Intermittent Fasting

inezpacheco2
inezpacheco2 Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone done intermittent fasting??? I’ve recently started it and it’s proving to be quite difficult. I think it’s good for cutting bad habits but the time period you give yourself to eat is what I’m finding super difficult. Thoughts???

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Why is it difficult? You pick the eating window you want yourself.
  • andreaen
    andreaen Posts: 365 Member
    I tried it, but breakfast is my favorite meal, and where I live it is not socially acceptable to have dinner before 9, so I dropped it
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    It's nothing more than an eating schedule. If it doesn't fit your lifestyle, why try to put a round peg in a square hole?

    It helps some people to delay their first meal for a few hours after they get up, because some people think eating increases the desire to keep eating. For those people, it's helpful.

    You can use any length eating window. I usually eat between 8AM and 4PM, so I just naturally do IF 16:8. It works for me because I can have two larger meals and feel satisfied. I also don't like to go to bed too soon after eating, so this schedule works for me.
  • SaibRosie
    SaibRosie Posts: 6 Member
    I really like it, I eat from 10am to 6pm, it helps to meet your daily calorie goal.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Many people have tried it here. A search would likely reveal thousands of threads on IF. You will have to be more specific about the issue to get much useful input.
  • inezpacheco2
    inezpacheco2 Posts: 9 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Why is it difficult? You pick the eating window you want yourself.

    I find it difficult because breakfast has always been my main meal. With the window I give myself I can have a lunch no problem but my work schedule just messes with it. I’m still giving it a go and trying to find a better window for myself but in general I’d like to know what time frame people are giving themselves. I’ve read a lot of the same struggle with other people and I wanted to see if anyone had any decent suggestions. I’m not ready to give this method the boot yet. I’m hoping my body will get used to the “skipping out” on breakfast
  • kevinmacpa
    kevinmacpa Posts: 84 Member
    One meal a day for me, dinner with family only.

    If you are just starting, start by having 3 meals a day as usual, but try to have dinner earlier gradually, no later than 8pm, then work towards having dinner by 6pm. Then work on having breakfast later, start at maybe 7am if you are early riser, then push it to 8am, 9am, and 10am (snack on something for breakfast?). Eventually you can maybe replace breakfast with a tea or coffee and just have early lunch at 11am or 12pm.

    By then, you will be doing the popular 16:8 Intermittent Fasting , but you can push it to 1 meal a day if you feel like it, and can even try 24 hour fasting if you don't feel hungry after you do IF for a while.

    In my opinion the hardest thing about any kind of fasting is the type of your diet. If it is high in carb, you will always feel hunger, but if you switch to a low carb, high fat diet, not eating become normal without much hunger or craving.

    With my current 20% bodyfat level (dropped from 30%+ by doing keto and IF), I can eat one big dinner (1k calories 70%+ from healthy fat, 20%+ from protein and rest from veggies) and not feel hungry until about 4pm to 5pm the next day, then it's time for another big dinner.

  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
    I have tried this myself but now that I have gotten used to listening to my body I have realized that no day is the same. Im just hungry in the morning sometimes, and sometimes Im not. Mostly depends on how hard my workout was the day prior! Instead of sticking to a schedule I listen to what my body is asking for and go with that schedule instead. If you are a breakfast eater and find you are hungry in the morning you should listen to your body and go with that. Just exercise more control in the evening to not snack and you will still stay within your calorie goal.
  • inezpacheco2
    inezpacheco2 Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks for all the suggestions! I think they’ll be very helpful for me for reevaluating eating habits
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    inezpacheco2 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Why is it difficult? You pick the eating window you want yourself.

