does anyone do intermittent fasting here?

3v0l1s0m3

I was thinking about doing the 16:8 thing. I have about 35 pounds to lose, has anyone tried it? if so did it go well? thanks and this is my first post so if I did this wrong I apologise lol

LyndaBSS

Welcome to the community!

I eat 16:8 but don't refer to it as IF. It just happens to be the hours I eat during. Many do IF here. I'm sure you'll get responses regarding it.

If you haven't already, read the stickies at the top of the getting started forum. Very informative and helpful.

Buy a food scale. Weigh everything you eat and log into the food diary.

Good luck with your journey!

Jmobe2019

Currently trying out IF between 16- 22 hrs and 14hrs when I’m too tempted by food lol, it has helped me watch what I eat and lose some weight.

lgfrie

Yep. My wife and I have been doing 16:8 + calorie counting for six months. I've lost around 60 lbs, which puts me half way to goal. We like the IF approach a lot and are planning to continue with it into maintenance and long term. If you have any questions or concerns about IF, feel free to ask. There are many IF'ers here.

sreerajn

yes. I have been doing IF for the last few weeks. I have been losing couple of pounds per week. Its very important to eat clean during the feeding window, if you want to ensure you derive the benefit of IF - less processed food, lot of veggies, low carb, moderate proteins. Its normal to feel hungry during your usual meal time when you are starting. Black coffee/ Green tea without sugar can help during that time. Right now, I am incorporating moderate exercise during my last couple of hours during my fasting window, which is working out great. Let me know if you have any questions.

If you have not seen this video, it may help to see it first. The video description has a lot of useful links including great recipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcz8YfvXtK4&list=PLCrTwLgBOIRHate4h8Z3n0EP5cyyNWoYe&index=12&t=0s

lillola96

Yes, I do, and if makes cutting calories SO much easier. At the moment I'm on 1400 calories a day to lose weight. I tried fasting over dinner but it's so hard when you have a family/partner and socially as well, so I started fasting from 7pm until 11am. At first it was hard to skip breakfast - I used to eat a big bowl of oats so my body craved that food in the mornings, it took me a week to really get used to it and now I dont crave food in the morning at all. I eat my first meal at 11am (lunch), snack, early dinner and another snack before 7pm.

lgfrie

lillola96 wrote: »

Yes, I do, and if makes cutting calories SO much easier. At the moment I'm on 1400 calories a day to lose weight. I tried fasting over dinner but it's so hard when you have a family/partner and socially as well, so I started fasting from 7pm until 11am. At first it was hard to skip breakfast - I used to eat a big bowl of oats so my body craved that food in the mornings, it took me a week to really get used to it and now I dont crave food in the morning at all. I eat my first meal at 11am (lunch), snack, early dinner and another snack before 7pm.

This is how we do it too, fasting from 7 pm till 11 am. Lunch at 11, snack at 3, dinner/dessert at 6:30. Amazing how many calories you can have for each of those when there are no other meals or especially pointless night snacking to eat into the calorie quota The first week we were hungry in the mornings, but that wore off quickly and now I have zero appetite until 11 a.m., and little to no interest in food after 7 pm. The mind and body adjust to IF. I've discovered that "hunger" is kind of a conditioned reflex based on anticipated meal times, not some forever fixed body signal that you can't manipulate a bit. When your brain finally processes that there's no such thing as breakfast anymore, you simply don't wake up with an appetite. For us, at least.

My dinner + dessert tonight was 965 calories & my wife's was 870, and man we were STUFFED - while hitting our calorie targets right on the nose and thereby losing the desired fat. That right there, in a nutshell, is why we love IF. It's 12:15 a.m. and I'm still stuffed LOL

Danp

sreerajn wrote: »

yes. I have been doing IF for the last few weeks. I have been losing couple of pounds per week. Its very important to eat clean during the feeding window, if you want to ensure you derive the benefit of IF - less processed food, lot of veggies, low carb, moderate proteins. Its normal to feel hungry during your usual meal time when you are starting. Black coffee/ Green tea without sugar can help during that time. Right now, I am incorporating moderate exercise during my last couple of hours during my fasting window, which is working out great. Let me know if you have any questions.

