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

Ha. I wish.

I work from home so I don’t eat until I’m hungry and I am usually starving to the point of not being able to concentrate by 10.00 at the latest.

As a qualified food scientist - this fad of fasting makes my skin crawl.

It isn’t teaching healthy eating or moderation.

Because you are depriving your body of food on certain days or between certain hours, your hunger can become more extreme which will also lead to over-eating and a choice of foods that are not so healthy for your body.

Another drawback of fasting is that it can lead to a reduction in your physical activity.

A great quick fix, but not sustainable.

For those of you that do IF, how do you manage days with irregular mealtimes? I can see it working if you know that lunch is going to be at noon and dinner around 7, but say in the school holidays, when lunch might be later, around 1-2, do you have a snack at noon to break your fast, or just go longer? I find school holidays a bit tricky as often we're socialising/seeing family so mealtimes are less predictable, but the longer I go without eating, the more wobbly I get!

You only become hungry when your body has had something to eat and your blood sugar starts to fall again. You won't feel hungry at all as long as you stick to just coffee etc without sugar.

... is exactly what I used to say when I had anorexia.

I know this does work. I lost quite a bit of weight that way.

Unfortunately, I am a SP and I find the evenings stressful and when I don't eat after six, I find my blood sugar takes a dip about nine/ten pm. I'm assuming that's what it is, as having to do things after that, argue with kids about bedtime and baths, and tidy up etc, makes me feel really stressed and bad tempered all of a sudden and start to crave bread, biscuits etc. Is there any way to prevent this?

I can miss breakfast no bother at all and just get through the morning on a coffee, with an early lunch. but the evenings are difficult alone. Easier when dc were younger and went to bed earlier.

Ah well then in that case, it isn't possible for people who get faint/pass out due to not eating to fast.

One of the reasons this happens is because of low blood volume - drinking plain water to fix this can make you feel worse and be dangerous hence why I suggested water with electrolytes for the PP.

It just doesn't suit some folks!

I'm the same, I feel dizzy and sick if I don't eat. I was told on here that I must be diabetic as it's not possible to feel like that otherwise!

I used to wake up hungry and have to eat immediately. I've started doing this fast though and after a couple of days I found I wasn't hungry in the morning. I now struggle to eat early! I do have a cuppa (with milk and a bit of sugar tho)

I never used to eat breakfast and when I began to eat GF cereal and milk it took ages before I linked the subsequent fast heart rate to it. I think I react badly to early morning sugar. I don't eat after our evening meal until lunch, though sometimes, I'll have GF biscuits around 11 if I fancy them. Sugar at that time seems to be fine - no idea why. I'm now slowly losing my menopausal belly fat, even though I have a daily glass of wine (and chocolate). It won't work for everyone but it's working for me.

Glad it works for you, it doesn't work for me. If I don't eat, I faint - it's just what happens. Also, whenever I eat badly, my immune system packs up and I catch every bug going. So I wouldn't want to fast to allow me to eat badly, which would then make me ill.

I eat a balanced, healthy diet instead.

It's the 16 hours that matters, it doesn't matter which 8-hour slot you choose to eat in 👍🏻

I have recently restarted better eating. It’s tough in the beginning. To overcome this, it is possible to start with a longer eating and reduce down. Eg instead of 16/8 do 14/10 etc. Above all eat healthily and reduce sugar. It’s a great time of year for it as the weather is hot. I am eating lots of salads.

The best way to over come the dizziness and stabilise blood sugar longer term is to eat the vegetables (a large amount) first then the protein then the carb. It is much better for the digestive system. As I am used to eating veg with my protein, I tend to eat half the veg first then eat the rest with the protein.

Rehydration salts as mentioned. I make myself a saturated salt drink called sole to keep myself hydrated.

Ha, me too. I've had multiple blood tests and no signs of diabetes.

For me it's because I work an active job (dog walking) so I'm on the go constantly from basically the moment I get up. If I skip breakfast, I'm starving by 10am and feeling unwell by lunchtime. My dad is super active and he's exactly the same - he needs to eat breakfast or he gets unwell.

But at weekends or on days off I can skip breakfast quite happily and I don't get the same feeling of hunger, so I put it down to being so active and needing that food to keep me going.

It’s not a magic bullet. I lost 5 stone whilst fasting. Have now regained 4 of those stones whilst still fasting. It’s not the fasting that lost the weight, it was the calorie deficit.

I could do that - the problem I have is that I finish work at 4.30 and go to the gym to a class and am always hungry then and get home too tired to eat anything. Maybe this would work.

I also do this! I try to eat between 12-6 but it always ends up 12-8 because DP doesn’t like eating dinner so early.

I don’t lose weight, this is just a way to maintain weight (I’m a size 6/8).

This 100%

It's not magic, but it does work for lots of people.

I absolutely love it, feel much better physically than if I eat several meals a day. Have done it for 2 1/2 years now and at first I wanted to convert EVERYONE 😂 but with the benefit of experience I now realise that not everyone will get on well with it.

Does irritate me when people make flat statements about it being dangerous for everyone or making people eat badly... I eat way better and more intuitively now than I did 3 years ago.

It suits some people though. My dh goes to work and doesn’t eat until he gets home, which can be as late as 7.30pm, sometimes as early as 5.30pm. He then has his second meal at about 10.30pm/11pm. He sometimes eats at Lunch then an earlier dinner if with colleagues or at the weekend.

I otoh couldn’t eat like this. My window starts between 9 and 10 am. I shift it around depending on what I’m doing. I’d rather 10 but can’t always do this. If I’ve misjudged my consumption needs, I eat a bit of fruit and /or a few nuts outside the window. No point stressing about it.

I think fasting is a silly idea. People go for "fasted" runs - yuck. I like to have some fuel for exercise! Actually it may not be such a bad idea for men, but isn't advisable for women.

More generally, if you want to lose weight, exercise more and eat less.

You don't need to do silly faddish things.

Or, you know, just eat a healthy diet made up of a variety of different food groups, in reasonably sized portions. Radical, I know, but unless you have a medical condition as diagnosed by a medical doctor and not by Google, that should be all you need to do to maintain an appropriate weight.

Ooh and echo what @Freetodowhatiwant says about thyroid levels - Hashi's sufferer here 👋🏻

If you ever get thyroid bloods done you REALLY must get the numbers to know where you stand!!

Nah. I weight train and need to eat to keep getting stronger. But then, all women should be skinny and weak right from not eating?

You might then want to explain to my body, when I wake up at 7:30am, having not eaten for 12 hours, why it is I feel hungry. If I don't have breakfast, I faint. I don't see point of battling through that for anybody. I've been a size 10 (at 5' 7") for many years. I can fit into clothes I had 30 years ago. I eat between 7:30am and 730 pm. It's fine for me.

If fasting works for you, great. But it won't be what works for every body.

I've started doing this fast though and after a couple of days I found I wasn't hungry in the morning. I now struggle to eat early! I do have a cuppa (with milk and a bit of sugar tho)

Once the milk and sugar hit your stomach, your fast has ended. That does still need digesting, even if there isn't much of it.