Intermittent Fasting Support Group?

I have been trying to find people on here that support this life style. It can end up being a very secretive way of life. Most people do not understand or believe in it. Dieters think that the 3-6 meals a day is the best way to go.. other than that you are starving yourself.
I know I have been there many many times. I have dieted my way up to 210lbs over the past 15-20 years. In 2010 my sugar went up to 13 ( I am from Canada, US people count it differently) I should be around 5-6. So I said this is it. It has to stop. I cut out sugars, not just sugar but all sugary things. Cut out bread and flour. Over a 4 month period I went down to 175. I didn't know it at the time but I was doing IF. I ate if hungry and if not I didn't. Most days I had breakfast and a big lunch around 2:30 and then did not feel like eating supper so I would go till the next day at breakfast before I ate again. All that time I felt I could not tell anyone as they would frown on the way I was eating and give me a lot of grief. I managed to keep that weight off until this pass summer when I let myself go, eating hungry or not and not good choices. I ended back up to 195. I have tried eating the way I was in the beginning. How ever I do need some help in how much protein I need daily and if I should still stick with the 1200 net cals that MFP sets. I am finding it hard to get in that many in such a small amount of time. If I eat a good lunch and a good dinner I still don't think I have eaten more than 800cals. Anyone here have any suggestions? Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

boilermakerblaw: good news The first week is the hardest for sure. Gets easier as you go until it basically becomes habit.

Msmousemouse: I actually fit 4 "meals" into my 8hr window. I would definitely recommend keeping 1200 as the absolute minimum. Add some fats to up it easily. If you want to stay "clean", nuts, avocado etc. However, if you still below your maintenance cals then it doesn't "really" matter if it's that clean or not so have some ice cream if you want I aim for 1g/lb of BW minimum for protein as I exercise a lot but even if not exercising that much I'd still recommend a higher protein intake than MFP recommends.

avenathus: Weekends are hardest for me also. Weekdays are routine and easy. If I'm going out at night, I wait a bit longer for my first meal and make sure it is high volume and protein. Having said that, there is nothing to say that you HAVE to do it on the weekends as well. If you stick to maintenance cals within 8 hrs or not is not going to make a difference IMO.

thanks for the responses, Chris and Melissa I typically eat some of my exercise cals, rarely all of them. Particularly because I try to create a buffer in case I am overestimating them (no HRM). I do try to eat less during the week but still keep it between 1000-1300 net each day. I am thinking of trying a mix of ESE and LG and do a 24 hour fast on Friday and Monday, to give me a strong buffer for my weekend chaos haha. And then eat Leangains style and a little below maintenance for the week. Maybe that will give me the extra push to shred my BF.

As an aside I AM quite happy with the progress I've seen since I began heavy lifting. I feel really great and I do love the muscular look My arms and shoulders are kind of awesome! The abs/lower back and thighs are tricky though :P I'm going to check out Fitness Black Book, I've heard of it but haven't taken a look before.

I see we rolled the thread over. Just posting to bump it and get in on my topics.

Has anyone tried a 36 hour fast ? and would you recommend it ?

You can get capsules no flavour

I'll look into the capsules, hopefully I won't have to take a billion of them if I do decide to do the fasted workouts!

Yeah, I must totally be in starvation mode if I've lost a pound!

I'll look into the capsules, hopefully I won't have to take a billion of them if I do decide to do the fasted workouts!

Yeah, I must totally be in starvation mode if I've lost a pound!

Aah yep, I only train fasted once a week so it's not an issue for me really.

Alright, I'm joining this thread after spending my morning reading through posts and looking into IF. I am going to start with trying Fast 5. I think that'll be the easiest for me to follow.

Yes, the 19/5 schedule works great for me. Hope it does the same for you!!! Welcome aboard!!!!

Has anyone tried a 36 hour fast ? and would you recommend it ?

Yes, I have done quite a few 36 hour fasts. It's little different from a 24 hour fast. I haven't ever quantified it with multiple trials or anything, but I feel like when I do a 36 hour fast I get a little bump in weight loss, as would make sense. My research has indicated that if anything, the longer you go the more your body will burn fat and less it will burn muscle, until such time as your body starts running out of available fat (literal starvation), at which point it has no choice but to burn a lot of muscle. I see no reason to recommend against a 36 hour fast, nor have I heard anyone specifically give a reason why you couldn't, except that it might be socially inconvenient to skip that many meals. The reason a lot of people do 16 or 19 or 24 hour fasts is for convenience. If you can handle 36 hours, more power to you. The only proviso might be if you already have a very low body fat percentage, then you might be flirting with a lot of muscle loss and shorter fasts would probably serve you better.

I take Scivation Xtend Blue Raspberry, and in my humble opinion it tastes awesome, like drinking a Jolly Rancher or something. I've heard their watermelon flavor is good too, I'll probably try it next.

I purchased the Xtend "Apple" and I found it to be vile!! It was so sickeningly sweet...which is strange because I love sweets. I may just be being a wimp though because the others in my household insisted it wasn't that bad.

