No one here that I have seen is. I'm not a fan of a single meal but if it works for you I don't see the harm.
All meals are mixed meals. Unless you want to eat a stick of butter, or just eat sugar cubes, all whole foods contain a mix of macronutrients. Don't worry about it. What matters is calories.
Leangains.com is my favorite due to his reliance on science. (Most of the time)
I second that leangains is my first choice for the same reason John said keep in mind its fairly focused on getting very lean and strong but the same rules mostly apply. Of course we are very friendly at intermittentfastingforums.com too
I also break my fast with protein and veggies. If I feel like I want alot of carbs after that, I make a glass of chai tea. Then I wait. If I am hungry, I will eat some more protein. the next time I eat I do the same thing veggies and protein...then carbs.
I worked out doing some ddr on my rebounder. it also worked my core trying not fall off. I did it right before I broke my fast. I am getting slimmer ,and the pounds are slowly going away. I don't want to sacrifice muscle for faster weight loss though.
Just wanted to post an update here on my first week of IF - I have been doing a 16 hour fast/8 hour eating window and counting calories (around 1400/day) and I have lost 8.6 lbs!!! I worked out four times for an hour each so although I exercised, it wasn't an excessive amount (could have worked out more!). Every day I step on the scale and I am amazed at the constant weightloss! I love "experiments" so I have been recording my daily weight because I want to see if I hit the typical plateau. Usually I would have lost a couple pounds and then stalled for a few days before losing again. I have never lost weight so quickly and easily, even when I have followed a low carb diet! This way of eating is a breeze for me. My big appetite has decreased and I feel satisfied every day instead of starving. I am sooo glad I found out about IF!
Last edited by FutureFitMom; 08-13-2011 at 09:55 PM.
FitMom- Congratulations that's awesome to hear! That was definitely my initial reaction too, it felt so easy and like the weight was coming off so rapidly. It will slow down a little, but 8.6 lbs for your first week is incredible.
I am so happy I've found IF too. It takes a lot of pressure off compared to regular dieting. It's helped me realize that it's easier to wait for food then I thought lol sounds kinda weird but waiting for my window to open has shown me this and has also helped me limit treats or less healthy foods knowing that I can have them later or later in the week if I want.
Third day and I know without a doubt that this is the right woe for me. I feel in total control and completely relaxed. Since I haven't been forcing myself to eat too early, my appetite is at a normal level now and I feel completely satiated and do not stress-eat at night (a real problem I was trying to curb).
Fitmom: Congratulations for your success! "My big appetite has decreased and I feel satisfied every day instead of starving." This is exactly how I feel = more in control.
Kasey: Congratulations on your 31lb loss! Well, 3 days consciously doing this (1 meal a day plan) and I am down 3lbs more. Going with my appetite has been so much less stressful, so I hear what you are saying!
Seems like everyone's finding this their kind of plan! congrats FutureFitMom on your loss! 8.6lbs is AMAZING!
I went off plan yesterday it was my friend's birthday so we went out and had junk food sat on the beach... Paying for it this morning though because I feel ROUGH. So I just had some fruit (10am) and now I'm gonna do a 24h fast today to make up for the terrible-ness of that decision and will be back on my usual 6-7h window tomorrow the flexibility of this plan is what makes it so great for me!!!!
I thought I did good on vacay but I gained 1.2 lbs. I did stick with IF the whole time I just made some not so good, vacation style food choices. Time to buckle down!
shalyn, some of that may be water weight. Just keep sticking with it. Remember it takes 3500 calories to equal a real lb of fat.
katy, I understand your need to fast to reset your appetite. I have done that before. I hope you feel better. One night out shouldn't hurt and it is recommended to have a fun day anyways.
archy, my stress eating has gone down too.
fitmom, you are making the IF work for you. Calorie counting has its added benefits. I just want to caution you that you do not overdo it, You do not want to lose muscle.
kasey, i know the sense of "reward" makes me limit my treats too. I know I can have them later, if I want. I'm not depriving myself of them.
