Eat Stop Eat..how it's worked for me.

cutmd

I did my first fast a few days ago and made it all 24 hours includig a great workout of elliptical, biceps and boot camp without a problem. I flet great, was energized and mentally focused. It was so nice not to have to think about food, when to eat what to eat how much to eat which normally consumes my day. I am on my second one now and the same thing although I am on the last 2 hours and for me it is tough. Right now I am sitting at work surrounded by cookies, muffins...(holidays in a hospital food) but the knowledge that it is my fasting day is making it so much easier to just walk away! One more hour and my chicken, brocolli and 1/2 sweet potato is waiting. I hope this helps me break my plateau but most improtantly I have reconnected with what real physiologic hunger is and am making better choices other days because I can say I am really not hungry.

Has anyone lost a significant amount of weight doing this?
Does it get easier or harder?

I lost my last 6 pounds doing this. It gets easier except I found once I take a break I don't want to go back to it, simply because of greed. It has been hard for me with hubby working from home and now me being on vacation, so I try to fast when he's out of town but it's more sporadic than I would like. Trying to soldier through today to lose some water weight before we go to Jamaica next week, although I admit the gluten free donuts I stupidly bought the other day are calling my name...

wtbyerdocmd

i've done this now 3 times and plan on January 4th being the next day. I am too afraid of the scale right now from the holidays and still feel guilty on non fast days if i have even one treat. Yesterday ate well all day but had popcorn (no extra butter) at the movies with my daughters. Now afraid to step on the stupid scale. It does get easier and I like doing it on work days it gets me through all the hospital junk food the nurses bring in.

lulabellewoowoo

I lost my last 6 pounds doing this. It gets easier except I found once I take a break I don't want to go back to it, simply because of greed. It has been hard for me with hubby working from home and now me being on vacation, so I try to fast when he's out of town but it's more sporadic than I would like. Trying to soldier through today to lose some water weight before we go to Jamaica next week, although I admit the gluten free donuts I stupidly bought the other day are calling my name...

I'm exactly like you. For about two months I did it religiously and it worked great, had awesome support from my husband, lost weight. But now that I lost the weight, I don't exactly get the support as they think I'm "starving" (really? one day?) and so without the support I tend to give in too easily and don't make it. So starting after this weekend of going away, I'm starting on my schedule again of Sunday at 6 to Monday at 6, and then Wednesday to Thursday 6 to 6. It need to get my mind reset so that on my non-fasting days, I stop going so over on my calories and making unhealthy food choices. Thank goodness for new beginnings

lulabellewoowoo

i've done this now 3 times and plan on January 4th being the next day. I am too afraid of the scale right now from the holidays and still feel guilty on non fast days if i have even one treat. Yesterday ate well all day but had popcorn (no extra butter) at the movies with my daughters. Now afraid to step on the stupid scale. It does get easier and I like doing it on work days it gets me through all the hospital junk food the nurses bring in.

Love your new pics. You look awesome!!!

cutmd

I'm exactly like you. For about two months I did it religiously and it worked great, had awesome support from my husband, lost weight. But now that I lost the weight, I don't exactly get the support as they think I'm "starving" (really? one day?) and so without the support I tend to give in too easily and don't make it. So starting after this weekend of going away, I'm starting on my schedule again of Sunday at 6 to Monday at 6, and then Wednesday to Thursday 6 to 6. It need to get my mind reset so that on my non-fasting days, I stop going so over on my calories and making unhealthy food choices. Thank goodness for new beginnings

Hey lulu, you don't have far to go right? You'll get there!

I have reset my mind and already that Xmas crap is falling off of me. I am pretty much resigned to doing ese when hubby and I are apart, and eating well and exercising the rest of the time. :ohwell:

cutmd

i've done this now 3 times and plan on January 4th being the next day. I am too afraid of the scale right now from the holidays and still feel guilty on non fast days if i have even one treat. Yesterday ate well all day but had popcorn (no extra butter) at the movies with my daughters. Now afraid to step on the stupid scale. It does get easier and I like doing it on work days it gets me through all the hospital junk food the nurses bring in.

How can you be afraid of the scale with that 6 pack? Even 10lbs and you'd still look svelte. It's mostly water so don't feel bad. I am already losing mine. Those nurses are killer - I do love doing ese on those days.

The other option is the 16 hr fast as advertised on www.leangains.com

wtbyerdocmd

Has anyone just done it for 12 or 16 hours? I wonder if it has the same/similar effects.. I have read about the health benefits of resting your gi tract by going just 12 hours. I started last night at midnight and going today till midnight to start the New Year off right. The picture is from last year and I have gained about 5 lbs that I would love to get back off and be that sharp again for summer. Going in for knee surgery Tue and will be non weight bearing for up to 6 weeks so it will be a challenge.

SDehmer819

Has anyone just done it for 12 or 16 hours? I wonder if it has the same/similar effects.. I have read about the health benefits of resting your gi tract by going just 12 hours.

