I usually shoot for a 16/8 routine... So an 8hr "window"... I usually do 12pm to 8pm but sometimes 2pm to 10pm... Depends on what I have going on... And sometimes I drop it down to 14/10 if I need to... And I also like to do a 24hr fast every so often, so I'll do something like 6pm to 6pm the following day... And even with my regular 16/8 routine I'll often go to 18 or 20hrs if I'm busy and not even really notice it much...

For me IF was really about breaking my habit of eating at night... Which just doesn't work for me when it comes to managing my weight... But I definitely think IF offers a lot of benefits as well... Especially getting out of that mindset of 3 meals a day, 2 snacks/ and dessert day in and day out... I'm definitely enjoying the freedom from all of that if you know what I mean...

TripSwitch, I am so very much hoping this is just a water weight thing! Gaaahhhh! I don't want to have a big set back. Dangit, I'm NOT giving up! Thanks for your reply, it helps.

@TripSwitch Thanks for answering. An eight hour "window" certainly sounds like the easiest way to try intermittent fasting. I just don't know if I would lose any weight that way. How long have you been doing it, and have you had good weight loss? On the Fast-5 website, the author says during an extended period of fasting, like 19 hours, it helps the body measure it's fat stores and turns down your appetite if there is too much around.
I don't know if that is true or not, but I am reporting some small weight losses so far.

Hey there!

I'm doing a 6 hour eating window....usually between 11a - 5p. It's hard for me to get all of my calories in within 4 or 5 hours and 8+ hours is too long so 6 hours is perfect for me. I've only done a 24 hour fast (lunch to lunch) 5 times and I'm still amazed how easy I got through it and how good I felt. The first time was a little tough though. You're going to have to play around with different time frames and see how your body reacts.

IF works great for me and it helped me burn all kinds of fat especially in the hard to reach areas like my back and love handles. Also it helped me to stop snacking - especially at night. I didn't realize how often I used to eat. Giving my digestion a break has helped me in a lot of ways.

It is difficult to try and explain what I do to people offline. A lot of people are so confused by my eating habits and how I'm not gaining my weight back. They see me eat, and I eat well (I lift 3x per week) so they know I'm not starving myself. They also see me eat regular foods as well. I tell people I stop eating after dinner, no snacking and I watch my portions. Makes things a lot easier.



kellelm - have you been drinking water today? Sodium holds on to my body like crazy, but the water weight dissipates after about 2 - 3 days when I'm consistent with drinking water. I wouldn't say avoid pizza either. I still have pizza almost every Friday. However instead of having 4 loaded slices, breadsticks and a coke I now just have two cheese slices with a salad and a water.

Hi BigSky... I've only been IF'ing for about 6 months.... Although I have a lot of other experience with other various forms of fasting ... And I had lost most the weight before I got into IF... But I have lost some weight with it.... And for me it really has been helping me to maintain.... I really like it as strategy to keep my calories in check and because I'd rather have larger more calorie dense meals which I find much more satisfying... But it really comes down to figuring out how much "fasting" time you need to create the calorie deficit to lose weight and that you can live with.... Definitely a lot of different ways to get there that's for sure...

I mean basically I starting counting calories and cutting them... Lost some weight... Than I decided to cut carbs and lost some more weight... Than I threw IF into the mix and lost some more.... Than I really started getting back into running again and I'm planning on running another marathon, so that with everything else is helping me to maintain, but not really lose because I haven't started ramping it up yet... even though I'm running about 40 miles a week now again...

So now I would really like to get down to goal and that means finding a way that I can cut calories to do that, but keep all the other balls in the air that I'm juggling at the same time... Which is proving a bit more difficult than its been in the past for me... But I'm pretty determined... It's just gonna take a bit longer than I planned... But I'm gonna get there...

@SunnySide I'm happy you answered! I am successful with a 5 hour window some of the time. When I'm not, it's because I sometimes get hungry an hour after my window closes and I have a snack. I'm basically doing 1-6, but now I'm thinking maybe my body is telling me 1-7 is better. Thanks.

@TripSwitch I am thinking a larger eating "window" is better for maintenance, yes? I have lots to lose. Will try leaving it at six hours for the next seven days, and see if that is more bearable. I've been doing a moderate sized meal at 1:00 and another at 6:30 - 7:00. No snacks in between.
thanks everyone for helping.

