Over the weekend I had two days where I ate maybe 400-500 calories between waking at 8 and dinner at 5-6 PM. I I didn't like how my blood sugar crashed and I felt hangry and light-headed, but I did like the part where I got to gorge myself with no remorse at dinner and dropped a couple lbs of water weight over the weekend.
I'm trying it out today - I'm trying one of those recomp things where I eat a lot on lifting days and eat at a deficit on nonlifting days. Maybe 2200 and 1800 but I refuse to count calories. Today I had 2 eggs, a 2% milkfat Greek yogurt, a blood orange and a Quest bar for lunch - about half my usual lunch portion. It's 4:55 and I am going to the gym in 5 minutes and I think I'll be fine.
I'm still blown away by people who routinely keep short eating windows that start late at night, e.g. 5-10 PM. It's SO HARD to wait to eat any later than 2-3 PM.
@krampus Again, it is such and individual thing! It is really easy for me wait until 5 PM to eat. I've learned that the first bite I take triggers hunger in me. If I tried to eat "a little something" before then, I'd be starving (or feel like I was).
I have am starting 5:2 intermittent fasting on Friday.
I have a few books on intermittent fasting now - The FastDiet by Michael Mosley, and The Alternate Day Diet by Dr. Johnson.
Any other books you can recommend? (sorry I haven't read all the threads yet, in case some have been mentioned). I really feel I've finally found a way of eating I can live with and want to read all I can. Thanks!
It's actually free at the fast-5 website. Sorry it won't let me post the link but it is wwwdotfast-5dotcom Obviously the dots are periods! I just downloaded it the other day and have been on this diet for 5 days. Down 10 pounds!!!
In a previous post I commented that I'm never hungry on IF. Well, I allowed myself a "treat" and had low carb pasta with basil pesto. I had saved up the calories and carbs so that I could have a good sized helping and thoroughly enjoyed it.
But, by the next morning, my tummy was growling so loudly that I imagine the neighbors could hear it. I was starved. So, I have discovered that my not being hungry on this is probably due to trying to have a good mixture of food -- I try to follow The 8 Hour Diet rules of at least one serving of protein, dairy, legumes, nuts, berries, fruit, veggies and whole grains each day........although I rarely get all 8 in! Definitely no problems with feeling hungry for me when I eat from those food groups.
Well, although I can see fast 5 is not for me at this time, I'm definitely going to read the book (giving us a free book says much about the author), and check out the rest of the website. Honestly, I just can't read enough about intermittent fasting, so thanks again for that link.
Right now, I believe 5:2 is for me. For one thing, I drink tea (I'm literally addicted to black tea) all day long with milk, and I can't see stopping that habit. I can still do that on 5:2. Also, my husband is doing 5:2 so it will just be easier to do it along with him - eat regularly 5 days a week and fast on limited calories for 2. I'll start tomorrow as a fast day, as he always fasts on Fridays.
That said, from everything I've read, I'm a true believer in intermittent fasting. I think all the plans are good - one isn't superior to another. It's just a matter of finding one we can make a lifestyle.
Thanks again for that link, and I'm glad to be part of this forum! Now I'm going back to read all the posts I've missed!
I read/skimmed through all the posts, and it's great to see folks so committed to this lifestyle.
I will be 60 this year, and I've been dieting since I was 13. Losing, gaining, losing gaining. I think the longest I ever maintained was one year, but for me it was impossible to sustain daily food exchange counting, calorie counting, carb gram counting, fat gram counting, Weight Watchers points (my last foray into traditional dieting, etc.). I have about 60 lbs. to lose.
I really think eating normally 5 days a week and eating 500 calories 2 days a week is very doable for me. My husband, who truly cannot stick to any diet, has been doing this a few weeks and loves it. What appeals to me is that I'll only be counting calories twice a week.
As time goes on, who knows, I may experiment with other intermittent plans, but for me this one is easiest to start with.
