Good morning, I'm glad I found this group. I've been doing low carb CICO for about a month now and am interested in IF. Going low carb was a real challenge -- I definitely experienced about 2 weeks of withdrawal symptoms, and that was difficult on its own. Then I started doing CICO, and I found that skipping breakfast didn't affect me at all and I enjoyed using those calories later on in the day. I learned that I was basically doing a 16:8 IF, so I started reading up on it and wanted to do it on purpose instead of accidentally. It was a great gradual way of starting though because it broke me of my bad habit of thinking "If I don't eat every 3-5 hours, it's bad for me!" It taught me to be ok with feeling hungry, and it taught me that not eating so frequently doesn't mean you're going to die of starvation. I like it!

A few questions though:

1. If you're doing a 16:8 fast, when do you start counting the hours? Let's say my last meal I started eating at 8pm, which puts me into the "fed" state at 8pm. Do I start counting to 16 at 8, or 9, or when I've digested?

2. What happens if you change up your fasting schedule? I'm starting my IF officially today, and I thought it'd be good to start off with a 24 hr fast. Keep in mind, I've basically been doing 16:8 so I'm not diving into the deep end too suddenly. I think I can handle it. Also, tomorrow is 4th of July and I've already planned to allow myself to indulge in some foods I don't normally eat (hot dogs, macaroni salad, barbecue chicken, etc.). But after the 4th of July, I'm going to do 16:8 as my norm. Is this ok to occasionally switch up the schedule? Or does this mess with you?

3. This leads to another question: Is there a max "recommended" fasting? I know some religions fast for more than 24 hrs but I think this typically allows for liquid calories and such. If I'm doing a "24" hr fast, but technically means my last meal was at around 9pm yesterday night, and I don't intend to eat until about 11am tomorrow, that will actually work out to be a 36 hour fast. Is this not recommended? Should I actually eat something at 9pm tonight?

4. Finally, I've searched websites and haven't found a clear answer. When you're "fasting", what if anything are you allowed to consume? Coffee, water, tea? Zero calorie drinks like Vitamin Water? "Zero" calorie foods like celery?


Thank you in advance for your help with these questions!

I started IF today, I am doing 5:2 and am exited to see what results I get. I started my weight loss journey (this time) at the beginning of June. I have stuck to about 1200 calories a day and worked out three days a week, and lost 10 pounds. I am feeling a little stuck at 10 pounds so am going to give IF a try for the month of July and see what happens. I will still be working out 3 days a week and monitoring calories. Today is my first fast and I am staying under 400 calories, tomorrow I work out and intend on eating up to 2,000 calories. I am planning to have 2 (400 calorie days) followed by 2 (2,000 calorie days), then 1,200 calorie days the other three days. Will adjust as I go.

rachelbachel32 wrote: »

Hi all. I am just beginning IF today, doing 16:8. My window will be 1 pm - 9 pm. Being day 1, I am feeling pretty irritable, but I know I will adjust quickly. I never used to eat breakfast growing up and would naturally get hungry around 11-12. I have been eating 6 small meals a day and have lost 18 lbs in the last few months, but meal preparation and planning is extensive and time-consuming. I am hoping that IF will help keep things simple!

I began IF about 2 wks ago. I have guests this week so I have had to adjust my plan down from 20:4 Mo-Th, 18:6 Fr-Su to fit better with the group. Still it looks like I will be down about 1pound. My key is eat lower carbs & higher fats.

Hi everyone. New to the group. Been IF for about a year and a half. Haven't been this lean in 25 years! Started 16:8. Now I do 18:6, 20:4 etc. Not too rigid. I just go at least 18 hrs since I last ate. Use MFP to keep my calories in check and its going well!

Hi everyone. I've been doing IF for about 4 weeks, and I am loving it. I worked my way up to a OMAD and usually eat between 6 and 9. I do have one question, does anyone get really tired after they eat? I've started noticing this in the last 4 days.

Hi Everyone,

I really want to try Intermittent Fasting. I have an hour or so reading about it online,after coming across it totally by chance. I have been forcing myself to eat breakfast for years, and am sure that's the reason that I then spend almost the whole day hungry/eating. In my late teens/early 20's I would skip breakfast and only eat at Lunch and Dinner and I was much skinnier than I am now. Everything got messed up when I had my son, as I was told that I needed to eat breakfast by the Dr and Health Visitor. Since then I have struggled with my weight, and tried various different diets, which all say to eat a minimum of 3 meals a day, and most include 2 or 3 snacks. Feels like I am always eating, or thinking about food. None of the diets were ever successful either.
Intermittent Fasting sounds much more like what I used to do when I was younger. I am thinking about doing the 8/16 version, as that would fit into my life so much easier. I normally have lunch at 1pm, after my 2 mile walk and then have dinner with my family around about 7-8pm.
I have recently started swimming twice a week after work, and don't want to give it up. Will I be ok doing the 2 mile daily walks and swimming twice a week when I start Intermittent Fasting? I am planning on starting tomorrow, as I'd already eaten breakfast this morning.

