Intermittent Fasting, yae or nay?

I love it. It's the way I eat normally. Breakfast isn't something I enjoy so don't miss it. Would rather save the calories for later in the day. IF doesn't do anything to make you lose weight. You still have to eat less than you burn.

If you can skip breakfast and not be hungry it's great. If you are hungry, I don't think it would be good for you.

Look in the groups. There is a large IF group. Lots of people here eat like that.

Try it. For some, its a great natural way to eat. For others it's impossible to adhere to. I like it, because it fits my schedule and lifestyle. There are a few different styles of fasting, I roughly follow the 16:8 schedule. I've had friends that loved the 5:2

I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8. My eating window is noon to 8 pm. I only eat during those hours.

I follow a plan that has me fasting between Dinner to Lunch the next day, which works out to 16 hours fasting, 8 of eating. It's not difficult at all, my body doesn't want food in the morning and having two larger meals per day satisfies me more and it helps me stick to my plan. If I were eating in the morning that's just one more variable and one more opportunity to fall off track.

It's like dividing your total calorie budget (daily or weekly) into different equal or unequal portions. So that means OP your (1) is not correct. Eating breakfast doesn't mean more calories, cuz it's just the way you plan your total calorie consumption. I personally cannot do day-to-day fasting cuz I get hangry easily, lol, but I found "stop eating after dinner" a good way to help my sleep and digestive system (peristalsis, to be specific). I also like "feeling hungry in the morning," which pushes me out of bed to start my day.

For your (2) & (3), feeling hungry is not necessarily good or bad for weight-loss, if this is what you were referring to. It's the food you consume (calories and nutrition) that matters. If you go overboard and eat over your total calorie budget during the non-fasting days, chances are you're just jeopardizing the "sacrifice" you have during fasting days. On the other hand, if you don't eat enough for a long period of time (calorie restriction and make almost every day a fasting day), your body won't know your weight-loss plan and might go for protective mode (naturally human body experiences low calories during disasters). It might end up with decreased metabolic functions and disrupted hormonal secretion. That means you're just pushing yourself away from healthy, permanent weight-loss.

gia07 wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is not to loose weight. It is just an eating schedule.

For example, you just put off your "break fast" till later in the morning and then eat your "break fast" and all the rest of your calories up to a point in the day, like ending food intake at 6:00 .p.m. You start at 11:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m.

I basically have been eating like this all my life and found that it has name. And I always always exercise fasted.

Yup! I would have brunch as my first meal. Breakfast and Lunch together as a one large meal. I can never skip breakfast food. Always loved it!

I have been IF for years without even knowing ppl used this as a eating system. I follow the 16:8 as well and the only issue I have is getting in my post workout shake/food. I workout at night and sometimes find it hard to establish my cut time based on my workout conclusion. That being said if you can handle going without breakfast this can work for you. Half of the fasting window is spent sleeping anyways. Good luck...

I'm doing it right now, I have never been a fan of breakfast anyway. With my daily schedule it really works well. I'm in the middle of my eating window right now and I feel good and energised, this morning I felt lighter and not bloated at all. It works very well.

Read that as fisting ..... im going now.

Personal preference I'm not a morning eater and solid food before like 10 makes me queasy. So morning energy drink is the most I'll do and when I'm following 16 8 I won't even do that. Currently do to the sheer randomness of my current schedule between school, work, and mma training I'm giving 5:2 a shot because it fits better and honestly works better with the absolute gnaw my own arm off I'm so hungry feeling that 2 to 4 hrs of training leaves me with.

I could skip dinner every day and be perfectly happy.

I haven't ever called it anything, but unless I am on vacation and enjoying breakfast with a group, I don't eat breakfast. I looked at how my calories are split up yesterday.... like 15 to lunch and the rest was dinner and snacking at night. If I eat breakfast it seems to make me hungrier through the day.

gia07 wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is not to loose weight. It is just an eating schedule.

For example, you just put off your "break fast" till later in the morning and then eat your "break fast" and all the rest of your calories up to a point in the day, like ending food intake at 6:00 .p.m. You start at 11:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m.

I basically have been eating like this all my life and found that it has name. And I always always exercise fasted.

Yep, I was doing 16:8 without knowing it!

I personally love it. I have always been a night eater so I've just rearranged my eating schedule to fit with what works for me. As others have said, IF alone doesn't help you lose more weight, eating in a calorie deficit does. IF just allows me to stay within my calorie allotment easier than if I ate all day long.

I've been IF'ing and training fasted for over 5 years straight now. I'll never eat or train any other way. Cardio days I push my fast to 20 hours, weight lifting 18 hours. I use the same eating schedule whether I'm bulking or cutting.

For me it was a game changer. Everything in terms of my health, fitness and overall physical & mental performance improved. But as with everything tho... YMMV. Do your research.

A great resource for IFing and training fasted...
http://www.leangains.com/