I wasn't sure about doing just the 2 meals and getting all the calories in the 2 meals, but I did it and it was not difficult at all. I wasn't stuffed, but I felt I had enough to eat and since I stopped eating around 7:30 (7 hr window), I slept so good because my body wasn't having to deal with that heavy feeling that comes from eating snacks or food late at night. I'm planning on doing the same thing today.

amandie - Congratulations on your 15 hr fast. I'm doing more of a 14 hr. Sure makes you feel good not to have to be thinking about food all day, doesn't it?

penguin41 - Congratulations on the 2 lb loss.

Everybody else

Congrats on your 2lb loss, penguin41!

I made the 18 hour fast today at 4pm. Felt a lot better than yesterday (thought maybe I was hypoglycemic or something.) Looking forward to my dinner tonight- ribeye steak, baked potato with sour cream/chives/crumbled bacon and sauteed green beans with butter!

eta: Patty- Yes, for sure! It feels better knowing (validating?) that I don't have to have breakfast nor lunch if I am not hungry, you know?

I have been doing IF for about a week now. Definitely finding it is getting MUCH MUCH easier. Haven't really seen a body fat loss yet. Stopped weighing myself back in like March because I was obsessing over the scale. I wish there was something that I could do to actually see the change. However, I am finding that I am not very bloated in the mornings anymore (when I started IFing I was always still HUGE in the am from a very full stomach). And eating huge 700-800 calorie meals is getting much much easier. Anyway.... really hoping that I will eventually start to notice the fat loss. I suppose that because fat loss is so slow moving that it is hard to tell the difference. Took my measurements at least and hopefully they will go down. We shall see.

Hey everyone,

Just finished 24 hrs of IF, it's not as hard as I thought it would be. I even weighed .3 lbs less than yesterday! I know it's probably water weight but still encouraging

Good luck to everyone

Weighed in again today. Didn't lose anything or gain anything, so that's good! I had thought for sure I would have gained because I haven't been following my IF plan to to the t for the past three days.

I broke my fast a little early today, but I plan on closing my eating window earlier tonight.

Hi all...I've missed a few days of posting, but am back. Took a break from the IF over the weekend but didn't overdo it. Enjoyed catching up with everyone's posts...congrats to those who have had losses, welcome to the new folks and keep up the good work everyone!

I've just signed up for this thread, and excited to be here!

I was naturally thin in high school, and even though I put on a few pounds in college, my weight naturally stayed around the 130s, and I could get pounds off quickly by cutting calories. Of course, as I had kids and got older, I found the weight creeping up, and it wasn't as easy to get it off. In my quest to be slim, I have done every diet under the sun over the years. You name it, I've tried it. I've had the best results with drastic measures (diet pills and HCG), which both allowed me to get back down to my desired weight-- but have of course regained every pound I ever lost with those methods, because they are not sustainable.

My highest weight ever was 195, which I reached last May (I had gotten down to 135 using HCG, but promptly put every bit of it back on over the next year after I did it), and for the past year I have been diligently working to on removing those extra pounds. I've gotten just over 20 off to date, although I continued to move from diet strategy to diet strategy in order to lose the weight. There were a few months (December-February) where I just put away the scale and said "FORGET IT!!!" Of course, my weight rebounded back up to 184, and since March 1st I've been back on the "diet wagon" and have gotten off 11 of those pounds.

I flirted with the intermittent fasting lifestyle a couple of years ago, but was still in the "mad at my body" stage and was not willing to give up eating all day long. Other people--slim people--eat breakfast and lunch, and I felt immensely deprived while fasting. So I continued to search for a quick fix, or at least something I could live with.

Now, I think I have come to terms with the truth about my body: I can NOT eat whatever I want all day long. I can either eat whatever I want in a small window, or I can diet all day long. Now that I have realized that, it is EASY for me to do this.

I'm in my 2nd week of IF. I started trying Eat Stop Eat, but I find with that plan I can undo the work of the 24 hours of fasting during my days of eating. To make ESE work for me, I would have to restrict my choices on the eating days, which is what I am not willing to do anymore. So I gravitated back to Fast-5.

I do best on Fast-5 when I eat 1 big meal per day until I feel full, with a little something about 3 hours later. I'm opening my window anytime after 3 pm, although I usually don't eat until 5 or a little after that. I like feeling like I COULD eat at 3, if I wanted to. No matter what time I'm opening my window, I don't eat past 8 pm, unless it is the weekend and we are going out with friends.

I'm down a couple of pounds since committing to IF, so this morning I once again put away the scale. I know myself--I want FAST results, so the day-to-day ups and downs can make me discouraged. I am still not sure if I will do weekly weigh ins, or if I will go longer. It would be awfully nice not to be obsessed with the ups and downs of the scale.

Good monring everyone.

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. I've been terribly ill. I am thinking food poisoning, but not entirely sure. I am feeling about halfway normal today. On the plus side I lost 5 lbs since Monday. Maybe I'll get lucky and not gain it back!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

wvu - Sorry to hear you've been so sick. It seems like everyone is sick with something right now. There is a bad flu going around here that I've been trying really hard to avoid.

vs11972 - Welcome! Your story sounds a lot like mine.

I'm feeling a little discouraged the last couple days. I desperately want to get out of the 150's. I was expecting it today because I did so well eating yesterday but weighed in at 150.6 and it makes it hard to not cave and eat the donuts sitting in my office!! My TOM is right around the corner and I usually don't retain too much water for that, but I'm hoping this time that's the case.

tonimaroni2 - Hang in there! I was never a big water-weight holder either, but I'm guessing you'll see a drop if you stay on course. Several years ago I was on a kick where I was weighing every day. It was amazing to me how much my weight fluctuated from day to day. No explanations, it just does! I hopped off that wagon pretty quickly. If you know you have been doing well diet-wise, just know that it will show up on the scale.

Congrats to all who have reported progress and welcome to all the newcomers

vs11972 - welcome.

Just remember that calories always matter. So depending on what you eat it is still possible to gain weight or fail to lose it with only 1 big meal and a snack a day.

Wow really been MIA. Hi all. Still trucking. Getting my weight back to the 230s. I've been doing the Fast 5 from 1-6. I've had more carbs than needed but I've been getting that under control. I've been getting a couple of workouts in as well. Hopefully, I can still make my mini goal by the end of June. I need to be strict to make it though.

WVU I hope you feel 100% soon.

John P makes a very good point that is critical to success, in losing or maintaining, calories do ALWAYS matter.

When I made the statement earlier about not feeling like I am on a diet anymore I meant it. However, I've been losing or maintaining for 17 years. After a time, it becomes second nature to track calories, whether you are doing it on a log (like fitday) or in your head. After all this time, I can tell you the approximate number of calories in just about anything, and give you a running total of my approximate intake for the day. This was learned behavior from many years of logging calories on fitday, and I don't really have to think about it anymore. When I was eating 4-6 meals a day, I was always trying to figure out how to space my calories throughout the day without hunger or cravings, and never really feeling like I had eaten enough to be satisfied. On IF, I still eat the same number of calories, it is just that I can eat more of them at one time which is satisfying to me. That's what I meant about not feeling like I am on a diet!

Yes, calories ALWAYS matter.

Hello everyone

Just finished 24 hrs of IF, it's such a relief not to think about what to eat for the day.
Good luck to all

Exactly how I feel. I really believe that a huge percentage of the population could benefit from IFing.