Hi Everyone! I've reinserted some helpful links for those of you who are new to IF and would like to read up on it. There's plenty of free stuff on the web.
Most of us here are doing either Fast-5 (free download) or Eat-Stop-Eat (about $30 to download, but you really get enough info without the download).
Some of the information is very scientific, some more anecdotal. I enjoy "retired dieter" as it's just one guy's journey through intermittent fasting.
As we've said before, IF is usually two steps forward and one step back. It is a slow steady and very easy way to control your weight, by creating a consistent calorie deficit, if done properly. No special foods to buy, no expensive program to attend, flexible with just about everyone's life style, and most people won't even be aware that you have changed your eating pattern.
Of course, as with any lifestyle, food choices and exercise are very important.
I'm doing a 24 hour fast today - my usual Friday to Saturday evening, after a week of Fast-5.
Glad to see some new faces, great success stories and returning people. Pattygirl, thistoo, gamesmaster, tnbabyrn, ktuke7, esmi and wvuchick, JphnP, great to hear all of your stories, very inspirational and it's good to know we're all in it together. I know I've missed some people, so forgive me.
Anyone else notice now diet and weight control seems to be a mind game we play with ourselves? That's the way it is with me it seems, and as long as I'm winning so be it!
Yes, absolutely! I used to berate myself for playing these 'games' because I felt in order to do it "healthy" I had to completely transform my mind and become a person who was able to be satisfied on 5 small piddlin' meals a day. I love IF because the 'mind game' works. For better or worse, I enjoy eating at night and I enjoy eating a certain volume. I don't like having to count and obsess all day long. I like just not worrying or thinking about eating all day until an evening meal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wvuchick
I agree about weight loss being weird. I mean I know that I should have at least lost a tenth of a lb in the last two days. I've been at a deficit of at least 500 calories a day. But my weight has stayed exactly the same. But I bet tomorrow I will see a lb. loss after one day. Now I know I'm not going to be at a 3500 calorie deficit today. Just really makes no sense. If we could just figure our bodies out...
I agree! My body seems to have some sort of weird pattern of maintaining for a week or two despite having deficits, then seeing a ~~whoosh~~ of weight loss one week of like 4lbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pattygirl63
Sorry I've been MIA but I found myself on binges that I haven't experienced in ages. I thought about not doing IF, but my FBS is doing so good that the FBS #s kept doing IF. I've had a few slips but ate pretty healthy when I did.Although I don't always post, I do take time to read. So glad so many of you are doing really great. Y'all are inspirations to me.
We all have slip-ups, don't beat yourself up about them! It's so great about your blood sugar...just keep chuggin' away, we're all in this together. I too don't always post, but I always read. It's so nice to have a support system.
Thanks for the links Italiannie. Weigh-in tomorrow, looking for my ~whoosh~ since I maintained for a week or more and have been on plan completely
Just wanted to jump in and share my IF experience so far. I tried it in early January (Hello Resolutions! lol), but fell off the wagon around early February (Goodbye Resolutions!).
Been IFing for the past two weeks, and here's my experience:
- I don't IF on any type of schedule, because my scheduled is varied. If I have lunch plans, I might skip breakfast. If I have nothing going on for the day, I might make it a 24-hr fast. Generally speaking, I fast for 18-24 hrs once or twice a week, and the other days I either don't fast at all or I basically skip breakfast (which is about a 14 hour fast).
- When I break fasts, I don't go all out crazy with food. Well, I have once or twice. But mostly I try to continue to keep portions moderate, stop when I'm full, and basically eat healthy. A typical lunch for me might be salad, chicken thigh & leg, and a sliver of meatloaf. Typical dinner for me might be sushi/salad/soup, or scrambled eggs with spinach and bacon.
- I also try to stick to a Paleo diet. I am not 100% Paleo, because I do eat rice (Hey, I'm Asian, what can I say?). But I pretty much avoid every other grain and eat plenty of fruits/veggies/meat. I do eat dairy, but very little.
