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MyFitnessPal Community

Is there any kind of July challenge in the works?

azcowgirrlup

I can't participate in any physical or exercise based challenge, but I was wondering if there is another kind of LCHF challenge being considered....

Replies

FIT_Goat

This is a great question. We'd love one. Any ideas?

mlinton_mesapark

IF challenge? I don't know which challenges you've already done. Apropos to the MFP blog post today.

CoconuttyMummy

I'd be up for a challenge (like im not challenged enough, lol)

azcowgirrlup

mlinton_mesapark wrote: »

IF challenge? I don't know which challenges you've already done. Apropos to the MFP blog post today.

I am somewhat of a newbie, so I have not done any challenges yet, other than the challenge of learning as much as I can here :-D

glossbones

I'd be up for an IF challenge (moderate) or even a water fast (advanced).

I have been wondering if either of those would help me get a little zing in the loss (yes, I know. I'm impatient, it's swimsuit season!)

mlinton_mesapark

I'm a total newbie, too. I was thinking the theme could be IF, but each of us could individually decide what kind of IF we want to commit to.

For me personally, it would be trying to delay breakfast until 11am, just drinking black coffee and water until then. At which point, it would be brunch. I've been informally stopping my eating day at the end of dinner (usually done by 7pm), so that would give my body a 16-hour break from food. I reserve the right to make adjustments as needed if it impacts my milk supply.

FIT_Goat

We could do an IF one. We'd need two things:

A kick-[butt] name that describes it, preferably with alliteration (Ad-Lib April, Meativore May, Just-one June, J**** July?)
Someone doing it to run it (decide on the rules and post weekly check-in threads)

I can't [reasonably] do an IF challenge. I eat when I am hungry, regardless of time of day. Typically, that works out to twice a day. But, if it works out to being five times in a day, I just roll with it.

mlinton_mesapark

Just-water June? Kinda lame but if I think something better, I'll let you know! I bet someone out there is cleverer than me with names.

I'll think about running it and let you know. I am a novice at LCHF, and totally inexperienced with fasting. I only know enough to be dangerous. Maybe some of you kind folks could mentor me.

minties82

It's too bad most of you use calories and not kilojoules. You can have joule-delay July or something like that otherwise.

I already did IF this month so my own personal challenge is to up my kilojoules to prevent binges and hangryness.

FIT_Goat

Just because we use calories doesn't mean we can't call it joule delay July. The idea is the same.

glossbones

I'll volunteer to run it, if you like.

Jentacular Juramentum July?

Monnietron

I think IF is a great July theme!

FIT_Goat

glossbones wrote: »

I'll volunteer to run it, if you like.

Jentacular Juramentum July?

If you want to run it, you're welcome to take the lead on it. You need to decide a check-in schedule. Whenever you post the thread, I'll (or another group leader) will make sure to pin it to the top of the group. You also need to decide the specific rules.

I am also fine with this name, as long as everyone else is. The fact that I had to look up two of the three words is impressive. I normally consider my vocabulary extensive. It's rare that I need to go look up a word. LOL

CoffeeNBooze

I'd like to participate but not if it's IF. I can't, and don't want to, limit how much I eat on certain days. But majority rules so maybe I'll see what's up for August

FIT_Goat

TiaBia9 wrote: »

I'd like to participate but not if it's IF. I can't, and don't want to, limit how much I eat on certain days. But majority rules so maybe I'll see what's up for August

There will always be another challenge. If you have any ideas for August, let us know. Not every challenge is for everyone, unfortunately.

Juliste

TiaBia9 wrote: »

I'd like to participate but not if it's IF. I can't, and don't want to, limit how much I eat on certain days. But majority rules so maybe I'll see what's up for August

There are different kinds of IF; no calorie reduction involved. It's just pertains to the timing of your meals.

azcowgirrlup

I am in. The limited info I have on IF seems to me like within a 24 hour period you fast for say 18 hours and then the next 6 hours you get your macros in? I am just using 18 / 24 as an example, I assume you can adjust this. If this is wrong I will do some more reading lol

toadqueen

I like the idea of IF and think that we should be flexible in our interpretation of the timing based on our individual requirements. I used to water fast for days following a binge and hope that one of the rules is that we do not use this as an excuse to increase carb intake.

auntstephie321

I was thinking if would be good too. I'm somewhat interested in it but don't have enough info yet so a group challenge would be helpful

soldiergrl_101

I do a challenge if we had one whether its exercise related, pound related or food related

rosendale1

I love this idea . . I've done some IF in June and plan on more to see how it works with LCHF. . I'm also always ready for a challenge . .

JennyToy1

i would love an IF challenge!

DrawnToScale

Just did my first fast (45 hour, with coffee, tea & broth) last week. It was easier than I was expecting, and it got the scale moving again. I plan on another one tomorrow, and hopefully continue once per week.

DianaElena76

I'm interested. I've been delaying my first meal until noon but not noticing any changes (but it's also no-weigh June). I'm interested in a more formal/structured attempt at IF. I do need to do some reading on the topic...

glossbones

FIT_Goat wrote: »

glossbones wrote: »

I'll volunteer to run it, if you like.

Jentacular Juramentum July?

If you want to run it, you're welcome to take the lead on it. You need to decide a check-in schedule. Whenever you post the thread, I'll (or another group leader) will make sure to pin it to the top of the group. You also need to decide the specific rules.

