what is intermittent fasting?

Yes! IF is awesome. I also "stumbled" across it online. I work 24/48's, and I fast every third day when I work because it is easy to stay distracted and not munch or graze. I eat breakfast and fast 24hrs at a time, so breakfast to breakfast. It is very motivating because after a fast you weigh 2-5lbs less than you did before. It doesn't all stay off but it helps to see a lower number and when you do eat it will help you to want to eat less. When I start eating again after a 24hr fast I can feel my stomach has shrunk and it really helps me to eat the right size portions and control my intake. Some people fast for 16hrs or 30hrs. I find breakfast to breakfast is the best for me. I still "eat everyday" but I get a full day fast. I find it's much easier to skip lunch and dinner and sleep for the last part of my fast than to go dinner to dinner and have to wait all day to eat. Plus many people who fast dinner to dinner binge and overeat when they are finally "allowing" themselves to eat.
There is also terms like ADF Alternate Day Fasting or EOD Every Other Day Fasting where you fast every other day. I have done this as well but find every third day to be much more comfortable and manageable. Every third day is when my willpower starts to slip so a water only after breakfast fast really helps me get back on track!
There is also all kinds of wonderful health benefits to IF besides quick weight loss, like lower risk of cancer, degenerative diseases like alzheimer's and arthritis, and increased life span.
My personal pro's of IF: fast weight loss, motivation with seeing my stomach shunk in the morning, increased energy from not wasting energy disgesting food all day, saving money, less temptation due to a solid vow of "no food" for x number of hours, better hydration because I drink at least two liters of water a day while fasting, I could go on and on!
Look up "eat stop eat" that is a good example of a leader in successful IF technique.
Best of luck with IF!

thanks i think i might give this a try starting tomorrow

I've seen a few of the guys on here do that it, acg67, chrisdavey, gp70. It seems to work well for them but not sure how it works if you arent doing a lot of heavy weight training / muscle building? If i remember rightly there are 2 main 'types', leangains or eat stop eat.
http://www.leangains.com/
http://www.eatstopeat.com/

basically you fast for a certain amount of time (8 / 12 / 16 hours), then you get to have fewer large meals instead of lots of smaller meals / snacks. As you are having to eat a lot of cals at once, planning is impotrant to get your macros right so you don't end up just eating a load of crap to get your cals in (eat what you like as long as your macros are good and you get enough fruit & veg in)

I ran across IF on here last year by luck and I thank God everyday. I use the Leangains version where I only eat between 1 PM and 9 PM. Once a month I'll throw in a 24 hour fast (generally I'll eat dinner on Sunday and not eat again until dinner on Monday).

I've found it really freeing, but it doesn't work for everyone. I do occasionally get hungry in the mornings around 10, but if I can distract myself for 10 min it usually goes away.

Google Intermittent Fasting and you'll find a lot of info. My favorites

www.leangains.com
www.fitnessblackbook.com - this one is more geared towards the exercise side of things but still has some good info.

I use a mixture of yogic fasting techniques and your basic IF of 18/6. Meaning every day i fast for 18 hours and my eating window is between 4 pm and 10 pm. I enjoy this the most for active peoples. Your glycogen stores will be depleted during the evening closer to sleep. During sleep the repair and strengthening are at its highest. My thinking is you get sleepy after a full meal, and it is seen in the animal world. Evacuate Bowels, Exercise, Nourish, Sleep. An added bonus to sleeping after eating is meat products are harder to digest or take longer or are more complex nutrients so the 6-8 hours sleep helps to properly break down those proteins and nutrients before morning cleansing. I generally consume my daily vitamins with a glass of water and Psyllium seed husks as a fiber supplement which helps keep the fluids and nutrients in my body longer. Not long after i will evacuate my bowels completely and sustain on water until 420 and i am usually eating til 530 then again around 630 to730 and again around 9 or 930 and i have an alarm on my phone daily for 10 pm to let me know when I can stop eating. Eating becomes more of a chore then an enjoyment. Also noticed my grocery bill went down.