This was a very interesting read, and gave me some things to think about with my own experiments with IF.

Initially, I thought I couldn't do IF at all, because of my blood sugar issues (I'm IR/borderline diabetic).

Going more than a few hours without eating usually results in lightheadedness, dizziness, nausea, vertigo and SEVERE mood swings.


I don't do "miserable" weight loss anymore, so I eat before or as soon as I notice any weird feelings.

However, I did find that the more lowish-carb/paleo I ate, the longer I could postpone my first meal of the day without unpleasant consequences, but at the first sign of symptoms, I would eat (or hubby would beg me to eat because he was suffering from my moodswings even if I wasn't).

I've definitely found some of what the author says to be quite true of me, and I do wonder whether there are long term consequences of IF.

Over the past several months, and especially since starting IF, I've been experiencing an every-increasing number of menopausal symptoms. Since I'm 47, I just assumed that it was normal for my age and completely unrelated to the IF. Maybe I'll give up the IF for a couple months to see if they disappear.

I don't know that I want to prevent or delay natural menopause, but I'd rather not be helping it along. I've been more than a bit troubled by the increasing amount of hair appearing on my upper lip and chin and disappearing from my hairline and eyebrows.

It will be interesting to see if giving up IF affects the hair growth patterns.

What a great article, even if it is anecdotal. I've been seeing a lot lately about IF not being so great for women, though of course (just like with everything else) there are exceptions.

Oh, absolutely there are exceptions...to everything, right? But its kinda scary when you think you are following a highly reasearced and supported way of living, and then to have it completely backfire in such unexpected ways...
i knew pretty immeditely that IF was not for me... while i enjoyed the freedom of not thinking about food so often, and then being able to actually eat what i wanted when i did eat, i found that i was in a CONSTANT state of bloatedness....
I would dehydrate and lose water weight, and then my body would swing way far in the other direction after eating a huge meal, and it was wreaking havoc on my digestive system.

Thats something everyone needs to keep in mind.

first and foremost, the body wants, and will do what is has to do, to achieve homeostasis, and IFing through my body for a homeostasis loop... Sever water and glycogen retention due to the restriction. Outta whack eloctrolytes, outta whack hunger cues and hormone responses.. its a convoluted downward spiral.

Id be willing to bet the OPs 2 pound water gain is a result of electrolyte imbalance and water retention from glycogen overload.. and its gong to get worse, imo

I've heard so much about IF not being that great for women, and I found it to be true in myself. It just DIDN'T work for me at all, and I actually prefer smaller meals throughout the day. Not because that's one of the things that you hear about "keeping up your metabolism" but because I found it true when it came to my hunger patterns.

It's been working for me thus far, so I'm going to keep doing it.

I've met plenty of men and women that found intermittent fasting did not work for them but the article linked is not a good one in my opinion. The reason I say that is there is literally no detail on anything about what they were doing. None. Also - the idea that IF will drive someone to become a caffeine addict was strange.

Generally speaking the people I've found that don't do well on intermittent fasting are those people who are really into "clean" eating because it's difficult to get in the number of calories they require in a day.

I know, I feel like the only thing I can confidently advise people to do across the board is eat a lot of vegetables. Maybe lifting some weights too, but even that isn't a good fit for everyone.

We aren't even close to understanding how our bodies work, especially when it comes to weight management. We all react so differently to different things. All we can do is load up on info and painstakingly find out what works through trial and error (with a good dose of patience and self-love).

My wife is the same way. She prefers to "graze" and never eats a lot.

It's frustrating for new people because they generally just want someone to tell them what to do but ultimately there are different ways to eat that fit better with one person or another. So figuring out what works best for you is really the key to long term maintinence.

i know! that make me snort when i read it! It was more the overall tone of the article... purely anecdotal, but some very interesting and noteworthy experiences from well respected women.

Yea - but if they were following a 14/10 eating pattern it's hard to imagine a lot of the things they're talking about happening. On the other hand - one mentioned the warrior diet which is more of a 22/2 pattern.

