what are yourthought on Intermittent Fasting

124

Replies

  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
    I guess I sort of do that naturally - I fast from 10pm - noon the next day and eat from noon until 10. Does that count? lol

    ^^^me too...then heard it was IF. I hate brekky ...feel more alert when I don't have it. Tried to do brekky cos u "supposed" to but it made me sluggish n crave...although if I do wake up slightly hungry I'll have avocado or protein. Rarely tho. Don't care if it's unconventional...I don't try to do it..I enjoy taking cue from my body.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    I think 14/10 or16/8 are good starting points


    Ok - so I eat breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon, and dinner at 5pm and then no evening snacks - I'm actually doing roughly a 14/10 IF (14 hrs of fasting and 10 hrs of eating)?

    It sounds like just a normal day. Call it what you want, play whatever mind games you need to play. It sounds to me like it's basically do whatever works for you - just eat at a calorie deficit.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    I think 14/10 or16/8 are good starting points


    Ok - so I eat breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon, and dinner at 5pm and then no evening snacks - I'm actually doing roughly a 14/10 IF (14 hrs of fasting and 10 hrs of eating)?

    It sounds like just a normal day. Call it what you want, play whatever mind games you need to play. It sounds to me like it's basically do whatever works for you - just eat at a calorie deficit.

    if thats a normal day (no eating at ALL from 5 pm to 8 am) then good for you. But I doubt that is a normal day for most people
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    if thats a normal day (no eating at ALL from 5 pm to 8 am) then good for you. But I doubt that is a normal day for most people

    Actually, I think that is fairly normal for a lot of people - eat dinner 5-6pm and then don't snack in the evening. A lot of dieters try not to eat anything in the evenings at all. It's just interesting.
  • vmekash
    vmekash Posts: 422 Member
    Don't really see the point. To each his own.
  • Jimaudit
    Jimaudit Posts: 275
    if thats a normal day (no eating at ALL from 5 pm to 8 am) then good for you. But I doubt that is a normal day for most people

    Actually, I think that is fairly normal for a lot of people - eat dinner 5-6pm and then don't snack in the evening. A lot of dieters try not to eat anything in the evenings at all. It's just interesting.

    What she said...No snacks after dinner...been doing it for 5 weeks now and really seeing the scale move. I have my yogurt in the afternoon with a little fruit (and wheat germ of course) and then a reasonable dinner with 1/2 serving of complex carbs.

    So if you think of it in that vein, I fast for 14 hours every day (as I eat b'fast around 9am). But I don not think of it as fasting, its just a normal day for me.
  • DominiqueSmall
    DominiqueSmall Posts: 495 Member
    I.F. Intermittent Fasting and building lean muscle .. what are you thoughts..

    I have been using I.F. for around 3 weeks now 16hr fast 4hr feed.. and i have dropped around 10 lbs and have dropped a nice amount of body fat .

    I found that it works great and is a sustainable way to manage a calorie budget. Humans are designed for this and have been doing it since the beginning of time, both as hunter gatherers and for spiritual reasons. Almost all religions have a form of fasting.

    When a pastor gave me a hard time about fasting for managing calories and weight loss I asked "Why is it okay to fast for spiritual reasons but not for weight loss?". They just stared at me like a deer in a headlight.

    An excellent source for the science behind it is Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. Just look at his web site and see his articles and qualifications. Awesome stuff there.

    bump
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I.F. Intermittent Fasting and building lean muscle .. what are you thoughts..

    I have been using I.F. for around 3 weeks now 16hr fast 4hr feed.. and i have dropped around 10 lbs and have dropped a nice amount of body fat .

    I found that it works great and is a sustainable way to manage a calorie budget. Humans are designed for this and have been doing it since the beginning of time, both as hunter gatherers and for spiritual reasons. Almost all religions have a form of fasting.

    When a pastor gave me a hard time about fasting for managing calories and weight loss I asked "Why is it okay to fast for spiritual reasons but not for weight loss?". They just stared at me like a deer in a headlight.

    An excellent source for the science behind it is Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. Just look at his web site and see his articles and qualifications. Awesome stuff there.

    bump

    So since this thread started I decided to take this up just to try something different. I've been eating over 1700 cals in a 8 hr window. I've been doing some research and wanted to share some of what I found. I really recommend women interested in it read these, as some do not do well with it, this may explain it:
    http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/
    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women-and-intermittent-fasting/
    http://freetheanimal.com/2012/06/no-ones-power-but-our-own-paleo-sexist-woes-and-an-invitation-to-rise-up-and-roar.html

    Basiically, it gives the potential downfalls for being a girl doing intermediate fasting.

    "One study, which I’ve cited before as evidence of a benefit to fasting, found that while IF improved insulin sensitivity in male subjects, female subjects saw no such improvement. In fact, the glucose tolerance of fasting women actually worsened. Ouch."

    "Although both men and women displayed greater increases in VO2 max and resting muscle glycogen concentration in response to fasted cycling training, only men showed greater skeletal muscle adaptations when fasted. Women had better muscle adaptations when fed."

    Also the rat studies were pretty interesting to read in the first link.

