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Original poster

Any advice on fasting?

42 replies

lovemymonkeys2 · 09/08/2023 15:07

I've just started intermittent fasting this week. I'm doing 16:8 and my eating window is between 11am and 7pm. I was a bit hasty to jump in to it and didn't really read much about it first. I am right in thinking I should eat 1500 calories in my eating window, but try to make it as healthy food as possible? Or should I be eating less calories than that?

I've also started exercising everyday and have stopped drinking so I'm hoping I should see some good weight loss if I stick to it.

OP posts:
quirkychick · 09/08/2023 15:12

Michael Mosley and Jason Fung have loads of info on fasting. For female specific, Mindy Pelz is great. The latter 2 have lots of YouTube videos. Then you can tailor it to what suits you. 16:8 is a really good place to start, as is eating real, whole food.

Tisfortired · 09/08/2023 21:33

Hi @lovemymonkeys2 I have been doing exactly that for 5 days now. 1500 cals in a 10-6 eating window. Lost a couple of pounds already but I am also miserable and starving so not sure the pay off is worth it 🤣

Im sure I just need to get used to it. I have been eating around 10, then mid afternoon snack then a normal ish dinner. Today has looked like;

10am - 2 slices of wholemeal toast with boiled eggs and 2 satsumas

1pm - minestrone cup a soup with 3 ryvita things spread liberally with full fat cream cheese and topped with cucumber

3pm - apple with tbsp of peanut butter

dinner - Cajun ‘dirty’ rice packed with veg and lots of salad

I have also been making an effort to drink more water. It’s not too bad, I just really miss biscuits and chocolate.

Franticbutterfly · 09/08/2023 21:37

I've lost 2.5 since mid April fasting (about 18 to 24 hours a day) so I know it works. The crap bit is that by late afternoon I always feel like I'm flagging a bit.

I would recommend listening to your body. For me it gets hard around TOTM, and people like Mindy Pelz recommend really relaxing it then.

The bad side of it is that I've developed a bit of a complex around food. Even small amounts cause real guilt feelings. I'm not sure what a "normal" amount of food is now.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Weight management
Franticbutterfly · 09/08/2023 21:38

2.5 stone that should say.

m0ssch0ps · 09/08/2023 21:41

Following with interest as put on peri menipausal weight

FiftynFooked · 09/08/2023 22:04

I've dabbled in the past but I've recently read Fast Like a Girl and am
working around my hormones. I'm definitely finding it easier by cutting out processed carbs so I'm only eating carbs that come from nature. I'm convinced that sugar and carbs are like Kryptonite for me!!

staycaysandvacays · 09/08/2023 22:25

I've been doing it for about a month now and I've lost 6 lbs. I have between 1100-1300 calories. I now don't really get that hungry tbh. I am trying really hard not to develop complexes around food.

I think intermittent fasting is really great, honestly

Original poster
lovemymonkeys2 · 10/08/2023 08:55

Good to hear everyone else's experiences with it. I'm on day 4 now and so far haven't found it too bad. I have found having a black coffee and some water in the morning helps me go without food until 11. Then I've been having something like a chicken and salad whole meal wrap. I then have a banana or apple at about 3, go to the gym at about 5 and then have dinner at 6.30. Normally something like fish, salad and sweet potatoes. Then I finish eating at 7. I need to get some proper food scales as it's hard estimating the food but I think I've been doing around 1400 calories a day. I've also been drinking about 2.5l of water which has helped. I'm not weighing until Sunday as I only want to weigh once a week.

OP posts:
violetcuriosity · 10/08/2023 09:04

I'm 5 months pp and have still got 21lbs to lose, I started IF in the middle of June and am 9lbs down, roughly a lb a week. Some weeks I have plateaued and always gain on a Monday but see the loss on to a Thursday or Friday. Things I've found-

  • if you put a dash of milk in your morning tea you feel hungrier, get used to drinking it black .
  • cheap instant coffee is much more palatable than expensive.
  • eating dinner before 5/5:30 allows me a much longer fasting window
  • I can almost always fast from 5pm-1pm now but having a black tea first thing and a black coffee around 10am and getting most of my water intake during the morning.
  • to speed things up you can do a 24 hour fast once a week or fortnight and that really makes a huge difference, I find that by having dinner at 4:30pm it's manageable to go until 4sh the next day.
  • if things slow down up your movement for a couple of days as well as your water intake.
  • if you don't see a loss try eating good sized portions of chicken and a good salad (feta/mozzarella/avocado involved) and that seems to kickstart it again!

Good luck x

Original poster
lovemymonkeys2 · 10/08/2023 09:48

@violetcuriosity that's really good advice thank you!
I might try and keep this thread going as a motivation if anybody wants to join, keep tracking etc!

OP posts:
MottledPie · 10/08/2023 09:57

Franticbutterfly · 09/08/2023 21:38

2.5 stone that should say.

Wow you have lost almost 16kg? I thought you meant 2.5kg. That is incredible. Super well done!! Can I ask apart from intermittent fasting have you changed anything else? Exercise, type of food, calories consumption?

