Intermittent Fasting- 16:8

I am on day 5 of 16:8. It's not as difficult as I thought it would be. It really is just 'mind over matter'. Also, I have discovered the difference in feeling 'bored hungry' and 'hungry'. I plan to stick to it for a full 6 weeks and then decide if this will be a lifestyle change or if I need to modify for my personal needs.

It is very hard to wrap your head around NOT eating within the first hour of waking up! It goes against all the nutrition logic that I previously knew.

I am not reducing my calories at ALL. I just eat them during an 8 hour window.

Good Luck to ALL! :flowerforyou:

I have been following a 16:8 approach for about a month or two now accompanied with weight training for recomp and lean mass gain, very similar to what is outlined at leangains. I used to love eating breakfast everyday because I love milky cereal and toast. Now I just prefer to not eat until about 2pm and finish getting my calories in by 10pm. I hold to this very closely during the work week, but allow for exceptions on the weekend if social situations call for it. That usually still means no "breakfast." I've found that extending my overnight fast is not difficult at all. I used to get starving while I was at work when I ate breakfast, and then starving toward the end of the day in anticipation of dinner. Now when 2pm rolls around, I know I am hungry, but I don't have that distracting starving feeling that I used to know so well. I have a lunch (technically it's a breakfast), which more than holds me over until I get around to eating dinner, which is typically after 7:30. I am incorporating 3 weight training sessions a week after work. On the days I train, I add about 500-600 calories to my dinner (after workout). The other days I keep right about at maintenance. That provides for a slight surplus for the week, which is in line for my goal of gaining some body weight (as muscle).

Blabber blabber... anyhow, I love this approach. I do keep track of my calories because it is important for me to get enough for the day, but not too many. It's refreshing not to be held down by the traditional (and false) fitness dogma that you're supposed to eat 6+ meals a day, always eat breakfast in the morning, and never eat past 8, otherwise your metabolism will magically crash to zero. I also have a huge appetite, so it is nice to be able to eat big when I do eat. And eating when I am actually hungry is so much more satisfying. I'd absolutely recommend you try it if you haven't.

I am doing 18:6 for 4 days now. On Monday I did a 36-hr fast just to try and see how my body would react.

I must say drinking lots of water is helping a lot with my water weight. Dropped 3lbs since Monday. And I love the fact that I can have all my 1200 calories in one meal if I wanted too. My eating window is 3pm-9pm mainly because I like working out at lunch time. I don't feel like I am starving at all or low on energy. I think it really is an ideal lifestyle for people who are not into breakfast/dinner.

I think the whole 'no eating after 7pm' is a form a intermittent fasting anyway. I eat breakfast around 8am and dinner by 6pm. I try not to eat anything after. It seems to work well for me. I'm thinking of trying to shorten that window, have breakfast later in the morning, when I'm actually hungry, which is usually around 9 or 10am.

I do 16:8 and it works perfectly for me. I had tried 5:2 previously but I found that triggered my bingeing really badly. Since I have been doing 16:8 I haven't binged or had any cravings at all.
I eat between 11am and 7pm....roughly, sometimes I go longer, it just depends on how I feel.

bump

I do a (modified) 16:8 IF as I do have HWC & coconut oil in my morning coffee. I'm not doing it on a set schedule, just when I'm not hungry in the a.m. and that generally falls on the weekends.

After my morning coffee I start drinking water. If I'm hungry close to lunch time I have a lowcal snack.

Here's a link to the IF group here on MFP:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/66-intermittent-fasting

Some info on ADF:
http://propanefitness.com/how-to-add-hours-to-your-day-eat-as-much-as-you-want-and-get-leaner/

But for me personally I would wanna try 16:8 first, since whole day fasts seem a bit too restrictive for me as I'm a constant nibbler.

I was thinking about doing IF, but I've been reading that women should be cautious when it comes to fasting because it can lead to hormone issues and irregular periods.

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature

Any women who have done it experienced anything off?

I'm about 2 weeks into IF. With the caveat that I'm in maintenance, maybe slightly trying to lean out a little more, so I dont do the super restricted calorie days. The only times I am hungry at all is if I dont enough the day before. And even then its really not a big deal. From my reading, IF can be used whether you are losing, gaining or maintaining weight.