If you have done or are doing 16:8

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CassieJones104
CassieJones104 Posts: 76 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering.....
DO YOU COUNT CALORIES DURING YOUR 8 HOUR EATING WINDOW?
WHAT HAVE YOUR RESULTS BEEN?
ARE YOU ALSO EXERCISING?

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  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I'm a part time 16:8'er - during the winter months it becomes my predominant eating pattern, rest of the year it's probably 50/50.
    Mostly when I have a big calorie allowance I eat breakfast, when I don't I don't and winter is a factor in that.


    DO YOU COUNT CALORIES DURING YOUR 8 HOUR EATING WINDOW?
    I stopped logging food at maintenance a long time ago but that was nothing to do with my eating patterns. Obviously calories still count whether you count them or not but it can be a way for someone to help manage their allowance without counting.

    WHAT HAVE YOUR RESULTS BEEN?
    I find it a painless way to cut some calories as eating breakfast or not doesn't make much of an impact to my hunger levels. I prefer to eat most of my food later in the day but if I'm genuinely hungry first thing I eat, if I'm not I don't.
    Overall it's just a convenient tool to help manage my calorie balance and my weight.
    What "results" are you looking for OP?

    ARE YOU ALSO EXERCISING?
    Yes, a lot.
    On days of long duration exercise (3hrs +) I'm far more likely to eat breakfast. Big calorie needs and alllowance + fuelling my cycling. On those days I'm more likely to skip lunch and snack.
    For more "normal" exercise duration whether I have breakfast of not is an irrelevance, it's not needed or or a benefit either way for me, no performance or feeling differences fed or fasted.


    PS - When I experimented with strictly sticking to an 8hr eating window irrespective of hunger signals or calorie allowance it made me a cranky clock-watcher and turned it from a useful tool into a complete PITA.
    Some people like rules, restrictions and a fixed schedule but I don't.
  • Naija82
    Naija82 Posts: 345 Member
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    swimmchick87 wrote: »
    I definitely still count calories. IF is a way that can make sticking to a lower calorie goal easier for some people. I'm one of those people. I find it pretty easy to say to myself that I can have the food I want, I just have to wait a bit. And only eating during certain parts of the day means I get a lot more flexibility with my meals and calories. Just restricting your eating to a "window" is not going to help you lose weight if you don't also cut calories. And if you're not counting, you may think you're eating less but in reality that may not be true.

    After many yo-yo attempts I realized I also need more calories per day. 1200 is never going to work for me long term. So I have my goal set to lose 1 pound a week so I get more calories every day and don't feel deprived. I also don't weigh myself, which is not going to work for everybody, but I'd done the yo-yo thing enough times to know how my body responds, and I know how to count/track accurately, so I don't need it as a back up to make sure my plan is working. I chose not to weigh myself this time because I didn't want to get frustrated with the "slow" weight loss of one pound per week when I started with a whole lot to lose. I've done better focusing on how much better I feel emotionally and physically when I'm eating right. I started January 1 and have been "on track" for most of that time, with a few slip ups here and there. I've gone from barely squeezing into a size 18/probably should have been wearing a size 20 to a size 12 in that time.

    The only exercise I do is walking but I'm pretty religious about getting at least my 10K steps every day. If I want to eat more, I walk more. I actually enjoy some gym workouts and my original plan was to just focus on the calories/eating for a bit and then add the gym in when I felt really solid with that. Unfortunately, covid ruined all of that. I definitely don't want to work out in a mask, so the gym is out for now. But eventually, I'd like to add that in.

    That's awesome, wish I could do that but I'm a slave to the scale, I'm learning not to focus too much on the number. Well done on the weigh loss!
  • Naija82
    Naija82 Posts: 345 Member
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    I don't usually count calories because I just eat what I will normally eat but less off, end up eating twice lunch and dinner. Since I'm not much of a breakfast person I ended up doing this naturally most day. I do still exercise, prefer working out on an empty stomach so perfect if I get it done in the morning
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
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    I've been doing 16:8 for years, both to lose weight (5 1/2 stone) and to maintain/recomp.

    Yes, I count calories rigorously. That was the key for me - the eating window just helps me keep to my calorie limit.

    Yes, I exercise for an hour or so every day (if I can - it works out as at least 6 days most weeks). Within a week I'll do one day of vigorous cardio (boxing), two days of heavy weights and the rest mostly calisthenics type stuff with some kettlebells or lighter weights thrown in.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,978 Member
    edited October 2020
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    CassieJones104 wrote: »
    Just wondering.....
    DO YOU COUNT CALORIES DURING YOUR 8 HOUR EATING WINDOW?
    WHAT HAVE YOUR RESULTS BEEN?
    ARE YOU ALSO EXERCISING?

    Did 16:8 on a strict schedule for awhile but no longer

    I always log cals (food eaten) daily regardless of when I eat.

    Results doing IF no different than when I didn't/don't do it. Key is to log the cals and eat w/in your cal limits.

    I always exercise but I exercise for fitness not to increase the cals that I can eat.

    When in doubt, I opt towards a higher est of cals consumed and a lower est of cals burned, wc makes it less likely that I will eat "too much "

  • camillaaxx
    camillaaxx Posts: 5 Member
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    IF has a lot of potential health benefits and can be useful for weight loss. My advice is to approach with caution if you have a history of eating disorders or disordered eating as it can be quite triggering (from a scientific perspective and from a personal anectodal standpoint) to have to force yourself not to eat for long periods of time and to eat voraciously for others. Having said that there's a lot you can do to perform IF safely, starting from logging your calories to make sure you are getting enough energy and nutrients to support your body. Good luck let us know how it is!
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
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    Naija82 wrote: »
    swimmchick87 wrote: »

    That's awesome, wish I could do that but I'm a slave to the scale, I'm learning not to focus too much on the number. Well done on the weigh loss!

    I used to be like that too. I would literally weigh myself 5+ times a day and I was convinced that the constant weighing was "keeping me on track." Then I'd go "off the wagon" and avoid the scale like the plague. Two summers ago, I tried the 1 pound a week setting and it really worked for me, but I had a lot to lose and I got frustrated with how "slow" it was. Over the course of the summer I went from 203 to 190, which was exactly what should have happened given that I set myself up to lose 1 pound per week, but it felt like nothing because I was "still huge." When some stressful things happened in the fall I didn't stick with it because it felt like I'd worked on it all summer and it "didn't matter."

    It was really hard to train myself to stay off the scale this time around. After getting used to it, I love it. It's very freeing not even knowing what I weigh. And I no longer have to worry about little setbacks with natural fluctuations- those things used to make me really upset. Focusing on how I feel and the good I'm doing for my body is such a healthier mindset than worrying about a number on a scale.
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »


    PS - When I experimented with strictly sticking to an 8hr eating window irrespective of hunger signals or calorie allowance it made me a cranky clock-watcher and turned it from a useful tool into a complete PITA.
    Some people like rules, restrictions and a fixed schedule but I don't.

    I agree with this too. For me, this is mostly naturally the way I feel best eating anyway. But I think it's important to not get bogged down in "I have to eat only in these 8 hours at all costs." I've found that on weekends it's easier for me to not start eating until about 2 PM, because I sleep in and then I stay up later than weeknights. But if someone invites me to lunch/brunch, I make it work within my calorie allowance. Or if I'm just overly ravenous earlier, I may start eating earlier. It's really about sticking to your calorie goal. For me it's just easier to do that if I don't "waste" calories earlier in the day most of the time.

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