Intermitent Fasting and eating your daily calories
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IF can make it hard for me to get in all my calories but it works out nicely because on the weekends I want the freedom to eat more. So I don't force it. Then on the weekends when I want that extra snack or a date night meal I don't have to worry about it. If you are way under every day all week it will start having an effect on your energy levels.3
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IF works just like anything else, really. It's all about the calorie deficit. It's just that I find I naturally am not hungry in the morning and IF happens to be the way I tend to eat naturally. The eating window helps me keep my snacking in check.
Whenever I don't see the success I think I should have, I always go back to my logging. Did I stop using my scale? Have I been eyeballing portions or having an extra glass of wine and not counting? It all adds up. As for eating all of my calories in my window, I do what I suggested up thread an eat a good balance of foods and some calorie dense things (including treats) that help me reach my calorie goal.
I'm pretty strict on weighing my food. thanks for the suggestion.
Okay, then to what do you attribute your lack of success if not to an excess of calories?5 -
@TavistockToad absolutely on board with what you're saying. That period of time where I was full on about 1000 (meticulously weighed & tracked) cals was pretty short-lived, bc I started working out again and was therefore pretty darn hungry. If I had been experiencing that for longer I would have definitely made adjustments. I am not delusional enough to believe I got to my heaviest or healthiest weights while also getting full on 1000 cals.1
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Hey guys and gals,
I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 4 months now along with tracking my calories. I've had mild success, but not as much as other people(I lose about half a pound a week) one of things I've been doing that I'm not sure about is hitting my daily calorie goal. I try to do it, but I find myself eating a bunch of food at the end of my feeding window trying to hit my calories, even if I'm not hungry. Those of you that have had success, do your hit your calorie goal or just eat till your full?
Thanks,
-Greg
I'm assuming success to you, is losing faster than 1/2 lbs a week.
Because you are eating all your food in a shorter time period and filling up, you have a few options. Reduce your daily goal so that you don't have to cram food in. Eat less satiating foods so that you don't feel full as quickly, or eat a little more calorie dense foods.
a pound a week would be preferable . I guess my point to all of this is there are a couple schools of thought here. some people think that if you don't eat enough calories a day you will go into starvation mode and stop losing weight. others don't think that's true. All I want to know from people that have done IF successfully is if they had success without eating all of there allotted calories.2 -
Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.10 -
Hey guys and gals,
I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 4 months now along with tracking my calories. I've had mild success, but not as much as other people(I lose about half a pound a week) one of things I've been doing that I'm not sure about is hitting my daily calorie goal. I try to do it, but I find myself eating a bunch of food at the end of my feeding window trying to hit my calories, even if I'm not hungry. Those of you that have had success, do your hit your calorie goal or just eat till your full?
Thanks,
-Greg
I'm assuming success to you, is losing faster than 1/2 lbs a week.
Because you are eating all your food in a shorter time period and filling up, you have a few options. Reduce your daily goal so that you don't have to cram food in. Eat less satiating foods so that you don't feel full as quickly, or eat a little more calorie dense foods.
a pound a week would be preferable . I guess my point to all of this is there are a couple schools of thought here. some people think that if you don't eat enough calories a day you will go into starvation mode and stop losing weight. others don't think that's true. All I want to know from people that have done IF successfully is if they had success without eating all of there allotted calories.
Starvation mode as you describe it doesn't exist. Any other school of thought is incorrect.
ETA: A larger deficit = a larger loss, but too large a deficit runs the risk of numerous, bad side effects.8 -
DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?1 -
Hey guys and gals,
I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 4 months now along with tracking my calories. I've had mild success, but not as much as other people(I lose about half a pound a week) one of things I've been doing that I'm not sure about is hitting my daily calorie goal. I try to do it, but I find myself eating a bunch of food at the end of my feeding window trying to hit my calories, even if I'm not hungry. Those of you that have had success, do your hit your calorie goal or just eat till your full?
Thanks,
-Greg
I'm assuming success to you, is losing faster than 1/2 lbs a week.
Because you are eating all your food in a shorter time period and filling up, you have a few options. Reduce your daily goal so that you don't have to cram food in. Eat less satiating foods so that you don't feel full as quickly, or eat a little more calorie dense foods.
a pound a week would be preferable . I guess my point to all of this is there are a couple schools of thought here. some people think that if you don't eat enough calories a day you will go into starvation mode and stop losing weight. others don't think that's true. All I want to know from people that have done IF successfully is if they had success without eating all of there allotted calories.
Starvation mode as you describe it doesn't exist. Any other school of thought is incorrect.
ETA: A larger deficit = a larger loss, but too large a deficit runs the risk of numerous, bad side effects.
that's kinda where I was going. if I feel good and don't want to eat anymore why should I. like I said a lot of people on these boards think otherwise.3 -
Hey guys and gals,
I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 4 months now along with tracking my calories. I've had mild success, but not as much as other people(I lose about half a pound a week) one of things I've been doing that I'm not sure about is hitting my daily calorie goal. I try to do it, but I find myself eating a bunch of food at the end of my feeding window trying to hit my calories, even if I'm not hungry. Those of you that have had success, do your hit your calorie goal or just eat till your full?
Thanks,
-Greg
I'm assuming success to you, is losing faster than 1/2 lbs a week.
