INTERMITTENT FASTING - A LIFESTYLE MAKEOVER

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Replies

  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    I was going to make a new thread, but my question fits well here.

    Why do people believe IF means no "breakfast" (aka a morning meal)? Is it because that's what most IFers do?

    I don't "believe" it means that you don't eat breakfast. I understand the definition of intermittent. However skipping "breakfast" is the easiest way to implement IF if you have a normal 9-5 work schedule. To be even more pedantic; if you skipped break-fast you would remain fasted for eternity ;)

    Which is why I put quotes around "breakfast" as most people think "breakfast" = morning meal whereas some people take it literally "break fast".
  • natasor1
    natasor1 Posts: 271 Member
    I also have lead the IF way, like MommyL2015 almost all my life, and this about 30 years or so. That was time when people did not know how to count calories, and time of internet were far ahead in the future. My weight did not budge even 3 lb up or down, Two pregnancies went easily, I remember that I was losing the pregnancy weight for about 30 days. Some nedical reseach indicated that constancy of the body mass thru life is best for your health. My weight now 124 lb at heigh 5" 5" (my high school level). I just used logic to consume food. Moderation in everyting. But if I overeat sometimes, I had 2-5 "unload" days: eat little less than normally, I guess, they call it Very low cal days. It come to me intuitivly.
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    edited November 2016
    natasor1 wrote: »
    I also have lead the IF way, like MommyL2015 almost all my life, and this about 30 years or so. That was time when people did not know how to count calories, and time of internet were far ahead in the future. My weight did not budge even 3 lb up or down Two pregnancies went easily, I remember that I was losing the pregnancy weight for about 30 days. Some medical reseach indicated that constancy of the body mass thru life is best for your health. My weight now 124 lb at heigh 5" 5" (my high school level). I just used logic to consume food. Moderation in everyting. But if I overeat sometimes, I had 2-5 "unload" days: eat little less than normally, I guess, they call it Very low cal days. It come to me intuitively.

    This is how I remained slim when I was younger also. My body automatically did it for me, and my hunger correctly guided me.

    If I had a holiday meal, special event, or buffet where I ate a bit over, then my body would naturally compensate the next few days when I would eat lighter. I never in my life counted calories until I hit my late 40s and 50s. I had never been overweight either until I got older.

    The intermittent fasting seems to be restoring my intuitive eating. I ignore food during the part of the day I'm not having a meal. This is freeing to me.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    @82jeh I would take what Jason Fung says with a very big grain of salt.

    That's a very diplomatic way of putting it. Fung is about on equal footing with with Dr. Oz in terms of being a reliable source.

    There's nothing wrong with IF if that's how one chooses to eat - but there's nothing magical about it either. For some people it helps with adherence/satiety or workout performance or whatever, but as far as weight/fat loss goes, it doesn't do anything more than any other eating pattern at equal caloric intake.

    And no, it doesn't cure diabetes. Of that you can be 100% sure.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    As much as I love IF and practice it effortlessly daily, it's true there's nothing magical about it in terms of curing diseases or spurring weight loss on its own.

    I have Celiac Disease that went undiagnosed for 20 years. When I was in my 20's I never ate breakfast because it made me feel sick. I'd have a small lunch and then I'd have a good dinner when I was safely at home (read: near my own bathroom). I was at a good weight then. If I gained a bit, I'd just cut back on portions. So, I'm actually just going back to that way of eating, except this time it's for different reasons-- but the result with regard to my weight is the same. All these years later. It's quite amazing to me, honestly-- and exciting.



  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2016
    DebSozo wrote: »
    natasor1 wrote: »
    I also have lead the IF way, like MommyL2015 almost all my life, and this about 30 years or so. That was time when people did not know how to count calories, and time of internet were far ahead in the future. My weight did not budge even 3 lb up or down Two pregnancies went easily, I remember that I was losing the pregnancy weight for about 30 days. Some medical reseach indicated that constancy of the body mass thru life is best for your health. My weight now 124 lb at heigh 5" 5" (my high school level). I just used logic to consume food. Moderation in everyting. But if I overeat sometimes, I had 2-5 "unload" days: eat little less than normally, I guess, they call it Very low cal days. It come to me intuitively.

    This is how I remained slim when I was younger also. My body automatically did it for me, and my hunger correctly guided me.

    If I had a holiday meal, special event, or buffet where I ate a bit over, then my body would naturally compensate the next few days when I would eat lighter. I never in my life counted calories until I hit my late 40s and 50s. I had never been overweight either until I got older.

    The intermittent fasting seems to be restoring my intuitive eating. I ignore food during the part of the day I'm not having a meal. This is freeing to me.

    This is what I find happens when I simply eat according to a schedule (meals only, no grazing). It's not IF for me -- back in my 20s I never ate breakfast, so it could be an "IF" schedule (though we never called it that then), but the same happens if I just eat 3 regular meals as I've been doing. I don't think about food if it's not mealtime.

    It's also, if I look back on it, how I ate most of my life before ever getting fat and what I did after losing weight and maintaining it for 5 years. I don't see it as about hunger or intuitive eating, but that if you eat to any schedule it's common to adapt to it and want food when you expect to have it (and if you graze all day and what's available is fruit and veg, probably no biggie -- if you graze all day, as many are in the habit of these days, and what's available are higher cal stuff, well, lots of obesity).

