Congratulations TMD!

I'm down 4 lbs. this week...but I'm sure it will taper off for awhile. I tend to lose weight in little chunks, then slowly for a long time...then another chunk!

thenewkim- I am somewhat careful who I tell about IF. I'm getting to where I don't feel I HAVE to be understood or accepted as much as I used to. People can think I'm a little crazy if they want too IF can sound a little out there, but it isn't realyy that radical of a concept if you think about it.

As someone who enjoys debating a little too much, (certainly more than is socially acceptable) I can tell you that you only need to know about a few studies. If you can memorize them you will not only "win" the argument you will intrigue the person you're talking to.

First study is the 2008 US Army double blind placebo controlled study where 27 adults were fed almost nothing over two days. They were tested on memory, reflex, logic, and learning. No adverse effects were found.

Second study is in year 2000 at University of Vienna. Subjects were fasted for three days and over the course of those three days their metabolisms increased 5-10% and their adrenaline levels were increased.

Then you bring it together by discussing that if you think about the fact that man has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years and most of those times food was not abundant we are well adapated to not eating for short periods of time. Our bodies give us a little kick to get us moving to find food and our wits are kept sharp.

It is absolutely a piece of cake to maintain while IF you just have to get your body used to it which takes a week or so at most.

OR you can just not talk about it which is what I do most of the time.

I'm happy to have found this thread and have enjoyed every single post here. What a great group! I found intermittent fasting last summer, and did about 8 weeks of Fast-5. I lost an average of one pound a week, but I got impatient, thinking it was too slow a loss. I then researched everything I could find on I.F. including the Leangains site (so much good info there) and began experimenting with various eating windows, Eat Stop Eat, JUDDD (Johnson's Up Day Down Day Diet, but I'm committed to Intuitive Eating and hate hate hate counting calories), and even got sidetracked for a while trying to do the No-S Diet, which is a good eating system of moderation.....BUT none of them worked as well for me as Fast-5 did. And that's what counts, really, whatever WORKS or resonates with us individually. There are a lot of good plans out there, and many variations of I.F. too, but "one size does not fit all", I think. We are all an experiment of ONE.

So in January, I came back to Fast-5 (my personalized version of it anyways), because it was the best fit for me, and because I'm absolutely convinced of the many health benefits of intermittent fasting not only as a weight-loss aid, but a good way to eat for rest of my life. So now I have 12 weeks (not perfect weeks!) under my belt and am down 10 pounds, and feeling great! I have about 75 more pounds to release...I'll let my body decide what my best healthy weight should be. And I'm settled in for the long haul. I've also been exercising since the first of the year and have worked up to a 2 to 3 mile walk every day. I throw in intervals to push myself, too.

I'm a 54 year-old happily married homemaker, and mom to two grown and beautiful daughters. This I.F. path can often be a lonely one, so I'm happy to find a group of like-minded people to keep me company on this journey.

Best,

Joy

I'll go back and re-read, can't quite remember where I stopped.

None of my usual arsenal working, so I tried IF yesterday. OK, it was quite a big window, from 12 - 6 but I
wasn't hungry until 12
loved what I ate
found it quite fun to think what I could have
didn't eat after 6, because my window had closed.

I couldn't do it today - my workday has been vast and complicated, too much so for only the second day of IF but I'm looking forward to starting again tomorrow. The biggest thing I felt yesterday was relief - once 6pm came, I didn't have to worry about what I was 'allowed' to have, or what I could squeeze into my plan (which is increasing my weight by ounces daily, eejit) because the window was closed. Very liberating. Interesting.

well, due to my excessive tiredness--pregnancy--i wake up late some days, and i just don't want to eat until like 12 pm. then i feel sick if i eat after 8 pm...so apparently my body STILL likes this.

I'm on day 2 of IF and I'm feeling great! I am working with a rather large window to start (1pm to 8pm) and quelling my hunger pangs with tea and water. So far so good!

Txalupa- Good job! That isn't necessarily too big of a window to keep long term if it feels right for your lifestyle and physical needs. I think some people, especially women, can need an 8 hour window. If something is easier to maintain and you feel good on, stick with it.

