Intermittent fasting.
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pierinifitness wrote: »My eating windows are not constant. Some days I'll start eating at noon but other days later such as 4:00 pm. If I'm very hungry, generally from not eating smart the day before or having a big exercise day with a long run, I'll eat earlier but still work with a targeted fasting period. Again, I'm flexible.
But, I choose to use the term "intermittent fasting" (IF) rather than than time-restricted eating (TRE) to describe my food fueling lifestyle. A lifestyle is something done most of the time and not once in a while.
To me, fasting (using one common definition) is "the willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time." Therefore, to me, with willing abstinence or reduction of food and drink, it's not possible to gain weight practicing IF as some people like to instruct the IF-curious. Those who gain weight practicing what they describe as IF are really practicing IEE (intermittent excessive eating.) I've used another term in these discussions but it generated excessive "heat" so I'll not use that word again.
I've NEVER gained weight practicing IF but I have gained weight practicing IEE. Your mileage may vary.
The rules of IF are quite simple. If you follow 16:8 and eat all your food in an 8 hour window you are practitioning IF. If the calorie outcome changes the term there is no IF which is fine by me. Instead of IF you have IEE, ICN, and ICD or Intermittent Excessive Eating, Intermittent Calorie Neutral, and Intermittent Calorie Deficit. Of course you don't need the term intermittent any more so it gets even easier.
You are doing the internet weight management world a great service trying to get rid of IF and putting the focus back on calorie outcome. That is what it has always been about anyway.8 -
WinoGelato wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »My eating windows are not constant. Some days I'll start eating at noon but other days later such as 4:00 pm. If I'm very hungry, generally from not eating smart the day before or having a big exercise day with a long run, I'll eat earlier but still work with a targeted fasting period. Again, I'm flexible.
But, I choose to use the term "intermittent fasting" (IF) rather than than time-restricted eating (TRE) to describe my food fueling lifestyle. A lifestyle is something done most of the time and not once in a while.
To me, fasting (using one common definition) is "the willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time." Therefore, to me, with willing abstinence or reduction of food and drink, it's not possible to gain weight practicing IF as some people like to instruct the IF-curious. Those who gain weight practicing what they describe as IF are really practicing IEE (intermittent excessive eating.) I've used another term in these discussions but it generated excessive "heat" so I'll not use that word again.
I've NEVER gained weight practicing IF but I have gained weight practicing IEE. Your mileage may vary.
Whatever you choose to call it, if you consume more calories total than your body expends, over a prolonged period of time, you will gain weight. That is absolutely possible to do with IF or TRE or as many people call it who don’t buy into the trendy fad “skipping breakfast regularly”
How do you propose it’s not possible to gain weight simply by condensing your calorie intake into a smaller window. If I consume 2,500-3,000 cals/day, even if only consumed between 12pm and 8pm, I would gain weight.
Virtue signalling at it's finest.8 -
pierinifitness wrote: »Just realized that yesterday was the one year anniversary of resurrecting IF in my current fitness, health and wellness journey. I began on September 15, 2018 and have practiced this lifestyle EVERY DAY since then.
I began my current fitness, health and wellness journey last August 31, 2018 and the morning BW scale readings weren’t budging despite eating a controlled about 1,800 calories a day. I even gained a couple lbs. but this was likely water weight. Frustrated, I jumped on the IF pony based on favorable experiences in the past with the first one being 9 years earlier during Lent 2009.
I currently target 18:6 but am flexible because I can “afford” it. Recently, while on vacation, I had several 14:10 days. Some might not call 14:10 IF but I do because of a lifestyle mindset I maintained on those days.
My current 7-day average is a fasting period of 17 hours 18 minutes. I’ve been running more lately and find this affects my real hunger.
Have been using the Zero Fasting app for 197 consecutive days since first using it.
What are the fruits of my EVERY DAY IF lifestyle?
A consistent 40 lbs. lighter than when I began and a firm morning BW on the low side of my 5-lb. ideal weight range that is firmly “stuck” like Super Glue.
