Intermittent Fasting Success?
auteurfille22
Posts: 251 Member
Hello,
I'm considering trying intermittent fasting (like an 18 hour fast, 6 hour feeding window). What are the advantages of it? Does it actually help to increase fat loss and weight loss in general? If you've tried it, do you feel like it helped you with your loss? Or is it just another one of those fad sort of diets that doesn't really do anything? I want to give my eating patterns some structure as right now I'm kind of all over the place, and I'd also like to lose as much weight as I can (within reason of course, I'm not expecting to lose like 20 pounds) by mid-July. Thank you!
I'm considering trying intermittent fasting (like an 18 hour fast, 6 hour feeding window). What are the advantages of it? Does it actually help to increase fat loss and weight loss in general? If you've tried it, do you feel like it helped you with your loss? Or is it just another one of those fad sort of diets that doesn't really do anything? I want to give my eating patterns some structure as right now I'm kind of all over the place, and I'd also like to lose as much weight as I can (within reason of course, I'm not expecting to lose like 20 pounds) by mid-July. Thank you!
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Replies
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I do 16:8 and it's been about 2 years now. There's been periods when I haven't adhered to it as strictly, but overall I'm a huge fan of the protocol!
I also throw in a 24-hr fast now and then.
I find I prefer eating larger meals, so it's nice to have a big lunch and dinner than 3 smaller meals further apart.
If you do give it a try, give it a couple weeks to get adjusted. There's a hormone called gherlin that affects when you feel hungry, and this needs to get reset a bit from the times you're used to eating.0 -
Did you start losing faster when you started it?0
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I do it more for the benefits to insulin sensitivity, nutrient partitioning, cell repair, etc.
Also it's super convenient in terms of food preparation.0 -
Hi I am on my second week of IF and I have done a lot of research before starting. Check my blog and you see the results for the first week. If you are serious about losing body then IF is a great protocol to use. Most people already fast without knowing (while sleeping) All you doing is extending that fast and have a structured meals times. The key is to do your training either weight training or cardio, 1 hour before your first meal after the fast. This is where you body has no choice but to use fats for energy, either intake or existing fats. Your body become more sensitive to nutrition intake. For this to happen you need to really drop the carb intake to 50g or less per day and increase your protein and good fat intake.
Now depending on the training that you do. You can gain weigh (lean mass) and lose body fat. I am currently of 18.5 hour fast with 5.5 hour eating window. I am building up to 20 hour fast with 4 hour eating window for week 3.
And before you ask your body will not be using existing muscle for energy. Your body can go 48 hours without any food before this actually happens.
After the 5 day you will feel more alert and focus and hunger does not enter your mind (belief me, I have I huge appetite and was suprised about not having food cravings). Just make sure you drink plenty of water, green tea, coffee and bcaa.
Hope this helps and good luck on your journey into IF.
Sergio0 -
What's Bcaa??0
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bump because I am considering trying it and am in the process of researching how much to eat, when to eat, etc so if anyone has any good links with how to follow the plan, it would be great0
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@svgarcia
BCAA is branched chain amino acids ... some research suggests that they are good to take when training fasted. Lots of people train fasted without them though, so the choice is yours.
@rosem1020
check Andy Morgan's site it's pretty step-by-step: http://rippedbody.jp/2011/10/01/frequently-asked-questions/#dietfaq0 -
Martin from Lean gains is really good at explaining everything on his blog.
Most of it is backed up with research on him and his clients.
http://lean-gains.org0 -
When doing IF, do you still eat the same amount of calories per day??
Such as keeping to my TDEE-20%.
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods0 -
Hey, I'm on my second week of IF 8:16 and loving it. Hardly miss breakfast and I get to eat big meals. You might want to consider trying a longer feeding window to begin with like 8 hours. Some females even respond better to a 10 hour feeding window.