- My weight loss has been absolutely great. I seem to have reached a bit of a stall now, but for the past few weeks the pounds have been flying off. Well, flying off for ME. Before, I was typically losing about a pound a month. My weight loss is always glacial speed. Now I am averaging about 2 lbs a week, which is phenomenal for me.
- I weigh every day, but when you IF, I think it's important not to become obsessed about the numbers on the scale on an everyday basis. After a 24 hour fast, I am definitely lighter. But then after I eat again, I am definitely a pound or two heavier. It's hard not to freak out about this, but it DOES even out in the end. Those minor fluctuations are a natural part of IFing, so try not to let them get you down.
- When you first start IFing, the hunger can really get to you. I find that planning my fasting days for busy days (when I won't be around as much food or as bored) helps a lot with dealing with hunger. Also, it does get easier. My first 24-hr fast was killer, and I was ready to chew my arm off. Now I can easily get through a 14-hr fast without blinking, and I'm still ok/in control at the end of a 24-hr fast, although I am ready to eat!
My fast yesterday went well. I was down .8 lbs this morning. Hope to lose a little over the weekend. I will be working on the house again, so hopefully i'll burn more calories than I eat.
I'm thinking yesterday I only got hungry one time, and that was sitting in the lunch room with my friends while they ate. It was just a quick stomach rumble and passed in seconds.
I am not 100% Paleo, because I do eat rice (Hey, I'm Asian, what can I say?).
This made me giggle. I can't think of a better reason, really! I stick to Paleo 100% because it seems to be the only way I can lose, but I totally get what you're saying. It's *hard* being 100% all the time.
Italiannie, thanks for the links. I have to work all day tomorrow and I haven't seen Retired Dieter yes, so I'll peruse it then. It'll give me a break from the grant proposal I'm supposed to be writing.
wvuchick, congratulations on the .8! That's awesome.
Tomorrow's also a fast day for me, and I was thinking about trying to go to the gym after I finish work (at 5:00) and work out before I break my fast. Usually I work out during my lunch hour on fast days and I'm fine, but I've never tried to do a workout so close to the end of a 24-hour fast. Does anybody have experience with that? I think it'll be okay; I'm usually hungry by then, but not weak or anything. I'll play it by ear.
I failed at abstaining from the scale this morning, but the good news is I didn't bounce back up like I expected to. In fact, I was down another two ounces this morning to 198.2. The more distance I can put between me and 200 the better, so I'm thrilled and really encouraged.
I hope everyone has a great Friday! I'm not so thrilled about only having a one day weekend this week, but next week I'll work three days and then have four off, so it'll be worth it.
Thanks so very much for all the sharing this (everyday) but especially today and thanks for the encouragement.
Italiannie - Thanks ever so much for all the links. I will definitely be checking them out. It really helps when things happen along the way that I don't understand. I like your schedule of Fast 5 Mon - Fri and 24 hr fast on weekends. Maybe someday I will be able to do that. Of course at this point, I just need to work to masterFast-5 on regular basis.
35X35 - I don't like having to count and obsess all day about food either. I like just not worrying or thinking about how many calories or carbs I ate or did I eat enought or did I eat a "bad" or "junk" food which usually means "I cheated" on that day. With IF, we are so free to eat what we want and NO GUILT. So very nice. And I also appreciate so much to have such a great support group here.
banananutmuffin - Yes you sharing your experience has been very helpful to me. In fact, the way you do IFing is so similar to how I want to do this. My schedule cannot always be the same. Although I'm working toward having a Fast -5 way of eating with the 19 hr fast, but there are days it may be only 16 because I just do it any other way. I spent yesterday looking at Paleo diet. Although I have no idea to follow Paleo 100%, I do like the idea of eating fruits, protein, and veggies say 90 to 95 % of the time. It is as close to low carb as I might want to go and still have my fruit.
So thanks for sharing your experience.
wvuchick - I agree that this does get easier. In fact, I'm surprised at how easy the fasting part has been. I read that sometime when we feel hungry that we are really thirsty. So I do get the stomach grumble, but I'm surprised that even when I get busy and forget to stop and drink something that what I thought was hunger has just vanished.
