16:8 diet

[Mummytron]

Anyone doing it and can give tips please? I know it's where you only eat in an 8 hour window but wondered if there's anything else I should know?

[TheOriginalChatelaine]

I've been following a 18:6 intermittent fast for the lst two weeks. The background is this; I lost a stone in 6 weeks, from mid Feb to end of March by just calorie counting. I've lost more since then, 11stone to 9 stone 4 with half a stone to go. 1.52 m tall, age 54. That was with no exercise until mid March as I had a cold and cough. To vary things I am now including the 18:6. This is working for me:
Low carb, so no sugar therefore no processed foods. No alcohol. The benefits of that are amazing, I think I've given up for good and don't miss it. Wine was responsible for the weight I was carrying around my middle and was the last area to shift. I eat: Jacket potato maybe once a week. No rice or pasta except occasional risotto made with lots of mushrooms and chicken. Calorie counting using a free app Myplate. I began by working out my daily requirement for my weight goal and I have stuck to that with no exceptions. No treat days ad I don't feel deprived. What I do eat is: fish, shell fish, meat but rarely lamb. Pork loin chops are the highest in protein. Lots of non starchy vegetables, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, salad stuff. Lots of seasonal asparagus at the moment, pan fried or steamed, served with poached or scrambled eggs and good ham. I seem to have gone off cheese but some would be okay. Cottage cheese is great, high in protein, Lidl do a good one. I make a chicken ceasar salad using a whole poached then sliced chicken breast & one rasher of back bacon; tossed with shredded romaine lettuce and a home made dressing using a recipe I googled which includes mayo (Helmans full fat, parmesan, djion mustard, anchovie sauce) I use butter and rapeseed oil, occasionally Olive oil. To make a mayo dressing go further with fewer cals I add greek yoghurt. Limited fruit, pears are great for fibre. Stir fries. Grains & pulses if exercising. This is just to illustrate that you can eat really well and enjoy some lovely tasty meals. Two weeks ago I began intermittent fasting and what suits me is 18:6. In the morning I have as much black coffee, herbal tea as I like. Lunch at 1pm ish & dinner about 6 or 7 pm. Nothing but herbal tea or water after that. I find if I eat breakfast I feel hungry all day and would rather save my meals for later in the day. Anyway, sorry this is so long!

[Sonnet]

So pleased to see this thread as I have been reading up about this and want to start.
I am almost 50 and need to loose 1.5 stone.

I too am hungry and pick all morning if i eat breakfast. I stumbled across this diet as I think I am pre-diabetic too. I am actually seeing it as a way of life though not a diet.

I have weight round my middle too.

I just feel if i don't so anything now i never will and will just get fatter

Are there any threads out here i can join ?

[CryHavoc]

I started this yesterday, and came on here looking for a thread or intending to start my own.

Shall we run a support thread? I finished chicken and salad just before 8 last night, so am now planning my midday lunch.

[Evamagone2015]

hi!
I have been following 8:16 for some time... usually I try to follow it during holidays/ weekends.. as I must cook breakfast for kids and packing their lunch boxes during school times and I have lost 3 stones within 2y just by doing it part time... I usually eat 11am-7pm.
and I eat HIGH CARB LOW FAT lifestyle... so does my children.
We eat unlimited potatoes, rice, beans , grains etc.... all cooked without oil.... with some side veggies just for nutrition...
We don't eat meat so we couldt do low carb as I would make my children ill without carbs and no meat :)
you can check in instragram hashtag HCLF :)
My coworkers are eating meat but they still following my lifestyle and meat just as treat outside the family occasions and also loosing weight,....
Check out in Youtube Dr McDougall :)

[MortifiedinAsda]

I started this today - 1 o clock till 7 - here's hoping it works!

[bellalurgy]

I do this but with LCHF - seems to be working. I need to lose loads of weight but I'm post menopausal and post cancer treatment so want the health benefits mostly. Works for me. I'm sure it won't work for everyone, no single diet does, but worth a go if you're struggling with other regimes.

[Doobius]

Just came on to see if there was a 16:8 thread - so glad I found it!

I started this on last Monday and I'm finding it really good so far.

