Intermittent fasting
breemariee920
Posts: 10 Member
I have been trying intermittent fasting for the past two months and so far I LOVE the results I am getting. Does anyone else do this? Initially I was doing 16:8, but recently I've switched to a 5:2- what do you currently prefer, or do you have a con side to this?
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Replies
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I’ve done 14:10 before based on my work schedule. I couldn’t do 5:2 because 500 calories would leave me hangry.4
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You have had success by creating a calorie deficit. Every eating schedule out there including 3 meals at the normal times is technically intermittent fasting.7
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What does 5:2 mean?0
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I have been doing 16:8 for awhile now and love it. I thought about doing 5:2. My question is, the other 5 days, are you eating 16:8?1
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I couldn't do 5:2, cause I'd pass out working out.
I do 16:8, cause otherwise I'd eat a full day's calories before 11AM. If I wait 'til 11, then I can eat a nice big lunch and dinner with no hunger...4 -
I started with 18:6. as I never really liked eating before 11 am. Currently, I am loving 20:4.5
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I think I’d cave on this real fast or I would love this idea. Out of curiosity what time do you use your 4 on? Even when I’m on a fast day I struggle to not eat by noon because that is when I was previously eating between 12-8.LaurelE2015 wrote: »I started with 18:6. as I never really liked eating before 11 am. Currently, I am loving 20:4.
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rachel_a_sanchez wrote: »I have been doing 16:8 for awhile now and love it. I thought about doing 5:2. My question is, the other 5 days, are you eating 16:8”
I do stick to 16:8 even on the other 5 days... but only because I’m not big on morning eating. My mornings are being cranky and drinking black coffee till noon. Lol breakfast isn’t really a thing for me. And I try my best to stop eating after 8... but sometimes I do eat like something after because I am horrible about night eating.0 -
I don't IF every day because I like to keep my body guessing. It works out that I do 18:6 two days a week, 23:1 one day a week, sometimes two, and the rest I just eat when hungry. I also occasionally added in extended fasts of 2-3 days.14
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when I was loosing weight I was doing a mix of 18:6 and 20:4 to create a deficit .... now I am at maintenance though I have dropped it like a brick .. I found it very very good at keeping me in a deficit, but It did hamper my workouts, Trying to fit in a gym session followed by a cardio session commute to work and a walk at lunch time and another cardio session going home, before eating .. my performance dropped !3
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I have been working out really hard for about 5 months, and I've put on weight steadily over the entire 5 months (some muscle, some fat). Today I began doing between 20:4 and 18:6 to create the deficit, but I will NOT be training during this time. My plan is to get back down to my goal weight and then re-integrate the gym and slightly more calories in a less balls-to-the-wall kinda way.
My plan is to eat all the day's calories between 7 AM and 12 or 1 PM. I'm hungriest in the morning and don't like eating at night.
I would definitely not be able to do this if I were training right now.
The hardest part is probably going to be other people.0 -
I have been doing IF for about 2 months now, a combination of 18/6, 20/4 and 23/1. I only had 11 pounds to lose to hit my goal and I had hit a roadblock, now I have lost 8 of those pounds and hopefully the last 3 will be soon!4
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My husband and I follow 16:8 and it really works for us. The biggest for him is the night time munching. For me, it's the calorie deficit. Our energy levels are way up and we sleep so much better. Our weight loss has been a steady 1 pound per week.5
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BlondeRunner615 wrote: »I have been working out really hard for about 5 months, and I've put on weight steadily over the entire 5 months (some muscle, some fat). Today I began doing between 20:4 and 18:6 to create the deficit, but I will NOT be training during this time. My plan is to get back down to my goal weight and then re-integrate the gym and slightly more calories in a less balls-to-the-wall kinda way.
My plan is to eat all the day's calories between 7 AM and 12 or 1 PM. I'm hungriest in the morning and don't like eating at night.
I would definitely not be able to do this if I were training right now.
The hardest part is probably going to be other people.
