Intermittent Fasting Question

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Losingforher
Losingforher Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have a grasp of what IF is and how to go about it, mainly I have been looking at two set ups. One where you fast for about 24 hours once or twice a week and one where you fast for a few hours a day for the greater amount of the week. So the 24 hour one is pretty straight forward but for the method where you fast for only a portion of the day are you still expected to have your normal caloric intake? For example: One is fasting for about 6 hours on a certain day and their normal intake is 1700, do they eat that 1700 before the time they set to fast or, lets say the fasting is in the evening removing dinner time so you remove a portion of the normal intake to reflect that so instead of 1700 for that day you should now consume lets say 1000-1200 calories, and if you do eat less on the fasting days how much do should you remove?

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  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    If you want to do fasting you still need to have a calorie goal to achieve. The idea of fasting isn't to do some very low calorie deprivation diet. Well, actually I don't really understand the whole point of fasting to start with but you do still need to cram all your calories into the time period when you are eating.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
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    I do lean gains, I fast 16 hours and eat in an 8 hour feeding window. Calories and macros are different depending if it is a training or rest day. I also train fasted. I like this school of IF because it is super easy and I NEVER feel hungry.
  • MonaRaeHill
    MonaRaeHill Posts: 145 Member
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    The six-hour one means that you skip a meal. According to the Michael Mosley PBS production (Eat, Fast, and Live Longer), you don't really reap any benefits from less then a 24 hour fast, or at least, that's how I remember it. I seem to remember they did not recommend it in the film...........:( Well, whatever you choose, I'd try and stick with whatever you are comfortable with. MFP and the Scooby's Workshop Calculator (TDEE), has me eating 2400 calories to maintain my lifestyle/exercise. It's actually bogus, and I don't intend to eat back in anymore exercise calories, since I actually gained a pound. Criminy. The thing that was discussed at length in the MM film, was that the researchers expected their subjects to eat twice as much on the days they ate. That didn't happen, and it surprised them. Most peeps did not eat back more then 150% of the calories they had missed out on. This not only surprised the scientists, but also made them dig deeper and realized that this is where the benefits came from. (Less calories actually increased leptin release.........leptin is a fat burner enzyme.) Fewer calories is where it's at, for humans, as far as they can tell. This has been born out with long-term studies on Rhesus Monkeys. The closer we can get to the least possible calories we need, to survive, on a consistent basis, the healthier we become. I have no idea where this "eat back your exercise calories" idea, has come from. It does not seem right to me, and I've not seen any research that supports it. So..............I'd suggest watching the movie (if you can find it on the PBS streaming websites, anywhere) and then planning on skipping a meal, when you fast (if you only go six hours).
  • featherbrained
    featherbrained Posts: 155 Member
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    IF is a way to gain control of your eating, to retrain your appetite and to hit the reset button if you have insulin sensitivity issues. It is also a way to break food addictions. It has done all these things for me in the span of a few weeks, not to mention shedding pounds and inches immediately.

    I do the two longer fasts each week. Two days a week, I go 24 hours without food. I have a coffee in the morning, and lots of water throughout the day. I then eat a 400-500 calorie dinner that I bulk up with salad, and make sure it's minimal on carbs (this just keeps hunger from striking before bedtime) and high in protein and fat. Then I continue fasting until I want to eat the following day, usually around 7 or 8 am for me personally. I eat normally for a few days before the next fast.

    My feed days are a bit more restrictive at the moment because I am striving to meet a specific goal right now. I also have a massive amount of weight to lose. I eat between 1400 and 1800 calories on feed days. And I eat whatever I want. I have lost weight while eating out, eating cake for dessert, having a pizza night, etc. But I keep it within my calories. And I do limit myself to one sweet treat per feed day.

    I love it. It's simple. It's rewarding. And it's working. Sustainably so, but that's just me. Good luck! Feel free to friend me for support.
  • featherbrained
    featherbrained Posts: 155 Member
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    If you want to do fasting you still need to have a calorie goal to achieve. The idea of fasting isn't to do some very low calorie deprivation diet. Well, actually I don't really understand the whole point of fasting to start with but you do still need to cram all your calories into the time period when you are eating.

    Not necessarily so. I mean, you can, if you want, but part of IF is learning to listen to your appetite. The point is to eat when you are hungry, and stop when you are full. Most don't count while following a fasting plan. I do, but like I said, I'm striving for a goal, so I'm keeping a close eye on things ;)

    Fasting also helps you feel and therefore identify true hunger. Once you've felt that, and know what it actually is, the panic of being what most people call 'hungry' goes away. I was pretty hungry on the first two fasting days. I've not felt hunger since.
  • Losingforher
    Losingforher Posts: 2
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    Ah, I should have checked this sooner haha, Thank you everyone for your individual advice, gives me some information and some more to think about on the subject.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    I do leangains myself
  • MrsLannister
    MrsLannister Posts: 347 Member
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    I did IF for a few months, but am not doing it now. I had a 4 - 8 hour eating window with 16 - 20 hours of fasting between. It just depended on my mood and hunger level where I fell into that range. During my eating window I still hit my regular calorie goals.

    I lost exactly the same as I am losing now. The benefit of IF was that I did not crave sweets as much, or really at all. I was only hungry for the first couple of days and then it was no big deal. Where I found IF to be really challenging was that I was the only one in the house doing it and no one wanted to eat dinner early.

    I took a break from my plan to get past a plateau, which is why I am not doing IF now. I am back on my plan, but just haven't started IF again.
  • iechick
    iechick Posts: 352 Member
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    I did alternate day intermittent fasting for weight loss (JUDDD), which alternates between 'up' days (maintenance calories) and 'down' days (500 or less calories). For maintenance I do the 18/6 version of IF and eat all my calories between 11am-7pm. Weight loss is about calories period, so if you're trying to lose weight you still need to include calorie restricting into whatever version of IF you chose to do.

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