Intermittent fasting vs calorie counting for women
seedrah6
Posts: 56 Member
I tried intermittent fasting before and hated it I am on a deficit and it’s easy for me to count calories. But I’m just wondering if there’s really a difference or even a point in intermittent fasting as all you’re doing is trying to reduce calories either way except if you don’t track with fasting you could overeat anyway
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Replies
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This is not an either/ or question. You still track calories with intermittent fasting. It doesn't magically cause weight loss. It is just a tool to help with calorie control.23
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To me, these two approaches aren't mutually exclusive.
I've been less rigorous lately, but for several months I combined (light) intermittent fasting with calorie counting.
Calorie counting to make sure I was in a deficit.
And intermittent fasting to make compliance to my calorie goal easier.
I found it was much easier to stick to my calorie goal when I completely skipped breakfast. I found that when I ate breakfast, I wasn't less hungry at lunch. If anything, I was more hungry for the rest of the day.34 -
I'm not actually intermittent fasting per say, but I did find that if I pushed breakfast to later in the morning, and ketp my breakfast light (under 250 calories), I was better able to stick to my deficit. I need as many calories available in the evening as I can because evening is when the munchies kick in and when my will power is at its lowest.
However, now that I've started getting up and using my elliptical in the mornings before I start work (I'm using the time I used to spend in commute on the elliptical), I found that I need to have something small before I start the workout; I don't do well trying to do it fasting. So I usually have a slice of toast with about 1/2 Tbsp of peanut butter on it, then wait until about 10 AM to have my "official" breakfast.
But the point really is maintaining a deficit, and finding the tool that works best for you personally in keeping to that deficit, whether its counting calories, counting carbs, counting points, eating later in the day, stopping eating earlier in the evening, whatever. The deficit is what matters; how you achieve that deficit only matters in relation to your health (meaning some means of maintaining that deficit are bad for you, such as starving yourself, eating only green cabbage every day, every meal, for a month, etc).8 -
I've dabbled with IF a few times and found it's just not a fit for me. I always tracked calories while doing IF and there was no discernible difference in scale weight or other intangible "benefits" from IF. Adherence is a little easier to come by when doing IF but nothing I can't match by being diligent with adherence eating throughout the day.8
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I've never done IF, maybe skipped breakfast a handful of times and it's definitely not for me. I seem to do quite well eating all day (and night).6
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It seems like fasting doesn't fit well with aerobic exercise.
Maybe some people can do it, but I've found that I can't. If I do the run in the morning (fasted) I'm mega hungry about an hour later and need to eat something. If I fast throughout the day, I can't run in the afternoon.
When I've fasted, it's been on a non-exercise day. I might walk around a bit, but I won't go on a 5 mile run!1 -
I tried intermittent fasting before and hated it I am on a deficit and it’s easy for me to count calories. But I’m just wondering if there’s really a difference or even a point in intermittent fasting as all you’re doing is trying to reduce calories either way except if you don’t track with fasting you could overeat anyway
IF doesn't necessarily default to losing weight or a calorie deficit. I can help some people better adhere to a calorie deficit, but that's not necessarily the default. I did IF last summer to help me maintain because we had just built a pool over the spring and I knew there would be lots of pool side cookouts and drinks.6 -
This is not an either/ or question. You still track calories with intermittent fasting. It doesn't magically cause weight loss. It is just a tool to help with calorie control.
That’s exactly my point. I already control my calories so don’t think intermittent fasting makes much difference.
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I've dabbled with IF a few times and found it's just not a fit for me. I always tracked calories while doing IF and there was no discernible difference in scale weight or other intangible "benefits" from IF. Adherence is a little easier to come by when doing IF but nothing I can't match by being diligent with adherence eating throughout the day.
Yeah I find restricting eating to a time is very obsessive and doesn’t work with my daily appetite. I have a small appetite anyway but it’s usually high in the morning/first meal plus IF throws off your hormones and doesn’t seem too fun
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This is not an either/ or question. You still track calories with intermittent fasting. It doesn't magically cause weight loss. It is just a tool to help with calorie control.
That’s exactly my point. I already control my calories so don’t think intermittent fasting makes much difference.
That really becomes a personal preference issue. If you are comfortable with your current eating pattern and hitting your calorie goals in a sustainable way, why change anything. There is no inherent weight loss benefit to IF.
