Intermittent Fasting

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No_Knock
No_Knock Posts: 52 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've read so much about it. It's sort of this back and forth: No, it doesn't work. Yes, it works like a charm.

Anyone have any thoughts? Tried it? Success? Fail?

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited June 2017
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    IF - eating windows or zig-zagging calories (5:2)....it's just using meal timing to control calorie deficit. Some find it helpful, some don't.

    No matter what method you choose - CICO, low carb, IF - weight loss ALWAYS depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. Just pick a method that helps you be consistent.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    I tried 5:2. The 500 calorie days were too hard. Then I remembered the Rotation Diet from the 1970's .........yes, 5:2 is a rip-off of something decades old. I ate maintenance on the weekends (my down fall) and lowered my calories during the week.
  • No_Knock
    No_Knock Posts: 52 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF - eating windows or zig-zagging calories (5:2)....it's just using meal timing to control calorie deficit. Some find it helpful, some don't.

    No matter what method you choose - CICO, low carb, IF - weight loss ALWAYS depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. Just pick a method that helps you be consistent.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    I tried 5:2. The 500 calorie days were too hard. Then I remembered the Rotation Diet from the 1970's .........yes, 5:2 is a rip-off of something decades old. I ate maintenance on the weekends (my down fall) and lowered my calories during the week.
    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF - eating windows or zig-zagging calories (5:2)....it's just using meal timing to control calorie deficit. Some find it helpful, some don't.

    No matter what method you choose - CICO, low carb, IF - weight loss ALWAYS depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. Just pick a method that helps you be consistent.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    I tried 5:2. The 500 calorie days were too hard. Then I remembered the Rotation Diet from the 1970's .........yes, 5:2 is a rip-off of something decades old. I ate maintenance on the weekends (my down fall) and lowered my calories during the week.

    I've read versions where you restrict to 500 cals on days and versions where you eat normal after you hit the end of your fasting window. I've tried a few times with the latter. My runs are fantastic when I'm at like 13-14 hours. So that is a plus, but I never stick to it long enough to see if there is any significant fat loss, etc.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    Work for what?

    I loosely IF. 16:8 ish. I've eaten this way whilst losing, maintaining and gaining. Calories are what matter to achieve whatever your goals are, IF can just be a way to control a limited intake.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    No_Knock wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF - eating windows or zig-zagging calories (5:2)....it's just using meal timing to control calorie deficit. Some find it helpful, some don't.

    No matter what method you choose - CICO, low carb, IF - weight loss ALWAYS depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. Just pick a method that helps you be consistent.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    I tried 5:2. The 500 calorie days were too hard. Then I remembered the Rotation Diet from the 1970's .........yes, 5:2 is a rip-off of something decades old. I ate maintenance on the weekends (my down fall) and lowered my calories during the week.
    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF - eating windows or zig-zagging calories (5:2)....it's just using meal timing to control calorie deficit. Some find it helpful, some don't.

    No matter what method you choose - CICO, low carb, IF - weight loss ALWAYS depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. Just pick a method that helps you be consistent.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    I tried 5:2. The 500 calorie days were too hard. Then I remembered the Rotation Diet from the 1970's .........yes, 5:2 is a rip-off of something decades old. I ate maintenance on the weekends (my down fall) and lowered my calories during the week.

    I've read versions where you restrict to 500 cals on days and versions where you eat normal after you hit the end of your fasting window. I've tried a few times with the latter. My runs are fantastic when I'm at like 13-14 hours. So that is a plus, but I never stick to it long enough to see if there is any significant fat loss, etc.

    Eating windows - 14:10, 16:8 are popular. You use that time frame to meet a predetermined calorie goal.

    5:2 - use a TDEE calculator to find maintenance. Then 500 calories 2 days a week, and up to maintenance the other 5. This allows you to "diet" just 2 days a week.

    Either way you ARE counting calories, this allows you to stay at a consistent deficit. Fasting isn't weight loss without deficit...that doesn't exist.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    IF is just about finding a meal timing option that works best for you. I like to skip breakfast because I don't get terribly hungry in the morning and I'd prefer to save my calories for lunch and dinner. Some people like to skip entire days of eating in favour of a higher calorie goal on other days. Some people are grazers and enjoy have many meals throughout the day, everyday.

    Any particular meal timing option doesn't offer any huge benefits over another. It's all personal preference.
  • No_Knock
    No_Knock Posts: 52 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Work for what?

    I loosely IF. 16:8 ish. I've eaten this way whilst losing, maintaining and gaining. Calories are what matter to achieve whatever your goals are, IF can just be a way to control a limited intake.

    Work for anything. I've heard it helps with fat loss and muscle retention. I've read a lot about the body being able to focus more on other processes when it's in a fasted state.
  • No_Knock
    No_Knock Posts: 52 Member
    Options
    TeaBea wrote: »
    No_Knock wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF - eating windows or zig-zagging calories (5:2)....it's just using meal timing to control calorie deficit. Some find it helpful, some don't.

    No matter what method you choose - CICO, low carb, IF - weight loss ALWAYS depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. Just pick a method that helps you be consistent.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    I tried 5:2. The 500 calorie days were too hard. Then I remembered the Rotation Diet from the 1970's .........yes, 5:2 is a rip-off of something decades old. I ate maintenance on the weekends (my down fall) and lowered my calories during the week.
    TeaBea wrote: »
    IF - eating windows or zig-zagging calories (5:2)....it's just using meal timing to control calorie deficit. Some find it helpful, some don't.

    No matter what method you choose - CICO, low carb, IF - weight loss ALWAYS depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. Just pick a method that helps you be consistent.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

    I tried 5:2. The 500 calorie days were too hard. Then I remembered the Rotation Diet from the 1970's .........yes, 5:2 is a rip-off of something decades old. I ate maintenance on the weekends (my down fall) and lowered my calories during the week.

