Intermittent Fasting

I started after reading the benefits and here is one from Harvard
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156

mary3717 wrote: »

I started after reading the benefits and here is one from Harvard
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156

You read a blog on Harvard's website. Good luck.

Edit to add: Did you read this article? I just did. What benefits? At least read the last paragraph.

rileysowner wrote: »

There is nothing magical about Intermittent Fasting. As long as that pattern of eating helps you to adhere to a calorie deficit you will find success in losing weight with it. I used and Eat Stop Eat approach for a number of years and lost weight, but it was because that pattern of eating worked for me at the time. Now with a different job, that pattern of eating doesn't work for me any longer. Hopefully, it will work for you and help you adhere to a calorie deficit.

Same way of thinking here. I never was a great breakfast eater and due to work commitments my first meal was usually around 11 a.m. In order to lose weight, I also tried over the years everything from 3 main meals with 4 snacks in between per day to one meal a day. Since I joined MFP 635 days ago I was able to see my daily calorie distribution better. I feel my daily best when going for a good walk early in the morning. A light breakfast at around 11 to 12 a.m., a small snack around 3 p.m. and the main meal before 7 p.m. Maybe I am lucky - generally I don't like or need snacks. My trigger food has always been loaves and loaves of bread, so that's the only food item I am very, very careful with. Most of my carbs are from fruits / vegetables / dairy products and over time my % carbs/fat/protein has changed from 20 / 45 / 35 % to just about 33 / 33 / 33 %. So far I have lost 48 kg / over 100 pounds and a lot more to go. (Is not eating anything for about 16 hours a day actually called "intermittent fasting"?)

neugebauer52 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

There is nothing magical about Intermittent Fasting. As long as that pattern of eating helps you to adhere to a calorie deficit you will find success in losing weight with it. I used and Eat Stop Eat approach for a number of years and lost weight, but it was because that pattern of eating worked for me at the time. Now with a different job, that pattern of eating doesn't work for me any longer. Hopefully, it will work for you and help you adhere to a calorie deficit.

Same way of thinking here. I never was a great breakfast eater and due to work commitments my first meal was usually around 11 a.m. In order to lose weight, I also tried over the years everything from 3 main meals with 4 snacks in between per day to one meal a day. Since I joined MFP 635 days ago I was able to see my daily calorie distribution better. I feel my daily best when going for a good walk early in the morning. A light breakfast at around 11 to 12 a.m., a small snack around 3 p.m. and the main meal before 7 p.m. Maybe I am lucky - generally I don't like or need snacks. My trigger food has always been loaves and loaves of bread, so that's the only food item I am very, very careful with. Most of my carbs are from fruits / vegetables / dairy products and over time my % carbs/fat/protein has changed from 20 / 45 / 35 % to just about 33 / 33 / 33 %. So far I have lost 48 kg / over 100 pounds and a lot more to go. (Is not eating anything for about 16 hours a day actually called "intermittent fasting"?)

To answer the final question--weirdly, yes, that seems to be the current trend.

I also dislike snacking, and am happy eating 3 times a day most days (I often eat 2 bigger meals on the weekends), but I find it odd, and not true to my experience, that it would matter whether I ate these within a smaller window or more spread out (as works best for my schedule).

I find that I kind of naturally tend to eat best and feel best when I eat some kind of breakfast after working out in the morning (I usually run around 4-6 miles), which means breakfast at around 7 these days. Then lunch mid-day, and dinner quite late (around 8:30). When I was losing I was doing an even more spread out version of this (6:30, noon, 9), and easily lost the 90 lbs I wanted to, ending with a BMI in the middle of the healthy range.

So my firm belief is that people should focus on whatever schedule is easiest for them to maintain and feel good on (for me, it was important to have breakfast after a somewhat vigorous workout, which is how I liked to start the day, and to eat a home-cooked dinner at home, which meant eating an early dinner was impossible, and plus the timing of my dinner meant I never felt like evening snacking). I don't think my schedule is right for anyone else unless they also just come to it naturally, and I think people like different amounts of eating, some like breakfast some do not, etc., but I seriously doubt that eating all my meals in a 16 hour window (which would have caused other problems for me) would have somehow improved my weight loss (and my health was good throughout).

Then again, people are different in lots of ways, as I've always been so-so on most bread and it's about the last thing I'd accidentally overeat! (with the exception of naan if I could dip it in curry, a rare enough thing). ;-) I ate very little even before I decided to lose weight.

ReenieHJ wrote: »

My sister and her dd are going to start IF but it's not anything I've heard of before. You eat normal healthy(not crazy indulging or anything) for 5-6 days a week then day 6-7 you have between 600-1000 calories.
Does anyone do it that way?

I kind of did it that way, only close to goal when things get down to the wire the leaner I get. I will maintain for 2-3 days, eat ultra low two days (for me that is 1000-1200 cals) then in a surplus 2-3 days. So it is kind of a butchered version of 5:2. Then to maintain I just increase the cals on the low days.

I'm not sure if there's anything magical about it or not, but I know it works for me just based on my personality (I love to eat) so it's much easier for me to reduce calories by only eating in a certain window.

jocelynwiedman wrote: »

Any success stories out there who have successfully lost weight and realized the benefits of intermittent fasting?

I'm on day 2...I'll let you know.

Hi,
I can only speak for myself here, but I started IF 20:4 on October 1, 2019. I’ve lost 80 pounds. I fully recognize that it’s all CICO, but the IF lifestyle has gotten me away from that always thinking about food and six small meals mentality. I usually have a late lunch and an early dinner with my calories evenly distributed between the two.
If anyone needs some friends on their FL that are also doing IF please feel free to drop me a FR.