Has anyone done Intermittent Fasting (8:16)?

sbrezo82
sbrezo82 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm tossing around the idea of sticking with IF. I eat from 11a-7p and then fast the other 16 hours. I would like to know if any "real world" people have done it and what were the results. Thanks!
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Replies

  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    The results are the same as any other way of eating the proper number of calories. IF just allows you to get a better grip on hunger if you aren't able to otherwise. You will still gain if you overeat during your feed time.
  • hhazzouri
    hhazzouri Posts: 103 Member
    ^ Results
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Not sure what you mean by "real world people" but for background I'm 47, male, I have a regular 9-5 desk job, a wife and kids, I work out 4 times a week and my goal is to increase muscle and keep the fat low (I do not attempt to do these two things at the same time).

    I use IF (slightly modified to 10:14, but there is nothing magic about either set of numbers) sometimes, in fact I'm currently doing so.

    I still calorie and macro count but I find that, when on lower calories, IF helps me stay compliant by giving me bigger meals (but fewer of them). I see no reason why you couldn't follow IF indefinitely whether gaining, losing or maintaining, as long as the calories were applicable to those goals but personally I find it harder to eat an excess of calories in a compressed eating window so I drop out of IF when attempting to do that.

    Note: my rates of loss or gain are identical to those I would expect when not fasting, given the calorific input. In other words, it is the calories which drive the gain/loss not the fasting protocol.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    If I can resist the snacking temptation, my natural eating cycle is IF. 11am/noon first meal, 6pm/7pm last meal. Only thing that gets me is sometimes I like to snack when watching some TV shows in the evening (Sunflower seeds, popcorn, and the like).

    But again, its just my own natural pattern.

    It is definitely a good tool to use when excess eating is a constant problem. It is far easier to say "Oh, its after 7pm, no popcorn for me now" than it is make sure I don't eat too much popcorn when mindlessly involved with a TV show.

    These are all tools. Nothing works except what works for you.
  • Heartlight441
    Heartlight441 Posts: 278 Member
    Just started this! Giving it a shot to see. :)
  • SolotoCEO
    SolotoCEO Posts: 293 Member
    This is my normal eating pattern. Since it's all about the calories consumed, when you eat them doesn't have a huge impact on weight loss.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    edited May 2016
    I have been the past few weeks. The biggest benefit for me is when I compress my calories into a shorter window of time I can eat meals differently. I often have 1,000 calories available for dinner, which is how I prefer to eat.

    I'm getting further into my training schedule now, I have a half marathon on June 11th, and I'm having a harder time keeping the fast. I run and lift after work. I'm hungrier in the morning than I was because of the higher demand work out, so I've broken the fast sooner a couple of days.
  • mkraizel
    mkraizel Posts: 22 Member
    I found it really helped manage my hunger. I love having 2 large meals! But, like others have said it still comes down to CICO. give it a shot! It won't hurt- see if it is a tool that works for you.
  • lyndseybellz
    lyndseybellz Posts: 62 Member
    ive been following 16:8 IF for three weeks. i enjoy it because i have always worked out at 5am on an empty stomach. the idea for those who lift and use IF is to force your body to use body fat for energy rather than food or glycogen. at the end of the day though, like everyone else has said, weight loss still is simply calories in vs. calories out.
    however i do find breaking my fast to be something spiritual after not eating for 16 hours. haha, so i love food even more now! and the discipline required to maintain the fast has helped me not "cheat" with little snacks/treats.

