Intermittent fasting

rossdarragh · February 2023

Been on 16:8 intermittent fasting and calorie countingfor 4weeks nowand lost 11lb. My only concern would be the number of calories at approx 1200 daily.

I was always a grazer, constantly snacking during the day, always hungry. With my present routine I don't feel the need to eat so often and feel really comfortable with it but would a low calorie count of 1200 be in danger of sending my metabolism into starvation mode.

I could eat more calories but don't feel the need to eat more. I'm 56 male not very active outside of work which can be a mix of physical and not so physical.

BartBVanBockstaele · February 2023

rossdarragh wrote: »

Been on 16:8 intermittent fasting and calorie countingfor 4weeks nowand lost 11lb. My only concern would be the number of calories at approx 1200 daily.

I was always a grazer, constantly snacking during the day, always hungry. With my present routine I don't feel the need to eat so often and feel really comfortable with it but would a low calorie count of 1200 be in danger of sending my metabolism into starvation mode.

I could eat more calories but don't feel the need to eat more. I'm 56 male not very active outside of work which can be a mix of physical and not so physical.

Your best best is to talk to a doctor MD. More generally speaking, starvation mode is largely a myth. It is true that losing weight will automatically lead to lower energy needs, because fat does use energy and losing fat leads to lower energy needs (a.k.a. the easiest way to lose weight quickly is to be very fat). It is also true that there is some additional lowering of energy needs on top of that, but it is minimal and has nothing to do with "starvation mode". The only thing that you should genuinely be concerned about is getting enough nutrients to keep alive without deficiencies. That is why a doctor is important, and *if* he/she feels it is appropriate for you in your specific case, he/she will refer you to a registered dietitian to help you with that.

And maybe I should add that I am a 61 year old male, and 1200 kcal seems to be just about what I need to stop weight loss. I will have to see how things turn out, that should be in a few months from now. At levels like these there isn't much room for errors.

I have just spent a few days experimenting with some foods to replace my favourite food because Bulk Barn is longer selling it, and I don't want to go with the canned version because it contains far too much salt, but I think I am just about all set now and can continue on my journey from here on.

tamarakanderson09 · February 2023

Hi Ross, I have been doing IF and set my calories to 1200. I did lose the first 7lbs quickly, but then it stalled. I done some research online and upped my calories to 1400 and this week I've lost 1.5lbs, but on Tuesday I had a bit of a treat with a 5 Guys! so probably didn't help.

Have a look at various online resources and calculators which help guide you on daily calories. It does say to me around 1443, but I rounded down.

Good luck and well done on your progress to date

erickirb · February 2023

If you are doing 1200 and exercising, eat back most of what you burn from exercsie to ensure you are fueled and can recover

DoubleG2 · February 2023

Without knowing your details (current weight, height, level of activity) its impossible to know if 1200 calories is OK, but for a male, it seems low. Also an 11lb loss in 4 weeks seems aggressive and may not be sustainable. To echo other posters, starvation mode is a myth. At your age, I would be concerned about muscle loss. You may want to consider adding some strength training to maintain the muscle mass you have. Did you use the guided set up in MFP to come to your 1200 cal daily goal?

KATHY_GOOD1 · February 2023

I am 55 and have a sedentary job in computers. I found the posts from all of you on this board to be inspiring. I too had success on IF, with some trial and error. I did a month of 42:30 (42 hours fasting followed by 30 hours of regular meals).

The schedule was:
Day 1 eat breakfast/lunch/dinner, then fast through Day 2, then Day 3 eat lunch/dinner,
and then repeat Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 (for 4 weeks).

I lost 20 pounds and have I kept 10 of those pounds off 5 1/2 months later.

I did check in with my family doctor, who fortunately supports IF, as weight loss happens to be a focus added to the practice over the years.

I logged all food in that 4 week period, and studied the MyFitnessPal reports with focus on reducing my carb percentage rather than of strict calorie reduction. During the 4 week timeframe I too lost that grazing habit of constantly snacking during the day, always hungry, and instead did not feel the need to frequently eat. Calorie range was 1300-2000 daily, and I was bike riding (a couple miles) and walking (not quickly) with no fatigue and no ill feelings.

