Intermittent fasting

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jennypooh70
jennypooh70 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m a long time user of this app. Recently I’ve been doing intermittent fasting which is working fantastic! I’ve already lost 11 pounds this month. My issue with this app is if you input less than 1000 cal on your diary, it will not give you a complete progress report for your day. I eat 500 cal only every other day, and don’t eat between 7pm through 11am the next day. I truly wish they would adjust this for people doing intermittent fasting. I eat as much as I want ( within reason) on the other days. Thanks 🙏🏻

Replies

  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
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    The good news is that there’s no reason to ‘close’ your food diary for the day. I never do. All it does is generate some cheesy pop-up that gives you some fictitious prediction of where your weight might be in 5 weeks. 🤷‍♀️

    It says something along the lines of ‘If every day were like today in 5 weeks you’ll weigh xxx’

    Obviously 2 days are never the same, even if you were to literally eat the *exact* same meals your movement, activity etc are never going to be exactly the same. It’s a gimmick - nothing less, nothing more.

    So don’t give it another thought! If your form of Intermittent Fasting makes it easier for you to keep to an appropriate calorie deficit over time, carry on!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,410 Member
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    You don't need to close out your journal!
    One thing to consider though: You lost nearly 3lbs per week, which is extremely fast! How much do you eat on the other days? I'm a bit worried that you're not fueling your body sufficiently as the fastest weightloss MFP will give you is 2lbs per week, and this is only acceptable for very obese people. Eating too little can be dangerous: your body will get the energy it needs from your muscles (heart is also a muscle). You'll lose muscle mass, increasing the risk of ostheoporosis at age. You might become a lot less active because you don't have the energy, nor the muscles to do anything - less energy expenditure once you're at goal weight. You might lose hair, poor finger nails, not get enough vitamins and other essential things. Fatty acids are not only needed for a good poop, but also for brain function for example. Thus please make sure you're eating enough. Eating e.g. 500 calories every second day, and only 1200 on the others IS too little.
  • MaryFloNS
    MaryFloNS Posts: 19 Member
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    BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »
    The good news is that there’s no reason to ‘close’ your food diary for the day. I never do. All it does is generate some cheesy pop-up that gives you some fictitious prediction of where your weight might be in 5 weeks. 🤷‍♀️

    It says something along the lines of ‘If every day were like today in 5 weeks you’ll weigh xxx’

    Obviously 2 days are never the same, even if you were to literally eat the *exact* same meals your movement, activity etc are never going to be exactly the same. It’s a gimmick - nothing less, nothing more.

    So don’t give it another thought! If your form of Intermittent Fasting makes it easier for you to keep to an appropriate calorie deficit over time, carry on!

    I believe when it says if you ate the same for 5 weeks you would weigh this amount. What it is referring to is the amount of calories. Also, if you log 1000 or less it won't give you anything because it is programed for 1000 plus because anything less, in their logic, is not healthy. That's how I see it anyway.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    edited April 2022
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    jennypooh70 wrote: »
    I’m a long time user of this app. Recently I’ve been doing intermittent fasting which is working fantastic! I’ve already lost 11 pounds this month. My issue with this app is if you input less than 1000 cal on your diary, it will not give you a complete progress report for your day. I eat 500 cal only every other day, and don’t eat between 7pm through 11am the next day. I truly wish they would adjust this for people doing intermittent fasting. I eat as much as I want ( within reason) on the other days. Thanks 🙏🏻

    Ignore the diary closing thing--haven't closed mine in years (over 3000 day streak of daily logging) because it doesn't matter.

    It sounds like you're doing an extreme version of IF, mainly 5:2 where two days a week (not every other day) are 500 cal days and the other five are close to maintenance. In your case, the implied message from not being able to close the diary might be right--maybe you're not being healthy.

    Please take care of yourself.
  • GeminiLady159
    GeminiLady159 Posts: 120 Member
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    You will find a lot of commenters that have not researched IF on here. Yes to just not closing the log for the fast days-it is not accurate nor too helpful anyway.

    Another thing to look at for your fast schedule is to occasionally look at your weekly averages which will take into account both up and down days. That would be a good check on your overall nutrition and calories that will smooth out the fast days. I love IF too!! And no your body does not start to “eat” your heart muscle- that is the worst mfp urban legend!! Lol.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,203 Member
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    GeminiLady159 wrote: »
    You will find a lot of commenters that have not researched IF on here. Yes to just not closing the log for the fast days-it is not accurate nor too helpful anyway.

    Another thing to look at for your fast schedule is to occasionally look at your weekly averages which will take into account both up and down days. That would be a good check on your overall nutrition and calories that will smooth out the fast days. I love IF too!! And no your body does not start to “eat” your heart muscle- that is the worst mfp urban legend!! Lol.

    Simply doing intermittent fasting in a sensible way doesn't inherently risk heart health more than any other kind of calorie reduction, that I'm aware of. Extreme weight loss tactics of any type can risk heart health. For example:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10761904/under-1200-for-weight-loss/p1

    That's rare and extreme, so not high probability . . . very unlikely, in fact, if someone's taking a moderate approach. Heart damage from extreme diets is not an "urban legend" however: It's just a rare but very, very serious possibility. The possibility is higher in someone with a pre-existing heart condition . . . even an undiagnosed one.
  • bknight3913
    bknight3913 Posts: 6 Member
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    @Seasonal_One congratulations on making it to week 12 that is great. How is your weight if you don’t mind be asking. I’m starting today and I’m doing it to lose weight but I’m also hoping and shooting to nahe it more of a life style.
  • Seasonal_One
    Seasonal_One Posts: 49 Member
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    I'm on week 14 of OMAD and drop a few pounds each week. This is so simple but I understand that it's not for everyone. Someone that likes to eat small meals, all day, this might not be for you. I'm someone that has never eaten breakfast. Skipping lunch is easy for me. I try to eat my meal as late in the evening as possible so I'm not hungry late in the evening and looking for a snack. My wife does 16:8 and that works for her. She didn't have much weight to lose and is at maintenance.

    I started this by reading Dr. Fung's book "Obesity Code". Lots of videos from him and others and reading since. The Dr. and his book have lots of hatred here but I found his take on dieting interesting. Going beyond OMAD isn't for me but it's certainly interesting how long some people can go without eating.

    I believe that there is no best diet for everyone. You need to find something that you can stick to and be successful with. If something works for you, awesome! That's what everyone wants. It can't hurt to try IF for a week or two. If it doesn't work, there are a few hundred other diets out there that may work for you.

    Good luck!
  • Taleciab94
    Taleciab94 Posts: 9 Member
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    I am currently doing the 5:2 Fast diet, meaning 2 days where I fast for 24 hours and just eat dinner only about 500 calories and 2,000 calories the other 5 days eating normal as if I am at my goal weight.

    I also eat one cheat meal a week which is usually on the weekends around dinner time but changes if I go out with friends and just include it in my 2,000 calories for the day or I may go over by 500 calories or so.

    I also walk about 10,000 - 12,000 steps a day and this might be the goal mine for me. A lifestyle I think I might be able to stick to for the rest of my life by fasting one day a week (24hrs) after I reach my goal weight.

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