IF - how do you choose your eating window?
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It makes sense because it's fact.Ya I've seen on here that most choose based on what is convenient and from just a straight calorie restriction perspective that makes total sense.
You got wooed because this is woo.But from my research of Intermittent Fasting , the point of extended fasting times had other health implications including positive effects to insulin levels, hormone balances, cell repair, brain function etc. I think those things don't kick in unless the fasting window is fairly long though?
Plateaus don't exist so you can't break them. You have to reduce calorie intake and/or be more patient.But I suppose in my instance it doesn't matter since I AM more interested in having a way to break a plateau.1 -
Ya I've seen on here that most choose based on what is convenient and from just a straight calorie restriction perspective that makes total sense. But from my research of Intermittent Fasting , the point of extended fasting times had other health implications including positive effects to insulin levels, hormone balances, cell repair, brain function etc. I think those things don't kick in unless the fasting window is fairly long though? But I suppose in my instance it doesn't matter since I AM more interested in having a way to break a plateau.
I've read similar things, and giving them the benefit of the doubt, the advantages to extended fasting as it relates to those things is exceptionally small and need an exceptionally specific set of circumstances to be valid. I don't think it's something the average MFPer should worry about or benefit from.2 -
Ya I've seen on here that most choose based on what is convenient and from just a straight calorie restriction perspective that makes total sense. But from my research of Intermittent Fasting , the point of extended fasting times had other health implications including positive effects to insulin levels, hormone balances, cell repair, brain function etc. I think those things don't kick in unless the fasting window is fairly long though? But I suppose in my instance it doesn't matter since I AM more interested in having a way to break a plateau.
Most of the benefits of IF are the same benefits one gets from a calorie deficit regardless of the style of eating. There haven't been a great deal of human studies, but those that have been done show no advantage to IF vs all day eating when caloric deficit and protein intake are similar.1 -
Thanks for the responses everyone! By effective I guess I was wondering if people felt that one time frame was easier, more sustainable, that they had more energy or whatever. I guess it's a silly phrase. I had read on one of the threads that when people plateaued , IF helped them break through it. It didn't sound like it was a change in calorie intake - just a change in habits enough to help the body break through? I don't know - just wanted to see if that was a thing. Has anyone noticed IF helping during plateaus?
It's very individual. I am in a group of over 50, 000 IFers and everyone will answer something different. Experiment with a few and see which one allows you to best adhere to your goals. For me that's 4:3. I eat maintenance 4 days a week and up to 600 calories 3 days a week. I just do very lean protein and green steamed veggies on my lower days. It makes it easier to lose because I travel for work a ton. So while I can estimate when eating out, I'm never 100% sure that I didn't go over my maintenance calories on my up days. So those low days ensure a deficit week over a week.0 -
I see people do 16:8, 20:4 (that sounds hard) 14:10. How do you choose what window to do? Do you start with a larger window and 'ease I to it'? Does having a smaller window impact how effective it is?
Hey Jelleigh, this is an amazing podcast on learning more about IF: http://theshawnstevensonmodel.com/health-benefits-of-fasting/
i am not affiliated with this website at all.. just trying to give you the best advice!1 -
karintalley wrote: »what the hell are you guys talking about..lol. Obvously i missed the newest diet trend.
it sounds interesting though. How does it work?
Pssst... google.
Well thanks for that. Nothing like a diet and weight loss forum where your fellow members tells you to go and look for answers somewhere else.3 -
I see people do 16:8, 20:4 (that sounds hard) 14:10. How do you choose what window to do? Do you start with a larger window and 'ease I to it'? Does having a smaller window impact how effective it is?
I don't understand this. I understand IF means intermittent fasting, but what do the numbers mean?0 -
MaddMaestro wrote: »I see people do 16:8, 20:4 (that sounds hard) 14:10. How do you choose what window to do? Do you start with a larger window and 'ease I to it'? Does having a smaller window impact how effective it is?
I don't understand this. I understand IF means intermittent fasting, but what do the numbers mean?
I guess it means in a 24 hour period, if the numbers are 16:8...that means you can eat for 8 hours and 16 hours you don't eat. You have an 8 hour window to eat.
But I'm not sure...I was told to google the answer.
