To ask if anyone has done / is doing intermittent fasting? (16:8 etc)

[smallsausagedog]

Evening all. I need to sort myself out diet-wise but have absolutely no willpower Blatantly posting here for traffic, sorry!

I've recently started on a medication that just happens to be an appetite suppressant. This means I'm not too bothered about eating in the daytime. This makes he think that IF could work for me. If my window for eating is between 2-10 or 4-midnight, it wouldn't impact too much on participation in family meals etc.

Can anyone give me some insight on the positives / negatives? Thanks all!

@EssentialHummus it’s funny, i hold off until midday mainly so I can have tea with my children then snacks after they go to bed.

However its interesting; my lust for crisps is evaporating... it’s still there but it’s for a handful, not a bag.

A hot chocolate now does me in place of where a 150g bar used to be. It’s weird and it’s snuck up on me.

I wonder if it’s just the case that as my blood sugar isn’t climbing until way late in the day that my sugar lust peak occurs when I’m sleeping?

I dunno [waffling now]

4 days a week I do OMAD, no calories all day and a substantial meal in the evening. The other 3 days I have 3 normal meals. I lost 3 stone of baby weight and love it. Once you get used to fasting it isn't hard at all and I love not having to count calories and how simple it is. I can either have nothing or anything I want, no grey area.

I experienced the same doing 5:2 paul - at some point I noticed the snack drawer overflowing because I was still (on autopilot) buying all the same stuff in the same quantities, but not eating near as much.

I sucked at 5:2 when I tried it; I was a raving bitch.

I mainly aim to do 18:6 but 16:8 is shown to support health benefits. I think the difference from people that skip breakfast is that when you start the fast, that's it, no snacks, no bedtime supper, no wine etc.

I've been doing 16:8 (well, more like 17:7 usually) since April. Lost around 7kg although I put 2kg back on over Christmas when I took a two week break from IF.

Find it surprisingly easy (I generally lack willpower when it comes to food). I eased myself into it by starting with just 12 hours fasting, then 14, then 16.

If you are interested, Dr Eric Berg has a 30 Day I.F. keto challenge on YouTube for free. (I’ll admit he’s VERY preachy and VERY American but you can get the diet plan for nothing.) *Disclaimer - he’s a chiropractor, not a medical doctor. I like the keto plan, but please take his “medical advice” with a grain of salt!!!

Oh my God, its amazing!! Life changing. Been doing it for a couple of years and I'll never stop. I don't see it as a diet as I don't deprive myself of anything. I spent 30 years yoyo dieting but never again! I feel like I've finally been liberated from my obsession with food and all the associated feelings of guilt. I eat what I want during the 8 hour window, no calorie counting or watching portion sizes. The weight fell off and stayed off. Best of all is the health benefits. It resolved my IBS and I just feel healthier and more energetic.

I find it much easier not to eat at all because I’m in the fasting time of day, than to try and eat sparingly
I agree with this 100%. It's the only 'diet' I've been able to stick with, as you do not have to self moderate what you eat. Simply if you are in your fasting time you don't eat anything at all! I have lost 3 stone doing this, and not much exercise since July last year. I do try to only eat sugary things at the weekend, and during the week I try (but do not always succeed) to only have one carb meal per day.

Can I ask, when fasting, can you drink coffee in the morning? I could probably skip breakfast, but I don't think I could manage without coffee.

I started 18:6 last week, found the first few days quite hard but today I suddenly realised I could eat and I hadn't thought about it all morning. I eat between 12 and 6. I have a really sweet tooth but the last couple of days I haven't wanted chocolate or cake so not sure if that is linked.

I drink quite a lot of black coffee while fasting.

I have a really sweet tooth but the last couple of days I haven't wanted chocolate or cake so not sure if that is linked

Me too. As you know the problem is that the craving for sweet things doesn't seem to be cured by eating sweet things, you just want more.

Sadly IF hasn’t taken away my cravings but they are definitely less. I think it’s because the IF stops the spikes in your blood sugar so you don’t get the lows. And because there’s less insulin your body starts to burn the stored fat.

But I don’t know if that’s right , I’m not a doctor / scientist .

Interesting that we have both noticed the same thing.

I've been doing 16:8 for about 18 months - and have gone down two dress sizes 🙂
You don't have to stick to the exact same 8 hours every day - you just have to ensure that it's been at least 16 hours since you last ate. I tend to eat between about 11 and 7, but if I'm out for a meal in the evening, I might finish eating at 9 - and then make sure that I have nothing until at least 1pm the next day.
A chunk of that 16 hours is spent sleeping, which helps, as does the fact that I never eat breakfast anyway, but this is the only lifestyle change that I've ever been able to stick to - and I feel SO much better for it..!!

Can I ask, when fasting, can you drink coffee in the morning? I could probably skip breakfast, but I don't think I could manage without coffee.

I do. There's about 20 calories in a cup of white coffee, 5 if it's black, so it won't make much difference. Obviously, if you drink several cups or prefer the really milky, creamy stuff with sugar, it's not going to help.

Thestrangestthing You can have black coffee in the morning, but if add milk you'll be breaking your fast.

Can I ask, when fasting, can you drink coffee in the morning? I could probably skip breakfast, but I don't think I could manage without coffee

You can have it if you have it without milk or sugar. I drink black tea all morning long, keeps me going. And fizzy water.

IF is also helpful for skin tightening . I have been doing Keto with IF and it's the IF that triggers autophagy which in turn has reduce my c section pouch lots

What is OMAD?

OMAD is one meal a day

yipes, no way I could do that!

I used an app to help me keep to my hours. I seem to have lost it though - any recs?

I use the app 'Zero' to track mine :)

I’m starting 16:8 this week. I’m the heaviest and unhappiest I’ve ever been; I’m about half a stone away from absolutely repulsive. Need something to change and I’m hoping this will be what works for me. Great reading everyone’s positive stories.

I've seen the 'fasting tracker' app, looks ok.

I'm starting today. I'm at least 4 stone overweight if I'm honest. I have pretty awful eating habits, way too many crisps and snacks and mayonnaise.

I think this approach will work best for me as I can't eat things I don't like, so standard dieting with low cal replacements and whatnot won't work for me. Whereas just not eating during the day and then having a normal dinner at a sensible time, say 5pm should be ok. Especially as I'm not a fan of breakfast anyway.

I found today fairly easy until I got home from work at lunchtime. Baby went for a nap and I would normally have a big snack, or treaty lunch. But I made some salted popcorn and stuck to that. Then had chilli nachoes and mayo for dinner, so that was a bit of a fail.

Tomorrow should be easier as out at training all day.