16/8 intermittent fasting

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:
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Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    "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
    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: 19,809 Member
    "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
    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: 510 Member
    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
    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: 34,133 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    Are you in a calorie deficit?
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    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: 28,052 Member
    edited May 2022
    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: 28,052 Member
    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
    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
    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
    Have you tried something like Prolon to break your fast? It is pricey but it may work.
  • Annabobanna1985
    Annabobanna1985 Posts: 11 Member
    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.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Annabobanna1985 wrote: »
    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.

    Well done ! 😀

    I train in the mornings so waiting till 2pm would kill me lol. I also sleep quite early I usually break my fast at 11:30
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    Annabobanna1985 wrote: »
    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.

    Well done ! 😀

    I train in the mornings so waiting till 2pm would kill me lol. I also sleep quite early I usually break my fast at 11:30

    What works for you now might change drastically as you adjust to IF.

    I started with a morning window because I needed a meal to have energy, especially for exercise, then my energy would fade throughout the day until bedtime.

    That reversed over time, I now prefer to be fasted for anything that requires energy, especially exercise.

    I now eat mostly in the evening because eating drops my energy and allows me to sleep well. Otherwise, being fasted is too energizing and I get insomnia. That took about 6 months though for that to happen.

    Listen to your body, but don't be surprised if what your body tells you changes over time.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Xellercin wrote: »
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    Annabobanna1985 wrote: »
    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.

    Well done ! 😀

    I train in the mornings so waiting till 2pm would kill me lol. I also sleep quite early I usually break my fast at 11:30

    What works for you now might change drastically as you adjust to IF.

    I started with a morning window because I needed a meal to have energy, especially for exercise, then my energy would fade throughout the day until bedtime.

    That reversed over time, I now prefer to be fasted for anything that requires energy, especially exercise.

    I now eat mostly in the evening because eating drops my energy and allows me to sleep well. Otherwise, being fasted is too energizing and I get insomnia. That took about 6 months though for that to happen.

    Listen to your body, but don't be surprised if what your body tells you changes over time.

    Love this. Thanks for this insight. I totally agree with the depletion of energy as soon as I eat.. I feel really lethargic and sluggish but whilst I'm fasted I have so much energy. But I must say by 11 ish I have started to become hungry again... bit it would be great if I could push it further and eat later.. and hopefully the bloating will go!
  • NYPhotographer2021
    NYPhotographer2021 Posts: 510 Member
    Good morning! One thing that stuck out for me was that you said you don't log your food all the time because you know approximately how much you consume. You'd be surprised just how off you might be.

    IF doesn't cause bloating. All it does is limit the time you take in calories. So if you are experiencing bloating, it would have to be from your food. You should try logging for at least a week. And make sure the entries are accurate. What you might find in the database could be way off. You should also get a food scale and weigh your food. Use Grams as the measurement. For a week, don't do anything different. Just log what you take in. And see if it really is around 1500 calories. My guess it is more than that.

    I could be wrong about the amount of kcals you take in. If so, then it's likely the food itself. Something you are eating is causing the bloating. But it wouldn't be because of intermittent fasting. You don't need to do IF. I find it easier for me to stay in a calorie deficit. If I didn't limit the time I eat, I would just keep eating all the time. Which is how I got to be fat. I need the structure. Not everyone does. Good luck!
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    edited May 2022
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    Good morning! One thing that stuck out for me was that you said you don't log your food all the time because you know approximately how much you consume. You'd be surprised just how off you might be.

    IF doesn't cause bloating. All it does is limit the time you take in calories. So if you are experiencing bloating, it would have to be from your food. You should try logging for at least a week. And make sure the entries are accurate. What you might find in the database could be way off. You should also get a food scale and weigh your food. Use Grams as the measurement. For a week, don't do anything different. Just log what you take in. And see if it really is around 1500 calories. My guess it is more than that.

    I could be wrong about the amount of kcals you take in. If so, then it's likely the food itself. Something you are eating is causing the bloating. But it wouldn't be because of intermittent fasting. You don't need to do IF. I find it easier for me to stay in a calorie deficit. If I didn't limit the time I eat, I would just keep eating all the time. Which is how I got to be fat. I need the structure. Not everyone does. Good luck!

    This is not my experience.

    The human body starts the digestive process in anticipation of food, so if you change that routine, the digestion process isn't as prepped and indigestion, bloating, gas, and diarrhea can happen. Diarrhea is especially common for people starting IF, and persists for some if they aren't careful with how they open their eating window. For some people, the diarrhea is so predictable and persistent that they have to plan for it when they eat.

    Putting food into a body that's prepped for food is very different than putting food into a body that isn't prepped for it. To this day, if I eat after 5pm, I'm fine, because that's my normal routine now, my body expects food at that time, and like clockwork, I feel "hungry" starting around 4pm, which is my digestive system prepping for the food it expects.

