Wow great article! Thanks for sharing John.

Doing well in my window! How is everyone else??

However, today my normal sized lunch I've been taking to work every day forever made me very, very full. Maybe I ate it too fast? Anyone notice this right after their window opens?

Here's the NYT's take on the article that John shared.

Tx I get really full now after my first meal too. I couldn't even really eat dinner last night. Probably ok since I'm coming off a vacation weekend and am very sedentary these days!

I actually ate a bit outside of my window today :(

Not horrible, but i ate first at 3:30pm and it's a bit after 11pm and I'm just finishing up my last meal.

I am PMSing so my calories are higher, but it's all within plan. I always give myself a couple of high days that i am 'allowed' to put in whereever I want to during the month.

I think I hit about 1600ish calories today.

I wish we could have an IF sub-forum! I've got lots of questions, and the one thread is getting a bit unwieldy.

I'm on my third window day today.
Monday was fine.
Tuesday was great.
This morning I want to liquidize a steak and call it 'drink'!!!! I won't, I'm just hungry and don't want to be. It will pass, I really don't mind the feeling of hunger.

Two questions:
My window is 12-6, not saying that won't change, I'm experimenting with what is workable in my normal daily routine.
Yesterday I felt fine, until I was walking home from town. It's only about 15 minutes, a bit of a sneakily steady incline but not normally hard work. I was pulling my shopping trolley behind, which was quite heavy.
I found I was really struggling: not tired, not out of breath, just like walking through waist-high cement.
It having arrived at 12:15, I paused and had a coffee and a cookie. The rest of the journey was better.
Question 1: Is this a normal feeling for the early stages of IF? I'm assuming it'll wear off, the longer I do it.


Question 2:
I don't really have spontaneous eating invitations but what if I know that on Saturday I'm invited to a dinner at 8pm, when my window closes at 6? Is it OK just to move the whole window along a couple of hours or so?

So far, the thing I like best about IF, all 3 days of it (1 trial day last week, 2 consecutive this week) is the freedom in the evenings ~ "My window is shut" just seems to be imprinted in my mind: I occasionally stray into the kitchen, wondering what I can nibble one, then remember: "My window is shut" and it's like, Hurrah! I don't have to struggle with What to eat any more, the answer is 'Nothing'. It's very freeing.

Yay! Other IFers
 

I haven't been back to 3FC for sometime. Recently I adopted the IF way of eating, have been having great results and wanted to see if anyone on this forum was also IFing. Was I happy to see that it is the hottest topic in "Gen Diet Plans & ?s"!!

My path to IF was a long one, starting with "Mark's Daily Apple" (Paleo) then to "Tim Ferriss 4 hour body" to "RetiredDieter" to "theLeanSaloon" and finally was convinced after reading "Fast-5". The physiology behind the plan was what sold me....get off the rollercoaster with insulin & leptin and let your body use fat for fuel.

I know my definition is over-simplified but I can't imagine going back to 6 little meals/day. The first week was where I began to understand hunger (I only had one semi-rough day) but now it's smooth sailing.

It's easy, no more laborious planning and measuring and counting calories, etc. I just eat whole, quality food during a 4 or 5 hour window and then I quit until the next day's meals...about 19 or 20 hours later.

I'm drinking spearmint tea, Perrier, yerba mate and water.

In "Fast-5" Herring recommends setting a goal. At first mine was a goal weight (125#) but then I realized that I wanted what my daughter achieved with IF.....smaller (cupcake sized) boobs! Only if you have large breasts do you know what a pain it is to find nice fitting clothes. Besides better health, less fat, increased muscle definition and fairly quick weight loss, a smaller bra size is my next horizon.

Q1 - Yes it's normal for there to be an adjustment period just make sure you drink plenty of water

Q2 - Yes or simply eat outside of it. The bigger deal would be what are you eating at the dinner and planning around it. (Eating less before and saving up your calories or eating less the next day to compensate)

Thanks, John, I appreciate the answers.

Next one: without waaay too much TMI, I'm' assuming 'bathroom' can take a while to settle? I was absolutely fine MTW, in fact rejoicing that it was so easy, presuming it was because my body was having time to actually process the food, rather than being constantly bombarded with new stuff. Then suddenly last night I was attacked by nausea so bad as to be almost scary, followed by 'urgency' for hours.

Is it a question of the body re-adjusting, or is it a question of being more careful about what we eat in the window?

