Very interesting thing I found out yesterday. I ate a big breakfast. I went to a work training function and they had a big spread of eggs, potatoes and cheap saussage. These are like my favorite ever breakfast foods so I ate with gusto. Even had a glass of orange juice.
This was about 7:30 AM. I wasn't hungry when I took the first bite but my tastebuds aroused the hunger monster inside me.
Long story short - I didn't eat again until about 9:00 PM. I was busy and simply had no hunger, at all. I even walked into a McDonald's to buy a diet coke and my co-worker wanted a couple apple pies. The smell of french fries and burgers had no effect. I was expecting to have to resist temptation but I felt none.
This is my first time posting here but I've been IF'ing on and off for about two years, and pretty consistently since October. I have always wondered if there'd be a time that it just felt normal and I think I may be there, which is a nice feeling. I have had periods of doing a small window, like 3 to 5 hours or just eating once a day. Sometimes I go back and forth depending on what's going to work better w my schedule on a given day. I don't like to eat too late so if I don't get home until six or later, I'll just have one meal and call it quits.
I do have a coffee w heavy whipping cream during the day. I wasn't sure whether to really consider what I'm doing IF'ing since I have the HWC, but I switched to diet coke for a while to get my caffeine and it didn't feel different to me, so I went back to my coffee w HWC since I don't love the idea of daily diet coke.
I tend to eat the same things every day and then change them up as I get bored with them. Lately I've been having a whole avocado w fresh salsa and a couple of salmon burgers and then an ounce of almonds or cheddar if I want a snack, so it's pretty low carb.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnP
Very interesting thing I found out yesterday. I ate a big breakfast. I went to a work training function and they had a big spread of eggs, potatoes and cheap saussage. These are like my favorite ever breakfast foods so I ate with gusto. Even had a glass of orange juice.
This was about 7:30 AM. I wasn't hungry when I took the first bite but my tastebuds aroused the hunger monster inside me.
Long story short - I didn't eat again until about 9:00 PM. I was busy and simply had no hunger, at all. I even walked into a McDonald's to buy a diet coke and my co-worker wanted a couple apple pies. The smell of french fries and burgers had no effect. I was expecting to have to resist temptation but I felt none.
Interesting ...
That is interesting. I'm assuming you don't usually eat at that time? I always feel like I tend to not want to stop eating if I start early in the day. If I break my fast around 4 pm or later my appetite is less likely to get the better of me.
Very interesting thing I found out yesterday. I ate a big breakfast. I went to a work training function and they had a big spread of eggs, potatoes and cheap saussage. These are like my favorite ever breakfast foods so I ate with gusto. Even had a glass of orange juice.
This was about 7:30 AM. I wasn't hungry when I took the first bite but my tastebuds aroused the hunger monster inside me.
Long story short - I didn't eat again until about 9:00 PM. I was busy and simply had no hunger, at all. I even walked into a McDonald's to buy a diet coke and my co-worker wanted a couple apple pies. The smell of french fries and burgers had no effect. I was expecting to have to resist temptation but I felt none.
Interesting ...
I do something similar to this when I'm traveling... I'll order a very big breakfast for room service the evening before and arrange to have it delivered to my room for a specific time, usually very early... enjoy it lounging around in the nice cushy hotel robe, read the papers and drink lots of coffee... Then I go about my day and I will literally not eat a thing and not be hungry at all... and then just have a really nice dinner at around 8 or 9pm... or sometimes not till 10pm or later depending on where I am or what plans I had for the evening... I really like just having 2 meals a day... but the whole "you gotta eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner thing is just so engrained still in my thinking about how we're "suppose" to eat... I still struggle with it... even though IF is just what I naturally gravitate towards now...
I'm writing because I would like to try IFing again (I was doing it for a while simply skipping breakfast but lost my way to the tune of 50 lbs. gained).
I recently saw the documentary by Michael Mosley and it was interesting so I started on Friday by having only 500 calories. I then did it again on Sunday. I felt very sluggish both days and even on Saturday, when I ate about 1800 calories, I felt weaker than usual.
I just read JohnP's post on his extensive research and the possibility of cortisol levels rising too high in women and it has me wondering what I should do.