    check out the hodge twins on youtube. they have a lot of videos talking about IF.
  • jodidari
    jodidari Posts: 95 Member
    People always say it doesn't matter when you eat but it does. Your body has limits and needs. I always wonder if i'm the only one that can eat heavier than normal meal but still be hungry by a certain time. It's because the body does not have a constant metabolic rate. Your processes may occur faster in the morning than in the night, which is we are told not to eat at night because for many people, our body needs more time to break down macros in the night than in the morning. For some people this is merely because we are less active at night, but for others (like me) I'm equally active between 6am and 8pm so it must be due to something else. I think mine is faster before 1pm so my body will burn the food I eat in the morning quickly leaving me hungry in about 3 hours but if i was to eat this same meal after 1pm I'd go 4-6 hours without getting hungry although my activities don't really change throughout the day.
    Anyway, I remember doing a fast that i'm sure was called intermittent fasting but mine was much more complicated. Say I should eat 1200 calories to lose weight. Today I'd consume 1700 calories and tomorrow I'd eat 700 . There were variations with the days: example Wednesday could be 1400 while Thursday would be 1000 calories. I eventually realized this wasn't allowing me to be healthy because some days I'd get so tired and weak while others I was eating too much. The whole point of this fast was to prevent my body from getting used to a certain routine and as a result my weight loss was never to plateau. As I said, i stopped this pretty quickly but I can say that the first two weeks I lost 3.8lbs in total instead of the 2lbs the site told me I'd lose. The other two weeks I tried I lost 2.2 lbs but this is where I stopped. It's also important to know I gained about 3 lbs within a month of switching back to my regular eating.
    If your goal is weight loss this may work for you but be mindful that you may gain some or all of the weight you lost during the fast if you choose to switch to your regular diet too quickly
  • jodidari
    jodidari Posts: 95 Member
    Oh the fasting part was where I had to eat under 900 calories every other day, some days it was as low as 400 calories
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    jodidari wrote: »
    which is we are told not to eat at night because for many people, our body needs more time to break down macros in the night than in the morning.

    ^^ This isn't true
    jodidari wrote: »
    The whole point of this fast was to prevent my body from getting used to a certain routine and as a result my weight loss was never to plateau.


    ^^ This is one of the most bizarre strategies I have ever heard. I'm sure there is absolutely zero evidence that this practice will be of any advantage over simple CICO whether under IF or otherwise.
    jodidari wrote: »
    It's also important to know I gained about 3 lbs within a month of switching back to my regular eating.

    ^^This is because you overate during your "regular eating" phase.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    It's not so crazy. Just a late breakfast and no snacks after dinner...I tend toward this pattern naturally.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
    There's a group here:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting
  • LoveEpifanie
    LoveEpifanie Posts: 37 Member
    Like others have said, it really helps me to control my hunger. I enjoy eating at night and like going to bed not feeling hungry, so I skip out on the traditional breakfast time meal. It is easier for me to control the hunger when I know food is coming soon compared to when I have to fall asleep hungry.
  • sbrezo82
    sbrezo82 Posts: 8 Member
    StealthHealth wrote: »
    Not sure what you mean by "real world people" but for background I'm 47, male, I have a regular 9-5 desk job, a wife and kids, I work out 4 times a week and my goal is to increase muscle and keep the fat low (I do not attempt to do these two things at the same time).

    I use IF (slightly modified to 10:14, but there is nothing magic about either set of numbers) sometimes, in fact I'm currently doing so.

    I still calorie and macro count but I find that, when on lower calories, IF helps me stay compliant by giving me bigger meals (but fewer of them). I see no reason why you couldn't follow IF indefinitely whether gaining, losing or maintaining, as long as the calories were applicable to those goals but personally I find it harder to eat an excess of calories in a compressed eating window so I drop out of IF when attempting to do that.

    Note: my rates of loss or gain are identical to those I would expect when not fasting, given the calorific input. In other words, it is the calories which drive the gain/loss not the fasting protocol.

    I just meant actual people - not models, authors or people pushing their book on IF.
  • Mistapholeezkat
    Mistapholeezkat Posts: 80 Member
    I just started today!...I have tried it along with a keto diet and had success losing some weight. I think it will go better this time for me simply because I understand the electrolyte balance (keto requirement) better.
  • andrewq6100
    andrewq6100 Posts: 415 Member
    I use IF to curve my snacking during work, I stop eating around 9/10 pm, sleep around 11-12 and don't eat till about 1 or 2 pm and got an 8 hr feed window while i'm at work, so that way I don't snack on everything in the vending machine and I stay full through the day.
  • sbrezo82
    sbrezo82 Posts: 8 Member
    I read that IF can help you lose weight w/o even changing your diet b/c you reach that "fasted state" after 12 hrs or so. Not true?
    I think I enjoy IF b/c all I have in the morning is either a small cup of coffee or tea and I seem to be more focused when at work. When I eat breakfast, my mind kind of wanders. Does that happen to anyone else?
    Also, I know that I need to stop eating at 7p and when I do eat at 12p I'm more critical of what I eat (since I have a window of when I can eat).
  • MissCaroline71
    MissCaroline71 Posts: 24 Member
    edited May 2016
    I have been "forcing" myself to eat breakfast for years - but IF allows me to "skip" breakfast, and have 2 filling meals during the day. I find this very satisfying...
    Eating Breakfast just makes me hungrier during the day...

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