Intermittent fasting.

optimisticShark
optimisticShark Posts: 136 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone here doing intermittent fasting? I was looking online and looks like people get good results with it. I am interested in trying it out for a few days, but I don't have all the details of what needs to be done. I was thinking of doing 16/8 fast.

My present routine is I wake up at 4:30am, workout from 5:30-7:00am and then have breakfast at 8am. Lunch around 11:30-12:00pm, couple of fruits around 3:00pm and then dinner around 6:30-7:00pm. So I normally don't eat anything for about 12 hours in between except for water.

With this schedule, I feel light the next day when I wake up and am not putting on any extra weight, but I am not dropping much either. I loose like 1/2-1 lb/week.
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Replies

  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Anyone here doing intermittent fasting? I was looking online and looks like people get good results with it. I am interested in trying it out for a few days, but I don't have all the details of what needs to be done. I was thinking of doing 16/8 fast.

    My present routine is I wake up at 4:30am, workout from 5:30-7:00am and then have breakfast at 8am. Lunch around 11:30-12:00pm, couple of fruits around 3:00pm and then dinner around 6:30-7:00pm. So I normally don't eat anything for about 12 hours in between except for water.

    With this schedule, I feel light the next day when I wake up and am not putting on any extra weight, but I am not dropping much either. I loose like 1/2-1 lb/week.

    How much do you have to lose? 1/2 to 1lb a week is a healthy rate of loss unless you are currently obese.

    There's no magic in Intermittent Fasting, and it doesn't work for everyone. I've been doing 16:8 for a few years, and it simply allows me to eat when I am hungry, which tends to be later in the afternoon and evening. Never been a breakfast person, so my first meal of the day (other than coffee in the morning) is lunch around 1 or 2. That leaves me plenty of room for a good dinner and some snacks in the evening. :)
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Anyone here doing intermittent fasting? I was looking online and looks like people get good results with it. I am interested in trying it out for a few days, but I don't have all the details of what needs to be done. I was thinking of doing 16/8 fast.

    My present routine is I wake up at 4:30am, workout from 5:30-7:00am and then have breakfast at 8am. Lunch around 11:30-12:00pm, couple of fruits around 3:00pm and then dinner around 6:30-7:00pm. So I normally don't eat anything for about 12 hours in between except for water.

    With this schedule, I feel light the next day when I wake up and am not putting on any extra weight, but I am not dropping much either. I loose like 1/2-1 lb/week.

    you are losing weight so I dont see the issue? IF isnt going to make you lose any faster. it helps people stick to a caloric deficit and its a window of time that you eat. you are losing at a decent pace. anything faster is only optimal for those who have a LOT of weight to lose.IF is a way of eating. its nothing special when it comes to weight loss all that is needed for weight loss is a deficit and since you are losing you are obviously in one.I do 16:8 and my weight loss has been the same as when I wasnt doing 16:8
  • Sandoremi
    Sandoremi Posts: 8 Member
    To OptimisticShark: losing 1/2 to 1 lb per week is ideal. You are doing everything right, presuming the nutrition is good. Try 1/ a nutritionist 2/ a therapist 3/ a weight loss group. For some reason, you need to readjust your thinking. Your weight loss is perfect.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    CWynne3 wrote: »
    CWynne3 wrote: »
    The advantage is (according to my nutritionist), if you're working out, you are going to burn most of your calories within the 12th-16th hour of your fast. For me, it also eliminates late night snacking. Try it for a few days, and if you keep your exercise routine as is, you'll need to have your last meal by 4pm. You can adjust your window to wherever you want it- just make sure your exercise takes place in that 12th-16th hour.

    PS- I just started 12 days ago and I'm down almost 13lbs. I've also got a LOT of weight to lose, but it makes sense to try taking advantage of that 4 hour window where your body is going to be burning fat for its fuel.

    I'm a newbie, but that's just what my nutritionist told me and my doctor was in agreement. You can always check with another professional and see what they say. Best wishes!!

    no, there is no magical time when your body burns fat,most is burned while at rest/asleep.you dont burn many more calories if you workout fasted compared to if you dont fast. some people cant work out fasted.she doesnt have to have her last meal at 4pm. meal timing has no effect on weight loss.

