Intermittent Fasting
 

I've been trying intermittent fasting for the past few weeks and it has been going well.

I am wondering if anyone else has heard of it or tried it? Thanks.

I've been doing a shake fast for the past 28 days! I've lost 20 lbs. It is medically supervised. Like anything if you don't figure out why you eat then you will gain the weight back. It doesn't matter how you lose it, it matter what you are going to do to maintain it. 95% of people gain it back...simply because they lose it and don't have a plan of keeping it off. The program I'm with has a 6 week transition back to food and then 6 months or more of maintenence classes. It will take me a little over 4 months to drop 80lbs. Which has been easy so far. It will be much harder to maintain.

I am referring to a form of fat loss and muscle building, not a "spiritual" or "religious" experience.



It is a form of eating based on paleolithic eating style.

If you have tried it, are doing it, or know anything about it please post!

I've only been using it for the past two weeks, and its been a great supplement to my lifestyle.

Thanks!!

Mark Sisson talks about it in his book "Primal Blueprint" and on his website.

As I understand ... it has more to do with carefully planning meals around periods of fasting rather than seeing how long you can go without eating which is what I think people understand fasting to be.

The term "fasting" is probably one of those words that can be ill-used and ill-understood.

Skipping meals has generally been a bad idea for me, because if I go too long without eating, my hunger runs amok, and I overeat. However, after reading Primal Blueprint, I realized that I didn't have to time meals on a rigidly timed schedule either.

In the past skipping meals were usually an attempt to postpone eating as long as possible (and inevitably resulted in out-of-control bingeing).

I think there may be something to intermittent fasting - but I suspect it would work best within the framework of a lower carb primal diet. I don't think it would work very well with a high carb diet because of the blood sugar spikes that would likely occur.

Can you give us an idea of what your results are like, Risssa? I'm interested in trying this as well.

I practice an Intermittent fasting lifestyle, granted due to stress and etc I've not done so for awhile...

Ever heard of Fast5? That moreorless represented my eating habits except in my case it's Fast-3 - Fasting for 21 hours and an eating window of three.

Personally I find that once you've started, it becomes a habit but once you slip and start to extend your eating window more and more... It's much more harder to get back on track.

I love intermittent fasting, now if only I could regain the willpower to stay on track...

This type of lifestyle change isn't the best for those whom have stressful lives and tend to be emotional eaters.

I followed Fast-5, well I did a Fast-6, from last Oct til this March and lost 18 lbs. of my creeping maintenance weight that I let get out of control.
Over the summer, I've gotten lax with my snacks and regained 5 lbs. I've gotta get back on track.
I really like it. I don't have to worry about eating so much. Saved me some money and I lost weight.

I fast for 18 hours and have an 8 hour eating window. I eat two meals a day and training fasted in the morning (with the protein supplement) works great for me.

My attention and energy is better. And one of the perks is I've been able to reduce my attachment to food and being afraid of being hungry. This is such a huge milestone. It allows me to look at food, as food and not as a source of comfort. Now when I think I am hungry, I have some water and usually I am thirst. I do not feel weak or that I am starving myself. 24 hour fasts are still tough. My goal is to 24 hour fast once a month. For me this is much about the reducing calories as it is about reducing my emotional dependency on food as it is the health benefits.

I follow a combination of leangains by Martin Berkhan and Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon. Google these guys if you want information. I really like how they are since and research based. IFing (intermittent fasting) is right now not an issue for me. I am trying to bump up my intake of fruits and veggies right now.

Intermittent Fasting
 

I'm sorry if there is already a thread/post on this, but I did search for one before I made this.

I'm looking for some advice on intermittent fasting. I'd like to give it a shot, and I'm wondering if anyone would be kind enough to share their personal IF plans and ideas on what works/doesn't work. Thanks!

There are a couple of pretty large threads going on although I'm not sure where they are. You can search my posts and find both pretty easily I'd imagine.

Thank you

yep loving the IF. Helps me no end! Hope to see you soon on the support thread!