For some of us, we are not that hungry in the morning and like bigger meals later in the day. For me, it suits my preferences and keeps me on track for my calorie target effortlessly.4 -
@seedrah6 Yeah, IF (also know as "skipping breakfast" or "not eating for an extended period of time before bed" is just a way that helps people control calorie intake! Nothing fancy about IF that causes expedited fat loss. You'll hear about hormone this and enhanced that but it's just a strategy used to limit calories easier. Works for some, not for others. Some feel great, others do not.
I have clients who stop eating at a certain point in the evening to help control snacking, boredom eating and overconsumption in general which has been a good tool to create and maintain a deficit. Again, depends on the person and what the enjoy and can adhere to though!10 -
This article has a lot of solid information in it for anyone interested. I also like how it mentions IF isn’t for everyone: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-20180629141562
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This article has a lot of solid information in it for anyone interested. I also like how it mentions IF isn’t for everyone: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156
Sigh this study has been debunked. It was performed on a very small number of people - 6 if I remember correctly - and they only logged what they ate for 4/7 days. It was a really really poor study design.
And even IF early morning eating was proven to be benefit, it was miniscule. Basically it worked out to about a week difference in the weight loss. Meaning that for people losing the same amount of weight, those eating in the morning took about a week less time to lose the weight than those eating in the evening. Personally, not enough to really make a significant difference and certainly not a magic diet.9 -
Whether you practice intermittent fasting or you are on whole 30 diet or keto diet or anything else....it comes down to calories. You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. I do intermittent fasting only because it helps me with my calorie deficit. I wake up and drink black coffee and I’m not hungry until afternoon, which then leaves all my allotted calories for afternoon and night, when I’m most hungry. Do what makes you happy and allows you to be most consistent with your calorie deficit.14
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I have had sleep and digestive issues. I am hoping eating on an I.F. schedule will help ease those issues. Having a shorter window of time to eat can help you eat less, but not if you stuff yourself during your feeding time. You still have to monitor your intake vs. output.
Like some others on here, I prefer to save my calories for later in the day when I am prone to being more hungry - doesn't matter if I eat breakfast in the A.M. or not - I'm still hungry in the evening. Trying to stop eating by 8pm and into bed by 11. That's hard. But if I can eat the bulk of my calories by 8pm....I hope to stop over doing it on snacks.3 -
The comments above have summarized things well. I just wanted to add, as a person who does calorie counting AND IF, that not only are they not mutually exclusive but for the right person, they work well together. However, IF is only good when it makes things easier. There's no reason to even bother with IF (or other sorts of diets) if it makes things harder or more stressful; the whole point is to find a system that's as easy and unstressful as possible. IF makes things easier for me because I like having two large meals and am willing to sacrifice in other ways so I can have them while staying within my calorie goals for the day. But that is not something everyone needs or wants.I have had sleep and digestive issues. I am hoping eating on an I.F. schedule will help ease those issues.
IF has been phenomenal for my digestive issues, which are probably 95 % eradicated. But it's been quite bad for my sleep. It's a mixed bag.
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I am doing IF simply because I found it hard to stick to my calorie goals eating 3 meals a day + snacks. I would eat and then be hungry again.
I have no problems getting up and not eating for a while, I'm not even starving when it's time to eat. I do drink coffee in the meantime, so you could say I'm not really fasting I'm just eating really low calorie in the AM.
I don't expect any other benefits.2 -
I had no issues hitting my calorie goal with 3 meals, no snacks, however spread across the day (snacking or grazing makes me feel hungry all the time), but I started experimenting with earlier in the day IF before the corona shutdown (curious how it would feel, if my sleep would be better), and kind of liked it (I was doing 2-3 meals from 7-4). Weirdly now I'm home all day I tend to eat 2-3 meals without a traditional breakfast, and still with dinner by 7 at the latest. Today I ate at 3 and 7. I'm just going with when I feel like eating, and I tend to skip breakfast -- my weekend schedule used to be 12 and 6 (with 6 often a nice restaurant dinner before a play or concert), so this is more like that without the fun activities included).
I don't think what I'm doing is ideal for when working outside of the house for me, but I'm going with it so long as it feels right.
I still have to count cals when eating within a window unless I eat in a very mindful way -- and when eating in a very mindful way I don't have to count cals when eating 3 meals spread from 6 to 9, which was my old habit. It's about what keeps me mindful if not counting (obv counting does).0 -
IF or calorie counting? seems to me a question like library books or science fiction?
Ie you can have a way of eating that is both or neither.