Really enjoying this so far. I've been looking at the Fast 5 site, since someone mentioned it on here. I like its reassurance that it Will take a while to get right, and that Window Overeating is normal. Somehow, since I discovered that, my food intake has dropped!

might not be IF and just a bug. Hope you are feeling better. I would just watch for the same feeling and see if you are having a trigger or if it was just a passing thing. Anybody else experience anything similar when starting out?

Sarah is right, might be a bug rather than IF. I had a little nausea in the beginning, but it was definitely too much coffee on an empty stomach :) Now I keep it to a cup or two if I haven't eaten. Hope you're feeling better today!

I seriously doubt these two things are related - I've never heard of it as an issue and if it didn't happen the first day than the odds of these being related are practically zero.

How is everyone doing? Rosinante, how are you feeling? Better I hope?

I lost my weight LC. (lowcarb). I have been maintaining nine years. (want to stay active on a board like this because I'm currently studying for degree in nutrition and I've been living/breathing lowcarb for 11 years, I need to get out more, lol).

But...my body picked IF. Yep. As I went along my journey, I found that my 'window' was 4pm to 9pm. I also lift weights (my lungs will not cooperate with intense HIIT or cardio of most types, I am disabled, physically, and autoimmune). I lift weights superset sometimes to gain cardio benefit, but otherwise, I just like to lift. I figured I'd stick with what I liked.

IF has helped my autoimmune profile, lowered my IgE (I have a rare autoimmune IgE condition), helped me stabilize my Hashimoto's (hypothyroid, well replaced with porcine thyroid). And it keeps me feeling and looking younger. There are several studies at the moment involving IF and autoimmune antibodies.

I am doing well. I am hitting my hungry PMS times, so I'm not really eating under calories, so I'm not really anticipating any massive drops on the scale.

Weight is still solid at 142.5, and I feel good about that actually.

I still feel like 130's is do-able pretty soon!

Wow neanderpam. Seems like you'll be a great nutritionist. Do you find yourself butting heads with professors in your classes? I've read that this can happen with more educated students.

Yes, John, I sure do butt heads with them, lol. I'm a patient advocate IRL (thyroid disease) and I knew that I would have to 'choke down' a lot of information that I 'know' isn't quite right. Actually, I've made menu plans for a few diabetics in my family and they've lost weight and been able to reduce their insulin needs, and I presented a paper based on that (and I worked closely with the patient's NP/doctor) and although I got a good grade on it, the Professor said what I was 'proposing' was 'controversial'.

I'm hoping to work closely with trainers...in developing weightloss systems and cross training for women and men who are hypothyroid/autoimmune challenged and over the age of 45.

It was really great to see so many here that are clued into IF. It's not for everyone....but it's quite the eye opener for those that have been struggling to keep their macros in check without the hunger that usually goes with that.

Hi Neanderpam, I'm excited to hear your thoughts on IF! We need people with controversial points of view! It was not so long ago that physicians were 'bleeding' people with leeches to make them feel better and someone had to stop the madness...

Katy, you will see the 130s in no time!!

I am finding myself stuffed during my window, but I'm liking things so far!

Hi Txalupa. I'm presently in a study for autoimmune antibody reaction to IF. There's a little research to be found on this already. Honestly, I'm almost more thrilled to see the 'anti aging' properties being 'proven'. (anti aging as pertains to hormone research, not wrinkling :) ).

Most of the people I've encountered are doing lowcarb and IF'ing, but I'm also interested in those doing other diet plans with it. I haven't really felt 'hunger' since I started lowering my carbs, eating no gluten, etc. But, then again, I also don't go a full 24 hours without eating on a fast.

I really like this board and the people here, everyone is so helpful. :)

Hi Neanderpam -

I used to do the low carb thing (should say I was never gluten free...I know for some gluten can be awful). Although i would initially feel better, it always wore off...usually major mood/hunger/fatigue problems. Never felt it was sustainable long term. I also have autoimmune/inflammation issues, but I have found that FOR ME what seems to work best for me these days is if I have LARGE mixed meals during a five-ish hour window. I take a break on Sundays to give my body and mind a recharge. After suffering a health crisis that was probably more of an emotional/lifestyle crisis wreaking havok on my body, I spent some time in orthorexic land. Trying to find the perfect diet...stressing wayyy too much about it. Don't get me wrong, I believe nutrition is powerful medicine...but I took it too far.

