Intermittent Fasting

terri092990

I would like to get peoples take on intermittent fasting. I’m starting slow with tracking and will not take or fall for any diet pills schemes out there. Slowly getting back into exercise as well. Please give me your thoughts, if any, on Intermittent Fasting. Thanks!

cupcakecravings

IF has really helped me out with controlling my snacking and binge eating. Also my emotional eating. I do well with strict rules and guidelines. Telling myself, "No, you can't eat that because it's fasting time" works a lot better than, "No, you can't eat that because it's bad for you." For whatever reason.

I've been doing 16:8, sometimes 18:6 - with a couple of 24 hour fasts thrown in. It'll be 2 months on July 11th and I'm down a little over 18 lbs. I usually eat between 10am and 6pm, and I have noticed I'm not really hungry in the evenings at all. Though some mornings I do have to rely on coffee in order to make it to 10am.

tomcustombuilder

There is no real benefit unless it causes you to eat fewer weekly calories. You’re trading more meals for fewer meals in a shortened eating window. If you eat the same amount of calories overall with IF there is no Fatloss benefit.

If it causes fewer calories to be taken in overall then it’s beneficial. If you’re looking for some metabolic advantage it isn’t there.

sollyn23l2

For me, the benefit if intermittent fasting, when I've done it, is that it freed me from the debate of "should I eat that right now? It gave me a defined space where I didn't have to think about food, because if it was my fasting time, I just didn't eat, and didn't really think about it. When I was in my time frame for eating, I ate what I wanted, made sure to include fruit and vegetables, and other than that, didn't worry about it. If you tend towards binging, it's probably not a great idea. But, if you're a "out of sight, out of mind" kind of person, it can work well.

chris_in_cal

Often in launching a project a first step is creating some structure to support and guide you toward your goal.

What @tomcustombuilder wrote is basically correct.

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

If it causes fewer calories to be taken in overall then it’s beneficial.

IF may be the exact structure that works for you to obtain your healthy weight goals. As another poster wrote it is just the thing (it is for a lot of people) It isn't magic and it may not be a structure that works for you.

I applaud you for being judicious in deciding what direction you want to go as ultimately it's gonna be you going down the path. I hope IF works for you, and if not I hope you figure out what will.

neanderthin

If you go to clinicaltrials.gov there's around 150 studies on IF ongoing. A lot of the studies are specifically for people that are overweight and obese which most have insulin and frequently leptin resistance as well, which pretty much all studies show a benefit, as well as studies on the brain and of course weight loss with the different protocols. cheers

https://clinicaltrials.gov/

pony4us

For me Intermittent Fasting (used to be called skipping breakfast) works as a long term solution. I'm in my mid70s and to be honest have never been super thin or super fat. In my 50s I decided to lose 20 lbs and went Atkins (real Atkins..lots of veggies and low carb, not keto) . It worked for a couple of years but two years later had to lose a bit again. Decided to do three small meals a day with snacks calorie count with healthy choices. It worked by I was miserable the whole time, kept it off for 5 years. Health issues, surgeries and stuff had major weight creep, last year I decided time for action, lost 30 lbs a few months ago by recognizing I just don't like to eat in the morning and prefer larger meals to little bites throughout the day. It took almost a year, but I never felt deprived. I'm maintaining now, easily. At my age my labs are all super, I'm on no meds and have the bones of a teenager.
So for me it works, simply because it is a lifestyle the suits me. When I was younger and working I never ate breakfast, it was only when trying to fit into the "three small meals and healthy snacks" that I went off the rails.

ddsb1111

IF has been highly effective for me. Like others here it helps me stay in my calories and takes away the mental load of food outside my eating window. It’s the closest I’ve come to intuitive eating, although it’s still necessarily to track your calories. Play with the timing until you find the right balance and you’ll find it becomes a part of your life. If you can stick to something for a long time you’re more likely to reach your goals and keep the weight off. Please keep my posted in the Motivation board for IF!

Lietchi

You need to find out if it works for you, for example:
- some people, like me, find that they're hungrier when they have breakfast, and when they skip breakfast their appetite only 'gets going' later in the day
- other people find that a long time between meals makes them so hungry that they overeat/binge when their fasting period is over
- some people find intermittent fasting handy to avoid evening snacking (fasting starts right after dinner) because that's a source of many calories
- etc.

Try it and see what it does for you? Different rhythms are possible BTW, it doesn't have to be 'skipping breakfast.

tomcustombuilder

As mentioned, you don’t have to just skip breakfast and start at noon.

A good method I’ve used is just pushing breakfast and lunch up a bit
Breakfast at 10
Lunch at 1
Light snack at 3 (banana)
Dinner at 5:30
A Greek yogurt at 8

That seemed to be a good balance.

Krisandthemum

I started intermittent fasting years ago for other health reasons.(before it became a thing to try). I began by eating my larger meal at noon due to reflux. When I started this I gained other health benefits like no more hot flashes and it did help my reflux. I do get in other calories like I may eat a bowl of cereal and almond milk around 4 or 5pm but I don’t eat after that time. I find that I am not as hungry in the am anymore and I have more energy. I did start losing weight really well but have had some setbacks due to injury’s and emotional eating due to injury’s. 😢. That’s another topic!!! I hope my comments have added something to your discussion. Thanks ALL!