Help! Eat to Lose or Intermittent Fasting???

sniperzzzz

Binging and fasting doesn't sound like a lifestyle to me, it sounds like an eating disorder. I'm 6', 198 pds (started at 212). I was also given 1472 calories. I think this is a better idea for you. I would suggest just starting with learning how to eat, then adding the exercise in after a month or two, and eating back the majority of those calories. Your body needs fuel to survive!

DrKittyCat

I don't know how to answer this question. I feel like the predominant voice on MFP is about eating to lose, getting in enough calories to meet BMR and what not. I've been doing low-calorie and I feel like some people tend to judge me for it. However, I am doing it in consultation with my doctor. And it's working. I've been doing this for 18 days and I've lost 11 pounds already. I feel energized, focused, and really happy. I don't desire eating junk food or eating more calories. I focus on feeding myself healthy foods and drinking lots of water. I also didn't start at a really high weight. I looked relatively average in terms of weight, but a low-calorie diet hasn't caused me to plateau or anything. Fasting isn't a great idea because you'll just drive yourself to hunger and then overeating. Eating small, controlled meals throughout the day helps keep you satisfied. I need to stress, DISCUSS WITH YOUR DOCTOR. Never start a diet, especially if you're cutting calories significantly, without consulting him/her first.

charmingtrouble

ok let's say your daily goal is to eat 1500 calories

IF: instead of eating 3 meals consisting of 500 calories each through out the day, you fast for lets say 19 hours and give yourself a 5 hour period to eat ALL 1500 calories, BUT NO MORE THAN THAT. :noway: if you eat more than your 1500 cals in that period you're supposed to eat, then that's when you're binging and over eating, then over eating leads to weight gain :grumble:

eating more to lose: lets say you've been eating 1500 calories a day BUT your BMR is actually higher than that. as you will hear a lot on the forums, never eat below the BMR. For those who have been eating below, they're not eating enough, therefore they eat more food :drinker: in order to lose weight because more food gives the body more energy to lose the weight than when the person was not eating enough . :happy:

tatebos

Jennifer, I am about your height and I have lost 33lbs since January and have a solid 25 to go. I have come to realize during this journey that these jump start diets that have you loose 10lbs in the first two weeks just don't work for me. I have kind of adopted the lastest quit smoking plans that allow you to smoke while you are quitting approach. Back in January when I started I also found the 1200 calories hard to stick to on the days that I was working out, but I also found that when I ate back all of my exercise calories, I wasn't losing any weight. So to start I upped my calorie intake to between 1400 and 1600 a day. I try to balance those calories and get plenty of protein and watch your sugar and sodium intake, this will help with the hunger. This was doable for me and it was still cutting back from what I was consuming before I started. I was also burning between 250 and 400 calories 4-5 days a week. You have to be patient and realize that you are not only trying to lose weight but you are working towards changing your lifestyle, so take it slow. Five months later I am now having days where I have to force myself to eat my 1200 calories, and I have upped my workouts to 6 days a week and burning at least 500 calories per workout. My weight loss has been slow but steady. I allow myself one day about every two weeks of not counting my calories. I still find myself trying to make good food choices. I hope this helps, in the end remember it doesn't really matter how long it takes, just keep it up!

MoreBean13

Binging is about a loss of control. IF is a very controlled method of eating.

IF really isn't going to greatly accelerate your weight loss, since you consume the same amount of calories as you would if you were eating 6 meals a day. What it does is make your meals bigger (and for me, much more satisfying) and you spend less time obsessing over food. It also is much more convenient to eat socially without drawing attention to the fact that you're "dieting", which is a huge benefit for me. I hate when people make a fuss about what I am eating (or not eating). The only downside I have found for IF is that I am more restricted in when I can workout- for my weight lifting days its no big deal, but I am also an endurance runner and I have to make sure my long runs fit within my eating window so I have the calories to support an hour or two of running. I do 16/8 most of the week and 14/10 on long run days. I never do 24 hr fasts, they don't work comfortably for me.

secretlobster

Binging and fasting doesn't sound like a lifestyle to me, it sounds like an eating disorder. I'm 6', 198 pds (started at 212). I was also given 1472 calories. I think this is a better idea for you. I would suggest just starting with learning how to eat, then adding the exercise in after a month or two, and eating back the majority of those calories. Your body needs fuel to survive!

PLEASE, people... If you don't know ANYTHING about the OP's particular question, have the decency to just not answer and move onto another thread. You're not doing anyone any favors by making assumptions.

mes1119

I think IF depends on what you do. Eat Stop Eat explains that you fast for 24 hours 1-2X a week and then eat normally the rest of the week. No binging or anything, just a way of decreasing calories for the week. Personally, I'm thinking about trying this.

LAWoman79

Binging and fasting doesn't sound like a lifestyle to me, it sounds like an eating disorder. I'm 6', 198 pds (started at 212). I was also given 1472 calories. I think this is a better idea for you. I would suggest just starting with learning how to eat, then adding the exercise in after a month or two, and eating back the majority of those calories. Your body needs fuel to survive!

Lmao!

ArroganceInStep

I think IF depends on what you do. Eat Stop Eat explains that you fast for 24 hours 1-2X a week and then eat normally the rest of the week. No binging or anything, just a way of decreasing calories for the week. Personally, I'm thinking about trying this.

Actually, and I could be wrong since it's been a while, but if I recall correctly the deficits created from fasting are spread throughout the other days. It ends up being a relatively small increase in daily calories when you are eating (~15% to 30% of your daily allotment, with the daily allotment including the desired overall deficit), but it's there.