Intermediate Fasting- What's your opinion on it?

Options
tsjourney14
tsjourney14 Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello everyone, I've been losing and gaining weight for forever, this time around- I'm in for the long run (feel free to add me- I could always use motivation) because I have my wedding coming up and after I'm married I want my reproductive system to be healthy enough to have at least one child. So I've lost about 20 pounds since January 23rd and that encourages me to keep going.

INTERMEDIATE FASTING (IF): So I watch alot of YouTube videos and hear success stories mention using IF to lose their weight. So have you ever tried it and what's the pro's and cons of it?

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Options
    It's called intermittent fasting, and it just means that you're not eating all the time. Nothing fancy except for the name. Having a good meal structure (good, as in one that's easy for you to stick to) will make you less prone to overeating. If you don't regularly overeat, your don't get fat.
  • Macy9336
    Macy9336 Posts: 694 Member
    Options
    "Intermittant Fasting." There's no real problem with it so long as on the non fast days you eat at the weight maintenance caloric intake. If you cut caloric intake to a weight loss level on non fast days and then fast on top of that, you can end up crash dieting which is not a healthy way to lose weight. Basically, how I see IF is just another CICO method but instead of cutting calories on a daily basis, you are taking a weekly basis approach where you are not cutting calories some days interspersed with fast days where you cut a little deeper so that by weeks end, you have same CICO as you would if you'd cut a little on a daily basis..ultimately getting you the same rate of healthy weight loss.

    Now, I know IF can work for some people, but it's a bit too regimented for me. Fast this day, don't fast that day. I kind of do a fusion between the daily CICO and IF. I have my weight loss CI set at 1200 calories/day. But some days I eat more and some days I come in under. It can be by a little or by a lot...some days I am not hungry and I won't force myself to eat. Other days I feel like ice cream and when I look at my weekly net calories under the 1200/day allowance I see I can "buy" said ice cream and stay under for the week even if I go over for that day. To me the weekly calorie goal is the barrier/rule I want to stay under, whereas the daily is more of a guideline. So I am sort of doing IF but I'm doing it in a free flow way rather than a set routine.

    Basically, experiment see what works for you...some people thrive on the precision and routine. Others like me prefer a bit of wiggle room. But both ways have the same result.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    Doesn't work for me, I like breakfast, but it's a good eating style for a lot of people!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    It's called intermittent fasting, and it just means that you're not eating all the time. Nothing fancy except for the name. Having a good meal structure (good, as in one that's easy for you to stick to) will make you less prone to overeating. If you don't regularly overeat, your don't get fat.

    Autocorrect may be to blame for that one!
  • jeshutt
    jeshutt Posts: 19 Member
    Options
    There's several ways. The main ones are the 5:2 method and the skipping breakfast one. Quite apart from losing weight (which they both do) skipping breakfast comes out better for general health.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Options
    Going for 8:16 - so only eating for 8 hours in a day and not for the remaining 16 is a method that works well for me to manage my calories.
    While doing weights I would also alternate 1000 calories up on weights down vs low calorie 'rest' days.

    I'm not sure there's massive physiological benefits - but the psychological ones did work for me.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    Options
    I've done IF in one form or another for around 5 years now. Some protocols have built in calorie deficits, but the most common one, 16:8IF, does not and is just a window of time you eat in. How many calories though is up to you.

    Is there a specific IF protocol you're interested in? I've done ADF/JUDDD, 5:2IF and now 16:8IF, so I may be able to answer specific questions :)

Categories