I found Precise Nutrition's free ebook really helpful when I was doing some research
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting0 -
I've had great success with IF, but I did alternate day intermittent fasting and not an eating window. Lost 40ish pounds doing it and hit goal in March. Then I switched to Dr. Michael Mosley's 5:2 IF plan for maintenance. Now I do one IF day a week, because of the health benefits.0
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Hi I am on my second week of IF and I have done a lot of research before starting. Check my blog and you see the results for the first week. If you are serious about losing body then IF is a great protocol to use. Most people already fast without knowing (while sleeping) All you doing is extending that fast and have a structured meals times. The key is to do your training either weight training or cardio, 1 hour before your first meal after the fast. This is where you body has no choice but to use fats for energy, either intake or existing fats. Your body become more sensitive to nutrition intake. For this to happen you need to really drop the carb intake to 50g or less per day and increase your protein and good fat intake.
Now depending on the training that you do. You can gain weigh (lean mass) and lose body fat. I am currently of 18.5 hour fast with 5.5 hour eating window. I am building up to 20 hour fast with 4 hour eating window for week 3.
And before you ask your body will not be using existing muscle for energy. Your body can go 48 hours without any food before this actually happens.
After the 5 day you will feel more alert and focus and hunger does not enter your mind (belief me, I have I huge appetite and was suprised about not having food cravings). Just make sure you drink plenty of water, green tea, coffee and bcaa.
Hope this helps and good luck on your journey into IF.
Sergio
Thank you! That was really helpful. If I fasted from 10 pm to 4 pm and did cardio in the morning around 5:30 - 6:30 and did weight training from around 2:30 to 3:30 would that work? And is it okay to have green tea with truvia in it? Oh, and a really stupid question - how do I get to your blog? I can get to your profile but how do I get to your blog from there?0 -
When doing IF, do you still eat the same amount of calories per day??
Such as keeping to my TDEE-20%.
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
Depends on the type of IF you are doing and how you want to handle your deficit. If you are doing ADF or 5:2, you generally eat at maintenance for five days and create your weekly deficit with your two fasting days. This usually works out to be a weekly deficit of TDEE-30%. You can adjust this by eating slightly over maintenance on a couple of days if your goal is TDEE-20%. It really is up to you, but I wouldn't create too large of a weekly deficit by eating under maintenance for five days and then adding two fasting days on top of that. This is a mistake that will lead to miserable results.
If your IF method resembles leangains or the warrior diet, it becomes more of a daily approach. In the case of leangains, if your goal is TDEE-20%, you will be eating this amount within an 8 hour feeding window pretty much every day. You can add some wrinkles into this approach by including carb/calorie cycling, but this is a little more complicated, and can overwhelm beginners. This is more for getting into really low body fat percentages.0 -
That .org site linked above is NOT Berkhan's site!! It's some copycat site with a questionable affiliate link.
The legit site is http://www.leangains.com/
Please edit your post, it could spread bad info.0 -
I've done a 24 hour, once every few weeks, fast. I do this to help my digestive system repair itself. I try to do it every week, but that takes a little more self restraint. Here is a good article from NPR about the health benefits of 24 hour fasting:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=165132990 -
I do 16:8 and it's been about 2 years now. There's been periods when I haven't adhered to it as strictly, but overall I'm a huge fan of the protocol!
I also throw in a 24-hr fast now and then.
I find I prefer eating larger meals, so it's nice to have a big lunch and dinner than 3 smaller meals further apart.
If you do give it a try, give it a couple weeks to get adjusted. There's a hormone called gherlin that affects when you feel hungry, and this needs to get reset a bit from the times you're used to eating.
Yep this!
I love IF-16/8 Been on it almost 5 months, lost about 40 lbs, but I have not weighed in this month yet, so it might be a little more at this point.
I stop eating from 9 pm to noonish the next day. I work out during the fasted time period. All I can say is it works. It controls blood sugar spikes. It reduces the amount of time you have to eat and therefore how many calories you consume. I find it VERY hard to eat over 1800 calories in 8 hrs...seriously hard, especially when I balance my macros. I have little hunger at night even when I stay up late like tonight.
There are so many websites out there to explain it all. I like Leangains the best, but many others out there explain the science well. All I know is it works for me.0 -
I hate to barer of bad news, but it's going to suck (HARD) for some when they start eating normally again after IF.. I tried it for about a month or more, didn't work amazingly, but the worst past was after stopping the fasting, I gained back what I had lost - and more.. It was horrible.
