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

I don't get the post sorry OP. So really you are fasting, not eating at all, from 8pm until really lunchtime the next day? Or are you snacking before lunch?

I would pass out / cry / punch someone....take your pick😂

I think the thing for me was, I was eating breakfast and then wanting to keep snacking until lunch, after lunch, etc etc

This way, when I skip breakfast, I break my fast at 12pm and naturally feel less like I want to be constantly grazing. When 8pm comes I strictly know I'm closed for eating and that's that.

I psychologically trick myself into it all, I think. I tell myself no restrictions whatsoever from 12pm to 8pm. But I seem to naturally fuel my body a bit better now and snack less

I do have still have a dash of milk as I don't enjoy black coffees

I think that between 12.00 and 8.00 you are being far more restrictive than you are telling us here. Can you give us an idea of one day of eating. I think we might find you are actually restricting your calories within that time.

Oh I wasn't trying to. I know for a lot of people it wouldn't work for them. That's fine. I know it isn't magic

I just thought I'd give someone who might be considering it that extra push to give it a go! As it really has worked for men

Funnily that sou ds exactly like my timings for eatong when I actually got fat😂

The title was to encourage you to fast, I said no thanks. If you don't want people posting then don't invite it There is a weight loss board where people who have issues with eating will probably have hidden. Go there to encourage bad habits if you have to.

I think what is important here is that people find something that works for them. If you're going to be working out at lunchtime then it makes sense to have an early breakfast, if you workout first thing then you can do that fasted and either have brekkie straight after or leave it until later. If you feel light-headed then you may have to try it a few times and feel a little grim to break the cycle - our bodies get so dependent on the glucose hit from meals but it is possible to re-wire yourself very quickly (medical conditions aside).

Also, someone mentioned that fasting isn't good for fertility which there is some truth in but that's not the full story - it's actually good for some issues such as PCOS, but that doesn't mean fasting every day of the month, and fasting isn't recommended at all in the luteal phase which is when the magic happens if you are hoping for a pregnancy that month. I fast (16:8'ish) for the first 10 days of my cycle, then another burst of 3 days after ovulation and no fasting at all during the luteal phase. During the fasting stages, I focus on high protein foods and carbs from veg. In the Luteal phase, it's all about the carbs but from veg sources again (rather than chips and sugar!). This helps lengthen your cycle which is helpful for successful conception and requires high levels of progesterone.

If anyone is more interested in the reasons behind this way of eating for hormone health then it's worth looking up Mindy Pelz's 'Fast Like A Girl' or look for a podcast that she's been a guest on (Feel Better Live More or Diary of a CEO most recently). Seriously life-changing stuff for me and I've got my cycle from 15 days up to 28 days on the first month I tried it. It's also good for fat burning - healthy hormones make everything a lot easier. I think it's a great lifestyle choice and I play around with it - depending on how my body feels. I wouldn't fast if I felt crazy hungry or stressed...I wouldn't call it an every day lifestyle thing but something you can play around with.

I'm 5'3. Size 16 really isn't a healthy weight on anyway remotely average height

Also, I really diet threads should be kept and moved to weightloss section because on AIBU they always set off other ones and it get progressively worse for 2 days and ends in some weird ED competitions which cannot be nice to see for many people

I have found it works for me, nothing else did. I have insulin resistance.
I don’t know why I can do it now as in the past I would get a headache if I skipped breakfast.

This never worked for me. I once tried 20:4 but that was basically one meal a day.

My baseline is quite low and I can’t lose weight unless I am on a strict 800 calories and even then it’s a struggle.

I see more mentioned it whilei typed

I aim to eat 1200 calories a day, breakfast at around 12 and dinner around 8. I cook every day, don't eat processed food, no pasta, rice or dairy (because I don't like them), and low carbs. My average daily calorie count is around 900. I lost 13lbs in 3 weeks but have lost nothing at all for the past two weeks.

I don't have sugar, don't drink fizzy drinks and it's months since I had so much as a biscuit.

Weight loss is a personal thing and, even if two people ate exactly the same, they would both lose different amounts.

Sounds like you need quite a bit of freedom from work and family to do it.

Interesting chat !!! @FinsburyCircus I would love to do that every Monday. Can you talk through your timings, what you eat to break it and whether you exercise that day? All the info please! Well done on your weight-loss. That’s a great achievement.

I loose weight when I skip breakfast, but the key for me is not to feel deprived or that I’ve got a calorie deficit to use up! I often have breakfast foods at lunchtime and then one main meal.

Being 'encouraged to fast' is a classic trigger for anorexia. By all means lose weight that way if you want, but the whole language of 'fasting' is toxic as hell. And personally I don't think posting weight loss tips to people who haven't asked for them in the first place is a great idea anyway, for similar reasons.

Ultimately, eating nothing for a certain period of time each day will help some people lose weight, but only if that means they consume fewer calories overall. A Twix eaten before 8pm is not better than an apple eaten at 10pm if you want to lose weight. Eating nothing between 8pm and 12pm the next day is unlikely to help someone much if they eat 3,000 calories during their eight hour eating window.

Food doesn't magically make you fatter if you eat it at a certain time. If 'fasting' means you aren't snacking on extra stuff all evening, great - then you'll be reducing your calorie intake, so you may well lose weight, But for some people, whose calorie intake is high for other reasons, it won't make a jot of difference.

All diets - fasting, keto, low-carb, paleo, F-plan, Slimming World, Noom, WeightWatchers, Herbalife, Cambridge, cabbage soup, anything - are designed to make you consume fewer calories per day than you expend. They do this is in many different ways and which ones work for you will depend greatly on what your eating habits were like in the first place. If fasting works for you, that's great - I'm pleased for you! But encouraging everyone to try is probably unwise.

I lost 5 stone by calorie counting EVERYTHING and a lot of exercise. Worked a treat for me but the admin would drive some people mad, I'm sure! Definitely a case of horses for courses I think.

That wouldn't work for me. I am up early and need sustenance first thing to give me energy as I'm busiest in the morning.

Having breakfast sets me up for the day.

I have found fasting revolutionary too, BUT I still have to heavily restrict my diet during my eating window to lose weight. But it definitely makes it significantly easier and once my body had adapted I didn't feel at all hungry until 2pmish. I've lost 6.5 stone in total and fasting was the key to success, imo.

I did 16:8 for a while and it just didn't work for me.

Low carb does and 5:2 does. But not 16:8.

I fluctuate between being a healthy weight and a tiny bit over. I tend to low carb to keep healthier-but then if I have a weekend off with wine/carbs I can go into the overweight catergory-if I low carb for a week or two it stops this happening. I decided to try 16:8 last year-I found it very easy to stick to but I stayed in the slightly overweight category.

I may try it again and make some other changes-It's much nicer than low carb or 5:2! Glad It's worked well for you OP!

Re-hydration sachets/tablets break a fast.

It's not magic and people do get hungry if they don't eat. It is fucking dangerous to suggest that 'not eating' is a way to beat hunger. Christ.

I have cuppas (with 1 sugar) at normal times when I’m fasting, the weight still comes off for me!

i did it 10 years ago and lost 7.5 stone, but marriage and baby slowly crept 3 stone back on so I’m doing it again now.

I think this would suit a lot of people who don’t eat breakfast anyway as they are used to that gap in their eating.

What are you talking about?

Yes I've just discovered I can't do this during school holidays as it makes me ratty with the kids! Fine during term time when I just keep myself busy till lunch, not so great when trying to deal with their frequent demands and questions...