Intermitent fasting
 

Has anyone tried this plan?

Hello! There are a lot of us who are IFing. The support group thread is here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/supp...p-part-ii.html

However, I wouldn't really consider it a plan. IF doesn't help you lose weight directly, as it consists of intaking the same number of calories you would if you didn't IF. Its indirect effects- curbing hunger and munching, regulating hormones, etc- help some of us stick to our plans, but IF itself isn't really a weight loss plan.

Hope that helps! Look forward to chatting more.

intermittent fasting
 

i've been seeing more and more about intermittent fasting and i think i like the idea. but i don't get it? do you only get to eat one meal a day? how long should you do IF (as in like weeks or months, should i do it until i reach my goal weight)? how many days a week? will it help me lose weight in the long run? will it have 'crash diet' effects? if anyone knows how could they explain to me how to do it in layman's terms? i'm having a hard time getting the whole gist of it. thanks guys!

There are a couple of threads on this ... search under my name and you'll find all of them.

Intermittent fasting essentialy is a lifestyle, not a specific diet plan. In that sense it is not something you do for a while and then stop it is something you do forever. I've been doing it for a couple years now following a 16/8 plan. There are three basic ways most people do it.

16/8 - Fast for 16 hours, eat for 8. Essentialy you're just skipping breakfast.

Fast 5 - Fast for 19 hours, eat for 5.

Eat Stop Eat - A couple times a week you fast for 24 hours.

Theoretically there are health benefits to doing this but at the moment those benefits have only been demonstrated in rodet or epidemiological studies. For myself and most people who follow it we're simply using it as a mechanism to limit calories.

I don't think anyone should consider IF if they do not already have their eating pretty well under control. Trying to learn how to eat "right" while also training your body when to expect food is a lot of additional stress.

Check out the threads...

From what I understand you choose the number of hours per day you want to fast (12, 14, 16, 28, 20, etc) by whatever works for you. Some people may fast 16 hours and have an 8 hour window while some fast 1 or 2 full days per week. I personally fast 12-14 but I'd like to get up to 16-18.

You could eat just one meal a day I suppose, if that works for you. I have heard a couple people say that is what they do but I'm not sure if they were trying to lose weight.

I think people generally do it forever? That would be my assumption. If it's a way of eating that works for you then I would think you'd want to keep at it.

It isn't a miracle. If you fast 20 hours a day and then eat 4000 calories within four hours you aren't going to lose weight. You still have to have to monitor how much you are going to eat (if weight loss is the goal). But for some people it works better to have larger meals than to spread them out all day. There is also research that shows fasting may be good for the body. And some people just like knowing they aren't going to be in the kitchen all day!

I was just reading about this. It sounds great. I'd like to know more about it too.

I think I have my biggest losses when I do something similar. One day I'll eat 500 calories and the next 1200, then 900, then 800, then 700 or something along those lines.

I don't do it on purpose, but I do take off more weight faster when I do.

This isn't that diet but I'm a believer in doing an extremely low calorie day or two, then bumping it up for a few days. Looking back over my records, it looks like that's when I have the biggest losses.

Did you see the book reviews on amazon? It's called the Up Down Diet or something like that. Some people really love it. It also sounds like a great way to maintain. They don't lose weight as fast as I do, but they do lose significant amounts and it's much more practical than what I'm doing for most people.

Correction, this is not the diet these guys are talking about, but it does sound intriguing!

cheers!

IF is excellent, do look into it! For controlling calories without deprivation, if nothing else, it excels. That it positively affects body composition and metabolism of many who do it is a nice bonus ;)

I do what John does, a 16/8 fast where I condense my meals into an eight to ten hour window and then fast throughout sleep and the morning (I break it with a brunch/lunch). It works wonderfully for me and is very satiation and easy to do. Google around but I recommend checking out Leangains for a good starting FAQ - there are many ways to do it, but Martin's is a good balance for me (especially with my particular fitness goals):
http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html

I just started doing this recently, without really realizing it and when I discovered people here were all into it, I took it more seriously. I actually love it because so far (and only so far), it has helped me control my binge eating and I've lost weight easier. I feel great doing it.

