Is there any kind of July challenge in the works?

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2

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  • rosendale1
    rosendale1 Posts: 334 Member
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    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
    JennyToy1 Posts: 26 Member
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    i would love an IF challenge!
  • DrawnToScale
    DrawnToScale Posts: 126 Member
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    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
    DianaElena76 Posts: 1,241 Member
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    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
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
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    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. o:)
    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
    wabmester Posts: 2,748 Member
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    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
    azcowgirrlup Posts: 204 Member
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    @glossbones, thank you for running this challenge and providing so much information for us. I am excited to do this.
  • Kitnthecat
    Kitnthecat Posts: 2,056 Member
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    I am in. I used to practice IF regularly pre-keto, and kind of miss it. Great idea !
  • mlinton_mesapark
    mlinton_mesapark Posts: 517 Member
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    @glossbones, thank you for taking the lead on this! I'm in. On to the research... :-)
  • Ashar33
    Ashar33 Posts: 17 Member
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    Totally down for this!
  • SlimBride2Be
    SlimBride2Be Posts: 315 Member
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    Might try this. I often eat all my calories between 11am and 8pm which I find really works for me for hunger and not eating too much. My July challenge is to do this on more days than not.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,956 Member
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    I'll pin that thread for you.
  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
    edited June 2015
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    baconslave wrote: »
    I'll pin that thread for you.

    Thank you! <3

    In case anyone has trouble finding it:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10199514/jentacular-juramentum-july-if-challenge-check-in
  • Foamroller
    Foamroller Posts: 1,041 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I'm in ! If anyone want tips I can write some in the challenge thread. And maybe other vets can chime in too with their tips as well :)

    I've posted it before, but I'll repeat it again that Jason Fung's video on fasting as a method to lower glucose levels and therefore reduce insulin resistance ...is what sold me on going lowcarb. And for what it's worth being N =1, it HAS worked for me to a certain degree.

    Fasting is not just a weight loss tool, it can also be a part of slowly healing how body functions, if doing it for autophagy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG89j432w-Y&amp;list=PLhMVa_juzVPkejdWDaPpl6Lk7RykHJc7x&amp;index=4

    But most of all 5:2 is still my plateau buster!
  • JennyToy1
    JennyToy1 Posts: 26 Member
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    thank you for providing so many links. I have been trying to figure out how to try this but have been feeling overwhelmed :)
  • CoconuttyMummy
    CoconuttyMummy Posts: 685 Member
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    Im in! - 18:6 Bulletproof Fast for me (although i may only IF 5:2 and have a regular keto family breakfast on wkends)
  • KetoGirl83
    KetoGirl83 Posts: 546 Member
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    glossbones wrote: »

    Thank you for all the info @glossbones. I need some more research, I am a bit concerned about what it would do to my blood sugars in the morning, but this article looks promising. When I spend more than 6h fasting my blood sugars start going up. I'm not sure why, if anything they should go down... but no. I always wake up with higher BG than what I had before going to bed. Must be dreaming of carbs! :sleeping::flushed:

  • cdpits
    cdpits Posts: 91 Member
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    Thanks @glossbones for taking charge of this challenge :smile:
  • mlinton_mesapark
    mlinton_mesapark Posts: 517 Member
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    Thanks for posting the video, @Foamroller! Just finished it, and I'm excited to get started on the IF challenge.
  • greenautumn17
    greenautumn17 Posts: 322 Member
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    KetoGirl83 wrote: »
    glossbones wrote: »

    Thank you for all the info @glossbones. I need some more research, I am a bit concerned about what it would do to my blood sugars in the morning, but this article looks promising. When I spend more than 6h fasting my blood sugars start going up. I'm not sure why, if anything they should go down... but no. I always wake up with higher BG than what I had before going to bed. Must be dreaming of carbs! :sleeping::flushed:

    That is called the dawn phenomenon and it only happens overnight. It is based on hormonal changes taking place in your body as it prepares for waking. It is a common phenomenon in diabetics. However, fasting during the day does not have the same effect. My blood sugars drop. I can go to bed with a BG under 100 and wake up with it being in the 120s. I try not to let it worry me anymore.