Opinions on intermittent fasting?

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emilyrosenich
emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've heard a lot about intermittent fasting through youtube videos and it's apparently 'amazing' results!
For anyone who doesn't know what this is, the general concept is that you have either a 6 to 8 hour 'eating window' in which you eat all your meals for the day in, and have a 16-18 hour 'closed eating window' in which you eat nothing. This apparently allows your body to burn your STORED fat rather than just burn off the foods you would normally consume throughout the day. The closed eating window is said to be best to be started at around 8pm, that way the majority of this window happens while you sleep.

Has anyone ever done this/know of anyone who has? Could you please give me some more information as to whether this is healthy and whether this will gain the spectacular results i've read it does!
Thanks
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Replies

  • HotMummyMission
    HotMummyMission Posts: 1,723 Member
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    Bump I wanna know this too
  • emilyrosenich
    emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
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    From what i've read/seen it has some amazing results, but I just want the opinions of others who have actually tried it, etc! It'd definitely require A LOT of will power and determination!
  • HotMummyMission
    HotMummyMission Posts: 1,723 Member
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    From what i've read/seen it has some amazing results, but I just want the opinions of others who have actually tried it, etc! It'd definitely require A LOT of will power and determination!


    I tend to eat alot of food in the morning/dinner time an don't eat a thing at night but I do drink quite abit of tea at night fasting is all about water isant it x
  • emilyrosenich
    emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
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    I struggle at night times, that's when I have my biggest cravings. This would be quite the challenge for me. Yep I'm pretty sure it's just water which is unfortunately as I don't mind a late night tea either. x
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
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    First, let me say that I haven't tried this, but it seems to me that my body really wouldn't care when I put the calories in to it, so long as I was eating the same amount of calories. I do think that it would care that there were times I couldn't eat when I might need to do so. (I can get very cranky (understatement) when this has happened.

    From threads I've read in the past on the topic a lot of people seem to have good results with it. Though I suspect that it has more to do with having a better control of their eating habits than the actually timing factor.

    Either way, I can't imagine that it would do you the slightest bit of harm to try it out to see if it works for you.
  • K_Serz
    K_Serz Posts: 1,299 Member
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    I started adjusting my meal times toward this concept as well. The main reason being is that if I ate first thing in the morning (most important meal of the day) by the time 3-4 oclock in the afternoon came I WAS STARVING and felt like I could eat just about any Man vs Food challenge.

    So what I decided to do was put off breakfast until about 11am. A reason is that Im not that hungry in the mornings and coffee (black) pretty much ties me over until then. So I start at about 11am and eat my meals until about 6-7pm in the evening. I didnt calculate the hours out to be this way, it just kind of works out this way.

    Ive only been doing this for about 3 weeks and so far I am loving it. The only negative effects I have felt so far is that I might need to add some sort of pre-workout drink because depending on some of the workouts I do, I am getting VERY TIRED about 1/2 through.
  • HotMummyMission
    HotMummyMission Posts: 1,723 Member
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    Maybe going to bed earlier I sleep from 9pm to 5.30/6.00 which means I would have to eat at 2pm if I stopped at 8 could be done but would be hard x
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    I've just started a leangains style regime. I'm going for a 'cut'; so I generally eat 10% over TDEE on workout days and 35% or so under on rest days.

    Only started on 1st Feb so can't really comment on how it's going so far - however, for the three weeks prior to that I was pretty much following the same eating hours, but eating a lot of calories, often over 4000 I reckon.

    Despite that, my weight stayed pretty constant.
    I suspect it was a combination of the 3x a week heavy lifting workouts I've been doing with the 'intermittent fasting' that led me to not put on the few pounds I was expecting.
    The weight I'm lifting is still going up despite being on a 'cut'; I'm hoping I've got a fair bit of 'newbie gains' to go.

    Started doing weights mid December and now deadlifting bodyweight+23% (but need to pick up some more metal weights I've won on ebay as I've run out of room on the bar!), squatting maybe bodyweight+21% and bench pressing 95% of bodyweight. Also just started doing weighted pull ups with 8% bodyweight added.