I used to have digestion issues eating certain foods (some dairy/gluten/high histamine/sugars), hypoglycemic reactions. I just got tired of food controlling my life and my thoughts. I actually spent about two months eating A LOT of food and rested as much as I possibly could. Once I felt better (moods/skin/sleep), then I started IFing, but with the intention of letting go of my macro nutrient restrictions (even "evil sugar")... I can now handle all kinds of food no problem. My hypoglycemic episodes are gone and my inflammation has lessened. I'm not looking for perfect health, but I find my body does wonderfully on IF, no matter what I choose to eat during my window.

Not looking to give anyone advice, just sharing my experience. I think developing health protocols can be terrific...sometimes good medicine for one can be poison for another. Our bodies, minds and spirits are such interesting and magnificent, albeit sometimes confusing, things, eh?

Would love to hear about your research journey :)

Last night I stopped eating when my window was over, but I drank beer two hours later-- oops! Good thing it's a flexible plan. My hope is to be perfectly in my window 6 days a week with one going-out night where I can drink beer until midnight/1am.

Does anyone else do this? Has it worked for you?

OH NOES! You're going to gain at least 10 lbs now that you drank that beer. So much progress ... wasted.

Actually it doesn't matter. One night a week of drinking won't matter either, much. Depends how much you drink.

I have a high calorie day on Sunday (it is also the only day I do not work out). It kind of 'resets' me for the rest of the week. It's also a 'high carb' day for me, meaning I eat sweet potato and perhaps some starchier squash/veggie paired with a protein. And, I'll even 'relax' my window, and it's working fine for me.

sahahmac, lowcarb is sustainable longterm if it has to be. I'm one of those who don't think that a person should necesarily be completely gluten free unless they are forced to, healthwise (and I am forced too). I gave up sugar 12 years ago. I have to credit a lot of my weightloss success to the fact that I found a medical practitioner that 'got it' about thyroid disease, and it's replacement.

I know that I can eat four hundred more calories a day on lowcarb than I can on lowfat too, and that my tri glys are 29 (not a typo), my total cholesterol is 184. It's not like that if I'm on lowfat, it's really bad :)

So, the fact that you are doing what is working for YOU, and I am doing something (completely different) that's working for me, reflects the individuality of all people. And that's a good thing. Why would anyone stay on a way of eating that they hated? There's no way it would be longterm way of eating for them, you are right about the unsustainability of that.

Six months' after I started IF (I was already LC), my requirements for T3, and three other meds I take went down. My CRP reflected a huge drop in inflammatory condition, and that's all I know so far. I have to really drag it out of the test group by asking questions to 'know' much. :) And they are paranoid, knowing my background work.

But, so far, IF seems to reduce inflammatory process in my body (which leaves me actually looking forward to lifting weights, and seeing definite progress, and at my age, that's not an easy thing).

Doing my first 24 hour fast tonight/tomorrow (dinner tonight til dinner tomorrow). I've done a few in the past, but I'm a little nervous for this one! I think I'm building it up in my mind too much. I've been doing 16-18hr daily without be starving at the end, but for some reason the thought of tomorrow already makes me hungry :) Wish me luck, here it goes... :crossed:

This thread has been really helpful! Strangely enough it's what I do naturally (I'm just in the process of making the meals healthier lol). I kept getting told that I HAVE to eat at least 3 meals a day at certain times to lose weight and all they did was make me maintain, or worse, gain. It's great to know it's not unhealthy to eat this way. :)

lildawn, I, also, was doing IF without knowing it 'had a name'. I have to say though, I have encountered some people who will eat 'junk' during their window. I'm talking they'll eat bread, and icecream, etc. Whereas if I ate the standard American Diet, I would start my window opening with vegetables, protein, etc.

The calories in, calories out doesn't work in my case anyway. If I were lowfatting and not lowcarbing, I can only get in about 1350 cals a day (yes, even with weightlifting three times a week and cardio twice) but I'm seeing about 1700 cals as it is and my weight is remaining stable.

I can see ice cream as a treat once in a while and in tiny amounts (I'll take a spoonful once in a great while...it lasts forever with me lol totally frosts over each time) but I wonder if those people lose that way. Compared to a lot of people I ate decently but now I'm working harder to cut fats, lessen carbs, and lots of veggies. I've been losing some weight but I'm still getting in the swing of things since it's only recently I've put my mind to it for real this time.

