Intermittent Fasting

Teallaquin
Teallaquin Posts: 18 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
Hello all! This is my first time posting on the forums, so please bear with me!

I was wondering where everyone stands on the idea of intermittent fasting? For those who are unaware, intermittent fasting involves fasting for a portion of the day or week and eating normally on your "off" days. There are a few ways in which one can practice intermittent fasting: One way can be fasting (or severely limiting one's calories) for certain days of the week and eating normally on the other days. Another way of doing it is limiting your hours of eating so a specific window of time during the day (i.e., eating all your calories between 9:00am and 3:00pm, and fasting the other 18 hours).

The method I have been trying has been the second one I described, by limiting my hours of eating between ~7:00am to about 2:00pm. I don't eat any less than I normally would, although I was curious as to what everyone thought as to whether it would be better to not eat with a caloric deficit if one was already fasting for part of the day.

As a point of reference to myself, I am 19 years old and I weigh approximately 163lbs. My peak weight was 170lbs, almost 40 of which I gained during my freshman year of college; I was slender my whole life until I got to college! Right now, I'm just trying to eat better, but since I love to eat and have a bad habit of overeating and overdoing it on sweets, I have been finding that this method of intermittent fasting has helped me with my self control. I also was gifted a Fitbit back in November, and I consistently hit at least 10,000 steps a day (because I love to walk, so that's what I do to stay active).

What do you all think? Has anyone else tried this?

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited April 2017
    No, you can't eat more (or not eat less) just because you eat faster and still lose (or maintain) weight.

    I'm eating my three meals within 6 or 8 hours most days so I'm technically IF'ing. That's how meaningless that term is. The concept is good, though - not eating all the time allows for bigger and more satisfying meals, less preoccupation with food, less cleanup, more time to do other things.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Intermittent fasting works if it helps you sustain a calorie deficit, as that is how you lose weight.

    I do 14:10 most days due to my work schedule.
  • Teallaquin
    Teallaquin Posts: 18 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    No, you can't eat more (or not eat less) just because you eat faster and still lose (or maintain) weight.

    That's kinda what I thought- I know it's dangerous to deprive your body of nutrients and that an excess of calories is an excess regardless (unless you burn it off). Thanks for clarifying that for me. :)
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    The concept is good, though - not eating all the time allows for bigger and more satisfying meals, less preoccupation with food, less cleanup, more time to do other things.

    That's part of why I tried this method, so I can focus less on what/when my next meal will be and more on everything else in my life, since I'm a college student with an on-campus job.
  • DaintyWhisper
    DaintyWhisper Posts: 221 Member
    edited April 2017
    The way I eat would basically be considered intermediate fasting. I don't go out of my way to eat this way, it just sort of happened because I skip breakfast and don't eat until I'm done with work. I eat the majority of my calories between 2pm - 8pm on most days. I prefer it that way because I like eating a lot at one time..It's more satisfying. The only downside for me is that since I'm eating a lot in a shorter period of time, water weight tends to stay on longer. It's not really too big of a deal, but it can kind of throw you off when you're trying to lose.
  • Dost786
    Dost786 Posts: 3 Member
    I have just started yesterday. I like doing it so far. I stop eating after 6 PM. Start my day from9 am. From 9-12 pm I drink tea and coffee. From 12-4 2 meals. Then at 6 I end my day with tea. So far so good.
  • Blitzia
    Blitzia Posts: 205 Member
    I'm an accidental IFer. I'm not strict about what times I eat, but I generally try to delay my first meal of the day as much as I can and do most of my eating in the afternoon/evening.

    Most people I've seen who do 16:8 intermittent fasting are like me - skip breakfast and eat at night. The general way of thinking seems to be that most of us get hungry at lunch regardless of whether or not we eat breakfast, so might as well save those calories for later. You can certainly try having your eating time in the morning and fasting time in the evening, but that sounds much more difficult in my opinion. With your fasting schedule, if you get hungry at 4 PM, you have to white-knuckle it until the next day. With fasting in the morning, you know at worst it's only a few hours until you can eat.

    But really, whatever helps you stick to your calorie goal - everyone is different so different eating styles work for different people.
  • SeauxFeisty
    SeauxFeisty Posts: 4 Member
    I started IF yesterday. I'm surprised by how much more in control I feel. I expected it to be more constraining and stressful. But It's really rather liberating.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,331 Member
    The form of intermittent fasting where you fast for a day then eat as normal the next day is a way for a person to establish a calorie deficit while eating at maintenance on non-fasting days. This form is well written up by Brad Pilon in his e-book Eat, Stop, Eat.

    The other form, where you eat in a small window of time popularized by Martin Berkhan on his website leangains, is one where you need a calorie goal that establishes a deficit. In other words, one eats their deficit calorie goal during their eating window allowing for larger meals which some people find more satisfying.

    Neither will give magical loss of weight beyond what a similar calorie deficit established using other eating patterns would give. What they can help with is sticking with your calorie goal leading to weight loss success. Pick what works for you.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Teallaquin wrote: »
    Hello all! This is my first time posting on the forums, so please bear with me!

    I was wondering where everyone stands on the idea of intermittent fasting? For those who are unaware, intermittent fasting involves fasting for a portion of the day or week and eating normally on your "off" days. There are a few ways in which one can practice intermittent fasting: One way can be fasting (or severely limiting one's calories) for certain days of the week and eating normally on the other days. Another way of doing it is limiting your hours of eating so a specific window of time during the day (i.e., eating all your calories between 9:00am and 3:00pm, and fasting the other 18 hours).

    The method I have been trying has been the second one I described, by limiting my hours of eating between ~7:00am to about 2:00pm. I don't eat any less than I normally would, although I was curious as to what everyone thought as to whether it would be better to not eat with a caloric deficit if one was already fasting for part of the day.

    As a point of reference to myself, I am 19 years old and I weigh approximately 163lbs. My peak weight was 170lbs, almost 40 of which I gained during my freshman year of college; I was slender my whole life until I got to college! Right now, I'm just trying to eat better, but since I love to eat and have a bad habit of overeating and overdoing it on sweets, I have been finding that this method of intermittent fasting has helped me with my self control. I also was gifted a Fitbit back in November, and I consistently hit at least 10,000 steps a day (because I love to walk, so that's what I do to stay active).

    What do you all think? Has anyone else tried this?


    I am a huge proponent of IF...however
    IF that uses a window of eating and a longer time frame of fasting, in and of itself is not a weight loss scheme. A person can lose, maintain or gain weight (as I have done for various reasons) while following an IF protocol. Although some people find that eating in a short time frame allows them to maintain a calorie deficit, that's not the underlying reason to practice IF.

    Another IF protocol that is directly geared towards weight loss is 5:2. Eating normally 5 days per week, and eating 500 (or 600 for males) calories 2 non-consecutive days. The key to this one is planning those fast days and trying to eat filling, low caloric yet highly satisfying foods.
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