I agree, the only negative thing about IF is that the word 'fast' has such negative connotations. It makes it sound like it's some extreme program where you are neglecting basic needs, like an off shoot of anorexia or something.

Actually I look at it as setting myself up with a set of guidelines that I can realistically follow in order to achieve results. IF does NOT make me lose weight. Consuming fewer calories than I am using, and doing that consistently is what makes me lose weight.

IF provides me with a way that I can realistically obtain that goal. Truth is, the 5-6 mini meal thing simply makes my eating window so 'big' that it's harder for me to reign those calories in, and be consistent enough to see a true deficit. It's easier to underestimate (or forget) bites, licks, tastes when there is no clear cut rules about 'not eating that now' Throughout the day, I lose track and keep my mind on food too much.


If I were to name it, I would have probably went with something like 'regulated nutrient window' or something along those lines. But I didn't and truth to say the term IF is accurate, it simply follows a more archaic meaning of the term. Back when breakfast, actually meant to 'break your fast'. :smug:

We are on a roll ladies, there is nothing that can stop us now!!

I guess I should have worded my questions better :o With doing IF I wonder if one should limit their carbs if you have IR or if just counting calories would work since you are only eating in a certain time frame? I know that you shouldn't binge during this time or eat a lot of junk and eat tons of calories :p I think I will just keep limiting carbs but not as strict as before and see how I do. Eating six times a day is not easy for me. I have more energy when I don't eat as often. I think this will work for me :)

Wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and info in this thread, I just read all 9 pages of it over my Sunday am coffee :)

krampus (hi! *waves*) pointed me towards IF in another thread about binges and I am fascinated.

I never considered it before, but I am thinking after reading this that one of my binge triggers is the constant snacking I had been trained to do. Just having to think so much about it!

Ive been inadvertently doing what I guess is IF for the past 3 days without realizing it...by not eating at all between 9pm and noon. May adjust that window some, but Im liking it. My other big binge trigger is just consuming too many carb, so I am playing around with the % of my diet they comprise to see where the sweet spot is.

Thanks again!

Yeah, it will go back to what works for you here. I am in the group that tries to limit my carbs, but ultimately my focus is on overall calorie count than anything. Carbs can work as triggers and you have to watch for that, but at the same time, sometimes you need those nice 'feel good' signals that consuming carbs brings.

Yesterday my SIL wanted to try this Italian restaurant that I had bought a groupon for a couple of months ago. I put off eating and didn't consume a bite until 6:30pm. For dinner we had fresh bread/oil as the app, then I ordered baked penne. It was soooo rich, with real ricotta, that I ate about 8 bites and couldn't eat anymore.

I felt like I totally cheated on my diet, but truth is, I was under calories for the day, and the scale is down this morning to 142.5!!! :carrot:

That is the lowest number I have seen in ages!! It must be on the girls sending me good vibes that is working!! :D

Awesome!!!!! :carrot: well, I am starting today. I'm going to keep my window from 3:00 to 8:00 and see how that goes. I think this is going to work for me :)

Looks like we are starting this together :)

Day three and all is well. I'm under calories so far, even with a bring and share after church with amazing food :) I also had time for a proper Sunday afternoon nap - what a luxury those are! Tomorrow is weigh-in day... :crossed: Almost too content to really mind what the scale says this week... Almost ;)

Katydid77 - Yay for the loss! :cp: You'll be in the 130's in no time. And I just discovered Groupon a few weeks ago. LOVE it.

xty - Welcome! Interesting stuff, huh? Sounds like IF is close to what your body wants naturally. Feels good, yeah?

LeslieLou - You're welcome! Hope your first day or so has gone well :)

Kaseyy - I'm reading Fast-5 right now, but am doing a 6-8hr window so far. I did 5 yesterday because it's how my schedule worked out, but if I'm losing on 6-8 hours, I'd gladly settle with that. The E-S-E might be a little too much for me, but maybe if I need to shake things up at some point, I'll give it a try.

A note on the weekly 24hr fast (Eat-Stop-Eat)...

I have mentioned that I did this to break me out of a weight loss plateau and used it for the remainder of my loss phase. When I reached maintenance, in addition to having my schedule change so my fasting was no longer convenient, I no longer felt the need to do the 24-hr fasts. I have maintained for several months without it (still doing daily IF). January and the beginning of February was a hard month for me. Lots of life changes and stress, and that unfortunately led to binges. I gained about 5lbs back. Went from hovering between 124-126 to 129-132. Absolutely not a significant gain-back, I know. But the fact that I have to look at those higher numbers on the scale every morning and remind myself that I screwed up just ticks me off. So I've been on a mission to get back down to my comfort zone, but progress has been sloooooow. Right now I'm bouncing around between 127-129, mostly around 128.5. So I've decided to jump back in a very mini weight-loss mode and do weekly 24hr fasts until I get back down to 124-126. Shouldn't take but a month or so if I stay on plan. BUT, here's the kicker, I think once I get back down to my comfort zone, I'm going to continue with weekly 24-hr fasts and raise my daily calories throughout the rest of the week up by a bit.

