@Aunt Sheshie Nothing I've read seems to indicate that the eating window you choose matters as long as you are consistent. One of the benefits of IF is flexibility that way I think. I'm a night eater, so I use an evening window. My sister nevers eats after 5 PM (by choice, she doesn't do IF). At any rate, I think the important thing is to pick a window that works for you!

Happy Fourth!

I am still experimenting with IF but I hope to work it in to my routine soon. One thing that does not work-breaking a fast beginning with beer! On both Friday and Saturday I had plans to meet people around five and have a beer. Friday went okay but I ate way too many tortilla chips. I was too hungry to say no. Saturday was a fiasco. I was pretty much drunk very quickly. Luckily my Saturday date was with my husband! Anyway, I may not be able to fast on the weekends after all or I will have to give up alcohol. That is not likely. I did not fast yesterday since we had a holiday party and I did not want a repeat of Saturday. Today may be just right though. I am still full from yesterdays party and no plans for alcohol today.

On the good side, I did manage to lose some weight last week. When I fast, I definitely keep the total calories down. I really need to work on what I am consuming though. I am still kinda stuck in a saving calories mode which allows me to eat higher calorie food but then I am finding myself filling up on food I would normally steer away from. This was probably just the wrong weekend to try something new. I will need to practice getting it right at a less challenging time.

I agree except that consistance only seems to matter in that it makes it easier when our diet follows a rhythm so appetite is better controlled.

I think the primary reason most people who IF follow a breakfast skipping pattern do so because it is easier socially.

Also - if your sister doesn't eat after 5 PM she is an intermittent faster whether she calls it that or not!

Hi everyone! I discovered IF a while ago but I wanted to wait until my son wasn't dependent on nursing to start in case my milk supply decreased due to it. But now that he's taken to drinking from a cup and all our major family holidays for the summer are finished, I plan on starting tomorrow! I'm hoping to do a 12-7 eating window and work my way to 2-7.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and hope you all were able to maintain your IF amazingness.

Monday's are my weigh in days... drum roll please......

I have lost 5.4 pounds since starting IF seriously. I think it's been a full week of real deal IFing.

199.6 today

I'm sending good vibes to you all and hoping this energy lasts with me. I'm doing a challenge to lose 15 pounds in July and have really upped my activity. The awesome thing is I haven't noticed the bogged down feeling after workouts. I love IF.

_______________________________





One for every 5 pounds GONE!

Way to go Amber!

@AmberJae, you rock! Congratulations!

I'm grateful that the holiday is over! I was stressing over the numbers last night, but have decided that I am going to let go of that math and start back on track today. I'm feeling bloated for eating too many salty things and not drinking enough water. There's a cold watermelon in my refrigerator and I think we're going to be cozy all day!

@JohnP Don't tell her that... Actually, she is right in there by leangains standards for females. When I was telling her about IF she was horrified, so I just dropped it!

@Georgia You are right, don't stress over the numbers. If you gained it was mostly water weight so hang in there! I've found that hopping right back on the wagon makes me feel better physically and mentally, and the damage is quickly fixed.

@ Georgia, I hope you enjoyed your watermelon I feel a bit bloaty myself...I ate some monstrosity called the Cowboy Burrito at the festivities yesterday. It fit into my calorie goal but was no where close to my nutrition goals. Be that as it may, today is a new day and you can't fix whats already done. You're right, it's best to just focus on today.

_______________________________





One for every 5 pounds GONE!

I've been on a serious search this morning for information on eating plans while IFing. But haven't really found much on the topic.

I am interested in zig-zagging my calories quite a bit (i.e. 800 one day 1600 the next) and possibly doing nothing but blended fruit/veg smoothies on the low cal days to really pack in the nutrients. I feel like I either have a hard time getting my 1200 a day or I go over more than I'm comfortable. I also found myself running around the kitchen stuffing food in my face at 9:45pm so I could meet my calories in my given window. I have since moved my window up to 2-7 or 3-8pm. This works well for me since I don't eat after dinner. Now I just have to get the food thing in order.

Have any of you found that since starting IF you can't fit much in your gut when you finally do get to eat or that you really aren't that hungry? I am having trouble with this too. I literally spent 30 minutes figuring out what the very best choice at Panda Express( I know, it's bad, but I've been craving it) would be and when I went to eat it I got halfway through my 280 calorie Panda Bowl and wasn't hungry anymore. How in the heck am I supposed to get in 1200 calories in a 5 hour window when I can barely eat 280 in one sitting? I ended up forcing myself to eat it, knowing that dinner was another low calorie meal that I had spent a lot of time planning...

Anyway, I am looking for anything you all can through at me. I'm just trying to perfect this as much as possible now that I've got the fasting part down.

_______________________________





One for every 5 pounds GONE!

@Amber Yes, one of the benefits to IF is the reduction in appetite and getting full faster, with me, that didn't last though, so enjoy it while it does. I still find my appetite is much more manageable on IF, but the "can't eat the whole thing" affect only lasted about a month for me.

I am doing maintenance, so it's a little different but I do what you are talking about. I look at my calories on a weekly basis, not daily. I keep it down during the week so I can splurge on the weekend. With work etc. I find it very easy to keep my calories relatively low during the week. However, if I find that I'm really short on the weekdays (I log every day) I drink a protein shake. I do stay on my IF schedule on the weekends (most of the time) but I eat out a lot on weekends and eat more.

Hope this helps!

This actually has a name. It's called EOD. (Every Other Day) I'm going to do something similar starting in August as I continue to experiment to find a plan I can stick with for a long time as I continue to try and slowly lose fat and slowly add muscle. You might find it works for you. Some people can't deal with the large caloric flucuations.

Regardless - fruit/veg smoothies is a really bad idea when you're heavily restriciting calories. You need a lot of protein to keep your nitrogen balance high. Protein is the main driver to help you retain muscle. If you eat lots of veggies and meat and a little fruit you'll get plenty of nutrients.

Also, if you're lifting weights make your high calorie days the same as your workout days so you can use the calories to recover better.

A lot of people report difficulty in eating all the calories they're supposed to eat while IFing. I have no such trouble. I wish I did. I can drop 4,000 calories in a single meal and be hungry again in a couple hours.

Hi Everyone, i am reading all the threads and it's taking awhile

my bodies natural instinct is to eat this way, and i always thought i was wrong and unnatural. In college i lost alot of weight eating this way (not knowing it had a name), although life changes ended up making that NOT a permanent change, it felt like a natural and healthy way to eat.

i will be visiting often! Also i am a vegan and i watch white processed carbs. i eat a whole food lifestyle but there is always room for improvement. i currently do NOT count calories because it just doesn't work for me. However, i may need to do that in the future. Thanks for having me. You've all done a wonderful job!
~fm

I've been thinking about doing intermittent fasting for a while now. I'm still looking into it.... I'm done with "crash dieting". I feel like I've completely ruined my metabolism. Once I went fifteen days without eating on the master cleanse... lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup along with a salt water flush everyday. I lost 20 lbs and they came back with a vengeance. I started at 180 and went down to 160... I gained back 10 immediately... and I've been gaining weight slowly and steadily since then with the same eating habits when I was at least maintaining at 180 after I had my daughter.

How many of you have lost weight on IF? Success stories really help motivate me.

I'm really feeling like my weight is starting to seriously affect my health and I need a kick in the butt to get me started.

I wish IF had its own forum section because a lot of times I have trouble finding this thread.

Sorry... a lot of random thoughts