I don't want this to sound like a sad, pathetic story (I have a lot of tough stuff going on in my life) but I'm desperate to get back in the game and to have some good results. Despite how difficult the two days of 500 calories were for me (I skipped breakfast and only had a bit of lunch and saved calories for later on in the day since that's what worked for me), I'm thinking that I really can go through with it and am hoping it will get easier over time.
Questions: does it get easier over time? Do you think I should continue with this or just go back to the skipping breakfast where I end up fasting for about 17 hours at a time? I'm a food addict and I'm very unhappy in this weight. It really gets me down a lot. I guess I'm seeking advice, encouragement, support or a smack in the face.
Luckymommy, I was able to lose about 35 lbs with a combination of IF and a paleo diet over the course of two years. But my streak all came to a crashing halt just about a year ago and I have gained back nearly 20 lbs. And most of it around the holiday season. I experienced some serious fatigue, got sick repeatedly over the winter and in turn, lost my resolve and haven't been able to get my IF mojo back.
I went to see a new doctor a few months back. She insisted that I eat breakfast. I was someone who usually skipped eating till later in the day, with a daily eating window of 8 hours. And even with that window, I still ate up between 1600 and 1800 calories a day. I really miss eating like that, but due to health reasons (type 2 diabetes, hypothyroid), my doctor tells me I'm doing myself a disservice if I tried to get back to that.
I've tried to stick to doing the paleo thing to help me manage my blood sugar, but it also seems to wear me down. I am very tired after a couple weeks of strict paleo, despite my blood sugar numbers doing well. I just sent in my saliva test kit to be analyzed, to see how my cortisol and other hormones are doing. My thyroid is low and I'm going to have to start on something for that soon. I'm also hitting menopause. My body seems like my worst enemy right now.
I still IF, somewhat, by doing my night-time fasting window of 12 hours a few nights a week. During the day, I have a generous breakfast, usually heavy on the protein and healthy fats, and my only carb is half an avocado. I eat every four hours, adding more vegetables to my meals as the day moves forward. By dinner, I will add a couple slices of a high protein/fiber bread (by Julian Bakery) to my meal of protein, fats, and veggies. I exercise in the late afternoons, so if I'm doing any weight training, I'll have an additional snack afterward. My energy levels are not bottoming out any more. Not feeling full of vigor in the mornings yet, but I do feel better when I get a good 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep a few nights in a row.
I think I may try fasting a day on the weekend. I don't want to entirely give up on IF because it worked so well for me, and helped me get past an excruciatingly long plateau. I'm terrified that my "set point" weight is 300 lbs. I'm trying to cut back on calories, but I workout five to six days a week, which seems to be the most effective way for me to deal with my blood sugar issues. Hoping my saliva test has some answers for me.
I just read JohnP's post on his extensive research and the possibility of cortisol levels rising too high in women and it has me wondering what I should do.
Questions: does it get easier over time? Do you think I should continue with this or just go back to the skipping breakfast where I end up fasting for about 17 hours at a time? I'm a food addict and I'm very unhappy in this weight. It really gets me down a lot. I guess I'm seeking advice, encouragement, support or a smack in the face.
Personally - I think it most definately gets easier over time. If you were that lethargic including the next day I would guess you're consuming a diet high in carbs and your body is getting most of it's energy needs met by your carbohydrate consumption. Is this correct? Assuming it is correct than your body will adjust and pretty quickly.
Speaking of carbohydrates - although calories are responsible for fat loss or gain lowering carb intake can be very helpful for a number of reasons. The big reason is lowering total caloric intake. Lowering carb intake is going to automatically lower caloric intake for most people.
As to which plan you follow, follow the one you find easiest. I find it easiest to skip breakfast daily but you're not me.
As for cortisol - I wouldn't worry about it. I would call my research "extensive" I just read a lot about it but what I have read about women and cortisol leads me to believe that it's not just intermittent fasting that causes the problems it's some combination of already low body fat, heavy training load, and intermittent fasting.
My problem seems to be that although I can fast 18, 19, 20 hours - sometimes I don't seem to be able to control my caloric intake just by "window" fasting. Because I end up overeating during my window just to make up for lost time.
