Intermittent Fasting- 16:8

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  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    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've been doing IF 16:8 for 2 years, never had any issue at all
  • WalkingMermaid_
    WalkingMermaid_ Posts: 205 Member
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    I naturally do this, I start eating at approx 12pm and finish eating at approx 7-8pm. I love it :drinker:
  • Spartan_1_1_7
    Spartan_1_1_7 Posts: 132 Member
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    bump
  • deltagirl0920
    deltagirl0920 Posts: 2 Member
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    Here's a good article about intermittent fasting! I'm always interested in research based methods.

    http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2013/05/17/intermittent-fasting-diet.aspx?e_cid=20130517_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20130517
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
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    I started 16:8 IF a little over 4 weeks ago. I've since been able to narrow my eating window and do a few 24 hour fasts very easily. I average a schedule of 20:4 now, with 1-2 cheat days per week and have lost 16 lbs in one month. I also increase carbs (carb cycle) on my workout days. And I eat back my exercise calories.

    Too fast of a weight loss? Probably. But I think it will taper out in month #2 down to a more healthy loss of 8 lbs per month.

    I've tried 3-6 small meals per day, and it didn't work for me, in fact I gained weight. I have found that the only times I was ever successful at losing weight was to skip breakfast.
  • jchrisman717
    jchrisman717 Posts: 780 Member
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    I find that I naturally fall into a IF plan of eating too. If I try to est small meals and make myself eat hungry or not - I get on a roll and it's hard to stop. I tried doing 5:2 and that didn't work well for me so I do a 16:8 - I am not hungry in the mornings either so I don't force myself to eat but will have coffee, I have a yogurt and some water around 11:00 so I can go run at lunch. I say do what works for you not everyone falls in the same category.
  • FindingMyPerfection
    FindingMyPerfection Posts: 702 Member
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    I feel Breakfast is necessary because body is starving the whole night....metabolism may slow down if body is deprived of food for a very long time IMO.

    The body does not go into starvation mode after 7-9 hours of sleeping-that's utter nonsense. Please do some research on how metabolism actually works and IF-there's many health benefits associated with it. The whole 'breakfast is needed to jump start metabolism' has been thoroughly debunked.
    I don't skip breakfast, I just changed its time to 2pm.








    Am I gonna make it?
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
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    I feel Breakfast is necessary because body is starving the whole night....metabolism may slow down if body is deprived of food for a very long time IMO.

    The body does not go into starvation mode after 7-9 hours of sleeping-that's utter nonsense. Please do some research on how metabolism actually works and IF-there's many health benefits associated with it. The whole 'breakfast is needed to jump start metabolism' has been thoroughly debunked.
    I don't skip breakfast, I just changed its time to 2pm.

    I love the breakfast quote, I'm going to borrow that one, thank you very much lol








    Am I gonna make it?
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
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    We have a very similar situation.
    I use to love breakfast, I thought I could never-ever start my day without a boll of cereal or an omelet and I use to eat a huge breakfast at 7am go to work already feeling hungry and having a 2nd breakfast around 10. I couldn't stop feeling hungry until lunch time.

    I have started IF 16/08 5 days ago, I have 2 black coffees and I feel great. No hunger at all and much more concetrated at work. I really feel I am working much better while fasting.

    I fast from 8pm until 1pm. Then I have around 30% of my calorie intake. I work from 8-5pm then hit the gym for weight lift. I use to do loads of cardio, but now I am trying to stick with a TDEE plan to control my meals/macros and then spend less time having to burn it.

    I have my big meal after working out. I mean a really big dinner. I am feeling much less hungry during the day as well, but I must say I put on 2kg since I started. I believe is water weight, so I am not that concerned about, but still is not nice to see the scale going up so fast. I know I have been lifiting super heavy since I started with IF/Leangains plan, but it could never be 2kg lean mass or fat in 5 days.

    Any experience with calorie deficit but still putting on weight on the begining of 16/08?

    I'm right at 50% deficit and is still dropping (6 days per week). I added in 1 cheat day on the weekends.
  • stephv38
    stephv38 Posts: 203 Member
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    bump to get more info..
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    I have done it and like it. I did not continue because I felt like I was cooking/eating ALL the time in the evenings and that is when I like to be winding down…if you can fit it into your lifestyle there is nothing wrong with it.

