Has anyone tried intermittent fasting?

What do you mean by, "worked for you?"

It's just a schedule and it helps some people to schedule feeds. There is no magic that happens as far as weight. It's still about calories in and calories out.

I do currently because I'm out of the habit of eating breakfast and enjoy 2 larger meals vs 3. Beyond being a schedule I like it has no particular benefits for me -- I lost a bunch of weight and maintained for a while eating 3 meals. What can help is understanding what schedule (if any) tends to make it easier for you to eat at your proper calorie level. I found it definitely did help me to eliminate snacking since I feel more satisfied with 2-3 proper meals and eating more often throughout the day just caused me to feel less satisfied and think about food more and be more likely to impulse or emotionally eat. But others really like snacking and find it helpful.

I usually eat between 1 and 7 or so (more specifically, a lunch and a dinner, as not eating between meals is more important to me than any window), although that might change since I am working from the office most days again.

FLCindy wrote: »

Has anyone tried intermittent fasting termittent fasting? Has it worked for you ? What are the times you eat?

I've done it on and off for years. In fact, I did it pretty much the entire time I was putting on weight from 30 - 38 years old as I never ate anything until lunch. There's nothing magical about it, it's just an eating schedule. You can lose weight, maintain weight, and gain weight with IF...all dependent on your overall calorie intake vs calorie requirements.

I've been doing it for about 6 weeks now as I'm back in the office full time and get crunched for time in the mornings and don't have time for breakfast. All I have in the mornings is black coffee and water until lunch. I usually eat lunch around noon and some snacking in the afternoon and usually eat dinner around 7:30. I've been maintaining my current weight regardless since about March after having dropped about 10 Lbs of my 20 Lbs of COVID weight. I just haven't been in the right headspace to diet these last few months.

I intermittently fasted for most of my life, but didn't know it! I generally stayed around 128-130lbs. I remember working mid shifts for a long time waking up around 9am and having coffee. I'd take a lunch break at 2-3, and eat a kids meal at Cracker Barrell, Barbaritos (a burrito place), McDonalds or Chickfila...usually with a good sized sweet tea...then eat whatever I wanted, a somewhat inexpensive, healthy dinner that night.
I'm still not crazy about breakfast, but I have to admit, as I've gotten older in my 40s, that I am really feeling better eating a small breakfast when I wake up even though I don't have much of an appetite. This morning I just had almonds and a banana.

Yes. I've been doing noon to 8 pm for around two years and have found it very helpful. I'm a nighttime binger, so anything that gives me a rule to follow that even has a chance of keeping me from not going into the kitchen to graze, or worse, going to 7-11 to hit the chip aisle, is a major plus. I have lost around 80 pounds total doing IF and calorie counting. I am not as wedded to the early morning side of IF as the evening side and will sometimes have a 100 calorie muffin or something if I'm hungry. I'm usually diligent about not eating anything after dinner, and that's been helpful in my weight loss efforts.

FLCindy wrote: »

Has anyone tried intermittent fasting termittent fasting? Has it worked for you ? What are the times you eat?

Tried it, and am currently very happily still doing it. I combine 2 schedules, 4:3 (4 feast days eating up to TDEE, 3 fast days of 500 or less calories) ..and I try to eat between 6am when I get home from the gym, up to 2pm (4 o'clock once a week when I go out to eat with my husband)

It has worked for me tremendously. (down 30 lbs in 2.5 months with about 20 to go to my ultimate goal) I strictly weigh/measure my intake on fast days and aim for the most nutrition possible (broccoli, fish, eggs etc) and more loosely track on feast days. (mostly because I literally cannot eat up to my TDEE even when planning ahead..I end up with leftover uneaten stuff.)

I'm a bit odd though, in that I actually like feeling more "empty" now after feeling so bloated and yucky after putting on weight during quarantine last year, so limiting my eating windows just feels good/satisfying. (my biggest weakness is wine, lol) After doing IF for a week, my general "hunger" diminished drastically, and I get full much much faster. It also feels good to free up a lot of my time to not be thinking about/obsessing over food. (like, food and regular meals no longer control my day)