I did IF yesterday, and decided to do LOW carb for me = 150 carbs. I also worked out in a fasted state and chugged lots of water, my body rebelled? gained 3 lbs. I know that is impossible to do, so my body is holding onto the water I guess. I worked out my legs pretty good on the rebounder doing high kicks and squats, and my arms are sore from my workout 2 days ago.
jen: It's good to hear what ppl are experiencing when they workout. My workouts are not intense (bellydancing and walking 5 mi), but it has been a concern to me if I want to up the level. I can't help but weigh myself everyday, but I know that, especially as women, our bodies are really fickle. As for the carbs, good idea. I am trying to keep mine in check since I am a major carb addict and I think that I will keep it on the low side myself. Congrats on your 1st goal!
Jendiet: yeah I know that's what I'm loving abotu this programme, I don't have to beat myself up for having a really good night out because I can just balance it out the next day! Working good for me so far!
Thanks Jen! Does that mean that eating 3500 calories makes you gain a pound of fat, burning 3500 calories makes you lose a pound of fat? or both? Might be a silly question...
I stayed on plan today. Problem is I'm starving! I keep telling myself that it's temporary and after my body adjusts I wont feel so hungry anymore. Someone please tell me that this is so! I've been IF'ing + low carb for a week now so I dont think my body knows whats going on yet. I also have headache that I'm pretty sure is from carb withdrawls!
I'm pretty stoked to start walking tomorrow! Exercise!
Thanks Jen! Does that mean that eating 3500 calories makes you gain a pound of fat, burning 3500 calories makes you lose a pound of fat? or both? Might be a silly question...
I stayed on plan today. Problem is I'm starving! I keep telling myself that it's temporary and after my body adjusts I wont feel so hungry anymore. Someone please tell me that this is so! I've been IF'ing + low carb for a week now so I dont think my body knows whats going on yet. I also have headache that I'm pretty sure is from carb withdrawls!
I'm pretty stoked to start walking tomorrow! Exercise!
3500 calories to a pound it works both ways. If you very hungry your calories might be too low. 20% below your maintenance calories is about as low as you want to go unless you are cycling your calories. Getting alot of your carbs from fibrous veggies is helpful. Dont go too low on the carbs though not really a need to go below 100 grams per day because your brain uses that up
Are you getting hungry during the fast or also during your eating window? During your fast if you are a coffee drinker a cup of coffee helps alot of people to take the edge off of the hunger. jendiet is right about the water weight from the vacation when your body stores carbs in your muscles and liver it needs water to store the carbs if memory serves 3 grams of water for every gram of carbs and some times the body does some other weird stuff with holding water a lot of people find there weight loss stops for a week or more and then several pound disappear over night.
I have had times that after a refeed my body has let go of water and I wake up 6 lbs lighter than I went to bed.
Stick in there and make adjustments to find what works for you.
20 % of your current calorie requirements. cycling calories just means when you have some days when you eat more to keep your metabolism from crashing. I am just talking for keeping a diet sustainable for the long term.
Hmm, didn't realize that this was a "diet" until today. I have actually been doing this for the past 9 months or so. Monday-Thursday I eat dinner only between 8-10pm. Friday I sometimes go to lunch with coworkers and I eat what I want Saturday and Sunday. My problem is drinking, I've been consuming too much lately. I have cut back and cut it out completely for various reasons, but once I did the weight fell off doing IF.
There is definitely something to this, although I have not read the book. I don't even get hungry during the day anymore and my appetite is NOT ravenous at night. I have a good size healthy dinner and I'm full. What has helped me a lot, is that I've lost my sweet tooth in the last few years, which helps a lot.
The reason I started doing this is because I've never had an appetite for breakfast and if I ate lunch, I would be half asleep all afternoon at work. So I stopped eating lunch also and stopped being hungry during the day.
I haven't been exercising much, but getting back to that now. This will change my eating pattern as I exercise after work and sometimes struggle if I don't eat all day.
Glad I found this. Good luck to us all.
Last edited by katestar24; 08-15-2011 at 10:48 PM.
congrats FutureFitMom on your loss! 8.6lbs is AMAZING!
it was my friend's birthday so we went out and had junk food sat on the beach... Paying for it this morning though because I feel ROUGH. So I just had some fruit (10am) and now I'm gonna do a 24h fast today to make up for the terrible-ness of that decision and will be back on my usual 6-7h window tomorrow 