    I will say that IF is not some magic bullet for weight loss…it is just a tool that lets you create a calorie deficit…
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Check out leangains.com for more info.
    This - also, rippedbody.jp
    I've been doing it for the last few months and on and off for 10 months maybe.
    Works very well for me - I tend to sleep 2-10/3-11. I eat 1-9. So we're not talking a massive amount of time before the first meal.
    Nevermind that it DOES seem to help with other stuff along with doing heavy weights, it's also an excellent way to stop me grazing and keep to my calorie goal.
    I rarely have a problem keeping to eating between the times and not bothered if I miss occasionaly (today was about 1:30 - 10 because my macros were well down on carbs and I'd spent an hour going through some weights with a friend starting up again, so was a bit late.)
  • compgeek812
    compgeek812 Posts: 57 Member
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    Definitely check out leangains: http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html
    Nerd fitness also has a good article: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/08/06/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/
    Which references an article by Anthony Mychal: http://anthonymychal.com/2012/05/the-diet-to-end-all-diets-muscle-building-fat-loss-and-easy-living-without-the-calculator-or-scale/

    I've been doing it myself and have had great results.
  • compgeek812
    compgeek812 Posts: 57 Member
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    Any experience with calorie deficit but still putting on weight on the begining of 16/08?
    Yes, I gained just under 5lbs (2kg) when I first started IF even though I was still below my caloric goals. Certainly shocking to see that on the scale but it will should start to go down steadily so long and you keep in your calorie goals.
  • flannery2012
    flannery2012 Posts: 58 Member
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    I was interested in this until I read that it is good for men but can be harmful to a woman's metabolism. I AM NOT CLAIMING THIS...I am asking if anyone knows if this is true. I would be interested to hear about the results/experience of women who have done IF for long periods of time.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    I will say that IF is not some magic bullet for weight loss…it is just a tool that lets you create a calorie deficit…

    ^^This... albeit a very effective tool, but just a tool none the less...
  • tatiianag13
    tatiianag13 Posts: 76 Member
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    I've tried it. A million times. Okay--several. I find it convincing in theory. But I had two problems with it:

    1. I feel horrible fasting (while awake) for more than 4 hours.
    2. I didn't lose any weight. I plateau'ed week after week.

    The first really is about you--if you can handle it, why not. But the second--if you google personal experiences with IF, you'll find that it is not uncommon for IF'ing not to work as well for women. Once again, our pesky hormones futz with some of our metabolisms and fasting doesn't agree with us.

    But I say this based on my personal experience. I say give it ago and see what your personal experience is. But I share my experience with it so that if it doesn't work for you, you don't think its just you. IF'ing is the kind of practice where you tend to only hear the success stories. I want to make it a little easier for folks to find the unsuccessful one's as well.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I've gone to the 16:8 pattern for the past few months now and love it. Sometimes its a little tough to get all my calories in and it ends up a 14:10, but then some days I can easily pull off 18-20 hrs fasted. It all evens out. I don't sweat the details cause I'm in maintenance & just like the simplicity of this eating pattern.
  • compgeek812
    compgeek812 Posts: 57 Member
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    I was interested in this until I read that it is good for men but can be harmful to a woman's metabolism. I AM NOT CLAIMING THIS...I am asking if anyone knows if this is true. I would be interested to hear about the results/experience of women who have done IF for long periods of time.

    There is some evidence that IF can be ineffectual or detrimental to some women but the research is scarce. I have heard some women who claim its the best thing they have ever done and some who hated it, so it might be related to an individual's body or some external factors.
    From what I remember, the only studies done which included females were on mice and post-menopausal women and they were done with alternate day fasting and single meal fasting. If memory serves correctly, the females didn't receive as much benefit as the males but still had gains in learning, memory, energy BUT suffered from irregular cycles and slight increase in cholesterol. Of course, as I said the studies are extremely limited and didn't even include pre-menopausal women in the human trials.

    I think, if it interests you, try it for awhile. If you don't like it, stop; if you benefit from it, continue.
  • RAGGEDYANN1970
    RAGGEDYANN1970 Posts: 115 Member
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    i have been doing I.F. for a while now and i absolutely love it. (43-year-old female)
    i do a 17/7 fast where i eat for about 7 hours per day (from noon - 7:00 p.m.) and fast for the remaining 17 hours per day.
    i also incorporate two 24-hour fasts per week (that is, not eating from noon - noon one day to the next, then repeating a few days later)
    i have to take my heart medication on an empty stomach, so i started skipping breakfast so i could take my meds. this was very easy for me, and i had come across I.F. and thought i would try since i was already skipping one meal, might as well work it into my lifestyle.

    i go to the gym every week day, work-out (cardio/weights or both) around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. then eat my first meal around noon.
    i do not become "starved" and i don't over-eat during my eating phases.

    i have gone from a size 12 to a size 4. i do not weigh b/c my scale broke and i was honestly tired of worrying about my weight. i love the way i look/feel and i love my new clothing size. my cholesterol is within normal ranges.

    aside: i also eat a gluten-free diet, with very very little dairy/corn/sugar. i was doing the J.J. Virgin diet, figured that gluten was bothering me, so i cut it out of my diet. i replaced cow's milk with almond or soy milk, although i do eat greek yogurt.

    my mental state has been very sharp and clear for the most part, and i have been sleeping AMAZINGLY well. (i tend toward insomnia, so this is a big deal for me.) i am trying to get hubby on board. i don't have any scientific studies to back me, but i just go by how i feel and my results. :smile:

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