I typically have a 5 hour window because I am at home almost all day every day with little kids. I can easily get my meals in during this time and then be freed up to concentrate on other things during the evenings. I am starting to make a big meal earlier in the day and make that my last meal and serve the rest to my family for dinner. I'm not doing this really regularly yet, but getting there If I was working outside my home or in school all day I might have a bigger eating window.

Yeah, don't beat yourself up. Typically the 'recommended' window for IF is 8 hours, it's just common for women to cut that down.

Probably because we tend to have fewer calories we are consuming anyway, so it's not a challenge, and realistically we are basically just eating two meals anyway.

I always find it humorous when guys talk about their 'ten hour eating window'. I mean, that is basically all day to me anyway. LOL. What is awesome though, is that 10 hours, 8 hours, 6 hours, 4 hours, it really doesn't matter. It really does all work towards the same goal and it's all about finding out what time frame works best for you.

Congrats on getting started and I hope it works well for you!

Just a little update. I started this 3 weeks ago today at a weight of 146-147 and as of this morning I am at 142.5 I feel great although there have been a couple of days where I had a harder time I pushed through the hunger and only ate during my window of 1-7 except one morning I had to sneak in half of a banana.

My husband has been gone for 2 weeks in NY and is going to be home tomorrow and we are planning on going out for dinner and a couple of drinks so I am a bit worried about my calories for tomorrow but I figure one day will not be too damaging.

I am really enjoying eating this way and I wanted to give a special thank you to John for all of the info he has provided.

Just as I was getting ready to hit submit reply I hear a little bit of the news and they are talking about periodic fasting. They said research cardiologists in Utah say periodic fasting for 24 hours may lower your risk for coronary artery disease, diabetes and lower cholesterol levels.

Thanks for the support everyone!

well, since i have to study literally all day, i haven't eaten breakfast, so i'm going to have a glass of tea under 20 calories. i think JOHN P said that under t50 calories outside of your eating window was ok.

i need something for my brain though. since i will be sitting on my BUTT most of the day, i don't see how it would hurt.

well i was out of town for awhile, and didn't do IF but i stayed on my lower carb plan for the most part, all my meals were not low carb, but most of them were almost no carbs, so i think i was still under my 100 grams a day limit but i came back and had gained nearly 3 pounds, so i am back on IF today, i am already fighting my stomach, but i can hold out another couple of hours, i don't like not being on track with my eating. it is too easy to lose control

Hi all, back from a 3-day vacation. I didn't stick super hard to IF, I live abroad and vacations to new cities/countries include gastronomical cultural experiences I'd rather participate in than stick to a hard and fast diet. But, two of the three days I didn't eat anything until noonish. Today I had a plate of fruit, one bite of a granola bar, and coffee, that's all until about 1 PM. Not IF, but it's at least lower cal until later in the day. I, who used to be convinced I got "shaky" and weak after not eating for more than 4 hours, was fine. I prefer it this way. IF convert poster child right here

Yeah, I drink hot tea all through the day. Usually at least 3 ~ 16 oz cups of it before I actually eat for the first time. They each have about 25 calories a piece b/c of the ff half and half I add.

I also have a modified caramel americano that I make when I need a bit of energy and a teeny appetite suppressant and it is darn close to 50 calories, if not a bit over. I need to look for a low cal caramel syrup b/c that is where all the calories come from, and the one we have a work is uber fattening.

I actually bought a walden farms no cal/no sugar/no fat caramel syrup, but I am afraid to try it. How can it possibly taste like anything?? lol


My scale is still setting on 142.5. It's flirting around with lower numbers, but then it pops right back up to 142.5. Blah. LOL I am feeling good though. My clothes are looser, I can tell I've lost a little of that pesky back fat.

I will take measurements again pretty soon, but I always put that off for some reason. A HUGE goal of mine is to have a waist measurement under 30" and last time I checked I was at 31 1/2". Honestly, I was kinda trying to put measuring off until I was a lot closer to seeing a number I wanted. lol

Made it through my first work day until 1! I am normally an 11:30 lunch-taker and I'm realizing that it's not because I'm hungry but more because I'm bored.

Turns out there is a lot less of the day left after lunch when you take it at 1pm. WOOOOOO!