INTERMITTENT FASTING MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD
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munecasmom wrote: »I have wanted to try IF for a long time but my big thing is I HAVE to have my coffee in the morning.
Hi! I'm the same, gotta have my coffee and I am not drinking it black. What I've done is tweak my routine, pushing the coffee a bit later. I started out having it at 8, on my way to work, and now I have it at 10, in a natural break in my morning at work.
Just something that worked for me.
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I returned to IF 16:8 a few weeks ago. After months of no progress in my weight loss/fitness and lots of frustration, I have lost 3.2lbs in less than 3 weeks. This is not a huge number on it's own, but it is huge for me!4
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munecasmom wrote: »I have wanted to try IF for a long time but my big thing is I HAVE to have my coffee in the morning. I read somewhere that if you have coffee, you have to have it black which I can't do. I don't put any sugar just milk. I also read that if you add cream and you take your blood sugar before the coffee and then again after and it only goes up 5 points you're ok and you won't be breaking the fast if you have the coffee with cream. However that isn't the case for me. I tried this and sure enough my sugar went up more than the allotted 5 points. I can go without eating but not without the coffee. I need to get my weight down and my cholesterol because my new heart doctor wants to put me on statins. It's been high since I was 20 and my cardiac score shows no blockage whatsoever so I really don't want to do the statins but I have to get some weight off.
I hear what you're saying. I couldn't give up my coffee. Have been drinking it for years with cream and sugar. Tried really hard to drink it black or drink unsweetened hot tea and just hated it. I decided that I would just have to have my coffee like I like it and do the best I can with not eating for 16-18 hours. It was a make-or-break deal. My weight loss might have been slower (lost 63 pounds in 2 years) but I wouldn't have lost ANY if I had kept eating the way I was. Might even have gotten heavier.
Had bloodwork and saw my Cardiologist last week. I've been off statins for a year and my blood work was great. He said for me to continue what I'm doing, and I don't need statins. Blood pressure was the best it's ever been.3 -
Intermittent fasting does nothing for me at all. I have been doing the 18/6 schedule for years with no results other than my weight either stays the same or goes up. And when you think about it, bears do intermittent fasting and I dont remember ever seeing a skinny bear, lol
But seriously, it is very discouraging seeing the system flash this projected weight to you everyday showing what you could weight in 5 weeks if everything stays the same, yet everything is staying the same, I am staying below 1500 calories per day, I am working out multiple times each day, Im starving all the time, and my weight still stays the same. Everytime I weigh myself and see no results to my starvation I feel less and less encouraged to continue.3 -
Intermittent fasting does nothing for me at all. I have been doing the 18/6 schedule for years with no results other than my weight either stays the same or goes up. And when you think about it, bears do intermittent fasting and I dont remember ever seeing a skinny bear, lol
But seriously, it is very discouraging seeing the system flash this projected weight to you everyday showing what you could weight in 5 weeks if everything stays the same, yet everything is staying the same, I am staying below 1500 calories per day, I am working out multiple times each day, Im starving all the time, and my weight still stays the same. Everytime I weigh myself and see no results to my starvation I feel less and less encouraged to continue.
I think a good idea would be for you to start your own thread asking for suggestions (and being open to taking them
).
There are a lot of knowledgeable people around here who have been there/done that who can help.2 -
marmax4904 wrote: »Everyone is different but.... Every study of intermittent fasting I've read suggested that while it works to help you eat less, it actually does make you feel worse. Feelings of hunger and fatigue--and the distraction they cause--were the no. 1 reason so few study participants were able to sustain IF after just a few weeks or months. The literature also suggest IF's results are merely due to caloric restriction and that it's no better at causing weight loss than non-IF caloric restriction.
I agree that much of the literature is like this, but I have read a number of those studies, and they all have flaws of one kind or another. Most are too short, don't pay attention to what people are eating when the are eating, or they have a very small sample size. Can you name the studies that showed very few study participants able to sustain IF? I'd like to read them.2 -
Dear Posters,
Hi all, I wanted to pop in and provide a gentle reminder in regards to our forum guidelines.
The forum guidelines include this item:
6. Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
I WILL:
• I will allow members to share experiences without judgment. Those seeking support in their recovery from eating disorders are welcome at MyFitnessPal. A growing list of support resources can be found on our Eating Disorder Resources page.
• I will understand that people have a complicated relationship with food.
I WON'T:
•I won’t use any aspect of our service to promote anorexia, bulimia or any unsafe dieting practices.