Congratulations on this success in your health and wellness. I like your reference to lent fasting, it makes sense to me. For me, staying to three meals a day and no snacks was helpful when I was younger. I did that along with adding in walking rather than taking the car during the work week and kept my weight in the healthy range for years without ever having to count calories. Weight gain came to me later in life. So now I'm returning to a modified version of what I did then. fasting for between 15 to 19 hours, I haven't seen a need for diet breaks. 15 hours without food allows me to have brunch, dinner and supper within a 9 hour window occasionally. Sometimes this is for family reasons. The main thing for me has been that I don't have any trouble keeping within a calorie allowance and my constant snacking habits are gone.
This is similar to what I did (and like you it was returning to a pattern that had worked well for me in the past when I'd had no weight issues), except that due to my work schedule my breakfast (which I enjoy) and dinner are quite spread out. I eat breakfast, don't eat for about 5 hours, eat lunch, don't eat for around 9 hours, and then eat dinner and don't eat for around 8.5 hours. The main problem with this is that I tend not to sleep enough, but that's not due to my eating habits.
On Fridays and Saturdays I often eat dinner earlier (before a play or some other evening event) and may skip breakfast, so eat in a 6-7 hour window, and I sometimes do that on Sunday too.
I find the notion that there's something magical that prevents weight gain just based on the window odd (you did not say that, the poster you were quoting did), as for me uncontrolled eating is more of an issue than how many hours between dinner and my first meal of the next day. If I "fasted" (a term I dislike for less than a full day fast) for 16 hours and ate in an 8 hour window but just snacked during that period, I'd get nothing out of the limited window. But 3 meals with nothing in between works very well for me (and makes it easier to get in the veg and protein I like than eating only one meal would), and the particular window I consume those meals in doesn't seem to matter at all for me.
I really like the term "time restricted eating" or "eating within a window" for the approach that is being discussed vs. "IFing," since as I noted in my first post "IFing" seems to suggest that it's somehow some hard discipline to skipping breakfast (or whatever) when the idea really should be that for some it makes it easier to limit cals (probably by helping with mindfulness or addressing some bad habits or a feeling that it's impossible to wait until the next planned eating time, all things that can be done with other schedules too).2 -
I do a 16:8 fast, honestly it could be considered more. I eat during the workday, breakfast, lunch, snack go to the gym after and that's it for the day. When I'm home I just try to stay busy before bed3
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@lemurcat2 Yes, I think so too. I like to enjoy meals. Its like my mother and grandmother used to say, "No, you can't have that now, it'll spoil your supper." Its still true for me, snacking spoils my next meal, which I look forward to. Since I have to prepare, cook and clean up the dishes after, I do like to make the meal a sort of an event. I often think of you and your grazing sister in relation to my own decisions regarding eating bits and pieces all day or my preference for two or three meals.
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- "No" means no. As in "no eating after 8 pm" if that's your rule. That means zero calories. Nada. Zip. No creamer in coffee, no sugar in drinks, not one pickle or almond. Make that commitment and really try to stick to it everyday. Learn to overpower your hunger pangs and you'll have acquired a very, very useful dieting skill.
- You still have to eat a calorie deficit. IF itself will do nothing on its own to hasten your weight loss. That's gonna come solely from eating less food.
This is probably fine for some people. However enough people have come through here very hungry and not having met the calorie goal because they had to work late that this rule needs to be amendable when life gets in the way. I hate seeing grown adults starting threads begging for permission to eat dinner because it is outside their window.
The most important part about any way of eating is that the person doing it needs to be in charge of the rules and have some common sense about when to set them aside.
That is true of any WOE, not just IF, no? Learning when and how to use the Pause key is critical to any diet.
True but that is not how you worded it...
Not sure how I became Defender of the IF Faith on this thread especially since I'm not doing it anymore LOL But anyway, I do think there's a worthwhile distinction here.
Two axioms:
1. On any diet, IF included, one must know when and how to hit the Pause key. No one on their own volition will deprive themselves long enough to lose a large amount of weight without breaks, and without flexibility to accommodate the random things life throws at you, such as parties, social events, injuries, stressful days or weeks, sudden uncontrollable urge to have white chocolate covered pretzels, etc. It's unrealistic and self-defeating (in fact self sabotaging) to expect and demand of oneself perfect compliance all the time.
2. On a TRE diet, if you don't stick to the window most of the time and at least attempt to comply with the eating window even when you're hungry, you may as well find a different approach, because TRE is not working for you.
These two things are not the same.