Are you going to completely stop working out, or just stop trying to progress? I'd be worried about losing muscle and my hard work of 5 months going to waste if I completely gave it up, but I definitely understand not trying to increase the difficulty of your workouts while in a deficit.0 -
BlondeRunner615 wrote: »I have been working out really hard for about 5 months, and I've put on weight steadily over the entire 5 months (some muscle, some fat). Today I began doing between 20:4 and 18:6 to create the deficit, but I will NOT be training during this time. My plan is to get back down to my goal weight and then re-integrate the gym and slightly more calories in a less balls-to-the-wall kinda way.
This just screams try something else to create a caloric deficit. Why give up 5 months of hard work when you could just cut out a couple hundred calories per day while still hitting it hard in the gym? IF works for some people’s lifestyles—it doesn’t sound like it fits yours if it’s going to take you away from exercise for months.5 -
Just started 16:8 today! hahaha we will see how this goes. Today wasn't so bad
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Hi all, I have a question.so I did my first fast day yesterday. I ate under 500 cal because I was waiting for dinner and then dinner fell after the end of the fast time. So according to my tracking I ate 850 calories yesterday but within the fast time (8pm-8pm) I was under. Is that normal? Am I accidentally cheating?0
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Hi all, I have a question.so I did my first fast day yesterday. I ate under 500 cal because I was waiting for dinner and then dinner fell after the end of the fast time. So according to my tracking I ate 850 calories yesterday but within the fast time (8pm-8pm) I was under. Is that normal? Am I accidentally cheating?
You need to eat to your calorie goal. IF is a tool. Stop looking at it as some hard and fast rule that must be held to.
There's no such thing as 'cheating'.
If this is a tool you want to make use of, then understand that you will have days where 'things fall apart'.
Today is another day. Carry on....
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Hi all, I have a question.so I did my first fast day yesterday. I ate under 500 cal because I was waiting for dinner and then dinner fell after the end of the fast time. So according to my tracking I ate 850 calories yesterday but within the fast time (8pm-8pm) I was under. Is that normal? Am I accidentally cheating?
And I hope you're not saying that you're only eating 850 calories/day every day. You are shooting yourself in the foot. The key to weight loss is increasing your NEAT. Eat to fuel your body...2 -
I do it when I feel like it, don't do it when I don't feel like it.
If I have a larger meal planned for the day or going out, I'll skip breakfast (and sometimes lunch).
If I'm not hungry for breakfast, I skip it or have a tiny one.
If I'm hungry for breakfast, I eat it.
If I'm busy, I skip lunch.
If I don't feel like eating in the evening, I skip dinner or have a snack/ice cream/chocolate...etc.
If I have a day where my appetite is low, I "fast" eating sub-1000 calories and use those calories on other days.
If I have a hungry day, I eat to maintenance or a slight surplus and make up for it (or don't) the next day via a fast day.
So essentially, I don't exactly "do" IF, but I use its principles whenever it makes my diet easier.12 -
I did 16/8 for quite a while, months, until I really got into regular exercise. At that point, I began to feel hungry in the mornings. I decided to listen to my body and eat breakfast again (while IF’ing I would begin eating at noon-1 pm). IF can be a great tool for managing calorie intake if it works into your schedule/life.3
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annaskiski wrote: »
This might be a cultural thing but your post is condescending and not cool. maybe you are just hangry. Who knows. Not helpful. Anyhow.
Maybe I didn't explain my issue well:
If my fasting would be midnight to midnight, MFP would tell me I ate 500 calories that day. But if I do 8-8, I have to check the day before I have dinner to get the 500 calories. I will obviously NOT go out and have another 900 calories for dinner just to get to my daily TDEE, that would defeat the purpose. Essentially: to do I use IF when using MFP or do I need a different tracker?2 -
annaskiski wrote: »
This might be a cultural thing but your post is condescending and not cool. maybe you are just hangry. Who knows. Not helpful. Anyhow.
Maybe I didn't explain my issue well:
If my fasting would be midnight to midnight, MFP would tell me I ate 500 calories that day. But if I do 8-8, I have to check the day before I have dinner to get the 500 calories. I will obviously NOT go out and have another 900 calories for dinner just to get to my daily TDEE, that would defeat the purpose. Essentially: to do I use IF when using MFP or do I need a different tracker?
