What constitutes intermittent fasting?

DedDollChance

I choose to skip breakfast which resulted in a full 12 hours with no food. Does this count? Am I doing it right?

mrsjar5311

Yes you're on the right track! I started with 12:12 then upped it weekly by 2 hours till I got to 18:6

maureenkhilde

I believe you are. From what I have read, part of it is to be consistent. Meaning start and stop times should be the same each day.

kimny72

"Intermittent fasting" isn't a scientifically or medically defined terms. Different gurus/blogs/books may define it slightly differently.

The most common kinds are 16:8 (16 hours of fasting followed by an 8 hour eating window) and 5:2 (5 days eating at maintenance and 2 non consecutive days eating 500-800 calories depending on who you are an who you listen too).

The primary benefit is that for some people it controls appetite and makes it easier to stay in a deficit. Other benefits are theoretical with some studies showing benefits while others do not, and none of the research nails down exactly how long one needs to fast to gain the theoretical benefits.

I suspect many IF proponents would not consider 12:12 IF, but what's important is finding an eating schedule that makes it easy to eat at the right calorie level, agrees with your digestive system, and agrees with your sleep/exercise schedule regardless of what someone else wants to call it

sijomial

12hrs without food doesn't seem at all unusual enough to warrant the effort of hanging a label on it.

Someone who ate three (or more) meals a day including dinner finished by 7pm and breakfast at 7am could also be eating in a 12:12 pattern, most of the time spent not eating would be when asleep.

Not sure what you mean by "doing it right"?
Perhaps you could expand?

NovusDies

DedDollChance wrote: »

I choose to skip breakfast which resulted in a full 12 hours with no food. Does this count? Am I doing it right?

If your intention is to lose weight and the results of your new eating pattern is that you are staying easily in a calorie deficit you are absolutely doing it right. Whether or not it should be called IF or not is not really going to help or hinder your progress.

Vjmikesell

Yes. People have the tendency to over complicate very simple things. If you don’t consume any calories for a set amount of time ( 14, 16, 18) hours are most popular choices) then you are technically intermittent fasting. Most IF proponents will say that the biggest health benefits come from minimum of 14 hours fasted. Very simple to do if you have last meal a couple hours before bed time because you are already halfway through fast when you wake up.

When I say over complicate I mean so many people getting into deep heated debates about whether or not drinking bullet proof coffee knocks you out of fast, whether eating fruit knocks you out of fast, if the smell of scented candles knocks you out of fast, etc..etc... seriously, it’s not rocket science, pick a fasting window that works for you and an eating window that suits your lifestyle. Consume nothing but 0 calorie water, unsweetened tea, plain black coffee during this time. Any amount of calories consumed will put your body through digestive process and knock you out of a fasted state. Have your first meal when fasting window ends and eat until your your set fasting window begins again.

Besides the tons of health benefits that come with intermittent fasting, I enjoy the simplicity of this way of life (been doing 16:8 for 3 years) I save so much time not having to plan breakfast, prep breakfast, cook breakfast, not to mention money savings of eating one less meal/snack a day. My favorite thing about IF is that the 400+ calories I’m saving by not eating breakfast/morning snack goes towards a bigger lunch or bigger dinner while still keeping me under my daily calorie goal. I’m only 5’0” tall with a BMR of 1232 and before IF staying under my calorie goals was a huge struggle. IF allows me to eat like a human again instead of like a bird.

LyndaBSS

NovusDies wrote: »

DedDollChance wrote: »

I choose to skip breakfast which resulted in a full 12 hours with no food. Does this count? Am I doing it right?

If your intention is to lose weight and the results of your new eating pattern is that you are staying easily in a calorie deficit you are absolutely doing it right. Whether or not it should be called IF or not is not really going to help or hinder your progress.

This^^^^^^

I naturally eat within an 8 hour window. I don’t call it IF. I call it life.

Jerrman29

So does any calories whatsoever break your fast? Just curious because I drink my coffee with a little creamer in the morning. I'm guessing that would break it.

NovusDies

Jerrman29 wrote: »

So does any calories whatsoever break your fast? Just curious because I drink my coffee with a little creamer in the morning. I'm guessing that would break it.

Depends on who you ask.

If it makes it harder for you to get to your first meal it is probably a bad idea. If it has no impact but makes it easier for you to navigate your day then just do it and let the internet keep fighting over how many calories it takes to break a fast.

nytrifisoul

20:4 is how i been doing this for decades.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

You are doing it right if you are eating at a reasonable level (e.g., not too much or too little) and not too hungry.

DedDollChance

Thanks, everyone, for the excellent feedback! I'm still at it, doing rolling fasting periods and I'm proud to report I am under 200lbs again! 199 this afternoon!

candylilacs

Whoa, I’ve been doing an IF again every weekend! 😇

liftingbro

To get the most out of IF you need at least 16:8.

Also note that all of the advantages of IF are primarily general health effects and appetite suppression.

There is zero metabolic advantage fo IF. For some it helps stay on track if they can have 1-2 bigger meals over 6hrs. Some people who have GI issues do better when they fast. These are some of the reasons to do IF.