I'm on my second weekly fast...I fasted last Sunday also. I had a normal dinner last night at around 7pm, and I will eat my dinner tonight at about the same time. A normal dinner, I already have it planned and logged. A small sliced cucumber, a chicken breast, some roasted bell peppers, and a bit of mashed sweet potato. For a snack/dessert, I'll have a small bowl of air-popped popcorn. The total for the day is 535 cal. Tomorrow I'll have a normal on plan eating day within my window.

I have forgotten how easy and wonderful these 24-hr fasts are. I have energy, I went for a long walk, I'm not thinking "is it time to eat yet!?" As I'm typing this, I'm actually asking myself if I'm at all hungry, and I'm just not. I don't even have tummy grumblies. I have some ice tea waiting for me in the fridge, but I'm not in any hurry to drink it just to consume something. I feel completely wonderfully calm. I'll break the fast by eating my sliced cucumber first at 7pm-ish, wait 20 minutes for my stomach to recognize that it has been filled with something, and then eat the rest of my meal. In the morning, I'll wake up refreshed, as I always do after one of these 24-hr fasts.

Anyways, just thought I'd share since I know some of you are considering the eat-stop-eat thing. It does take some getting used to, it's absolutely NOT for everyone, but it can be a surprisingly positive experience and helpful weight loss tool.

hi guys! I just have a few questions if someone would help me out :)

I'm in maintenance right now(5'0 - 110pds) and have been doing IF(didn't know it had this name though) for a couple of months. My "window" is usually late, 4-9pm because I LOVE to save calories for later at night and I'm not hungry usually during the day.
First of all, I just wanted to ask how many calories people were eating during their window? Is it a full days calorie in those hours?

Also, before I read this thread and saw that other people were doing it, I've always thought of eating this way as being very unhealthy and I've been trying to break the habit and trying to eat more "normally", as in 3 meals spread out. I just really wondered, is IF really a healthy thing and OK for our bodies? I guess I just wanted a little convincing because I was convinced this can't be good for us.
Thing is, I AM happy eating this way and it works great , especially with not binging anymore...I just wanted to make sure it's OK to really continue on this way..

Thanks a lot for reading :)

On the 24 hour fast . . .

One time when my grandfather was in the hospital and expected to die, my aunt made a vow to God, that if he survived she would fast two days a week.

Well, he recovered, and my aunt started doing two 24 hour fasts a week. Well, as an unexpected side effect she started losing weight hand over fist. It shocked her because she had always had to diet like crazy to lose weight.

She is short (about 4 foot 10 inches) and she got down to like 110 lbs without much effort at all, just the fasting and eating 'okay' the rest of the week.

Naturally, she didn't consider it a 'diet' specifically, but she was always amazed that that was the only time in her life when she lost weight easily.

Now that I am familiar with IF and it's various counterparts, I always think of her kinda coming up with the diet on her own without realizing it. :)

Yes, you eat your full days calories in your eating window.

There is no research to indicate that eating this way is unhealthy. There is research that indicates it may be more healthy to eat this way. Most of this research has been done in rats but I suspect we'll see more data in the coming years to support intermittent fasting.

It is possible that only eating a single meal a day may not be a great idea but 2-3 meals spread out over 4-8 hours is certainly not going to have any negative impact on your health so long as you're getting get your macro and micronutrient needs met. The timing of when you get these things doesn't matter.

I have a question concerning this... I would love to do this... but mom wouldn't be so keen on it (she's more of the 5-6 meals a day... which doesn't seem to work so well with me... because then I become dependent on eating that... and then overeating).

Would eating from 6-8 in the morning and 6-8 at night and none inbetween produce the same general results?

Thank you JohnP for the reply. I am very very comfortable eating this way, I guess I just feel that it LOOKS unhealthy to eat this way. For example, I could never tell someone that I don't eat until 4pm. They would look at me like I'm crazy. And I've always felt that if it's something I can't tell people happily and openly, then maybe I need to re-evaluate it.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply!

You are still creating a fasted state, so I think you are good to go.