Let's take a practical example. On Thurs my wife and I watched some old movies and spontaneously decided to have bowls of popcorn with butter. We'd just had a solid month of 100 % calorie compliance and felt like having popcorn! It not only blew our eating schedule (our window is 11-7 and it was 10 pm) but also put us 400 calories over for the day each. And ... so what! It's good to do that once in a while. We savored every kernel, got up the next morning, and got back on plan. Felt great about it.
That was hitting the Pause key. Very productive, useful, and fun thing to do now and then.
Conversely, people start IF and start off super motivated and into it, but then get hungry or even ravenous at night the first few weeks. Some tough it out, and some don't. Thing is, if you grab a handful of almonds because you're starving at 11 pm, that's fine, but you're no longer doing TRE. You're doing something else -- maybe staying within your calories, maybe not, but you have given up the biggest contribution of a TRE structure: the acquired self-control in the face of hunger that a TRE diet imposes and teaches (and, specifically, teaches to people many of whom have had self-control issues with food their entire lives). If you do it properly the next night (i.e. no calories), then no harm done - all you've done is hit the Pause key for a night - but the problem is, "cheating" on a TRE diet tends to lead to more cheating and then more. The cheating leads to excuses - "I was soooo hungry!", "I just had 40 calories of peanuts, no biggie", "coffee tastes terrible black", etc., and then it all falls apart. Which is fine, if you're hitting your calorie number, but that can easily nosedive too, once the structure falls apart.
And so I say, hitting the Pause key is not the same thing as saying you're doing IF while not really doing IF. IF can be very effective, especially for learning self-control and dominating your own hunger signals with the power of your own self-discipline, but to get those benefits you have to actually do it. And that means no calories outside the window, unless you're already having a success with it and are ready for a Pause. A sensible, reasonable diet Pause is not the same thing as saying "F it" and grabbing a handful of m&ms because you're hungry at night. That kind of behavior must be dispensed with for IF to have a chance to succeed.
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pierinifitness wrote: »My eating windows are not constant. Some days I'll start eating at noon but other days later such as 4:00 pm. If I'm very hungry, generally from not eating smart the day before or having a big exercise day with a long run, I'll eat earlier but still work with a targeted fasting period. Again, I'm flexible.
But, I choose to use the term "intermittent fasting" (IF) rather than than time-restricted eating (TRE) to describe my food fueling lifestyle. A lifestyle is something done most of the time and not once in a while.
To me, fasting (using one common definition) is "the willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time." Therefore, to me, with willing abstinence or reduction of food and drink, it's not possible to gain weight practicing IF as some people like to instruct the IF-curious. Those who gain weight practicing what they describe as IF are really practicing IEE (intermittent excessive eating.) I've used another term in these discussions but it generated excessive "heat" so I'll not use that word again.
I've NEVER gained weight practicing IF but I have gained weight practicing IEE. Your mileage may vary.
So it is impossible to bulk on IF in your proprietary definition? There are people that do intermittent fasting bulks.
Seems like a way to just generate confusion with other speakers - use a word in an idiosyncratic way that doesn't match either general use, nor technical use in specialized literature.
Like imagine I said I use bagels the same way: that a bagel is a kind of doughnut shaped boiled bread product that it is impossible to overconsume. Wouldn't I sound silly to engage with people in low carb groups telling them they were never having issues eating too many bagels because those weren't bagels they were eating?10 -
magnusthenerd wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »My eating windows are not constant. Some days I'll start eating at noon but other days later such as 4:00 pm. If I'm very hungry, generally from not eating smart the day before or having a big exercise day with a long run, I'll eat earlier but still work with a targeted fasting period. Again, I'm flexible.
But, I choose to use the term "intermittent fasting" (IF) rather than than time-restricted eating (TRE) to describe my food fueling lifestyle. A lifestyle is something done most of the time and not once in a while.
To me, fasting (using one common definition) is "the willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time." Therefore, to me, with willing abstinence or reduction of food and drink, it's not possible to gain weight practicing IF as some people like to instruct the IF-curious. Those who gain weight practicing what they describe as IF are really practicing IEE (intermittent excessive eating.) I've used another term in these discussions but it generated excessive "heat" so I'll not use that word again.
I've NEVER gained weight practicing IF but I have gained weight practicing IEE. Your mileage may vary.
So it is impossible to bulk on IF in your proprietary definition? There are people that do intermittent fasting bulks.
