Intermitent Fasting and eating your daily calories
Replies
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I think I would have gotten to goal a long, long time ago if I hadn't believed in the starvation mode myth. Now I just hate it oh so much. It really messed me up and made me think I was dooming myself to fail when I was really making excellent, healthy progress.5
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I make sure I eat to my calorie goal (+/- 200) every day...if I miss one day I won't fret, but thyroid issues run in my family so I will not allow more than one day below goal...I don't want to have too steep of a deficit because that increases the risk of setting off thyroid issues in people who have that particular genetic risk. It's not the kind of thing most people have to worry about. Men particularly have a low incidence of thyroid problems.
I don't weigh my food either, I just use cup/tablespoon type estimates so if I'm under or over 200 calories I figure I can chalk that up to less than 100% accurate measurements.
Thus far I have been quite happy with my progress, and I've been IF for I guess about a year at this point.3 -
I do 14:10 most days and have no problem hitting my goals. If you aren’t, I would suggest either extending your window or foregoing IF altogether. It’s not for everyone.
I actually really like IF. I don't feel as hungry and have more energy. However I'm guessing my Calorie goal of 2500(based on TDEE) is a lot higher than yours. I really just want to know if its nesscary that I eat all those calories if I really don't feel like it.
From what I've read, no. Reaching the calorie goal is not a goal especially when you're not hungry. I'm doing a few days a week of IF with the keto diet. I just try to hit my fat goal, not worrying about calories.5 -
DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-5 -
heatherdykes wrote: »I do 14:10 most days and have no problem hitting my goals. If you aren’t, I would suggest either extending your window or foregoing IF altogether. It’s not for everyone.
I actually really like IF. I don't feel as hungry and have more energy. However I'm guessing my Calorie goal of 2500(based on TDEE) is a lot higher than yours. I really just want to know if its nesscary that I eat all those calories if I really don't feel like it.
From what I've read, no. Reaching the calorie goal is not a goal especially when you're not hungry. I'm doing a few days a week of IF with the keto diet. I just try to hit my fat goal, not worrying about calories.
Reaching the calorie goal IS the goal, hence the name 'goal'.
Again, chronic under-eating can have severe consequences.7 -
DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?0 -
Hey guys and gals,
I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 4 months now along with tracking my calories. I've had mild success, but not as much as other people(I lose about half a pound a week) one of things I've been doing that I'm not sure about is hitting my daily calorie goal. I try to do it, but I find myself eating a bunch of food at the end of my feeding window trying to hit my calories, even if I'm not hungry. Those of you that have had success, do your hit your calorie goal or just eat till your full?
Thanks,
-Greg
I'm assuming success to you, is losing faster than 1/2 lbs a week.
Because you are eating all your food in a shorter time period and filling up, you have a few options. Reduce your daily goal so that you don't have to cram food in. Eat less satiating foods so that you don't feel full as quickly, or eat a little more calorie dense foods.
a pound a week would be preferable . I guess my point to all of this is there are a couple schools of thought here. some people think that if you don't eat enough calories a day you will go into starvation mode and stop losing weight. others don't think that's true. All I want to know from people that have done IF successfully is if they had success without eating all of there allotted calories.
Starvation mode is not this.^ You don't stop losing because of low calories.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/761810/the-starvation-mode-myth-again/p1
You can skip eating all your calories if you want to, IF has nothing to do with it. IF is just meal timing and doesn't prevent potential damages from consistent low calories. You will still be at risk for lean muscle loss, hair loss, fatigue, etc.
If you are losing 1/2 pound a week, no worries. That's only a 250 calorie deficit.4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Over the summer when I wasn't teaching I was able to go to the gym and then I would eat more like 1,350-1,500 and still lose weight.3 -
Just a couple of things...for one, even if one is being as accurate as possible, there are inherent inaccuracies in keeping a food diary...even dietitians have issues...so even if you feel that you're being as accurate as possible, it's quite possible that you're eating more than you're logging and thus eating more than you think you are.
Another possible issue is that these calculators simply provide an estimate for a reasonably good starting point...it is usually necessary to make adjustments as per your real world results.
Bottom line is that if you're averaging 1/2 Lb per week loss and you're wanting to average a 1 Lb per week loss, you're eating too much to accomplish that...likely as a result of one of the possibilities noted above.6 -
DananaNanas wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Gaining weight requires a calorie surplus. That's eating more than your maintenance.....not eating more than 1,100 calories.
