INTERMITTENT FASTING MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD

I returned to IF 16:8 a few weeks ago. After months of no progress in my weight loss/fitness and lots of frustration, I have lost 3.2lbs in less than 3 weeks. This is not a huge number on it's own, but it is huge for me!

Intermittent fasting does nothing for me at all. I have been doing the 18/6 schedule for years with no results other than my weight either stays the same or goes up. And when you think about it, bears do intermittent fasting and I dont remember ever seeing a skinny bear, lol

But seriously, it is very discouraging seeing the system flash this projected weight to you everyday showing what you could weight in 5 weeks if everything stays the same, yet everything is staying the same, I am staying below 1500 calories per day, I am working out multiple times each day, Im starving all the time, and my weight still stays the same. Everytime I weigh myself and see no results to my starvation I feel less and less encouraged to continue.

marmax4904 wrote: »

Everyone is different but.... Every study of intermittent fasting I've read suggested that while it works to help you eat less, it actually does make you feel worse. Feelings of hunger and fatigue--and the distraction they cause--were the no. 1 reason so few study participants were able to sustain IF after just a few weeks or months. The literature also suggest IF's results are merely due to caloric restriction and that it's no better at causing weight loss than non-IF caloric restriction.

I agree that much of the literature is like this, but I have read a number of those studies, and they all have flaws of one kind or another. Most are too short, don't pay attention to what people are eating when the are eating, or they have a very small sample size. Can you name the studies that showed very few study participants able to sustain IF? I'd like to read them.

This is a general warning. I have a question. If someone posts something considered to be in violation of the guidelines, are the penalties just summarily applied, or does someone from MyFitnessPal say specifically what violation was made and why, allowing a person to correct themselves?

glassyo wrote: »

mattbell007 wrote: »

This is a general warning. I have a question. If someone posts something considered to be in violation of the guidelines, are the penalties just summarily applied, or does someone from MyFitnessPal say specifically what violation was made and why, allowing a person to correct themselves?

Go into your notifications then click All Notifications. Scroll down to Moderation and it'll show you the post and the TOS that were violated.

This is on the web version. I don't know about the app.

I've had a few posts deleted that I believe didn't appear there . . . I admit, they were deleted as part of a general multi-car train wreck on some thread, so maybe only a subset get the warning/info in those cases. (I understood what my role was in the train wreck, and generally why my post got deleted. It's not rocket surgery to figure it out, generally.)

PP, read the Community Guidelines. Consider #15, "Forum moderation is not a topic for public discussion". In that section, it suggests what to do instead. You and I are on shaky ground here wrt #15.

glassyo wrote: »

Not discussing. Just dittoing.

I'd add more but I didn't know #15 was an actual rule!

Personally, I don't think you did anything wrong in terms of #15: You just gave a how-to. I was unclear in my reply. By "PP", I meant the person you were replying to. He and I were on thin ice, IMO. Not you. Just my opinion, though, and I'm 100% not a moderator.

Hi All! I am trying to jump back on to IF. I had success with 18:6, but when the summer months came, it was hard to do the who start/stop at certain times, due to vacations, summer outings, etc. It was then that I was introduced to 5:2, which AI had such success on until I fell off the wagon recently. I am hoping to get back on. Using MFP to track my 500 cal. fast days, and of course the other days as well (to keep my calories in check). I hope I am posting on the correct thread.

I’m interested in IF
Day 1 with a 14 hour fast 👍
Weight 133.0

Felt great waiting to eat. Did have black coffee and water.

I am 65, retiree living in Oregon.
5.0 tall and 15 lbs from my goal and have been for a year. I stay active with home trampoline, walking, & hand weights, and group classes Zumba, & kickboxing for seniors.

Excited to see results
Best wishes to you
💞 Karen

I've been on the 16/8 plan for a couple weeks now. It is a small change for me. I am aware of hunger before I get to eat my 10 o'clock breakfast but it's nothing dire. Yet, with this small change I have been able to make an eating plan and stick to it without snacking or binging. The best part is I feel satisfied when I eat and know that the next meal is coming up soon so I'm not so tempted to blow it. After my 6 o'clock dinner I know that nibbling is not an option. I haven't even mentioned IF to my family or co-workers. The 16/8 IF fits nicely into my life without social consequences. If a weekend dinner is a 7 it's not a deal killer to me. IF is like a secret power! I'm 64, I swim or walk in the mornings and pretty much sit the rest of the day at my desk with just enough movement during the sitting hours to make my watch happy. Ugh! I needed this IF tool. Thanks to all of you.

Hi everyone! I am recommencing my Intermittent Fasting journey again, but as there are some other areas of concern, I am interested in feedback and ideas to help me get back to a healthy weight.