What everyone else said. Lol. I lost the most weight on IF without even really trying. :)

Yeah, that's cycling and it does sound like you go rather low.

It works GREAT for me.

I've always choked breakfast down, because I thought I had to. I HATED wasting calories when I wasn't hungry on foods I don't really even like.

IF is perfect for me. I'm only hungry in the evenings. I have a later eating window than most people. I don't usually eat anything until dinner time, and keep my eating window open for about 6 hours. I'm so busy during the day that finding something to eat is more of a hassle anyway. I'm not hungry and I don't have to worry about eating during the day. I get to eat a big meal in the evening, and snack a bit without guilt, at night. It's win win for me!

i do 1 time a week fasting for 24 hours. I have just water on Mondays. Fasting for me takes care of cravings and makes me satisfy with smaller portions of meals on days i do eat.

I use intermittent fasting as a means of calorie control, and water weight control.

I didn't even realize I was doing the 16/8 until reading JohnP's post! I simply grew tired of forcing breakfast upon myself based on some idea that you have to eat breakfast to increase your metabolism. Now I break the fast later in the day when it feels right for me, and it's really helped me get through my day without over eating. If I'm hungry, I'll eat earlier, though. I'm not that rigid about it. It's just, now I don't force myself.

I like to do a 24 hour fast about once every other week, and sometimes once a week. I just wait until I have a day off of work. It helps eliminate retained water and balance out the calories I've consumed for the week.

I even fast prior to or following a planned "bad day" like when I'm going to a party, the movies or out to dinner, and I know I'm going to eat something bad or overdo it, or I will want a beer or whatever.

Like many, I didn't realize I was intermittent fasting. I was just trying to find balance and a way to have my cake and eat it too. I didn't realize it was a healthy life style option, until one day I googled it.

I don't call it IF but I don't really feel like eating until ~1-2 PM most days, so I don't! By dinnertime I'm hungry so I eat, and then I'm done until the next day.

I am in love with IF!
Check this out http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/gene...-5-2012-a.html

The more I look at IF the more I realize that I did some form of it while losing and occasionally do it now while maintaining. I often gave myself a 12 hour window to eat (6 am to 6pm) because that's when I was my hungriest. Nothing was allowed after dinner.

I don't really do this while maintaining because I don't get enough calories.

I've read research about the benefits of IF and pretty much practice it these days without really meaning trying... but here's one thing I keep wondering about:

How is IF different, in practice, from unhealthy disordered eating habits of skipping meals? I get that the intent is very different, but in practice, it just keeps striking me that IF is a sanitized, repackaged, and now-sanctioned version of a very old, common dieting behavior.

I realize that sounds kind of negative. Again, I'm aware of the research on how fasting promotes autophagy and other goodness, and I'm not averse to it. But maybe someone can help enlighten me -- isn't this an example of everything old is new again?

I'd say the biggest difference is that people who follow IF aren't 'starving' themselves. They're creating a calorie deficit, which is exactly what calorie counters and low carbers and everyone else here does, but it's a healthy calorie deficit.

I do two 24-hour fasts a week. I stop eating from dinner on Monday to dinner on Tuesday, and then I break my fast with a good dinner and usually a snack which comes to between 600 and 700 calories. Non-fast days I usually eat 1400-1600 calories. That means my daily average calorie intake is 1200 calories. I think anyone can agree that that's a healthy weight loss range for someone who's five feet tall.

I don't think skipping meals necessarily equates to 'disordered eating'. Your body doesn't care *when* you eat the calories. If you mean anorexics who skip meals specifically to keep their calories at an unhealthy level, I don't think it's the same at all.

Well...for starters, unless you are talking starvation diets, part of the premise is that "skipping meals" is not automatically "unhealthy or disordered". The diet industry has jumped on the 5 meal bandwagon - doesnt necessarily mean it is better.

