Intermittent Fasting

You have to manipulate this diet to work with you. Don't be a slave to it and hate every minute. When I first started, I tried to keep a late dinner and would delay my breakfast. I felt like I died every morning. I personally could never give up breakfast. It's the first thing that I want in the morning. So I eat a breakfast every day that is about 550 calories. You need to make sure that you aren't denying your body what it needs. Otherwise you will fall off the horse and grab a jimmy johns sandwich. Trust me! I've done it! Breakfast really is the most important of the day.

As I've said earlier, DON'T STARVE YOURSELF! \If you hit the point where you feel hungry as hell, whatever you put into your stomach will be stored as fat, not as energy to burn.
I have lost more weight while stuffing my face with clean food, than ever done while trying to starve the fat off of myself.
The whole point is to train your body to burn not store.

I did have to give up eating dinner with my boyfriend in order to eat breakfast. I usually work out during dinner time, and finish with a protein drink after that workout and call it good. I never thought I could do without eating together. But it came after a weight gaining realization that I could not eat what he was eating if I wanted to lose weight. On the weekends we eat together but prepare different food. If you really want it to work, you have to sacrifice. You have to change your lifestyle.
So I literally only eat in the same window in which i am at work.

I would say that I got stuck and frustrated with the calorie counting. It's tedious and if you are just going for a calorie intake then you can really go anywhere with the food you eat but you have to limit your meals, etc, etc. I would pay way more attention to the Macros you are eating. In which, myfitnesspal will break that down for you and tell you what percent you should be eating. Macros is Carbs, Protein and Fats. Believe it or not, cutting carbs DOES NOT help you. You actually need fats and carbs to lose weight. it's what you muscles use for energy and protein helps your muscles heal after you work out.

Honestly, I LOVE using the 21 day fix meal plan. I don't count calories. They also pre-organize your Macro intake. I stuff those little bins to the brim and make an awesome meal plan that keeps me sustained. I'm never hungry and I'm shedding pounds. I don't do the exercise DVD's, I do my own thing. but even with a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio a day, I'm losing weight.
At first when the math told me I needed 1800-2000 a day, I ignored it and went for 1200 - DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE. EAT! or else whatever you lose while starving yourself will show up right back on that scale the moment you cheat. Because your body stored it.

If you want to try the portion cups to make things a little easier on yourself, here's a link to them on Amazon so you don't have to do the whole beachbody thing. They are literally $13 and have changed my life.
https://www.amazon.com/Portion-Life-Containers-Optimized-Comparable/dp/B01CZAUN8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489094460&sr=8-1&keywords=portion+life+containers


Everyone is different! Just keep focused and EAT.
I attached a portion cup chart so you can see the allowances.
You would be amazed how much you are allowed to eat. Keep it clean, keep it real. Torturing yourself is not sustainable.

peeshapie wrote: »

I've been doing 16/8 IF now for an entire week without really knowing that's what I was doing! Now that I know the term and the benefits, I'm in! I'm tracking calorie intake and I'm about at 1300 or so cal/day on a goal of zone ratio 30p/30c/40f. I dropped a little over 5lbs in the first week, but I'm going to guess most of it is inflammatory loss. I'll update everyone weekly!

Congrats!!!

VainMommy wrote: »

So my issue is that I can wait to eat until 12-1pm no problem. But I can't/don't want to eat all my calories within the 8hrs and my eating window is extended ... will I get any real benefit from IF?

If it helps keep your calories for the day in check, that's a real benefit. You don't have to be religious about the 8 hours, nothing magic about that if you are using IF to help control your weight.

CorneliusPhoton wrote: »

VainMommy wrote: »

So my issue is that I can wait to eat until 12-1pm no problem. But I can't/don't want to eat all my calories within the 8hrs and my eating window is extended ... will I get any real benefit from IF?

If it helps keep your calories for the day in check, that's a real benefit. You don't have to be religious about the 8 hours, nothing magic about that if you are using IF to help control your weight.

It definitely helps me keep my calories in check! Thank you!

When fasting cam you have the bullet proof coffee?

aztkldy70 wrote: »

When fasting cam you have the bullet proof coffee?

My friend drinks a bullet coffee every morning and it doesn't seem to breaking her fast. Her feeding time is 12pm-8pm, but she has the coffee around 8am every morning.

Hey guys, I would like to join in as well. I was doing a 16/8 IF before I got pregnant with my second baby, but decided not to do IF while pregnant.
I work in the middle of the day, and don't get a chance to eat at work, so if I do 9 to 5 as my eating window then I can eat before and after. For exercise, I'm playing squash twice a week and doing 3 sessions of yoga a week.
CW: 85 kg (187)

I just decided to go back to IF for lifestyle reasons. it's worked well for me in the past and I'm just trying to find the best way to maintain and keep pushing toward my stretch goals. so I'm jumping in and catching up!

I would like to join as well. Ideally I would like to commit to the 20:4.. I'm not a breakfast person, and I'm pretty busy during the day, which in the past has led to eating out for lunch a lot. I cook dinner every night though, and it has always been my biggest meal. My question is though.. at what point is the best time to workout when doing IF? Do you still have a post workout snack/shake if you workout in the morning and eat at night?

cbcarden1 wrote: »

I would like to join as well. Ideally I would like to commit to the 20:4.. I'm not a breakfast person, and I'm pretty busy during the day, which in the past has led to eating out for lunch a lot. I cook dinner every night though, and it has always been my biggest meal. My question is though.. at what point is the best time to workout when doing IF? Do you still have a post workout snack/shake if you workout in the morning and eat at night?

doesnt matter when you exercise. if you want to exercise before you eat and have the energy,then go ahead. If you notice side effects from working out in a fasted state(dizziness,nausea,etc) then do it after you have had something to eat.

docgee918 wrote: »

I'd like to join too. Help me understand 18:6 and 20:4

Google Jason Fung on YouTube. Also, read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

docgee918 wrote: »

Ok. So if I understand it correctly I have not eaten for the past 13 hours. If I were to eat now I would be on a 13:11 plan?

yep,if thats what works for you.

docgee918 wrote: »

Ok. So if I understand it correctly I have not eaten for the past 13 hours. If I were to eat now I would be on a 13:11 plan?

That is correct; however, keep in my mind that fat doesn't start burning until you've fasted for at least 12 hours. I am not a pro -- this is pretty consistent with what I've read.

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

docgee918 wrote: »

I'd like to join too. Help me understand 18:6 and 20:4

18:6 means you eat 18hrs from the last time you ate. so if you ate at 5pm on wed evening you wouldnt eat again until 11am on thurs. and you would get your calories in from 11am to 5pm. 20:4 is the same thing.you just eat 20 hrs later and have a window of 4 hrs to eat your calories.

Thank you so much. That is very helpful