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Well, for me there's two variables: how long I can comfortably fast without compromising weight loss (ravenous hunger is a recipe for disaster) and how much food I can eat in a fixed amount of time. Fasting is little issue for me but it is for some. I could do more than 16 hours if it wasn't for the second variable. I'm a slow eater who gets full quickly, so if I did less than 8 hours I would need to like dump butter on everything to hit my calorie goal which is less than ideal.
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karintalley wrote: »karintalley wrote: »what the hell are you guys talking about..lol. Obvously i missed the newest diet trend.
it sounds interesting though. How does it work?
Pssst... google.
Well thanks for that. Nothing like a diet and weight loss forum where your fellow members tells you to go and look for answers somewhere else.
I think the idea was there is no need to hijack OPs thread, they already know what IF is. You could either Google it or start your own thread.
Short answer - IF is intermittent fasting - Eating during a short window of time or in a specific eat/fast cycle to control hunger.1 -
I'm not very hungry until noon, sometimes later, and I like to be full when I go to bed. So for me I just do 12-1 and 8-9 as my cut off. I am full (but not overly) by the time I go to bed. By the time I get hungry I don't have long to go.0
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karintalley wrote: »karintalley wrote: »what the hell are you guys talking about..lol. Obvously i missed the newest diet trend.
it sounds interesting though. How does it work?
Pssst... google.
Well thanks for that. Nothing like a diet and weight loss forum where your fellow members tells you to go and look for answers somewhere else.
I think the idea was there is no need to hijack OPs thread, they already know what IF is. You could either Google it or start your own thread.
Short answer - IF is intermittent fasting - Eating during a short window of time or in a specific eat/fast cycle to control hunger.
How am I hijacking a thread for simply asking a question. He could have simply explained it the way you did. Nice and polite without being a jerk.
So it seems pretty interesting. Maybe I should try it.0 -
MFP is a little different (as you will learn if you hang around). "Google first, ask questions later", is in line with an overarching philosophy of self-efficacy, which is crucial to permanent weight and health management. Way too may weight loss forums, and clinics, take personal responsibilty away from the person/patient, and create a mindset of dependency and apathy. Asking for help when you need it is good and right and important, but don't let others do for you what you can just as easily do yourself.karintalley wrote: »karintalley wrote: »what the hell are you guys talking about..lol. Obvously i missed the newest diet trend.
it sounds interesting though. How does it work?
Pssst... google.
Well thanks for that. Nothing like a diet and weight loss forum where your fellow members tells you to go and look for answers somewhere else.4 -
I see people do 16:8, 20:4 (that sounds hard) 14:10. How do you choose what window to do? Do you start with a larger window and 'ease I to it'? Does having a smaller window impact how effective it is?
I mix up IF where some days I do 16:8, or other days it's 18:6 and these days I'm even doing 20:4 and I feel great! Of course I also take a break from fasting because it's good to take a break from your normal routine. How did I choose my window...I just simply did it. Don't really know how else to answer that! Having a smaller window does have a bigger impact because you're not eating for 20-23 hours so you're controlling your caloric intake as well as depleting glycogen and tapping into your fat stores. So you get into ketosis which is using body fat as fuel. This obviously doesn't happen overnight but when your body runs out of glucose fuel it then turns to reserve fat stores for fuel. Very interesting.2 -
Wow lots of feedback on this one! Thanks for the input. I have to say I'm a bit ... Surprised ? At how intensely people feel that fasting has no other health benefits other than calorie deficit. After watching the documentary by the doctor who originated 5:2 and seeing how many people here like 5:2, I would have thought that more people valued the benefits that he researched and demonstrated (as in blood pressure changes , and general improvements across the board in blood lab results - sorry can't remember all the details now). In fact - the fact that he lost weight was a side point - it wasn't even why he did it or why these top US universities studying nutrition etc were advocating fasting. When he saw he also lost weight, that's when he wrote the 5:2 book and it caught on as a weight loss technique. Since IF is just another form of fasting I would have thought more people believed the research being done on the topic...
I mix up IF where some days I do 16:8, or other days it's 18:6 and these days I'm even doing 20:4 and I feel great! Of course I also take a break from fasting because it's good to take a break from your normal routine. How did I choose my window...I just simply did it. Don't really know how else to answer that! Having a smaller window does have a bigger impact because you're not eating for 20-23 hours so you're controlling your caloric intake as well as depleting glycogen and tapping into your fat stores. So you get into ketosis which is using body fat as fuel. This obviously doesn't happen overnight but when your body runs out of glucose fuel it then turns to reserve fat stores for fuel. Very interesting.