The problem on some of the old diets would be that fasting would go on for prolonged periods, not intermittently. My MIL grew up with the notion that dieting equalled "dont eat anything for as long as you can" and then when you do eat limit it to celery. That isnt what IF is. It is not a starvation diet.

For me - and this varies depending on what style of IF you do, it is just backing away from the current trend of "6 small meals" and reallocating those calories into 2 meals per day. I am so much happier eating 2 700-900 calorie meals than tiny meals.

For others they may still snack, just in a smaller window. Or in the E-S-E version they may have a few lower calorie days a week bracketed by normal or above calories. - basically calorie cycling except again, avoiding trying to divvy up the lowest calorie days into 5-6 segments.

I can see how it is not for everyone..but for me, I used to look at people who did calorie counting at 1200-1400 calories a day and just shake my head. I can NOT do that on the 5-6 meal a day plan. 150-200 calories for me is appetite STIMULATING not "preventing me from getting too hungry". Even 300-400 can often just trigger more hunger, not satisfaction. (and yes, I've tried every combo of carb/fat/protein)

The kicker for me is blood sugar control. I am pre-diabetic/insulin resistant and fell into the "eat frequently to help control blood sugar" trap. But when I would test my blood sugar what I found with frequent meals is I never got low. I often did not come anywhere close to a healthy "pre-meal" range I was just continually elevating my blood sugar. From 7 am to at least 3 hours after my last meal I was carrying around damagingly high blood sugar. On most days this means about 15 hours of damage

Now I DO get slightly larger spikes....but not as much larger as one would expect given a larger meal, but I spend much longer portions of my day in a healthy range AND I am training my body to not see 110-120 as "starvation starvation send in more sugar!!!!!" which is where I usually would be before meals on an eat frequently plan - or sometimes higher. Now, I have elevated blood sugar for about 2 hours after each of my 2 meals. Maybe 4-5 hours a day of elevated numbers, and MUCH less sensitivity to the composition of my meal. Fruit is no longer a death spiral waiting to happen.

This goes for me too --I like eating real, substantial meals, not 200-300 calorie snacks. I do the 16/8 method (I eat 3 meals between 1pm and 9pm, and that's it). I don't miss breakfast, and am not hungry in the morning. Although I'm not trying to lose weight, IF has helped tremendously with maintenance because I no longer obsess about food all the time, and I don't have to spend much time or energy planning a million small meals each day. Plus, when I eat, I get to really EAT... I cap off my night with a nice full meal (dinner is usually 1000 calories or so), and go to bed happy.

IF for life! :)

For me, it's different, because I'm still eating a healthy number of calories. But instead of riding the blood sugar roller coaster all day, mine spikes while I'm asleep!

I do IF on weekends & any days off work (holidays, vacation, etc). Without all the blahblahblah, yaddayaddayadda of it all, it's basically a way to control caloric intake by portion control - because if you are fasting, even for just a specific amount of time, you are limiting "how much you eat."

I say "whatever works for you is the right thing to do" :D

It's different because ideally IF = eating a normal amount of daily calories within your eating window - as opposed to eating, say, 1800 calories spread out over 3 meals and 3 snacks, you can eat 1800 calories in 2 bigger meals or 1800 calories in one huge meal.

I would argue that skipping meals does not mean one has an eating disorder. You can have an eating disorder and eat 5x a day.

If you have an eating disorder, you have one. Skipping meals may or may not be a part of one's eating disorder.

Good explanations, everyone! I wish we could sticky some of these.

Ditto :) i still eat 1200-1500 cal per day.

I also dislike tiny portions, but IF wouldn't work for me because I get too hungry. My solution is to have one 500-to-600-calorie item per meal, rather than nibbles of several items. So for breakfast I'd rather have two bowls of cereal than one small bowl of cereal, a little yoghurt, a little fruit, some nuts, etc. For lunch I often have two small tortilla pizzas or a large pita bread with homemade dip, and for dinner I may have a huge bowl of stirfry or a bowl of fresh pasta with sauce. The nutrients don't always work out favourably on a given day, but over a week's time I think I get all the nutrients I need.

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