I'm realtively fit as I do a bit of cycling, running and weights but I have been 20% body fat for years and can't get it down. Started using MyFitnessPal to track calories and realised I was eating too many calories. Struggled to stay within daily allowance and never shifted any weight/fat.

Just started this IF 16-8 last Friday. Coping OK on nightshift
On dayshifts and days off I plan to eat from noon until 2000hrs. I plan on only doing low intensity cycling before noon from 1000 to 1130. I know I can last around 90 fasted in Zone 2.
Afternoons would be for tougher cycles, running and weight training.

Does this sound d like a good plan ?

Hi there. I am on my 3rd day of IF. I am doing 16:8. First day was great and yesterday was ok, but today, my stomach is screaming, what the hell are you doing! I am drowning the growl with water. I know it will get better, but any advice would be great. I am also doing low carb. I have done lot's of things to lose weight but it always comes back. In 2014, I lost 120 by clean eating and exercise. The weight stopped dropping off and it was harder to lose, which made me very discouraged. Now, 3 years later I have gained back 60 and I'm mad at myself, so, here I go again. I'm hopeful.

I'm new to IF and I love it so far. I am doing a mix of keto and IF. The Keto is really to help me get sugar out of my life. I have a sugar addiction and one of my goals for 2017 was to break the addiction and stop being a slave to sugar. Keto works well for this because it trains you to stop the dependence on carbs but still work them into your diet, in small doses. Total control. However, to overcome my insulin resistance and reverse pre-diabetes, I am doing a 18:6 IF daily. I have actually lost 9 pounds in 11 days, most of which was water weight. But the weight is not the exciting news here. The exciting news is that I have almost no more swollen joints, I have completely kicked coffee, I have a good amount of energy. A week ago, I could barely walk up and down the stairs but now I can get up and down them with few problems and no pain. IF is great no matter what diet plan you follow, but it is extremely effective when mixed with a LCHF diet such as Keto. Best of luck to you. Friend me if you need support. Make sure you take a good filler free Multi-Vitamin and possibly Omega 3.

Hi, everyone. I have been following a traditional caloric deficit diet since throwing in some carb cycling here and there to help move things along when my losses slow down. I'm down 45 pounds and hit a plateau. I also struggle with bloat and have not reduced my belly size as much as I'd like considering the amount of weight I've lost. So, I am giving IF a try to see if it helps me. I started yesterday with the 16:8 model. So far I enjoy it - it's so easy to stay under my caloric limit for the day and if i have coffee, tea and water to drink I'm fine. Also have had good energy and focus. I have no choice but to workout in the fasting window because of my schedule, so I am wondering if I need to add BCAA's to protect against muscle waste.

Hello, I'm 36 years old, weigh as per this morning 117.9 kg (260 lbs). I started Intermittent Fasting on Sept 12th at 122.4 kg (269.8 lbs). So, I've lost about 10 lbs in 3 weeks. I do 16:8 or 18:6.
Since 3 days ago I started having very bad headache. I eat around 1800 cal everyday, and I set to lose about 1-1.5 lbs per week.
Is this headache normal for someone who just start IF? Why did I get headache in third week not in the first few days? How should I do to overcome the headache?
Thank you.

I'm just starting into the IF this week, doing the 16:8. It's my 2nd day. Finding I'm a bit nauseated around 8 or 9 (I'm up at 5 am) but hoping it's just my body needs to get used to not having food in my stomach. I did find it much easier to stay within my calorie goal yesterday with just having two meals. When doing this, how many people work out before they break their fast? And any side effects?

New to this group. Have been doing LCHF (since mid-May), added IF the 2nd week of September, and have lost around 20 lbs. between the two WOE. I'm a diabetic, type 2, and I have been managing it well, with oral meds and a low dose of insulin. The drs. call me a healthy diabetic even though I'm way overweight.
I joined because I'm always looking for new ideas and I want to see what you guys do that's successful for you losing weight.

alexandriashelby89 wrote: »

Hi everyone. My name is Alex and I'm from Minnesota. I have been casually researching IF ever since I heard about it, and have slowly started to do 16:8. A few days I did, a few days I did not, but as of tomorrow I am going to (at least try to) make 16:8 a daily habit. Not sure if I'll do 11a-7p or 12p-8p.
I was wondering though, does anyone here drink beverages that contain calories while still considering it a fast?
Someone else told me that you shouldn't drink anything caffeinated, which is damn near impossible for me because I have an unsweetened black tea every morning. That's pretty much been my breakfast for months now. It has 0 cals, but there is caffeine. Anyone drink caffeine and still consider yourself to be fasting?
Looking forward to learning and figuring out new things related to IF.
Thank you in advanced!

I don't see why a calorie free beverage would cause any issues. Caffeine is a case-by-case scenario. For example, I can't have caffeine while fasting because, for some reason, it causes my blood sugar to drop. That doesn't happen to everyone.

Add me as a friend. I am doing keto