• I won’t promote very low-calorie diets.
• I won’t diagnose other members.
• Please note: Profiles, groups, messages, posts, or wall comments that encourage anorexia, bulimia, or very low-calorie diets of any kind will be removed, and may be grounds for account deletion. This includes positive references to ana/mia, purging, or self-starving. Our goal is to provide users with the tools to achieve their weight management goals at a steady, sustainable rate. Use of the site to promote, glamorize, or achieve dangerously low levels of eating is not permitted.
If you would like to review the forum guidelines, please visit the following link:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines
With this in mind, please refrain from advising other members to undertake extended fasts, or engage in diets that would require the supervision or input of a doctor. (AKA anything over 24 hours, or fasting windows not supported by MFP)
We respect that many individuals benefit from these practices, but cannot abide by people providing this advisement to people blindly, as such advisements can be dangerous in the wrong hands. We will continue to remove posts that breach this guideline, and if necessary will remove this topic if the guidelines cannot be adhered to.
With respect,
Durden
MyFitnessPal Staff4 -
This is a general warning. I have a question. If someone posts something considered to be in violation of the guidelines, are the penalties just summarily applied, or does someone from MyFitnessPal say specifically what violation was made and why, allowing a person to correct themselves?0
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mattbell007 wrote: »This is a general warning. I have a question. If someone posts something considered to be in violation of the guidelines, are the penalties just summarily applied, or does someone from MyFitnessPal say specifically what violation was made and why, allowing a person to correct themselves?
Go into your notifications then click All Notifications. Scroll down to Moderation and it'll show you the post and the TOS that were violated.
This is on the web version. I don't know about the app.0 -
mattbell007 wrote: »This is a general warning. I have a question. If someone posts something considered to be in violation of the guidelines, are the penalties just summarily applied, or does someone from MyFitnessPal say specifically what violation was made and why, allowing a person to correct themselves?
Go into your notifications then click All Notifications. Scroll down to Moderation and it'll show you the post and the TOS that were violated.
This is on the web version. I don't know about the app.
I've had a few posts deleted that I believe didn't appear there . . . I admit, they were deleted as part of a general multi-car train wreck on some thread, so maybe only a subset get the warning/info in those cases. (I understood what my role was in the train wreck, and generally why my post got deleted. It's not rocket surgery to figure it out, generally.)
PP, read the Community Guidelines. Consider #15, "Forum moderation is not a topic for public discussion". In that section, it suggests what to do instead. You and I are on shaky ground here wrt #15.0 -
Not discussing. Just dittoing.
I'd add more but I didn't know #15 was an actual rule!1 -
Not discussing. Just dittoing.
I'd add more but I didn't know #15 was an actual rule!
Personally, I don't think you did anything wrong in terms of #15: You just gave a how-to. I was unclear in my reply. By "PP", I meant the person you were replying to. He and I were on thin ice, IMO. Not you. Just my opinion, though, and I'm 100% not a moderator.0 -
The stories on this thread are incredibly inspiring! I set some goals for this year... one in particular with a specific deadline... to get back to working out, eating healthy, focusing on my wellness and quality of life, and getting back to an optimal weight range. What all of you are doing is AMAZING. Nothing short of courage, discipline and caring for yourself. Yay!
I started my wellness routine (diet, working out, no alcohol and meditation to work on calmness and anxiety) on January 1. About 3 weeks ago, I hit a weight loss plateau that I couldn't seem to break through. Tracking everything on MFP, I was doing the right things: eating the right macros, eating less calories than I was burning, etc. Then I started IF on Monday at 8PM on the 16:8 schedule. So fast M 8PM - Tu 12PM; Tu 8PM - Wed 12PM; Wed 8PM - Th 12PM; and Th 8PM - F 12PM. Then I'd take a break and do a 12:12 over the weekend and allow myself to start my first meal at 8AM and then stop eating by 8PM. It's been amazing over the past 2 weeks. I've smashed through the plateau and feel great!
I don't crave food in the morning on my IF days... but my anticipation and excitement as the morning wears on peaks right before my first meal at noon!3 -
Hi All! I am trying to jump back on to IF. I had success with 18:6, but when the summer months came, it was hard to do the who start/stop at certain times, due to vacations, summer outings, etc. It was then that I was introduced to 5:2, which AI had such success on until I fell off the wagon recently. I am hoping to get back on. Using MFP to track my 500 cal. fast days, and of course the other days as well (to keep my calories in check). I hope I am posting on the correct thread.1
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I’m 76 years old and my metabolism is slow at this age. I could never have lost 63 pounds without following IF and a good diet, and it's been nothing short of a miracle for me.