    Lol, I'm saying if she follows 16:8 and her breakfast is at 8am, she'd need to have her last meal by 4pm. I never said meal timing has an effect on weight loss. But 16:8 requires an 8-hour eating window followed by a 16-hour fast. Past 4pm, she wouldn't be adhering to the program. The window can always be adjusted.

    Whether or not it's right for OP is entirely up to her. I was merely sharing my experience thus far. The proof is in the pudding... I'm seeing great results on it and I trust the professional advice of my doctor and nutritionist. To each his/her own. :)

    if she eats her last meal at say 7pm(according to her post)-that means that if she is following 16:8 she would eat from 11am-7pm which is the 8hr window,she said right now she only has a 12 hr difference. I see what you are saying though. IF is usually from your last meal until your next.

    as for the proof being in the pudding if you are losing a lb a day a lot of that is going to be water weight at first, but 1lb a day is too big of a deficit for even someone with more than 100lbs to lose.and as for burning fat for fuel.nope it doesnt quite work that way,. your body only uses so much fuel as fat.The rest of it (carbs and protein) your body breaks down and uses as fuel as well. do a search on here lots of posts on in and many people have logged legit studies on it.
  • spiffychick85
    spiffychick85 Posts: 311 Member
    I only IF on weekends because I eat calorically heavy later in the day (ex. eating out, meals not prepared by myself), so that probably doesn't mean I'm a true IF'er, but it does help me maintain my deficit for the day and I keep a steady loss for the week :)
  • hazels1973
    hazels1973 Posts: 8 Member
    I also have found IF works for me 1) to control calorie intake but also I feel better for it. Ifollow 16:8 2 to 3 days a week normally working week days as weekend I exercise and have chores to do so need the energy from calories. On my IF days I eat between 1-7pm have soup or salad for lunch maybe nuts and/or banana late afternoon then evening meal with the family. I generally meat 1000-1250 calories on these days
  • justsmile535
    justsmile535 Posts: 10 Member
    I've stared IF, this is my 3rd day. I'm following a OMAD method and only drinking coffee in the morning, followed by about 2-3 cups of tea (I switch between green, black, and herbal depending on the amount of caffeine I want to intake) and drink lots of water until the evening when I eat dinner with my boyfriend. So far it hasn't been that hard. The only problem I've had is a few stomach cramps due to taking some of my meds on an empty stomach but it's not terrible and goes away after rehydrating. My goal is to lose a decent amount for a wedding I'm going to in June and visiting some family and friends over the summer. I know there's a lot of controversy about IF but I feel like it works for me so that I can prevent overeating. I'm also attempting to go vegan. But for now I'm at least vegetarian and working on getting rid of dairy products because I believe I'm slightly lactose intolerant and dairy products are very fattening. I wish everyone else luck on their IF journey. (:
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    I've stared IF, this is my 3rd day. I'm following a OMAD method and only drinking coffee in the morning, followed by about 2-3 cups of tea (I switch between green, black, and herbal depending on the amount of caffeine I want to intake) and drink lots of water until the evening when I eat dinner with my boyfriend. So far it hasn't been that hard. The only problem I've had is a few stomach cramps due to taking some of my meds on an empty stomach but it's not terrible and goes away after rehydrating. My goal is to lose a decent amount for a wedding I'm going to in June and visiting some family and friends over the summer. I know there's a lot of controversy about IF but I feel like it works for me so that I can prevent overeating. I'm also attempting to go vegan. But for now I'm at least vegetarian and working on getting rid of dairy products because I believe I'm slightly lactose intolerant and dairy products are very fattening. I wish everyone else luck on their IF journey. (:


    dairy is not fattening. anything you overeat can make you gain weigh including fruits and veggies
  • justsmile535
    justsmile535 Posts: 10 Member
    I've stared IF, this is my 3rd day. I'm following a OMAD method and only drinking coffee in the morning, followed by about 2-3 cups of tea (I switch between green, black, and herbal depending on the amount of caffeine I want to intake) and drink lots of water until the evening when I eat dinner with my boyfriend. So far it hasn't been that hard. The only problem I've had is a few stomach cramps due to taking some of my meds on an empty stomach but it's not terrible and goes away after rehydrating. My goal is to lose a decent amount for a wedding I'm going to in June and visiting some family and friends over the summer. I know there's a lot of controversy about IF but I feel like it works for me so that I can prevent overeating. I'm also attempting to go vegan. But for now I'm at least vegetarian and working on getting rid of dairy products because I believe I'm slightly lactose intolerant and dairy products are very fattening. I wish everyone else luck on their IF journey. (:


    dairy is not fattening. anything you overeat can make you gain weigh including fruits and veggies

