Intermittent fasting

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My name is Teresa. I`m coming back to my fitness pal. I was wondering if anyone has been on an intermittent fast. Just started today. It is not a full fast, but it does reduce my eating window to 6 hours. I am excited to be starting again. I love this site.

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  • nic0520
    nic0520 Posts: 86 Member
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    Hi, I am Nicole and I started IF about 3 weeks ago and I feel great. No more bloating, I have less pain (I have fibromyalgia) and can kneel down and get back up again- have not felt this good in years. I started 16:8 and now I am averaging 20:4. I have not lost a lot of weight- 6lbs, but you have lost inches and wearing clothes I have not in quite a while.
    Please feel free to add me, if you want to be accountability partners- I have not found many IFers on here. There are some great groups on FB.
  • Thewonderofitall
    Thewonderofitall Posts: 97 Member
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    Not sure you can consider 6 hours a fast. I think you have to go at least 12. 16 is better. (Just skip breakfast!)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Not sure you can consider 6 hours a fast. I think you have to go at least 12. 16 is better. (Just skip breakfast!)

    With a 6 hour eating window, the fast would be 18 hours which is the most common ratio for daily IF...16:8.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
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    Not sure you can consider 6 hours a fast. I think you have to go at least 12. 16 is better. (Just skip breakfast!)

    Better for what?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    nic0520 wrote: »
    Please feel free to add me, if you want to be accountability partners- I have not found many IFers on here. There are some great groups on FB.

    There are a lot of IF's on MFP actually. Most topics that get controversial start pulling them in.

    Some started purposeful, some because that is just the way they eat anyway, some for mythical reasons, some as weight management without logging food, some for improvements to other aspects of life, some with very serious beliefs as to the magic they think is behind it, some that see it as merely a method of eating in diet or not.

    I'm IF'r, but not sure how I could help with accountability - "don't eat!" on most my posts?
  • KathrynCatlady
    KathrynCatlady Posts: 86 Member
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    I've been IF'ing since 2017. Around mid-late 2020, I slowly started to get back into old habits of just eating all day. I gained about 15 pounds back and went up a dress size, but I am now back into it for a couple weeks. I don't strictly monitor my fasts at the moment (this reminds me I could use a fast-tracking app to assist in recall), but I am doing anywhere from 16:8 to 18:6, depending on the day.
  • Thewonderofitall
    Thewonderofitall Posts: 97 Member
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    Sorry, I read the op wrong! Thought they were fasting for 6 hours, not a 6 hour eating window! D'oh!
  • cathyrose9909
    cathyrose9909 Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi, I'm new to MFP and just start intermittent fasting Feb 2. I am glad to find some others doing this. I am doing 16:8. I start my day with lunch and finish dinner before 7 or 8. I am only allowing for one snack each day whenever I feel I need one. I'm so surprised at how good I feel! I have been on so many diets and yo-yo'd my entire adult life. I am a retired RN and I might be old but I am not giving up. Praying that this is the answer finally. Wishing all of you great success.
  • JarheadSFMF
    JarheadSFMF Posts: 54 Member
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    Hi there, I have been on a 16:8 for a couple of years and it's been great for me. I am down almost 80lbs (was 87 but a few have crept back over winter). I have never felt better.
  • JTGJTG
    JTGJTG Posts: 52 Member
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    Started recently on 16:8, not so much for weight loss but to give my body a rest after some horrible antibiotics. I drink apple cider vinegar with honey before bed -- a couple hours outside of my IF window. Is that going to screw it up?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    JTGJTG wrote: »
    Started recently on 16:8, not so much for weight loss but to give my body a rest after some horrible antibiotics. I drink apple cider vinegar with honey before bed -- a couple hours outside of my IF window. Is that going to screw it up?

    Screw what up exactly? You really do get to set your own fasting rules as there isn't a governing body.

    I'd be concerned about screwing up my teeth with that concoction TBH.
  • KrysBlaze
    KrysBlaze Posts: 196 Member
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    I'm just learning about this myself. Any good book suggestions or podcasts?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,055 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    JTGJTG wrote: »
    Started recently on 16:8, not so much for weight loss but to give my body a rest after some horrible antibiotics. I drink apple cider vinegar with honey before bed -- a couple hours outside of my IF window. Is that going to screw it up?

    Screw what up exactly? You really do get to set your own fasting rules as there isn't a governing body.

    I'd be concerned about screwing up my teeth with that concoction TBH.

    Perhaps surprisingly, straight commercial-strength ACV is no more acidic (pH-wise) than a lot of popular commercial beverages . . . it's just not smoothed on the tongue by a bunch of sugar, though PP is adding honey to do that, I guess. Doesn't mean it's good for teeth, though - it's potentially not at all good, just not uniquely bad.

    @JTGJTG, if you're drinking it to repopulate your microbiome, and it's raw vinegar with mother . . . maybe something there. But consider that any of a range of live-culture foods can do that, at any time of day. Live-culture yogurt is often recommended after antibiotics, but there's also raw sauerkraut/kim chi, live-culture miso, kombucha, and much more . . . or a good quality probiotic supplement.

    As far as whether the the IF secret police will come after you: No. Your choice.

    If you're thinking the ACV is some kind of weight loss aid . . . well, not a lot of solid research supports that. Certainly, I saw no difference in weight loss rate or appetite between many weeks when I drank ACV (straight, no honey) daily (for reasons unrelated to weight loss), and many weeks when I didn't.

    IF has no special weight loss magic, either, except insofar as it may help you manage your calorie intake in a happier way. If the ACV/honey doesn't interfere with whatever you see as your personal benefits from IF, then it should be fine to drink it. Brush your teeth right after, though, eh? At least rinse well?

    AFAIK, the idea of resting the body via IF isn't very well substantiated, either. Full digestive transit, per research, can take up to 50+ hours. What does a 16 hour fast do in that context, do you think, as contrasted with (say) the 8 hour fast many of us do while sleeping?

    If you like IF, are persuaded, far be it from me to talk you out of it. I'm just cranky by nature, I guess.
  • Fredamck
    Fredamck Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi, I haven't used MFP in years so I'm trying to learn all of the changes. I started 16/8 IF 3/7/2022 and as of today I have dropped 4 lbs. I'm not worrying too much about what I'm eating but I will gradually try to aim for all low carb foods. I'm looking forward to feeling better. Please feel free to add me.