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Intermittent Fasting Discussion - Week 2

cxwhit3
cxwhit3 Posts: 293 Member
edited November 2024 in Social Groups
Last session, a few of our members were either interested in trying or were doing some form of intermittent fasting. I must admit that as a frequent “breakfast skipper”, the concept has appeal to me but I have not yet tried it.

If those members who have experience with intermittent fasting would please share what you like or don’t like about it. Thanks!

Replies

  • leonadixon
    leonadixon Posts: 479 Member
    Hi! I started in February. I eat only between noon and 8 pm. I don't really like to eat in the mornings, so it was not a huge adjustment for me. I had adapted to eating something in the mornings because I bought into the idea that you MUST eat in the morning blah blah blah. I would end up super hungry by dinner (my favorite meal for various reasons). This would lead to "binging" for dinner and going way over my allotted calories.

    I don't have any strict rules or anything, I just stick to my allotted calories per MFP. It helps me so much! I get pretty hungry by about 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. I just sip some green tea or black coffee or water until it's lunchtime. I have learned that I like to eat about 400-500 calories for lunch, and that leaves me about 1000-1100 for dinner. I also try to work with MFP and look at my weekly calories rather than stress over the daily. As long as I net each week with my goals, I am happy. I have consistently lost 1-1.5 pounds per week since I started (with the exception of the week of my surgery and the week after, I think I was retaining a lot of water).

    Sorry for the long post, but I am so happy with this lifestyle change! It is completely sustainable for me!
  • Niki_Fitz
    Niki_Fitz Posts: 951 Member
    I’m a former IF-fer. I loved it. I lost and kept off 20 lbs with it in my late 20s. It taught me to be comfortable with hunger; that food tastes better on an empty stomach; that there is a time to stop eating.

    Fast forward to post-baby and joining MFP last spring. I found an IF group. I learned IF isn’t magical, success still depends on calories in vs. calories out. I did IF 16:8 and loved it, same as I used to, and lost 10lbs last spring and summer.

    Then winter came. I went over my calories here and there even with the eating window. My weight maintains. Then I’m late-night snacking, so I push my first meal the next day to a later time, sometimes 3 or 4 pm. So I work out in the morning and basically starve myself all day, because I’m hooked on the IF schedule. It started feeling eating-disorder-ish and I got nervous.

    These days I eat breakfast late because that’s what I like to do. But I stopped using the eating window rules and I’d like to learn to eat a tiny breakfast again someday, for athletic gains. The most I can manage is bulletproof coffee. IF led me into binge/purge behaviors. This is just me, I have struggled with under/over eating since forever! And again, it helped me at first. Just my story. I think it’s worth a try, it can really help change eating patterns. I had to stop though.
  • cxwhit3
    cxwhit3 Posts: 293 Member
    wellnesschaser wrote: »
    I’m a former IF-fer. I loved it. I lost and kept off 20 lbs with it in my late 20s. It taught me to be comfortable with hunger; that food tastes better on an empty stomach; that there is a time to stop eating.

    Fast forward to post-baby and joining MFP last spring. I found an IF group. I learned IF isn’t magical, success still depends on calories in vs. calories out. I did IF 16:8 and loved it, same as I used to, and lost 10lbs last spring and summer.

    Then winter came. I went over my calories here and there even with the eating window. My weight maintains. Then I’m late-night snacking, so I push my first meal the next day to a later time, sometimes 3 or 4 pm. So I work out in the morning and basically starve myself all day, because I’m hooked on the IF schedule. It started feeling eating-disorder-ish and I got nervous.

    These days I eat breakfast late because that’s what I like to do. But I stopped using the eating window rules and I’d like to learn to eat a tiny breakfast again someday, for athletic gains. The most I can manage is bulletproof coffee. IF led me into binge/purge behaviors. This is just me, I have struggled with under/over eating since forever! And again, it helped me at first. Just my story. I think it’s worth a try, it can really help change eating patterns. I had to stop though.

    I’m glad you were able to recognize that you were headed down an unhealthy path and change to something more healthy before it was too late. Thanks so much for sharing.
  • cxwhit3
    cxwhit3 Posts: 293 Member
    edited April 2018
    Does IF include beverages? Can I still have my morning coffee with creamer?

    I think I’m going to give this a try. I’ll just switch to tea for a couple of weeks.
  • mebelfanti
    mebelfanti Posts: 326 Member
    I unofficially and accidentally do IF most days. I'm not a big breakfast person during the week and usually a cup or two of coffee holds me over until lunch. I think hard core IF-ers say you can only drink water during the fasting periods but others say coffee is fine! I eat my lunch throughout the afternoon at work and usually we have dinner by 7. So I guess I do 16:8 with my eating window from 12-8pm-ish.
    wellnesschaser wrote: »
    I’m a former IF-fer. I loved it. I lost and kept off 20 lbs with it in my late 20s. It taught me to be comfortable with hunger; that food tastes better on an empty stomach; that there is a time to stop eating.
    Fast forward to post-baby and joining MFP last spring. I found an IF group. I learned IF isn’t magical, success still depends on calories in vs. calories out.
    -I definitely agree with this! I don't really do it to manage my insulin or whatever the biological reasons are, it just helps me make better choices and eat a little less. If I eat breakfast I find that it gets my metabolism going, I'm hungry for most of the day, and I have a hard time staying under my calories. My brother in law has been doing IF forever and he swears by it, says that it's changed his body chemistry and what not. He's in great shape so there might be something to that, but I just think it's a way to help manage your eating.

  • leonadixon
    leonadixon Posts: 479 Member
    There are "rules" with beverages that I cannot speak to. I am not doing this. My only goal is to stay in my calorie goal and I track everything. Most days I do only drink black coffee, tea, or water during that "fasting" time, but not because of some rule, it is just what works for me. If I feel like having milk in my coffee some days, I do. If I get a latte, I don't sweat it, I just log it. I can place the link for the "IF" group here in MFP if you would like to find out more information from there, I am not doing anything super strict though. If you want that group, let me know!
  • amberellen12
    amberellen12 Posts: 248 Member
    I’ve been eating two meals a day for years. I like that my body goes into the catabolic stage for a longer period when I have the large break between meals.
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