Seems like a way to just generate confusion with other speakers - use a word in an idiosyncratic way that doesn't match either general use, nor technical use in specialized literature.
Like imagine I said I use bagels the same way: that a bagel is a kind of doughnut shaped boiled bread product that it is impossible to overconsume. Wouldn't I sound silly to engage with people in low carb groups telling them they were never having issues eating too many bagels because those weren't bagels they were eating?
No, to bulk you have to be a muscle-fueling controlled IEE practitioner.
OP, when I was following an IF schedule, I found I needed coffee with a little milk in the AM, especially if I was going to workout. While some folks would say that 40 cals of milk meant I wasn't really fasting, for me I was following the schedule for appetite suppression alone, and for whatever reason that cup of coffee was the difference between a low level of ignorable hunger in the AM and the ravenous arm-chewing hunger I'd experience without it.
I'm following a more traditional eating schedule now as a new job messed with my timing and IF just wasn't controlling my appetite anymore. I still try to eat as few calories as possible in the AM, as I find it easier to deal with hunger in the AM rather than the PM so I save my calories for later. And I wouldn't be surprised if I move in and out of different schedules over the years as my lifestyle, appetite, and hormones change. Good luck!5 -
magnusthenerd wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »My eating windows are not constant. Some days I'll start eating at noon but other days later such as 4:00 pm. If I'm very hungry, generally from not eating smart the day before or having a big exercise day with a long run, I'll eat earlier but still work with a targeted fasting period. Again, I'm flexible.
But, I choose to use the term "intermittent fasting" (IF) rather than than time-restricted eating (TRE) to describe my food fueling lifestyle. A lifestyle is something done most of the time and not once in a while.
To me, fasting (using one common definition) is "the willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time." Therefore, to me, with willing abstinence or reduction of food and drink, it's not possible to gain weight practicing IF as some people like to instruct the IF-curious. Those who gain weight practicing what they describe as IF are really practicing IEE (intermittent excessive eating.) I've used another term in these discussions but it generated excessive "heat" so I'll not use that word again.
I've NEVER gained weight practicing IF but I have gained weight practicing IEE. Your mileage may vary.
So it is impossible to bulk on IF in your proprietary definition? There are people that do intermittent fasting bulks.
Seems like a way to just generate confusion with other speakers - use a word in an idiosyncratic way that doesn't match either general use, nor technical use in specialized literature.
Like imagine I said I use bagels the same way: that a bagel is a kind of doughnut shaped boiled bread product that it is impossible to overconsume. Wouldn't I sound silly to engage with people in low carb groups telling them they were never having issues eating too many bagels because those weren't bagels they were eating?
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@lgfrie
You have put a lot of thought into this. I admittedly haven't. I look at IF/TRE or whatever acronym the internets wants to invent next for it as a possibly solution to improve calorie adherence.
I think the internet has grouped people into protocols that they may not all even need. If a person really wants to have more calories to eat in lunch and dinner does it matter what the window is? If a person wants to control snacking and the consumption of unwanted calories does that person need to skip a meal or just set a window that eliminates snacking? Obviously some people will want to do both but I encourage people to use their critical thinking skills and not just follow some website they may have read with fancy sounding terms and rat studies.
A person at the beginning of their journey may not trust themselves because they have gained weight. For them maybe it is better to follow a plan for a time but at some point you have to realize that feeding yourself is something you need to be in charge of. You need to ask what do I need and what is unnecessary? People keep piling on restrictions to themselves thinking it will make it better when it is more likely to do the opposite.8 -
I think that some of you are not realizing that many people do better using rules and/or guidelines. It takes the decision making out of their hands. When it comes to food most of us have proven that we don't make very good decisions when it comes to food.
Some of you do and I can appreciate that but I haven't. The decisions I have made in the past is what has caused me to gain and regain weight. Eating snacks(not my regular meals) has always been my downfall. Having a window has made that decision for me on whether I have an after dinner snack or not.
Since the way that I eat only affects me I have the choice to change my WOE if I choose. Also some of you seem to think that all of us just jumped in to this way of eating because of the "internet". I assure you that I did my homework and compare all of it with my lifestyle and needs. It fits and has been working so far. I also know that there is no mystical powers that comes along with this WOE. The only problem that I have had so far is making sure that I have eaten enough during my window. That is not the problem of the method but my execution of those methods. I am working on that this week.5 -
I think that some of you are not realizing that many people do better using rules and/or guidelines. It takes the decision making out of their hands. When it comes to food most of us have proven that we don't make very good decisions when it comes to food.