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I just started skipping breakfast this week to see if I’m better on 2 larger meals.so far so good. I’m still counting cals tho.2
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I do both. For me, IF helps me stick to eating in a calorie deficit much more easily. I used to make myself eat breakfast because I thought it was "healthy" even though I'm never hungry in the morning. It was very freeing when I realized I don't need to do that. Very rarely I will eat breakfast if it's some kind of special event and on those days I am much more hungry throughout my day. I also realized that no matter how many calories I had at lunch, rather it was 300 or 800, I'm ravenous after work. So I skip breakfast, keep my lunch to 300 calories or less, and then save the majority of my calories for evening when I can enjoy them and am most hungry. On weekends, I generally don't start eating until 2 PM so that I don't burn through my calories too early in the day. Even eating this way it would be quite easy to still get too many calories. I personally don't think IF without calorie counting would be successful for most people.
I've tried the grazing/small meals throughout the day thing and hated it. I was starving all day long because even though I was eating frequently, it was never enough to be satiating. It took me a long time to realize I do much better with infrequent but big meals. I know other people who love doing the "six small meals a day" or similar because they feel like they get to eat all of the time. IMO there is nothing magical about IF. If it's not your preference for sticking to your calorie deficit it doesn't make sense to try it.5 -
I did IF for a few months some years ago when it just lined up really well with my work schedule. Never had the willpower to go back to it but it did help a lot and appealed to my laziness. I wasn't obsessing on portioning and eating tiny unfilling snacks and meals that just made me hungrier all day or worrying about the spirit of spontaneous snacking taking hold of me. I just, didn't eat. And then I the early evening I could have basically anything I wanted.
Agreed though with the main point people have made here that it's more a way to control calorie intake, it doesn't mean the calories don't matter.0 -
I am like swimmchick ^. If I start eating early it is like I am hungry all day. If I drink coffee for breakfast, coffee or tea late morn, sometimes I don’t feel hungry until late afternoon. Then I eat. I like big meals. It leaves me satisfied to eat a large meal and then have room for an evening snack so that is what I do. Usually a fruit or veg(often with dip or Pb when I am first hungry, sometimes I will switch it up and do a protein shake, then I will cook out big family supper, then a snack or the rarely planned dessert in the evening. It works well at controlling my hunger through the day, keeping my calories in the 16-2000 range for the moment, and I have some meds that are better taken spaced apart, and each without food so I know they are absorbing well early in the day too. The docs are starting to finally agree with me and suspect delayed gastric emptying, I actually find eating this way my digestion is improved. Maybe more stomach acid or digestive action later in the day? We are not sure yet. But smaller meals through the day leave me bloated and in quite a bit of pain for the past 1.5years.
People always ask about workouts. I lift in the mornnngs. Building upwards on my squat and bench, etc. Seeing great movement these past months even with some injuries(old job, massage therapy related) to overcome. And I typically also will go for a run in the aft before I eat. 2-3miles/day at the moment. After my evening meal I am out again to walk the dog or sometimes we bike instead. No energy dips, I find I have more consistent energy and more so when I keep my meal hours smaller because my gut doesn't hurt.1 -
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I do both. I eat Noon-8PM and find that waiting until noon (except for one AM black coffee!) gives me more flexibility for the rest of the day. I definitely need to count calories also, portion control has always been my biggest challenge.0
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Intermittent fasting + fasted workouts + calorie counting...its free too!
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You can do it too!
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Counting calories with IF is very important for another reason that I experience that has not yet been mentioned....eating too little ! IF helps with hunger so well that sometimes you just dont feel hungry especially if you try to limit your simple carbs when you do eat. It's important to count calories to make sure you are reaching your healthy calorie goal each day.5
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joyanna2016 wrote: »Counting calories with IF is very important for another reason that I experience that has not yet been mentioned....eating too little ! IF helps with hunger so well that sometimes you just dont feel hungry especially if you try to limit your simple carbs when you do eat. It's important to count calories to make sure you are reaching your healthy calorie goal each day.
This was an extremely important note to add! I IF 16:8, eating 11a-7p and keep around a 1200-1400 daily caloric intake. There are many times I am either not hungry or get fuller faster when it is meal time. When I added extra miles to my exercise and kept the same caloric intake, I gained weight. Sometime you have to eat whether you are hungry or not (or even up your calories to a lesser deficit) to keep your metabolism in check. There is a thread on this site that talks about eating more to lose more that summarizes this topic much better than I did!0 -
If you have elevated insulin levels IF can be one of the only ways to get insulin low enough to burn fat. If no insulin issues there would be no noticeable difference1
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