Thanks to all of you for being here to share info as well as your experiences, to encourage and support me and others. You are a great support group.
thistoo - We were typing at the same time. CONGRATULATIONS on the weight loss staying and giving you a little more. Hope you will have a good week end inspite of having only 1 day off.
Pattygirl63 - Just read your post on the Intuitive Eating thread. I've always really liked that thread and I feel the same way you do. IF is my IE!
I never tell people what I do, though, as I have found that Intermittent Fasting is very misunderstood, no matter what you say, people will compare it to long term fasting. They will tell you it's an eating disorder and unsustainable. Oh well, great to have a group here who gets it. Anyway, you did a great job of explaining it.
Thistoo - Congrats on your success this week. I can't stay away from the scale either, but it does keep me on track.
Sophia - WELL DONE!!!! I can't wait to join you there in "normal" land!
wvuchick - .8 - great job! Looking forward to hearing how you do over the weekend.
Banananut- You're singing our song! Great to have you here.
Pattygirl63 - Just read your post on the Intuitive Eating thread. I've always really liked that thread and I feel the same way you do. IF is my IE!
I never tell people what I do, though, as I have found that Intermittent Fasting is very misunderstood, no matter what you say, people will compare it to long term fasting. They will tell you it's an eating disorder and unsustainable. Oh well, great to have a group here who gets it. Anyway, you did a great job of explaining it.
Thanks Italiannie. I hope I didn't come off harsh, but I've been dieting since I was about 21 yrs old and I'm 68 yrs old now. You have no idea how much I wish I had known about IF way back then. I never ate breakfast as a child or teenager. Didn't eat snacks very often and hated going out on a date especially if I had to eat because I felt like I had to eat when I wasn't hungry. I've become deathly sick from the thought of eating out on a date. The rare times I've lost weight over the past 47 yrs, I had drifted back to eating only one or two meals a day only to gain it all back plus more because I was made to feel the way I ate was dangerously unhealthy. However, when I think back to those times of weight loss, I was extremely active. I loved to walk back then and walked a lot and many times that was after standing all day at work.
Now that I have a name for the way I used to eat and I now know that it is extremely healthy, I will never allow anyone to ever talk me into going back to the so called "normal" way of eating. I think it is great that their way of eating works for them, but it doesn't work for me and they can just leave me alone and let me eat the way my body likes me to eat.
Ended up doing an 8 hr eating window today. Don't really know why, but hope to do better tomorrow.
Day 2 down for me! I made it to 3:00 today (my goal!). It helped that I decided to paint my living room today even though I was having people over tonight (pretty insane idea). I thought it would help me keep my mind off eating - and it did! So far hunger doesn't seem to be my problem, but headaches and light-headedness do. I agree with the above posts about diet being so much of a mind control issue rather than physical one. I also feel a sense of freedom not having to worry about eating 3 times a day. I haven't really been eating a ton at night either like I thought I would - pretty surprised there. I seem to be eating about what I normally would in the afternoon/evening. I hope this is enough to see a shift on the scale, it just seems too easy to work. We'll see ! I love reading everyone else's posts/ As a newbie, its nice to read how others do IF and success they have. Thank you!
TNBabyRN - I think you will find the headaches and lightheadedness subsiding. Water really helps with those as well. Good for you!
JohnP - My weekly 24 hour fast really came about more out of circumstances than a plan. I generally eat during a 5 hour window each day, but because we have regular plans on Saturday afternoons into the evening, it pushes my eating back to 7pm, so now I just schedule a 24 hour in as part of my week. I agree that IF offers us the freedom to live our lives.
Well, have a busy day today, son's Lacrosse game, errand running and then church this evening. Will finish my weekly 24 hour with big fresh salad and some sauteed Broccoli Rabi and fresh fish. Yummy. But in the meantime, there's life to live out there.
I can't think of a better reason, really! I stick to Paleo 100% because it seems to be the only way I can lose, but I totally get what you're saying. It's *hard* being 100% all the time.
Fast-5 on regular basis.
