I've also been hearing how IF might not be the best thing for women too... and that they should stick to a 14/10 or less approach... if at all... and actually I don't use IF for weight loss... I use it more for and overall maintenance strategy to keep my calories in check... I also like it because I feel it gives my digestive system a little bit more "down time" which I really think has made a big difference in my sleep quality... and it has seemed to have helped in lowering blood sugar numbers for me... which even though I'm not diabetic or prediabetic, I did have some tell tail signs of the beginnings of metabolic syndrome, so I wanted to see if I could make a difference on that front... Since there is some evidence that blood sugars kept on the lower side of normal might be associated with lower risk of developing diabetes and heart disease... things that I'm concerned about because of my family history...
So I definitely see IF as more of an adjunct when it comes to dieting... and people really need to have their nutrition and exercise "dialed in" so to speak before adding IF to the mix... and even then it needs to be taken in context of what is going on in that particular individual... So definitely not a "one size fits all" sort of thing.... especially when it comes to women...
I must admit that, even as a man, I have had to really adjust what I am eating with IF to ensure I am getting enough nutrition including a daily vitamin tablet which is something I never used to do. But that's not bad considering the **** I used to eat! I love them salads now!
I've also been hearing how IF might not be the best thing for women too... and that they should stick to a 14/10 or less approach...
Really? That is basically what I am doing right now, the 14/10 approach. I have to spread out my meals/snacks since I cannot have too much fat in one sitting. It was a bit weird going from 2 big meals plus maybe a snack or two to eating all day, lol. It wasn't too hard to keep calories in check because I was feeling sick at the time and have now adopted that habit to take it easy.
I have to admit I am glad I tried IF because I learned that being hungry (after eating all my calories) and going to bed hungry will not kill me.
Really? That is basically what I am doing right now, the 14/10 approach. I have to spread out my meals/snacks since I cannot have too much fat in one sitting. It was a bit weird going from 2 big meals plus maybe a snack or two to eating all day, lol. It wasn't too hard to keep calories in check because I was feeling sick at the time and have now adopted that habit to take it easy.
I have to admit I am glad I tried IF because I learned that being hungry (after eating all my calories) and going to bed hungry will not kill me.
Hi amandie... most of what I've been hearing when it comes to women and IF has been anecdotal and coming from blogs out in the paleosphere... so I'm still waiting to see the research behind what a lot of people are saying when it comes to IF... but that actually goes for men as well as women... I'll have to do some more digging to see what I can come up with it...
I've actually dropped my IF down to 14/10 every once and awhile because of my workout schedule... and I can't imagine I'm losing that much benefit with just a two hour difference from what I normally do on those days... And actually for me going beyond 12 hours without eating is a huge victory for me, since I used to be eating dinner at 8 or 9pm, plus late night snacking, and then eating breakfast at like 6 AM the next morning... So to have finally broken myself of that is like a freedom that I never thought was even possible... like you said... just learning that being hungry sometimes is not going to kill us was worth it in and of itself...
I've not read enough about women having trouble IFing but there seem to be some common trends. Generally speaking they have 2 or more of the following things in common:
Low body fat
Workout intensely
Eat Paleo
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying - I really have no clue how any of this ties together (if it does at all) but there seems to be a combo of factors that a female body doesn't like.
Martin Berkhan does have many of his female clients follow a 14/10.
I suppose from an evolutionary stand point it would reason that males are better adapted to periods of fasting.
I've not read enough about women having trouble IFing but there seem to be some common trends. Generally speaking they have 2 or more of the following things in common:
Low body fat
Workout intensely
Eat Paleo
Since my approach to all of those things is pretty half-a**** hopefully I don't have too much to worry about...
I right now am not following a set window again. But I eat only 1 meal and 1snack, or 2meals and one snack. No more grazing! Except for TOM, that's a whole other story lol
Lunch/MEEEEAL:
-Greek yogurt
-Can of tuna, 1.5 servings edamame beans, 1/3 avocado, kale, 1 hard boiled egg
-Quest protein bar
Dinner:
-1 hard boiled egg
-Turkey burger
-Whole bag frozen veggies with garlic seasoning, sesame oil
-Some coconut milk rice and tofu/kale/caramelized onion mix my roommate made
-Barely any room left for chocolate and sea salt coated almonds
I'd like to start IF but I am a bit overwhelmed about how to do it. Do I have to buy a book or is there a website I can go to? can I just have a s mall breakfast and small dinner or do I need to eat all my calories within a certain number of hours? I work out so I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to train if I do this.......
I have 2 very young children (2.5 & 4 months), I just can't sit down and eat 5-6 meals per day like I could before them (the 2.5 year old sure, but not the 4 month old).
So, 1-2 meals a day is PERFECT for me. I get all my nutrition/calorie counts and don't have to waste time cooking so many damn meals & counting constantly. And that main meal can be the family meal, which I have to do anyways.
I actually am just back from a 2 week hiatus from IF. I got a terrible cold & then bronchitis, I couldn't eat and my milk supply plummeted, so I went on the see-food diet and ate like a beast 24/7 for a few days to get it back (hey I have my priorities, 4 month old has to eat too!).
I would agree a lot of them are desiring an unnaturally low body fat (which is very hard to maintain), rigid Paleo, or excessive training. "Normal" women don't just go do IF (although I would argue lots of women do this naturally without even knowing what it is called!!!), but the women who specifically do "IF" are the ones who will do other things to mess with their hormones too...
"IF" for the average woman is just "oh, I'm so busy with the kids today, then I had to work, I skipped breakfast & lunch again and now I have to eat dinner with the family... I'll take 3 servings instead!". And yet, she's fine.
I'd like to start IF but I am a bit overwhelmed about how to do it. Do I have to buy a book or is there a website I can go to? can I just have a s mall breakfast and small dinner or do I need to eat all my calories within a certain number of hours? I work out so I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to train if I do this.......
There are several ways to fast. You should go to your doctor first to make sure it's safe for you.
The easiest way is to fast 1 day a week for 24 hours. So let's say you eat breakfast at 7am on Monday. You fast for 24 hours and start at 7am on Tuesday.
For the 24hr fasts that I've done I've used the 6pm to 6pm plan... So for instance... Let's say you eat a normal amount on a Monday and stop eating by 6pm and then fast till 6pm on Tuesday... When you would have a normal dinner... This way even though you are fasting for 24hrs... You are still getting to eat something on each day that you are doing the 24hr fast...
But I think the easiest way to start with IF is just to start going 12 to 14hrs from the time you eat dinner to the time you eat again... And then slowly extending that to 16hrs... So that you work your way up to a 16/8 routine and then if you want to possibly extend from there, but you definitely don't have to... If you're using IF to lose weight... Then realize that it's just a strategy to reduce overall calorie consumption.... which yes, may have some other added benefits, but unless it's helping you to eat less since you would be eating less often... It just doesn't make much sense, at least from a weight loss perspective...
Its definitely helping me to eat less because I am only having one "big" meal a day , my second meal is more like a snack. Last time I ate I had a protein shake, so that was less than 200 calories. I'm trying not to count calories but I want to make sure that I have enough to sustain me through vigorous workouts. I am doing this to lose weight at this point, not maintain so eating a lot during a certain number of hours is not going to help me.....I could easily overeat within that time frame. I know that every day is going to be different, there may be days I go out for dinner with friends and eat more calories. I think I'm going to stick with what i'm doing now and that is eat two meals a day when my body tells me that I'm hungry and not eat anything after five or six o'clock.