I spent my life dieting, limiting myself to a ridiculously low number of calories, feeling deprived and starving only to gain every bit of weight back within a short period of time, and each time I ended up heavier than when I started so I wasn't doing myself any favors. It got to the point where my doctors were recommending gastric bypass surgery which I didn't want.
Well, that was 2 years ago and here I am today, a totally new woman. I was bedridden with incapacitating back pain but none now. The torn meniscus healed without the need for surgery. I was on 11 medications. I only take 4 now. I was diabetic and had chronic kidney disease. They have been reversed and cured. I could hardly walk but I’m on the go now. No more wheelchairs or walkers. I could go on-and-on.
How did I do this? It wasn't hard at all. All I did was give my digestive system 16-18 hours of rest in-between meals, gave up sugar and sweets, didn't eat processed foods or commercially fried foods and ate a whole food low carb diet with moderate portions of protein and natural fat. So simple but so effective.
I think anyone could do this if they put their mind to it, but I would suggest slowly easing into it. Just start by cutting out the bad foods (sugar, flour, processed and commercially fried foods and high starches like corn, potatoes, rice) and try not to eat as often. Later work up to lengthening the time in-between meals. The results are phenomenal and worth all the effort.
@jamiecoxtx - You can do it!
@treeburger - I'm rooting for you!2 -
I’m interested in IF
Day 1 with a 14 hour fast 👍
Weight 133.0
Felt great waiting to eat. Did have black coffee and water.
I am 65, retiree living in Oregon.
5.0 tall and 15 lbs from my goal and have been for a year. I stay active with home trampoline, walking, & hand weights, and group classes Zumba, & kickboxing for seniors.
Excited to see results
Best wishes to you
💞 Karen1 -
I’m interested in IF
Day 1 with a 14 hour fast 👍
Weight 133.0
Felt great waiting to eat. Did have black coffee and water.
I am 65, retiree living in Oregon.
5.0 tall and 15 lbs from my goal and have been for a year. I stay active with home trampoline, walking, & hand weights, and group classes Zumba, & kickboxing for seniors.
Excited to see results
Wishing you the best. It's not very hard and is so good for your health!1 -
I've been on the 16/8 plan for a couple weeks now. It is a small change for me. I am aware of hunger before I get to eat my 10 o'clock breakfast but it's nothing dire. Yet, with this small change I have been able to make an eating plan and stick to it without snacking or binging. The best part is I feel satisfied when I eat and know that the next meal is coming up soon so I'm not so tempted to blow it. After my 6 o'clock dinner I know that nibbling is not an option. I haven't even mentioned IF to my family or co-workers. The 16/8 IF fits nicely into my life without social consequences. If a weekend dinner is a 7 it's not a deal killer to me. IF is like a secret power! I'm 64, I swim or walk in the mornings and pretty much sit the rest of the day at my desk with just enough movement during the sitting hours to make my watch happy. Ugh! I needed this IF tool. Thanks to all of you.1
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As long as I don't snack after supper, I am pretty much on 16/8 because I don't eat breakfast until I have done my treadmill & exercises. So usually eating about 10 am & supper by 6. Not sure if it is helping me or not, lol.2
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I have a big outside project to start today, and it will probably take 4-5 days to finish it.
As I prepared to go outside, the thought came to me, “You better have something to eat to keep your strength up.” No! That’s not the way! That’s the way I used to think, but now, with IF, I’ve learned that I have more strength and energy when I’m delaying my eating. After I eat, I’m less motivated and less productive, and if I eat too much, all I want to do is lay down and rest.
So, it’s off to my project with a big jug of water to keep myself hydrated. Dinner will be the usual time tonight around 6. I bet I’ll get a lot done!3 -
Ughhh u think I just lost a huge post. I will have to post over the weekend bc we are heading out for an early anniversary dinner.1
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Hi everyone! I am recommencing my Intermittent Fasting journey again, but as there are some other areas of concern, I am interested in feedback and ideas to help me get back to a healthy weight.
Current stats:
Height - 170cm / 5'52"
Weight - 109kg / 240.24lbs
Goal weight - 60kg / 132.27lbs (my weight before illness and being off my feet resulted in almost doubling my weight)
Challenges:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - currently trying to work on energy management as when I have bad days, they are really bad. I often don't have the energy or the willpower to cook or meal prep, but am open to suggestions for meal delivery in Melbourne, Australia.
