Intermittent Fasting (IF)?? Your Experience?

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  • justjenny
    justjenny Posts: 529 Member
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    Bumping for more info...
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    I got hungry just reading about people going days without eating... Thanks a lot! Now I must have a snack. :wink:
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
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    It's been very effective for me. I don't really do IF hardcore, I basically just eat breakfast around noon, lunch around three, dinner around six and then a snack (usually protein shake/smoothie) around nine or ten. Eat all my calories in a 10 hour stretch, then fast for 14. I do that every day, I don't do the 500 calorie fast days at all.

    When I lost 25 lbs in high school, this is what I did (although I had no idea there was a name for it then) and it's been working well for me so far now ten years later.

    I think the reason this works for me is that I like eating larger meals (200 calories isn't a meal, it's a bite :) and I don't mind feeling a little hungry in the morning. It's that empty feeling at 3pm that drives me nuts. Don't have to worry about that on this meal schedule.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Am looking into Intermittent Fasting (IF) for general health (NOT just to lose weight), after watching BBC Horizons "Eat, Fast, and Live Longer." Would be very interested in the experiences of those who've tried it. How did you feel before you did it, while you were doing it, and after you were doing it? Any changes in your blood work numbers? Weight? Muscles? What kind of Intermittent Fasting did/do you do? Fast 4 days in a row every 1-2 months, then do a Calorie Restricted diet the rest of the days? Fast every other day, and eat what you want on the others? Fast 2 days (not in a row) every week? Do you eat junky food on your days off, or stay w/healthy foods (hopefully the latter)? On your "fast" days, do you eat a small amount or nothing?

    Oh my god it's so wrong to do...... blaaarrrgggh....

    I kid.

    I guess you can say I IF. Every once in a while I decide to just not eat for a day or two. I do this because sometimes I just feel like it, and I've always felt aces while doing it. I go about my life as normal, and when I start eating again, it is pleasant.

    No known changes for bloodwork, weight or musculature. I tend to go about my life as normal, including lifting while in a fast. (I'm sure some CPT/Nutritionist's sphincter just tightened.)

    I don't do it for weight, I honestly do it to help me become more centered, more aggressive, and more competitive. See, I have this thing in my mind that keeps driving me to stop being so calm all the time. It's paying dividends in my working out, and in my personal life. I'm a lot more honest with people, and with work, I'm a lot more brutal with negotiations, which is good.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    ACK! I replied to a necro. hahaha.
  • carlytenney
    carlytenney Posts: 31 Member
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    Hello! I am doing IF now. Nothing drastic or crazy but I eat my first meal at 12:00 pm and my last meal is finished before 6pm. I stick close enough to the 1200 calories. The difference is that I am not hungry in the morning. I used to eat breakfast and then I would be starving my 11:00. Now I just have coffee and no problem even waiting till 1:00 pm for lunch. I feel better and I'm not always hungry. Not sure of any of the health benefits yet. Good luck to you.
  • momzeeee
    momzeeee Posts: 475 Member
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    I did alternate day IF, which does have a calorie restriction aspect built into the plan. Lost 40lbs doing this and after I transitioning into maintenance I started experimenting with 5:2 and now I'm doing 8/16. I've found that if I do 8/16 I can maintain without having to track calories. Loving it!
  • kaylingonzales
    kaylingonzales Posts: 37 Member
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    Hi everyone! So first I'll give you all my stats. 22 years, 165lbs, 5ft 4
    I have been precticing IF Leangains style for about a year and a half now.
    I train with heavy weights while fasting in the morning and break my fast around 1pm everyday and finish it around 8-10pm at night (I'm a night owl.) I used IF originally to cut down from 200lbs right after my daughter was born, I only did IF at that point; no heavy lifting. I reached 130lbs and finally got the nerve to go into the weight area and started lifting, the reason I'm 160 now is that I've been working on gaining more muscle and I'm not super strict with clean bulking.
    Overal IF has really changed my realtionship with food. The way I was raised made me very emotionally attatched to food, IF has allowed me to view it as a feul source and not an emotional crutch. I will also add that it has helped my mental state in both clarity and stabilizing my moods (I have Bipolar Disorder.)

