Has anyone found intermittent fasting really effective?

[MaGueule]

I decided I needed to lose the stone that has crept on since lockdown and thought I’d give IF a go after hearing a podcast about it. To be honest, I thought it would be hopeless for me, as for some reason I reckoned I’d be completely unable to function without three meals a day. My only previous foray into losing a bit of weight was with low carb, which was torture for me.

I fast from 8pm to noon the next day- but still have tea and coffee with a splash of milk. And a couple of days a week have something like a small bowl of yoghurt or berries for breakfast (and I’d never turn down a hotel breakfast!). I never ate much UPF but have tried to be a bit more mindful about avoiding snacks and sweet things. I’m still eating lunch and dinner as normal, drinking a bit of wine and eating meals out.

Two months later, I’m 6kg down. It seems to have worked brilliantly. I know 6kg is hardly record breaking. But I hardly ever feel hungry, have loads of energy. And my perimenopausal barrel belly has all but gone- I seem to have lost most around my middle.

I promise this isn’t some sort of ad for a weight loss programme. I just wondered about other people’s experiences of IF and if it’s worked well for others?

For me, IF has become a way of life.

It's a fact of life that it is very easy to gain weight during and after the menopause. For me, IF - together with vigorous exercise - helps to maintain my weight.

• I work out for 60-90 minutes early most mornings.
• I'm not strict - I have coffee with milk after my workout.
• Omelet and salad around 11am.
• An apple or some other fruit and/or a couple of carrots in the afternoon.
• Dinner between 6.30 and 8pm - usually protein (chicken, salmon, prawns) lots of vegetables, plus a small amount of complex carbs (brown/wild rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes etc), followed by some fruit (usually berries)

I'm not hungry and I don't have to worry about an occasional treat (ice cream, glass of wine, chocolate...). Though I stay clear of UPF.

I started 16:8 in June - for the first time. Have read about benefits for inflammatory conditions like endometriosis. And read Emma Barnett’s piece in the Times about fasting being a breakthrough for her management of endometriosis.

I felt some benefits - definitely felt a bit lighter and clothes fitting better. Then I had a few days off in the run up to my period - when I tend to get light headed, get an upset tummy and then terrible pain. Have read that fasting in the last week of your menstrual cycle is not a good idea.

So I’ve had a few days off and feel back to square one 😂 I weighed myself today and had gained! So f-ing annoying. I am so bloody bloated with endo though so I wonder if water retention is affecting weight readings.

Anyway back on it now - did 18 hours from 9pm last night til 1pm today. I am strict with it and only have black coffee, mint tea and water.

No weight loss here just from IF. I always wonder how some people manage to lose weight just by not eating for 12 hours unless they count calories too.

I do 16:8 alongside calorie counting (1500 Mon-Fri) just to maintain.

However I train 4-5 times a week at the gym a day eat a lot of protein so am not expecting to lose weight, if anything I'm putting it on. My body shape has changed though and I have more mus le than I ever thought I would at 47 so I'm happy!

I've used it successfully in the past and it's worked when I've stuck with it.

I now need to lose a stone again and have gone back to it. I try not to eat after 7pm and fast till lunch at 1pm. I can see the weight drop off my middle but it doesn't show on the scales for ages. Not sure why that is!

When fasting I always have a splash of milk in my morning coffee and it's never made a difference.

I've been doing it for about 7 weeks and lost 12lb. I eat between 10:30am and 6:30 pm

Just introduced some exercise.

So when you have dinner at 8pm, that's nine hours with just an apple and carrot stick? I'd starve:

I’ve been IF for about 6 months. I don’t eat from 8pm until 1pm. I’ve not noticed any health improvements mind, wondering if it’s because I have tea and semi skimmed milk plus a coffee with oat milk during the fast times?

I tend to eat very late if left to my own devices, then my sleep suffers as I’m too full. What do you think about me not eating anything after 5pm? I can eat when I like, no restrictions because of work etc. Then just have a good breakfast the next day?

I’ve lost a stone and a half in the past 7 months thanks to IF. Now down to 9 1/2 stone. I’ve also upped my step count to 12000 steps a day but I really haven’t found it difficult.

I did it for 6 months, lost 3.5 stone. Had my blood pressure checked and it’s gone through the roof. Don’t know if it was coincidence.

More usually I'll have dinner around 7, so it's an 8-hour window. I find that the omelet plus salad keep me satiated for several hours. Some fruit (+/- carrots, tomato or avocado) and hydration - the latter is very important - tends to keep me going till dinner.

If I'm truly hungry I might have a boiled egg or graze on some leftover chicken or salmon. (I always make enough for at least 2 meals, so there is usually some ready to eat protein in the fridge.)

However, I find daily exercise extremely important. I just don't feel like eating carbohydrate rich food if I've been working out.

I'm interested in doing this but I have to take daily medication in the morning that must be taken with food. Can the eating window be 9am to 5pm or must it be in the morning?

I meant, must the fast be in the morning?

The eating window can be whatever suits your schedule. The key elements of IF - at least as far as I see it - are prolonged fasting, mindful eating of healthy foods (as opposed to eating whatever, whenever...), and not eating at least 3 hours before bedtime.

I usually have a herbal tea when I wake up with a teaspoon of MCT oil, which keeps the hunger at bay for another couple of hours. I do a 12pm to 8pm eating window.

I recently lost 17lbs doing low carb. I'm now eating carbs again but have managed to maintain my weight loss by just eating twice a day. Breakfast/lunch between 11-12 then dinner at 6. I'm still trying to eat healthily but am thrilled I'm keeping the weight off as I've always regained it in the past after doing low carb.

I have lost 12kgs since October with the 12:8 . Am absolutely fine as long as I don’t eat any Carbs before 4pm . If I cave in I am waiting/craving carbs .

I can easily lose 1kg a week just by eating less. I eat whatever I want, but try to only eat at mealtimes (three usual meals a day). And yes, I am post menopausal!

Your window should suit your lifestyle. If you need to take meds with food in the morning then a 9 - 5 window is fine. The important point is that when you're in the fast window eat nothing and drink only water.
You will see better results if you cut out sugar and UPF

It doesn’t work for me. I naturally fast as have dinner at around 6pm and then the earliest I have breakfast is about 9am. The only thing that works is cutting out all junk food.

@HarrietTheSpyglass but if you’re still eating breakfast lunch and dinner there’s not really a fast is there? My last meal is 630pm or 7pm at the latest and the earliest I eat is 1230pm. The calories I’ve dropped from skipping breakfast have added up to considerable weight loss over the past 6 months or so.

I haven't lost weight by fasting from approx 7.30/8pm til 10/11am most days, sometimes midday at weekends, but it has totally sorted my IBS type issues!

It has been a game changer for me. I'm down a total of 31kg and kept it off.

I meant, must the fast be in the morning?

No

Recent studies have actually found that skipping breakfast is less beneficial for fat loss than skipping supper.