16/8 intermittent fasting

Options
alexandravictoria88
alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I would like to try out Intermittent fasting most preferably the 16/8 method. I normally workout fasted at 6am in the morning and I get to work at 8:10 and get home at 17:00 from work.

How could I make this work? Would it be ok if I don't eat after my workout and start eating at 10am or 11am ?

Any help would be great as I'm a newbie at this :smiley:
«1

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Options
    "Would it be ok if I don't eat after my workout and start eating at 10am or 11am ?"

    Yes it would.
    Perhaps by a small amount it's suboptimal but whether that matters to you is your decision - very, very few people need optimal.

    There's really nothing complex about not eating for a time period if you think it might be advantageous to you for whatever reason. Whether that time period is 16 hours or something else is also your decision if it doesn't fit your schedule and preferences.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    Just for extra information.. im 5ft2 and weight 59kgs .. I think I'll be going on 1500 kcal ..I train 4 days a week, mainly weight lifting but I'm going to try and incorporate 2 days of just cardio
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Options
    "Cardio" is an enormous range of intensity and duration.
    Shorter and/or less intense cardio shouldn't be any problem fasted but I wouldn't have tried yesterday's six hour bike ride without a lot of food before, during and after!

    It's part of the reason I mostly skip breakfast but when I need (or even just want) to eat early in the day I do rather than stick to a rigid timetable.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    6 hour bike ride ... yes probably not the best idea! 😅

    I think I'll do some treadmill work and elliptical for cardio. I'm not fond of cardio so I will have to push myself!
  • NYPhotographer2021
    NYPhotographer2021 Posts: 506 Member
    Options
    I typically break my fast at 9am and stop eating at 5pm. If I were to wait until 10am to eat, then my last meal would end at 6pm. Or still end at 5pm and I'd just have a smaller window of eating and be doing a 17:7 IF.

    "I think I'll do some treadmill work and elliptical for cardio. I'm not fond of cardio so I will have to push myself!"

    I hate typical cardio workouts as well. Although now that it's getting warm out again, I do enjoy walking outside. But for a good workout, I enjoy cranking the iTunes and just dancing around my bedroom! I even incorporate lighter hand-weights for an upper body at the same time. Picture John Travolta with a pair of dumbbells in each hand. But since you already lift, you don't need that. Walking on a treadmill or using an elliptical is not my cup of tea.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    I would rather start eating at 9am suits me so much better but I get home at 5 and I would like to eat proper dinner when I get home...therefore I have to break my fast a lot later. I must admit, today went well!! I was really hungry but after another half n hour the hunger left. I didn't train today so we shall see how I feel tomorrow. Ideally I would rather drink my protein shake at least an hour after workout...but just doesn't work with my schedule.

    Oh If only I'd be happy just dancing around my room for excercise ! :smiley:
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,127 Member
    Options
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    6 hour bike ride ... yes probably not the best idea! 😅

    I think I'll do some treadmill work and elliptical for cardio. I'm not fond of cardio so I will have to push myself!

    Maybe try to find some happier cardio, that you personally enjoy? There are dozens of options, indoors and out: Active VR or video games, exercise videos, walking, skating, cycling, swimming, frisbee, . . . on and on.

    There's a common myth that exercise has to be miserable and punitive, must be some gym-y thing, in order to be effective. That's not even remotely true.

    I'm a hedonist, not inclined to do anything just because it's good for me. Happily, I found exercise that's so fun I'd do it even if it weren't good for me, so it's easy to fit into my schedule. (I like fun.) In fact, my main exercise is seasonal, but I like it so much that I'll do other things I like less in Winter, just to stay in shape for the regular season (so I don't need to start conditioning from scratch every year). It helps that after a while (months to a year), I start feeling crummy (tense, stiff, moody, etc.) if I'm not active at all, and that will give me a bit of a kick to get going again in the off-season.

    What's fun is going to differ by individual, but even trying out various options can be fun in its own way.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    You are right :smiley: thank you. Sometimes you know the answer but you just need a push.

    I'm just hoping that waiting 3 -4 hours after working out to eat won't hinder everything I am trying to achieve.
  • gpanda103
    gpanda103 Posts: 189 Member
    Options
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    You are right :smiley: thank you. Sometimes you know the answer but you just need a push.

    I'm just hoping that waiting 3 -4 hours after working out to eat won't hinder everything I am trying to achieve.

    It won’t really, I pretty frequently go 4-5 hours without eating after a workout.
  • jrmorris93
    jrmorris93 Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    I would just have a protien shake after the gym in the morning.I usually dont eat till like 1 or 2pm but i eat like every 3 hours something small after that
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 630 Member
    Options
    Try it. Log it. Track how you feel.
    If it works for you, great!
    If it doesn’t work for you, then try something else.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    So... I feel much better in the mornings when I don't eat and I genuinely feel like I have so much more energy HOWEVER..have not lost weight and I keep feeling really bloated every time I eat !! Ahhhhhh so sick of nothing working
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    Options
    Are you in a calorie deficit?
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    Are you in
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    Are you in a calorie deficit?

    Yes .. Im eating 1500 kcal I'm 5ft2 weigh 59kgs and train 3 to 4 x a week
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    edited May 2022
    Options
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    6 hour bike ride ... yes probably not the best idea! 😅

    I think I'll do some treadmill work and elliptical for cardio. I'm not fond of cardio so I will have to push myself!

    I'm not fond of cardio machines at the gym and so, while I get a lot of cardio, 0% is on cardio machines at the gym.

    Today I did 45 minutes of gardening and 72 minutes of yoga/PT exercises.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    Options
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    So... I feel much better in the mornings when I don't eat and I genuinely feel like I have so much more energy HOWEVER..have not lost weight and I keep feeling really bloated every time I eat !! Ahhhhhh so sick of nothing working

    There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    Options
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    Are you in
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    Are you in a calorie deficit?

    Yes .. Im eating 1500 kcal I'm 5ft2 weigh 59kgs and train 3 to 4 x a week

    Depending on how active you are, it could be that your deficit is relatively small so you are losing weight but it will take time to show on the scale.

    How many calories does MFP suggest for you each day when you set up your profile (keeping in mind that will be without considering exercise, and you would then add more calories when you exercise)?
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    Are you in
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    Are you in a calorie deficit?

    Yes .. Im eating 1500 kcal I'm 5ft2 weigh 59kgs and train 3 to 4 x a week

    Depending on how active you are, it could be that your deficit is relatively small so you are losing weight but it will take time to show on the scale.

    How many calories does MFP suggest for you each day when you set up your profile (keeping in mind that will be without considering exercise, and you would then add more calories when you exercise)?

    I think I may just give up, this is nearly my 3 week point and when I'm fasting I feel really good actually and full of energy hut then once I start to eat I am just bloated throughout the whole day. May IF just isn't for me! I don't count calories all the time purely because I roughly know what I'm eating ..but I'm eating around 1500kcals a day. I'm just sick of the bloating!
  • mannabrewery
    mannabrewery Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    Have you tried something like Prolon to break your fast? It is pricey but it may work.
  • Annabobanna1985
    Annabobanna1985 Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    I usually do a 16:8 or 18:6 schedule starting at 2pm during the week. This works best with my schedule for work etc and I'm asleep for a big chunk of it :) I've started doing this last week and I'm down a few pounds.

Categories