I'm eating at 12pm and between 7-8pm each day - pretty healthy stuff but not limiting anything particularly and allowing myself a couple of 'treats' and wine at weekends.

Doesn't feel like a diet at all and I've realised that, for me at least, this is because I am not obsessing about food and what I can/cant eat at all. I also have an excuse to skip breakfast now - a meal I have always struggled with as I'm just not hungry.

8 days in I feel like I have more energy, am sleeping better and have lost 7 lbs . Another interesting side effect is that I haven't been having my 3-4pm sugar cravings at all...no idea why?!

Its basically just eating less, isn't it? Not rocket science at all. But its finding out that these timings for eating work for me that's a revelation.

Food wise, today I just had a big green salad with roasted veg and grilled halloumi. I'm having teriyaki salmon with rice and stir-fried greens to tonight, plus some Greek yoghurt & berries.

Be interested to hear how you all get on!

[TolpuddleFarterOATB]

I've just started the 16:8 as well! Been doing it since last week.

I'm eating between 12 noon and 8pm. I'm finding I'm less hungry mid-morning than when I was eating breakfast. Also have a lot more energy.

Only showing a couple of pounds loss on the scales, but think I look like I've lost more (or maybe less bloating), but I feel so much better so I'm keeping going!

(Wrt what I eat, I'm trying to stay healthy, and I'm not gorging myself in the 8 hour window. I'm also restricting alcohol to one day a week)

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

HI all, have started calorie counting again and realised I naturally slot in to an 18:6 pattern. I'm almost never hungry in the mornings (even when cooking for family it doesn't tempt me) so it works for me to eat between the hours of 12 and 6 (although sometimes it's more of a 17:7 pattern depending on when we eat our evening meal). I was getting in to a habit of scoffing a lot of chocolate in the evenings and I've cut that out entirely - sugar seems to be the source of my skin looking worse, and me generally feeling worse). Will occasionally have a small chocolate bar as a treat but otherwise refined sugars are falling by the wayside. My plan is basically just to stay within my calorie limit, up my protein and veg intake, lower my carb intake, and drink plenty of water. I want to lose 1 and a half stone in total so got to get cracking! Other 18:6ers good luck!

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

Oops sorry meant 16:8!

[iknowimcoming]

Hi I started 16:8 and LCHF on Monday and so far I'm really surprised at how NOT hungry I've been! Also I feel really calm about food/eating but not sure if that's psychological I am normally a huge picker and cannot resist cake/biscuits/crisps/general crap but I've been fine so far, I was sat next to a plate of cookies yesterday for a couple of hours and was not bothered at all, odd! I would like to lose around 2 stone as I am a classic apple shape and worry about the effects on my health as I'm 46, also have two important weddings in the summer and would like to look half decent

[theresamustgo]

I started this on Tuesday. I had been trying to lose weight through walking and smaller portions for a couple of years but nothing shifted. So, kickstart metabolism is my idea. Have found it fine so far. Bit difficult not eating breakfast with DC and DH, not on eating grounds, just because I don't want them to get difficult relationships to food. I like to appear to be someone who has a non problematic relationship. Anyhow, I cradle a matcha tea and it seems to be ok. We do tend to eat very late in our house so that is also a little difficult, each day is different. I work late too sometimes, and they wait for me to be in, circa 9, before eating. So, I am being flexible...sometimes doing 12-8, sometimes 1-9. I read that one can always just leave 16 hours after the last bit of eating, whenever that is. Am hoping to lose 1 to 2 stone. I don't have a scales though, so don't know what I weigh now, think about 11.5. Just want to get rid of my big spare tyre and also to feel more energetic. Glad there is a thread and hope we can check in on each other now and again.

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

Weirdly I feel less hungry doing this diet than I did when I was eating all hours of the day? Don't know how that's possible but I have more energy and I'm not craving carbs or sugar like I normally do.

[iknowimcoming]

Show me - me too! I'm finding it a bit unnerving actually, I'm almost waiting for the catch somehow if that makes sense?

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

Exactly!!

