I'm kinda glad I found this thread. I read it last night, and didn't know if I could do it. On a whim today, I figured, "Why not?" I'm trying the 5-hour window. The time really flew by quicker than normal. On most days that I eat breakfast, I find myself starving and obsessed with my next snack or meal. The major downside for me is that I felt unusually weak 2 hours before I ate. Any advice on this? I had 2 liters of water and some caffeine, but I still really didn't feel well.
Apart from that... maybe it's too soon to speak, but I'm pretty pleased. I broke my fast 40 minutes ago with a 300 calorie "meal", and already feel satisfied. (Of course I'll aim to eat 1200-1500, however.) It would be so ideal to not feel hungry when fasting, and completely satisfied when eating... It really is like cheating the system. I'll try it again tomorrow and see how it goes. For now it's given me a lot of mental focus, which I completely lacked before.
Well, I don't think I'm going to be doing this anymore. I realize now that I can skip a meal here and there and be relatively okay, but this evening was not good. Even with eating low-carb, as I did today, my blood sugar is way too high. I need more space between my meals.
Thanks to everyone for their support. I think this is good for some people, but, sadly, not for me.
Well, I don't think I'm going to be doing this anymore. I realize now that I can skip a meal here and there and be relatively okay, but this evening was not good. Even with eating low-carb, as I did today, my blood sugar is way too high. I need more space between my meals.
Thanks to everyone for their support. I think this is good for some people, but, sadly, not for me.
Goodluck! Definately is not for everyone. My meals are at 2PM - 6PM - and 10PM on average although sometimes I only eat twice.
Are you diabetic? How do you know what your blood sugar levels are?
Ive kinda found that it helps my blood sugar levels, I used to be craving crazy amounts of carb/stodgy food in the afternoons but doing IF I dont seem to have cravings at all, just standard hunger now and then and I love not being the junk food monster anymore!
I have also found that having one day off a week from the eating window helps alot, after about the 5th day ive found that I am starving in the morning, so I take a day off and start all over again!
Today is the start of week 3 and I am so glad I found this thread, I was sitting in bed with a chest infection and I read all about this and I thought 'Im gona give this a start...tomorrow' and then I thought hang on why dont I just start TODAY (which I never do!! Its always Monday...) and I havnt looked back for the past 2 weeks (ok 2 weeks isnt alot but baby steps!!)
I havnt weighed myself yet, 1st week I lost 5 pounds but due to TOM I'm refusing to get on the scales this week! Will keep you all posted!
Last edited by Blondie160; 05-19-2011 at 03:18 AM.
Thanks, JohnP! I am pre-diabetic. I have a meter to keep track, but I can tell by how I feel most of the time now, and last night I felt terrible. I've lost a lot of weight doing low-carb, and I switched to Primal when my weight loss stalled. It picked back up right away, but now I am very carb resistant. I guess the meals spaced too closely is enough to get things out of whack. I think this is very doable for most people, and I'm not going to panic anymore when I miss a meal, so it did teach me that.
Grace, I have been low-carb for almost a year now, so I don't have the carb cravings I used to have, thank goodness. And, they had cake in the breakroom yesterday, but I did not have any, thanks to IF. I was fasting, so I walked right by it. My friend wanted me to get her a piece, too! I don't get cravings, but when it's right in front of my face, I still really want some.
P.S. I think this might be doable for me with some tinkering. I might try again. I need to get some new test strips. That would help me know what to do to fix it. I ate well within my carbs and calories, according to Fitday, so I think the spacing is what is wrong.
Just thought I'd chime in with my (limited) experience. Can't speak for weight loss as I had a bad few days and didn't stick with pretty much anything except waiting until noon to eat. For me, so far, it is easy and I feel pretty good with the 16 hour fast. But my stomach rebels and doesn't let me eat much before I get full. So it is way too easy to get a too small a number of calories. I am probably just going to end up skipping breakfast and not eating after 8pm, so for me more like a 14-15 hour fast. At least I will get the benefits of easily being able to keep calories low. It has been a good experiment and it is good for me to know that I don't like my tummy feeling too full! Anyway I will keep going and tweaking and see where it takes me.
Thanks, KT. It is going well for me since I am 100% focused.
I decided to treat myself to a sweet iced coffee this morning during my fast. I know it's probably well over the 50 calorie limit but that's okay. Every once in a while is okay. I'm still doing well with the water intake.
Georgia, FANTASTIC job with the weight loss. I feel the same way you do about IF. Maked things so much easier.
Astrild, welcome and great job for trying it out.
Gotta get back to work...will continue later. LOL.
CandEs, well, at least you gave it a try. Glad you found that out now instead of later :-). Hopefully you will discover a way for it to work for you so you aren't feeling bad.
Bigknitter, that sounds like a good plan. Nice job.
Monique I want to join you! I really could use some support with the IF thing; I have the desire to start but I'm having the toughest time getting started. we could check up on each other and provide encouragement. I'd really like that.
I haven't lost anything this week, but the 3lbs from the first week is still gone This week has been hard for me. I've been exceptionally hungry some days -sort of fast 2 days and then on day 3, my appetite is insatiable- I am going to have to be tough and get through those days with out breaking the fast. It isn't so much the hunger, because I've realised that I kind of like the way it feels to be hungry. I wonder if I'm not staying as hydrated, eating less, and perhaps that is triggering the out of control cravings after a couple of fast days. What do you all think?
Looks like everyone is doing well. I've seen FAQ mentioned a few times here. Maybe we can all work on one together. It would be nice to have something to point people too.
I'm still hanging in there....glad to see all the successes people are having. I was a little discouraged with the scale today, but tomorrow is my "official" weigh in day...so fingers crossed for a decent number. Yesterday was the first day that I've ever felt REALLY hungry with IF. It was around noon and I was actually feeling a little shaky. But, I wanted to see if I could overcome it...I just waited it out a few minutes, downed a bunch of water...and it totally went away, no more shaky feeling or anything. I have no clue if that was the right thing to do...but I knew there was no way that my body just had to eat at that moment. I've been doing this for almost two weeks now and have been totally fine waiting until at least 2 o'clock to eat. Sometime I go until four, just depends on what's happening for the day.
Anywho...keep up the good work everyone. I'm still enjoying IF'ing it. My window will have to either be earlier or longer today, because I'm going out for lunch with co-workers. That's what I love about IF...you can totally make it fit your life...it doesn't have to be some super strict thing. It's all about the calories!! So, I'll go out to eat...then I'll probably just have fruit and veggies the rest of the day and call it good.
I want IF support too!
This week has been hard for me. I've been exceptionally hungry some days -sort of fast 2 days and then on day 3, my appetite is insatiable- I am going to have to be tough and get through those days with out breaking the fast. It isn't so much the hunger, because I've realised that I kind of like the way it feels to be hungry. I wonder if I'm not staying as hydrated, eating less, and perhaps that is triggering the out of control cravings after a couple of fast days. What do you all think? 