Antibiotics
 

I have toyed with IF but I do better if I totally fast every other day. For instance, I'll eat dinner and then break the fast with breakfast 36 hours later. I also lose weight and feel better eating lower carb. I would like to to embark on this WOE immediately but am on an antibotic for the next two weeks. Two pills twice a day. I am nervous about taking them without food on the fasting days although there is no instruction that they must be taken with food. Any thoughts on that? I guess I can just try it and see if there is any tummy upset. Also, those of you on thryoid replacement (hypo) do you find that you need to adjust your dosage on fasting days?

I did the same thing. I built up the whole '24 fast' thing in my mind where you would think I was embarking on some type of pilgrimage or something. :^:

When I finally did it, I realized that I was basically just pushing my eating window back by a few hours and I really didn't get dramatically hungry or anything.

It was almost anti-climatic. :D

Actually, it's not strange at all, that this is what you do naturally. I would bet if you took a poll of us that do IF, a good 75%+ are folks that tended to do IF anyway, but had no idea what it was called.

Also many of us had been fed the "eat-6-meals-a-day-or-you-are-doomed-to-doubling-your-body-weight" for so many years that discovering that wasn't some sort of universal law, was equivalent to being released from a prison.

We were locked into something that we thought was crucial to success, only to realize it was our greatest obstacle.

IF, for me, is freedom. And it's awesome.

Welcome aboard!

Just checking in! I'm about a month in to IF and still really enjoying it. I'm very flexible with my window though. Sometimes it's 4:30-9, sometimes it's 1:30-8. I think I've heard on this board that that is okay, so I'm going with it.

I still am having a problem exercising without having eaten anything. I think the problem is mentally getting on a treadmill for half an hour with my stomach growling. I tried coffee with 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp skim milk, which has worked a few times but is not consistently reliable. I've started working out at about 1 PM and eating 1 bite (25 cals) of a homemade bran muffin with no oil right before. If nothing else it makes me feel like I haven't not eaten in over 16 hours and that I'm fueled enough to kick tail on that plastic electric behemoth.

I also continue to eat healthier and less on IF, which has been great. On days when I don't eat until 4:30 I eat extremely well and have no problem staying under calories.

Someday I'll try the 24 hour fast. As soon as I make my boyfriend read peer-reviewed studies on IF so he doesn't freak out...

Congrats everyone on your progress and successes so far!

Hahah! I identify with this, definitely had to prove some things to the bf at first. He was also very annoyed with my 'window' yesterday morning when he wanted to eat McD's breakfast and I told him I would just get an iced tea.

Also, he has jokingly said to me, "Call me when your window opens so we can eat" :dizzy:

Wahhhhh

John P - good comment about alcohol and IF...do you incorporate this for yourself? What do you typically choose when you go out for drinks? I think Martin from Leangains has an article about how to make the most of a "night out." Am I remembering this correctly?

Texalupa - "Also, he has jokingly said to me, "Call me when your window opens so we can eat" :dizzy:

Wahhhhh "

That is too funny! My husband has NO PROBLEM eating during my window. ha...I've been surprised at how little I struggle with him eating during my fasts.

Neanderpam-

I hope I didn't sound like I was poopooing LC in all instances...sometimes it is hard to get ideas across on the good old interwebs. I think that you are spot on about LC being sustainable for others. My brother is gluten free because he has severe problems with it. It changed his life once he figured that out. He could eat no dairy without having the most terrible gas and stomach problems. The week he gave up gluten his lactose intolerance completely disappeared. He misses certain foods for sure, but his quality of life is so much better now. That was what I meant by one person's good medicine is another's poison. It can also be wise to abstain from certain foods for a period to deal with specific issues. I like the idea of eating somewhat seasonally for that reason...it adds variety and indulgence into our lives. I'm a person who needs a little indulgence here and there :)

I also think you are very wise to do a refeed day once a week. Sweet potatoes are wonderful, my favorite last meal before ending my window is a sweet potato with full fat sour cream, steamed chard and cottage cheese with fruit. This really seems to help me get through my window with sustained energy and focus.

I would definitely echo your thoughts on IF reducing inflammation. It's been wonderful for me! My body is rejoicing that it gets a break from the constant bombardment.

Back on my window today. Going to have some honeyed rhubarb with cream...eggs and leftover mexican rice with salsa and greens, cottage cheese and fruit. I have to admit I started my morning with coffee and fig newmans. :)

We should have a community 24 hour fast! I've yet to do one.

