16:8

[hidinginthenightgarden]

Hi ladies,
I have seen lots of you mention doing the 16:8 fasting.
Is this fasting for 16 hours? I always have the best results by not eating before 10am but then I don't limit too much in the evening which I could do.
DD gets up at 5am at the moment which is my worry as by 10am I have been up for 5 hours and am starving! Can I drink anything other than water to help with the hunger?

[mrssmith79]

I do 16:8 (11am-7pm) and manage on coffee / herbal tea / water from getting up at 6. Takes a week or so to get used to but I can honestly say I don't even think about it now.
Don't know if it's 'cheating' but I always have milk in my first cuppa of the day to make it feel a bit more substantial.

[hidinginthenightgarden]

Thanks mrssmith. I don't drink tea and coffee which means my options for a drink in the morning are very limited. I could drink fruit teas but I am not a huge fan really.

[mrssmith79]

I'm not a massive fan either but Twinings (I think) do a Cherry Bakewell flavour which is quite pleasant. It's a LOT of trial and error I've found when it comes to flavoured tea...i dread to think how many boxes I've bought and given away as the taste is rotten

[hidinginthenightgarden]

Yes I have tried a few that taste like flowers!
I may ease myself in gently starting with 14/10 and increasing the fasting in a week or two.

[ilovecherries]

I do 16:8, along with LCHF. My fasting period is 9pm - 1pm (suits us to eat late). I have a mug of marigold bullion in the morning, and apart from water, that's all I need now. I also exercise first thing most days, and I'm fine doing it on an empty stomach.

[Wishimaywishimight]

I'm up at 6am and don't eat until 12.30 or so. I have green tea as soon as I get to work around 8.30 then peppermint tea around 10.30 and I don't start getting hungry until around 12. The teas were hard to get used to but I kept going and now I prefer them to regular tea or coffee, I find anything with milk is just too heavy.

Good luck with 16:8, I find it great and I really really enjoy my lunch when I finally have it!

[FlightyMare]

I do 'sort of' 16:8, in that I often skip breakfast and make lunch my first meal of the day, resulting in at least 16 hours without food. I started doing it because on the days I exercise I do a morning exercise class and struggle to do it with a full stomach. I'm trying to get more structured with my eating again though and so am thinking about adding breakfast back in, perhaps..??

[OliviaD68]

@FlightyMare

That would be a shame. When you work out fasted:

1. you tend to burn body fat for energy esp if you are working aerobically vs anaerobically.
   
   
2. growth hormone is present. Means you build muscle and can recover faster. As soon as you eat growth hormone disappears and you've ruined the benefit
   
   
3. same comment as 2 but with testosterone. Offsets some of the effects of estrogen.
   
   Think again?

[orenisthenewblack]

I've started today too. 12.30 a 8.30. Hoping this is something I can stick to though I've tried before.

[OliviaD68]

@orenisthenewblack

Not sure if you have experienced this but it may be easier to stick to a 16:8 routine if you also do LCHF. Reason for this is getting hungry is a problem while fasting and LCHF eliminates this because you metabolise fat for energy as you fast. The alternative is relying on glucose and you run out of energy which make you hungry ...

[witchofzog]

I do 9pm until 1pm too. I wonder about medication. I take propanolol but I have been unwell this week and also took Nurofen so I assume that would cancel.the effects as they had a sugar coating.

What is lchf?

[OliviaD68]

@witchofzog

Low Carb High Fat. Proportions of macro nutrients which switch your body over from burning glucose as a main fuel to fat (the only two choices the body has for fuel).

Glucose as a main fuel spikes blood sugar, which causes insulin secretion, which stores excess energy as fat. Insulin ALSO blocks glucagon which is the hormonal signal your liver needs to metabolise fat for energy.

This is often why fat people are hungry: they have too high blood insulin levels, have stored fat they didn't need when they ate and can't access fat for energy.

[witchofzog]

Ah that makes a lot of sense Olivia. Thank you.

I feel some research coming on 😊

[orenisthenewblack]

Low carb = no potatoes 😥

[Singingtherapy]

Hi, is anyone still going strong with this plan? I've got a few stone to lose which I'm planning on doing slowly. But I need a kick start so I'm aiming to lose a stone in 8 weeks with 16:8. The plan is 2 meals a day, 600 calories each. That's doable isn't it?

[OliviaD68]

@Singingtherapy

V difficult if you're not burning fat for fuel. If you're on a high carb diet you'll be hungry. Go LCHF so you burn body fat for energy and have a constant source.

[Singingtherapy]

Know what you mean. I'm veggie though so high fat gets a bit boring. Will use lots of pulses and nuts and stuff which is also good for hunger.