Fasting

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Replies

  • preshalin
    preshalin Posts: 52 Member
    I've been doing it for a few weeks now. It's been working out for me. The important to ask yourself is whether it's sustainable for you? Is this something you can see yourself doing consistently. If yes then good thing for you. Most of the named diets can work in their own right and the best advice I can give is do what you know you can sustain. The important thing is to make sure you are in a deficit and log accurately. I'm doing the 16:8 fast and I love it.
  • igutt
    igutt Posts: 97 Member
    Fasting has a bunch of benefits but because of the smaller eating window some people (including myself) struggle to hit their calorie goal, since they are under their calorie goals the deficit will be bigger and the short term fat loss will be greater but it’s not good for the long term because your workout won’t be as good and your body will miss some nutrients. I still fast cuz I like it and I feel the benefits of it but you have to put some effort into making sure you hit your caloric goals for long term sustainability and health 👍
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    The point of that graphic is that there is nothing magical about IF, or OMAD, or keto, or paleo, or any named diet

    Yes but no one implied it was magical. The OP asked a question (in several places by the sound of it) and responding by posting a graphic that is just dismissive (and does not address what was asked) is pretty rude.

    OP I like IF. I usually aim for a minimum of 16:8 but often it’s about 18:6 instead. And then some days I’m just ravenous in the morning so I eat. I certainly don’t beat myself up about it.

    It’s very trendy on MFP to claim it’s all calorie deficit and for weight loss nothing else matters (hence the graphic shutting you down). No doubt about it- calorie deficit is key but we’re a lot more complex than simple machines. IF research is fairly early on and dietary research is notoriously difficult and complicated on humans. I’ve seen lots of claims of possible additional health benefits for IF and virtually none for possible downsides (assuming no other major health issues and that when you do eat you’re taking in sufficient nutrients). Now I’m sure all of the possible health benefits won’t turn out to be true but personally I think it’s possible some of them will.

    Regardless IF suits me because it means I have less snacking temptation and because it means I get bigger meals when I do eat. I have experimented a lot on myself and found the routine I explained above works best for me. I tried longer fasts (23:1 for a few weeks) and that wasn’t great for me (I could easily eat 2000 calories in my 1hour despite the fact I’m a vegetarian who eats very little processed food).

    So I’d say give it a try if you’re interested but be prepared to be flexible about what timing might be best for you.
  • moolynn
    moolynn Posts: 1 Member
    Yes! I’ve read The Obesity Code and I do think it has a lot of merit. I’ve been kind of following a modified version of it. Before I had read the book, I had been doing 16/8 fasting. When I first started doing that, I lost over 10 lbs in about 2-3 months, without even really changing what I was eating! I was like, wow, that was easy! But, then my weight loss stalled. Probably because I was still eating too many carbs during my eating window, and it was starting to catch up to me. Especially since I would still have lunch, an afternoon snack, dinner, and sometimes a cup of coffee with creamer in the evening or a dessert. Too many carbs and too many spikes of insulin during that timeframe. So, after reading The Obesity Code, I modified it. Now, I really only try to eat twice a day, to keep from spiking my insulin so much. Three days a week (M/W/F) I hold off on eating until a late afternoon snack, and then have dinner an hour or two later. Twice a week (Tues/Sat) I have only breakfast and dinner, no lunch or snack. And, twice a week (Thurs/Sun), I have only lunch and dinner, no breakfast or snack. So, I keep my body guessing on when it’s getting fed, but I’m not really sticking to strict eating times, just limiting which meals I eat on which days. And the last couple of weeks I’ve really been focusing on eating lower carb as much as possible. I will still have a cup of coffee with creamer with my breakfast or after dinner a few times a week, or a small sweet treat in the evenings (like at least 70%+ dark chocolate or carbmaster yogurts). But, for my coffee during my fasting periods, I’ve been putting only cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in it. Not exactly sweet, but adds some flavor since I can’t drink black coffee very well. But, I’ve recently found a company called Flavor God that has dessert seasonings that are keto friendly. They do have some sugar and carbs, but less than 1 gram per serving (1/4 tsp). It does add up if you use several servings, I’m sure (like I do!! Lol!) but still better than creamer. I’m not perfect, but I’m doing better, and have been slowly moving down on the scale here lately.
  • GabiV125
    GabiV125 Posts: 3,114 Member
    When the scale stales how can you tell if it’s just a plateau, or doing something wrong? A week or two with a good routine?
    In the past I got impatient then disappointed; that leaded to fake hunger and to the all too common emotional eating . Then guilty and disappointed and the circle goes on.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    GabiV125 wrote: »
    When the scale stales how can you tell if it’s just a plateau, or doing something wrong? A week or two with a good routine?
    In the past I got impatient then disappointed; that leaded to fake hunger and to the all too common emotional eating . Then guilty and disappointed and the circle goes on.

    Ugh, stalls like this are the worst. Generally, wait 4-6 weeks before you call it a plateau.

