Intermittent Fasting is miserable

I don’t do it the exact proper way, my eating window is between 7:30am and 5:30pm. I have a really healthy, wholesome breakfast, lunch, snack (fruit / piece of non-UPF chocolate) and dinner. (I can’t not eat breakfast because I have an active job.)

Lunch is where I fall down because unless I have leftovers, it’s usually quite small and unsatisfying because I can’t be bothered to cook more than once a day and I’ve quit ultra processed food.

Having said that, my way of fasting works for me. I sleep better, healthy weight, good skin.

Unless you are very small or slight, doesn’t seem a lot.

It's that 'unless' ...many women are small, and calories requirements reduce as you age too. 1600 cals is the right ballpark for many of us, and that really doesn't fit well with the 'three meals a day' (plus drinks) convention.

IF obviously isn't going to suit everyone, and just having an 'eating window' but filling it with sugary/low GI crap is likely to be unhealthy and unsatisfying. It's not an either/or - eat good food (more protein, veg, fibre) but also think about when you're eating what within the day and relative to when you're active or not.

Bloody love it. Started here, on MN, on the original 5:2 thread when the Michael Mosley documentary came out in 2012. Lost a load of weight then (30+ lbs), which, unusually for me, pretty much stayed off, went back up about 7-10lbs over the years, but no more yo yo dieting Felt great, lots of energy.

I then did the Zoe IF study (about 3yrs ago)- where you had to "clean fast" - only water, black tea/coffee (I had previously had milky drinks in the "fast" period) that was a revelation, felt even better, lost a bit more weight.

Then I started the Zoe programme, had my blood sugar, fat and gut microbiome tested. Changed my diet radically, combined that with doing a basic 16:8 fast, lost more weight. I'm now 70 and weigh what I did 50yrs ago.

Fasting is easy once you get your body used to it. I fasted from 8.30pm last night to 4.30pm today - and certainly didn't feel faint or hungry. I walked the dogs, was then out and about, had the dentist, visited a relative in hospital, didn't worry about eating until I got home. My weight has now been stable for 18 months (with the usual seasonal variations of a few pounds that I don't worry about), I literally eat what I want, and I eat well. I just don't want to eat all the time and my tastes have changed.

I was never hungry in the mornings - but "most important meal of the day" and all that crap - I made myself eat breakfast, which meant being hungry again by mid morning. Now I'm rarely hungry before midday, if I am then I eat, but my usual pattern is 12-8pm for eating. I might have a nice breakfast at the weekend, but it will be a late one after the dog walk and more of a brunch. If I was out for a meal with friends I would just eat at whatever time we were out - no worries. Most of the time I do 16:8 sometimes I don't, sometimes I fast more. I'm relaxed about it.

Unless you are very small or slight, doesn’t seem a lot. My family have to eat three times a day or we’re grizzly bears. And probably 2000 calories or thereabouts. Different strokes.

I do intermittent fasting but all I do is cut calories down to 800 twice a week and eat fairly normally the rest of the week. I don't bother with time windows and always have breakfast.
My fast day yesterday was a bagel thin, cheese spread and chopped tomato for breakfast, hm vegetable soup for lunch and hm chicken tagine with a little couscous for dinner. Bedtime was hot chocolate made with skimmed milk, dark chocolate flakes and a small blob of squirty cream.
Friday's fast day menu will be hm banana pancakes with cherries and Yoghurt for breakfast, spicy tomato and pepper soup for lunch and coconut and lentil curry with rice for dinner.
I enjoy it. I am a keen cook do relish the challenge of making foods fit into my allowance.

I don’t eat breakfast
A latte at 11
Soup and a banana about 12.30
Dinner between 5-6
Light snack just before 7
Bed about midnight

Same for me. I can't face food when I've just woken up, but I would also eat a cankerous horse limb as a midnight snack.

Mine is really achievable. I don't eat before lunch or after tea/supper/dinner. I have a cup of tea with a splash of milk instead of breakfast. I didn't get hungry, sick or dizzy.

If it's a special occasion - like a meal out- I just join in.

I eat dinner early. 530 latest. Unless I'm going out. Then nothing until the following morning. It's so bad then having a late breakfast as opposed to skipping it altogether.

This is my typical IF day:

• after my 60-75 minute workout, around 10.30, I have a 2 egg omelet plus some salad or leftover vegetables; or salad with tuna or feta or boiled eggs.
• at some point in the afternoon I have an apple or some melon.
• plus a boiled egg or a bit of cheese if I'm hungry.
• dinner between 6 and 7.30 is usually fish or chicken with lots of vegetables; sometimes also a cup of lentils or quinoa.