    I'm sure I've done "not eating breakfast" before. I've done weights before, but not properly heavy barbell stuff. I'm reckoning it's the combination of the two that's working nicely together.

    Oh and yes, for me it does make it easier to stick to calorie limits too - you know you might be a bit hungry in the mornings, especially when there's two low calorie days, but then you're more satisfied through the day. Certainly overall find it easier to eat the right calories by missing breakfast.
  • _AllieCat_
    _AllieCat_ Posts: 515 Member
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    I practice not eating from 3 p.m. until the following morning. I do this 2-3 times a week because practicing it every day is not realistic for me. I haven't had "amazing results" from it, but IF does help me keep my hunger in control on the days I eat normally, I have much more energy (blood sugar feels stabilized), and it allows me to have high and low calorie days.

    IF had allowed me to break a 2-3 month weight plateau a while back. Now that I am practicing it again 2-3 times a week I feel wonderful. It does take a lot of willpower, though. I wouldn't suggest it for everyone. Also, it took me a few tries to figure out when my fasting window should me. I discovered fasting in the morning resulted in me being extra grumpy, but fasting in the afternoon/evening worked much better for me. Everyone I am sure is different.

    Good luck if you decide to try.
  • queenhiphop
    queenhiphop Posts: 286 Member
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    i think the best way to lose weight is to eat an appropriate amount of calories per day which varies from person to person, keep healthy and exercise
  • NatWillBeSkinny
    NatWillBeSkinny Posts: 111 Member
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    i am doing this iv lost 9 lb in two weeks
  • emilyrosenich
    emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
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    First, let me say that I haven't tried this, but it seems to me that my body really wouldn't care when I put the calories in to it, so long as I was eating the same amount of calories. I do think that it would care that there were times I couldn't eat when I might need to do so. (I can get very cranky (understatement) when this has happened.

    From threads I've read in the past on the topic a lot of people seem to have good results with it. Though I suspect that it has more to do with having a better control of their eating habits than the actually timing factor.

    Either way, I can't imagine that it would do you the slightest bit of harm to try it out to see if it works for you.

    You're right, eating habits definitely play a massive role in it, keeping your food clean during this process would play a drastic role in how good your results are! I might give it a try, I guess it can't hurt.
  • emilyrosenich
    emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
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    I started adjusting my meal times toward this concept as well. The main reason being is that if I ate first thing in the morning (most important meal of the day) by the time 3-4 oclock in the afternoon came I WAS STARVING and felt like I could eat just about any Man vs Food challenge.

    So what I decided to do was put off breakfast until about 11am. A reason is that Im not that hungry in the mornings and coffee (black) pretty much ties me over until then. So I start at about 11am and eat my meals until about 6-7pm in the evening. I didnt calculate the hours out to be this way, it just kind of works out this way.

    Ive only been doing this for about 3 weeks and so far I am loving it. The only negative effects I have felt so far is that I might need to add some sort of pre-workout drink because depending on some of the workouts I do, I am getting VERY TIRED about 1/2 through.
    That's exactly the same as me, even earlier than that time and I am ravenous! I've started having breakfast later also (as I am holidays, and I can :D) I'm glad to hear you've been loving it! Hopefully I'm the same when I try this out. I normally have a strong coffee right before I work out which keeps me up and going
  • NatWillBeSkinny
    NatWillBeSkinny Posts: 111 Member
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    when im fasting i eat around 300 calories on fast days and 1200 on non fast days working well for me so far
  • emilyrosenich
    emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
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    Maybe going to bed earlier I sleep from 9pm to 5.30/6.00 which means I would have to eat at 2pm if I stopped at 8 could be done but would be hard x

    I'm on holidays so getting to sleep early is a very hard task for me. I've turned into a night owl! Well, good luck with the rest of your journey :) x
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Lots of people are doing different types of IF on here. Search the groups section for intermittent fasting. There are a few.
  • emilyrosenich
    emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    I've just started a leangains style regime. I'm going for a 'cut'; so I generally eat 10% over TDEE on workout days and 35% or so under on rest days.

    Only started on 1st Feb so can't really comment on how it's going so far - however, for the three weeks prior to that I was pretty much following the same eating hours, but eating a lot of calories, often over 4000 I reckon.