5:2 is a way of breaking up the week. If you eat after 8 accidentally or intentionally it doesn't matter. What matters is that your total calorie count for the week is your daily goal x 7. If you enjoy eating more on 5 days and paying for it during 2 days this plan is for you. It won't help you lose weight any faster.
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I do 18:6. I eat from 2pm-8pm because supper is usually around 7:30 and I like having dinner with my fiance. Before IF I liked to go to sleep a little hungry because it seemed like I didn't lose or gain weight doing that, so these hours work for me. It really is plenty of time for 2 meals and a snack!
Oh and I'm not a hardcore faster because I allow myself milk in my coffee. Black coffee is one sad cup of coffee, and I love having a satisfying cup of coffee in the morning with the cool morning air and gentle morning light. It just goes together. Lol! When I first tried IF, I drank my coffee black and had proper coffee later on, but it just sucked. So I have around 1.5 cups of milk in the morning with my coffees (I like adding quite a bit of milk)- maybe less.
I'm still getting my daily calories in, but less than before probably! Because I'm still kind of having the biggish meals that I used to--- minus brekkie which would be something like eggs, toast, fruit, and cheese or yogurt/milk with granola and fruit.4 -
I used to religiously follow 5:2. Then I started lifting weights and found I was just too hungry to keep it up. Lately I have discovered that due to my insanely busy work day i think I am inadvertently intermittent fasting. I have a coffee for breakfast at about 6am. I start work at 7. Then the next thing I know it’s about 2pm and I’m having my second coffee for the day while entering my progress notes into the computer (whoops I forgot to eat lunch again)
I finish at approximately 4pm. Have a nice big dinner with the family at about 6 and I’m in bed by 9pm.
Does that fall under IF? Am I setting myself up to burnout?
Edited to add:
I walk the dog most afternoons and I lift weights (StrongLifts 5x5) three days a week0 -
I just started doing 14:10 this week to ease into IF, thinking that I can slowly creep up that fasting time as I adjust. It's definitely helping to kill my nighttime ice-cream which frequently squashes my daily efforts. Also I've stopped eating super early breakfast with my toddler because wether I eat that meal or skip it, I'm wanting a snack at 9-10am. It's easier to meet my goal without the extra 300 calories of non-satiating breakfast. I think IF mainly helps with behavioral issues like wanting large 1000 meals or having trouble with night time munchies.1
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I started my intermittent fasting doing 16:8. I am now down to one meal a day. My appetite has decreased so much that I usually come in under 1200 calories a day. I try to eat a little more but I feel so full for sooo long. I have 50 pounds left to lose. I am now tracking my weight loss for consistently. It could be that I am hampering my efforts by eating fewer calories. That's what they tell me anyway. But I am not starving myself. I have to emphasize that I just don't get that hungry anymore. I eat a good healthy and substantial meal each day and it seems to be enough. My energy is good too. I work, take care of the kids, get my walking in, cook for the family, etc. My body seems to have enough reserves (haha) to keep hunger at bay for now.2
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I really like IF...I do the 16:8....I'm down 10 pounds since mid May....2 1/2 weeks. I would like to be friends with some of you....so we can share ideas daily.5
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breemariee920 wrote: »I have been trying intermittent fasting for the past two months and so far I LOVE the results I am getting. Does anyone else do this? Initially I was doing 16:8, but recently I've switched to a 5:2- what do you currently prefer, or do you have a con side to this?breemariee920 wrote: »I have been trying intermittent fasting for the past two months and so far I LOVE the results I am getting. Does anyone else do this? Initially I was doing 16:8, but recently I've switched to a 5:2- what do you currently prefer, or do you have a con side to this?breemariee920 wrote: »I have been trying intermittent fasting for the past two months and so far I LOVE the results I am getting. Does anyone else do this? Initially I was doing 16:8, but recently I've switched to a 5:2- what do you currently prefer, or do you have a con side to this?
I just learned about IF and have been doing a lot of research. I'm a big snacker, so going to ease in to it with just 3 meals per day (6am/12pm/6pm) with no snacks for a week, then moving to 18:6. I know this isn't really fasting, but just cutting out snacks will be a task for me and I'm told it makes for an easier transition. If I jump in head first I think I'd give up and sabotage it.4
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