I've been thinking about going from a 6 hour window to 5, is it too soon?
Been doing IF 3 weeks now and i feel great and i'd be able to manage it but just don't wanna mess things up by moving it down too soon. I know Ian is doing IF, if you're reading this are you still on a 6 hour window? do you think theres much point in going to 5?
Honestly, probably not. I am on a five hour window but six would make no difference to me. I eat breakfast at 7am and lunch at noon. If I ate lunch at 1pm it would be the same deal.
However, the big difference for me was thinking more carefully about what I ate during the window. At first, I just ate what I wanted. Then I started eating balanced and healthily e.g. salads. That made a big difference. Then I started controlling the portion sizes (e.g. ordinary-sized salads rather than MASSIVE salads) during my window and that gave me another boost. So reducing calories during the window has worked for me.
I am interested in doing IF when I get done with Metabolic Research center. Do you guys do it every day when you have the 5 or 6 hour window or do you take some days off?
The rule of thumb is you shouldn't consume more than 35 calories during your fast. It's all about all about keeping your insulin levels as low as possible for most of the day which forces your body to use stored fat as energy.
yeah 1800 is a nice caloric target to have, i wouldn't focus on getting exactly 1800 everyday. You could get 1500 one day then 2100 the next, cycling like this will help in tricking your body and help keep your metabolism shocked which will aid fat loss. If IF is done right you shouldn't hit any weight loss plateus, easier said than done i know.
Ok so... If I'm understanding this correctly... this theory is the opposite of the "rev your metabolism by eating small meals every few hours all day long!!" theory...
I do think I go through periods of IF naturally... I'm not sure if its something I would want to commit to though.
In the past, when I've been most successful with my weight loss goals, it has been when I've listened closely to my intuition to eat when I'm *actually hungry and to *not eat when I'm actually not.
I think people should definately do what works for them. I just noticed that it seemed to be the polar opposite of "small meals all day long" theory. That being said, I guess it doesn't mean either one is wrong. Just that one strategy will work for some, and one strategy will work for others.
Now I'm thinking out loud here, so I'll move on. LOL
You have a point. I am certainly in the "small meals all day long" camp. it works great and also curved my need to eat for the sake of it because I am eating all the time.
Thanks for the tips on IF Irish. I am on my 4th day of IF so far. Yesterday I threw in a 24 hour fast which was good. From now on I am going to do a 5 hour fast. I really like IF better then Metabolic Research Center, I can actually eat!
I do the odd 24 hour fast myself, but don't do it often.
I've only done it around 3-4 times in a last 7 weeks or so, i think it flushes the system out nicely. Let us know how you get on in your next weigh in!