Some of you do and I can appreciate that but I haven't. The decisions I have made in the past is what has caused me to gain and regain weight. Eating snacks(not my regular meals) has always been my downfall. Having a window has made that decision for me on whether I have an after dinner snack or not.
Since the way that I eat only affects me I have the choice to change my WOE if I choose. Also some of you seem to think that all of us just jumped in to this way of eating because of the "internet". I assure you that I did my homework and compare all of it with my lifestyle and needs. It fits and has been working so far. I also know that there is no mystical powers that comes along with this WOE. The only problem that I have had so far is making sure that I have eaten enough during my window. That is not the problem of the method but my execution of those methods. I am working on that this week.
Not me. I know some people are very methodical in what they choose to do and pick it for very good reasons. I know others (from reading here at MFP) jump on anything that is internet shiny at the moment. I can't tell you how many people have not had an answer for the simple question "What is it you hope to accomplish trying this method?"
I would argue though that you do make good decisions because you chose to implement a plan to help offset weak points in your day. You decide to follow it when you could simply ignore it when it is standing in the way of eating a snack or whatever. The rules are meaningless if you do not choose to follow them.7 -
Conversely, people start IF and start off super motivated and into it, but then get hungry or even ravenous at night the first few weeks. Some tough it out, and some don't. Thing is, if you grab a handful of almonds because you're starving at 11 pm, that's fine, but you're no longer doing TRE. You're doing something else -- maybe staying within your calories, maybe not, but you have given up the biggest contribution of a TRE structure: the acquired self-control in the face of hunger that a TRE diet imposes and teaches (and, specifically, teaches to people many of whom have had self-control issues with food their entire lives).
I'm not sure why this is unique to TRE.
For example, when I first started logging, I had two major rules for myself -- (1) no eating other than at meals (so a snack at 11 pm wouldn't have been possible, although I was never hungry at 11 anyway); and (2) no eating in excess of my cals. So again I wouldn't have been able to grab a snack at 11 (even if I thought I was hungry and even without the no snacking rule), if I was already at my calorie goal.
Point is that if the perceived difficulty is self-control in face of hunger, there are many approaches. My personal favorite approach is to eat foods that tend to be satiating so that one is not having to struggle with hunger, but I do agree that wanting to eat when you are used to eating due to habit can kick in even if there's no good reason you should be hungry. My biggest struggle there has always been between lunch and dinner, so a window would not have helped me vs. the rules I used.5 -
Conversely, people start IF and start off super motivated and into it, but then get hungry or even ravenous at night the first few weeks. Some tough it out, and some don't. Thing is, if you grab a handful of almonds because you're starving at 11 pm, that's fine, but you're no longer doing TRE. You're doing something else -- maybe staying within your calories, maybe not, but you have given up the biggest contribution of a TRE structure: the acquired self-control in the face of hunger that a TRE diet imposes and teaches (and, specifically, teaches to people many of whom have had self-control issues with food their entire lives).
I'm not sure why this is unique to TRE.
For example, when I first started logging, I had two major rules for myself -- (1) no eating other than at meals (so a snack at 11 pm wouldn't have been possible, although I was never hungry at 11 anyway); and (2) no eating in excess of my cals. So again I wouldn't have been able to grab a snack at 11 (even if I thought I was hungry and even without the no snacking rule), if I was already at my calorie goal.
Point is that if the perceived difficulty is self-control in face of hunger, there are many approaches. My personal favorite approach is to eat foods that tend to be satiating so that one is not having to struggle with hunger, but I do agree that wanting to eat when you are used to eating due to habit can kick in even if there's no good reason you should be hungry. My biggest struggle there has always been between lunch and dinner, so a window would not have helped me vs. the rules I used.
I generally agree with all of the above. The bottom line is, I'm looking to control my calories and intake in a healthy way. I mostly skip breakfast. But If I'm hungry on a given day, I eat. I don't care if is outside my "feeding window" or that I'm not doing TRE. Honestly, I think all those acronyms are a little silly but if they help some people to grasp the concept, no harm done.