    I've read versions where you restrict to 500 cals on days and versions where you eat normal after you hit the end of your fasting window. I've tried a few times with the latter. My runs are fantastic when I'm at like 13-14 hours. So that is a plus, but I never stick to it long enough to see if there is any significant fat loss, etc.

    Eating windows - 14:10, 16:8 are popular. You use that time frame to meet a predetermined calorie goal.

    5:2 - use a TDEE calculator to find maintenance. Then 500 calories 2 days a week, and up to maintenance the other 5. This allows you to "diet" just 2 days a week.

    Either way you ARE counting calories, this allows you to stay at a consistent deficit. Fasting isn't weight loss without deficit...that doesn't exist.

    I feel like 500 calorie days would just be brutal. I've had them before by default of career situations, but not by choice. I'd also have to explain my wife why I'm not eating lol...she doesn't buy the intermittent fasting stuff.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I'm a big fan of IF, and at least trying one of the many different ways to see if you like it.
    I think 5:2 is great for losing weight. Simple and not too difficult. The fast days aren't nearly as hard as I expected them to be.

    I have been following for a few years now 16:8 because of the convenience and simplicity.

    There is a lot of good points to IF that go beyond weight loss. But some people definitely struggle with it. Most people don't give it a fair shot, but for others it's just something that doesn't fit. People are different and you need to find what works for the individual
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 653 Member
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    16:8 IF works so well for me because if I eat breakfast, I'm so ravenous for the rest of the day, and I will go over my calorie goal for the day and not lose any weight. By not eating until 2 pm, my hunger is so much less, and I'm able to stick to a 1200-1350 calorie goal. It has been a life saver for me.

    As to losing MORE fat, or retaining more muscle, or any of those other claims, I don't by it. IF is just what I needed to stick to my calorie goal, period. So in that way, for me, yes it works!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    No_Knock wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Work for what?

    I loosely IF. 16:8 ish. I've eaten this way whilst losing, maintaining and gaining. Calories are what matter to achieve whatever your goals are, IF can just be a way to control a limited intake.

    Work for anything. I've heard it helps with fat loss and muscle retention. I've read a lot about the body being able to focus more on other processes when it's in a fasted state.

    fat is lost in a deficit. so doesnt matter how you are getting the deficit. as for muscle retention you would still have to get enough protein and do weight/resistance training to keep any lean muscle you have already while losing weight(if thats your goal). I dont see how not eating for a certain period of time is going to make a difference in those things.Ive been doing IF 16:8 for years even before I started losing weight,you can still overeat doing IF. for me I always skipped breakfast but gained weight because I was eating more than I burned so no fat was lost.
  • stacieluvzneyoo
    stacieluvzneyoo Posts: 20 Member
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    I eat at a deficit and I eat between 12pm-8pm. I enjoy it a lot. I feel better about my calorie intake at 2lbs of loss a week. Im not sure of the other benefits but it just helps me stick to my goal.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    No_Knock wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Work for what?

    I loosely IF. 16:8 ish. I've eaten this way whilst losing, maintaining and gaining. Calories are what matter to achieve whatever your goals are, IF can just be a way to control a limited intake.

    Work for anything. I've heard it helps with fat loss and muscle retention. I've read a lot about the body being able to focus more on other processes when it's in a fasted state.

    None of that stuff is true. It's all just marketing. IF is nothing more than a way to help manage your calorie goals and, for some, it helps manage hunger. I fit both categories. I prefer a big dinner so, I skip breakfast and eat my first meal around mid day. I don't miss not eating breakfast at all. I also find that the more frequently I eat, the more hungry I get. I can skip a morning meal and not feel hunger at all.

    There is also some speculation that IF helps with Insulin sensitivity. Maybe, maybe not. But, unless you are insulin resistant, what does that matter.
  • Dr__Girlfriend
    Dr__Girlfriend Posts: 100 Member
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    I did IF for 6+ years. It really just became habit. I gained weight on it, but that's due to a million reasons. It's definitely not a cure-all or fix-all. It's just another way of eating that, for some people, effects CICO. I started eating breakfast again and my brain is much happier and my lifts are much stronger.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    There's no work, or doesn't work, its a simple matter of CICO, but in a different eating pattern. It certainly didn't work for me, I was ravenous when I got to my "window" and ate like a crazy person. It's a personal preference, not a diet-style.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Yeah, just a matter of finding what helps you control calories better. I hate eating lots of mini meals and eat more if I snack or graze and eat well if I stick to 3 meals. Thus, while I do not do IF (I eat breakfast around 6 and dinner quite late), I can see why for some people sticking to only 2 or even 1 meal or a narrow eating window works well. I am also sure that some find eating lots of smaller meals helpful, even if I find that much harder to relate to.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    No_Knock wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Work for what?

    I loosely IF. 16:8 ish. I've eaten this way whilst losing, maintaining and gaining. Calories are what matter to achieve whatever your goals are, IF can just be a way to control a limited intake.

    Work for anything. I've heard it helps with fat loss and muscle retention. I've read a lot about the body being able to focus more on other processes when it's in a fasted state.

    No, there just aren't reliable studies to prove this. These statements do sell books.

    Muscle retention: 1. Strength train 2. Eat plenty of protein 3. Moderate deficit.
  • spingirl605
    spingirl605 Posts: 181 Member
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    I just started doing IF and so far I really like it. I'm into week 2. I think it's helping me get over a plateau because it's helping not graze at night and making it much easier to stay within my calorie goal. I've even noticed a small change in the scale heading back in the right direction...

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