Do you know how many calories I am capable of eating in 8 hours????

sijomial

CardinalComb wrote: »

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

Balderdash!

There is no relationship between IF and carb restriction unless people choose that path.
For me my most satiating foods tend to be starchy carbs.
Potatoes oftne come top or close to the top of the most satiating foods.

As an aside you do realise that many people do IF while maintaining weight or even gaining weight - it's just an eating schedule.

cwolfman13

CardinalComb wrote: »

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

I have done IF from the beginning of May through the end of September...I didn't cut carbs and I wasn't craving food all day long. I eat a substantially plant based diet...so lots of carbs.

leejoyce31

I fast for 20 hours a day and eat 60-65% carbs. No problems at all.

mom2kpr

leejoyce31 wrote: »

I fast for 20 hours a day and eat 60-65% carbs. No problems at all.

I've thought of doing this. Do you just eat one large meal? How do you get all your calories and macros in just 4 hours? Thanks!

jargroves

I learned about fasting on youtube. I do believe the body will now let you down and the liver and pancreas will not let you down and will use body fat for storage and pass it own. I am a type 2 diabetic doing Humalog and Lantus 3:1 daily. I did 2.5 weeks and the readings were low and I felt so much better. But I did cause the readings to go up, later found that my meter was reading high so I changed and now they are reading low and correct. I am keeping my food intakes low, therefore, my insulins are lower. I am taking it slow, but aggressively.

NovusDies

mom2kpr wrote: »

leejoyce31 wrote: »

I fast for 20 hours a day and eat 60-65% carbs. No problems at all.

I've thought of doing this. Do you just eat one large meal? How do you get all your calories and macros in just 4 hours? Thanks!

I can fill all of my calories and nutrition in 90 minutes. I would not try to do it. For me it just happened because I don't eat breakfast anyway and I was eating less at night because it helped my acid reflux. Eventually I realized I could not eat at all or just eat a small snack so now almost all of my calories are consumed at lunch.

I think the advantage is minor and the downside may be a protein absorption limit. One of these days I need to see the science behind that to see if it is true or not.

tigrig

I do go between the 20:4 and OMAD version of fasting and focus on getting high protein intake during my feeding period. It works for me cause I'm better at controlling over eating doing it this way. Ive been dropping anywhere from a pound to two pounds a week and have been maintaining muscularity while increasing some of my lifts. Needless to say I love it

snickerscharlie

Usman70lbs wrote: »

I'm currently doing IF with 15:9
I usually stop eating by 5/6pm and restart at about 8/9am. Waking up with a headache and trying to drag myself out of bed is the least favourite part for me.

Then why are you doing IF? There's no special magic that IF provides. It's simply a way for some people to reduce their calorie intake by limiting the time frame during the day in which they eat. It's not for everyone, and you may be one of those people who might be better off trying something else.

haydee_cruz1

U all are very inspiring. Please add me lol. I need accountability partners in this journey. I will continue to give updates as to how i did within the morning and the whole day in general. This helps me keep accountable.

Usman70lbs

snickerscharlie wrote: »

Usman70lbs wrote: »

I'm currently doing IF with 15:9
I usually stop eating by 5/6pm and restart at about 8/9am. Waking up with a headache and trying to drag myself out of bed is the least favourite part for me.

Then why are you doing IF? There's no special magic that IF provides. It's simply a way for some people to reduce their calorie intake by limiting the time frame during the day in which they eat. It's not for everyone, and you may be one of those people who might be better off trying something else.

Because after about 2 weeks of doing it the headaches stop. I think it's probably my body getting used to the different pattern of eating.

I understand that it doesn't provide magic but it helps me stay within my calories goal for the day if I have a cut off. It also helps me avoid having unhealthy snacks in the evenings which is when I am most likely to eat things I shouldn't.

lgfrie

Usman70lbs wrote: »

I understand that it doesn't provide magic but it helps me stay within my calories goal for the day if I have a cut off. It also helps me avoid having unhealthy snacks in the evenings which is when I am most likely to eat things I shouldn't.

Exactly. I figure I gained somewhere between "most" and "all" of my excess weight binging and grazing at night. Getting into IF and slamming the lid shut on nighttime snacking, along with learning to be a little hungry some of the time and just make do without feeding that hunger, as IF trains you to be, was truly an eye-opening experience. IF is the best thing I have ever done for myself. My wife and I have already agreed after 6 months of IF that this is the "forever" plan, regardless of whether we're in losing or maintenance. We really love it as a lifestyle.

Usman70lbs

lgfrie wrote: »

Usman70lbs wrote: »

I understand that it doesn't provide magic but it helps me stay within my calories goal for the day if I have a cut off. It also helps me avoid having unhealthy snacks in the evenings which is when I am most likely to eat things I shouldn't.

