Hi folks! I'm glad to find an IF thread here. I've been dieting for 2 months, with the last 4 weeks on IF. I am never hungry in the morning anyhow, so this eating style works really well for me. I do anything from 16:8 to 20:4, depending on my schedule. I count every single calorie during my window, weigh and measure, and track it on macrotracker.com. I had my suggested calories and macros calculated on iifym.com, but I find that the calories suggested for losing are too high.
I eat around 1100 calories during my window and stop eating when my goal for the day is reached or the clock tells me my window closes. I also try and work out fasted, right before my window opens, on my exercise bike. Also a challenge, but getting easier.
I have been told and I believe that this gets easier as you get used to it.
So far, for the 2 months' total I've lost 11 pounds, with the last 6 lost during the 4 weeks of IF. I weight 160 at 5'1" and my eventual goal is 120.
I believe this style of eating fits well with me and look forward to contributing to this thread and reading everybody's experiences and input!
Today I'm feeling weak. And I usually exercise first thing. Any ideas?
What did you eat yesterday? For me that usually has the most impact. IfI had a bunch of carbs, I'll have no energy in the morning. I do better when I have lean meat and veggies.
Personally, I'll have a SMALL (50 calorie or less) piece of fruit to give me a kick of energy in that situation. It's also something you'll adjust to in the future.
I started fast 5 because I cannot do low carb. My favorite foods area homemade soups, tomatoes, strawberries, corn on the cob...........we only get that once a year but we cut it off and freeze it.
im down 2lbs since starting monday.On saturday we are going to an all you can eat sushi buffet and yesterday i had home made tacos and only went up about .2lbs.
Hope you don't mind me resurrecting this thread, as I see it's been inactive since late last month.
Some of you may know me from the Intuitive Eating thread, which is where I posted the great majority of the time. As much as I love the concept of IE, and as much as I learned about myself as well as my relationship with food, ultimately I had to make a conscious decision to lose some weight.
This is primarily due to health issues, particularly my A1C number, which now puts me in the pre-diabetic category.
Over the last few months I've played around with various methods of dieting, particularly those that have worked for me in the past. I've been most successful calorie counting, but I find myself completely unable to stick with that (or any other method) for any length of time.
I learned quite some time ago that low-carb is just not ever going to work for me, but even so I tried that again. I managed to stick to it for about two weeks and I felt horrible the whole time. It's just unsustainable for me.
So I decided to give IF a try.
The first thing I tried was 5:2. It was pretty clear from the start that that wasn't going to work for me.
So then I decided on an 8 hour window, since I'm not a breakfast eater anyway. I had no problem waiting until noon (or later) to eat, but I felt that I was still eating too much, and thinking too much about food in general. I also found myself calorie counting, which I really don't like doing. I know a lot of IF'ers do it, and that's perfectly understandable, but it's not for me.
Then early last week I was out running errands and suddenly about 3:00 p.m. I realized I hadn't had anything to eat. I was pretty hungry, so I stopped at Cracker Barrel. I ordered meatloaf with mashed potatoes and string beans, and I also had a piece of cornbread. I ate it, and I was full. REALLY full. So full that I didn't eat for the rest of the day. Or night.
And then it dawned on me...why not just eat one meal a day? If you can eat one good meal and have it satisfy you, why bother yourself with eating three (or more) small meals a day that won't ever make your hunger truly go away? In other words, if I'm going to be hungry most of the day anyway, why not at least have one meal that will fill me up and keep me from going to bed hungry? - because that is the one and only time I can't stand to be hungry.
So that's what I've been doing for the past week, and I have definitely lost a few pounds. I haven't gotten on the scale - years of practicing IE has made me vanquish the scale from my life, for the most part - but there's no doubt that I have. I can tell that my belly bloat has also decreased.
Best of all, after a couple of rough days of fighting the hunger as well as lethargy I now have reached a point where it's pretty effortless to wait until 5 -6 pm to eat. I started out eating early afternoon but soon decided to move it to evening so that I can eat with my husband on the days he's not working. (He has a part-time job 3 days a week and he doesn't get home until 7:00 pm or so, but he's home 4 days a week).
I generally don't get hungry until mid-afternoon now, but again, I learned through IE that hunger is NOT an emergency! Which is probably why this one meal a day IF routine is probably the best one for me.
I eat whatever I want, as long as it fits on one dinner plate. That's really a lot of food, if you think about it, and although I'm not actively counting calories, I generally know about how many there are (from years of doing it). I probably never exceed 1200, and many days it's less than that.
I eat good food, generally a protein, a starch (mostly potatoes, I don't like rice or pasta), and a leafy vegetable. I also love to fix casseroles and I had one of those last night. Sometimes I leave enough "room" on my plate for dessert, generally a scoop of ice cream. And although I haven't had any yet, I don't see a thing wrong with having a couple of slices of pizza instead.
When I'm finished, I stop eating. Period. If I'm going to have a drink with calories in it, that's when I have it - with dinner. Otherwise, for the other 23 hours of the day I drink water, black coffee, or tea (with no sweeteners).
For me, this is a very easy way to create a calorie deficit. I also believe that I am getting the additional benefits of fasting, since obviously I am not eating 23 hours of the day. And as I said, except for a couple of rough days, I now find myself with a lot more energy. Most importantly, I don't have to really think about food, plan meals, wonder what I'm going to eat, etc. It's been very freeing, actually.
I've done some research on this method of eating, and of course I've read the pros and cons. But as long as it's working for me, I will continue this WOE.
I know there are several different methods of IF, and this is just one of them. Looking forward to hearing from others who practice all forms of IF.
Well i don't think i could have only one meal per day. This is not for everyone but if it works for you now that's great. I personally would not keep this habit for long time. My sister that doesn't have problem with a weight eats like that a lot of times but it just doesn't seems right to me.
I had to go off of IF a few weeks ago due to severe constipation However, I have not gained weight back, in fact I am still losing. I think basically I got used to not eating for long periods of time, so maybe I'm going on inertia. If I see the scale start to climb back up I will rethink what I'm doing. Has anyone else had constipation?
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 12,384
S/C/G: 217/179/142
Height: 5'2
Southern Maven, it has been 6 weeks since you posted that you are trying the OMAD plan, and I'm wondering if you are still following it, and how it's working for you.
Southern Maven, it has been 6 weeks since you posted that you are trying the OMAD plan, and I'm wondering if you are still following it, and how it's working for you.
I'm sorry to just now be responding, and I'm on my phone because I'm out of town, but I wanted to update you. Yes I am still doing one meal a day and I even started another thread, the one with OMAD in the title.
I am extremely pleased with my progress. As I stated before I don't weigh very often, but I have definitely lost weight. I did get off track for a few days, but I was able to get back on track pretty quickly.
I have found it very easy to do. It's amazing how our bodies adapt.
I'm also incorporating a high-fat low-carb element to my efforts, although I am not being obsessive about it. I believe the one-two punch will make losing weight even easier, but I am still a firm believer that the fasting process itself, with or without monitoring carb intake, is highly beneficial.
New Here and Doing IF
However, I have not gained weight back, in fact I am still losing. I think basically I got used to not eating for long periods of time, so maybe I'm going on inertia. If I see the scale start to climb back up I will rethink what I'm doing. Has anyone else had constipation?
Question:
