A question for the IF community !
elizabethbettycooper
Posts: 38 Member
I've recently incorporated intermittent fasting into my lifestyle but find it hard to maintain on the weekends as I eat out w family. Is it okay if my eating window on the weekdays is from 11am to 7 pm and on the weekend from 2pm to 10 pm? I'm using the 16:8 ratio
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Replies
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Hi Elizabeth. Yes, it’s totally ok to change your window for IF. The most important thing when you are following any dietary protocol is that it fits in with your lifestyle so that you can consistently adhere to it.1
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@bethy7738 Thank you!
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Just watch how much you eat and you should be fine. I find that I have the most success when I eat a low cal/carb lunch like a big salad, otherwise I will overeat doing the 16:8 and will gain. I do a 20:4 to lose and the 16:8 schedule to maintain.1
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Just use IF when it's possible, no need to stress about not doing it for a day or two.3
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There are no rules to IF.2
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Yes there are, but you don't have to follow them to lose weight. There is one rule to weightloss, and you have to follow that, but it's simple: Calories in has to be fewer than calories out, consistently, for real, and for a long time.There are no rules to IF.
(You know this; I just wanted to make a clarification for the new kids.)2 -
You can be more flexible with IF and just make sure you don't eat until 16 hours have passed since the previous day's last feeding. Depending on your body's rhythms or your personality this can make adherence more difficult, but it's an option.0
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What, specifically, are you trying to do/accomplish with IF? Assuming it's bigger picture stuff like manage overall intake and/or weight, then you can use whatever windows you want on which ever days you want.1
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I normally do 16:8 on week days, but back off a little on weekends as well. Do what is easy for you. I add in a 24 to 36 hour fast once or twice a month.1
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It's not when you eat, it's how many calories you consume during that time. The time of day/night is entirely your choice.2
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Yes, do what works for you. I tend to to do IF on weekdays and not so much on weekends. As long as you are still in a calorie deficit, you will still lose weight.0
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So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?0
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a calorie deficit is all that is needed in order to lose weight. IF is simply a way of eating that helps some people stay at their calorie deficit a little bit easier.
For example, I start to feel hungry and want to keep eating as soon as I start eating. Also, I work out In the mornings and if I eat before working out I tend to feel sick during my workouts. But, if I don't start eating until lunch time, then I am able to eat larger meals for lunch and dinner which helps me feel more satisfied.
I still make sure that I don't go over my allotted calories for the day. If I were to do IF but still eat in a surplus, then I would still gain weight.1 -
Ive been doing IF my whole life unknowingly and have been overweight. I’ve never liked to eat breakfast so my first meal has always been 12 to 2ish then I would eat as normal for the rest of the day/evening. I can see where IF helps to shortn the amount of hours to consume food it might help people stay under calories and not feel too hungry.0
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myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
I read to learn, not to win arguments online, so I don't bookmark many links, and unfortunately I don't have anything saved on IF. But the bulk of my reading on the subject has brought me to this conclusion: for the overwhelming majority of people, calorie intake is all that matters. Under very very specific circumstances, a small segment of people can see some benefit from some of the hormone manipulation (for lack of a better phrase) that can come from some forms of IF.0 -
myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It's the calorie deficit. But for certain people, they use IF to achieve that calorie deficit. I cannot eat in the morning. Once I eat, my hunger is out of control. My calories would be gone through by 3 pm. Instead, the longer I wait to eat( for me) the less hungry I feel. So I don't start eating until 2pm. I make my window 2-9pm, and I'm able to stay in my calorie deficit very easily. So that's just one way some people make IF work for them. But not everyone uses it to control hunger.0 -
myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It would be a simple enough experiment to do. For 8 weeks, eat 5,000 calories per day, all confined to an 8-hour eating window. Weigh at the beginning and end.
Then, for 8 weeks, eat at a reasonable, properly measured/accounted caloric deficit at whatever times you feel like eating (including right up to when you fall asleep at night). Weigh at the beginning and end.
Or we could save you the 16 weeks and tell you the outcome now - you'll gain weight in the former, lose weight in the latter.
Meal/nutrient timing is irrelevant to weight loss.2 -
myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It would be a simple enough experiment to do. For 8 weeks, eat 5,000 calories per day, all confined to an 8-hour eating window. Weigh at the beginning and end.
Then, for 8 weeks, eat at a reasonable, properly measured/accounted caloric deficit at whatever times you feel like eating (including right up to when you fall asleep at night). Weigh at the beginning and end.
Or we could save you the 16 weeks and tell you the outcome now - you'll gain weight in the former, lose weight in the latter.