Seriously if you are gaining at 1300 calories you are eating more than you think. Either that or you are something like 4'8" tall.2 -
DananaNanas wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Gaining weight requires a calorie surplus. That's eating more than your maintenance.....not eating more than 1,100 calories.
Seriously if you are gaining at 1300 calories you are eating more than you think. Either that or you are something like 4'8" tall.
I'm 5'4 lol based on the TDEE calculator from the IIFYM website mine is 1660... so if I stick to 1,200 I should be able to lose more than/around 1.5 pounds per week. Which I'm not. Still losing at ~.5 per week. I should add that I eat more than that on Saturdays usually. I don't really track that strictly on Saturday but i know i'm not eating my entire week's deficit! Even if I ate 1,000 calories more on Saturday than the rest of the week I should still be able to lose.
I understand the math behind it. I don't know what else to do. If I workout in the morning before work to increase my calories I'll be getting like 6 hours of sleep most nights.
Sorry, OP.. didn't meant to hijack your thread lol1 -
DananaNanas wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Over the summer when I wasn't teaching I was able to go to the gym and then I would eat more like 1,350-1,500 and still lose weight.
So you know you can eat more and lose weight, but you don't want to... seems a little strange. Isn't your health important to you?1 -
I have been hitting my calorie goals, the problem is I have to eat even though I'm not hungry to do so. what I'm asking is: To the people who have done intermittent fasting successfully, Do you eat to meet your calorie goals or do you just eat till you are full?
I eat till I am full. Sometimes this means I eat over, sometimes under. Most weeks overall I meet my total calorie goal without trying too hard. If I have leftover calories I have the perfect excuse for a glass of wine, and as this is a lifestyle for me and not a diet, I will indulge in some wine and even some dark chocolate.
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DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Gaining weight requires a calorie surplus. That's eating more than your maintenance.....not eating more than 1,100 calories.
Seriously if you are gaining at 1300 calories you are eating more than you think. Either that or you are something like 4'8" tall.
I'm 5'4 lol based on the TDEE calculator from the IIFYM website mine is 1660... so if I stick to 1,200 I should be able to more than/around 1.5 pounds per week. Which I'm not. Still losing at ~.5 per week.
No - if your TDEE is 1660 a 1.5 pound a week goal (too high for you) would be 1660 - 750 calories......or 910 calories a day.
1200 calories a day is a 460 calorie a day deficit.....less than 1 pound a week. 3500/460=7.6 days
1200 is a default minimum (for women) to help you meet nutritional guidelines.5 -
DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »DananaNanas wrote: »Don't eat if you're not hungry
I set a range for myself each day. (1,000 - 1,200). Some nights I have to add something else to get to that 1,000... some nights I have to say no to something to stay at 1,200.
Why are you eating so little?
I'm short and work in an office. I can't lose weight if I eat more than that.
ETA which is annoying because I work 9 hours a day at an office and then leave straight from there to go teach dance for several hours. You'd think I'd be able to eat more and lose weight since at least one of my jobs is active -_-
Have you actually tried eating more for any length of time?
Yes but I'm not willing to do so right now because this is actually working and I don't want to gain the weight back that I've lost.
Gaining weight requires a calorie surplus. That's eating more than your maintenance.....not eating more than 1,100 calories.
Seriously if you are gaining at 1300 calories you are eating more than you think. Either that or you are something like 4'8" tall.
I'm 5'4 lol based on the TDEE calculator from the IIFYM website mine is 1660... so if I stick to 1,200 I should be able to more than/around 1.5 pounds per week. Which I'm not. Still losing at ~.5 per week.
No - if your TDEE is 1660 a 1.5 pound a week goal (too high for you) would be 1660 - 750 calories......or 910 calories a day.
1200 calories a day is a 460 calorie a day deficit.....less than 1 pound a week. 3500/460=7.6 days
1200 is a default minimum (for women) to help you meet nutritional guidelines.
You're right, I re-did my math, the 3,500 would've been for one pound. 1.5 was the rate I was losing at over the summer.
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No i almost never did and i only ate to break my fast, then i jumped back into it. I fasted in the beginning for 24-16 hrs every other day, i was losing 1 lb a day. Then i increased it to 36-24 everyday, i lost 1.5 lbs a day.1
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No i almost never did and i only ate to break my fast, then i jumped back into it. I fasted in the beginning for 24-16 hrs every other day, i was losing 1 lb a day. Then i increased it to 36-24 everyday, i lost 1.5 lbs a day.