Ya I guess what I'm hearing is that most people just sort of start doing it and go from how they are feeling. I suppose I will just give it a try! I do worry though how I can possible eat over 100 grams of protein in only 4 hours!!! I think I would be stuffed!! Do you ever find it hard to hit your macros when you have a small window?0 -
Wow lots of feedback on this one! Thanks for the input. I have to say I'm a bit ... Surprised ? At how intensely people feel that fasting has no other health benefits other than calorie deficit. After watching the documentary by the doctor who originated 5:2 and seeing how many people here like 5:2, I would have thought that more people valued the benefits that he researched and demonstrated (as in blood pressure changes , and general improvements across the board in blood lab results - sorry can't remember all the details now). In fact - the fact that he lost weight was a side point - it wasn't even why he did it or why these top US universities studying nutrition etc were advocating fasting. When he saw he also lost weight, that's when he wrote the 5:2 book and it caught on as a weight loss technique. Since IF is just another form of fasting I would have thought more people believed the research being done on the topic...
I mix up IF where some days I do 16:8, or other days it's 18:6 and these days I'm even doing 20:4 and I feel great! Of course I also take a break from fasting because it's good to take a break from your normal routine. How did I choose my window...I just simply did it. Don't really know how else to answer that! Having a smaller window does have a bigger impact because you're not eating for 20-23 hours so you're controlling your caloric intake as well as depleting glycogen and tapping into your fat stores. So you get into ketosis which is using body fat as fuel. This obviously doesn't happen overnight but when your body runs out of glucose fuel it then turns to reserve fat stores for fuel. Very interesting.
Ya I guess what I'm hearing is that most people just sort of start doing it and go from how they are feeling. I suppose I will just give it a try! I do worry though how I can possible eat over 100 grams of protein in only 4 hours!!! I think I would be stuffed!! Do you ever find it hard to hit your macros when you have a small window?
All my blood lab results improved with weight loss. Full Stop.
Nothing to do with my eating window. I think that's the thing you're not understanding. And, sure he touts the 5:2. Sells more books, ya know?
Do what you want, but there is no big benefit other than adherence in regards to IF. I do 16:8 - but only for convenience and adherence purposes.2 -
Wow lots of feedback on this one! Thanks for the input. I have to say I'm a bit ... Surprised ? At how intensely people feel that fasting has no other health benefits other than calorie deficit. After watching the documentary by the doctor who originated 5:2 and seeing how many people here like 5:2, I would have thought that more people valued the benefits that he researched and demonstrated (as in blood pressure changes , and general improvements across the board in blood lab results - sorry can't remember all the details now). In fact - the fact that he lost weight was a side point - it wasn't even why he did it or why these top US universities studying nutrition etc were advocating fasting. When he saw he also lost weight, that's when he wrote the 5:2 book and it caught on as a weight loss technique. Since IF is just another form of fasting I would have thought more people believed the research being done on the topic...
I mix up IF where some days I do 16:8, or other days it's 18:6 and these days I'm even doing 20:4 and I feel great! Of course I also take a break from fasting because it's good to take a break from your normal routine. How did I choose my window...I just simply did it. Don't really know how else to answer that! Having a smaller window does have a bigger impact because you're not eating for 20-23 hours so you're controlling your caloric intake as well as depleting glycogen and tapping into your fat stores. So you get into ketosis which is using body fat as fuel. This obviously doesn't happen overnight but when your body runs out of glucose fuel it then turns to reserve fat stores for fuel. Very interesting.
Ya I guess what I'm hearing is that most people just sort of start doing it and go from how they are feeling. I suppose I will just give it a try! I do worry though how I can possible eat over 100 grams of protein in only 4 hours!!! I think I would be stuffed!! Do you ever find it hard to hit your macros when you have a small window?
MFP is not a fasting friendly site. Mostly because there is SUCH backlash and wariness when it comes to fads and quick fix dieting, IF is still viewed as such. Also because the research is a little new in it's stages, with not much wide scale human trials. However, what research that has been done, looks very positive. My interest in IF actually has very little to do with weight loss and almost entirely about the other health benefits, with metabolic flexibility being pretty high on that list. That research is still newish too but very very interesting.0 -
Compliance, sustainability and preference.2
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