    Despite that, my weight stayed pretty constant.
    I suspect it was a combination of the 3x a week heavy lifting workouts I've been doing with the 'intermittent fasting' that led me to not put on the few pounds I was expecting.
    The weight I'm lifting is still going up despite being on a 'cut'; I'm hoping I've got a fair bit of 'newbie gains' to go.

    Started doing weights mid December and now deadlifting bodyweight+23% (but need to pick up some more metal weights I've won on ebay as I've run out of room on the bar!), squatting maybe bodyweight+21% and bench pressing 95% of bodyweight. Also just started doing weighted pull ups with 8% bodyweight added.

    I'm sure I've done "not eating breakfast" before. I've done weights before, but not properly heavy barbell stuff. I'm reckoning it's the combination of the two that's working nicely together.

    Oh and yes, for me it does make it easier to stick to calorie limits too - you know you might be a bit hungry in the mornings, especially when there's two low calorie days, but then you're more satisfied through the day. Certainly overall find it easier to eat the right calories by missing breakfast.

    thank you for this! and well done on your progress, it sounds very rewarding to have achieved so much!
    i think i'm going to give it a try and see how well it works for me
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    First, there are as many different forms of intermittent fasting as there are colors in a crayola box. You can do an IF cycle where you fast 2 days of the week and eat normally for 5, or fast 1 day and eat normally for 6. Or you can do a 20:4 (fast 20 hours eat 4) everyday or only certain days of the week. Or you can do the 16:8 or 18:6.

    I practice intermittent fasting. Since joining MFP (Jan 15) I have lost 10 lbs. Before that I had lost 24 lbs (in 2 months) using IF.

    What works best for me is doing at least 16 hours and fasting as long as I can shooting for 20:4 everyday. Some days after 16 or 18 hours I'm ravenous so those days I eat after 16 or 18 hours. Other days it doesn't bother me so I fast for 20 or 24 hours. And some days I wake up starving so I don't fast on those days (I try to make those days only 1 per week)

    There have been studies that show that there is better weight loss (and more of it fat) with intermittent fasting.

    I have seen through here that some people use leangains.com as a resource. There are tons of websites that can help and provide more information. (I'd be happy to answer any questions I can)
  • bassdude53
    bassdude53 Posts: 3
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    IF is a great way to lose. It boosts HGH (Human Growth Hormones) and gives weight loss benefits. I eat one major meal a day at night (6-7PM) and then try not to snack on anything till around 3PM the next day. 16-24 hours fasts are ideal. If you go beyond that, your body may start doing negative things like taking muscle. We are hardwired to IF. Imagine our ancestors... foraging or hunting wild game.. they may stalk something all day, and then be able to eat.. or not catch it and eat more the next day! The key is, also, when you do eat, eat good whole foods!! Just cause you don't eat for periods of time, doesn't mean eat cookies and brownies!!! To see better loss, also try to make the meal you do eat, just enough to satisfy yourself, that way when you fast, you are drawing on your reserves! Also.. caffeine is helpful as it helps to get fat cells to release energy... Check out www.marksdailyapple.com for more info!! hope that helps!!!
  • emilyrosenich
    emilyrosenich Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    I practice not eating from 3 p.m. until the following morning. I do this 2-3 times a week because practicing it every day is not realistic for me. I haven't had "amazing results" from it, but IF does help me keep my hunger in control on the days I eat normally, I have much more energy (blood sugar feels stabilized), and it allows me to have high and low calorie days.

    IF had allowed me to break a 2-3 month weight plateau a while back. Now that I am practicing it again 2-3 times a week I feel wonderful. It does take a lot of willpower, though. I wouldn't suggest it for everyone. Also, it took me a few tries to figure out when my fasting window should me. I discovered fasting in the morning resulted in me being extra grumpy, but fasting in the afternoon/evening worked much better for me. Everyone I am sure is different.

    Good luck if you decide to try.

    I'm unsure as to whether this would work for me but i'm very curious to play around and try it! Realistically I agree with you, I couldn't do this every day, i'd have to have a set few days a week in which I fast.

    Thanks for your advice etc x

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