I understand the point you're making, but is that really what this argument is about? The last thing I want to do is minimize the impact of calorie intake as part of the IF conversation, but I also don't want to gloss over some of the finer details that so often get glossed over.
What if someone were to eat slightly below maintenance for 16 weeks, with all of those calories spread fairly evenly throughout the day. Then what if they eat the same amount, but all of those calories were consumed in a smaller IF window. let's assume everything else remain the same: training, macros, foods choices, Etc
Would there be any difference? Would it matter if that person were fairly well trained and reasonably lean, versus someone untrained and overweight?
Maybe I just need to accept it and change my mind/beliefs, but I feel like this is the nutrient timing conversation all over again (pre workouts, post workout shakes, that sort of thing) where everybody oversimplifies the conversation by saying nutrient timing doesn't matter, when in reality it does, just not to the same extent is other more important factors.0 -
myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It would be a simple enough experiment to do. For 8 weeks, eat 5,000 calories per day, all confined to an 8-hour eating window. Weigh at the beginning and end.
Then, for 8 weeks, eat at a reasonable, properly measured/accounted caloric deficit at whatever times you feel like eating (including right up to when you fall asleep at night). Weigh at the beginning and end.
Or we could save you the 16 weeks and tell you the outcome now - you'll gain weight in the former, lose weight in the latter.
I understand the point you're making, but is that really what this argument is about? The last thing I want to do is minimize the impact of calorie intake as part of the IF conversation, but I also don't want to gloss over some of the finer details that so often get glossed over.
What if someone were to eat slightly below maintenance for 16 weeks, with all of those calories spread fairly evenly throughout the day. Then what if they eat the same amount, but all of those calories were consumed in a smaller IF window. let's assume training remained the same - a decent strength/lifting program done with good intensity.
Would there be any difference? Would it matter if that person were fairly well trained and reasonably lean, versus someone untrained and overweight?
Maybe I just need to accept it and change my mind/beliefs, but I feel like this is the nutrient timing conversation all over again (pre workouts, post workout shakes, that sort of thing) where everybody oversimplifies the conversation by saying nutrient timing doesn't matter, when in reality it does, just not to the same extent is other more important factors.
The point I was making directly addressed the question posed, which I quoted.
I'll defer to Alan Aragon regarding meal/nutrient timing:
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Ryansworld84 wrote: »Ive been doing IF my whole life unknowingly and have been overweight. I’ve never liked to eat breakfast so my first meal has always been 12 to 2ish then I would eat as normal for the rest of the day/evening. I can see where IF helps to shortn the amount of hours to consume food it might help people stay under calories and not feel too hungry.
Do a shorter eating window tell you are at a calorie deficit and you will lose weight, and you will probably get to eat tell full.0 -
myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It would be a simple enough experiment to do. For 8 weeks, eat 5,000 calories per day, all confined to an 8-hour eating window. Weigh at the beginning and end.
Then, for 8 weeks, eat at a reasonable, properly measured/accounted caloric deficit at whatever times you feel like eating (including right up to when you fall asleep at night). Weigh at the beginning and end.
Or we could save you the 16 weeks and tell you the outcome now - you'll gain weight in the former, lose weight in the latter.
Meal/nutrient timing is irrelevant to weight loss.
They asked if there would be a difference consuming the SAME amount of calories in a shorter eating window or spread out. Not if they ate a lot more in a shorter eating window.0 -
myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It would be a simple enough experiment to do. For 8 weeks, eat 5,000 calories per day, all confined to an 8-hour eating window. Weigh at the beginning and end.
Then, for 8 weeks, eat at a reasonable, properly measured/accounted caloric deficit at whatever times you feel like eating (including right up to when you fall asleep at night). Weigh at the beginning and end.
Or we could save you the 16 weeks and tell you the outcome now - you'll gain weight in the former, lose weight in the latter.
I understand the point you're making, but is that really what this argument is about? The last thing I want to do is minimize the impact of calorie intake as part of the IF conversation, but I also don't want to gloss over some of the finer details that so often get glossed over.
What if someone were to eat slightly below maintenance for 16 weeks, with all of those calories spread fairly evenly throughout the day. Then what if they eat the same amount, but all of those calories were consumed in a smaller IF window. let's assume training remained the same - a decent strength/lifting program done with good intensity.
Would there be any difference? Would it matter if that person were fairly well trained and reasonably lean, versus someone untrained and overweight?
Maybe I just need to accept it and change my mind/beliefs, but I feel like this is the nutrient timing conversation all over again (pre workouts, post workout shakes, that sort of thing) where everybody oversimplifies the conversation by saying nutrient timing doesn't matter, when in reality it does, just not to the same extent is other more important factors.