Has anyone tried a 36 hour fast ? and would you recommend it ?

Yes, I have done quite a few 36 hour fasts. It's little different from a 24 hour fast. I haven't ever quantified it with multiple trials or anything, but I feel like when I do a 36 hour fast I get a little bump in weight loss, as would make sense. My research has indicated that if anything, the longer you go the more your body will burn fat and less it will burn muscle, until such time as your body starts running out of available fat (literal starvation), at which point it has no choice but to burn a lot of muscle. I see no reason to recommend against a 36 hour fast, nor have I heard anyone specifically give a reason why you couldn't, except that it might be socially inconvenient to skip that many meals. The reason a lot of people do 16 or 19 or 24 hour fasts is for convenience. If you can handle 36 hours, more power to you. The only proviso might be if you already have a very low body fat percentage, then you might be flirting with a lot of muscle loss and shorter fasts would probably serve you better.

Brad Pilon's take on longer than 24 hour fasts is not that they are necessarily bad, but that the extra benefits are not necessarily worth the extra struggle some people have with that extra time fasting. That being said, there is extra benefit, but not as much more as the 18-24 hour stretch brings. In other words the longer the fast the less the extra returns after about the 24 hour point, but there are still additional benefits.

I have done both, but find sleeping while already having fasted for the whole day is difficult for me currently. I used to be able to do it, but currently cannot. Maybe in the future I will be able to again. If you can do it, all power to you as it won't hurt.

I purchased the Xtend "Apple" and I found it to be vile!! It was so sickeningly sweet...which is strange because I love sweets. I may just be being a wimp though because the others in my household insisted it wasn't that bad.

I find the Blue Raspberry so good I have occasionally been tempted to have some even when I'm not planning to work out that day, lol. I might be an extreme case...I am kind of a raspberry fiend.

I'm very interested in this IF stuff but haven't really been exposed to it much past this forum. Any suggestions for where I can do some reading/education? I dont really like jumping into things without knowing how its affecting my body. I like details.
Currently, I'm focused on keeping a calorie defecit but I've also focused on upping proteins and eating cleaner. I do plenty of cardio, but could probably up my weight training. I've had fairly steady weight loss over the last 2 months. About 3-4 lbs a month. But I'd really like to double that. I think, from my initial reading of all your posts, incorporating IF might help. What are the benefits of going 16/8 daily vice 24 hr fasts 1-2 times a week? Do they accomplish the same thing or does 1 work differently than the other? Again, I like educating myself so any webistes/books that you could point me to to do that would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm very interested in this IF stuff but haven't really been exposed to it much past this forum. Any suggestions for where I can do some reading/education? I dont really like jumping into things without knowing how its affecting my body. I like details.
Currently, I'm focused on keeping a calorie defecit but I've also focused on upping proteins and eating cleaner. I do plenty of cardio, but could probably up my weight training. I've had fairly steady weight loss over the last 2 months. About 3-4 lbs a month. But I'd really like to double that. I think, from my initial reading of all your posts, incorporating IF might help. What are the benefits of going 16/8 daily vice 24 hr fasts 1-2 times a week? Do they accomplish the same thing or does 1 work differently than the other? Again, I like educating myself so any webistes/books that you could point me to to do that would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey Nancy_hc

Check out this website: http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html

That is one very popular method of going about fasting which is 16/8 daily. Martin Berkhan, the proprietor of that site, has a very good reputation for being science-based, examining new research, that sort of thing. Lots you can learn from him.

This E-book is also good: http://www.eatstopeat.com/index6.shtml

It's 40 dollars, but if you are interested in the science behind fasting, and dispelling any worries or misconceptions you may have about it, this is probably the best, most easily digestible source you will find. I know it looks like a scam website, but a lot of people here have read it (including myself) and vouch for it. EatStopEat is a 24 hour fasting program 1-2 times/week.

Which is better is very debatable. They work on the same principles. ESE's benefit is that it is very flexible and minimalist, while Leangains has a lot of other corollary guidelines in its program as far as what to eat, when to workout, how to change what you eat in relation to when you work out, what kinds of exercises will benefit you most, etc. Leangains-style fasting can still be adapted however you like too, though, it just won't be strictly in line with what has worked for Martin and his clients.

Some people feel like the 16/8 schedule is easier because you basically just have to skip breakfast in the morning, which isn't that hard compared to the 24 hour schedule. However, your metabolism changes more in the 24 hour fast, and research has shown that your fat burning increases steeply between 18-24 hours. You miss some of that with a 16 hour fast, though if you look at Martin's clients, his method is clearly very effective regardless.

Kind of a toss up in my opinion. I'd just go with what works for you. I find longer fasts easy and convenient, so I use them and just take Martin's advice here and there where I can apply it. Sometimes I end up doing a Leangains-style fast when my coworkers really want to go out to lunch on a day I had planned to do a 24hr fast. It's whatever :P