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

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  • Sara2525
    Sara2525 Posts: 50 Member
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    I had been at a plateau for several weeks until I tried fasting. I only did it one day last week and lost almost 2 pounds. I am going to try it again this evening and one more day this week to see if I can get things going again. I think it's a great idea and not difficult at all. I ate a normal dinner and then started at 6pm and then after work made dinner and ate around 6pm the next night and did not need a snack in the evening. Good luck to everyone who tries it!
  • Nelski
    Nelski Posts: 1,607 Member
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    bump
  • jb_sweet_99
    jb_sweet_99 Posts: 856 Member
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    This is very interesting, I like that you still are able to eat dinner both days. I'm going to try it, tomorrow will be my first day. I kickbox for my exercise so I'm curious to see how this affects my abilities, but due to that I will be doing either 7-7 or 8-8 since I have class at either 6 or 7. I'll report back with how I do. Thanks for all the info! :bigsmile:
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    I kickbox for my exercise so I'm curious to see how this affects my abilities
    On the days I do it (for example today 2:30 pm to tomorrow 2:30 pm) I still have my exercise classes sometimes including kickboxing. The first time, I felt like I was taking my class swimming through water, but my calories burned were the same and I never felt lightheaded. I drank TONS of water ALL day long and I think that helped. Only towards the 20th hour did my stomach start protesting. But I never felt overly tired, and actually felt focused.

    I hope it goes well with you. Listen to your body! Can't wait to hear your report. Tomorrow will be my third weigh in since doing this, so I'll be interested to see if the "plateau" is starting to bend down :)
  • jb_sweet_99
    jb_sweet_99 Posts: 856 Member
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    Thanks for the advice, I'm curious about your weigh in tomorrow too, let us know! Good luck to you too!
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    I'm doing another one today as well. WIll do one more next week and then will have results for 4 weeks in total and see how I go from there.

    However, will be trying to bulk up a bit after that so fasting probably won't help that :P
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    Thanks for the advice, I'm curious about your weigh in tomorrow too, let us know! Good luck to you too!

    Well, my weigh in was actually 2 lb more than last week. But seeing as it is the beginning of my TOM (which is usually 5 lb) I feel pretty optimistic. I get my body fat re-assessed on Friday, so I think that will be the best indicator. I hope you are having success on your fast.
  • jb_sweet_99
    jb_sweet_99 Posts: 856 Member
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    Ah, TOM ruins everything, lol. I think that you are right that checking the body fat will be the best indicator. I start tonight at 8, I'm going to check my body fat (Just on my scale at home just to get a general idea) before I start and test it again after I've fasted a couple times.
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    What I'm learning: I have found that 20 hours works for me better than 24 hours. I know it's not a true fast, but since I am up at 3 a.m. my body thinks about food longer than not. I can make it to 24 hours, but it is not "mentally" healthy, as I then become too preoccupied with those last few hours. But making it to 20 to 22 hours has done really well for me, even with exercising.

    jb_sweet_99 - how did you do on your fast?
  • jb_sweet_99
    jb_sweet_99 Posts: 856 Member
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    I'd say 20-22 hours is close enough anyway, I don't think I could manage if I got up at 3 either :wink: I started mine last night at 8, so far so good. I'm used to eating a lot all day, lol so we'll see how it goes. I'm drinking black Cinnamon tea at the moment lol.
    I'll check back in tonight and let you know how it goes after Kickboxing and I eat :bigsmile:
  • angrypanda
    angrypanda Posts: 20 Member
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    I found this to be an interesting idea, so I gave it a try from 6pm Tuesday to 6pm last night because I'm trying to break through a plateau. It sure takes a lot of discipline to not eat a single calorie for that long.

    I usually work out every day, but was worried about trying yesterday because by the afternoon, I was feeling pretty tired and yucky overall. My blood sugar was pretty low by the late afternoon (49mg), and I was just feeling so tired that I wasn't even able to push myself to do a light workout by the evening. I was getting pretty cranky in the hours approaching 6pm. I also found that with all the liquid I was drinking, I don't think my body was retaining a single ounce of it, because I had to pee constantly.

    I pushed through, though, and ate a high-protein, low fat dinner and wow...that was the most gratifying meal of my life! Haha. I feel pretty good today and am definitely going to give this another shot in a few days. I might go for 20 hours instead. Those last four were pretty brutal.

