To encourage you to fast?

[surveythebest]

If you want to lose weight and keep it off.

I fast from 8pm to 12 pm. Usually have my first something around 1pm

I haven't actually changed what I eat. I make sure I have some nutrient rich food in me but generally my diet is a bit shit

Anyway, I've gone from a size 16 to a size 10. This happened within 3 months. It's been 9 months now and I've kept it all off! Remaining at a size 10

I don't eat breakfast, ever.

When I was in my teens, I almost skipped breakfast because I genuinely forgot to eat. The same happened early twenties but then after I had my son, I started eating breakfast!

Since that time I went from a size 10 to a size 16.

So yeah, for 9 months now, I just haven't eaten breakfast but haven't restricted myself really and still don't have a perfect diet by any means

I am remaining a size 10 and it's working. I suppose I'm an 'all or nothing' person. And I find the fast easy to stick to because I can eat 0! Sticking to 0 is easier than sticking to 3 sensible meals a day, for me

Now I just have lunch, snack a bit tbh, and then dinner, also snack a bit but not loads as find I don't want to

When I ate breakfast, I found I was hungry all the time!

So glad I did this and took the plunge. Just thought I'd share

Ok yes I’m sorry to hear that. I’m not a fan of fasting at all and it is such an individual thing.

I did say ‘may’ in response to another poster. But in general I think it’s such a complex picture for all women in terms of potential hormone disruption and metabolic disruption.

I'm neither obese/overweight nor sedentary and it works for me. It isn't for everyone no but I don't understand why you keep insisting if you don't need breakfast you are either fat or don't move? Just because you can't move without breakfast it doesn't mean that others are the same.

I would faint if I did this. I have to eat every 2-3 hours or I get weak and dizzy I’m a size 8 and 5ft 8 but I have breakfast every morning. I thought it was terrible for you to skip breakfast?

I said it would be difficult (inadvisable) to skip breakfast if you had an active morning/job and easier if you had a desk job/were sedentary. That’s true.

You should probably see a doctor, your symptoms sound indicative of a health condition. Probably related to blood sugar/insulin.

Why inadvisable? Your body doesn't give a shit where it's fuel comes from, if it needs energy it'll get it from your fat reserves.

I've not eaten breakfast in 15+ years, I start work at 6AM and don't eat until 12PM.

No she doesn’t. Plenty of people feel like this. Especially slim people. Probably low blood sugar. I need to eat reasonably regularly or I feel faint and dizzy. I’m also 5 ft 8 and size 8.

I was thinking the same. It is a big weight loss in a short space of time .

I said inadvisable if you have an active morning planned. You need to fuel your body for activity. Otherwise that energy won’t come from fat stores - your body will start to breakdown muscle and cortisol levels will increase.

Look we’ve already said everyone is different. You don’t say what your job is but if it’s a desk job then sure not eating until lunch may work for you. I’ve explained why clearly why it doesn’t work for me.

We are all different!

Why would you do this though? If you're 5'8 and a size 8, you wouldn't need to fast to lose weight and keep it off?

Fasting is really bad to suggest to people recovering from eating disorders or who are prone to disorderly eating so yes I think YABVU

There is a good podcast on Diary of CEO about fasting.

They say it is good for the body to have a rest from having to work at digesting food all the time.

16:8 I think they mentioned where you eat only 8 hour block during a 24 hour period.

I am not hell bent at pushing it, I am just open minded about it, rather than blanket stating it not safe. I have posted ONCE about diabetics and that was in answer to another post. I have said is there is plenty of research to refute the claims that it is dangerous. If you were to undertake fasting as an option to help your health it would need to be managed, much like diabetes needs to be managed if you don't fast I guess.

Personally, if I was a diabetic, I would do some varied research.

Got to love the drama queens and hysterical posters that turn up on threads like this 😂

It definitely works for some people. It's not a magic pill, though, and for some (me) it can lead to disordered eating for life (anorexia and bulimia).

Given that we have far more folk with obesity than with eating disorders, I'd still say it's worth trying, but be aware that it's not suitable for anyone who suffers or has suffered from an eating disorder.

Everyone and their metabolism is different. It’s true we were made to have longer periods between food but depending on your medical conditions fasting can make things worse. I stop eating 3 hours before bed due to reflux issues, so I usually have a 13 hour gap between dinner and breakfast (and wake up hungry). I’d rather skip dinner than breakfast.

This really does depend on how your own body works.

I'm a type one diabetic and I'm used to eating more in the morning and less as the day goes on. I'm always hungry in the mornings even if I wake up with sugars outside of my target range because my body is used to eating at that time so I don't think blood sugar dropping is the only cause of hunger.

Society wants women small, hungry, and docile. EAT THE FOOD.

Can you break this down for me.

So you wake up - do you drink anything? Water, tea, coffee?

Then you don't eat until noon - don't you get hungry? 🤔 I'd worry that I'd get a headache or the shakes.

Then after noon, you eat normally?

They say it is good for the body to have a rest from having to work at digesting food all the time.

There's a book called the Circadian Code which discusses this and other things. I have found that giving my stomach a good 12 hours off from digesting food does make me feel better, although whether that's suggestion or not is anyone's guess. It helps me stop snacking in the evening because I find it easier to say 'no, your stomach needs a rest' than 'no, don't eat that snack'. I'm not overweight but since the menopause I have found my weight will creep up, and this is a good way for me to maintain my weight.

I don't refer to it as fasting though. I see it as a fairly normal, natural eating pattern.

Surely by Default most people would have a significant break from food while asleep? (It would be quite feasible to leave 12 hours between dinner and breakfast without missing any meals?)

It doesn’t have to be noon. You can start and end whenever you want. But I find skipping breakfast very easy. I have one tea and some black coffee and water. I don’t get hungry, feel faint or dizzy. Your body adapts to it and I feel LOTS BETTER without the constant swings of hunger/blood sugar/food cravings. You feel better not worse! Everyone who can’t do it because they feel weak and dizzy - if you tried, the weakness and dizziness would go as your body would adapt to not being constantly in search of sugar (because that’s what’s happening) and you would be free of feeling like shit every few hours. Which seems like a good thing to me?

Fasting isn’t about being hungry! You aren’t hungry, that’s the whole point. Eating “little and often” makes you far far hungrier. If you fast you can eat anything in your eating window but you’re no longer searching for sugar and carbs due to extreme hunger so you can relax and eat proper good food.

@Fizbosshoes - you’d think so, but I was listening to a podcast where they said a recent study showed it was common for people’s “eating windows” to be 15 hours long - they were snacking/drinking caloried drinks late at night and eating as soon as they got up - that’s hardly any time for the body to do it’s work.

Interestingly the idea that breakfast needs to be as soon you wake is quite recent. In medieval times it was common to head off to work on just a drink. They would break mid-morning and eat properly then. We’re evolved to have long gaps between meals. It’s a carb/sugar-heavy diet that causes the intense cravings and hunger between meals and leads us to think we’ll pass out of we don’t eat every couple of hours. Funnily enough this is quite well known elsewhere on MN but not in this thread!

This is really good to hear thanks. I find it really difficult to sustain. Have only ever managed it for 6 weeks at a time and I found myself completely clock watching. I’m on annual leave and trying to not eat between 6 and 10.

Clock watching really suggests you’re eating quite emotionally/from boredom. A morning “ritual” (coffee sitting in the sun if there is any, yoga, a rub or walk) might help break the automatic “must eat” association. This is something I find useful about IF - you’re forced to deal with emotions and boredom without reaching for food!