This topic intrigues me. I'm doing reasonably well on a calorie counting, four meals a day plan, but i've always found small meals to be less than satisfying.

On my "indulgence" days I tend to stay pretty close to my calorie budget but eat two large meals and this seems more satisfying.

I'm not sure why I have never thought to question the idea that you need to eat every so many hours, even though I have noticed that on days when I have had large meals, I often find I'm not hungry for quite a while, while when I eat the smaller meals, I'm definitely ready to eat again in 3 or 4 hours.

Going to have to do some research and experimentation I think.

When you consider the macronutrients contained in your average IP brew I'd say you're not IFing.

Maybe if you were drinking a Coors light ...

Seriously though - what matters is finding a way of eating you can live with forever that restricts calories so if this is something you can live with than it's as good a plan as any. Heck - you may be able to write a book about this. I've never heard of anyone following this type of plan so ... you may be on to something!

I completely agree! And I've been fascinated with IanG's story - definitely think he's found a unique way of eating that has certainly worked for him.

@rubidoux Thanks for your post! That is what others I know are saying, but not having the condition myself I don't like to say much. Your input is valuable to others with diabetes. I've read posts from other Type I's on the leangains site who have the same experience you had... never better control of blood sugar than when on IF.

Thanks JohnP and SouthernMaven. It does seem to be working for me, at least for now!

JohnP, the reason I like lean meats is because I was under the impression that the fat in meat is saturated so I'd rather have healthier fat such as avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds. If I do buy meat, I get one that is of a lower fat percentage and I don't eat the skin of chicken, etc....but I love salmon, which I plan to buy today if there's anything good that I find.

Re exercise, I used to be avid about going to the gym. However, we moved and I bought an elliptical and wasn't that consistent about it. My semi-valid excuse is that I have chronic daily migraines which make it really hard to workout. I do walk my dog and do some gardening. I try to park far away and walk quite a bit. However, I know it's not the same. I need to get back to my elliptical. More than that though, I know I need to lift weights. Knowing and doing are two different things.

Same goes for the diet. I know I need to restrict calories but my intense addiction to food has made it very difficult. Even yesterday, as I was eating, I found myself losing control. I stayed within my calories but felt unsatisfied. That feeling passed, but I never know when it will strike or how I'll handle it. Once I fall off track, it can last anywhere from a few hours, a day, a week, a month or many months. It's absolutely frightening.

Sorry for veering off track....I know this doesn't really belong in this thread. I'm just grateful to be back on track with something and heading in the right direction.

KTucke7, I'm quite certain that I would be better off living with fewer carbs than now, but I just don't think I can stick to that kind of plan for life so that's why I haven't cut them out as much as I should. I want to do something that I can live with forever. I like the IFing because it gives me flexibility and makes me feel like I'm in charge of my diet, instead of the other way around. Too many restrictions and I lose my mind.

You are right about having something you can stick to for life. That's why I like IF so much. I am a lot more likely to be able to eat things I want and stick with the program than other things I have tried.

I've been a bit "off my game" when it comes to my IF'ing and actually, my whole "diet" in general the last couple of weeks... just feeling rather unmotivated... At least I'm not hungry in the mornings, but I've definitely been eating later in the evenings than I would like... I think I'm just going to stick with a 14/10 routine and really focus on getting my calories back under control...

Also I seem to be having trouble trying to figure out how to fit IF in around all the running I'm trying to do... so I'm not really sure how to work that all out yet either...

Hey everyone. I've recently found my way back to 3FC after some shame time. =)

I started working again about 9 months ago, I was a stay at home mom for 6 years, and the weight just seemed to fly back on. I finally decided it was time to get my sh!t back together so here I am.

When I decided to get back on the wagon I decided to do IF again. I loved it when I did it about a year and a half ago and I'm not even sure why I quite.

I've seemed to figure out a great way to make it work for my schedule. I don't eat at home. My window is 8:30 to 2:30. I have breakfast when I get to work, a big lunch, and maybe a snack right before my window closes. I don't even have to think about food while I'm at home and it's been fantastic so far. No more rushing to deal with breakfast in the morning before we leave and no more coming home tired at night, having to figure out what to have for dinner and then snacking.

So far it's going rather well, I'm still feeling hungry in the evenings but it's completely controllable. Weekends are going pretty well so far too. I do open my window up a bit more because I'm home for so many hours, plus Sunday is my splurge day where I get to have a higher calorie, indulgent meal. I'm thinking about trying a 24 hour fast on Saturday this weekend.

I'm in the middle of week 3 of being back on track, the first 2 I'm down 10.8lbs.

I'm glad I came across this thread. It's always nice to be able to talk to others who are doing the same or similar plans. =)

Hi everyone, I am starting intermittent fasting on Friday. I ordered a book The 8 Hour Diet, and am really enjoying it. So I'm starting on Friday. I've read about a few other forms of intermittent fasting and feel this one will fit in with my lifestyle.

I have about 60 lbs. to lose and just can't calories anymore.

Dimples, I'm suffering shame time too. I've been such a flake, on so many diets these last few months.

I went back to calorie counting a few weeks ago and knew it was the same old insanity.

I'm very optimistic about intermittent fasting.

I'm still coming along great with IF...although I am finding with days getting longer my body is a little confused. I've been stopping eating at 3 or 4 , but with the longer days I tend to want a snack at night, especially when I play tennis or go for a power walk/jog at night. I push through it by drinking water or tea. It looks like I may have to add more hours to my feeding window, but I'm going to give it another week or so.

I tried 5:2 for a couple of days last week and it was not for me.

TooManyDimples - good job on the weight loss and figuring out what works for you!

Good luck coffeebrain!

Thanks Sunnyside.

I'm going to eat from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Currently, I get up very early and go to sleep early, so for the time being, this will work for me. Also, the book says it can be done every day, or a minimum of 3 days a week. I'm going to do it all week and see how it goes.

I was just looking at the book jacket for the 8 Hour Diet. "Eat whatever you want"..."Eat as much as you want". Yeah, right. The Fast Diet (5:2) advertises the same. As does the Alternate Day Diet. If only it were true.
Then, when you start reading the books, reality sets in. No, you cannot eat anything or as much as you want during your "window". I mean, look at the nutritional information for a single meal at Fridays, Olive Garden, Burger King. One can easily eat a day's worth of calories, even more than you need - in thirty minutes! So in 8 hours???
They should really stop exaggerating just to sell books. I'm doing IF, but if I believed I could "eat anything" during my window and still lose weight, I would be delusional, I think.