    Clearly what works for me isn't going to work for everyone, and I'm not saying that, but this is part of my overarching theory of why so many are overweight.
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 667 Member
    tigerblue wrote: »



    The point--if we knew and understood everything in our natural world, science (the scientific process) would no longer be necessary. But we don't, and hypotheses, and even theories are proven and disproven all the time, and new hypotheses and theories are formed.

    And that is science.


    Thank you tigerblue.
    This was my point earlier in this thread, but you expressed much better than I did my friend.
  • sofiawantstolose
    sofiawantstolose Posts: 46 Member
    I'm doing 16:8 add me!!
  • lauraryanx1
    lauraryanx1 Posts: 20 Member
    In the 90's now, but I realise I can't rely on the calories entered in this site as some of them are so random or completely different from each other, so when it looks like I'm in a calorie deficit I realise I need to add on a few things, as I know I'm really not. The wine has been featuring far too much this week. Also haven't been to the gym forever and the weight is definitely not moving due to those two things. Tomorrow it will be different!

    Hey was wondering how the IF went for u x
  • ChristinaOne21
    ChristinaOne21 Posts: 49 Member
    edited December 2016
    Hey was wondering how the IF went for u x

    Hi Laura -Thanks for asking and it's lovely to know you are interested :) I just had to reset my password as it has been so long since I was last on here and it had logged out.

    How's IF going for me? Well life kind of got in the way with work getting so busy, being away all the time and a few crazy events happening - one example being our golden retriever dog got stolen (thankfully back now) and that wasn't the only traumatic thing to happen in the last few months.

    I have probably maintained my weight by keeping some of my habits going, but I stopped losing as soon as I stopped fasting and tracking my food. Instead I started eating cooked breakfasts when my partner made them, consuming bigger portions, grazing over longer periods of time and drinking more alcohol. I often seem to crave peanut butter sandwiches and cheese at midnight (woops just had one of those now) and then still waking hungry (something about eating later makes me hungrier earlier the next day). I'm also more thirsty at bedtime as I'm not drinking as much water and coffee in the mornings as I was. And I have started to crave sugary treats I had totally cut out. I'm also finding it hard to get to sleep at night, with less energy in the day, feeling bloated and getting more headaches again....

    In other words I have reverted right back to how I was feeling before doing IF.

    I'm dissappointed in myself as I was seeing results and feeling great and if I had stuck to it I should have been a heck of a lot lighter by now (possibly even 10kgs lighter in fact).

    So it is high time for me to get back on track now - it's just hard when I am working such long days right now to want to spend any more time on the computer filling in my food diary and I never seem to find the time for any exercise. New Zealand has got well and truly into the silly season here where everyone wants to get everything wrapped up before the Christmas summer holidays and the world around me seems to be running on stress and putting so much pressure on each other...

    However focusing back on IF and calorie tracking is definitely a preferable choice to reading mindless conspiracy theories and the continuous negative news about wars and political disasters online - which has been the latest pass-time when I can't sleep :)

    Time to start tracking again tomorrow.........
  • Resistive
    Resistive Posts: 212 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    I was going to make a new thread, but my question fits well here.

    Why do people believe IF means no "breakfast" (aka a morning meal)? Is it because that's what most IFers do?

    Most likely because it's easiest to do a 16:8 fast over night, so you end up skipping breakfast time. Not breakfast itself. I have bacon and eggs and noon when I "break-my-fast" or breakfest ;-)
  • missycoconuts
    missycoconuts Posts: 3 Member
    I absolutely love IF. I was on just a 1200 calorie diet first with exercise. My husband stated talking about IF. At first, I didn't agree with it but got hooked on it. With other diets, as soon as I had my breakfast I would start feeling hungry. ALL THE TIME. I would eat every 3 hours. Always busy with my food and my diet. Now, with IF, my last meal goes in at 7pm and my first meal goes in at 1pm (sometimes noon
  • Engytiger
    Engytiger Posts: 12 Member
    Did u stick to it? And how did it go?
  • Pippapipster
    Pippapipster Posts: 9 Member
    Yes, TELL US CristinaOne21 did you do it?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    She hasn't been on for awhile, so she might have fallen off... at least from MFP.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    No advice on the topic here but just wanted to say congrats on quitting smoking! That's major to do on top of all the other stuff. ;)
  • DeeDiddyGee
    DeeDiddyGee Posts: 601 Member
    RodaRose wrote: »

    Thank you for this. I just joined.
  • DeeDiddyGee
    DeeDiddyGee Posts: 601 Member

    Nope. That's mumbo jumbo.

    If you eat 1300 calories spread out over 10 meals or only eat 1300 calories in one meal a day you'll burn the same amount of fat.

    I do not believe that statement to be true. The only thing I can agree with is that if you consume 1300 calories at once or over time, you will have consumed 1,300 calories. It's how your body REACTS to consuming 1,300 calories that matters. Most people will lose weight on 1,300 calories/day, even without exercise, if they are very overweight, regardless of the method used. However, for those of us who are INSULIN RESISTANT or have METABOLIC SYNDROME, fasting is very different from calorie restriction. In addition to following Dr. Jason Fung (search for him on YouTube), I have queried several endocrinologists within the health system that I work in, and all agree that intermittent fasting (fasting begins after 12 hours of not eating) boosts your metabolism/energy and fat burning to the maximum.

    I have a friend who is calorie counting (1,200 calories per day) and one who is doing IF (1,200) calories per day. Both started January 1st of this year. The person who is calorie counting has lost 8 lbs, the one who is doing IF has lost 15 lbs (almost double). Both are women in mid-life.