Current stats:
Height - 170cm / 5'52"
Weight - 109kg / 240.24lbs

Goal weight - 60kg / 132.27lbs (my weight before illness and being off my feet resulted in almost doubling my weight)

Challenges:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - currently trying to work on energy management as when I have bad days, they are really bad. I often don't have the energy or the willpower to cook or meal prep, but am open to suggestions for meal delivery in Melbourne, Australia.
- Pericarditis - severe limitations on my ability to exercise due to ongoing heart issues. I do walk the dog when I can, and use the stairs at work, but I am currently banned from the gym / F45 / Pilates etc.
- Coffee - I can't face the day without coffee, and also can't drink it black. I have heard that cream (in small amounts) is acceptable, otherwise are there milk alternatives that are also IF friendly?
- Work - I work two jobs; one is 9-5 (on the days I don't work the other job) and the other is 2pm - 8pm. On the days I finish at 8pm, I eat at about 8:30pm, as I generally don't get a chance to eat before my shift

I'm unsure if I should go back to a 16/8 like I used to do, or ease it in, or if I should look to a 14/10 rotation on shift days.

Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions.

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giadimedici wrote: »

i started 16-8 a week and a half ago. i'm doing this more to reset my gut health than to lose weight. i'm finding constipation is a bit of an issue *which it always has been*. i've upped my water, fibre, exercise etc. has anyone else come across this? thanking you in advance for any tips!

How's your fat intake? Quite a few people cut fats too far because of the calories, and if fiber increase happens alongside, that can trigger constipation. I'd say to go for at least 0.35-0.45g per day per pound of healthy goal weight, though experiences vary. Probiotic foods (or maybe supplements) help some people, too . . . but I'd personally suggest probiotic foods first, because the supplement market is big on claims and less reliable at delivering on promises.

Kaileah3 wrote: »

Hi everyone! I am recommencing my Intermittent Fasting journey again, but as there are some other areas of concern, I am interested in feedback and ideas to help me get back to a healthy weight.
……..

Challenges:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - currently trying to work on energy management…
- Pericarditis - severe limitations on my ability to exercise…
- Coffee - I can't face the day without coffee,…
- Work - I work two jobs; …

I'm unsure if I should go back to a 16/8 like I used to do, or ease it in, or if I should look to a 14/10 rotation on shift days.

Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions.

I have a few ideas for you.
1- Don’t jump right into the deep end. Spend a couple days tracking what you currently eat, don’t change anything except adding water if you are bad on water intake. Now you know your caloric intake, your starting window for feeding and your macros be it good, bad or ugly.
2-Coffee, use heavy whipping cream, the fattiest, zero protein, zero carb you can find. Use the least amount you can stomach in each cup.
3- Chronic fatigue, I had it at 231#, now I don’t at 185#. It is a symptom of insulin resistance, fatty liver, obesity, bad metabolic health. Last week I carried a 40# bucket of tile mortar and recognized that I used to carry that on my body every moment. No wonder I was exhausted! Using it as an excuse to not take control of your health only hurts you. Find a way to power through and be in charge of your food unless you are far wealthier than most and can afford a meal delivery service. Veg prep twice weekly, clean, cut and store in a food storage container. Buy the ready to eat tubs of lettuce on those same two shops, so you don’t over buy and have it go slimey. Pre-cook chicken meat and your protein choices for the week and freeze them with veg and a grain if you eat grains. Hard boil eggs, peel and keep ready in the fridge. Have 7-14 fruits in their own wrappers (apple, orange, banana, pear) ready to go at hand. All of that can be achieved in one 2 hour window for a weeks worth of lazy feeding and grab and go ease. Heck…even seek out commercial clean label frozen entrees at the grocery store, buy 14 a week and call it easy main entrees done.
4- Exercise…walking is perfect! Want to do more? Find a few moments to do stretching. You can do this sitting in a desk chair, when you just wake up, right before bed. Add 2 minutes of stretching 5 times a day. Lengthening muscle is just as important as building it. Try something new like yoga. Find a video on YouTube for beginners and give it a try. Try isometric exercise (holding a pose vs. moving) grab two tins of veg, one each hand, raise your arms out and hold that for 30 seconds or until muscle failure. Sit on the sofa and do leg lifts. You can find ways to fit this activity in to a normal day without being a gym rat. Get a pedometer or use a cell phone app to track your steps (or lack thereof). Instant daily feedback on your activity level.
5-work…you have to do what you have to do. I’d start by recognizing my starting point, start shrinking my eating window by an hour on each end whenever possible. If my end time can’t move, I’d just move my beginning. It may vary from schedule “A” to schedule “B” but that is ok. We began moving from a 14:10 which was our natural towards 16:8, 20:4 or even 23:1. We don’t maintain a single approach. Over the many months I have worked up to 115 hour fast as my longest and regularly fit in a 24-36 hour weekly at least. I credit my fasting with my non-existent loose skin. Autophagy usually begins its appearance around hour 13-15. Anything you can achieve past 13 is beneficial for that cellular repair and improving insulin resistance and metabolic flexibility. This will all hinge on the overall health factor of your chosen foods. You cannot outrun a poor diet with a 14:10 IF schedule. Just remember…don’t eat if you are not hungry. I rarely have that problem, but I have felt compelled by habit a couple times to eat “because it was time to eat” and caught myself.

Basically, this is all up to you. This is a great community for support and motivation, ideas and inspiration, tips, tricks and hacks. Find your motivation…that may be your reflection in the mirror, your favorite jeans from 3 sizes ago, your inability to shave your legs properly, your reduced joy from everyday life, your desire to run a marathon or climb a mountain. Just find it and do it. We will be here for you.