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?

They found that, while the two sessions did not differ in the amount of food eaten or the amount of physical activity of the participants, the daily timing of nutrient availability coupled with the body’s increased metabolism during sleep (thanks to the body’s circadian rhythms) flipped a switch on fat burning: In each instance, late-evening snacking delayed the body’s ability to target fat stores for energy and instead caused the body to target the readily accessible carbohydrates newly introduced into the body.
“The late-evening snack session resulted in less lipids oxidized than in the breakfast session,” said Kelly. “This confirms that the timing of meals during the daytime and nighttime cycle affects how ingested food is used versus stored, and that any food ingested prior to bedtime will delay the burning of fat during sleep.”
The study has important implications for eating habits, providing evidence contrary to a recent trend of skipping breakfast and suggesting instead a daily fast from supper to breakfast to help optimize weight management.

^^ this

I try to stop eating around 4pm. Sometimes it will be 6pm depending on the day. If I haven't eaten by 6pm then I'll forego any meal until breakfast.
It's important not to snack or drink anything but water during fast periods. I'll drink water fused with celtic sea salt, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice

I’m only 3 weeks into it. 8pm til noon. Sometimes this varies depending what we have going on in the evenings. Could be 6.30/7pm. I don’t have anything only black coffee in the morning. I find I’m eating less during the day, my appetite has changed I think. I’m not eating sweets or biscuits either. Not sure I’m seeing results yet but it’s early days. How long before I see a change do you think?

For me it was about a month. I stepped onto some scales and was pleasantly surprised.

I fast 8pm til 1/2pm 3 days a week and sometimes do a longer one, 24 or 36 hours. Works well for me, been doing it on and off for several years.

I've done a fair bit of reading on it/podcasts etc and some say that the key to it appears to be the intermittent part, so not doing it everyday and constantly changing it up so that your body doesn't 'get used to it'.

And total dirty faster over here! Milk or coconut oil in coffee ☕️ has never affected my results whilst IFing.

Following with interest as I'm 5 days in and 2lbs down. Trying the Body Fast app with a fat burner programme.

Ahh interesting

So have some days off then x

Thanks for the replies.
So, mixed results then (although baby positives.) Which I guess just goes to show everyone is different.

The other thing I’ve noticed is how mentally alert I am when I’ve not eaten in the mornings and I delay eating until 1.30 if I’ve lots of work to get through. But, oh my gosh, the post lunch energy crash is immense!

Does your post-fast lunch include enough protein? And perhaps eat a bit earlier than 1.30 pm? I usually eat around 11, although I'm quite often not all that hungry....... until I start eating!

My go-to brunch proteins are:

• 2 eggs (usually an omelet, though sometimes boiled and eaten with a salad)
• Left-over chicken or salmon or tuna from last night's dinner (I always make extra)
• A can of tuna with salad in a lemony mayonnaise dressing)
• A cup of lentils in a Greek yoghurt dressing (especially nice if you add mint add a generous squeeze of lemon)
• A quinoa salad with roasted vegetables (eg peppers and tomatoes - again leftovers) in a tahini, parsley and lemon dressing)

@HarrietTheSpyglass but if you’re still eating breakfast lunch and dinner there’s not really a fast is there?

Yes there is, because the fast is about the period of time when you don't eat, it's not about how much or often you eat within your non-fasting window. However, I doubt it's as effective if you don't skip breakfast.

The other thing I’ve noticed is how mentally alert I am when I’ve not eaten in the mornings and I delay eating until 1.30 if I’ve lots of work to get through. But, oh my gosh, the post lunch energy crash is immense!

Interesting. I don't get a post-lunch energy crash. In fact, I'm finding I have less of an afternoon crash than before I started IF. I used to have a slump at about 3:30-4:30 (even though I'm a teacher and assumed it was an 'end of the teaching day' slump!).

I eat 7am to 6pm and struggle to maintain a low weight on around 2000 calories. I am not sure if it is the 13 hour fasting which helps or the content of the diet. I cut out upf and sugar.

The success of IF depends on a calorie deficit so yes, it does depend on what and how much you eat in your non-fasting window. I’m surprised to see dinner at 6pm and breakfast at 9am described as “fasting”, that’s a fairly normal time frame for eating for a a lot of people who don’t like breakfast first thing.

I’m surprised to see dinner at 6pm and breakfast at 9am described as “fasting”, that’s a fairly normal time frame for eating for a a lot of people

Anything over 12 hours is great and considered a 'fast'.

Snacking till bedtime and coffee& milk and/or breakfast at 7am would be considered not fasting very long.

How depressing that not spending your evening snacking is now called “fasting”, it used to be normal!

How depressing that not spending your evening snacking is now called “fasting”, it used to be normal!

Hmmm. I wonder where the word 'breakfast' comes from.

Anyway, 16 hours is the standard IF fast time. That's a bit more than just not snacking in the evening. I've never been an evening snacker, but I normally wpuld have eaten breakfast at 7, so I'm now going 4 hours longer without eating. Is that enough for you to call it a fast?

When the word “breakfast” first emerged in the Middle Ages there were only 2 meals a day and it was eaten after Mass, so quite late.

Yep -I’ll take 16 hours for a fast, 12 I’m not so sure!

I'm just coming up to the end of my second month doing IF. First month lost 10lbs so was brilliant, this month not an ounce! But I have to say I do have more energy (most of the time) and I feel better in my body so definitely have the motivation to continue and hope this is just a wobble

@MaGueule

I read somewhere that it's best to break your fast with something small then wait a little before a full meal. This should prevent the post prandial slump.

I tend to eat a small chia pudding - chia, kefir, fruit at 10:30/11 then my lunch at about 2pm

Then dinner at 6ish.

Lunch is my biggest meal and dinner contains something with a high glycaemic index which keeps me going until bedtime.

goingdownfighting That’s interesting. I did that unintentionally today as I had half a banana muffin and an apple before doing a long drive home. I did feel better.

PanimaMozart I did wonder if carbs were the problem, but I feel pretty dopey on a chicken salad or omlette too. I think it’s just the ‘rush’. And I often get a huge sugar craving after lunch too, although I’ve learned to ignore that. I’ve never done very well when I completely cut carbs but don’t really eat much in the way of processed carbs anyway, and definitely need fewer carbs nowadays. I feel much better with lentils and grains, dark rye bread or sourdough crackers…..She says before passing three croissant fuelled days in Paris.

Dr Satchin Panda is very interesting on intermittent fasting and also on the benefits of timing it to match your body's natural circadian rhythm
open.spotify.com/episode/5YEfEhHllXaFxiEO6WZxMq?si=yw1e6YZISsGsP2j-IVbSFg

What I have found to be super effective is to do my exercise in my fasting period. I do 19/5 generally, skipping breakfast and time my workouts for the morning. The weight loss has exceeded all my expectations.

My DH lost about 2 stone doing this!

What time do you go to bed?