I had heavily used the MyBlog feature of MyFitnessPal to note observations and challenges, and tips and tricks that worked for me, but sadly that feature was retired in November and the blog posts are all deleted! I had wanted to read them to recall my lessons learned.

The best tool I have found is this book: The Complete Guide to Fasting by Dr Jason Fung. It was a gift from a friend and I have read it about 5 times, each time finding golden nuggets of meaningful information I could apply to my IF.

This month I have rebooted my fasting, having now recovered from a surgery (a personal note in case you were wondering about why I'm restarting an IF journey).
So far I have had a slow reentry into IF: I fasted 20 hours Jan 31st, and 22 hours Feb 1st.

Yesterday's focus was carb reduction in my meals. Carbs are tricky for me to reduce - perhaps that is resistance on my part. Ok, I admit I have had a lot of resistance to carb reduction, so thank you MyFitnessPal for the reports feature to keep me motivated - I know that pie chart works me.

Today (Friday) is a breakfast/lunch/dinner day which will be followed by a 42 hour fast.
I will fast all day Saturday and eat Sunday lunchtime. Funny how scary that idea used to be to me - now I know better, there is nothing to fear.

My fast doesn't work for everyone. My fast works for me, after tweaking it and practicing and learning. I support all of you in your fasts and hope you post your observations, challenges, tips and tricks.

KATHY_GOOD1 · February 2023

tamara - I love 5 Guys! Had the big ol' bacon cheeseburger with no bun (i think they call it 'wrapped in lettuce') and didn't stall my weight loss at all. My big challenge was saying no to their fresh fries. There will be days I can have the fries, and days I must say no.

I almost never have soda or drinks with sweeteners, but that burger with a diet coke (instead of a shake) really hit the spot. I didn't miss the bun and it was a treat that didn't derail me from my path at all. Have you ever tried the 'no bun' there?

KATHY_GOOD1 · February 2023

tamarakanderson09 wrote: »

Hi Ross, I have been doing IF and set my calories to 1200. I did lose the first 7lbs quickly, but then it stalled. I done some research online and upped my calories to 1400 and this week I've lost 1.5lbs, but on Tuesday I had a bit of a treat with a 5 Guys! so probably didn't help.

Have a look at various online resources and calculators which help guide you on daily calories. It does say to me around 1443, but I rounded down.

Good luck and well done on your progress to date

tamara - I love 5 Guys! Had the big ol' bacon cheeseburger with no bun (i think they call it 'wrapped in lettuce') and didn't stall my weight loss at all. My big challenge was saying no to their fresh fries. There will be days I can have the fries, and days I must say no.

I almost never have soda or drinks with sweeteners, but that burger with a diet coke (instead of a shake) really hit the spot. I didn't miss the bun and it was a treat that didn't derail me from my path at all. Have you ever tried the 'no bun' there?

DCSanchez114 · February 2023

I am doing IF and stopped calorie counting for the most part (need to for a gym challenge, so using this again for a few days). I am down 67 lbs since end of July 2022. Some days I eat 1800 calories, some days I eat 1000, but averaging 2.6 lbs of weight loss a week. Because of IF, you avoid the slowed down metabolism you see with just calorie restriction. The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung goes a lot into the why fasting works with cited research articles to back it up.
Edit: I am clean eating- so nothing processed most days. I still allow some time for real life/out to eat and drink, but overall with clean eating and fasting, I am no longer on any sort of calorie counting or restriction- I eat when hungry and that is it. My hunger/full cues are strong now (weren't when I started this journey) and I also eat less until I feel full.

