Any women have success with IF or ADF?

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achantee
achantee Posts: 18 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello all! I am looking to cut fat, but maintain my muscle. I have always been curvy and muscular, but have found that lately I've been having an extremely difficult time with my diet, and unfornately I have put on a some fat :sad: . I start off really well with counting calories , but then it starts to become such as task! I don't like feeling so restricted ALL THE TIME. I've heard of some negatives and positives to Alternate Day Fasting, and Intermittent Fasting, but it seems that more men have had success. Are there any women at there with more curvy and muscular builds that have had success? I hope so :ohwell:

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  • pattyebricker
    pattyebricker Posts: 149 Member
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    Bump
  • LovelyValentina
    LovelyValentina Posts: 18
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    I'm doing the Fast Diet which just involves eating normally for 5 days a week (2040 cals for me) and eating a quater of your TDEE ont two days of your choosing (510 cals for me), essentially a ratio of 5:2. I started last week and I'll let you know how it goes :)
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    I only eat a 350 calorie breakfast and a huge lunch, then nothing till breakfast. I'm a volume eater-I'm not satisfied with just 500 calories for a main meal! At weekends I reverse and have my big meal for dinner cause we eat out then. I have lost all my weight like this-188 down to 123. And even in maintenance I follow this cause this is how my body likes to eat.
    Try IF-it maybe what you're looking for.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I have tried both 5:2 and ADF, but by the second fast day of the week I was cranky and starving, and I always blew it. Now I do IF every day, with a consistent amount of calories each day. (My eating window is between 11 am and 10 pm.)
  • sofiachohdary
    sofiachohdary Posts: 74
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    What I do is I eat a huge breakfast, a good lunch, some healthy (and sometimes unhealthy lol) snacks in between, and then nothing until the next morning. I hate eating at night, my stomach hurts, I get nightmares and all sorts of things when I eat so late. You could try that, it's just skipping dinner, nothing more.
  • achantee
    achantee Posts: 18 Member
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    I am a volume eater as well, and I find that when I restrict for too long, I lose it and binge :sick: I have no issues with working out, so I think that I may have success with IF. I'm looking to start Monday after grocery shopping. Any suggestions on foods to eat during feeding windows?
  • erinedemers
    erinedemers Posts: 16
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    I started IF 3 wks ago. I have 60 total to lose and have lost 9. It is working well for me so far. My eating window is 12.00 - 6.00 pm. Although I get hungry when my eating window is approaching, this type of fasting makes sense to me and I'm really enjoying it. I actually have more energy and feel much less deprived, as I eat healthily but whatever I like, during my window. It's very freeing to not count calories, which is probably my favorite part. It is worth a try, certainly. But you might start with a 16/8 or even a 14/10. Good luck!
  • erinedemers
    erinedemers Posts: 16
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    ;)
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    My experience over several failed attempts and a few months of recent success:

    1. If you use it as an excuse to binge on unhealthy foods or even healthy but very calorie dense foods you will fail and you will gain weight on 5:2 or ADF. Everyone says you can't out exercise a bad diet, well, if you're a volume eater, you can't outfast one, either. In fact I'm struggling right now because I'm ending up more in maintenance mode than weight loss. I'm becoming a victim of my own success. My cooking skills have gone from 'terrible but not lethal' to 'strange but sort of tasty'. Anyway, eat healthy and continue to count calories.

    2. Sleep disturbances are more common in fasted female mice than males. They seem to be more common in female humans, too. I've gotten used to it now, but still, once in awhile on a fast day I have a restless night.

    3. TMI alert: I like to arrange things so that I'm not fasting right before or on the first few days of my period because it makes it very heavy for some reason.

    4. All that aside, I really enjoy 5:2 (sometimes ADF depending on just how much I ate on prior feast days and if I'm not that hungry). I have more energy, I'm more focused, I really like working out on a fast day, and I'm a little less ravenous all week than I would otherwise be. Your results may vary.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    I would chew off my arm. When you say you feel restricted on a calorie counting plan, how many calories a day are you aiming for? You may have your goals set too aggressively.

    I don't know how IF/ADF works for maintaining muscle. It seems counterintuitive.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    I am a volume eater as well, and I find that when I restrict for too long, I lose it and binge :sick: I have no issues with working out, so I think that I may have success with IF. I'm looking to start Monday after grocery shopping. Any suggestions on foods to eat during feeding windows?
    I eat whatever I want:
    Lots and lots of veggies (with olive oil and spices)
    Ezekiel bread and others
    Protein
    Healthy fats
    Olives
    Fruits
    Chocolate
    Yogurt

    The list goes on and on, but very seldom fried foods, soda and Never- transfats.
  • FlowerFairy493
    FlowerFairy493 Posts: 182
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    I tend to binge between 2pm-9pm. I started IF and I now eat between 7am-1pm. Which excludes my weakest times completely. :) I found this works for me.
  • achantee
    achantee Posts: 18 Member
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    Thanks for all the helpful replies! There are a lot of people who either love or loathe the idea, but I'm excited to give it a try. I will follow up with my results in a month :-)
  • grazer432
    grazer432 Posts: 33 Member
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    I tried it and it didn't work for me (my hormones got out of whack and I felt like I was binge eating). Stefani Ruper did a post of intermittent fasting specically for women (with lots of studies) and didn't feel that it was positive for metabolism or hormones. http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/
  • achantee
    achantee Posts: 18 Member
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    This wraps up my first week of IF, and I must say I'm liking it so far! I haven't had any issues with being too hungry, and I have already lost 2 lbs! It may be water weight, but I'm defintely feeling better eating larger meals, and not having to obsess about it every 3 hours. And suprisingly, my workouts have been great. I do take 10g of BCAA's before my workout, and eat my largest meal immediately after. I'm eating at 12PM, working out fasted at 7PM, and consuming my last meal at 8PM. On the first day, I did have a protein shake at 12PM, pretty much out of habit. But thanks for all the great advice, and I will be sure to post another update soon :happy:

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