Intermittent fasting

I just recently dropped WW and signed on back here. I felt like it was a waste of money and hated the meetings. Anyways I’m monitoring my calories and macros but after reading about the benefits of intermittent fasting I’m thinking about trying that as well. I was thinking 4 days a week I’ll do a 12:12 fast and then the other 3 days 16:8. I’m just curious if anyone else here has tried IF and what benefit you’ve noticed.

Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,028 Member
    If you plug in "Intermittent fasting" into the Search bar you'll get tons of results :smile: Quite a handful of people do it, for some it works really great.
  • ogma6
    ogma6 Posts: 14 Member
    I have been doing 16/8 for months now. Once you get in the groove, stay there. Your body adapts. So does your hunger mechanism. If you are going to change up days, you may keep finding yourself hungry because you are struggling to adapt.
    If you are going to switch days, change the time you stop eating.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,231 Member
    IF practitioner here. What I like most about it is the discipline and structure it gives me to condition my mind that I don’t need to eat just because my belly has a tickle.

    There’s an IF sub-forum here that I frequent but honestly, it’s like a ghost town. I’m trying to post there hoping more will do the same. Why don’t you stroll over there and try to help in giving it some life.
  • As others have said, IF is just a way of eating that helps some people to eat in a calorie deficit. It's not the timing of the eating that matters - unless you're a competitive or endurance athlete meal timing is largely down to preference. The key factor is the calorie deficit itself. Keep in a calorie deficit, be patient and give the process time, and you'll be successful.

    I follow an IF pattern of eating by natural preference - I've never been a breakfast or lunch eater by nature, and it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized there was a name for it.

    IF allows me to have a large (800-1k calorie) dinner - I'm all about cooking and enjoying dinner, but if I ate breakfast and lunch also I'd exceed my daily budget. I also typically have calories for dessert most days - another thing I prefer not to live without. I also eat fewer calories midweek so that I have more calories to eat on weekends.

    But none of that is necessarily relevant to you - it is simply what works for me. It's not about how you eat or when you eat (basic nutrition aside), it's about how much you eat compared to how much you burn.

    It can take a while to find a habit that works for and is sustainable for you, so I say give it a try! Eventually you'll figure out what works best.