IF'ers - would you try it with an active job?

  • Would you modify the eating window hours or just not do it at all? Or a modified version?

    Thanks
  • Personally I feel great while fasting and work is great to distract you from feeling hungry. But everyone is different. You could experiment with different windows to find out what works for you. You could start with breaking your fast at noon, then if you feel good extend it untill 1:00 or 2:00
  • Yes. I lift weights, do yoga, go for 45+ minutes runs when I IF. Even on the hardest workout days I don't feel performance affected, and it doesn't make me any hungrier any earlier. I realize this is different from an active job, where you're moving, lifting, etc for several hours, but there are some similarities.

    I have found that I no longer get hungry AT ALL until around 11. Then it's very, very mild I have a cup of coffee or some water and it dissipates. I really do believe the body adapts to eating when we instruct it to.

    Like puncezilla mentioned, perhaps start off your IF by opening your window at 11ish. A few days later at noon, a few days later at one. Your body will adjust and you'll get a sense of what works and what doesn't.
  • I'll give it a shot then! I think I'll over-over-feed on the evening I begin and a couple of evenings into it while I also "open my window" earlier in the day in the beginning.

    Should I eat a little something the first few days in the morning or does this defeat the purpose entirely? I'm honestly worried I wont have enough energy to complete my day. I can burn 1800 calories in a work day. Usually I have a 600 calorie breakfast at 7am and am hungry again by 10-11!
  • Hunger is just your body reacting to when it expects to be fed. It doesn't mean not feeding it RIGHT THEN will lead to imminent collapse . So just because your body gets hungry at 10 right now doesn't mean it can't be trained to expect to bed at a different time- perhaps 12 or 1.

    I wouldn't eat anything for breakfast- just drink lots of water and maybe a cup of tea or coffee. (I usually add 2 tbs skim milk + 1 tsp sugar.) Bring a granola bar or something portable you can eat quickly if the gnawing just gets too crazy. Otherwise, plan to break your fast around a normal lunchtime- noonish. Having a granola bar or similar snack on hand if you feel the need to open your window earlier should alleviate any of the nerviousness or worry
  • I have done IF while holding an active job and did well on it but this one is 3x more physically demanding so I imagine it will be very difficult. I will start on maintenance calories inside the eating window the next few days then gradually dropping that and expanding fasting time. Fingers crossed! I loved how I felt when I did it before but I get that gnawing painful hunger pangs by 12 even when I do eat breakfast, eeeek!

    Thanks
  • Maybe you could just adjust your eating window? Eat from 8 PM- 6 AM? Or from 6 AM-3 PM?

    Just a thought Let us know how it goes!
  • Well I started my fast last night at 10pm and ended up having a lighter than expected day today so I was able to sleep in and I will only work for 4 hours so it might not be so difficult after all - then it's the weekend! That will be challenging because it's harder to keep busy but also a good time to adjust to the way of eating before Monday rolls back around

    My eating window is pretty much stuck to have to encompass dinner at around 6 or 7 and I am fast asleep at 3am, plus I eventually want to reduce my window from 8 hours down to 5, plus perhaps twice monthly 24hr fasting on weekends.

    We need IF journals/community here - or somewhere! It's a lonely lifestyle with most people thinking you're right off your rocker when you tell them you're doing this :P
  • There is a thread under support groups for IF quite a few post over there.
    Let us know how it goes!
  • Here's the link to the IF Group.
    http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/supp...p-part-ii.html
  • Well on day 1 I made it from 10pm until 3:30 pm with double the workload I was expecting. I broke the fast with an apple and then came home to no electricity due to an "administrative error" and I won't have power til tomorrow so I'll have to wait til 8 or 9 tonight to go out for dinner until I get some real food!

    Felt pretty good though considering my physically exhausting day and only having had an apple up until 5pm now . Remembering why I dug this so much last time!