The harm can be in the mentality that someone has failed or done it wrong. For goodness sakes, it's just an eating schedule that is meant to be used as a tool!! (as many others have already said) If it helps some to have boundaries and limits and that keeps them complying, ok I guess. But no one day where someone might eat outside of their planned schedule is really going to amount to anything in the big picture.
And while I get the "give it time to adjust thing" I don't get the "tough it out" thing. My goal has always been to make it as effortless and sustainable as possible. I do just fine with a couple of cups of coffee in the morning most days. On the occasional day I don't I have something to eat.10 -
Conversely, people start IF and start off super motivated and into it, but then get hungry or even ravenous at night the first few weeks. Some tough it out, and some don't. Thing is, if you grab a handful of almonds because you're starving at 11 pm, that's fine, but you're no longer doing TRE. You're doing something else -- maybe staying within your calories, maybe not, but you have given up the biggest contribution of a TRE structure: the acquired self-control in the face of hunger that a TRE diet imposes and teaches (and, specifically, teaches to people many of whom have had self-control issues with food their entire lives).
I'm not sure why this is unique to TRE.
For example, when I first started logging, I had two major rules for myself -- (1) no eating other than at meals (so a snack at 11 pm wouldn't have been possible, although I was never hungry at 11 anyway); and (2) no eating in excess of my cals. So again I wouldn't have been able to grab a snack at 11 (even if I thought I was hungry and even without the no snacking rule), if I was already at my calorie goal.
Point is that if the perceived difficulty is self-control in face of hunger, there are many approaches. My personal favorite approach is to eat foods that tend to be satiating so that one is not having to struggle with hunger, but I do agree that wanting to eat when you are used to eating due to habit can kick in even if there's no good reason you should be hungry. My biggest struggle there has always been between lunch and dinner, so a window would not have helped me vs. the rules I used.
I generally agree with all of the above. The bottom line is, I'm looking to control my calories and intake in a healthy way. I mostly skip breakfast. But If I'm hungry on a given day, I eat. I don't care if is outside my "feeding window" or that I'm not doing TRE. Honestly, I think all those acronyms are a little silly but if they help some people to grasp the concept, no harm done.
The harm can be in the mentality that someone has failed or done it wrong. For goodness sakes, it's just an eating schedule that is meant to be used as a tool!! (as many others have already said) If it helps some to have boundaries and limits and that keeps them complying, ok I guess. But no one day where someone might eat outside of their planned schedule is really going to amount to anything in the big picture.
And while I get the "give it time to adjust thing" I don't get the "tough it out" thing. My goal has always been to make it as effortless and sustainable as possible. I do just fine with a couple of cups of coffee in the morning most days. On the occasional day I don't I have something to eat.
Right. It is an eating schedule. It is not an accomplishment by itself... or at least it should not be. I think it is silly to brag about it and no one should feel like a failure for deciding it is not for them. If it helps a person get from point A to point B easier or more effectively then being at B is the accomplishment.
The way I have eaten for a year and a half has resulted in over 200 pounds of lost weight. My accidentally trendy eating schedule is, imo, one of the most boring aspects of the whole deal.
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I have been doing it for awhile now so if you want someone to talk to, let me know. It isn’t awful or hard to follow, just make sure you stick within your calories and you will lose the weight. You’ve got this!1
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Thank you all for your inputs!!!1
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Taytaylynn92 wrote: »I’m going to begin intermittent fasting tomorrow. What are the best and worst parts about it. My eating period is probably going to be between 12-8. Any tips on this?
I workout in the mornings before work and am hoping I’m not too hungry and fail at this!
There is no harm in trying. If it works...then great. If it doesn't then you haven't failed...it just didn't work so try something else. It is about you and not anyone else. Don't feel as if you can't adjust some of those rules that some unknown person says that you have to follow. Our WOE including the scheduling of when we eat should fit our lives and we should receive some benefits from those rules that we have set for ourselves.
At the end of the day however you choose to eat should move you toward those goals that you have set for yourself.
Hi Annie, thats some great advice. thanks for taking the time to reply2 -
CardinalComb wrote: »Just go all out and do 1 meal a day. Eat all your food in a 2 hour window.