BartBVanBockstaele · February 2023

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Jason_Fung

DebbsSeattle · February 2023

Our two regular medical doctors both do intermittent fasting (to different degrees). Dr. #1 (Caucasian male, 65 y/o, 175#, ~5’11”, exercises 3-5 x/wk) has black coffee in the morning, arrives to work at 8 am, eats lunch at 1 pm, eats dinner upon arriving home after leaving work at 5 pm. So he is about 19:5. He does a single Sunday lunch to Monday lunch fast every week, and a 36 hour every month. He also told us he does a 48 hour a couple times a year. Dr. #1 does his approach to maintain health with his doses of autophagy and maintain his weight. He believes in eating whole foods and limiting everything else. Dr #2 (Caucasian male, ~45-50, ~150-160#, ~5’10”) he is a hiker/biker/mtn climber/kayaker. He practices one meal a day for the last ten years, and adds a couple 3-7 day water fasts throughout the year depending on his schedule and what he feels he needs. He follows intuitive eating practices for whole food approach. He chooses to exclude all the processed foods and does not drink alcohol ever. He does it to keep his body well trained for survival if he were to run into trouble in his adventures, make more time in his life for his adventures (far less shopping, preparing, cooking and cleanup). Plus, he says he feels better living this lifestyle than he did years ago eating a “normal” diet. I received a biometrics body composition scale for Christmas. I love it. It allows me to track an immense amount data on my body including BMR. I can see it going up and down based on my caloric intake, muscle gain, activity level, etc. Nobody knows your body like you do, but the scale can help you learn what works and what doesn’t and create a relationship between your “feeling” and your BMR. If you add activity 6-7 days per week, from 1-3 or none, your BMR will increase, if you become sedentary it will decrease. It takes more energy to digest certain foods than others (thermogenics). By simply increasing whole food in your daily diet and limiting processed foods, you will increase your BMR. Your body wants added healthy fats, you should be using healthy fats on your vegetables and salads. That alone would increase caloric intake. You should play with it all and see how your body responds. Problem in getting a nutritionist, doctor, dietician, etc involved is they all have opinions (not expertise related)…some of which may greatly differ from your own. Again, you know you best.

hanjione · February 2023

I'm 73 and tried IF and Keto last year but didn't stick with it. I've been reading books by Dr Michael Mosely, the fast 800, the fast 800 keto and the clever guts diet. At 107.8 kg I decided to target dropping below 100kg by March 1. Its hard to include enough fat in my keto diet (proteins are high) but I'm managing to keep carbs below 40g. I started Feb.5 and today, Feb13, I weighed in at 104.4. I do 16-8 or 18-6 IF depending on on how I honestly feel. I did one 24 hour fast last week and might do a 36 hour this week if not 24. I target between 800 and 900kcal per day. In addition to some maintenance lower back exercises every morning, I either do HILT with a Ybell at home or go to the gym for some time on the rowing, cycling and resistance machines. I haven't felt this good since I don't remember although some of that might also be attributed to Wim Hof breathing

markswife892 · February 2023

(52F) i've done IF in the past - i loved 17 hours of fasting + 7 hours of feasting. I got away from it (reasons unknown LOL) and now that i'm exercising regularly, i think i may incorporate it into my routine again. i was very successful with it allowing me to stay within calorie range for the day, plus I was never hungry. HTH

BLESSEDmom1976 · February 2023

I have been doing IF 16:8 with my 8 being KETO and have lost 23 in the last 4 weeks. 1200 calories is the max for the day for me. I have been in contact with a doctor, who is also working with my husband on a similar program but not keto and he has lost 20 in the same amount of time. I am NOT hungry like I thought I would be and most days it is a struggle to meet the 1200...I was just told to get at least 800 - 850 so that my metabolism would NOT stop. This is a lifestyle change that is going to be implemented from here on out and never stopped.

ccrdragon · February 2023

BLESSEDmom1976 wrote: »

I have been doing IF 16:8 with my 8 being KETO and have lost 23 in the last 4 weeks. 1200 calories is the max for the day for me. I have been in contact with a doctor, who is also working with my husband on a similar program but not keto and he has lost 20 in the same amount of time. I am NOT hungry like I thought I would be and most days it is a struggle to meet the 1200...I was just told to get at least 800 - 850 so that my metabolism would NOT stop. This is a lifestyle change that is going to be implemented from here on out and never stopped.

Don't know who told you this... if it was your Dr they need to go back to school and take rudimentary biology classes and if it was some rando on the webs you need to stop listening to them. The only time your metabolism 'stops' is the day you die. Yes, too few calories will cause your body to start down-regulating non-essential functions - hair/nail growth, sex drive, etc. - but it will not cause your metabolism to 'stop' unless you actually manage to starve yourself to death.

Intermittent fasting

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