Reading through all the post I read that 18 hr minimum is really when the benefits happen.

I am doing this today...starting at noon until noon tomorrow.

SDehmer819

. Usually, after a "strict" day of dieting, I will lose....but then I'll bloat right back up once the weekend hits.


I chose to "bookend" my weekends with the 24 hour fast, so I actually lost weight after a weekend of eating out and having a few cocktails. WOW! I can't wait to see the results to come. I found it interesting too that the foods I craved after the fasts were actually very healthy ones. I wasn't craving cheeseburgers and pizza, like you think you'd be if you were "ravenous".... What I like about it too, is that it doesn't promise fast weight loss. It's slow and steady (1-2 lbs a week), which makes me think that it won't come back on. Plus, it's a great lifestyle tool to use forever. Just think of Thanksgivings, vacations, etc. It can really come in handy! I love to do strength training, so this is perfect for me.

That is so me!! I can do great through most of the week with eating right and working out and then all the hard work is right out the door when the weekend is over. And the water weight and bloat is disgusting...always way up more then Id like. I need to be able to make it through one day of this so mentally I will know I can do it and the next time will be easier...hopefully

wtbyerdocmd

for me its nights I can eat perfect all day and then that hour or 2 before bed I want to carb out - ugh. Yet did my fourth fast and it was easy although I can not say I have lost any weight on it which is frustrating and I am not overcompensating the next day I just go back to eating clean so I still wonder (after being a member of the eating every 3-4 hour club now for years) if it does slow your metabolism down. I will give it a little more time since I don't find the fasts all that difficult.

kargreen

Happy New Year everyone...
I am going to start tonight! I had planned on doing it a few times over the holiday break but everytime I wanted to someone would be having dinner or drinks - something to throw it off.

I tried to behave and I did work out over the holidays... I even got an ab pro circle that I got put together today. My husband bought a Wii so I am going to use my gift card for the Wii fit. He bought me a pedometer so I can track my calories burned.

It's just been so hard because it's getting cold out and I have a desk job. The only time I can work out is at night now and that takes time away from my kids. My little one got a trampoline (small one) for Christmas and my older son got a punching bag - they are all down stairs so I am hoping its something we can do together...

TateFTW

Has anyone just done it for 12 or 16 hours? I wonder if it has the same/similar effects.. I have read about the health benefits of resting your gi tract by going just 12 hours. I started last night at midnight and going today till midnight to start the New Year off right. The picture is from last year and I have gained about 5 lbs that I would love to get back off and be that sharp again for summer. Going in for knee surgery Tue and will be non weight bearing for up to 6 weeks so it will be a challenge.

I don't do 24 hrs. I usually do 18 hrs, from 10 at night to 4 the next afternoon. I don't think anything less then 15 would be worth it, because for me the appetite supression really doesn't kick in until that point. Once I get to 18 hrs, I'm only eating because I know it's time. I'm hardly ever hungry by then.

lulabellewoowoo

I have gotten so way off track in my concentration, so I am back at it starting today (technically last night). Unfortunately, stopped eating at 10 pm, so my end time today no earlier than 4 p.m., (might be later depending on kids and dinner) which will be 18 hours. My next one will be Wednesday evening to Thursday evening, and I'll make sure I cut off by 6:30 so that I can get a full 24 hours in. I'm sitting here wanting to eat everything in sight, but I'm not actually hungry, which makes me know it's more a stress/bad habit thing. Hopefully after today, I can start to reset my thinking and view of food and get back to eating healthy and feeling more energetic. So sleepy....:yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

briteyes

me too! my concentration has been horrible lately. and that's probably why i've gained 5 lbs!!! ugh! i guess I could've done worse through the holidays, but really, I should've done better!

so back to ESE it is for me because that seemed to really work out well, especially because I do not like to count calories i know i could and maybe i should still, but i'm going to try it w/ out counting paired up with following a slow carb diet plan it allows me to eat as much as i want of the RIGHT foods every day and as much as i want of any food 1 day a week. sounds like a winning plan to me i sure hope it works in my favor.

briteyes

Has anyone just done it for 12 or 16 hours? I wonder if it has the same/similar effects.. I have read about the health benefits of resting your gi tract by going just 12 hours. I started last night at midnight and going today till midnight to start the New Year off right. The picture is from last year and I have gained about 5 lbs that I would love to get back off and be that sharp again for summer. Going in for knee surgery Tue and will be non weight bearing for up to 6 weeks so it will be a challenge.