I'm armed with books:
The Fastdiet by Michael Mosley (my favorite so far - a NY Times bestseller)
The Alternate Day Diet by James B. Johnson, M.D. (I might move on to this one as time goes on)
Easy Alternate Day Fasting by Beth Christian
The 48 hour Diet by margaret Mackenzie
The 5:2 Diet Book by Kate Harrison
The 5:2 Diet Recipe Book By Jackueline Whitehart
The CR Way by Paul McGlothin (not an intermittent diet book, but a good primer on the health benefits of calorie restriction).
Now I'll be reading the 5 hour diet online.
I think you can see I'm obsessed with learning all I can about this. Good thing I'm retired... ha ha!!!
If you know of any other books, let me know! Yes, I'm a voracious reader!
I was ready to stop I.F. because the fasting was causing my stomach to hurt a lot. Now I think it was all the black coffee I was drinking. I switched to Kava, and only two cups a day. It is acid neutralized.
I'm back on program. Really, for me this beats any "diet" out there. I consider no food illegal. I just keep my window, and my eating is controlled - well, most of the time anyway.. Sometimes I feel my body wants to make up for lost time.
I've read up on the 5:2 plan. For me, I know I wouldn't lose much restricting calories on only 2 days a week. Might be good for maintenance, though.
I'm with you BigSky. Works like a charm! I think I would struggle with restricting calories 2 days a week also. I'm thinking (knowing how I am) that I'd make up for lost time on the other five days. That said, different strokes for different folks. Whatever works!
I also think I would "make up for lost time". I like to do IF as well as I can most days. I have thought about that 5:2 plan though.
Big sky- I would def. slow down on the coffee. I feel it too if I drink it in the evening or at night - makes my stomach hurt. Silly b/c I'm a night worker and I can't drink coffee at night!
I read/skimmed through all the posts, and it's great to see folks so committed to this lifestyle.
I will be 60 this year, and I've been dieting since I was 13. Losing, gaining, losing gaining. I think the longest I ever maintained was one year, but for me it was impossible to sustain daily food exchange counting, calorie counting, carb gram counting, fat gram counting, Weight Watchers points (my last foray into traditional dieting, etc.). I have about 60 lbs. to lose.
I really think eating normally 5 days a week and eating 500 calories 2 days a week is very doable for me. My husband, who truly cannot stick to any diet, has been doing this a few weeks and loves it. What appeals to me is that I'll only be counting calories twice a week.
As time goes on, who knows, I may experiment with other intermittent plans, but for me this one is easiest to start with.
I'm armed with books:
The Fastdiet by Michael Mosley (my favorite so far - a NY Times bestseller)
The Alternate Day Diet by James B. Johnson, M.D. (I might move on to this one as time goes on)
Easy Alternate Day Fasting by Beth Christian
The 48 hour Diet by margaret Mackenzie
The 5:2 Diet Book by Kate Harrison
The 5:2 Diet Recipe Book By Jackueline Whitehart
The CR Way by Paul McGlothin (not an intermittent diet book, but a good primer on the health benefits of calorie restriction).
Now I'll be reading the 5 hour diet online.
I think you can see I'm obsessed with learning all I can about this. Good thing I'm retired... ha ha!!!
If you know of any other books, let me know! Yes, I'm a voracious reader!
Well - if you like to read ... have at it. Just be warned - I've read all the science on the matter of IF and frankly I'd imagine those books are going to be talking about the science and making things up. Bottom line - we have very little IF research that has been done on humans and guess what - humans aren't rats.
One of the most compelling tidbits of information is that for a long time people believed that caloric restriction would extend life. In rats - calorie restriction extends life significantly. So you have a bunch of people folling the CRON diet.
In rats - IF mimics the effects of calorie restriction. So in theory IF will extend human life as well.
The only problem with this is that in a long running trial of rhesus monkeys that are being calorie restriction hasn't extended their lives. We're a lot more similar genetically to rhesus monkeys than we are to rats. Calorie restriction did lead to reduced incidence of disease but sadly the control group isn't following their natural diet too closely so it's hard to say if the lack of disease is from calorie restriction or just not eating like an A-hole.
Getting to my point - read the books all you want. Just keep in mind any health claims they're making are unproven at best. It's also very possible that some people (especially women) will not do so well intermittent fasting due to cortisol building up.