    I was always under the assumption that humans were never designed to digest dairy but years of mutation has changed that but that's why lactose intolerance exists and why a person can develop it. Not sure if that's accurate or not, just what I learned. And I agree with you, too much of anything is a bad thing. *nods*
  • allucaneatbuffet
    allucaneatbuffet Posts: 2 Member
    jimfoxer wrote: »
    To answer your question, yes! I am an intermittent faster and believe strongly in it as a method to actually tap into your fat stores, not just stored glycogen in your liver. What many people don't understand, is that fasting isn't about maintaining a caloric deficit; I average the same amount of weekly calories as I did prior to fasting. It's the understanding that obesity is a hormonal disease, and the culprit you need to control most is insulin. While insulin is spiked in your system after eating (and it's not just carbs, but excess protein), it signals the body to store fat and not burn it. Plainly, insulin makes you fat - ask someone who is a Type 2 diabetic and goes on insulin about their weight gain. Or ask Type 1 diabetics who dangerously cut back their insulin in order to lose weight. Whichever fasting program works best for you, will assure that during those hours your insulin will remain low, allowing your body to tap into your fat stores after your stored carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen in the liver) are exhausted in about 8 to 10 hours. If you do what I do, which is team intermittent fasting with a ketogenic diet, you will multiply your effect with no hunger during fasting. The other benefit of fasting and eating a larger calorie meal on your feast days is that you will avoid the dreaded metabolism slow down from consistent daily low caloric intake. I fast every other day, and the scale shows about a half pound loss per fasting day. Search up Dr. Jason Fung on YouTube, and check out his book on Intermittent Fasting. He lays the science out clearly and understandably. Good luck!

  • allucaneatbuffet
    allucaneatbuffet Posts: 2 Member
    As I was reading your post I was thinking this sounds a lot like Jason Fung. He's inspired me to fasti on regular bases. I 've fasted for 24 once on a whim. I could. Not believe. How easy it was. Then I did a 30 hour not so eazy. Tomorrow I'll shoot for40 hours. I've been mentally preparing for this by training myself to believe to be hungry is not a bad thing.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    I've stared IF, this is my 3rd day. I'm following a OMAD method and only drinking coffee in the morning, followed by about 2-3 cups of tea (I switch between green, black, and herbal depending on the amount of caffeine I want to intake) and drink lots of water until the evening when I eat dinner with my boyfriend. So far it hasn't been that hard. The only problem I've had is a few stomach cramps due to taking some of my meds on an empty stomach but it's not terrible and goes away after rehydrating. My goal is to lose a decent amount for a wedding I'm going to in June and visiting some family and friends over the summer. I know there's a lot of controversy about IF but I feel like it works for me so that I can prevent overeating. I'm also attempting to go vegan. But for now I'm at least vegetarian and working on getting rid of dairy products because I believe I'm slightly lactose intolerant and dairy products are very fattening. I wish everyone else luck on their IF journey. (:


    dairy is not fattening. anything you overeat can make you gain weigh including fruits and veggies

    I was always under the assumption that humans were never designed to digest dairy but years of mutation has changed that but that's why lactose intolerance exists and why a person can develop it. Not sure if that's accurate or not, just what I learned. And I agree with you, too much of anything is a bad thing. *nods*

