IF - is it "all or nothing"?

LaurenAOK
LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've always been fascinated by IF and I'd like to give it a try. As it is now, I hardly ever eat before 12 or 1pm (It's 1:15pm here right now and I'm not hungry yet). I think I'm going to do a 14/10 fast as that's what I've heard is usually recommended for women. So my eating window will be between 1pm-11pm.

As much as I've read about IF, I can't seem to find anything about how important consistency is. My concern is that sometimes (not often), I think I will find myself in situations where I eat outside my window. For example, occasionally (no more than twice a month), my boyfriend and I like to go to breakfast on Sunday mornings. Also, I'm fresh out of college (and headed for law school), so I attend parties sometimes, meaning I consume alcohol well past 11pm (again, this isn't often - probably 2-4 nights a month).

So, is IF an "all-or-nothing" thing? Is there any point in me doing it if I know I'll be breaking the fast sometimes? Or will it be okay?

Replies

  • TheDirtyBulker
    TheDirtyBulker Posts: 24
    Personally, I see no benefit to IF.

    Eat when you're hungry, not when a clock tells you to.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Personally, I see no benefit to IF.

    Eat when you're hungry, not when a clock tells you to.

    I understand that meal timing doesn't really matter and it's calories in vs. calories out. However, based on the eating patterns I already have, I just think IF would be a good fit for me and I see no harm in giving it a try. I know several people (online and in real life) who have seen great success with it that they were not seeing otherwise.
  • brooke_young08
    brooke_young08 Posts: 70
    Never heard of it...I agree with previous poster. Personally, I eat every 3-4 hours because I want to keep my blood sugar levels steady, and I see no benefit to restricting myself to an eating window. But, to each their own!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I've read that the more consistent you can be, but ultimately if you can do it 4 days a week your body will eventually learn the routine and adapt accordingly. So on the occasional day you eat outside your feed window it won't have a negative impact.

    Again, that's what I've read, so take it with a grain of salt.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Never heard of it...I agree with previous poster. Personally, I eat every 3-4 hours because I want to keep my blood sugar levels steady, and I see no benefit to restricting myself to an eating window. But, to each their own!

    With all due respect, if you've never heard of it then I'm assuming you don't know the perceived advantages of it, so on what grounds are you forming any opinion or judgement on IF?
  • pluckabee
    pluckabee Posts: 346 Member
    Sounds like you've just found something that sounds like what you are already doing and just giving a name to your current way of eating.

    If you find that sticking to a prescribed program works for you thats fine but I personally don't go for named diets and a flexible dieting approach is better for most people in terms of psychological ease and adherence
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
    I used to only eat between 12-5 and fast the rest while cutting, the main advantage I think was that I didn't snack at all as I was so full when I allowed myself to eat so I couldn't fit any more food in and I knew I couldn't eat outside that time so it helped me stop snacking. Although I struggled to eat 2000 calories even when I was over 220lb so you may want to have a bigger time window. I'm not using it anymore as I don't snack on rubbish unless it's a cheat meal so I don't see the point :)
  • Dfracassa
    Dfracassa Posts: 318 Member
    I'm doing 5:2 and I've lost three pounds so far. Eating 500 calories a day for two days a week and at or near TDEE the other five days...it's not bad. It's not hard, and you get used to the little amount on those two days. There's a great group on here you should check out, and everyone is really encouraging. Also, there's an excellent documentary on this method that you should watch, if you're interested in starting.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
    I do IF and find that I can stay pretty consistent because, like you, it fits my lifestyle the best. It doesn't hurt to eat outside your window every now and again, but what I have noticed that when I do, I am hungry all day and have a hard time not snacking and accidentally going over my calories and not hitting my macros. Just be cognizant of that being a possible side effect, that's all.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Never heard of it...I agree with previous poster. Personally, I eat every 3-4 hours because I want to keep my blood sugar levels steady, and I see no benefit to restricting myself to an eating window. But, to each their own!

    With all due respect, if you've never heard of it then I'm assuming you don't know the perceived advantages of it, so on what grounds are you forming any opinion or judgement on IF?

    One of my top pet peeves..."I know nothing about it, but see no benefit from it."

    Anyhow...

    In...

    ...to learn more about people's informed (and uninformed) opinions of the role of strict adherence on the benefits of IF.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    IF is flexible. Normally I only eat from 7pm until 11pm but once in a while I'll spread my calories as late as 1am. Sometimes I don't get to start eating until 9 or 10pm if I'm busy all evening (this happens at least once a week). Once in a while I'll even have a few bites of something as early as 3 or 4pm. It's more of a guideline. If your fast ends up a little longer or shorter on some days it doesn't really matter. I just try to make sure that I spread my food over no more than 6 hours on my screwy days.
  • momzeeee
    momzeeee Posts: 475 Member
    I did alternate day IF for weight loss and was very strict about sticking to my rotations because that's how the plan works. Now I'm in maintenance and have switched to 8/16 IF and do a two meal format with my window being 11am-7pm. I've found that by doing this I can maintain consistently without having to track my calories. Becauase of this I do it every day :)
  • CrankMeUp
    CrankMeUp Posts: 2,860 Member
    I like it because i prefer to eat later anyway.


    going outside the window occasionally is fine.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Thank you to all the *informed* people who replied. It's good to know that this plan can be a little flexible.

