Intermittent fasting

There's nothing lucky about it... still gotta manage intake, still gotta keep cals in check.

IF doesn't mean weight loss... it's as safe and effective as any other method of eating. It's also as unsafe and as ineffective. IF is a schedule of WHEN to eat... it says nothing about WHAT to eat, never mind HOW MUCH to eat.

It's still up to you to manage your caloric intake. Calorie deficit = weight loss.

But weight loss isn't about when you eat it's about what you eat and how much

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

If I only eat the amount of calories I'm supposed to, I lose the weight I expect, regardless of the time I eat. IF is great if it is how you like to eat - there's no point forcing yourself to do something just because it's popular

Agreed.

@Tblackdogs , did you notice any effect from IF in regards to your general well-being? I've read about a study that indeed shows IF is very beneficial for anti-aging and life span, but I haven't found any testimonials other that weight-loss related.

I haven't been doing it long enough and I'm not sure if I'd ever know about the cell repair etc. but I do feel good. I've been reading some interesting articles about it so i decided to give it a try!

dcdoty957 wrote: »

Anyone have any luck with intermittent fasting? 16:8 .....would love anyone’s thoughts

I'm just starting week 3. I'm eating near my TDEE so not a whole lot of weight loss. My goal is to redistribute fat and work on trouble areas. I'm only at a 250-500 calorie deficit a day so it's going to take some time. As others said, it's all in the calories you intake. As far as eating all my calories in an 8 hour window I'm not sure I'm a fan. I miss breakfast to be honest. But eating all my calories from noon until 8pm seems to be easily do-able for me.

The biggest drawback is that I work out early mornings, and being in a fasted state for hours afterward the hunger can sometimes get to be overpowering. To alleviate it I'll drink black coffee (or add a little 0 calorie sweetener), lots of water, or chew a few pieces of sugar free gum. I also drink some BCAA's before my workout to help out, because the first week I didn't do that and DOMS hit me pretty hard just doing the same things I normally do. Probably because I was used to downing a protein shake and some carbs after my workout in the past. If I'm busy in the mornings after my workout then hunger until noon is not really an issue, but I have a desk job and it's sometimes annoying to not be able to eat during that window until noon.

16:8 (I eat all my calories from noon - 8pm) also means that I generally need to get in more calories at lunch than I'm used to. Because after work I only have a 3 hour window to finish up my calories for the day. Subtract an hour or so of that time because I need to fix dinner for the wife and myself, and it's not a whole lot of time. For me, I have to eat now until I'm full and sometimes a bit beyond that to get them all in. I can fix that a little bit by eating an afternoon snack if there's time. Also, I can eat higher calorie (denser in calories) items than I'm used to but I have a macro goal so I don't want to tip the scales on fat too much (personal preference, I don't do keto on top of IF like some).

My goals with IF as I said are simply to work on some trouble areas where fat has refused to leave my body. I feel like it's starting to work and I have dropped a couple of pounds but gained some strength (I've been able to up my weight during my workouts) so I'm hoping that couple of pounds is actually some fat instead of just water weight. Time will tell, I intend to do this until sometime in July and if it works I may keep it up. If it doesn't work (and again, I'm not at a huge deficit) to help me redistribute muscle/fat, then I'll probably go back to eating 5 meals a day spread out throughout the day. As soon as the weather in my neck of the woods gets warmer, I'll start up running outside again and possibly increase my deficit to a solid 500/day and see how that works for a couple of months.

Hope some of that info is helpful to the OP, as the other's have warned, IF does nothing to burn fat/lose weight unless you're eating less calories than you burn. It's not a magical alternative to calorie restriction. It's simply a way to trigger a bit more fat burn (as I understand it anyway) while being in a deficit and possibly trigger a bit more muscle development (unless of course you're in a huge deficit then that isn't likely to occur). From what I've read it may be a way to trigger more fat burn and better muscle toning during recomp stages, or a way to simply burn more fat during a heavier calorie restriction.

I'm also no expert so those who know more about IF feel free to correct me.

No luck involved my friend! I'm using this way of eating now and it's working a charm! I do 16/8 but sometimes do longer 18-21 hours fasting if im busy or not hungry. If you like big meals and are/or busy throughout the day, IF is a great tool...also pretty healthy if you do it right.

Just remember to still stick to your calorie budget though, it doesn't give u a free pass to binge in your eating window. I've lost 18 pounds so far from eating this way, controlling my portions and calories and drinking water.

Spliner1969 wrote: »

Shugahhfatt wrote: »

I highly recommend against it...did it for almost 6 years and it can be very painful socialy mentaly and practicaly!
When I really started listening to my body eating whenever I want I lost over 40 pounds I wake up and eat a little something immediately. You see IF is just food management....but once you start guzzling tons of coffee to "suppress" your appetite just to see that scale go down you are really messing with hormones here in a very artificial way. Remember if you sleep 7 to 8 hours and dont eat a couple of hours before bed and wait an hour to eat breakfast ...well thats like 11 hours IF..lolll its built in naturally...any questions about specifics ..feel free to ask me...Again I did almost every IF protocol for at least 6 years!!
Chris rocco

Interesting. I figured 16:8 wouldn't really do well for me long term. I kind of have my suspicions that when I hit my 'trial period' I set out to try IF (by doing this until July), that I won't see a ton of difference. My comparison at that time will be to stay at the same calories then go back to splitting them up to 5 meals a day (3 main meals and 2 snack meals). So I have a preconceived outcome in mind (that IF won't really work for me), but just decided to give it six months to be sure.

The guy you're quoting tends to fly in the face of orthodoxy in terms of what most people are using the app here for. Caveat emptor in terms of accepting advice.

brendanwhite84 wrote: »

The guy you're quoting tends to fly in the face of orthodoxy in terms of what most people are using the app here for. Caveat emptor in terms of accepting advice.

No biggie. I decided before i started to give it 6 months before I decided if it was working or not. Been here long enough to know that the one thing that does work above all else is calorie restriction for weight loss, so not worried about that. I just want to know if IF can help me reach my goals. Only time will tell, and possibly some calorie tweaking along with IF.