Fasting

ddlehr
ddlehr Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Is anybody fasting? I've tried 16 hours fast with 8 hour eating window and struggled. Thinking 12 hours is more doable, but not sure if that's as helpful with weight loss. Any suggestions/tips?

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,836 Member
    Weight loss is about eating less calories than you burn. Fasting in itself doesn't do anything for weight loss, unless it helps you to consume less calories.

    I do a light version of intermittent fasting, but it helps me stay within my calorie limit: I usually skip breakfast and don't eat before lunch. In my case that means a 13hr fast.
  • fuzzylop_
    fuzzylop_ Posts: 100 Member
    It's individual. Some people find compressing their eating time window helps with diet adherence, others find the opposite and that they're hungry all the time. When I was doing IF, the first week was hard, but after that it got a lot easier.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    edited January 2020
    (Intermittent) fasting is helpful for weight loss in that narrowing the window for eating is one tactic some people find helpful for controlling calorie intake. No magic.

    12 hours is a pretty standard spread between dinner and breakfast, IMO. If you're a night snacker, that might help you cut out some excess calories. For me it wouldn't make a difference, since I don't typically eat after dinner (and often skip breakfast, just because that's my natural tendency, not because I'm "practicing IF" or anything).
  • nighthazel01
    nighthazel01 Posts: 57 Member
    Try shortening the window at first and give it some time. I don’t like making big changes all at once because it’s too difficult to sustain, and it’s too hard to get back on track once you fall off. 16 hours is a lot if you’re not used to it. Start with 12 and build up an hour after a couple weeks and so on. You want the change to be something you can maintain long term. Right now I fast between 15 and 18 hours, a lot depends on when I stopped eating the day before. I don’t want to be so rigid that I give up.
  • windra06
    windra06 Posts: 50 Member
    I have been fasting once per week from around 6pm-5pm the next day, so skipping breakfast and lunch. I've been doing this on and off for several years, more recently as i've been losing weight. I find that this is the best way for me to enjoy a really satisfying meal, sometimes a glass of wine or pudding on a Saturday night without having to restrict myself. I personally feel like it gives me a nice reset and reward for being good all week, and helps me stick to my weekly calorie goal.

    I remember when i first started fasting it was almost excruciating, i'd feel ravenous by lunch time and dizzy by mid afternoon. However i believe the body adapts to converting fat to energy and the more you do it the easier it becomes. From experience i would say it takes at least a month to 6 weeks to really adjust to fasting that long but it really will get easier and easier. You could start by just pushing yourself a little, if you start to feel weak and dizzy don't over do it just try for consistency and gradually adjust as your body gets used to it.

    These days i don't find a fast difficult, it's a challenge sometimes but i don't feel like i lack energy anymore. Infact i accidentally did an 18hr fast last week when i went shopping and skipped breakfast, i was too busy to stop for lunch and before i knew it was time for dinner!

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    The only thing you actually have to do is eat less than you burn aka create a calorie deficit. Everything else either helps or hurts achieve and sustain the calorie deficit.

    It is common to think you need to do something BIG to force yourself to lose weight. I used to think that way too. I always failed. I have learned that you need to think in terms of allowing weight loss to happen not force it.

    What matters is how easy it is because the easier it is the less likely you are to resist it.
  • julebrus2020
    julebrus2020 Posts: 26 Member
    I do this simply by virtue of not liking to eat breakfast and not eating after 8pm. If it doesn't work for you, there is no virtue in forcing yourself into doing it. But it has nothing to do with weightloss other then as a tool to eat fewer calories.

    My suggestion would be to note down when you are hungry, and try to find an eating schedule that compliments when your body wants food, that doesn't involve too much.

    For me that is saving calories for afternoon, because I have a tendency to graze a lot when I'm at home, and eating a big meal in the afternoon makes that less of an issue.
  • cloudy68
    cloudy68 Posts: 65 Member
    I started IF on September 1 of last year. So far, I have completed 101 fasts most averaging 18 hours. I have seen minimal weight loss - 3 pounds. However, I only need to loose a small amount of weight so I am satisfied with this amount. I have much more energy, my face is less puffy, clothes feel looser so I know I have lost inches, I am very satisfied with my progress. I am 77 yrs old and my doctor knows I am on the program and supports it. I am also a type 2 diabetic and my readings are lower since I started fasting.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    ddlehr wrote: »
    Is anybody fasting? I've tried 16 hours fast with 8 hour eating window and struggled. Thinking 12 hours is more doable, but not sure if that's as helpful with weight loss. Any suggestions/tips?

    IF doesn't have anything to do with losing weight. Weight management in general is about overall calories, not timing of your meals. IF can help some people more easily maintain a calorie deficit by essentially skipping a meal and/or any snacking they might normally do during the fasting period.

    Also, I'd think a 12 hour fast would just be normal for most people...I usually have dinner around 8 or 8:30 in the evening and my breakfast around 9 AM the next morning.

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