    For those who have no idea what it is, you may want to do some research before you voice your opinion.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    I am working into a more consistent IF plan right now for my cut. I don't have a lot more I want to cut, and it's getting harder to actually see any losses. IF so far is working well. I keep my window between 11am and 9, and I am thinking of moving it to 12-9.

    It has also worked really well for my husband. Really well.

    The only trouble I have is that I do get full on less food than I expected. I have to be more careful with the foods I choose so I hit my macros and micros. If I'm not careful, I don't eat enough to do this.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    For those interested in learning more about IF, I like these articles, but there are other great ones out there:

    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/basics-intermittent-fasting

    http://www.theiflife.com/intermittent-fasting-101-how-to-start-part-i/

    http://jamesclear.com/the-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    If you're doing IF and you decide on a whim to eat breakfast, I would be concerned about your ability to stick to your intended calorie targets on that particular day.

    It's likely that at the time your feed window normally "starts", you'll be hungry just like you always are, even though you ate breakfast.
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
    I kinda do IF in the fact that I don't eat breakfast so generally don't eat till 12-1 and I usually finish eating by 9 so that's about an 8-9 hour window.
    I'm generally consistent in this but don't think about it or care too much if I ended up eating at different times for one reason or another.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    If you're doing IF and you decide on a whim to eat breakfast, I would be concerned about your ability to stick to your intended calorie targets on that particular day.

    It's likely that at the time your feed window normally "starts", you'll be hungry just like you always are, even though you ate breakfast.

    Good advice. Breaking your habit can be bad! I know there's some science behind eating habits but just haven't had time to get around to finding all the necessary research. However, I do know that your body will release insulin when it is expcting food so if you normally eat at a certain time, you'll most likely have a hunger craving at that time even though you ate earlier.
  • mycupyourcake
    mycupyourcake Posts: 279 Member
    Do you count calories if you are doing a 10/14?
  • mycupyourcake
    mycupyourcake Posts: 279 Member
    Never heard of it...I agree with previous poster. Personally, I eat every 3-4 hours because I want to keep my blood sugar levels steady, and I see no benefit to restricting myself to an eating window. But, to each their own!

    With all due respect, if you've never heard of it then I'm assuming you don't know the perceived advantages of it, so on what grounds are you forming any opinion or judgement on IF?

    Yes!
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Do you count calories if you are doing a 10/14?

    Yes
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Do you count calories if you are doing a 10/14?

    I'm not counting calories at all right now because I think I've pretty much mastered eating healthy enough to lose weight. However, if my progress stalls, I would start counting again even though I was doing IF.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    If you're doing IF and you decide on a whim to eat breakfast, I would be concerned about your ability to stick to your intended calorie targets on that particular day.

    It's likely that at the time your feed window normally "starts", you'll be hungry just like you always are, even though you ate breakfast.

    Good advice. Breaking your habit can be bad! I know there's some science behind eating habits but just haven't had time to get around to finding all the necessary research. However, I do know that your body will release insulin when it is expcting food so if you normally eat at a certain time, you'll most likely have a hunger craving at that time even though you ate earlier.

    I hadn't thought of that, very true! I'll just have to be even more aware of how much I'm eating on those days.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    When I tried IF, I had to be pretty consistent. If I went outside that feed window much, I was always really hungry...was like my body just though my window was starting early or something. So if I did something like eating breakfast, even if it was just a little snack, it really through me off and I'd struggle getting to my afternoon feed window.

    I don't do it anymore because it ultimately didn't jive with my overall lifestyle. I found that I missed eating breakfast with my kids and what not and I really like food and eating, so grazing all day long is nice for me.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    Personally, I see no benefit to IF.

    Eat when you're hungry, not when a clock tells you to.

    have you tried it?
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    I've been on 16/8 and now 18/6 for a good couple of weeks now, I've been really tight on the consistency, sometimes I might eat an hour before (1 oclock instead of two oclock) and always stop at 8pm, although I might run over by 10-30 mins with my hot chocolate.

    yesterday I had to drive for a few hours in the evening so it was late by the time I got home, and id had 900 cals and not a lot of fruit so i smashed a smoothie at like 12am. I have been much hungrier than normal today which I thought was interesting, so being as consistant as you can is a good idea.

    personally I think everyone should try a form of IF, for me it really reset my impulse control for bad foods / snacking, changed how I view hunger and also sped up my weight loss + made me not crash out in the afternoon which used to happen a lot.

    I really enjoy IF for the most part, I don't struggle with hunger pangs really at all anymore, and it has stabilised my weight compared to before where it would jump around a bit although slowly dropping.

    for me it works. probably it doesn't for everyone. but if you haven't tried it, its kinda lame to think you know about it.

    cuz clearly you dont.

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