Franticbutterfly · 10/08/2023 10:22

@MottledPie I've been doing a little more exercise but not loads and loads. I've always been reasonably active and will walk over driving, walk my dog etc. I also do some weights, peloton and treadmill (I'm about to do 30-40 mins weights, 20 mins cycle and as long as I can be bothered to do at an incline on the treadmill).

The main thing I do is go long periods where I take in zero kcals. So if I eat my dinner at 8, I may not eat again until 4pm the next day. Occasionally I don't eat until I have my dinner the next day so could be 24 hours or more. I combine this with eating low carb so mostly I have a protein with salad (I really fill my plate with the salad so I don't feel hungry), yoghurt and berries.

Franticbutterfly · 10/08/2023 10:24

I've lost about 18kg since 12th April.

BadgerFace · 10/08/2023 10:34

I really need to get back to IF so joining to be inspired, some of you have had amazing results! I’ve got a stone to lose (at least but starting with what the last year has put on…) but finding it hard with being off from work a lot with the children over July and August. It is definitely easier when I am working in the office…

Contemplating going back to a meal delivery plan which made me very strict with myself in May over what I ate which helped keep to IF.

Original poster
lovemymonkeys2 · 10/08/2023 11:10

@Franticbutterfly that's amazing results, well done!
I may have spoken too soon about not finding it too difficult. Today is the first day I'm starting to have sugar cravings. Just broken my fast and had my first meal of the day and I'm going to try and drink lots of water to drown out the cravings. Fingers crossed I can keep the motivation for today!

OP posts:
Franticbutterfly · 10/08/2023 11:12

@lovemymonkeys2 I had a bad weekend cos of TOTM so know the feeling. Try black coffee and water with some lemon in. I've also been known to put a sprinkle of sea salt in my water.

weirdoboelady · 10/08/2023 11:15

I do the 5:2 and have done for years. I'd be wonderfully slim if it weren't for being such a pig on the non-fast days! Anyway, the single piece of advice that helps me not eat anything until 8pm relates to diversionary tactics....

'No one is hungry in the first 10 seconds of a parachute jump'

Original poster
lovemymonkeys2 · 10/08/2023 11:16

@Franticbutterfly thanks, I've just eaten a pretty filling meal so I'm hoping that will keep the cravings at bay. I'll have a black coffee in a bit too. I really want to try and make at least my first week with no slip ups otherwise I know what I'm like and I'll give up!

OP posts:
quirkychick · 10/08/2023 17:17

@FiftynFooked I'm also reading Fast Like a Girl atm. I used to do 5:2 fasting with about 400cals on those days (chose busy days when I was rushing around with 2 young dcs), then I hit perimenopause and I just couldn't fast so hard and switched to 16:8. I've been extending my fasts a bit now, as I'm menopausal and it's got easier. I would go gently and if you feel really shaky, eat. Water helps, as does something with healthy fats to extend your fast.

RunAwayNow · 10/08/2023 17:25

I find 16:8 great for weight loss. The only downside is that it gives me incredible constipation, no matter what I eat, so reluctantly I've had to stop it and focus on eating fewer calories/more healthy food through the day.

loveyouradvice · 10/08/2023 17:35

Constipation.... have u tried 2 tbsp linseed and 1 tbsp oat bran?? Just in/with food or whatever... linseed is what hospital consultant recommended for those who want to use natural approaches... works for me .. oh, and lots of water

i lost 30lbs in 24 weeks with IF using Gin Stephens Delay Dont Deny - started 16:8 and relatively low carb low cal but wasn't enough for me (yo-yo dieter) but once I did 19:5 regularly with a fast 24 hours most weeks, it worked.

Definitely recommend low carb low sugar both to stop cravings and stop weight loss

For me it was brilliant - after 2/3 weeks of my body adapting, I was very seldom hungry and actually felt full and satisfied lots as you're eating a fair amount in a short window... I also liked being able to have a little of what I fancied when I did alongside hte healthy stuff (but yes, weightless slowed when I did)

I now see IF as a way of life - maintaining weight initially I was 16:8 and still fairly low carb/lowish calorie and then gradually built up with one or two days eating in a 12 hour window each week, and the occasional fast day...

weirdoboelady · 10/08/2023 17:38

Ooo, and another bit of advice, as you have mentioned a black coffee.

I do remember going through 2 distinct stages in my fasting history. Stage 1 was when I realised that a cup of tea (with the absolute minimum milk I could bear) filled me up quite nicely and helped get through the next couple of hours. Stage 2 was when I got more used to fasting and found that a glass of water helped almost as much. Disclosure - I don't drink enough and often forget to drink for hours at a time.

floribunda18 · 10/08/2023 17:39

For it to work it has to be a way of life and not a short term diet.

I think overall it's what you eat and how much that is the most important thing, but that fasting can have other benefits.

Franticbutterfly · 10/08/2023 17:53

@floribunda18 I definitely think this is the case. No processed food and lots of veg.

NetZeroZealot · 10/08/2023 17:56

I thought the point of IF was that you could eat what you want in the eating window (within reason). Not restrict calories.