Intermittent fasting
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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 -
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.
Good thinking. Just the fact that you’ve thought about it and have a plan is incredible. You’ve got this!!0 -
I had heard Joe Rogan mention (just in passing during conversations) Intermittent Fasting and finally decided to look it up. When I understood more about what it was, I started looking for podcasts about it and found The Intermittent Fasting podcast with Melanie Avalon and Gin Stephens. Their experience and information has been wonderful as I get caught up on past episodes so I decided to start trying it less than a week ago, not only for a different application for my weight loss (6'/297 lbs at the time) but also as a change to my lifestyle. Ideally, in the long run, it can help reset my body and reverse insulin resistance and pre-diabetes markers. It would be nice to get to a point where I don't think about what I eat but just eat it within my eating window and eat to satiety rather than to numbers.
I started watching some of Dr. Eric Berg's videos that have also been very enlightening on some of these aspects as well.
So far, even eating roughly the same number of calories as I have been, it has actually been easier for me to eat less doing 18:6 for a couple days and now committing to working it as a 20:4 pattern. It was a big change from what I was doing through the bariatric center's non-surgical program where I was eating small meals/snacks every 2 hours. In theory, that just constantly keeps triggering your insulin rather than getting into a more ketogenic state where you are burning fat.
For me, my feeding window is between 2p-6p, I feed the dogs, brush my teeth and then I am done until 2pm the next day. Yesterday was my first day at the gym and doing my normal cardio workout on the treadmill at a 9-10 incline and 3.3 mph didn't cause me any problems. On my way home from work I had a FitCrunch bar to start my window and was good to go.
I am looking forward to seeing how it works long term but it has been 1 pound lost per day so far and am down to 292, a weight I haven't seen in probably 15 years or so.
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I started IF a few weeks ago and it's working well for me. I'm doing 16:8 because I'm not usually hungry at breakfast, so just eating lunch and dinner works well for me. The other day I planned a late lunch, got tied up at work and ended up getting home so late I decided to just wait for dinner, so I had an almost 24 hr fast. What surprised me was that I really wasn't annoyingly hungry or tired until about the time I started cooking dinner. I'll stick with 16:8 with no between meal snacks because that has helped me recognize hunger and satiety and largely eliminate the snacking habit.2
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I started IF about five weeks ago with no calorie counting. I lost 7-8 lbs during the first four weeks. I then decided to implement calorie counting to help make better choices. I lost 2.7 after one week of that so will continue to track calories. I do 20:4 Monday-Friday; then allow myself 16:8 on the weekends.3
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I do 8:16.0
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I love it! I fluctuate between 18-20 hours fasting. I'm not using a scale but measurements instead because of body recomposition. As recommended by most IF experts, I do not count calories.6
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LeeshaSeal wrote: »I love it! I fluctuate between 18-20 hours fasting. I'm not using a scale but measurements instead because of body recomposition. As recommended by most IF experts, I do not count calories.
Counting calories is not necessary for weight loss. But being in a caloric deficit, by whatever means one attains it, most certainly is.4 -
LeeshaSeal wrote: »I love it! I fluctuate between 18-20 hours fasting. I'm not using a scale but measurements instead because of body recomposition. As recommended by most IF experts, I do not count calories.
Even doing IF, you don't lose weight if you're not in a calorie deficit.4 -
I have been doing 20:4 and I lost 5.5 pounds in the first week and for the last week nothing, today I was up 1/2 a pound. I like the well it makes my body feel. I hope to continue to drop slowly as I am in the obese range for my height ( 5 foot 1 ). I was hoping to see my blood sugar go down, but so far it has not and it is even starting to rise, so not sure what I will do. Any thoughts are most welcome !0
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LeeshaSeal wrote: »I love it! I fluctuate between 18-20 hours fasting. I'm not using a scale but measurements instead because of body recomposition. As recommended by most IF experts, I do not count calories.
Serious question - why would they recommend NOT counting calories?
I understand some people might not need to count when doing IF, because it naturally keeps them in a deficit, but what's the harm in counting?2
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