I don't do 24 hrs. I usually do 18 hrs, from 10 at night to 4 the next afternoon. I don't think anything less then 15 would be worth it, because for me the appetite supression really doesn't kick in until that point. Once I get to 18 hrs, I'm only eating because I know it's time. I'm hardly ever hungry by then.

i've read that 16+ is best. I try to get as close to 20 as possible, but really a full 24 is pretty easy for me. My hardest part is the STOP part of ESE.... LOL I have issues stopping my eating in order to start my fast.

glittersoul

Hi! Saving this thread for later to read. ... Starting my fast in the AM. I did Ori Hofmekler's approach to this a long time ago and thought it was great.

lulabellewoowoo

Well, I made it to 4 p.m. yesterday. So 18 hours for me. I probably could have gone longer, but I had just made some really yummy buttery croissants and had to eat them while they were right out of the oven. Not only that, but I'm trying to stop eating so late, so I only eating til 7 p.m. But I have to say, it did help my self-control after I got back home last night after 8:30 to not eat anything. Of course, this a.m. I've already eaten 600 calories in yummy cereal and milk. But I have 2 hours at the gym today, so I'm not too worried about it. My next fast? Wednesday 6:30 pm to Thursday 6:30 pm (ending it with a kickboxing class)

BTW, it's great all the support and posting on here. To hear everyone else's successes and even their downfalls lets me know I'm not crazy in doing this and enjoying the successes I have with it. So thank each and everyone of you for continuing to encourage the rest of us.

lulabellewoowoo

Well, looks like I backed myself into a corner and ate all my calories and it's 5:30 in the morning. Granted I have been up since 12:30 for work, but still, I have the munchies I think because I'm tired. And no gym today. So I'm going to start my fast at 6 am (drinking my coffee still) so hopefully I can get food off the mind and concentrate on other more important things. I get up for work at 2 tomorrow morning so I will stop my fast then, but simply with fruit until my kids and I have breakfast at 7 a.m. That's the great thing about the ESE for me. It really helps me to refocus my energies and thoughts when I know that food is NOT an option for a certain period of time. So here I go...

How is everyone else doing?

manda1284

I have a hard time starting my fasts too! I usually start them around 7pm, which is prime time for snacking for me, so it's hard to knock it off! I've been trying to cut back on my carbs on my eating days, since I find that my hunger levels are not nearly as high when I do so. It's also a little more difficult figuring out what to eat, so it's a nice break when I have a fast day.... then I don't have to worry about it haha.

I'm fasting today until 7pm today. I'm going to try to do some cardio tonight before I eat dinner. We are heading down to Florida at the end of this month, so I'd love to lose 2 more stubborn pounds by then

lulabellewoowoo

Well I made it my 20 hours plus 2. Could have probably done the whole 24, but it would have been uncomfortable and distracting from work, so I had a bowl of yummy soup and blueberries. Still keeping it healthy. My next fast can't be until Sunday but after the nervous eating during Playoffs, I'll need it.

wtbyerdocmd

I think eating croissants kind of negates the whole reason we are on this web site. Even after a fast I try to eat clean the same way you are supposed to always, clean. I think its too easy to allow yourself extras when you think you are allowed them because of the fast and your hard work goes out the door.

Just food for thought

jb_sweet_99

I'm thinking I'm going to try to start a fast tonight, I haven't done one in a week.....I'm not sure what time yet, prolly 7:30...

briteyes

yeah, i think i'm starting again tonight, too. i fasted on Tuesday and need to get in 1 more fast before the weekend, so tomorrow it is! (already friday????)

cutmd

Ok me too, then. Will start around 10 because of a late dinner, but will be working until 11pm tomorrow so it shouldn't matter. I am gonna copy Jen with the slow carb ESE combo now that hubby will be in and out of town and I am done with vacay

jb_sweet_99

Ok guys, I started at 8:30, we can do this! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

lulabellewoowoo

Started at 9 p.m., going for 20 hours - minus croissants. Although I eat healthy, sometimes my own homemade goodies just have to be tasted (at least I know and control exactly what's in them).

Do well everyone!

chrisdavey

Was reading on T-nation a variation of this diet strategy utilising 2 casein whey drinks during the day to prevent catabolism but otherwise pretty much the same as warrior diet (6hr window). Was thinking of giving that a go in a bit.

lulabellewoowoo

Started at 9 p.m., going for 20 hours - minus croissants. Although I eat healthy, sometimes my own homemade goodies just have to be tasted (at least I know and control exactly what's in them).

Do well everyone!

Ooops, got my days mixed up. Don't wanna do 3 fasts this week (or any week if I'm honest) So I'm waiting for Sunday. Wishing you all the best of successes. Catch you next week.

briteyes

k guys, i started at 10 pm last night (cutmd, wth! we really are twins!)

not sure what time it will go to, but i plan on going for a run after work and then grocery shopping/errands, so unless i have time to run home and make a smoothie after my run, it will probably be 6 or 7.... not a full 24 hrs today, but that's ok, because i'll at least have 18 - 20 hrs under my belt. i'm happy with that.

jb_sweet_99

Nice to realize you can eat when you thought you couldn't lol!
I won't get the whole 24 hrs either I don't think...I have a massage till about 6 and will prolly eat around 7, I have to go help my cousin with her wedding registry after, so if I don't eat then I don't know when it would be..