Intermittent fasting for beginners

mkpandja
mkpandja Posts: 7 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everybody! I just started intermittent fasting, today is my 3rd day. I've seen great results and motivational stories all over YouTube and pretty pumped up about it. I'm trying to find more detailed info about it just to make it right. Have you any experience with it? Does it matter what exactly I eat? I'm trying to watch my calories and macros but what confuses me is that when I search for IF videos I see lots of people also talking about keto diet. Like can I do IF without keto? It just seems so complicated right now. Hope this all makes sense to you lol.

Replies

  • AnaA78
    AnaA78 Posts: 85 Member
    I just started i did great my first week but this week somehow I gained everything back. I'm confused how this works since I'm new to IF..
  • Fit2B135
    Fit2B135 Posts: 29 Member
    mkpandja wrote: »
    Hi everybody! I just started intermittent fasting, today is my 3rd day. I've seen great results and motivational stories all over YouTube and pretty pumped up about it. I'm trying to find more detailed info about it just to make it right. Have you any experience with it? Does it matter what exactly I eat? I'm trying to watch my calories and macros but what confuses me is that when I search for IF videos I see lots of people also talking about keto diet. Like can I do IF without keto? It just seems so complicated right now. Hope this all makes sense to you lol.

    Google intermittent fasting and Dr. Axe.
  • mkpandja
    mkpandja Posts: 7 Member
    SeikoMonster wrote: »
    There are many many different ways to do IF. What are you doing? Most do some type of 16 hour fast 8 hour eat.
    So basically just all three meals in a 8 hour window, and nothing during the other 16 hours. Or other variations of timing.

    IF is not a magical thing. I keep very specific time to eat by, knowing that it is X amount of time till breakfast, or dinner has cut my snacking to nothing. Ive been doing 16:8 since January, and really like the meal timing aspect of it.

    Keto is absolutely not needed in any way.

    Thank you! That's what I'm doing exactly, 16:8, from 12 to 8 pm. It's usually 2 meals and 1 snack like a protein shake or a bar.

  • mkpandja
    mkpandja Posts: 7 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    IF has nothing to do with weight loss and everything to do with meal timing. Just doing IF isn't going to mean you lose weight, it's just an eating schedule that may help you stick to your deficit more easily.

    If you're eating too many calories, you're still going to put on weight.

    Thanks for the input! Yes, this was the first thing I learned from all those "5 typical mistakes for IF" videos lol. I like how it helps me with my calorie counting cause it's easier to squeeze your daily intake in 2-3 meals rather than 5-6.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited July 2017
    Don't over-complicate things. Are you finding that IF makes it easier for you to stay within calories? If so, then that's all you need to know. Keep following your chosen IF protocol and counting calories as usual. No special eating required. If you're finding it hard, go back to normal meal scheduling. Beyond personal preference there is absolutely zero difference in weight loss between IF with a certain caloric goal and doing the same caloric goal using any other meal timing pattern.
  • mkpandja
    mkpandja Posts: 7 Member
    AnaA78 wrote: »
    I just started i did great my first week but this week somehow I gained everything back. I'm confused how this works since I'm new to IF..

    Damn :( sorry to hear that! Try to stick with it for longer, I'm sure in a month you'll be seeing great results if you're doing everything properly. So far I feel less bloated and it helps with midnight snacking that always have been out of control for me.

  • mkpandja
    mkpandja Posts: 7 Member
    Fit2B135 wrote: »
    mkpandja wrote: »
    Hi everybody! I just started intermittent fasting, today is my 3rd day. I've seen great results and motivational stories all over YouTube and pretty pumped up about it. I'm trying to find more detailed info about it just to make it right. Have you any experience with it? Does it matter what exactly I eat? I'm trying to watch my calories and macros but what confuses me is that when I search for IF videos I see lots of people also talking about keto diet. Like can I do IF without keto? It just seems so complicated right now. Hope this all makes sense to you lol.

    Google intermittent fasting and Dr. Axe.

    Thanks, I will!

  • mkpandja
    mkpandja Posts: 7 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    Don't over-complicate things. Are you finding that IF makes it easier for you to stay within calories? If so, then that's all you need to know. Keep following your chosen IF protocol and counting calories as usual. No special eating required. If you're finding it hard, go back to normal meal scheduling. Beyond personal preference there is absolutely zero difference in weight loss between IF with a certain caloric goal and doing the same caloric goal using any other meal timing pattern.

    I've always been struggling with counting calories regularly so this pattern definitely makes it easier. We'll see how it will work for me in future. Thank you!
  • rjan91
    rjan91 Posts: 194 Member
    I usually do a 16:8 - I don't eat after 7pm and eat at 11am. I would like to increase this. I try to have 2 good meals - still low carb during my eating hours - but that is me. You don't have to eat low carb to do this. A good reference is this book:

    https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Fasting-Intermittent-Alternate-Day-ebook/dp/B01MF8SC2X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499425267&sr=8-1&keywords=intermittent+fasting
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
    You can gain/lose/maintain weight on IF with great success, depending on your goals.

    Remember, losing weight is all about calories, You do have to count calories on IF (or make your window so small, that its impossible to go over your limit).

    People who do IF love the fact that you can have two big meals (at least if you do 16:8), rather than several tiny (I call them 'rabbit meals').
    People who do ADF like that they can eat TDEE on alternate days.

    However, many people do IF and use it to maintain or bulk as well. There's no magic to it.

    There's a good group here:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    When I did IF with keto, my calorie deficit was too much, like under 500 which is too much on my 1400 calorie maintenance. So I stopped and gained it right back. Plus it was extremely hard to not eat until lunch or afternoon when I wake up at 5:30 every morning. So basically, try it for a couple of weeks, but it's not for everyone. It does jump start weight loss and it can help with stalls..
  • mlsh1969
    mlsh1969 Posts: 138 Member
    Best of luck to u, sounds like a good plan
  • ricmac68
    ricmac68 Posts: 10 Member
    I have done If for quite a few months now in different time frames. I pair this with keto and a calorie deficit. This is something I wasn't able to do before with have 3 unsatisfying meals and a snack. Larger meal made me stick with it this long. If I have a social thing I try and adjust my calories for the day without going over too much. GL
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    I would look into the IF groups on here or do more research outside of the forums. This place has a mixed view and a very vocal yet unjustified slant against IF in a lot of threads.

    I wouldn't actually agree with that assessment - I find in general there is a pretty good balance. With most people saying give it a go but do your research or giving positive personal anecdotes.
    To me it's only when you get comments from both extremes (It's magic, calories don't matter! Or alternatively, it's unhealthy and/or unnatural.) that threads go down the plug hole.

    OP - it doesn't have to be at all complicated, just work out your calorie goal and eat the foods you need and want to eat within your eating window. Bingo, you are doing IF.
    Keto is a completely different concept - a change of diet not a change of eating pattern.

    My personal experience of IF is:
    I found 5:2 very easy and successful for weight loss.
    Tried 6:1 at maintenance but didn't enjoy or need it.
    Tried 16:8 at maintenance but although I find it painless to skip breakfast most of the time I didn't like the feeling of having set rules. I'm back to eating in a more standard pattern but still use breakfast skipping as an easy way to make adjustments to my weight when I need or want to.

    I learned something about myself from each experiment. That's very much a positive.
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