2 or 3 times a week I may have a dessert, some chocolate or a glass (or 2) of wine. I'm never hungry and I don't feel deprived.

@Delatron im the opposite in that not eating breakfast suits me. I naturally (before IF was ever a thing) ate somewhat like this. I can’t stomach food before a certain time and am rarely hungry in the morning. Whereas in the evening I could eat the leg off a scabby horse. IF for me is following my body’s natural rhythm in a more structured way.

I don’t quite get the eating a massive dinner part (and then going to bed where you don’t burn the calories). Versus having a decent breakfast to fuel the day’s activities and then eating less in the evening.

Front loading the day makes more sense to me. Each to their own though.

It's not something I would want or need to do, and I too would feel ill if I skipped a meal. I'm very slim though and feel I need to eat regularly to function.

Having said this, I naturally do fast to a degree, just by personal preference (I would never deliberately fast). I generally have breakfast at 8am, have eaten all my lunch by 12pm and have dinner by 5pm. If I'm hungry later on I'll eat something but often I'm not so on those days I do actually pretty much have a 15 hour fast. I go to bed very early so I think that makes a difference.

In my case I don’t eat breakfast. Light lunch is maybe 400 cals. Sandwich, soup and roll. I have a normal dinner. So steak & chips, lasagna, roast. This could be 800-1000 cals. Coffee and a snack. Boom 1600 calories which is what I aim for daily.

I’ve been doing it for the last few years. I’m rarely hungry before 12m and aim to eat lunch about 1/2pm then dinner and finish for the day by 8/9pm. I’m not so regimented about it that I can’t enjoy dinner with friends and I’ve never dizzy or sick because I didn’t eat breakfast

I think the real villain in many diets is ultra-processed foods. Our bodies can cope with small amounts, but when we are grazing and/or eating on the go it’s often the snacky treats we reach for. The croissant at the train stay, the biscuit plate at work.

It can be disordered.

Yes I know, I was addressing the poster who said IF was an eating disorder. It’s not.

It’s funny how different mindsets work, isn’t it? I feel healthier if I eat a good breakfast, I feel like I’m looking after my body if I start my day with some protein, plants and healthy fats, and maybe some slow-release carbs. I feel nourished and ready for the day.

It’s just a different way of eating. I’ll have a healthy, protein packed breakfast to fuel my activity for the day. I’ll eat less for dinner and definitely won’t have a calorie loaded dessert.

I get my recommended daily calories but
just eat them in a shorter time frame than spread across the day.
My dinner tonight will be carb and fat loaded and I’ll have a calorie loaded dessert too.
IF does not mean less calories.

It works for me, I’ve never had an appetite in the morning, I need a couple of hours of activity before I feel hungry.
My stomach feels very uncomfortable and bloated if I eat throughout the day.
An eating window of 8 to 10 hrs gives my digestion a chance to recover and I enjoy my next meal much more.

It really does have massive health benefits. I have an auto immune disease. I can literally see the difference in my inflammation levels if I do intermittent fasting, because the swelling is significantly better. When I eat too much in a day, I'll wake up the next day puffy and sore all over.

My mother and grandmother didn't exist in a culture of eating 'naturally' and in accordance with the body's rhythms. They grew up in the oppressive diet culture that advised women to smoke a cigarette instead of eating or do the cabbage soup diet. There have been unhealthy and damaging restrictions placed on what and how women should eat and look for decades. How my grandmother ate, and was advised to eat, shouldn't be a template for anyone.

It’s not particularly healthy to go for a run in the morning, not eat before, then not refuel or eat anything after until 4/5pm.

You need to replenish energy stores and eat for muscles to repair/recover. It’s not something anybody in the health industry would recommend. Just because you feel ok doing it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

"I used to panic as soon as I got hungry about what I am going to eat next, how much and what it would mean for my daily calorie intake. Now I realise the hunger doesn't really become very strong and often subsides again."

@Twatalert yes me too! The awful hunger pangs energy dips headaches and calorie counting is gone. I wish I had discovered this years ago, it takes all the effort out of weight control and I have a very sedentary office job so by rights I should have to eat a very small amount but I don't, I have a small lunch and a very substantial dinner, plus tea and a chocolate bar around 9pm and that's me done till 1.30pm or 2pm next day - even on days when I'm not at work and more active in the morning it's not a problem. Granted I'm not doing running or other heavy cardio excercise so maybe would be a bit harder if I was