- Pericarditis - severe limitations on my ability to exercise due to ongoing heart issues. I do walk the dog when I can, and use the stairs at work, but I am currently banned from the gym / F45 / Pilates etc.
- Coffee - I can't face the day without coffee, and also can't drink it black. I have heard that cream (in small amounts) is acceptable, otherwise are there milk alternatives that are also IF friendly?
- Work - I work two jobs; one is 9-5 (on the days I don't work the other job) and the other is 2pm - 8pm. On the days I finish at 8pm, I eat at about 8:30pm, as I generally don't get a chance to eat before my shift
I'm unsure if I should go back to a 16/8 like I used to do, or ease it in, or if I should look to a 14/10 rotation on shift days.
Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions.0 -
Hi everyone! I am recommencing my Intermittent Fasting journey again, but as there are some other areas of concern, I am interested in feedback and ideas to help me get back to a healthy weight.
Current stats:
Height - 170cm / 5'52"
Weight - 109kg / 240.24lbs
Goal weight - 60kg / 132.27lbs (my weight before illness and being off my feet resulted in almost doubling my weight)
Challenges:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - currently trying to work on energy management as when I have bad days, they are really bad. I often don't have the energy or the willpower to cook or meal prep, but am open to suggestions for meal delivery in Melbourne, Australia.
- Pericarditis - severe limitations on my ability to exercise due to ongoing heart issues. I do walk the dog when I can, and use the stairs at work, but I am currently banned from the gym / F45 / Pilates etc.
- Coffee - I can't face the day without coffee, and also can't drink it black. I have heard that cream (in small amounts) is acceptable, otherwise are there milk alternatives that are also IF friendly?
- Work - I work two jobs; one is 9-5 (on the days I don't work the other job) and the other is 2pm - 8pm. On the days I finish at 8pm, I eat at about 8:30pm, as I generally don't get a chance to eat before my shift
I'm unsure if I should go back to a 16/8 like I used to do, or ease it in, or if I should look to a 14/10 rotation on shift days.
Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions.
I can't believe you're working 2 jobs with your health conditions. How old are you? Coffee... me too. I've been a coffee drinker all my life and it gets me through the hungry times. I use real cream (heavy whipping cream) so guess I "dirty fast" but hasn't seemed to affect anything negatively.
I would try the 16:8 and ease into a 18:6 if you can and watch what you eat too. No special diet just moderate protein/fat and low carb healthy eating.1 -
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i started 16-8 a week and a half ago. i'm doing this more to reset my gut health than to lose weight. i'm finding constipation is a bit of an issue *which it always has been*. i've upped my water, fibre, exercise etc. has anyone else come across this? thanking you in advance for any tips!2
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giadimedici wrote: »i started 16-8 a week and a half ago. i'm doing this more to reset my gut health than to lose weight. i'm finding constipation is a bit of an issue *which it always has been*. i've upped my water, fibre, exercise etc. has anyone else come across this? thanking you in advance for any tips!
How's your fat intake? Quite a few people cut fats too far because of the calories, and if fiber increase happens alongside, that can trigger constipation. I'd say to go for at least 0.35-0.45g per day per pound of healthy goal weight, though experiences vary. Probiotic foods (or maybe supplements) help some people, too . . . but I'd personally suggest probiotic foods first, because the supplement market is big on claims and less reliable at delivering on promises.2 -
I swore I posted since my last post but maybe I didn't hit submit..lol - I am finally starting this week with strict 5:2 (well dirty 5:2) - the It's skinny poast has been a Godsend (not sure if I already mentioned that) and I found a new one (more calories, but still not bad - but probably high in sodium) Skinny Pasta Chicken Flavor Noodle Soup (its like Raman). These are my saviors when I am working. Make me feel full. I am going to try to stay at or under 500 today too, even though my days are M and TH this week, I always try to be close to 500 an additional day. Once I am to my goal wright I will continue the usual 5:2 t maintain.0
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Hi everyone! I am recommencing my Intermittent Fasting journey again, but as there are some other areas of concern, I am interested in feedback and ideas to help me get back to a healthy weight.
……..
Challenges:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - currently trying to work on energy management…
- Pericarditis - severe limitations on my ability to exercise…
- Coffee - I can't face the day without coffee,…
- Work - I work two jobs; …
I'm unsure if I should go back to a 16/8 like I used to do, or ease it in, or if I should look to a 14/10 rotation on shift days.
Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions.