Don't over worry about it, just create a plan and stick with it. For me, at least, the most important aspect of IF is creating times when I don't eat. That keeps me from mindlessly or mistakingly going over calories.

You just work with the rules you can have and go with it. Whatever slight variance that eating twice a day brings into the equation will MORE that be balanced by your youth, and your bodies ability to kick of the fat at this early point in your life.

You are going to rock this!!!!

LAKERSKB24 it's regrettable that IF has the word "Fast" in the name. My boyfriend freaked out when I told him I was starting it. It helps to remember that IF does not help you lose weight, it helps the body burn a greater percentage of fat than other stuff in the body. I did a bit of research on the studies JohnP referenced, and none of them indicated there were any negative side effects of IF. All demonstrated within just a few weeks that health indicators had improved... resting heart rate, blood pressure, etc.

For you and Serbrider try to share with those who are concerned that IF does not help you lose weight, that you are utilizing it as a tool to get healthier. Once they start seeing you eat HUGE meals for dinner they may be a bit more comfortable :)

Serbrider I've read the aim of the fast is that the body is supposed to go 14-16 (or more) hours without food. With your two windows you would only go 10 hours at a time. I don't think I've come across information that suggests this achieves the same goals as the longer window. Not eating for 10 hours at a time is what most of us do anyways from when we go to bed and then wake up in the morning and eat breakfast. However, I'm pretty new to IF so perhaps some of the veterans have additional information.

EDIT: Just saw Katy's response that you're ok so perhaps it will work :)

Thanks guys. I think I'll do ten hour fast... And increase it this summer when I have more control over what I eat and when. :p starting tomorrow morning... Already have breakfast period foods planned.

indiblue~ how is your stomach issues responding to IF? I know coming into this you had experienced 3 days of severe problems.

Has that been effected positively or negatively? Or not changed at all?

Shoot! I just remembered that the only time I'm able to go to the gym Monday through thursday (through Friday this week) is at 7-8 pm.. If I have a huge meal before that... Doesn't that negatively effect me? Maybe I could do 6-10 am I have all but 200 to 300 calories, have a small dinner at 6 to appease my mom... And then go to the gym at 7:30? Just trying to figure this out... I'm busy from 7 am to 6 pm... And am NOT a morning person... So yeah. Thoughts?

katy thanks for the inquiry! The back-to-back incidents of waking up in the middle of the night feeling like I was having a heart attack happened several years ago, and it's what led to the diagnosis of AR. Fortunately, I haven't had an episode like that since. The only symptoms I experience regularly now is burning in my chest when I wake up in the morning. Since starting IF it hasn't intensified, thankfully, as long as I drink a lot of water quickly upon waking up.

Everyone has a different tollerence for exercise after eating. The general guideline is to wait 30 minutes after a small meal and an hour after a regular sized meal. After a large meal? Depends.

I think your small meal before and large meal after is probably your best bet. Some people find their sleep affected by eating a large meal before bed. I don't but you'll have to discover that for yourself.

Ok... Bit confused.. Sorry. So... You're saying a small meal before exercise and a large meal after?

Yes.

Just started my window on day 4. I can't really say I've been hungry, which is a nice change. Today is also weigh-in day and... I'm down a pound this week! But, when I moved my scale and weighed again, I was up 4! Turns out I weigh less by the bath tub than by the door :) I'm suspicious of the lumpy linoleum. I'll have to check the nice, stable scale at the gym so for now... no ticker changes. Dang it...

LAKERSKB24 - Just what John said. The same amount for a full day, just in less time. I eat 1200-1400, which has been relatively easy as that equals quite a lot of healthy food to consume in 6 hours time.

Morning all.

Today is my first day IF. I've been lurking and learning, and now I'm jumping into it. As a teeneager I used to only eat one meal a day and I wasn't hungry the rest of the time. I'm planning my window from 3 pm to 8pm, lots of h2o until then. Crossing my fingers that I see some positive results!

Thank you for this thread.

I think that, for the next week or two, I'm going to have a window from 7-9 am, have something small (200-300 calories) at around 6-7 pm, and have a small thing after exercising like a protein shake, Greek yogurt, chocolate milk, etc. Not quite a long fast, and I might switch later to something more like what y'all have, with a 2-8 pm window or something. Starting day 1 today... I'll let y'all know how it goes!

This is day 7 for me and I weighed in at 145 this morning which I have not seen in a few weeks.

Each day it gets a bit easier to make it to 1pm before I eat. I still have tummy growling issues but it is not nearly as bad as the first couple of days.

I am LOVING this!