If you have not seen this video, it may help to see it first. The video description has a lot of useful links including great recipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcz8YfvXtK4&list=PLCrTwLgBOIRHate4h8Z3n0EP5cyyNWoYe&index=12&t=0s

OK, there's quite a bit in this post that needs to be unpacked...

Firstly IF is an eating pattern, that's all. It has no proven intrinsic 'benefits' beyond those falsely touted by discredited quacks like Fung who are just trying to fleece people of their money and sell books.

All that's required for weight loss is a caloric deficit which, for some people, is easier to achieve by adopting a restricted eating window.

When it comes to weight loss and even adopting a restricted eating pattern like IF, eating 'clean' is irrelevant. How processed the food you eat is irrelevant. Even the amount of veggies, the amount of carbs or protein is irrelevant. You should get a certain amount of protein each day for health reasons but for weight loss it doesn't matter in the slightest.

Here's a dirty little secret that people like Fung won't tell you. Even eating calories outside your eating windows is utterly and absolutely irrelevant when it comes to weight loss. If you eat 2000 cals between 12-8 you're going to get the exact same results if you eat 100 cal at 9am and 1900 between 12-8 or 100cal at 9am, 1700cals between 12-8 and 200 cals at 11 before you go to bed. They all equal a 2000 cal day and they're all going to provide you with the same calorie deficit and they're all going to provide you with the same weight loss results.

rumbaimom

Yes, at my physician‘s suggestion I’ve been doing 16:8 for two months. It wasn’t too hard for me to get used to because I was never really a big breakfast eater anyway. You still need a calories deficit though and of course it’s best to eat healthy choices and not just a box of donuts for your daily calorie allotment. But you can have the occasional donut! IF is helpful if you have high insulin levels which only lab work can tell you. Your body begins to reduce its insulin resistance and you process the fuel more efficiently. My doc is super pleased with my results and so am I. 21 pounds down and 30 to go. Good luck!

kds10

I do it...used to be more stringent used to do an 18:6. Now I do a 14:10 so I allow breakfast...so finish eating by 5:30 and have breakfast at 7:30 ish. I just eat less and the weight is coming off. I have lost 4 lbs in October by doing this. Three more to goal:)

I love breakfast so appreciate being able to eat it now. I think for me it is easier to eat less for supper, for example, when I know that I will be having breakfast..whereas prior I would stuff my face at supper because I would think better fill up because you are not eating for 18 hours.

rdthoms

I'm doing 16:8 now. It annoys me to no end the do this do that nature of dieting. i.e., switching from eat smaller meals 6x a day vs IF 16:8. Crazy nobody has figured out which is best and we keep going back and forth.

neversaynever_43

I agree there is probably some unproven nonsense book selling out there. But what is a fact for me is that I really helps me control my calories. I’ve never been great at smaller meals. It takes a little while to get used to not eat until lunch. At least it did for me. Some people jump right to OMAD and have no issues. I am 16:8, sometimes 18:6. But I am also tracking all of my calories. I feel like most people think - awesome I can eat a pizza for lunch and burger and fries for dinner - without tracking and as long as you are in that window you are good to go. Nope.

Good luck. It’s very freeing to have more calories to play around with. Especially when you are short.

There is an IF group here in the ‘groups’ that has helped me with questions.

mmapags

rdthoms wrote: »

I'm doing 16:8 now. It annoys me to no end the do this do that nature of dieting. i.e., switching from eat smaller meals 6x a day vs IF 16:8. Crazy nobody has figured out which is best and we keep going back and forth.

There is no "best". It's all about what works best for you individually based on satiety, dietary compliance, exercise performance and preference. Pick what works for you and run with it.

MichelleWithMoxie

Yep! I’ve been doing it for years. Just naturally fits my lifestyle really well.

riffraff2112

I do a soft IF. Just kind of fell into it. Stopped eating lunch as a way to limit my calories (plus lunch was making me very tired). It worked really well. I eat breakfast most days, but usually a very small amount (a few eggs, or a slice of bread with pb). I have always eaten a lot in the evenings, and If has really helped me eat less than 2000 cals (most of which are consumed after 5pm)
I haven't always eaten this way, but lately it seems to help

Machka9

Weekdays, I usually stop eating about 11 pm and start again about 11 am
Weekends, I stop eating about 11 pm and start again about 1 pm.

That's just how I've eaten for years.