    A recent personal experience: I was losing about .75 lbs a week steadily, then I gained two lbs around the start of my period and also started running again, it was super frustrating to see those extra 2 lbs for 2 whole weeks even though I was sticking to my goals and behaving myself. Sometimes you just have to wait it out. It payed off, I saw a nice almost 3 lb drop over the past couple days :). If your plan was working well, lets say you were consistently dropping 1 lb a week, it is unlikely this will suddenly stop (if you are still following your plan). It is more likely you would see a slow decrease in the speed of weight loss heading into the plateau. Sudden stops are typically due to water retention, which can occur for many reasons. Women generally see it regularly with their cycle, changing you macro splits may cause it, or changes in your exercise routine, or the grumpy scale spirits just have it out for you this week >:) .

    Its really important to not let single weigh ins get to you, if you plan was working keep the faith and keep at it, things will fall back into place.
  • mullanphylane
    mullanphylane Posts: 172 Member
    ivch8vqvwhvv.jpg

    Quoting in case anyone missed it.😲

    And because I love the truth, accuracy, and precision of it!

    NOT NOT NOT knocking any tool anyone uses to obtain their weight loss goals (unless the method is unhealthy or dangerous). I happen to be using more than one of those tools. I think it is important that people remember there is not magic wand in the tool bag. No matter which tool(s) are chosen one must do the work with it to receive any benefits.
  • cosafe1
    cosafe1 Posts: 27 Member
    I have done keto for about two years but gave that up because I began "cheating" and didn't feel I was losing much weight. Then I began IF for about a year and began to feel better but being a senior who doesn't get much exercise I began learning more about fasting longer than the 16:8 I had felt comfortable with.

    I believe I need to fast longer than 16:8 and want to move to either 5:2 or doing 17:7 to get more fasting time.

    Seniors benefit more from fasting a bit longer - according to someone I'm following on youtube. I know I need to get more exercise but it's a sticking point for me: I never have exercised much except for walking which does not challenge me very much because I have gotten so used to walking in the past. The track near me that I began walking on is closed due to renovations so I'm looking for more places to walk.

    My exercise choices at home that I have set up are: bicycle (I bought a bike), rebounder, 5 lb. weights and a Gazelle slider. I like the Gazelle but don't spend more than 10 minutes at a time on it and I have to move my butt and get outdoors walking, riding my bike, whatever I can do to get this old bod in shape! HA HA.
  • GabiV125
    GabiV125 Posts: 3,114 Member
    Cosafe, you sound very active to me and kudos to you for wanting to do more! True that walking may seem not challenging, but it can be with some uphill portions, or varied speeds, weights and such.
    I always walked a lot and as I age I don’t look at it as exercise but as my way to unwind and to spend time outside. I also catch up with some phone calls or take a distraction with me ( my dog, my husband or a neighbor - in that order).
    At the very least is keeping me away from the fridge 😁
    Just started to do IF and although I don’t see results on the scale, I feel great and even slept better half this week. I’m happy to hear about other people experiences with it, and your is very encouraging.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    cosafe1 wrote: »
    I have done keto for about two years but gave that up because I began "cheating" and didn't feel I was losing much weight. Then I began IF for about a year and began to feel better but being a senior who doesn't get much exercise I began learning more about fasting longer than the 16:8 I had felt comfortable with.

    I believe I need to fast longer than 16:8 and want to move to either 5:2 or doing 17:7 to get more fasting time.

    Seniors benefit more from fasting a bit longer - according to someone I'm following on youtube. I know I need to get more exercise but it's a sticking point for me: I never have exercised much except for walking which does not challenge me very much because I have gotten so used to walking in the past. The track near me that I began walking on is closed due to renovations so I'm looking for more places to walk.

    My exercise choices at home that I have set up are: bicycle (I bought a bike), rebounder, 5 lb. weights and a Gazelle slider. I like the Gazelle but don't spend more than 10 minutes at a time on it and I have to move my butt and get outdoors walking, riding my bike, whatever I can do to get this old bod in shape! HA HA.

    I did 16:8 for about 6 months and switched to 17:7, which I've now been doing for ~ 8 months. I find 17:7 considerably easier to maintain. 18:6 works best of all for me but doesn't naturally fit with my daily schedule. You just have to find your sweet spot. I highly doubt this has anything to do with being a senior or that it impacts health at all. It's just a matter of finding what you can live with, so that you stay on plan.

    My observation after a year of doing IF is that you do get very accustomed to not being hungry outside the eating window (which is of course IF's great contribution to dieting!), but conversely, managing your cravings and interest in food during feeding time is pretty delicate. For me, a gap of 7 hours between my two major meals is as much as I can handle without the in-between snack turning into a meal of its own. Thus, hitting my calorie target for the day is made a lot easier by tightening up the window. You just have to fine-tune and tweak until it all clicks.
  • snake_man_32
    snake_man_32 Posts: 31 Member
    Has anyone tried 16:8 fasting vs 24-hours one day a week?
  • preshalin
    preshalin Posts: 52 Member
    Has anyone tried 16:8 fasting vs 24-hours one day a week?

    Hi,

    I'm currently doing this right now. I do 16:8 everyday and then 24 hours from Sunday to Monday. I find it works really well for me. It was tough to do the first 2 times then I was fine. The trick is making sure you keep busy, well for me that was it becuase I eat when I get bored. Lol. The reason I do the 24 hour fast is becuase I read up on it and it seems there are a lot of benefits to doing it.