The things you mentioned are all things I did when doing IF... Keeping my window to 12p-8p and keeping my coffee under 50 calories to not break the "fast" which seems to be the consensus in the IF community... And I was VERY successful with IF...
There use to be a member here... JohnP... he was very knowledgeable... I would do a search for his posts... It could be very helpful to you... Good Luck!
Just wanted to report that three weeks with IF is working so far, 5 lbs down and I feel back on track. I still need to research the "rules" as I'm not totally sure if I'm allowed to shift that 8 hour window around a little, but I have been doing that and I guess it's still working. So I'm pleased to be making progress again and breaking out of the plateau.
I'm a recently returned member of the community -- I took a two-year hiatus to get pregnant and have a baby. This thread has been super helpful to read, and I'm hoping I'll be successful in combating all my baby weight!
I'm never hungry in the morning, so my window is usually 1 pm-9 pm. This works well with my toddler's schedule, too.
One quick question: I drink tea in the morning (no sweetener or anything, just plain green tea). Is it better to drink straight water? I'm terrible at drinking water.
I've done IF in the past. I use to do 4:3. This week I started doing the Fast 5 and I love it. I can see myself eating this way for life. What is everyone else doing?
shanhat81 - Welcome back and congratulations! I would think the tea would be fine, though of course any amount of plain water you can drink is good too!
lovemylife001 - Glad you are enjoying Fast Five I follow 5:2.
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Today is fast 2 of 2 for me this week. I think shrimp and cabbage for dinner. I've been sick so while I normally wouldn't eat during the day on a fast day, I may have a small orange and a cup of miso soup to get me through until dinnertime. Cold medicine on an empty stomach isn't ideal! Anyway, even though I have been pretty religiously fasting two days a week for as long as I can remember, the last few months I have not had any loss at all because I haven't been very strict about my diet. But this week I'm on track to see a new low weight! Won't get my hopes up too high. I've said it before and had it not happen. Would be pretty cool to finally dip my toes into the 160s.
NNS Yes, I love the Fast 5. I also liked 5:2 when I was doing it, that's how I lost the majority of my weight. Shrimp and Cabbage sounds delish I hope you feel better soon and I'm sure you'll be in the 160's before you know it I also haven't been the best lately. I've been snacking a lot, that's when I decided to do the Fast 5. I find myself so full in the 5 hour window, I don't want to snack or really have the time lol
Hope everyone is well. Have a great day!
Last edited by lovemylife001; 02-25-2016 at 12:19 PM.
Well, I had a great fast yesterday! Until the evening when I was invited to a brewery for an event...I had some beer and likely hit about 700-800 calories total for the day. Still not bad and I saw a loss on the scale this morning for the first time since Christmas! I love still being able to have a social life with this plan, though normally I would move my fast days around.
It was super easy to get back to eating 18:6, I wonder why I stopped at all! In the beginning of the week I was eating lots of junk, but still stuck with my 12-6 window, but by the end of the week I was eating pretty healthy. My intuitive eating naturally kicked in once my brain realized I didn't have race to eat all of the bad food before my "diet" started.
Happy Friday everyone, I hope everyone had a productive week!
Four observations from this week:
1. I like that I can feel full without feeling guilty. I really like that I was able to have big meals, so big that I felt very full and satisfied. The last time I was on a diet, I remember always feeling guilty from feeling full, like I had done something wrong. And that guilt, of course, would cause my diet to derail.
2. There were a few days this past week wherein I went the entire day without really even thinking about food. When I ate during my window, I was just .... eating. Didn't really overthink it. And when I wasn't eating, I wasn't thinking about food at all. Thinking about food really takes up a lot of mental energy.
3. Not eating until 12 is quite easy for me, but not not eating after 6 has been a bit tougher. For some reason, this week wasn't that bad!
4. I an effort to save money on our grocery bill and not throw out any food, I no longer go grocery shopping the first week of each month. Instead, I make our meals with food we already have on hand. (This saves us about $100 a month, and we aim to have a grocery budget of $400 per month - all organic meat and dairy, and mostly organic produce.) If I was on any other diet plan, this would probably be impossible as I would need specific things to eat. So I am loving that I am able to save money and lose weight. It's so simple this way.