    Over all though, I didn't see any blaring omg IF is bad for me info. In fact I found lots of it can be good for you info and I can think of several convenience issues where it is also good. It mentioned how only the female rats were emaciated but in my mind that's obviously because they weren't eating enough before and after the fast, not because they were IFing. I can't help but wonder if those who do not do well on it could change something in their eating habits or lifestyle so that it could potentially work, since before I started this site I couldn't go without breakfast and now it's considerably easy.
  • _Timmeh_
    _Timmeh_ Posts: 2,096 Member
    its simple... u wanna lose weight?! ,,, STOP EATING :)

    Starvation? Great advice.

    Or did I not see the sarcasm font?
  • JohnnyBLean
    JohnnyBLean Posts: 67 Member
    I never heard of IF until I joined this site. I started it on yesterday. Delaying my first meal until 1:00 p.m. (after my mid-day workout) is relatively easy. If the weight, I mean, fat, actually "melts" away like others have claimed, this is something that I could definitely sustain. Stay tuned...
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    I fast every night between 10p and 7a ... it hasn't really done anything for me weight-loss-wise, but I've been doing it for so long I don't know any other way.
  • bragaswag
    bragaswag Posts: 28
    I love it. Went from 230-219 in a month. First week is killer but gotta keep at it. After that, you dont ever get hungry until your eating window is around the corner. Combined with 30 mins of cardio the fat drips off.
  • bragaswag
    bragaswag Posts: 28
    I fast every night between 10p and 7a ... it hasn't really done anything for me weight-loss-wise, but I've been doing it for so long I don't know any other way.
    Try a 16-18 hr fast.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    I never heard of IF until I joined this site. I started it on yesterday. Delaying my first meal until 1:00 p.m. (after my mid-day workout) is relatively easy. If the weight, I mean, fat, actually "melts" away like others have claimed, this is something that I could definitely sustain. Stay tuned...

    I've never heard that fat "melts" away. This (IF) is not magic. You still need a caloric deficit.

    But I really enjoy doing IF and have gotten great results but its just a part of a plan.

    good luck
  • FITnFIRM4LIFE
    FITnFIRM4LIFE Posts: 818 Member
    bump curious
  • gddrdld
    gddrdld Posts: 464 Member
    Intermittent Fasting works really well for a lot of people (me included) as does Carb Cycling/Calorie Cycling for many reasons. it keeps the metabolism up, helps break through plateaus, allows you a lot of flexibility in your food choices and macronutrient breakdown, etc.

    There is no "rule" that we have to eat "3 meals a day" and keep the same calorie intake daily to maintain a healthy diet or metabolism. Finding what works for us as individuals sometimes takes trying different methods.

    This BS about going into "starvation mode" or risking "malnutrition" by varying your calories or macro/micronutrient intakes from day to day is just wrong. Believe me, people don't develop vit/min deficiencies and protein/energy malnutrition that easily.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    I've never actually tried IF but do a lot of reading on nutrition, weight loss and fitness just out of general interest. I stumbled accross this post that suggests that IF might not be that great or effective for women. It discusses a number of studies, although the literature is not comprehensive.

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women-and-intermittent-fasting/

    I'm neither for or against IF generally and think that people should do whatever works for them, I just thought I'd point this out for any females out there who are considering IF. I'm not even saying don't do it because anecdotal evidence suggests that it works amazingly for some women, just looking at this you shouldn't be surprised if it isn't for you. The more I learn the more I realise that trial and error with weight loss is the best approach. What works for one person won't work for another. Also a particular method may be the most effective thing ever scientifically but if you can't stick with it it'll never work for you. If after an IF you get so hungry that you can't work out or have to stuff your face or have problems sleeping etc It probably isn't for you.

    Just my 2 cents for what it's worth
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I've never actually tried IF but do a lot of reading on nutrition, weight loss and fitness just out of general interest. I stumbled accross this post that suggests that IF might not be that great or effective for women. It discusses a number of studies, although the literature is not comprehensive.

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women-and-intermittent-fasting/

    I'm neither for or against IF generally and think that people should do whatever works for them, I just thought I'd point this out for any females out there who are considering IF. I'm not even saying don't do it because anecdotal evidence suggests that it works amazingly for some women, just looking at this you shouldn't be surprised if it isn't for you. The more I learn the more I realise that trial and error with weight loss is the best approach. What works for one person won't work for another. Also a particular method may be the most effective thing ever scientifically but if you can't stick with it it'll never work for you. If after an IF you get so hungry that you can't work out or have to stuff your face or have problems sleeping etc It probably isn't for you.

    Just my 2 cents for what it's worth
    See my post on previous page that also includes this link
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    I do it every day between 9-ish PM and 8-ish AM.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Intermittent Fasting works really well for a lot of people (me included) as does Carb Cycling/Calorie Cycling for many reasons. it keeps the metabolism up, helps break through plateaus, allows you a lot of flexibility in your food choices and macronutrient breakdown, etc.

    There is no "rule" that we have to eat "3 meals a day" and keep the same calorie intake daily to maintain a healthy diet or metabolism. Finding what works for us as individuals sometimes takes trying different methods.

    This BS about going into "starvation mode" or risking "malnutrition" by varying your calories or macro/micronutrient intakes from day to day is just wrong. Believe me, people don't develop vit/min deficiencies and protein/energy malnutrition that easily.

    Please expand on 'many reasons'.

    How does it keep the metabolism up? I've seen no proof of this
    How does it break pleateaus? I've seen a lot of silly reasons of 'this broke my pleateau' but do we really know what caused it in each individual?

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