Teslin558

Yes. I have been doing IF for 3 weeks now. Started with 16:8, but found myself just stuffing my face and binging during the 8 hours. So transitioned to 20:4 for the last two weeks, which suits my personality a lot more. I eat from 5PM - 9 PM. Its easy for me stay within my calorie budget for the day and when I eat, I can eat big portions which I love. Compared to the typical calorie restriction with 6 meals routine I have done in the past, IF is a cakewalk. The first week was a bit hard for me, not because of hunger but because I didn't know what to do with myself if I wasn't eating, cooking or cleaning up! My goal is to loose about 6 Kgs and I have already lost just over a kilo. I love how much more in control I am feeling around food and the short eating window means that I don't have to tiptoe around food when I do eat. I can eat pretty much whatever and how much ever I want. I am trying to eat clean though since it's a whole lot easier to fast when I have eaten a nutritionally dense meal when compared to a pizza meal.

chrissyhub

Hi
I too do fasting but it's usually eat from 5 to 7 some nights and 5 to 10 at weekends. I like to eat what I want, so do eat pizza one night! I have two choc biscuits every night. I'm on 1200 calls a day. I've lost 14lb in 15 weeks. I'm not in a rush to lose and I would rather still enjoy food and be able to stick to it. I drink fizzy water, black coffee and green tea during the day. I also have a bottle of prospect every Sat night and a bottle of dry white throughout the week. Other meals are mainly salad and veg with omelette, baked potato and cheese, a curry without the meat, veggie burger and veggie sausage.
I love it! All my faves and still losing weight!
Good luck if you decide to have a go. Your body soon gets used to it.

sgt1372

Have been doing IF for about 4 months.

Started doing it to reverse a short term 10# wt gain in wt but just keep it up to maintain the loss back to my GW.

Was doing 16:8 but averaged closer to 18:6. Was recording my IF periods on an app but it became more trouble than it was worth.

Now I just eat OMAD around 3-4 pm and snack on something around 8-9pm, which works out to an 18:6 routine.

Still log everything to keep track of how much I'm eating and weigh myself daily to make sure I'm on track.

bekahlou75

I eat one meal a day. It works for me in calorie counting. I don't have to stress about calories all day long.

3agirls

I just started it this week. I will let you know. I try to just eat three small meals within my 8 hours and no snacking.

Caralarma

lgfrie wrote: »

lillola96 wrote: »

Yes, I do, and if makes cutting calories SO much easier. At the moment I'm on 1400 calories a day to lose weight. I tried fasting over dinner but it's so hard when you have a family/partner and socially as well, so I started fasting from 7pm until 11am. At first it was hard to skip breakfast - I used to eat a big bowl of oats so my body craved that food in the mornings, it took me a week to really get used to it and now I dont crave food in the morning at all. I eat my first meal at 11am (lunch), snack, early dinner and another snack before 7pm.

This is how we do it too, fasting from 7 pm till 11 am. Lunch at 11, snack at 3, dinner/dessert at 6:30. Amazing how many calories you can have for each of those when there are no other meals or especially pointless night snacking to eat into the calorie quota The first week we were hungry in the mornings, but that wore off quickly and now I have zero appetite until 11 a.m., and little to no interest in food after 7 pm. The mind and body adjust to IF. I've discovered that "hunger" is kind of a conditioned reflex based on anticipated meal times, not some forever fixed body signal that you can't manipulate a bit. When your brain finally processes that there's no such thing as breakfast anymore, you simply don't wake up with an appetite. For us, at least.

My dinner + dessert tonight was 965 calories & my wife's was 870, and man we were STUFFED - while hitting our calorie targets right on the nose and thereby losing the desired fat. That right there, in a nutshell, is why we love IF. It's 12:15 a.m. and I'm still stuffed LOL

I totally agree. Your body really does stop wanting food when you wake up. We have been conditioned to think that we are supposed to eat in the morning and that's the only reason why it's become hard for some to stop that mindset. But the truth is that 'breakfast' simply means breaking your fast and this can be done at any time you please. I love coming home in the evening and eating a large supper with no guilt

rumbaimom

I’ve been pleasantly surprised how my body has stopped craving the graze .

SnifterPug

16:8 has been the thing that finally enabled me to lose weight and keep it off. Also, it has been a great pleasure to stick it to the man who opines that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For me, it certainly ain't.