Yes. However his article is about planning an evening of mass drinking. He never goes into details but as a single male in sweeden I'm guessing it is way more alchohol than I would consume especially since I'm a major lightweight.

I believe it is called "cheat strategies for a hedonist"

I am hypothyroid and do not change my dosage/adjust. But..I don't just take synthetic T4 either. I take both T4 and T3 (and T2 and T1..I'm on porcine replacement). I do not fast 'every other day' because I found I did not lose any faster, it didn't really give me any more 'benefit' than just having an eating window of five hours a day.

Neanderpam-

I hope I didn't sound like I was poopooing LC in all instances...sometimes it is hard to get ideas across on the good old interwebs. I think that you are spot on about LC being sustainable for others. My brother is gluten free because he has severe problems with it. It changed his life once he figured that out. He could eat no dairy without having the most terrible gas and stomach problems. The week he gave up gluten his lactose intolerance completely disappeared. He misses certain foods for sure, but his quality of life is so much better now. That was what I meant by one person's good medicine is another's poison. It can also be wise to abstain from certain foods for a period to deal with specific issues. I like the idea of eating somewhat seasonally for that reason...it adds variety and indulgence into our lives. I'm a person who needs a little indulgence here and there :)

I also think you are very wise to do a refeed day once a week. Sweet potatoes are wonderful, my favorite last meal before ending my window is a sweet potato with full fat sour cream, steamed chard and cottage cheese with fruit. This really seems to help me get through my window with sustained energy and focus.

I would definitely echo your thoughts on IF reducing inflammation. It's been wonderful for me! My body is rejoicing that it gets a break from the constant bombardment.QUOTE]



No, not at all, everyone is individual...if a person is overweight, they have to find what works for them. I've been a thyroid patient advocate for 22 years now, and am finishing up my degree in nutrition now (better late than never, I'm 56 yrs. old). I've seen the 'majority' of hypothryoid females lose weight and maintain on lower carbs and adequate fat. So, I kind of 'specialize' in those with autoimmune disease at this point, and will go on to make menu's, etc. for that group.

I want to keep an open mind, especially since my first two visits with dietitians did NOT go well...they BOTH were into the 'no fat' and 'lots of carbs' type menus...that doesn't work for me. I did revisit one of them after going from 277 lbs. down to 114 lbs....and she was amazed. I'm glad I went back because it brought her to researching more about lowcarb.

The refeed I do is placed right after my heaviest weight lifting workout...I suppose you could say I'm more of a CKD type way of eating...CKD/LC/IF.

I did it! And Katydid, you are so right, very anticlimactic - in a good way, of course :) I had just as good of a workout, was just as awake, and had a bit more time to do whatever I wanted as I did not spend time cooking or doing the washing up for a few extra meals. I think I might make this a regular event until my weight starts shifting.

I've also been lower carb the past few days, but think I might need to move into that a little slower. IF came easily, but controlling carbs has just made me want to eat them like crazy! I haven't, but I feel like I want to :) Always something else I can do better, and this week, this is it!

Txalupa Haha!! Too funny :D

sarah I'd do a community fast- that sounds like a great idea!

Neanderpam At what level of LC do you recommend the dieter should introduce a refeed? Is it appropriate for only those on <50 g, <100 g, etc?

Sarah I would do a community fast too!

Today I failed with the IF thing. Just didn't have my mind in the game, and flat out didn't stop myself from snacking.

Honestly, I thought about it, but it's like I decided that mentally today wasn't the day for it.

I am going to go on a longer than usual fast tomorrow, but considering I ate tonight at about midnight, I don't know that it will wind up being a true 24 hour fast.

It will either be a 18hour-ish fast, or I'll stick to my guns and it will wind up being like a 36 hour fast.

They are doing surprise audits at work and it's crazy stressful. That is why I gave into grazing again today. :(

I'm almost two weeks into an IF program of daily fasting with a five - seven hour eating window. It's been an adjustment, but so far I'm enjoying the results. I love the fuller feeling when I eat, and haven't had the urge to binge like I do when I eat smaller meals and snacks that don't satisfy.

Woo! Good to hear!

I like the control I get from it. Also, I like to say 'yes you can totally have that' to myself during my window.

On Sunday I took a nap during my window and was like 'uh oh, stop wasting valuable eating hours!!' Still managed to eat plenty.. haha