Why does it have to be all or nothing to work?4 -
Just popping in (after doing a search on IF) to say that today was my first day fasting. I made it 21 hours. For the first time of trying it, I’m going to call that a success. (And I broke the fast with a handful of almonds and an apple. So not, like, Doritos.)4
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KatsMeow12 wrote: »Just popping in (after doing a search on IF) to say that today was my first day fasting. I made it 21 hours. For the first time of trying it, I’m going to call that a success. (And I broke the fast with a handful of almonds and an apple. So not, like, Doritos.)
Congratulations on your day one success. Moderate your zeal for best results and adopt a mindset of 100 percent compliance. By that I mean, pick a fasting time period and number of days a week that you can likely achieve 100 percent for your initial period. That may not be 21 hours a day 7 days a week. Maybe it is but maybe it's not. So, you might be able to achieve 100 percent compliance with a 16 hour fasting period 5 days a week.
Make sure you don't have the tail wagging the dog in your IF journey. Wishing you the best.
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Hell, I was happy to just make it 18 hours!1
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KatsMeow12 wrote: »Just popping in (after doing a search on IF) to say that today was my first day fasting. I made it 21 hours. For the first time of trying it, I’m going to call that a success. (And I broke the fast with a handful of almonds and an apple. So not, like, Doritos.)
Keep in mind that your body does not have a 24 hour energy clock. You don't start over fresh you start from where you were. What that may mean is that after the second or third day you might find it difficult suddenly jumping to a 21 hour schedule. You might be fine but there is also the chance you blink and when you open your eyes again you are sitting in a puddle of ice cream with Dorito boats floating in it.
You will probably want to make sure you eat enough calories today if you plan to do this again right away. Pairing an aggressive food energy deficit with an aggressive non-eating schedule is a good recipe for the previously mentioned ice cream scenario.
If 100 percent compliance to some sort of eating schedule helps keep you from unwanted eating that may be a good idea. If you are not struggling on that front feel free to make up your own rules once you are sure you have a good handle on your energy management.
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I did one day of time based IF (so did not change calorie goals but stopped eating from 3 pm to 7 am).
Probably coincidence but busted through weigh in plateau for first time in two weeks this week????
Also feel like it's helping me with subsequent dinner portion control. ("If I can fast at night, I can get by not over eating at dinner.")
Think I'm going to do this once/week/month but just depending on schedule as we Ike to have family dinners.
But I'm convinced there is something to this beyond calorie counting.5 -
@jhanleybrown, thanks for sharing your introductory experience which mirrors what those of us who practice IF know convincingly. Wishing you the best in your fitness, health and wellness journey. Keep marching forward!
4 -
jhanleybrown wrote: »I did one day of time based IF (so did not change calorie goals but stopped eating from 3 pm to 7 am).
Probably coincidence but busted through weigh in plateau for first time in two weeks this week????
Also feel like it's helping me with subsequent dinner portion control. ("If I can fast at night, I can get by not over eating at dinner.")
Think I'm going to do this once/week/month but just depending on schedule as we Ike to have family dinners.
But I'm convinced there is something to this beyond calorie counting.
I go through 2 weeks of "plateaus" all the time skipping breakfast and lately skipping dinner. When you change your eating schedule you can change your bathroom schedule which is the real cause of sluggish scale results. So not coincidence but not a fat burning secret.
If you are in a calorie deficit this is the real cause of a "plateau":
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
I never actually plateau. My weight loss is just masked for short periods of time on the bathroom scale. Eventually (often after 3 weeks) I visit the restroom more often for 3 or so days and I have a big drop in weight that represents all that I should have lost but did not see on the scale.
If there is more to it they can't find it in humans other than the benefit for people with insulin resistance.
Keep in mind that a few years ago there was supposedly a huge benefit in eating more often not less often.5 -
jhanleybrown wrote: »I did one day of time based IF (so did not change calorie goals but stopped eating from 3 pm to 7 am).
Probably coincidence but busted through weigh in plateau for first time in two weeks this week????
Also feel like it's helping me with subsequent dinner portion control. ("If I can fast at night, I can get by not over eating at dinner.")
Think I'm going to do this once/week/month but just depending on schedule as we Ike to have family dinners.
But I'm convinced there is something to this beyond calorie counting.
I go through 2 weeks of "plateaus" all the time skipping breakfast and lately skipping dinner. When you change your eating schedule you can change your bathroom schedule which is the real cause of sluggish scale results. So not coincidence but not a fat burning secret.