    But if I eat in the morning, which is very unusual for me, then I have to prep my system myself. I have to eat something small and easily digestible, like toast or juice to get the system running before I can put something like protein or raw vegetables in there, otherwise I will suffer, mostly bloating for me.

    This isn't unusual, many people suffer from poor digestion when opening their eating window and have to experiment with ways to open it that don't result in bloating, gas, or diarrhea.

    This makes perfect sense based on the physiological actions the body typically takes before an expected meal.
  • NYPhotographer2021
    NYPhotographer2021 Posts: 510 Member
    Hmmm...I've been intermittent fasting since last year. I go from 16:8 to 20:4, changing it up depending on how I feel. I have not felt bloated at all. I've lost 60 pounds in 7 months and I credit IF for helping me stay in a calorie deficit.

    Again, if the OP feels bloated each time, then perhaps IF isn't for her.
  • Seasonal_One
    Seasonal_One Posts: 49 Member
    Congratulations! Great story.
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    Hmmm...I've been intermittent fasting since last year. I go from 16:8 to 20:4, changing it up depending on how I feel. I have not felt bloated at all. I've lost 60 pounds in 7 months and I credit IF for helping me stay in a calorie deficit.

    Again, if the OP feels bloated each time, then perhaps IF isn't for her.

    Yeah, some people are lucky and don't have digestive side effects from fasting. That's great that you didn't.

    Still, it's quite common. I was part of Gin Stephen's online forum for awhile and it was talked about constantly, and for many people it went away over time or with adjustment to how they opened their window. Just today I had a bad stomach reaction to opening my window because I opened it with protein. Like clockwork, if I eat protein first when I open my window, my intestines have a full on hissy fit.

    I personally never had this issue with protein before IF, so it's specifically an IF thing for me, but that doesn't mean IF isn't for me, I just have to open my window a certain way and it's easily avoidable.

    But for OP it isn't really and IF thing. She has said in other threads that she has always had bloating, it's a general eating thing for her, she's just seeing that she's not bloated when she's fasting.

    That's kind of critical information for giving her advice. In her other thread, I've encouraged her to explore food reactions through an elimination diet.
  • alexandravictoria88
    alexandravictoria88 Posts: 138 Member
    Xellercin wrote: »
    NYPhotographer2021 wrote: »
    Hmmm...I've been intermittent fasting since last year. I go from 16:8 to 20:4, changing it up depending on how I feel. I have not felt bloated at all. I've lost 60 pounds in 7 months and I credit IF for helping me stay in a calorie deficit.

    Again, if the OP feels bloated each time, then perhaps IF isn't for her.

    Yeah, some people are lucky and don't have digestive side effects from fasting. That's great that you didn't.

    Still, it's quite common. I was part of Gin Stephen's online forum for awhile and it was talked about constantly, and for many people it went away over time or with adjustment to how they opened their window. Just today I had a bad stomach reaction to opening my window because I opened it with protein. Like clockwork, if I eat protein first when I open my window, my intestines have a full on hissy fit.

    I personally never had this issue with protein before IF, so it's specifically an IF thing for me, but that doesn't mean IF isn't for me, I just have to open my window a certain way and it's easily avoidable.

    But for OP it isn't really and IF thing. She has said in other threads that she has always had bloating, it's a general eating thing for her, she's just seeing that she's not bloated when she's fasting.

    That's kind of critical information for giving her advice. In her other thread, I've encouraged her to explore food reactions through an elimination diet.

    I will try some probiotics first and If this does not help then it will have to be as suggested. An elimination diet:)
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    alexandravictoria88 wrote: »
    I will try some probiotics first and If this does not help then it will have to be as suggested. An elimination diet:)

    I personally don't like taking digestive enzymes because they're very expensive and they don't help you solve the puzzle of what's setting you off. I'll only take them if I *know* I'm going to be eating one of my problem foods, the way someone with lactose intolerance will take lactase to have some ice cream.

    As I said in your other thread, a full elimination diet isn't as daunting as it sounds if you make a plan for what you are going to eat. If you don't plan properly, it's brutal trying to figure out each day what you can and can't eat, but if you are well prepared with delicious meals that fit each stage, it's just not that big a deal.

    That said, you seem really resistant to it, so in the meantime, you can try a few basic strategies to see if there are ways to improve your issue.

    Experiment with how you open your eating window. Try a very small snack first and don't eat for 30-60 minutes. See what kind of snack sets you off most/least. As I said for me, when I had a lot of stomach problems opening my window, simple carbs were the best for me. For you it might be fats (some people have a tbsp of olive oil), or protein (some have a hard boiled egg), and others fiber (some have raw vegetables).

    When it comes to fussy digestive systems, all you can do is experiment and see what happens...which the elimination diet does in the most systematic way, and gives you WAY more useful information.

    That said, have you ever been tested for celiac? If you have it, then all of what I've suggested is a huge waste of time.

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