Still - I'm glad you linked it and I'm glad I read it.:D

I agree that the article is weak on fact, implying that the author is referring to research, but not really citing or describing any research.

However, even so it piqued my curiosity in looking for the research she appears to be referring to.

However, it was actually the "weird" bits that intrigued me the most, because they so jived with my experience (could be a strange coincidence).

My caffeine use fluctuates, but when I started IF I was in a low-cycle. At most I'ld have one caffeinated diet soda per day, often not even that.

Then when I started experimenting with IF, I found myself using more and more cafeine (even beyond what is my normal "max"). I started making hot and cold tea for myself (unusual, but not "whacko" for me), but I was even craving and considering COFFEE (which anyone who knows me, knows I DETEST THE STUFF with a crazy passion, always have and always will).





This I think has been sort of true for me. My eating isn't always super clean, but my first meal of the day always has been, for just about as long as I can remember. If I'm only eating one meal a day, it's going to be pretty clean, just out of habit. Which either means widening the "window" or learning to eat heavier for that one meal.

It's been a learning experience as to what kind of meal is appropriate if it's going to be the only meal of the day.

I keep experimenting with different types, sizes, and frequencies of meals, and to be honest, I'm not sure yet which works best for me (or even if there is a single best).

Some of it depends on when and how I'm going to exercise. If I'm going to go to the gym, I have to eat before I get there. If I go to the gym on an empty stomach, it's a recipe for passing out.

It's all still a work-in-progress.

Please don't leave the forum people are just trying to help...its called constructive criticism. Alot of people here have experience you should thank them for their comments and learn from them....good luck with your goal!:hug:

Thank you everyone for your concern. It's been a rough couple of weeks.. I ate yesterday and today and I'm about a pound more then when I posted this. So overall, about 6 pounds down in a week of IF, and that's something I could have done low carbing. Plus, when I'm low carbing, I feel so much better. Amazing even. So I guess the inital 9 pounds I lost was about 3 pounds of water weight. But, I guess I had to learn the hard way. Everytime I eat now, my stomach cramps up about 20 minutes later and hurts really bad. I hope I didn't hurt myself.. The scary thing is, if I were still losing weight doing this, I KNOW I would still be eating like that.

I still don't agree with the approach of one of you, but I understand the intent. Thank you. Me and my cramped up little stomach are gonna run to the bathroom now. :(

Start off slow. Eat bland foods like liquid jello, broth and plain toast. Slowly add in chicken and vegetables. You can't rush into meals after doing that :)

Too late! haha.. I didn't eat a lot at all, but it's not gentle food. I'm still below 1500 cals in a day.

You know what I find strange? I just STOPPED losing weight doing this after about 5 days or so. It came off fast, but then it just stopped. I didn't change anything, and I even ate a smaller meal when I did eat. But I haven't gained it back, with the exception of a few pounds, but that could also be because I have been eating heavier food.

food volume definately does a lot. So does saltier food. Lets say you did 1500 calories in potatoes, steak and broccoli. You might gain a lb because of the potatoes and steak.

but lets say you did 1500 calories in leafy greens, that might not show as a gain.

1500 calories in junk food, because of the salt, would show a gain.

Make sense? :) All calories are not created equal and the answer to everything is 42.

Rikku- I don't think you should necessarily give up "IF" after a one week trial of eating one meal every 2 (or 3?) days b/c that is not the way it is supposed to be used in the first place. If you would like to research it, you will find a lot of helpful info. You could start with a 14 hour fast and a 10 hr feed everyday while watching your calories. No matter what weight loss method you choose, you can't lose 1-2 lbs a day indefinitely- weight loss will slow down.

All the best to you. Hope you feel better soon.

I suppose you're right. I guess I just *really* am ready to get out there and feel good both inside and out. I am growing incredibly impatient! I may still do a few small fasts during the week along with low carb. Do you think that would speed it up a little?