I am also fine with this name, as long as everyone else is. The fact that I had to look up two of the three words is impressive. I normally consider my vocabulary extensive. It's rare that I need to go look up a word. LOL

Sounds good to me! I'll start bossing everyone around... now!

What is Intermittent Fasting (IF)?
The concept here is that you switch things up on your body, hopefully increasing its fat-burning efficiency, by "fasting" (in this case, taking in no protein or carbs) for a certain period of the day, and consuming your calories (by which I mean your fat/protein/carb balance) during a more brief window of time.

What Intermittent Fasting is NOT:
Intermittent Fasting is NOT caloric restriction. You will consume all your nutritional fuel during the period of feeding, and try not to interrupt what your body is doing during periods of fasting.

The Challenge for July:
I'll call it Jentacular (Breakfast) Juramentum (Oath) July unless anyone else has more suggestions.

So, I don't think one fasting schedule is going to work with everyone's lives, nor am I going to dictate how much you should eat of your macronutrients during your feeding period. You may have schedule, medical, or other conflicts which insist you customize this to yourself.

Instead, it will be similar to Just One June, in that YOU determine your IF challenge before we get started, and then report in (there's your accountability) each week to say how it's going. If you want to drink only water during your fasting hours, that's up to you. If you are going to use BPC as a non-insulin-triggering springboard to get you through the fasting, also up to you.

The one thing I'd caution is that you RESEARCH fasting benefits, risks, methods, and effects BEFORE you decide to join. Here are some (not all of the) links for some additional information and maybe to bring up some points you want to explore more:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/new-study-low-carb-diet-intermittent-fasting-beneficial-diabetics
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/DittoDan/view/blog-7-water-fasting-and-keto-697913
https://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-fasting/
http://jamesclear.com/intermittent-fasting-lessons-learned
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2013/01/18/intermittent-fasting-approach.aspx
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/05/04/fasting-effects-on-human-growth-hormone.aspx
http://peaceloveandlowcarb.com/2014/03/what-the-science-says-about-intermittent-fasting.html
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10115400/intermittent-fasting
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10196977/tell-me-about-fasting-if
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10189227/eggfast-fatfast#latest

Now, the important thing about seeing how this works for you is that you really give it a go for the whole month. If you skip your scheduled fasts or interrupt them with a meal, you can't really say that the outcome has anything to do with the method. I know it's going to be hard. That's why it's called a challenge.

I'll create a Kick-Off thread tomorrow so long as there are no objections to me running it, the way I'm running it, or the... jocular name that I picked.

YOU will decide (Answer in the kick-off thread, not here)...
Your schedule: How long do you fast, in a 24 hour period? Which period of the day will you refrain from eating?
Frequency: Will you do this daily, or will you take something like a 5:2 approach?
Do you take supplements, or other "non-caloric" items?: (list)
Is your fast water-only, BPC/water-only, fat fast, egg fast, etc.:

When you eat in the feeding periods between fasts (assuming you have feeding periods in your schedule), you will eat according to your personal macros and caloric restriction, as you have been up to this point. You probably don't want to change too many things at once or the results of this month will be useless. You may weigh or measure as often as you want to, every day if you like, but DO NOT CHANGE your method every week because you don't think it's working. If your nutritional intake doesn't change, you should not have any issues other than those described in the articles you read before you design your personal IF schedule. Outside of your fasting period, listen to your hunger cues, and try not to gorge.

For example, I might choose to fast between 8 PM and Noon every day (That's 16 Fasting / 8 Feeding hours per day). I would eat dinner and keep myself occupied until bedtime. Sleeping blissfully knocks out a few hours where I don't even realize I'm fasting. Then I wake, have a BPC coffee (coconut oil/HWC/butter) and pack my normal-sized lunch to go to work. Some time after noon I go eat my lunch, maybe bring some bone broth, pickles, Vitamin Water Zero, or bouillon cubes to make sure I get all my electrolytes). Maybe I bring a snack for the mid-afternoon just to be prepared for the first few days to see if I need it. Then I get home from work, eat a standard dinner, and the cycle continues. In this example, the challenge will be meeting all my targets for my macronutrients since I am only really eating two of my standard three meals. This may mean I eat something higher in protein for lunch or dinner to stay on target. BPC would make sure I'm not lacking for fat. So it's not much more than making sure I add some shrimp or chicken to the menu.

This is of course, just one way to do it. Based on your research (you're going to research, aren't you?), you'll pick a schedule that's right for you.

--

So, any comments/amendments/more links/etc for the above? I'm sure I missed something(s)!

wabmester

The 5:2 was a bit of a craze in the UK due to a BBC documentary there. Here's the site:
http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

IIRC, studies have found that you'll eat more when you break the fast, but not enough more to fully compensate for the fast, so the net effect is a calorie deficit.

Many of the health benefits may require a longer fast. Here's some info from Valter Longo:
http://michelsonmedical.org/2014/12/26/igf-1-fasting-discussion-valter-longo/

azcowgirrlup

@glossbones, thank you for running this challenge and providing so much information for us. I am excited to do this.

Kitnthecat

I am in. I used to practice IF regularly pre-keto, and kind of miss it. Great idea !

mlinton_mesapark

@glossbones, thank you for taking the lead on this! I'm in. On to the research... :-)

Ashar33

Totally down for this!