    some people dont make the enzyme(or enough) to digest milk properly,Im sure lactose intolerance for some has always existed since the dawn of time. they probably just didnt know what it was back then. it could be genetic too and show up in later years. it could happen at any time too.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    Every once in a while, I fast for a day to prove to myself that I can. I drink tea/milk/honey, fiber supplement, vitamin, and juice to keep up the old blood sugar. Typically, I drop 1-3lbs. So long as I stay on plan for the next few days, some of the loss sticks.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Didn't work for me. I was ravenous by lunch and overate. I prefer 3 meals and 2 small snacks spread throughout the day.
  • Elysium618
    Elysium618 Posts: 10 Member
    I've been doing IF 16/8 for the last 3 weeks. I think the success of it also depends on your current stats. Do you have a lot of weight to lose for your height?
    I'm 5"3 and was 161.9 lbs on Jan 2nd 2017. I'm now 144.8 lbs as of this morning. I stop eating by 4 pm, do cardio/weights in the morning and breakfast at 8:15-8:30 am. I found that IF helped me lose 1-3 lbs per day initially (water weight), now I hardly move the scale and consider myself lucky if I'm able to lose 0.5 lbs in a day. I still continue IF since it keeps me at my calorie goal (2 big meals instead of spacing it out in 3 meals). The good thing I'm noticing is even though the weight fluctuates between 0.2-0.8 lbs, my BF % is decreasing weekly.
  • serenityfrye
    serenityfrye Posts: 360 Member
    I liked IF because my body and brain register satiety by a feeling of "fullness" and since I have a low calorie allowance it was easier to achieve that feeling with two larger meals rather than several small ones. However I now have insulin/blood sugar problems which prevent fasting and I'll confess to really struggling with not being able to 'fill up' at any given meal. So if you do better with bigger meals, then IF might be for you. If you're good with nibbling throughout the day, then it might not be.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    Elysium618 wrote: »
    I've been doing IF 16/8 for the last 3 weeks. I think the success of it also depends on your current stats. Do you have a lot of weight to lose for your height?
    I'm 5"3 and was 161.9 lbs on Jan 2nd 2017. I'm now 144.8 lbs as of this morning. I stop eating by 4 pm, do cardio/weights in the morning and breakfast at 8:15-8:30 am. I found that IF helped me lose 1-3 lbs per day initially (water weight), now I hardly move the scale and consider myself lucky if I'm able to lose 0.5 lbs in a day. I still continue IF since it keeps me at my calorie goal (2 big meals instead of spacing it out in 3 meals). The good thing I'm noticing is even though the weight fluctuates between 0.2-0.8 lbs, my BF % is decreasing weekly.

    if you are losing .5 lbs on a daily basis at this point of the game and at your weight you are definitely eating too little !!!
  • optimisticShark
    optimisticShark Posts: 136 Member
    I am 5'3" and my body weight as of today is 178lbs. It should be in the range of 130's. When I eat less/very early at night, I wake up feeling fresh and with no stomach issues. My plan was to start doing it from yesterday, so I tried but I got hungry in the evening so I had some watermelon juice. I faster for 13 hours still. I will try increasing it daily by an hour and will see if it helps me. I am having little-no junk food in my diet.
  • MichellePatte92
    MichellePatte92 Posts: 134 Member
    I am 5'3" and my body weight as of today is 178lbs. It should be in the range of 130's. When I eat less/very early at night, I wake up feeling fresh and with no stomach issues. My plan was to start doing it from yesterday, so I tried but I got hungry in the evening so I had some watermelon juice. I faster for 13 hours still. I will try increasing it daily by an hour and will see if it helps me. I am having little-no junk food in my diet.

    If those are your true stats, you only have about 50 pounds to lose, and the .5-1lbs you are losing now is perfectly healthy. If you're trying to lose 2 pounds or more per week, it's just not necessary. IF is no better than any other fad diet out there. As a scientist (biochemistry and physics) who is part of this community, it pains me greatly when people start quoting woo doctors or websites as fact. The only sure fire way of losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume. However you manage that is up to you, but know that IF is probably not how you want to live the rest of your life, so I suggest you build better habits that you can maintain rather than try this particular diet until you lose the weight you want, and then go back to your normal eating habits.
  • MichellePatte92
    MichellePatte92 Posts: 134 Member
    edited May 2017
    jimfoxer wrote: »
    To answer your question, yes! I am an intermittent faster and believe strongly in it as a method to actually tap into your fat stores, not just stored glycogen in your liver. What many people don't understand, is that fasting isn't about maintaining a caloric deficit; I average the same amount of weekly calories as I did prior to fasting. It's the understanding that obesity is a hormonal disease, and the culprit you need to control most is insulin. While insulin is spiked in your system after eating (and it's not just carbs, but excess protein), it signals the body to store fat and not burn it. Plainly, insulin makes you fat - ask someone who is a Type 2 diabetic and goes on insulin about their weight gain. Or ask Type 1 diabetics who dangerously cut back their insulin in order to lose weight.


    Please do not spread this *kitten* around. Obesity is VERY RARELY cause by hormonal imbalances. Generally hypothyroidism and Cushing's Syndrome are the culprits for this, but again, that is RARE.
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