Not everyone will be the same, but if you're like me.. daaaamn it sucks0 -
Great thread! I tried a 24-hour fast for the first time this past week-- stopped eating at 6.30 pm Sunday evening and didn't eat again until Monday dinner. I didn't find it too terribly difficult but discovered I needed to really remind myself to drink water which is usually not an issue for me. I work out six days a week and thought it best to fast on my rest day.
Can a once per week fast assist with weight loss too or should I just expect maintenance with it? For those who are doing this regularly, whether 6:1 or 5:2, are you monitoring your calories on the non-fasting days or zenning through?
Thanks!0 -
You also may want to check out the MFP IF group:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/49-intermittent-fasting0 -
I did the 5:2 for 3 months. On my fasting days, I would eat my 600 calories in one meal. On the other days, I just calorie counted. I lost 28lbs in 3 months. That got me down to my goal weight and now I'm in maintenance I don't do any IF anymore, I just calorie count. I haven't given up any kinds of food, I just factor it into my calorie counting.I wish I had done it years ago. The fasting days were quite hard to start with but they soon got much, much easier!
Good luck! 8-D0 -
Oh, and not sure if the OP has read "Eat, Stop, Eat" but here's the full manuscript as a PDF. This is what convinced me to give this a go...
http://aventadores.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/brad-pilon-eat-stop-eat.pdf0 -
I hate to barer of bad news, but it's going to suck (HARD) for some when they start eating normally again after IF.. I tried it for about a month or more, didn't work amazingly, but the worst past was after stopping the fasting, I gained back what I had lost - and more.. It was horrible.
Not everyone will be the same, but if you're like me.. daaaamn it sucks
Leangain's founder Martin Berkhan has been IF 16/8 for years and he is definitely at goal. IF, especially 16/8 is a life style, NOT a diet. I don't ever see myself returning to morning eating, unless it is for special planned occasions like Christmas morning breakfast.
I am not a big fan of 5:2 because I think it is not conducive to working out like 16:8 for me (I feel like I am being punished on the 2 fast days because I just got finished working my butt off the last five days in the gym and now I get to eat little for two days...blah, I am not THAT disciplined). But I know many who have been successful with it then switched to a 6:1 when they are at goal and do just fine.
IF is just a tool to manage weight, not really a diet though it is often promoted that way. No one is hurt by taking one day a week and reducing calories down to 500 or 600 cals except for sick people. Fasting is very healthy done the right way, even at a goal weight. Many faiths and cultures have done it for years.0 -
ive been IF since january. worked well for my cut. hard for me to get off of since its very convenient and satisfying for me to eat a big meal after working and working out. i usually fast for 20 hours .srs.0
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I've been doing IF (which is not a diet, btw) for about a year and i love it. I have an 6-8 hour eating window and consume anywhere from 1700-1800 calories a day. Sunday is my cheat day. I have the same window (roughly 1pm-9pm) and I eat what i want on that day. I usually come in at about 2500-2800 calories on that day. I've lost over 25 inches and i've gone from a size 16 to a size 10 from January to April. I don't weigh myself so i don't know about that. I lift heavy and run 3.1 miles 3x a week.
I enjoy training fasted....my lifts have increased significantly and I find I am more focused while training. I also like eating big daily. My first meal is usually around 1000-1200 calories right after training, then the balance of calories later in the evening. I don't feel deprived, i'm not hungry and best of all, I feel it fits my lifestyle better. I don't have to cook as much and i'm not fussing over 6-8 small meals a day, sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for 2 hours to go by so i can eat some piddly cheese stick and apple snack, then sit around some more with a growly stomach waiting for my next ration.