Exactly. I figure I gained somewhere between "most" and "all" of my excess weight binging and grazing at night. Getting into IF and slamming the lid shut on nighttime snacking, along with learning to be a little hungry some of the time and just make do without feeding that hunger, as IF trains you to be, was truly an eye-opening experience. IF is the best thing I have ever done for myself. My wife and I have already agreed after 6 months of IF that this is the "forever" plan, regardless of whether we're in losing or maintenance. We really love it as a lifestyle.

That's great to hear. In my experience, unwinding at the end of the day often means a snack or two that's often got sugar. Having your wife on board must be great. I often get asked by my wife if I can have some but over time she has also become supportive of it and actively supports me by putting away the unhealthy foods in the evenings. This has proved to be especially helpful on days where I have low willpower.

freda666

I am doing 5:2, although I have found a three day cycle works better for me, Day one eat no more than 600 calories and eat no less than 1500 but up to 2000 on day two and three.

I am currently losing an average of 2 pounds a week, having been doing this for around 3 months now.

And the reason it works for me is that when I restrict what I eat I end up craving and binging but this allows me to eat normally two days out of three making it relatively easy to to control myself just on the fasting day.

On fasting days I do not eat until the evening when I typically have homemade soup with extra veg, crispbreads and a cheese triangles, and later (as there always is a later with me as I am an evening eater) I have a apple and raw carrots.

I do drink a lot on fasting days. Green tea at the start of the day, then on to coffee in the afternoon and sparkling water in the evening with some fruit squash. I also sometimes make a pot of decaff coffee in the evening.

Not for everyone I am sure but I have been fat all my life, a fat child and a fat adult, and have only every managed to lose a decent amount of weigh once, all other attempts falling by the way side due to craving and then binging on bread, cheese and chocolate. But this is working for me.

Yidrey

tigrig wrote: »

I do go between the 20:4 and OMAD version of fasting and focus on getting high protein intake during my feeding period. It works for me cause I'm better at controlling over eating doing it this way. Ive been dropping anywhere from a pound to two pounds a week and have been maintaining muscularity while increasing some of my lifts. Needless to say I love it

This is exactly what I am doing also. For the ones doing IF, you need to remember that after fasting for 20 hours plus your blood sugar levels are low. When you eat your first meal with carbohydrates you wil spike your insuline a lot. So dont have carbohydrates with fat. The only days I eat carbohydrates are on heavy lifting days.

magnusthenerd

CardinalComb wrote: »

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

I'm pretty sure you can do IF and have carbs that edible without any utensils - cutting knives or otherwise - without necessarily having cravings all days long.
At least part of the idea of IF is not eating at times when you don't have cravings - see everyone on MFP that's a de facto IFer because they don't like breakfast. Another part is that by avoiding some meals, stomach responses like ghrelin may be retrained, thus reducing cravings. Usually people that get used to a fast find the liberating thing about it is they stop having or reduce cravings during their window.

jandy180

This approach has been effective for me as well, similar to other posts. I've lost 20 lbs in six weeks since rebooting my efforts on MFP, roughly following the 16/8 method. One thing I like is that if I miss a day of exercise, I'm still maintaining or slightly losing weight due to the IF method and careful food choices. Most of my cravings are within the 8 hour window, so I try to choose healthy low-cal snacks.

mojavemtbr

CardinalComb wrote: »

IF without cutting carbs will be hard. You will crave food all day long.

I completely disagree. I do 16:8 IF and actually have less food cravings. My macro ratios are typically the same as they were before I started IF. Once your body gets used to the eating window you do not have cravings outside of that time period. And I find I typically eat about 400 to 600 calories less each day on IF without really trying to cut that amount. Im simply just not as hungry on IF and get satiated easier with each meal.

calabrdm

So I have been doing 5:2 fasting since January 1. I lost 40 pounds. Down to a size 0 or 2. The best part is that my body has completely changed. Like it dissolves stubborn fat deposits. I don't think I will ever stop.

calabrdm

Oh and all of my joint pain is gone from starving the inflamation.

gpb2066

I have been IF since July...not for weightloss though. I lost almost all of my weight (54lbs) in August/September. IF has given me more energy and focus, my workouts are better and all my blood work has come back perfect. I still eat pretty much the same amount of calories (I track Macros actually) I did before, may be slightly less, but not by much.

effervescent11

I'm currently on IF and ADF with a calorie restricted low-carb diet. It works really well for me, because it's harder to overeat in the tiny eating window. Plus, less meal prep = more time to do other things. IF alone won't make you lose weight, but it's a great tool.