Intermittent fasting

Just started intermittent fasting on Friday "16hrs" ... how do some of you guys keep busy without reaching for the fridge? Or any advice that you have I gladly appreciate it..
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Replies

  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,231 Member
    It gets easier, hang in there.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I'm not doing intermittent fasting but I do feel you on the boredom eating side. I try to keep a list of activities to work on that are productive (doesn't have to be work, but should "produce" something, like finishing a painting). Things that you can't eat and do at the same time.
  • zimborunner
    zimborunner Posts: 527 Member
    I've been trying 16/8 for 2 weeks now. I'm a teachers assistant in SpEd and start work again next week, so wanted to see if I could manage it before then. My window is 11am - 7pm. However, my job is stressful and not sure how I'm going to fair with work starting at 7am, first meal 4 hours later. Mind over matter (job is very busy with little down time), lots of water/tea. I do have coffee in the morning with a splash of creamer, so that may tide me over. Good luck!
  • losnmymind
    losnmymind Posts: 12 Member
    I got tired of obsessing about food when I was doing the 16/8 fasting, so I've changed now to one 24 hour fast a week, and I absolutely love it. I eat breakfast and lunch on Monday, when I go home I workout and drink plenty of water which will curb any hunger I have, shower and go to sleep. I don't even feel hungry in the morning and then I go to work. Real hunger (it was hard to remember what real hunger felt like - not as "urgent" as a scheduled hunger) starts kicking in around 10am. I just drink my water, maybe have a cup of black coffee. Just knowing that I'll be ending my fast in a couple of hours, makes it easy to make it to lunch. This kind of fasting resets my body each week. I've been doing this for the last 3 months or so.
  • Sm3018
    Sm3018 Posts: 55 Member
    I dont know if I could fast a whole day...lol I have hungry teenagers and I cook alot...16/8 so far is manageable will see
  • smzsmz2008
    smzsmz2008 Posts: 3 Member
    I’ve been doing 16/8 for almost 4 weeks now and it definitely gets easier! I try to make sure I eat between 9:30-5:30. Eating dinner earlier in the evening can make it hard when I want to snack while watching tv, but knowing I can have coffee (with creamer!) by 9:30 the next morning makes it easier. I also don’t obsess over it, I’m “good” probably 80-85% of the time. There are nights I’ll have a small (100-150 calories) snack around 8 or 9 and then have coffee the next morning as usual. I know I’m not utilizing IF as well as I could but it keeps me from feeling trapped by it.
  • I IF 23:1 daily. But been this way over 10 years (don't eat breakfast or lunch 😉)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    I was doing IF for the last couple of months...for most of it, I'm asleep so no reaching for the fridge. I was eating from noon to 8PM...I usually go to bed around 9:30, so only 1.5 hours of my fasted time was in the evening. Mornings are easy...I'm at work and I'm busy.
  • Sm3018
    Sm3018 Posts: 55 Member
    smzsmz2008 wrote: »
    I’ve been doing 16/8 for almost 4 weeks now and it definitely gets easier! I try to make sure I eat between 9:30-5:30. Eating dinner earlier in the evening can make it hard when I want to snack while watching tv, but knowing I can have coffee (with creamer!) by 9:30 the next morning makes it easier. I also don’t obsess over it, I’m “good” probably 80-85% of the time. There are nights I’ll have a small (100-150 calories) snack around 8 or 9 and then have coffee the next morning as usual. I know I’m not utilizing IF as well as I could but it keeps me from feeling trapped by it.

    Thank goodness coffee can stay in my life lol
  • Sm3018
    Sm3018 Posts: 55 Member
    I IF 23:1 daily. But been this way over 10 years (don't eat breakfast or lunch 😉)

    I actually can do that in the weekend...but when Im my cold office and it's not that busy my mind screams food lol
  • Limath
    Limath Posts: 89 Member
    I've been doing IF for about 5 months now. Usually 18/6. I generally eat between 7am to 1pm during the week, and 9am to 3pm during the weekend. It almost feels like turning off a 'switch' now that I'm so used to it.
  • zimborunner
    zimborunner Posts: 527 Member
    I IF 23:1 daily. But been this way over 10 years (don't eat breakfast or lunch 😉)

    Wow...I'm really impressed and from your profile pic, you've obviously done superb on the weight loss side. Tell us more please, interested to know how long it took for you to get used this lifestyle.
  • tammie614
    tammie614 Posts: 48 Member
    i love IF. been doing it for over a year. i do 16/8 have done 18/6 before and have done OMAD a few times. it does get easier im the beginning i wanted to eat my arm. during the work week i drink lots of water and green tea. on weekends or days off i workout i the am and by the time i'm done its time to eat. also, i was jumping out of my fast eating and not breaking it properly. i now break it with mct oil, bone broth, acv, etc. very informative info i got from fledge fitness on YT. good luck. it will get easier and you'll be able to do it in your sleep
  • atherease
    atherease Posts: 2 Member
    I've done occasional 24 hour fasts which involve not eating food immediately after dinner until the next day's dinner. For most of my life I've been frightened of being hungry but in truth I never was, not really. Going without food for a while reinforces I'm not ruled by my appetite. I also get a lot done on fast days, keep out of the kitchen and go to bed early, knowing there'll be a shift on the scales next morning. Fancy teas help!
  • Sm3018
    Sm3018 Posts: 55 Member
    tammie614 wrote: »
    i love IF. been doing it for over a year. i do 16/8 have done 18/6 before and have done OMAD a few times. it does get easier im the beginning i wanted to eat my arm. during the work week i drink lots of water and green tea. on weekends or days off i workout i the am and by the time i'm done its time to eat. also, i was jumping out of my fast eating and not breaking it properly. i now break it with mct oil, bone broth, acv, etc. very informative info i got from fledge fitness on YT. good luck. it will get easier and you'll be able to do it in your sleep

    Thanks
  • zimborunner
    zimborunner Posts: 527 Member
    tammie614 wrote: »
    i love IF. been doing it for over a year. i do 16/8 have done 18/6 before and have done OMAD a few times. it does get easier im the beginning i wanted to eat my arm. during the work week i drink lots of water and green tea. on weekends or days off i workout i the am and by the time i'm done its time to eat. also, i was jumping out of my fast eating and not breaking it properly. i now break it with mct oil, bone broth, acv, etc. very informative info i got from fledge fitness on YT. good luck. it will get easier and you'll be able to do it in your sleep

    Great info - thank-you! Going to research some of the things you've said.
  • Sharod_BeastFit
    Sharod_BeastFit Posts: 61 Member
    So when yoh fast im guessing its cool to stay under 1200 cal a day. Or could you easily eat up to 2000 cal within an 8 hour span?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    So when yoh fast im guessing its cool to stay under 1200 cal a day. Or could you easily eat up to 2000 cal within an 8 hour span?

    Your calorie needs and goal will be the same regardless if how many meals you eat or when you eat.
  • nrs101364
    nrs101364 Posts: 343 Member
    edited August 2019
    I started doing low carb/Keto about 5 weeks ago and found that I accidentally started IF by knowing that my night eating was what always killed my weight loss. I am doing 16/8 (really more 17/9). I drink coffee in the mornings and have never been a breakfast eater. I have lunch at 12 ( weekdays) and stop eating by about 7 pm. I’ve lost 23lbs already!! Even if you can’t get through the full 16 just stay away from late night eating and you should be fine.