    I find it difficult because breakfast has always been my main meal. With the window I give myself I can have a lunch no problem but my work schedule just messes with it. I’m still giving it a go and trying to find a better window for myself but in general I’d like to know what time frame people are giving themselves. I’ve read a lot of the same struggle with other people and I wanted to see if anyone had any decent suggestions. I’m not ready to give this method the boot yet. I’m hoping my body will get used to the “skipping out” on breakfast
    I think you definitely should work around your work schedule whenever possible. In what way is it messing with your lunch? Is it unpredictable? You can still have your breakfast, at home if you like that. If you don't think about it as your body getting used to changes, but you getting used to changes, maybe it will be easier to handle. You will most likely be able to handle any change in schedule - and even diet, for that matter - if you have to, as long as you get proper nutrition.

    I aim to eat breakfast around 10, lunch around 13, dinner around 17, not as a hard and fast rule, just as something approximate to aim for, in order to space my meals out comfortably, so I can eat regularly. Meal times will be adjusted to accomodate other tasks, as well as appetite; I don't really have a good/reliable sense of hunger, so a dual approach works best for me.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    inezpacheco2 wrote: »
    Has anyone done intermittent fasting??? I’ve recently started it and it’s proving to be quite difficult. I think it’s good for cutting bad habits but the time period you give yourself to eat is what I’m finding super difficult. Thoughts???

    I stick to a lose 16:8 protocol, eating between 12-8pm. I find it much simpler/easier to plan for two main meals instead of three, feel satisfied with what I've eaten, and adhere to my calorie goals. I've always been a night-snacker so getting into the habit of timing dinner to be it for the day has been beneficial. It took a little bit of adjusting to skipping breakfast but I adapted quicker than I expected to.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    I've been going on it for a couple months now, and it's getting much easier. I almost gave it up. I was going to give it another 2 weeks to see if I got used to it, and I have. I transitioned into a 17:7 type schedule slowly. Basically I bumped my first meal of the day up by an hour for a few days at a time until I got to my first meal being at 12pm. So my window is 12-8(ish). But if you eat breakfast and can get away with eating dinner early, You could maybe try a 10-6 or 9-5 window if it makes it easier.
  • inezpacheco2
    inezpacheco2 Posts: 9 Member
    edited March 2018
    steveko89 wrote: »
    inezpacheco2 wrote: »
    Has anyone done intermittent fasting??? I’ve recently started it and it’s proving to be quite difficult. I think it’s good for cutting bad habits but the time period you give yourself to eat is what I’m finding super difficult. Thoughts???

    I stick to a lose 16:8 protocol, eating between 12-8pm. I find it much simpler/easier to plan for two main meals instead of three, feel satisfied with what I've eaten, and adhere to my calorie goals. I've always been a night-snacker so getting into the habit of timing dinner to be it for the day has been beneficial. It took a little bit of adjusting to skipping breakfast but I adapted quicker than I expected to.

    First of all, your “I’d move” comment was hilarious. Secondly yeah a big issue with me is that I’m trying really hard not to be a night snacker anymore. I’ve been trying to readjust the times I do my meals and my workouts so I have a better routine throughout my day
  • inezpacheco2
    inezpacheco2 Posts: 9 Member
    @Crafty_camper123 I think I just need to shift my time frame up. That’s seems like it would be beneficial for me
  • alcomer
    alcomer Posts: 101 Member
    I am currently on my 2nd week of IF, 16/8. It has worked great for me, I am down 5 lbs. Since I only eat within the 8 hours, I feel I make better choices.
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,883 Member
    I love it. I eat from 12pm to 8pm. Its alot easier to stick to
    1400 calories into an 8 hour period than it is to in a 12-16 hour period
  • RedHotMamaGirl
    RedHotMamaGirl Posts: 7 Member
    I've been trying IF and it has helped me to be mentally comfortable with not eating when I'm hungry. Not sure why, but knowing I have a schedule of when to eat has been very helpful. If I'm hungry I don't have a mini-panic like I used to. Maybe I just needed structure.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    I tried it but found it caused me to over eat later in the day. Once I went back to eating breakfast in the morning I found it much easier to manage my nighttime snacking.

    Everyone is different. Do what works for you not what the latest fad tells you to do.

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