    Does anyone else just feel pretty weak when you do this? I was hypoglycemic as a child, so I know that in general, I've never forced myself to go this long without calories because my body usually hates me for it and those around me must suffer my awful mood-swings :bigsmile:
  • dbmom
    dbmom Posts: 16
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    Read thru all the posts...very interesting...going to give it a try starting tonight at 6:30:smile:
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    angrypanda: my first two I have done my regular weights session. I felt that I was about 90% as strong as I usually am. I don't "think" I could do one of my regular HIIT sessions though. I was timing my fasts so that I would finish with a workout as that workout time for me just flies and I can't think about anything other than the exercise.
  • jb_sweet_99
    jb_sweet_99 Posts: 856 Member
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    Well I made it 23.5 hours, I ate 3 pieces of cheese while making dinner, lol! In my defence I have mad heartburn, even after I finally ate. I did a new workout because only 2 of us showed up for Kickboxing, so we did 30 mins of CorePole, which is brutal hard! Google it, you'll see. Then 30 mins of Kickboxing afterwards, all on no food. From all the water I drank and the bouncing around my stomach is on fire. I think next time I will not drink as much water so close to working out to try to prevent that heartburn. Other than that I feel good, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought. I'm thinking that my next day will start Sunday, I think it will be a good way to make up for the weekend where I'm sure I won't eat great! :bigsmile:
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    What I'm learning: I have found that 20 hours works for me better than 24 hours. I know it's not a true fast, but since I am up at 3 a.m. my body thinks about food longer than not. I can make it to 24 hours, but it is not "mentally" healthy, as I then become too preoccupied with those last few hours. But making it to 20 to 22 hours has done really well for me, even with exercising.

    jb_sweet_99 - how did you do on your fast?

    Per the author, you start getting maximal effects at 18+ hours, so there's nothing wrong with a shorter fast

    Angrypanda, at first I thought I was weaker, but after staying well-hydrated and pushing past the psychological stuff, I find myself at 90-100%. Jzpowahz, I have done Hiit during ese and REALLY have to psych myself up. I prefer to do it towards the beginning of an ese session to boost my fat burning.
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    Well, I was able to do my fast yesterday and it went well. I made it 21 hours. But didn't eat BEFORE the bike ride, which was a bad idea. Next time, half a PB sandwich. But now I am going away to the beach for a couple of days and feeling confident I can control my portions with all my yummy "badness".

    Changes I've made? I now drink my coffee black, even on non-fast days. Figure why waste the calories on cream when I can use it for something useful. Skipping the fru-fru drinks at Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks these days too. When I'm eating my calories, making a lot of better choices and varieties. Made it through bloated period with very little bloating and much less cramps (for the first time in years). Not sure if this is coincidental or not, so I'll have to wait until next month to find out.

    So thank you IMAGYMRAT for posting this. I had read other posts before, but your clear explanation really made a huge difference. And since I consider you a reasonable "dieter", I appreciate and respect your experience and opinion.

    Next fast will be starting Sunday night after my delicious, delectable weekend. Hope everyone has a great one too!
  • firedragon064
    firedragon064 Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I'm going to try on sunday night fast from 6PM to the next day.
    I've been doing 500 cal every other day but I usually have to get up like 4,5 AM because I was hungry.
    If I do get to eat before I go sleep I think I will have a better sleep.
  • makinitcount44
    makinitcount44 Posts: 441 Member
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    I am going to give this a try...sounds very doable, but will see when actually attempted. heehee!:laugh:
  • Sara2525
    Sara2525 Posts: 50 Member
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    I have fasted now 3 times in the last two weeks and have lost 5 lbs! I don't know if the fasting is the complete reason but I def think it has helped and I will continue this twice a week for the next few weeks to see.

    Thanks Imagymrat!
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    Started my fasting tonight at 8:30 and doing 20 hours til 4:30 tomorrow, but will probably be like 6 when I finally get dinner. Went away for the weekend and had a great time with lots of yummy goodness (or badness), so I'm looking forward to the fast to reset my body and mind and get back into the swing of things. Can't tell if I've actually lost weight in my third week in because of monthly bloating, but I'm interested to see my body fat assessment this coming friday to see what comes of that.

    Congrats Sara. Awesome job.

    Makinitcount - Hope it works for you. I have been able to do 24 hours, but find that 20 to 22 hours works best for me as I am up at 3 a.m. and it makes for a LONG day.

    Firedragon - I don't think I could live on only 500 calories a day. Even on my fast days, I end up getting about 1000 calories in. My sister-in-law was doing 800 calories a day for a couple of weeks, but it wasn't sustainable for her.

    cutmd - "Per the author, you start getting maximal effects at 18+ hours, so there's nothing wrong with a shorter fast " Thanks for this tidbit. Glad to know I'm still on the right track.

    Hope everyone is doing well...

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