Intermittent Fasting

tmaths
tmaths Posts: 58 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all,

So have a question. But I'll give a quick background first.

I've been pretty militant about sticking to my cal intake each day ( There was only one day since Jan that I wasn't and I did that on purpose since it was my birthday )

Quick bg stats

Male - 6'2- Started at 280 in Dec, 253 as of March ( I need to weigh next week or this week to check if it changed)

Want to drop down to 220 before September, to avoid having to get surgery done on ankle (If I can drop down to that, I can just do more physio instead ) This is based on what my Dr. has told me/recommended I do, to alleviate strain on the ankle.

Try to walk at least 2 hours ( over the course of a week ) days like yesterday, I walked over an hour , and today will be more like 2 hours. All Dr/Physio overseen and suggested.

So now that the background is out of the way.

Got 3 quick questions about intermittent fasting.

1- How does it work with "cheat" days? Whenever I visit my parents for a holiday ( with Good Friday being next week ) it's a toss up as to when we eat. To put it another way, there are times we've eaten dinner as early as 7pm and as late as 11pm . My family is Indian, so normal conventional meal times don't apply to us, lol. My parents enjoy when we all sit down and eat together, and since I don't live with them, it's a rare time for all of us when I visit.

2- Is there a huge difference between intermittent fasting and logging your calories? I know the basics of IF are you only eat during a certain time period, and fast the rest. Since I primarily drink a ton of water ( which I know is allowed during the fast ) and I can skip breakfast to eat lunch earlier instead; IF wouldn't be a huge issue for me. But would it do the same thing as just logging calories each day?

Ironically, I don't eat past 7/8 pm anyways.

3- Can they be combined in tandem? ( IF and logging ) for faster results? Faster I can hit 220, faster I can avoid surgery and go into more intense rehab. By my (rough) math, I can safely lose 48 pounds between now and September with what I'm doing, and I only need to lose 30-33.

Thanks for any and all help

Cheers

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Logging your food is how you guarantee you’re in a calorie deficit (provided you’re logging accurately). IF is just a way of controlling when you consume the calories. You can do them together.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited March 2018
    Nothing magical about doing IF, IF can help with adherence. Its an eating schedule, no matter when you consume your calories during the day, what matters is that you are in a calorie deficit.

    eta: Cheat days can be eaten at maintenance if you wish to for go the deficit (which just allows you to lose slower) or you can bank calories during the week and save them for your weekends.
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 654 Member
    IF is not a diet. It is just eating within a certain window of time. You should be logging your calories regardless. So it doesn't matter if your family eats at 7pm or 11pm. It doesn't matter if you have a cheat meal. Log your calories always. IF is not magic. Just because it is a "fasting" protocol, you can still gain weight on it if you don't know how many calories you are consuming.
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited March 2018
    tmaths wrote: »
    Hey all,

    So have a question. But I'll give a quick background first.

    I've been pretty militant about sticking to my cal intake each day ( There was only one day since Jan that I wasn't and I did that on purpose since it was my birthday )

    Quick bg stats

    Male - 6'2- Started at 280 in Dec, 253 as of March ( I need to weigh next week or this week to check if it changed)

    Want to drop down to 220 before September, to avoid having to get surgery done on ankle (If I can drop down to that, I can just do more physio instead ) This is based on what my Dr. has told me/recommended I do, to alleviate strain on the ankle.

    Try to walk at least 2 hours ( over the course of a week ) days like yesterday, I walked over an hour , and today will be more like 2 hours. All Dr/Physio overseen and suggested.

    So now that the background is out of the way.

    Got 3 quick questions about intermittent fasting.

    1- How does it work with "cheat" days? Whenever I visit my parents for a holiday ( with Good Friday being next week ) it's a toss up as to when we eat. To put it another way, there are times we've eaten dinner as early as 7pm and as late as 11pm . My family is Indian, so normal conventional meal times don't apply to us, lol. My parents enjoy when we all sit down and eat together, and since I don't live with them, it's a rare time for all of us when I visit.

    2- Is there a huge difference between intermittent fasting and logging your calories? I know the basics of IF are you only eat during a certain time period, and fast the rest. Since I primarily drink a ton of water ( which I know is allowed during the fast ) and I can skip breakfast to eat lunch earlier instead; IF wouldn't be a huge issue for me. But would it do the same thing as just logging calories each day?

    Ironically, I don't eat past 7/8 pm anyways.

    3- Can they be combined in tandem? ( IF and logging ) for faster results? Faster I can hit 220, faster I can avoid surgery and go into more intense rehab. By my (rough) math, I can safely lose 48 pounds between now and September with what I'm doing, and I only need to lose 30-33.

    Thanks for any and all help

    Cheers

    IF is just a way to Schedule your meals, that's it. In terms of fat loss or body composition, IF won't change anything vs your regular 4-5 small meals calorie for calorie.

    As for cheat days, if it's done on rare occasions, I wouldn't worry about it. One day won't destroy your entire cut. Just enjoy that one day with your family and the next day get back to your regular Schedule. You will likely lose all that water weight in Under 2 days. I binged on xmas and it didn't affect my bulk at all, it was a small blip in the radar.
  • TynaBaby17
    TynaBaby17 Posts: 56 Member
    You definitely want to keep logging calories regardless of doing IF or not. I think there's some research that shows IF increased the metabolism in rats, or can increase longevity but not much has been done studying how it effects humans. But other than that, IF is just another way to help restrict calories.

    The idea is that if you have a smaller window to consume, the AMOUNT you consume will generally also be smaller. I can eat way more in a ten hour period than I can in a six hour one, GENERALLY. I have been using IF for about three months now, and I'd say the hardest thing about it is the self discipline, but you don't want to stop tracking calories just because you try IF.

    On your "cheat" days you can still do IF and then just eat more calorie rich foods during the feeding window, or you could just not do IF on a cheat day. You could even do less IF and go down to 12 hours no food instead of 15 or something! IF is really just another way of helping to restrict calories and help keep you on track so it's very flexible in that sense!

    The other nice thing about IF is it encourages you to get all your nutrition in since you have a smaller amount of time to do so, there isn't much room for junk food or snacks, only the important things to keep your blood sugar up so you don't feel weak or shaky going 12+ hours without food. You also don't have to plan times when you eat, you can eat whenever you want within the window. So for example, it doesn't have to be broken up into a meal every two hours or a snack every hour or something, just eat when you want within your feeding window :smile:

    I'd give it a try! It can't hurt, just start out slow, don't jump straight to 16 hours with no food, try starting with 13 or so and add an hour a week or something :smile: And keep counting calories!
  • tmaths
    tmaths Posts: 58 Member
    edited March 2018
    Thanks all, Sorry I took so long to respond been a busy day.

    So what I've got from all this is, I'm on the right path, and IF is just another way to control what you eat? I may just count calories M-F and do IF on weekends, just to keep body happy.

    And regardless, count calories, as it's very easy to tell your brain " I'm doing IF and it's 3 PM so I can scarf down an XL pizza and not care "

    Thank you again for all the input, much appreciated.

    I'm not very vocal and such, but feel free to add me if you'd like

    Cheers

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