    Also as I was reading through the other posts I noticed people mentioning that they kept thier daily calorie intake at 1200. Even when with my initial weight loss I NEVER ate that low. Unless that is all your body needs (i.e. under 5ft, and sedentary.) For example when I was 135 and moderatly active (work in retail and did cardio 4 times a week) I ate at least 1400 calories on my rest days and 2100 calories on my workout days. I found that if I dropped below a certain number of calories I stalled and my body would hang on to all the fat I was trying to lose.
    I highly recomend this calculator to figure out what your body needs and deffinitely do more research on macronutrient needs and caloric needs.
    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
    (MYFitnessPal, while useful really is quite aweful for calculating calorie and macro needs.)
    Also for you ladies out there interested in learning more about IF and possibly heavy lifting there is a woderful support group on Facebook called Fierce Fit Fearless full of women always willing to answer questions and give advice as well as some great professionals in the fitness and nutrition industry. It is a closed (private) group so you just have to request to be invited in but it is seriously amazing and has really helped my continuing journey for better health.

    I really hope I've been helpful and let me know if I can answer any more questions for you.
    Kaylin
  • justjenny
    justjenny Posts: 529 Member
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    Hi everyone! So first I'll give you all my stats. 22 years, 165lbs, 5ft 4
    I have been precticing IF Leangains style for about a year and a half now.
    I train with heavy weights while fasting in the morning and break my fast around 1pm everyday and finish it around 8-10pm at night (I'm a night owl.) I used IF originally to cut down from 200lbs right after my daughter was born, I only did IF at that point; no heavy lifting. I reached 130lbs and finally got the nerve to go into the weight area and started lifting, the reason I'm 160 now is that I've been working on gaining more muscle and I'm not super strict with clean bulking.
    Overal IF has really changed my realtionship with food. The way I was raised made me very emotionally attatched to food, IF has allowed me to view it as a feul source and not an emotional crutch. I will also add that it has helped my mental state in both clarity and stabilizing my moods (I have Bipolar Disorder.)

    Also as I was reading through the other posts I noticed people mentioning that they kept thier daily calorie intake at 1200. Even when with my initial weight loss I NEVER ate that low. Unless that is all your body needs (i.e. under 5ft, and sedentary.) For example when I was 135 and moderatly active (work in retail and did cardio 4 times a week) I ate at least 1400 calories on my rest days and 2100 calories on my workout days. I found that if I dropped below a certain number of calories I stalled and my body would hang on to all the fat I was trying to lose.
    I highly recomend this calculator to figure out what your body needs and deffinitely do more research on macronutrient needs and caloric needs.
    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
    (MYFitnessPal, while useful really is quite aweful for calculating calorie and macro needs.)
    Also for you ladies out there interested in learning more about IF and possibly heavy lifting there is a woderful support group on Facebook called Fierce Fit Fearless full of women always willing to answer questions and give advice as well as some great professionals in the fitness and nutrition industry. It is a closed (private) group so you just have to request to be invited in but it is seriously amazing and has really helped my continuing journey for better health.

    I really hope I've been helpful and let me know if I can answer any more questions for you.
    Kaylin

    Thanks so much for posting. This info is very helpful! :smile:
  • calell83
    calell83 Posts: 43 Member
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    just started(last weekend) doing IF. My schedule is that I don't eat for 16 hours and then can eat for 8 instead of having days with very low caloire intake. I am only restricting myself to the MFP calorie goal, although it seems that I can stay under that. My furrent goal is approximately 2000 calories to lose 1.5 ounds a week, but the last few days I have been able to easily be in the 1800 range. It isn't as hard as I thought it would be, though we will see how I feel in a few weeks.
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
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    I tried it and it wasn't for me. I lost fat and water weight on it but my performance in the gym suffered. I lift first thing in the morning and I would take a non-calorie pre-workout along with some BCAAs. I gave IF time but I noticed I was weaker. My squat dropped about 30 LBS. If fatloss is you main goal then IF may be for you. But if your goal is muscle gain then I wouldn't do IF.

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