I have a few ideas for you.
1- Don’t jump right into the deep end. Spend a couple days tracking what you currently eat, don’t change anything except adding water if you are bad on water intake. Now you know your caloric intake, your starting window for feeding and your macros be it good, bad or ugly.
2-Coffee, use heavy whipping cream, the fattiest, zero protein, zero carb you can find. Use the least amount you can stomach in each cup.
3- Chronic fatigue, I had it at 231#, now I don’t at 185#. It is a symptom of insulin resistance, fatty liver, obesity, bad metabolic health. Last week I carried a 40# bucket of tile mortar and recognized that I used to carry that on my body every moment. No wonder I was exhausted! Using it as an excuse to not take control of your health only hurts you. Find a way to power through and be in charge of your food unless you are far wealthier than most and can afford a meal delivery service. Veg prep twice weekly, clean, cut and store in a food storage container. Buy the ready to eat tubs of lettuce on those same two shops, so you don’t over buy and have it go slimey. Pre-cook chicken meat and your protein choices for the week and freeze them with veg and a grain if you eat grains. Hard boil eggs, peel and keep ready in the fridge. Have 7-14 fruits in their own wrappers (apple, orange, banana, pear) ready to go at hand. All of that can be achieved in one 2 hour window for a weeks worth of lazy feeding and grab and go ease. Heck…even seek out commercial clean label frozen entrees at the grocery store, buy 14 a week and call it easy main entrees done.
4- Exercise…walking is perfect! Want to do more? Find a few moments to do stretching. You can do this sitting in a desk chair, when you just wake up, right before bed. Add 2 minutes of stretching 5 times a day. Lengthening muscle is just as important as building it. Try something new like yoga. Find a video on YouTube for beginners and give it a try. Try isometric exercise (holding a pose vs. moving) grab two tins of veg, one each hand, raise your arms out and hold that for 30 seconds or until muscle failure. Sit on the sofa and do leg lifts. You can find ways to fit this activity in to a normal day without being a gym rat. Get a pedometer or use a cell phone app to track your steps (or lack thereof). Instant daily feedback on your activity level.
5-work…you have to do what you have to do. I’d start by recognizing my starting point, start shrinking my eating window by an hour on each end whenever possible. If my end time can’t move, I’d just move my beginning. It may vary from schedule “A” to schedule “B” but that is ok. We began moving from a 14:10 which was our natural towards 16:8, 20:4 or even 23:1. We don’t maintain a single approach. Over the many months I have worked up to 115 hour fast as my longest and regularly fit in a 24-36 hour weekly at least. I credit my fasting with my non-existent loose skin. Autophagy usually begins its appearance around hour 13-15. Anything you can achieve past 13 is beneficial for that cellular repair and improving insulin resistance and metabolic flexibility. This will all hinge on the overall health factor of your chosen foods. You cannot outrun a poor diet with a 14:10 IF schedule. Just remember…don’t eat if you are not hungry. I rarely have that problem, but I have felt compelled by habit a couple times to eat “because it was time to eat” and caught myself.
Basically, this is all up to you. This is a great community for support and motivation, ideas and inspiration, tips, tricks and hacks. Find your motivation…that may be your reflection in the mirror, your favorite jeans from 3 sizes ago, your inability to shave your legs properly, your reduced joy from everyday life, your desire to run a marathon or climb a mountain. Just find it and do it. We will be here for you.
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I seem to be ok w/ not eating after 8pm and eating @ noon next day. Does it count as fasting if you drink chocolate milk (2% lactose free milk) after 8pm? There are times I get such a craving for sweets that I figure drinking chocolate milk may help. Also, there are a lot of times I get so hungry and want to snack on everything when I get home(5pm) from work. Even if I've eaten a turkey cheddar sandwich with chips and a snack for lunch, I still feel so hungry a lot of times when I get homer. Do some of you deal with this and if so, do you just drink a lot of water if you do feel these cravings to help to avoid overeating even during fasting timeframe? I feel I do so great fasting and then ruin it by eating so many snacks even before 8pm. Not sure why i still feel so hungry even after eating a pretty good-sized lunch.1
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giadimedici wrote: »i started 16-8 a week and a half ago. i'm doing this more to reset my gut health than to lose weight. i'm finding constipation is a bit of an issue *which it always has been*. i've upped my water, fibre, exercise etc. has anyone else come across this? thanking you in advance for any tips!
Yes, I've had trouble but not so much since I started drinking more water and have a big salad everyday.0
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