Am I the only person here that skips dinner?

Everyone seems to set their window for breakfast not included!

Well, yippee Yahoo! Must've just been water retention from the pizza! Thanks to all who replied yesterday!

Today is 155.6

That's nice to hear that things are doing well with IF in your weight loss journey I do agree as well that it's flexible and can be pair with any plan. Maybe that's what many people liked about it, so go go go

I haven't been around here too long, but come to think of it I don't really recall anyone that skips dinner and does their eating window earlier in the day...

So you stop eating after lunch? What time do you eat between? The earliest I've ever been able to finish up my eating is at 5pm... and that was when I was going to bed at 9pm and getting up at 4am...

I know for me between working and working out during the day I'm really looking forward to a nice dinner... and I enjoy cooking for my family, it's really the only meal we can all do together... well except for on weekends...
Plus skipping breakfast seems to be the most "socially acceptable" for me... No one really cares when I don't eat at a breakfast meeting... but business lunches and dinners are a different story...

Although I will say this... I bet if I could do my eating window earlier in the day and not eat dinner... I could probably get to goal a lot quicker...

Thanks!

6hrs sounds good... I know for me when I start getting into a 4hr window I definitely feel more than a little bit "stuffed" by my meals during that short a period of time... and my hunger would be more intense during my fasting window as well... where as when I eat in a 6hr window I seem to manage my hunger better during the fasting window...

It's funny... I find 16 to 18hrs pretty easy... and I can seem to do 24hrs easier than I can do 19 to 20hrs... so go figure right?

But like I mentioned before... For me just being able to go 12 to 14hrs without eating has been one of the best things that IF has helped me with...

@IanG The time of day you pick for your eating window is a very personal thing. I do 19:5 and my window is 5-10 PM because I'm a night eater. When I'm at work and up and going, I don't have any trouble maintaining my fast. I can have dinner with the hubby then and I'm always hungry right before I go to bed. If I don't eat before bedtime, I don't sleep well. The point is, you have to pick the window that works for your schedule/cravings/natural inclinations.

@BigSky I'd say "no" to the longer eating window for maintenance. I've been successfully maintaining for two years on a five hour eating window. If I give myself more time, I'll eat more. This might not be true for you, but it is for me.

@KTucke7 Thanks. Some would say late night eating is a no-no or that breakfast is the most important meal but I know both are myths. I've done tons or research and the body could care less when you eat your calories. The author of Fast-5 says the eating window is simply for calorie restriction, which is what it all comes down to.
Can you please tell me how long your window has been 5-10? Have you been doing this just for weight maintenance? Or did you lose your weight this way? I too am a night eater. Maybe I should try 5-10.

I hope you guys don't mind a "non-IF" person chiming in here. I've been reading this thread even though I practice intuitive eating precisely because most days I find myself doing IF simply by following my body's own cues.

I have never in my life been a breakfast eater - when I say that, I LOVE breakfast food; but usually no earlier than 11:00 am, and often later. So if I were to ever try intermittent fasting, I think it would be a pretty easy thing for me to do. So I do enjoy reading all your posts because I can relate to them so much! Most days I eat some type of a "snack" around 11:30 - noon and then eat one really big, carb-loaded meal anywhere between 3-5 pm. Other days I don't eat a thing until around 2:00 pm and if it's heavy enough, it will hold me almost 24 hours. I kind of alternate between these two patterns.

But I thought you non-breakfast eaters would get a kick out of something that happened to me today. I had to go in for a yearly sonogram to monitor a non-malignant tumor I have on my left kidney. (they just have to make sure it doesn't grow too big as it has a risk of rupturing, but it is definitely not malignant). Anyway, the sonographer also did my right kidney as well as my gallbladder. Afterwards she asked me "Have you had breakfast?" which I thought was an odd question, but of course I said no. Then she said, "I didn't think so. Your gall bladder is full of bile and it's just waiting for you to feed yourself." So I told her I never ate breakfast, at which point she said she always did, as she always woke up hungry. And I told her I didn't, and that's why I don't eat it.

But I thought that was interesting and thought those of you on this forum would find it interesting as well.

Have a wonderful IF day!