that's just my story, someone else's experience may vary. i can see myself eating this way for the rest of my life. i remember when i first started, about a month in to IF. i actually teared up because i was so grateful to find something that finally worked for me. try out a few eating styles and see what works for you0 -
I did this for three months last year. I had a "window" from 6 to 8 pm every evening when I would eat, and fasted the rest of the time. I "rested" the fast on Sundays. I was also swimming over an hour four to five days a week, eating less that 1500 calories per day, and getting a lot of exercise otherwise. I lost about 15 pounds, and gained ten of it back with two months after I stopped fasting. HOWEVER, this diet did help me gain control over my appetite. Learning to tell myself no, even when I was starving, was good practice for the lifestyle I've adopted since. Now I count calories, restrict carbs, run/walk/hike every day, and I am regaining control over my mind and body.0
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IF is terrible for social life. If you're dieting correctly and you eat your TDEE-20% you're screwed when you go out with friends after your window. Have one drink and a small snack and you just ate back more than half your deficit. Personally, I don't like anything that bars me from enjoying life in moderation. I liked IF and it helped with satiety, but, it definitely has its drawbacks. It's not for everyone, but, it really can help people who like to graze all day on food. Those little snacks add up.0
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I've been doing IF (which is not a diet, btw) for about a year and i love it. I have an 6-8 hour eating window and consume anywhere from 1700-1800 calories a day. Sunday is my cheat day. I have the same window (roughly 1pm-9pm) and I eat what i want on that day. I usually come in at about 2500-2800 calories on that day. I've lost over 25 inches and i've gone from a size 16 to a size 10 from January to April. I don't weigh myself so i don't know about that. I lift heavy and run 3.1 miles 3x a week.
I enjoy training fasted....my lifts have increased significantly and I find I am more focused while training. I also like eating big daily. My first meal is usually around 1000-1200 calories right after training, then the balance of calories later in the evening. I don't feel deprived, i'm not hungry and best of all, I feel it fits my lifestyle better. I don't have to cook as much and i'm not fussing over 6-8 small meals a day, sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for 2 hours to go by so i can eat some piddly cheese stick and apple snack, then sit around some more with a growly stomach waiting for my next ration.
that's just my story, someone else's experience may vary. i can see myself eating this way for the rest of my life. i remember when i first started, about a month in to IF. i actually teared up because i was so grateful to find something that finally worked for me. try out a few eating styles and see what works for you
Melissa the way you do IF is pretty much the way I do it and I have had similar results. I spin and swim on my cardio days and I lift heavy on my strength days using an inverted pyramid and working a major group of muscles to exhaustion. I started out at size 24 and I am down to size 14. Like Melissa IF 16/8 just fits my life style and really that is the key to weight loss, find the program that works for you and just do it and stick with it.
I don't find it a problem when I go out with friends in the evening because 16/8 is flexible. If you want to eat until 10 you can, just adjust on the back end and reserve your calories for when you want to eat (according to Leangains you don't have to eat most of your calories after the work out but it is more effective when you do).
I will say that occasionally my friends are annoyed that I don't go out for breakfast anymore because I fast and train mid morning. Some friends seem to feel that not eating breakfast is the dietary crime of the year, though they are impressed with my weight loss...but probably think I am a freak...yeah what ever
I love my friends, but I gotta take care of me in this season of my life and get on track health wise so skipping a few breakfasts is just fine for me.0 -
bcaa is branched chain amino acids.0
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I do it more for the benefits to insulin sensitivity, nutrient partitioning, cell repair, etc.
Also it's super convenient in terms of food preparation.
^^This, and I prefer to train fasted. I train in the mornings, so IF works great for me in that respect as well.0 -
Hello,
I'm considering trying intermittent fasting (like an 18 hour fast, 6 hour feeding window). What are the advantages of it? Does it actually help to increase fat loss and weight loss in general? If you've tried it, do you feel like it helped you with your loss? Or is it just another one of those fad sort of diets that doesn't really do anything? I want to give my eating patterns some structure as right now I'm kind of all over the place, and I'd also like to lose as much weight as I can (within reason of course, I'm not expecting to lose like 20 pounds) by mid-July. Thank you!
I personally had a lot of success on IF but it is not a magic bullet. When I was using it I still paid attention to calorie intake and macro nutrition - that is my protein carb and fat intake. In the end I did something like 20:4 windows and it worked well for me. The 5:2 diet is also worth looking at. 2 24 hour fasts per week and job done
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