Morning, everyone. Day 8 and feeling great. I got on the scale this morning and I'm still at a three pound loss for this passed week. With my other way of eating, I couldn't lose that in a month and I was sick of it. I'll never go back. IF is much better for me. I don't even have to workout so much anymore either because so long as my diet is right, the pounds are gonna come off anyway.

Monique

Argh! I'm STARVING!!!!!!!
You say this gets easier?
Come on 3 pm.......
I'm floating - my bladder is touching my eyeballs with all the h20 i've had to stave off hunger pangs

enough whining.
sigh.

You don't have to do 3-8 straight away. You could start with 11:00 AM to 8PM and gradually increase your fasting period.

Regardless, it does get easier as your body adjusts to the new feeding pattern.

LauraG~ Don't give up yet, it really does get easier. Today as a matter of fact I was on the phone and looked up at the clock at 1:15 ( my window is 1-7pm) and realized I could eat. I totally would have been making my lunch and ready to eat at exactly 1pm the first few days.

I'm hungry... I have from now (2:30) till 6 pm. Water IS helping though.

i am so glad i randomly clicked on this thread..this sounds like something that totally fits my life, i hate eating in the morning, and i like to be really hungry when i eat..im really excited to start this tomorrow, i always feel like i am failing on my diet because i don't want to eat breakfast, actually i am pretty queasy when i wake up and it takes me quite a few hours before i am willing to eat and if i had my way i would eat one huge meal a day, just because food is the best when you haven't ate all day. im so glad for this thread...it made me feel very happy!!!!

okay, it's honestly unbelievable how well IF seems to be working for me right now. my weight loss over the past three months had slowed down considerably, but i've been trying this seriously for around a week and i've already dropped four pounds while still maintaining a minimum of 1200 calories per day. perhaps this was what was needed to speed me up a bit.

thank you so much for this thread!

My window opens in 8 minutes, or 480 seconds!
Super proud to have made it.
I only brought 2 sandwiches to work today, so I'll eat (devour/gobble/scarf) them in (ohh, yeah now only 7 minutes) and then I won't eat until I get home around 5:30. I just need to be sure I'm not eating everything in the cupboard while supper is cooking - calories do still count.
Thanks John and lauralyn for your encouragement.
Posting is eating up the time I need to wait...! only 5 min left!

:carrot: See, you did it!

Way to go! Sometimes it's a matter of crossing that mental hurdle of proving to yourself that you can do it.

Often, we fail to realize that it's quite seldom that any of us experiences true hunger pains, myself included. For years I was so dreading being hungry that I didn't stop to realize that the mild twinges of discomfort that I feel was not true hunger anyway.

Honestly, I would really like to know the psychological reason behind that. Even those of us from very poor backgrounds (myself included in that group btw) have rarely had long spells where we didn't have any food at all. Sure, we might have lived off beans and rice more than we wanted, but we rarely lacked basic nutrients.

What is it that makes us so reluctant to be without food for even relatively small windows of time? I have given it a lot of thought, as you might guess.

I don't have the answers, but, for myself, I am closer to realizing that the answer has little to do with minor twinges we all feel from time to time.

Congrats on being willing to face this, and to teach your body who is boss!

I am loving reading everyone's experiences. I've managed a window of 5-6 hours for the past 4 days without tooooo much difficulty yet. However, I haven't been counting calories. I'm hoping that with IF I won't have to. I'm not eating past the point of hunger and generally making healthy choices. Generally I've had a small meal and a larger meal during my window, and maybe a small snack.
I'm not going to weigh myself for a bit, especially because TOM is coming up and I don't want to be misled by that!
How long before you all saw weight loss? My stomach feels smaller, but that might be in my head :P

A new study is out that suggests intermittent fasting may help to preserve muscle while dieting. It is a review of current studies and essentially says that while weight loss is similar fasting protocols may produce superior results by causing greater retention of muscle which also means greater loss of fat.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...?dopt=Abstract

More research is needed but intermittent fasting so far is all positive news.

Tomorrow I give a speech in my toastmasters group questioning the importance of eating breakfast.

Many years ago I did several 10 day water only fasts and then followed it up with a 40 day water only fast. I don't recommend that as I ended up hospitalised with liver failure. I must say I did lose a lot of weight, was never hungry and was very physically active the entire duration of my fasts.

I did this because I had read about the benefits of fasting and gave it a try.

Now I frequently skip meals but I have never thought of it as intermittent fasting before. It was simply skipping meals to me.

Larry,

Hot tea with a tsp of sugar does a lot for me when I'm getting hungry. The hunger also seems to come in waves- if you're hungry now chances are it will subside soon.