INTERMITTENT FASTING MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD

BarbMessimer

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!

treeburger

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.

Kaileah3

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.

BarbMessimer

Kaileah3 wrote: »

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.

hayleyearnest8

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giadimedici

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!

AnnPT77

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.

treeburger

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.

DebbsSeattle

Kaileah3 wrote: »

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.

rgsunday

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.

BarbMessimer

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.

BarbMessimer

rgsunday wrote: »

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.

That has been my biggest challenge. I can go all day without a bite, have dinner and then several hours later, I'm craving something to eat. It used to be sweets but now if I really MUST have something, I eat some protein like a hard boiled egg or whatever meat was left from dinner. (I always save a little "just in case".) A keep raw nuts on hand too.

But I'm really trying hard to break the before bedtime snacking habit. I think I'd do a lot better with Intermittent Fasting if I did.

ForestGryl

rgsunday wrote: »

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.

A couple suggestions. FInd a zero calorie sweetener and add to 0 calorie almond milk. Some consider it a dirty fast but others don't because its 0 calorie but its a bit of sweet if you think it will hold off the other foods. I heard it noted above to check blood sugar before and after so that might be a good strategy to figure out if it is a dirty fast or fine for your body.

Also when I was starting my IF or trying to lengthen it I would eat foods when I was hungry that I didn't really like but would do the job (keto bars that I don't really like the flavour of but don't hate) and make sure if a couple bites is enough I stop there after my stomach was full enough. It breaks the fast but it also helped my stop the habit because if I knew my only option was meh foods then I would keep my fast if it was psychological instead of hunger.

ForestGryl

Rebe_Hawaii wrote: »

Does anyone use an app to keep track of IF? I know fitness pal has one but you have to be a premium member to use it.

I use Fastic, as well as the my fitness pal. I like how you can earn off days so you aren't breaking a fasting streak when you include rest days (my fitness pal doesn't do this so I just record a fast to keep my streak but keep track of actual fasting days on Fastic). Also it is a widget on apple that I can add to my quick first page so super easy to access. I like the my fitness pal as well because I have all my nutritional stuff in one place as fastic only does fasting so I record in both.

200Karen

I'm restarting my commitment to health

Thanks for sharing your journeys

mdapson

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.

Nonsense. You have no clue what you're talking about. Don't discourage people with BS like this. People stop because they lack the discipline to fight through the initial discomfort of your body reacting to you stopping eating trash, ALL day long.

BarbMessimer

I've been intermittent fasting for 2 years and never felt better. So much energy and enthusiasm for life and so much healthier. Dropped 63 pounds as an added bonus.

PJFinSJ

I've great to read everyone's stories about their experiences with IF! I've been doing IF on/off for about 5 years now. Recently, I fell 'off the wagon' with IF and with good eating, too! I needed to be reminded of how good I felt (and looked) when doing IF and eating healthy. When I'm doing IF and eating right, everything "clicks" - my thinking is clearer, I have more energy and the pounds start to come off. When first starting out, I tried to stick to an eating window from 5-9 to have a 20 hour fast, but it was a challenge for me to eat 1600-1800 calories in only 4 hours. Recently, I read an article that suggested eating earlier in the day - during daylight hours - resulted in greater weight loss. So I moved my eating window earlier and extended it by one hour. I eat between 3-8 pm (daylight savings time) and it is more comfortable/sustainable. I've lost 55 lbs so far (including 25# gained/lost during Covid). I'm halfway, I have 55 lbs to go before reaching my goal weight of 159. I'm 5'6" tall, so that will "just" put me in the "normal" BMI. I don't think BMI is the best/only determinant of a healthy weight, but doctor's offices still use it and I aim to get to a "normal" BMI and have the term "morbidly obese" removed from my medical chart!

treeburger

Happy Monday! As I suspected I did not do well this weekend, but I am back on today and have picked up a bunch of items to help me though the week. My main issue is planning for my fasts. I need to get better with that for sure! Here's to a new day and new week.

BarbMessimer

PJFinSJ wrote: »

I've great to read everyone's stories about their experiences with IF! I've been doing IF on/off for about 5 years now. Recently, I fell 'off the wagon' with IF and with good eating, too! I needed to be reminded of how good I felt (and looked) when doing IF and eating healthy. When I'm doing IF and eating right, everything "clicks" - my thinking is clearer, I have more energy and the pounds start to come off. When first starting out, I tried to stick to an eating window from 5-9 to have a 20 hour fast, but it was a challenge for me to eat 1600-1800 calories in only 4 hours. Recently, I read an article that suggested eating earlier in the day - during daylight hours - resulted in greater weight loss. So I moved my eating window earlier and extended it by one hour. I eat between 3-8 pm (daylight savings time) and it is more comfortable/sustainable. I've lost 55 lbs so far (including 25# gained/lost during Covid). I'm halfway, I have 55 lbs to go before reaching my goal weight of 159. I'm 5'6" tall, so that will "just" put me in the "normal" BMI. I don't think BMI is the best/only determinant of a healthy weight, but doctor's offices still use it and I aim to get to a "normal" BMI and have the term "morbidly obese" removed from my medical chart!

I hear you. It was a great day when they removed that "morbidly obese" diagnosis from my record. I'm thinking of moving my eating window up to 3-8 PM like you and start counting calories. I've been on a plateau and need to lose 37 more for an even 100 pound weight loss.