I read Mosely's book. He says to fast (500-600 cal.) twice a week, then eat "normally" the other days. (whatever that means) Regardless, I have also tried alternate day calorie restriction and found it no harder, or easier, than partial-day fasting programs such as Fast-5. I know there's no magic here. It's all about calories.
Georgia, thanks for your support. It sounds like you have been through a lot and I'm really impressed with your tenacity. I, too, hope your saliva test reveals something useful.
JohnP, as always, you provide me with some valuable info, which is much appreciated. For that, I'll use your favorite emoticon: Am I right? I'm going to stick to this plan as long as I can and see if I do feel better over time. I've been eating tons of carbs over the past year but now that I've started this plan, I'm eating less but not really trying to go low carb....more trying to keep full by eating lots of veggies and lean protein with some healthy fat.
BigSky, I'm disappointed to hear that there's no magic to IFing and that it's strictly calories. I was hoping to hear that you lose weight faster because your body taps into fat stores during the fast. I still count calories on my "regular" days because I'm a sick/twisted mind and can't be trusted to eat "normally." If I could do that, I wouldn't have gained most of my weight back.
I wish I could say that any of this is easy and comes naturally to me, but it doesn't. It all is hard. As JohnP says, I need to "embrace the suck."
@luckymommy
Like you I also am a food addict. Since I was a little kid. I don't know if it's something in the brain, a mental thing, or genetic. But food is always on my mind when I'm trying to lose weight - which is always.
Some people lose weight with IF, some don't. Just like every single diet or program out there. Shoot, even Bariatric surgery has a 25% failure rate due to regain.
This game we all play is hard stuff. Not that it's a game. One thing for sure, not one single thing works for everyone. All we can do is support and help each other. Thanks 3Fc for that.
Based on your post I'd suggest just skipping breakfast and counting calories. Your focus on eating primarily protein and veggies should serve you well. I wouldn't worry to much about "lean protein" if you're not eating many refined carbs. Nothing wrong with some fat and it helps stave off appetite.
What, if any, exercise program are you following? You didn't mention it that I saw. While exercise is not needed for fat loss it sure is good for your health and for most people helps them stay on track with their diet.
Also, I put the in a lot of my posts because my personality is pretty dry so in person what works good makes me seem like a jerk on-line.
I absolutely agree with the "more protein, less carbs" I'm hearing here, and also with the "nothing wrong with some fat." Fat in the meats we eat has a bad reputation that is largely undeserved. Yes, fat pushes calorie count up, but it also is more satiating than lean in my opinion. You have to count calories too, unfortunately.
Carbs make me draggy. It took me awhile to figure this out, but they do. There is an adjustment period when you cut down on carb intake, but most people find that it passes and then they feel better.
@geoblewiss I know a couple of Type II diabetics that do IF (both Fast-5) and have no problems managing their blood sugar. This is against the advice of their "dietitians" as well, but it's working for them. However, anecdotal results are never a replacement for professional care.
@IanG Technically, fasting means no calorie intake. So, if your beer has calories (and I assume it does) you aren't fasting. Is that what you are asking?
@geoblewiss I know a couple of Type II diabetics that do IF (both Fast-5) and have no problems managing their blood sugar. This is against the advice of their "dietitians" as well, but it's working for them. However, anecdotal results are never a replacement for professional care.
I guess it depends who the professionals are. I think diabetes is a disease that will not go well for people who aren't willing to thoroughly educate themselves and take control w/o anyone else's permission. Every time I have managed to find something that really works for me, I've had a doctor who has said absolutely dont do it. Usually they come around when they see the test results.
Anyway, my opinion on diabetes and IF'ing is that it is maybe the single most powerful too one can use in controling blood sugar. People are normally told to eat five or six times a day. Well that's five or six times a day you're basically screwing up your blood sugar. So each time, if you're in relatively good contro, you start out w a normal b/s, you eat/do meds, have a b/s peak at maybe 1.5 or 2 hours, half the time you end up low a half to one hour after that, and soon there after its time to eat again and start the whole roller coaster over again. I just skip all that -- have a flat blood sugar all day long, work out, do minimal meds, eat very low carb and hardly a blip. As long as I have recovered from my evening meal nicely, my b/s hardly needs any attention from 10 pm through 7 pm the next day.
