I haven't been here in a while. I have actually been reading and researching how I need to be eating because of my blood sugar etc.

I love Intuitive Eating, but also feel the short time I did IF was good for me but really didn't really realize the all the benefits. Today I found on YouTube a message by a Dr. Lara called Intermittant Fasting 101.. How to begin Intermittant Fasting. It started out telling a story about a woman who lost 80 lbs doing IF and then when he finishes telling her story and showing her before and after pics, he tells that the woman is his wife. He goes into what the benefits are of IF and how it works. Explains how he has his patients do IF. I am starting back on using IF with IE.

This is the way to the website for anyone who might like to see it, especially if some one is thinking about doing IF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZZWOXhoFpo

Have a great day.

I saw an Interview with Dr. Mosley on YouTube when I was researching IE. I just feel I wanted to buy another book, but I found his plan quite interesting. When I first saw 5:2, I thought it was 2 days of all day fasting (which I knew I had no desire to do), but I was amazed to find it was 2 days of 500 to 600 calories which I think is very doable. However, I usually do a 16/8 IF and have done a 5 hr window depending on hunger and what is going on that day. IF is so similar to the way I ate as a teenager so is really easy for me to do as long as I keep myself from trying some "new" diet. I also have to beware of the "you can eat all you want of anything you want etc" mentality as well.

Trish - I hope this works out for you. As I've posted here before, my IE pattern of eating generally has me fasting anywhere from 18 to as long as 24 hours. There are exceptions, but I'd estimate I do this 3 or 4 times a week on average. So the health benefits of IF are of interest to me, more so than weight loss.

I "watched" the video (more listened than watched) and although I have no interest in following his IF plan, I did find his information regarding the Omega 3's and the BCAA's interesting. I'm assuming they would have benefits even to those of us not IF'ing. (not intentionally, anyway)

Let us know how it goes for you.

I found that all interesting too. I actually didn't purposely do IF. I just automatically don't eat until around noon or later any way, but I do need a cut off time at night. I like the 16/8 most days and occasionally a 19/5 ratio of eating. So when I heard the benefits, I decided why not make it a regular way of eating. I also liked info I found on 5:2, but I don't want to have to count calories even for 2 days a week. The 16/8 is so much easier and IE compatable.

I am just starting IF, I did 23 hours today with a one hour window. This was just for today though I wanted to see how "tough" it could be excluding a headache around hour twenty it wasn't to bad. Starting tomorrow I will do a 16/8 window along with healthy eating and calorie counting. I've been stuck all month so I am hoping this will help and allow enough control to be useful and satisfying.

This sounds just like what I do... And it's worked pretty well for me so far... Looking forward to hearing how it works for you... keep up posted... Good luck!

I have discovered something interesting with IF. Obviously I can't just stop eating altogether, but yesterday I had a doctor's appointment at 1:15, and I never eat before an appointment. I finally ended up eating dinner at about 6 and that was my only meal yesterday. But then the urge to snack hit like a ton of bricks. I'm definitely one of those people who could probably go without eating for long stretches, but feels the need to snack constantly once I start eating.

Good to know -- now I have to figure out how to control this better.

I think that's just your body telling you to eat more because unless you ate a whole day's worth of calories at dinner, it wasn't enough.

I've had this happen as well... and I often wonder how much of it is "psychological" and how much of it is actual physiological hunger... because to me it does feel like once I start eating I've flipped on a "switch" and it's very hard to turn off...

Hi everyone.

I've been hearing so much about intermittent fasting. I've actually read two books about it (different plans), and I'm going to start doing this. One of the books says to count calories (500) for two days a week and then eat normally the other five. The other book is called The 8 Hour Diet and is just that. You eat for only 8 hours a day, fasting for 16. For me, that seems more doable.

So, I'll start tomorrow and be checking in here. Just curious...is there one particular diet that seems to be the most popular around here?

I went back and read a lot of the posts. It's a mixed bag! Everyone is doing their own thing, which is good. I agree with the poster who said 16/8 is a good fit because she doesn't want to count calories for even two days a week. My sentiment exactly.

Anyone?

JohnP? (Since you are the most research savvy in this area.)

If you do a search on PubMed you can take a look at some of the studies on IGF-1 and fasting, etc...

Hello IF's, I'm noticing something happening and wondered if I could get some of your input.

For the last few weeks, I've been doing a combo of Dr. Mosley's 2 days of 500 calories and IFing by stopping at 7pm and having breakfast at 10 a.m. Also, on top of it, I used to eat the recommended 2,000 calories on the 5 "regular" days, but as time has gone on, I noticed that I don't crave that many calories so I'm eating more like 1500 or so on those days.

What I've noticed is that I'm just not as hungry. I've read that your stomach doesn't really shrink. If it hasn't been shrinking, then what is the reason for this? Is it something hormonal? If anyone knows, please enlighten me because I'm just curious if this is something temporary or not. When I've done IF in the past, I didn't notice a decreased appetite so I think it has to do with the 500 calorie days twice a week.

The other question I have: is it bad for me to eat 1500 calories on the 5 "regular" days? Or is it better metabolically to have 2,000? If so, should I force myself to eat more? I wouldn't have a problem because I love to eat (obviously), but I'm just wondering what's best at this point for weight loss.

I'm going to a wedding on August 10 and am using that fact as a motivating factor.

Hi guys! I'm so excited and interested in intermittent fasting! I had my beautiful baby boy almost 4 months ago and I have a whopping 50lbs to lose and I'm hoping to do it through IF. Only thing is I'm exclusively breastfeeding. Do you think a diet like the 5:2 would be feasible or advisable at this point? Maybe doing the 16/8 plan is a better idea. Thoughts?