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lovemylife001 - I am eating intuitively 5 days on an 18:6 and 2 days on a 16:8 Usually from 12-6 pm and 12-8 pm, but I do adjust it when we have family events and holidays if I need to.
Last edited by agnes dayspring; 03-04-2016 at 11:50 AM.
Fasting today (500 cals) and it has admittedly been a bit of a struggle. My brain just stopped being able to focus around 2PM, and I didn't have any good low calorie snacks at the office, so I had a small snack (maybe 100 calories?). I've gotta restock my desk with miso soup! That usually does the trick for me.
I am mostly posting because I REALLY need to be accountable right now. I *should* finally see the 160s tomorrow on the scale if I stick with it today. I first saw 170.X on Oct. 31. That means I have basically not lost any weight since then! I've got a nice low cal dinner planned and told myself I would also go for a run. Seeing the 160s on the scale would really make me feel like my efforts this last week have not been lost. I'm finally in a better, healthier routine and now I am just eager to see the result of that
This week was hard. Baby not sleeping well and our current financial situation have me feeling exhausted and a little depressed. This definitely affected my appetite because it was really hard for me to stick to my eating windows. I almost gave in a few times, but I didn't. The only thing I adjusted was Wednesday's eating window. I had to eat something in the morning so I adjusted that day to 10:00-4:00 pm (instead of 12-6) and then went to bed super early that night.
I must say that IF has raised my awareness concerning what triggers overeating for me. When I am tired, I want to eat. I never knew that before. Now that I do, I am going to combat that with some extra sleep.
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noname - I almost posted a few times this week because I needed some serious motivation and accountability myself. The great thing is that you have maintained your weight! How did your weigh in go?
IF is still working for me, albeit slowly, and with much hunger (I count the minutes until the window opens the next day!)
My issue is that next week I am on vacation, and 16/8 IF won't fit into the lifestyle for the 5 days I'll be gone, as I'll be expected to have breakfast and dinner daily, and I don't want to have to fuss with a long, drawn-out explanation of my dietary choices to everyone. To me, a diet has to work within the bounds of real life or it won't last.
Just wondering, is there an official 14/10 plan? I could probably accommodate that while away.
No loss this week, but I'm okay with that. I ate within my windows each day. I almost wrote "stayed on plan" but decided not to because I don't want IF to be a diet I am on, I want to eat this way (or in a similar way) for the rest of my life.
My mornings before 12, before my eating window opens, I have been super productive. This added productivity is my favorite thing about IF besides the easy weightless.
Another great thing about IF I learned this week is that my stress about food and what to eat has virtually disappeared. I never even realized I HAD stress about what to eat until I didn't anymore. This ties in to budgeting our grocery bill. I don't have to worry about eating specific foods, I just eat whatever I want, intuitively. *(I realize that some people that do IF with other diets like Paleo).
Question for everyone - How are those of you doing IF weighing in? Everyday? Once a week?
Checking in at 159.8 today, that's -1.6 lbs for the week.
This week's observations:
1. I feel extremely sensitive to the way sugar makes me feel since starting IF. If I break my fast with anything sweet, I feel out of my mind.
2. I think it's funny that people around me are noticing my weightless, but don't see me "dieting." When I get together with family, I usually have two big plates of whatever is there, so they are probably a little confused, lol.
3. I haven't told anyone that I am IF'ing, because I feel like if I told people I only eat from 12-6, I would undoubtably get the, "breakfast is very important," "you should eat 6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism up," "you shouldn't be doing that while you are breastfeeding," etc etc etc. If the issue of a meal ever comes up before 12 and after 6, I simply say "I'm not hungry."
I follow 5:2. 
I hope you feel better soon and I'm sure you'll be in the 160's before you know it 
I also haven't been the best lately. I've been snacking a lot, that's when I decided to do the Fast 5. I find myself so full in the 5 hour window, I don't want to snack or really have the time lol
Baby not sleeping well and our current financial situation have me feeling exhausted and a little depressed. This definitely affected my appetite because it was really hard for me to stick to my eating windows. I almost gave in a few times, but I didn't. The only thing I adjusted was Wednesday's eating window. I had to eat something in the morning so I adjusted that day to 10:00-4:00 pm (instead of 12-6) and then went to bed super early that night.