Glad to hear you're sticking around. I was worried about you :) good luck

IF is a good tool for keeping your calories down, so yes, it could be good if you like it/know how you want to use it. If you like low carb, then that could also be great for you. You have to choose whatever works for you, but you can def combine both.

As many people say around here, "Slow and steady wins the race." Find your patience, find the right plan for yourself, keep it strong and you will succeed.

None of us expect you to agree with all of us (or even any of us), and if you remember that you'll feel a lot more supportive.

Some of the best support I get here is from the people who think what I'm doing is absolutely INSANE (and aren't afraid to tell me so). We don't have to agree to support each other, but we do have to put our opinions out there (sometimes even the ones that sound "mean" to some of us).

I actually get more out of the opinions that disagree with mine (just like I get more out of the negative reviews on amazon.com than those that are gushingly positive). Because the disagreeing opinions challenge me, and make me think.

In the end, I may decide that the critics are right and I've been making a mistake, or I may decide (whether or not I research the accuracy of their opinions) that I'm just as confident (if not more so) that my approach is right for me.

So take what helps, and forget the rest, because it's not our opinions and experiences that matter, it's sharing them that does - so that people can know that they're not alone (no matter what their experience or opinions are).

I wouldn't even want to miss out on the "harsh" criticisms, because some people say they need that, and if they believe it, even though I don't understand it, I have to accept that. I'm ordinarily not going to be the one who gives or needs it, but I also don't have to worry quite so much about how carefully I need to word my posts, because I can be assured, that no matter what I say or how I say it, it will be exactly what someone (not necessarily the op) needs to hear.

And if I or others completely botch the job and start getting nasty, the moderators will quickly remove those posts or close the thread (and remember you do have a right to contact the mods with complalints about a thread or posts to it, and you can also use the ignore function to block out posts from members whose posts upset you (you won't see any of their posts).

I have a very thick skin, but there have been members in the past (none currently) whose posts would constantly get under my skin. And yet other people would post how much they LOVED those members' posts, so it's obviously just a personality-clash thing. Blocking their posts (so to me they don't even exist to me) was extremely helpful for my emotional well-being.

Do what you've got to do, and say what you've got to say - that's the bottom line here. Not everyone is going to agree, and even some of those who passionately DISAGREE can still like you and be of support and help to you (if not on every topic, at least on some).

It is important to remember that very, very few people here are going to judge you, and those that do or seem to be aren't worth your hurt feelings. And while it may have no control over your feelings (just as many of us feel we have no control over our eating) we all do have that choice, but it takes practice to exercise it, and to find the best ways to exercise the choice.

Thank you very much. I really do appriciate it. :hug:

I'm just a bit sensitive about this topic, that's all. I'm so confident in every other aspect if my life, but my weight continues to challenge me in every way.

Based on what I've read I would strongly reccomend you do not intermittent fast.

You do not have a healthy relationship with food, it seems.

After six months, if you've established some solid dietary habits, you should consider adding a 24 hour fast once or twice a week to your routine.

Intermittent fasting without good dietary habits usually does not work out well from what I have seen.

Rikku-

Here are a few articles you might want to take a look at:

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shatter...he-literature/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women...#axzz2EHiSD2gC

http://www.stumptuous.com/problem-3-hormone-****

http://www.stumptuous.com/problem-2-muscle-munching

Thank you, that was very informative :)

I haven't tried intermittent fasting personally, but I'm fairly familiar with the concept having done CrossFit for 18 months where a lot of people (men and women) swear by it.

I think what it comes down to is your relationship with food. Why not try something really basic to get yourself going? Eat healthy, whole foods within a certain calorie limit and take it nice and slow. The people I know that do intermittent fasting started when they were at a healthy weight (this is just my personal experience, not saying it's the way it has to be). They had a fairly "normal" relationship with food, ate a paleo diet already and did a lot of research on IF as a means of improving fat loss and enhancing their performance in the gym. It is a very extreme way of eating so it's kind of like you need to take baby steps to get there... I think if you've been struggling with weight and food as long as you say you have it might not be the healthiest place to start.