The point I was making directly addressed the question posed, which I quoted.
I'll defer to Alan Aragon regarding meal/nutrient timing:
so does a fairly General infographic about nutrient timing in general necessarily apply to a very specific scenario involving a very specific type of nutrient timing? Legitimate question, no snark. I'm really trying to learn here.0 -
Anyone interested IF may be interested in the Horizon documentary Eat, Fast, Live Longer that was shown a couple of years ago by the BBC. Dr Michael Mosley looked into the science behind IF and the potential health benefits/risks. He also tried it himself and had bloodwork and health marker tests done before and after. If I remember rightly he was very impressed with the results and ended up saying that he would continue to incorporate IF into his lifestyle.
I keep trying but find I just end up bingeing really badly and going over my calories but that is just me.
You can find the video on iplayer or youtube .
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myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It would be a simple enough experiment to do. For 8 weeks, eat 5,000 calories per day, all confined to an 8-hour eating window. Weigh at the beginning and end.
Then, for 8 weeks, eat at a reasonable, properly measured/accounted caloric deficit at whatever times you feel like eating (including right up to when you fall asleep at night). Weigh at the beginning and end.
Or we could save you the 16 weeks and tell you the outcome now - you'll gain weight in the former, lose weight in the latter.
I understand the point you're making, but is that really what this argument is about? The last thing I want to do is minimize the impact of calorie intake as part of the IF conversation, but I also don't want to gloss over some of the finer details that so often get glossed over.
What if someone were to eat slightly below maintenance for 16 weeks, with all of those calories spread fairly evenly throughout the day. Then what if they eat the same amount, but all of those calories were consumed in a smaller IF window. let's assume training remained the same - a decent strength/lifting program done with good intensity.
Would there be any difference? Would it matter if that person were fairly well trained and reasonably lean, versus someone untrained and overweight?
Maybe I just need to accept it and change my mind/beliefs, but I feel like this is the nutrient timing conversation all over again (pre workouts, post workout shakes, that sort of thing) where everybody oversimplifies the conversation by saying nutrient timing doesn't matter, when in reality it does, just not to the same extent is other more important factors.
The point I was making directly addressed the question posed, which I quoted.
I'll defer to Alan Aragon regarding meal/nutrient timing:
so does a fairly General infographic about nutrient timing in general necessarily apply to a very specific scenario involving a very specific type of nutrient timing? Legitimate question, no snark. I'm really trying to learn here.
Here's one meta-analysis I've seen about it: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00873.x/full0 -
myfavoritealpha wrote: »So is it really the intermittent fasting or is it the calorie deficit? In other words, does it matter if I consume 2000 calories throughout the day or whether I only consume it from noon to 8pm? I haven't found anything that proves the window adds anything more than the caloric deficit. Could anyone point me to some white papers on the subject?
It would be a simple enough experiment to do. For 8 weeks, eat 5,000 calories per day, all confined to an 8-hour eating window. Weigh at the beginning and end.
Then, for 8 weeks, eat at a reasonable, properly measured/accounted caloric deficit at whatever times you feel like eating (including right up to when you fall asleep at night). Weigh at the beginning and end.
Or we could save you the 16 weeks and tell you the outcome now - you'll gain weight in the former, lose weight in the latter.
I understand the point you're making, but is that really what this argument is about? The last thing I want to do is minimize the impact of calorie intake as part of the IF conversation, but I also don't want to gloss over some of the finer details that so often get glossed over.
What if someone were to eat slightly below maintenance for 16 weeks, with all of those calories spread fairly evenly throughout the day. Then what if they eat the same amount, but all of those calories were consumed in a smaller IF window. let's assume training remained the same - a decent strength/lifting program done with good intensity.
Would there be any difference? Would it matter if that person were fairly well trained and reasonably lean, versus someone untrained and overweight?
Maybe I just need to accept it and change my mind/beliefs, but I feel like this is the nutrient timing conversation all over again (pre workouts, post workout shakes, that sort of thing) where everybody oversimplifies the conversation by saying nutrient timing doesn't matter, when in reality it does, just not to the same extent is other more important factors.
The point I was making directly addressed the question posed, which I quoted.
I'll defer to Alan Aragon regarding meal/nutrient timing:
so does a fairly General infographic about nutrient timing in general necessarily apply to a very specific scenario involving a very specific type of nutrient timing? Legitimate question, no snark. I'm really trying to learn here.
Here's one meta-analysis I've seen about it: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00873.x/full
Thanks... that's helpful.0
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