Because you are eating all your food in a shorter time period and filling up, you have a few options. Reduce your daily goal so that you don't have to cram food in. Eat less satiating foods so that you don't feel full as quickly, or eat a little more calorie dense foods.
a pound a week would be preferable . I guess my point to all of this is there are a couple schools of thought here. some people think that if you don't eat enough calories a day you will go into starvation mode and stop losing weight. others don't think that's true. All I want to know from people that have done IF successfully is if they had success without eating all of there allotted calories.
Starvation mode as you describe it doesn't exist. Any other school of thought is incorrect.
ETA: A larger deficit = a larger loss, but too large a deficit runs the risk of numerous, bad side effects.
that's kinda where I was going. if I feel good and don't want to eat anymore why should I. like I said a lot of people on these boards think otherwise.
I do not support or condone chronically not meeting your calorie goal. Many people with weight issues have messed up hunger and satiety signals and find that 'listening to their body' doesn't work. Which is why calorie goals are helpful.4 -
I think I would have gotten to goal a long, long time ago if I hadn't believed in the starvation mode myth. Now I just hate it oh so much. It really messed me up and made me think I was dooming myself to fail when I was really making excellent, healthy progress.5
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I make sure I eat to my calorie goal (+/- 200) every day...if I miss one day I won't fret, but thyroid issues run in my family so I will not allow more than one day below goal...I don't want to have too steep of a deficit because that increases the risk of setting off thyroid issues in people who have that particular genetic risk. It's not the kind of thing most people have to worry about. Men particularly have a low incidence of thyroid problems.
I don't weigh my food either, I just use cup/tablespoon type estimates so if I'm under or over 200 calories I figure I can chalk that up to less than 100% accurate measurements.
Thus far I have been quite happy with my progress, and I've been IF for I guess about a year at this point.3 -
I do 14:10 most days and have no problem hitting my goals. If you aren’t, I would suggest either extending your window or foregoing IF altogether. It’s not for everyone.
I actually really like IF. I don't feel as hungry and have more energy. However I'm guessing my Calorie goal of 2500(based on TDEE) is a lot higher than yours. I really just want to know if its nesscary that I eat all those calories if I really don't feel like it.
From what I've read, no. Reaching the calorie goal is not a goal especially when you're not hungry. I'm doing a few days a week of IF with the keto diet. I just try to hit my fat goal, not worrying about calories.5 -
DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-5 -
heatherdykes wrote: »I do 14:10 most days and have no problem hitting my goals. If you aren’t, I would suggest either extending your window or foregoing IF altogether. It’s not for everyone.
I actually really like IF. I don't feel as hungry and have more energy. However I'm guessing my Calorie goal of 2500(based on TDEE) is a lot higher than yours. I really just want to know if its nesscary that I eat all those calories if I really don't feel like it.
From what I've read, no. Reaching the calorie goal is not a goal especially when you're not hungry. I'm doing a few days a week of IF with the keto diet. I just try to hit my fat goal, not worrying about calories.
Reaching the calorie goal IS the goal, hence the name 'goal'.
Again, chronic under-eating can have severe consequences.7 -
DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?0 -
Hey guys and gals,
I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 4 months now along with tracking my calories. I've had mild success, but not as much as other people(I lose about half a pound a week) one of things I've been doing that I'm not sure about is hitting my daily calorie goal. I try to do it, but I find myself eating a bunch of food at the end of my feeding window trying to hit my calories, even if I'm not hungry. Those of you that have had success, do your hit your calorie goal or just eat till your full?
Thanks,
-Greg
I'm assuming success to you, is losing faster than 1/2 lbs a week.
Because you are eating all your food in a shorter time period and filling up, you have a few options. Reduce your daily goal so that you don't have to cram food in. Eat less satiating foods so that you don't feel full as quickly, or eat a little more calorie dense foods.
a pound a week would be preferable . I guess my point to all of this is there are a couple schools of thought here. some people think that if you don't eat enough calories a day you will go into starvation mode and stop losing weight. others don't think that's true. All I want to know from people that have done IF successfully is if they had success without eating all of there allotted calories.
Starvation mode is not this.^ You don't stop losing because of low calories.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810/the-starvation-mode-myth-again/p1
You can skip eating all your calories if you want to, IF has nothing to do with it. IF is just meal timing and doesn't prevent potential damages from consistent low calories. You will still be at risk for lean muscle loss, hair loss, fatigue, etc.
If you are losing 1/2 pound a week, no worries. That's only a 250 calorie deficit.4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Over the summer when I wasn't teaching I was able to go to the gym and then I would eat more like 1,350-1,500 and still lose weight.3 -
Just a couple of things...for one, even if one is being as accurate as possible, there are inherent inaccuracies in keeping a food diary...even dietitians have issues...so even if you feel that you're being as accurate as possible, it's quite possible that you're eating more than you're logging and thus eating more than you think you are.
Another possible issue is that these calculators simply provide an estimate for a reasonably good starting point...it is usually necessary to make adjustments as per your real world results.
Bottom line is that if you're averaging 1/2 Lb per week loss and you're wanting to average a 1 Lb per week loss, you're eating too much to accomplish that...likely as a result of one of the possibilities noted above.6 -
DananaNanas wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Gaining weight requires a calorie surplus. That's eating more than your maintenance.....not eating more than 1,100 calories.
Seriously if you are gaining at 1300 calories you are eating more than you think. Either that or you are something like 4'8" tall.2
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