I'm no expert, but I really feel for your situation. It shouldn't be this much of a struggle mentally. If you commit to a plan and stick with it you should feel good and see results, however slowly.

I hope you find something that does work for you. IF *can* work, but maybe just not right now, like JohnP suggested.

And don't get offended when people give it to you straight - it's done with the best intentions, even if it's not what you want to hear and not necessarily right. It's just an opinion. You could end up proving them wrong or you could end up learning from their experiences.

Good luck :)

In order ...

1) Interesting well written article. Doesn't make a big enough point that the physiology of rats and humans are significantly differnt but otherwise a good read.

2) A good read specifically and most importantly on who should and who shouldn't consider.

3) Garbage. Hormones are important but this article lacks and practical application.

4) More garbage. I couldn't find anything resembling common sense in this article. Best I can tell they take some extreme cases and attempt to apply them across the general population.

Intermittent fasting
 

Hi. I am new to this site and new to fasting. Only on second fast day, and of course pretty darned hungry. Anyone out there had great success, or have any tips to pass on......please!

Hello, Dinah! :welcome:

I have recently come back to this site after a short hiatus and I am slowly getting back into IF (intermittent fasting). I love it! You may want to check this thread out since it is all about IF (Leangains, Eat Stop Eat and our own form of IF) here. It is not super active but people are still on there. I will be posting on there once I am 100% IF. Hope to see you there sometime! :)


Amandie

Hi Dinah! Ive found that I need my bulletproof coffee in the morning or I just get too hungry! Some people argue that adding anything to your coffee means you're not actually fasting but it has been working for me! I have my bulletproof coffee around 8:30 or 9 and it takes all the way through until lunch at 1 or 2 o'clock.

This is my first time doing IF and as of today ive lost 10 pounds in 1 month! I'm also sort of pairing it with low carb in that I eat a very low carb meal for lunch when I break my fast (usually some type of meat and some type of vegetables) and then for dinner I do not limit my carbs like at lunch, i just try to stick to a sensible portion of whatever I'm eating.

Intermittent Fasting
 

What is intermittent fasting and how does it work and does it work and what are the hours that I have seen associated with this. Is this you just go so many hours without food?? Please explain.


Thanks?

To be honest, IF is exactly that, you go however many hours you choose without food and eat all your meals within a predetermined window and you do it on a regular pattern. I, however, just do IF now and then, still in a pattern, but I don't do it as a regular lifestyle.

There are other variations of IF. Google Fast Five, The 8-Hour Diet, Eat/Stop/Eat and Intermittent Fasting. You'll get a world of information and some misinformation.

You'll probably get some better answers on this thread when people see it.

It is a simple concept.

Yup - that is pretty much it.

IF 1-2x a week: This is taking a longer fasting period of say for up to 24 hours and repeating 1-2x a week. Typically you eat dinner - then don't eat again until dinner the next day.

Daily IF: Only eat during a certain period usually called a "feeding window". 16/8 is a fairly common cycle and the one I follow. For example I eat my last meal at 9:00 PM and then don't eat again until 1:00 PM the next day.

There is no specific eating plan to IFing. You can combine it with any kind of dietary plan. Counting calories seems to be very popular but you can combine it with anything. Paleo, aktins, south beach, weight watchers, IP diet, whatever.

Essentially it is a way to control calories because you limit the times you eat. For me personally this has been life changing and allowed me to maintain my weight for about two years without counting calories.

In theory there are some health benefits to doing this but at the moment they are unproven.

So 16/8 is 16 hours no food then you eat all your food within 8 hours...right?

So I guess my next question is how is this beneficial to weight loss? During the 8 hours it seems you still get your same amount of calories (correct)? So whats the purpose of going 16 hours w/o eating? Im not trying to demean those who do this...just trying to understand this as I have never hear of this before. Is the 16 hours (with a cutoff time to eat and not to eat) to train yourself to not eat all the time (graze i call it)?

