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

So the way this is meant to write to is that blood sugars stay nice and stable until you break your fast. If however your pancreas is a bit wonky this doesn’t necessarily happen. If I fast my bloodsugar just keeps on rising once I get up until I feel awful. Not to dangerous levels but to “well yuk" levels. Yes I am high risk for diabetes (I've flitted in and out of prediabetes).

@Anotherparkingthread This is actually a misconception. 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. Your appetite will return to normal when you break fasting period after your first meal.

Who is this "you"? Do you mean yourself? Because the big misconception here is that you know more about hundreds of other people you've never met than they know about themselves. It's quite a popular viewpoint but not one I can respect as it is bound to be wrong for many people it is being applied to.
Huge arrogance and lack of logical thinking here.

I read the title of this thread as 'Can I encourage you to fart'

🙄

@Desperatenow1 but lots of people on here have said how it negatively affects their health.

Not really doable if you have a job! I'd be light headed and in a foul mood if I didn't eat until 12.

To those who don't eat after 8pm, what happens to socialising/dinners out at weekends with friends? Do you book for 6pm?

Regular eating (high fibre, high protein) to minimise blood sugar fluctuations is one of the few evidence based lifestyle recommendations for migraine disorder

This specifically includes eating within 30 mins of getting up the morning.

If fasting is good for you then fair enough, but it goes against accepted guidance for people with the condition.

If you do endurance sport such as long distance running, there is a lot of ongoing research on hormonal impact of fasting before a morning training sessions, it is strongly advised against, i guess that could probably apply to other sports too.

I’m definitely farting more than I used to! Is it a known menopause thing?!

You lose all your friends as you wither away with a portrait in the attic. But at least you're stick thin.

I get more hungry if I eat breakfast as well. If I wait until 11 a.m. to eat then I'm fine until dinner. If I eat breakfast then I'll be snacking all day. I think it's because my cortisol levels are chronically high so the dawn phenomenon kicks off an insulin rollercoaster if I eat too early in the day.

You can shift your eating window to accommodate meals out etc. Or have a shorter fast one day. There aren’t actually police checking up on you, you know 🤷‍♀️

Also, this thread isn’t full of people talking about how fasting gave them health problems. It’s full of people hypothesising that it would give them health problems, mostly.

HNRTT but glad to see some posts based on critical thinking - I'd be interested if there any recent independent research evidence base about dietary fasting in women. Only evidence base I'm aware of was based on men. Indicative research on women appears to indicate catabolic/anabolic differences around hormonal cycle.

This really, really depends. I have blood sugar dips (hypoglycaemia) to the point I am basically unable to function if I don't eat regularly, and wake up absolutely ravenous and quite often shaky and confused in the morning. I need to eat at least 30 mins before logging onto work or doing anything really in the morning as otherwise I'll just be a complete mess! I've seen a couple of different GPs and they have each said that it's important to eat little and often to keep my blood sugar stable. I wish I could fast, my sister lost loads that way but she doesn't have the same blood sugar issue!!

I just break the rules on those days. It doesn't happen very often. I do find I feel odd and my stomach feels uncomfortable, but I'd rather be a bit flexible and sociable, than stick rigidly to eating in a 12 hour window and have no friends (I exaggerate).

I can't do this because I can't give up my morning coffee! Neither can I drink it black. I've cut down to one sugar but can't give up the milk. Usually just the one coffee each morning too, occasionally a second.

I don't eat in the mornings though- usually around 1pm and 6.30-7pm.

It’s great for some people, others not.
There are studies saying IF has positive health benefits, there are others saying it doesn’t🤷🏼‍♀️

I lost nearly 2 stone through IF (16:8) and felt great. I find it easy, as I’ve never been a big breakfast eater. I found that when I had an early breakfast, I’d be hungry again about an hour later, leading to me over eating.

I still do IF a few days a week, I don’t normally feel hungry till about 11am anyway, then I have a good lunch, lots of protein, a snack , then a big dinner. I have lots of energy ( I need to with a 6 month old and a 3 year old!) so it works for me.

You think nobody that does this has a job? Of course they do!

Threads like this bring out the MN EDNOS gang.

Be careful, fasting is one stop away from an eating disorder.

Me too!

I always had migraines, but after doing IF they disappeared, I had cut the amount of food I was eating down for the meals I was eating too so whatever the combination was, it worked, I rarely suffer with migraines now, the only times I do is if I've had too much chocolate or too much dairy in one go.

You will lose them all anyway once you are slimmer and more glam than they are.

I skip breakfast and don’t eat lunch until 1.30/2pm. Then I have dinner around 7pm. On days I swim lunch can be as late as 3.30pm. Lunch is usually berries, yogurt, nuts and seeds or omelette with mushrooms/spinach (so breakfast type foods) and a lowish carb evening meal. I’ve lost just over a stone in the last 3 months so it’s working but not fast. However I am post menopause and ancient.

That's really interesting thanks. Perhaps there is something completely different going on that triggers my migraines, I was so relieved i had a solution! Sorry to @cryinglaughing for suggesting something that is against the evidence.

You can suggest all you like I will never do this. Unless you are a qualified dietician, and someone has asked for your help, you shouldn’t really be advising anyone in what to eat though.

If I fasted as OP does my employer would be looking for more staff because I would killed the majority of them through hunger. Not having coffee before I start is bad but no food too

Yep this is true:

Which is why YABU to suggest everyone tries fasting. It works for some. Probably mainly sedentary people.

If you are active and perimenopausal it’s not a good idea. I exercise most mornings and then teach in fitness. So I need fuel in my body. I need to hit certain protein targets daily to keep hold of muscle. My breakfast is part of this. Very nutritious (normally a couple of eggs/veggies/fruit/bread).

For me lifting heavy weights and conversely eating more (all healthy but more protein, more good fats). Has trimmed off the little bit needed to lose.

Muscle burns fat. I’d rather go down that route.

Fasting by the way is fabulous if you’re a pre-diabetic middle aged man who is not very active (a la the Michael Mosley research).

We have to be very careful to not disrupt our hormones/Metabolism. If you must fast read the book ‘fast like a girl’ and only fast at certain times in your cycle. And that’s based on the proviso that you all know your cycles?!