And what was your calorie intake on the days you did eat?0 -
I just started using IF for fat loss. I have lost so far 13 pounds of weight and 2% bodyfat in 10 days. I do one meal a day 16 hours of fast and 8 of feeding period every day. I consume 800 calories/day (150 gm of protein, 10 gm fat 25 gm carbs). I can't believe this really took place. Started at 197# down to 184# have not lost strength at the gym. I have continued doing one heavy set per body part and 20 minutes of low intensity step machine. I then break my fast with MCT and one hour later I have my 800 calories.11
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I just started using IF for fat loss. I have lost so far 13 pounds of weight and 2% bodyfat in 10 days. I do one meal a day 16 hours of fast and 8 of feeding period every day. I consume 800 calories/day (150 gm of protein, 10 gm fat 25 gm carbs). I can't believe this really took place. Started at 197# down to 184# have not lost strength at the gym. I have continued doing one heavy set per body part and 20 minutes of low intensity step machine. I then break my fast with MCT and one hour later I have my 800 calories.
800 calories a day is not good unless you have 400 MCT a day.5 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »I just started using IF for fat loss. I have lost so far 13 pounds of weight and 2% bodyfat in 10 days. I do one meal a day 16 hours of fast and 8 of feeding period every day. I consume 800 calories/day (150 gm of protein, 10 gm fat 25 gm carbs). I can't believe this really took place. Started at 197# down to 184# have not lost strength at the gym. I have continued doing one heavy set per body part and 20 minutes of low intensity step machine. I then break my fast with MCT and one hour later I have my 800 calories.
800 calories a day is not good unless you have 400 MCT a day.
The person is male.
@FitRican This is the same stupid plan that the producers of The Biggest Loser put the contestants through and they suffered from damaged metabolisms. Your plan is worse because you have FAR less fat stores than those contestants. Your profile says you want to be a good role model for your son. Would you want him doing something so potentially harmful to his body?8 -
What really matters, after you have 4-6 weeks of sound logging data to go on, is how fast you're actually losing weight, and whether your strength and energy level are holding up.
It's potentially dangerous to lose weight too fast, sure. It can be a health risk.
But if (after you've been at it for a while) you're not losing weight fast, and you feel strong and energetic, it's pretty unlikely that you're undereating, even if you're under your MFP goal. (It could happen because MFP overestimates your calorie needs, you could be working with overestimated exercise calories, could be you're logging food inaccurately and eating more than you think, whatever: Doesn't really matter.).
So, if you're losing weight more slowly than you'd like, and you have room to eat less without undereating to the point where you lose weight too fast for your current weight, plus you can eat less and get reasonably adequate nutrition (enough protein, fats, veggies/fruit), then it should be fine to eat less than you currently are.
OP, you've said you'd like to lose a pound a week, but are currently losing half a pound a week. So, let yourself eat up to 250 fewer calories daily. (It's fine to make a smaller change than that - I don't know what point you're at when you feel full.)
This is just my opinion, of course.
The IF part of this is irrelevant IMO: I'd say the same thing if you were an all-day grazer, eating 3 squares and a couple of snacks spread over 16 hours, or any other eating schedule that makes you happy.
Repeating:
1. If you get weak or fatigued, stop eating less.
2. If you start losing weight risky-fast, stop eating less.
3. If you can't get adequate nutrition while eating less, stop eating less.
Otherwise: Sure, fine, eat less.7 -
Try eating ONLY 2 meals per day.The idea being that if glucose is not readily available, the insulin in your body will process the stored fat. The concept is not very different from IF except the key idea is not to eat less but rather fewer times in the day. Just try this for few weeks! There is a lot of science behind , if interested look up Dr. Dixit's effortless weight loss plan.1
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I do IF - I was having a hard time getting in my calories above 1100 or so most "average" days on a 16:8 (2 meals a day, no snacks) so I switched to a 5:2 schedule. (Which I've been told works better for women anyway - but :shrug:)
MFP set my loss calories around 1800, but I usually eat ~1400-1600/day on my eat days & ~600 on my fast days. I lose approx 0.5-1 pound a week doing this.
Some days are close to 2k calories (occasionally higher if I'm having a giant snacky-splurge day), but as long as it's not too often, it doesn't effect my downward weight trend.2
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