Thanks!!

www.mercola.com just had a great article on this very topic - and between the article and the forum comments, there is a lot of info. Here's the article link; I'm inspired to give it a shot. http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fit...-approach.aspx

I've been doing IF for three weeks. I try to eat a lot of protein and vegetables, but I also got addicted to pie last week and I had nothing but pizza for 3 days straight because I was completely broke. I lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks. Not bad at all.

I read that it's recommended that women eat for 10 hours and fast for 14 or that they don't do IF at all. It was in a blog called "Paleo for women" and it said that women get restless and can't sleep when they do it for a while and they're not too big. I'm 2 lbs away from getting out of the obese category, so I'm not small. I am noticing exactly these things lately, though. I slept for only 4 hours on both Thursday and Friday and today I slept for 3 hours. Right now it's 2 pm in Greece and I'm still wide awake.

Calories dictate fat loss or gain - so yes you can easily gain weight while only eating 8 hours of the day. It's benefit to weight loss is dependant on the person but for most people it is a lot easier to eat 1500 calories (for example) spread over 8 hours than it is over 12. You do need to train yourself though.

For myself when I started I had to eat by 10:00 AM or I was ready to chew off my arm. After about a week I was ok with waiting till noon but I was ravenous. Now, more than two years later, I simply don't get hungry till around 1:00 but I have no problem waiting till 3-4 if I'm busy. Most people take a couple weeks to adjust.

Here's how I find it beneficial for weight loss... I find that it offers a strategy to potentially reduce overall calorie consumption while potentially being more satisfied with your meals...

Here's a quick example... Say you are following a plan that calls for 1500 calories a day. Instead of dividing those calories into let's say three 400 calorie meals and two 150 calorie snacks, which some people don't find very satisfying (eating relatively small 400 calorie meals that is...) by dividing those calories into larger meals it can be much more satisfying.

Personally, I like larger meals... I find them much more satisfying, so by eating less frequently I'm able to still to enjoy them and still keep overall calories in check...

Another important advantage and added bonus I find is the reduction in meal planning and cooking... and by eating less frequently I find that I'm thinking about food less often, which for me has been very helpful as well...

P.S. Didn't see JohnP's response above before I posted this.... So sorry for any redundancy...

That is why I've experimented with it, to get a better handle on eating times. I naturally don't eat early breakfast on Sundays anyhow only because I grew up around people who had Sunday brunch and didn't eat until it was time for that. I also used to not eat breakfast on other days unless I was particularly hungry and it was only when all the nutritionists in the universe started saying how vital it was to eat breakfast that I began to eat a meal my biological clock said I didn't need AND then when all the nutritionists said I should eat six times a day or worse "graze" I ended up feeling I needed to eat all the time and while doing everything ... working, reading, driving, you name it.

When I discovered IF, I realized that it can be quite normal, actually, to, uh, not eat all the time and that I can survive without eating for a while.

So I like it when I do it. It makes me feel peaceful. It does not affect my weight at all. It is just an eating pattern.

I have stopped doing IF for a while, though, because I had some bad experiences with it, not feeling well.

Might try it again, or not.

NOTE: Didn't see Trip Switch's response when I posted this. I also agree with her points, although I think I do better with smaller meals in most instances.

JohnP, so do you think that the claims about insulin, FFAs, etc are not true?

I agree with it being easier. I had chicken parmesan and mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese today and I could have been within my calorie limit. Of course, I followed with red velvet cake because I've wanted to try it for years so I probably went off, but whatever. I had red velvet cake! But, yes, you can eat normal, satisfying meals.

You also learn to eat more structured, I think. In the beginning, I'd eat all my calories and stay up late and when I'd starve, it would be very difficult to keep away, but IF makes it a lot easier somehow. And it helps with the water retention which is a huge problem for me.

thanks for the info on this....I find this very interesting!!