Hah is right!
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Doing for a few months now (16/8) and like it overall (on late night meals or drinks I simply skip breakfast and lunch the next day.
What have your results been like?
Lost a few pounds - I think it is important to be consistent and don’t have any “cheat days”. In addition, I also think it is important to look at the overall (rough) calorie count - the one poster here is ultimately correct in my opinion - all diets (keto, Atkins, paleo etc etc) are overhyped and don’t really work in the long term if you don’t eat less calories than you burn every day. IF is a good way to achieve it if you don’t try to compensate by overeating at the other meals which is obviously critical for the success.
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I don’t do any strict form of dieting but I “naturally” tend to intermittently fast and have read a bit on the benefits.
The easiest thing to do is to start by skipping breakfast. I almost never eat breakfast any more and with a reasonable dinner time (say 8pm), that alone gets you 16 hours.
If I’m planning on doing a dinner out, I will also skip lunch and do 1 meal a day. I feel like as long as you skip breakfast this is doable - it seems like as soon as I eat something I want to eat more, so the strategy is to postpone that first bite of food as much as possible.
Aside from weight loss, the best benefit and well supported benefit of fasting seems to be in increasing longevity. I also find that not eating as much during work hours keeps me sharper. There’s nothing like eating lunch to sap my desire to work in the afternoon. But I do find that I do start losing energy and my eyes start getting heavy around 4-5pm if I haven’t eaten all day.
I agree. I can handle a little milk in my coffee but not much else.
This is why I find food plans fascinating. My dr. would not recommend on a non fasting day to put off a meal until later in the day. The idea is to eat lighter as the day progresses and not anything past a certain hour. I would get headaches if I pushed eating back to after work hrs.
Thats some kinda discipline at work!
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I have been low carbing for years, since I lost about 65 lbs in my early 20s. It is EXTREMELY effective for weight loss, but you must be very strict about it. I had good success maintaining the loss with a more relaxed but still low carb approach, until I started getting on toward 40 and developed some hormonal issues, which now have me 20 lbs heavier than I would like to be. I still follow a low carb lifestyle most of the time, but I’m not willing to do what it would take for me to sustain my early-20s weight at this point, so I have recently started experimenting with the 5-2 plan, which involves a form of modified fasting. It is of course a form of calorie reduction, but I am finding it much easier than plans like Weight Watchers that have you counting calories (or points) every single day. On 5-2 you choose two days a week where you eat just 500-600 cals within an 8 hour window, and then live your life on the other five days (being mindful of not overcompensating for the calories you missed).
I have noticed that, like joonjoon, I feel much sharper at work on my fast days than I do when I eat lunch, even though my lunches are generally quite low in carbs. Skipping breakfast is no problem, but I do struggle a bit with hunger in the evenings and I wake up VERY early and ravenous! The first week it was difficult to keep from overcompensating on the five normal days, but that has gotten easier. I’ve only lost a couple of pounds in three weeks, but that is MUCH more than I can say for any other adjustments I’ve made to my diet in recent years. I am sure that I could achieve better results by eliminating alcohol entirely and cutting carbs to the bone, but now that I’m in my 40s, wine in the evenings is not optional, LOL! A modified fast two days a week fits into my lifestyle better than strict low carb 100% of the time.
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Google: “When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, May be Critical for Our Health” NYT today
There’s a paywall but you can go in through Google, I believe.
Article relays results of a study linking eating to circadian rhythms, suggesting that eating within a limited (6-8 hour) window ending in the late afternoon/early evening is optimal for weight loss and other benefits.
!
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Christina, just wondering how are you doing with your diet?
I did not see results after three weeks. My husband may have lost a little, but despite my nagging, he never set a baseline so we could only guess. For whatever reason I started feeling hungrier for breakfast, got tired of holding out, and started eating again.
I’m trying to work up the willpower to do a calorie-counting diet. It may have to wait until after nursing is over.
Thanks for asking :-/
It seems almost superhuman to try to lose weight while caring for an infant! When I’m helping out w/my best friend’s ten month old twins I find myself grabbing at every snack offered and random bits of food left out on the countertop!!! Doing it 24/7?? Kudos.
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That sounds like extra pressure on top of young baby care. While using visual cues for portions, I would respectfully suggest you talk to your dr. next visit before IF’ing while nursing.
When we started talking, I didnt realize you were caring for an infant.
Respect.
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Best of luck Christina. Supporting my wife’s effort to lose some weight what has worked best for her is to focus on portion sizes. We weigh or measure what she eats - no seconds. It’s all about calories in v. calories out. Portion control has been easier for her than calorie counting.
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Yes, if you can wait, it’s better. It’s very tough during nursing period and caring the kids. Do you get enough sleep? Sleep deprived increases hunger.
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Ok today is an IF day, tomorrow a light meal midday. Participating in a food forum on an IF jag is a greater challenge. Just sayin😊
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I have been using this IF app for a few weeks to test it out. Passing it along here in case you want to try it.
The body does not fast, if you do not feed it, it eats you… this is just something to keep in mind. There are metabolic balances to be maintained 24/7 just as the heart beats. Drinking a lot of water without eating can cause electrolyte imbalances which can kill you. Hypoglycemia can also kill you, and it is known to cause more fatal accidents when people are fasting. Not everyone has the same tolerance for how long they can do without salts and sugar, but the body and brain can’t function without them, no matter who you are. I think intermittent fasting can be done responsibly, just like drinking alcohol. I’ve gone over a lot of the medical literature surrounding this subject for my own info, and would only do a fluid fast with sports drinks and multivitamins, as starvation is not the only consequence of fasting, it can impair your ability to drive, my friends. Be careful.
Thanks for reminding us to use caution and common sense. Amen!
Unsure how all respondents on this thread are defining Intermittent Fasting. Defining our terms might be helpful.
My cues are from NYT articles which say that calories should be consumed within a relatively short window during the day, assuming normal, nutritious eating. Article on August 21, 2017 noted the metabolic benefits of consuming a caloric breakfast, normal lunch, and a very light (or no) dinner. Benefits are based in a healthy metabolism of calories, especially insulin production. I’ve found this method of eating to be helpful.
Others may not. Recent articles in the Times about weight control make a compelling case that those of us who have never experienced metabolic disease don’t have a clue about how hard it is to move the needle. So respect to anyone struggling w/body issues. There are no silver bullets, right?
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Best advice we ever got was not to do any IF without some level of medical oversight. IF is not a one size fits all decision.
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