If you are in a calorie deficit this is the real cause of a "plateau":
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
I never actually plateau. My weight loss is just masked for short periods of time on the bathroom scale. Eventually (often after 3 weeks) I visit the restroom more often for 3 or so days and I have a big drop in weight that represents all that I should have lost but did not see on the scale.
If there is more to it they can't find it in humans other than the benefit for people with insulin resistance.
Keep in mind that a few years ago there was supposedly a huge benefit in eating more often not less often.
For some people this still works. I never did for me. I spent too much time thinking about the next little meal that I would get to eat. I just needed more food than that at one time to satisfy my hunger.
I think it is very interesting that what works well for one is a disaster for another.0 -
jhanleybrown wrote: »I did one day of time based IF (so did not change calorie goals but stopped eating from 3 pm to 7 am).
Probably coincidence but busted through weigh in plateau for first time in two weeks this week????
Also feel like it's helping me with subsequent dinner portion control. ("If I can fast at night, I can get by not over eating at dinner.")
Think I'm going to do this once/week/month but just depending on schedule as we Ike to have family dinners.
But I'm convinced there is something to this beyond calorie counting.
I go through 2 weeks of "plateaus" all the time skipping breakfast and lately skipping dinner. When you change your eating schedule you can change your bathroom schedule which is the real cause of sluggish scale results. So not coincidence but not a fat burning secret.
If you are in a calorie deficit this is the real cause of a "plateau":
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
I never actually plateau. My weight loss is just masked for short periods of time on the bathroom scale. Eventually (often after 3 weeks) I visit the restroom more often for 3 or so days and I have a big drop in weight that represents all that I should have lost but did not see on the scale.
If there is more to it they can't find it in humans other than the benefit for people with insulin resistance.
Keep in mind that a few years ago there was supposedly a huge benefit in eating more often not less often.
For some people this still works. I never did for me. I spent too much time thinking about the next little meal that I would get to eat. I just needed more food than that at one time to satisfy my hunger.
I think it is very interesting that what works well for one is a disaster for another.
Works for calorie management but not for supposedly boosting metabolism.
It is very interesting though. My wife can eat very little breakfast but she cannot skip it at all. If I eat it I am hungrier the rest of the day and if I don't eat the right protein to carb ratio my BS will bottom out. It is easier and safer for me to skip it.
I don't think many people would be happy on my actual overall plan. It has worked for me for 18 months now. Of course "worked for me" has included a few rough spots and bad days but that is life.5 -
jhanleybrown wrote: »I did one day of time based IF (so did not change calorie goals but stopped eating from 3 pm to 7 am).
Probably coincidence but busted through weigh in plateau for first time in two weeks this week????
Also feel like it's helping me with subsequent dinner portion control. ("If I can fast at night, I can get by not over eating at dinner.")
Think I'm going to do this once/week/month but just depending on schedule as we Ike to have family dinners.
But I'm convinced there is something to this beyond calorie counting.
I go through 2 weeks of "plateaus" all the time skipping breakfast and lately skipping dinner. When you change your eating schedule you can change your bathroom schedule which is the real cause of sluggish scale results. So not coincidence but not a fat burning secret.
If you are in a calorie deficit this is the real cause of a "plateau":
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
I never actually plateau. My weight loss is just masked for short periods of time on the bathroom scale. Eventually (often after 3 weeks) I visit the restroom more often for 3 or so days and I have a big drop in weight that represents all that I should have lost but did not see on the scale.
If there is more to it they can't find it in humans other than the benefit for people with insulin resistance.
Keep in mind that a few years ago there was supposedly a huge benefit in eating more often not less often.
For some people this still works. I never did for me. I spent too much time thinking about the next little meal that I would get to eat. I just needed more food than that at one time to satisfy my hunger.
I think it is very interesting that what works well for one is a disaster for another.
Yup. No one-size-fits-all. As you know, the only universal truth is that it takes a calorie deficit, maintained over time, to lose weight. However anyone chooses to go about doing that is just personal preference.2 -
Ok...researching this now. Apparently it can also improve cholesterol profile. At least in rats:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324699669_Intermittent_fasting_decreases_oxidative_stress_parameters_in_Wistar_rats_Rattus_norvegicus
0
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