I feel like the more I eat, the more I need to eat, if you see what I mean? Maybe eating loads stretches my stomach and then it take more to fill me up? So maybe when I eat less, my stomach is smaller and I don't need as much food to feel satisfied. Don't know if there is any scientific basis in that at all but there we go.

[theresamustgo]

I agree. This is really easy. I do wonder if it will work. How long before any visible or tangible results do you all think?

[iknowimcoming]

Weighed myself this morning and I appear to have lost 5 pounds since Monday seems bizarre (not that I'm complaining)

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

Wow, that's amazing! Are you calorie counting as well as doing 16:8?

[iknowimcoming]

No not calorie counting - I try and use mfp but I really cba most of the time . So we had takeaway curry last night, I had chicken tikka masala (assuming made with oil and cream so ok?) no rice, also had sag bhaji (spinach and onions fried so again presumably ok) and then I did have a piece of nan bread the size of my palm (only bread since Monday) whilst I'm aware this isn't exactly the healthiest meal - is it ok do you think? Still struggling to get my head around it all really

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

I think that meal is absolutely fine! I don't trust diets where you can't eat things you enjoy (obviously it's all got to be done in moderation but life goes on and we all need to be able to have takeaways every once in a while/meals out etc).

From what I've read 16:8 works because for 16 or so hours of the day your body is burning fat rather than using calories for energy? That's my understanding of it. I think weight loss is accelerated by calorie counting but I don't think it's actively hindered by eating something like a curry every now and then because you're still doing the fasting.

I'm calorie counting at the moment as well as 16:8, mainly to kickstart things. I always find I have to really calorie count at first to get in to the right headspace. I'm currently tucking in to a big bowl of porridge with raspberries, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, flax seeds, mixed nuts and topped with a bit of almond milk. Really yummy and filling. I'll probably have a small amount of feta cheese for a snack around 3pm, then for dinner at 6 I'll have something like toasted ciabatta with avocado, tomatoes, some lean protein like eggs or chicken and a bit more feta. Then a small treat like a hot chocolate made with semi-skimmed milk and that's it. It's really keeping me full!

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

Exercise: 30 min aerobic video (from YouTube - haha) plus at least 30 min walk pushing a pushchair.

I rarely do any aerobics and oh my god my sides are so bloody sore. I feel so out of shape but I suppose that means I've got to keep going. I find exercise so much harder than dieting but I want to actually try to get fit rather than just slim.

[ElspethFlashman]

This sounds right up my alley tbh.

Any other rules except only eating within 8 hrs?

What's the story with drinks?

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

Also I feel really calm about food/eating but not sure if that's psychological

This resonates so much with me. I can feel quite panicky about food, yet this diet is helping me feel more calm about it. I feel relieved that I'm not persistently hungry like I felt before. I hate that feeling, when you're just hungry all the time and have to pick and pick at food. It's such a perpetual cycle and I hated it. And hated the results which was gaining weight at a really quick rate. I feel like I've gained a bit more control back and I'm feeling calm and happier. I've never liked breakfast much, but always felt pressured to eat it by people saying it's the most important meal of the day. So I sort of forced myself to eat it and it ended up making me want to eat more and more all day. I feel like intermittent fasting is now "acceptable" and doesn't have this weird stigma attached to it.

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

Elspeth within your 8 hour window you can have whatever you like to drink.

Outside the 8 hour window, I believe you can only have water, zero cal drinks and black tea/coffee. You want your 16 hours to be pretty much calorie-free so your body can act as a fat-burner during that time. However, as I'm also calorie-restricting (around 1200 cals per day), I allow myself a couple of teas in the morning with a splash of semi-skimmed in. If I wasn't calorie counting as much I'd probably skip this and just have water.

[ElspethFlashman]

That would suit me fine tbh. We have a water filter jug and I drink loads of it. I wouldn't mind a bit as long as I could have a cuppa during the mid-afternoon slump.

And we eat dinner at 5 cos of the kids and anything after that is just junk - I never need supper or anything.

I could do 9.30 - 5.30 easily actually.

I've tried SW and WW but get so frustrated and unhappy. So.much emphasis on skinny snacking. I don't need to snack - I don't even need to eat all day long - I just want to be able to eat without stress when I do eat a meal!