Intermittent fasting windows

[fairyfingers]

What is the shortest time you can have an effective fasting window? I have tried 16:8 and found it really impacted my sleep negatively (which I understand can be a thing).

I quite liked it though - saw basically no weight loss benefits but felt better and lighter in myself.

So I was musing whether it may be worth having a go with a shorter window, maybe 14:10? See if that is easier on the sleep.

Is that basically pointless though? I seem to remember reading that women can do well with a shorter window but can't remember where.

Or is it just not for me?

How does it impact sleep? I haven't tried either... just browsing the boards to see what I learn. I have read to start with 12:12 and then slowly work up to 16:8 or whatever you can manage

It's something to do with cortisol and your body feeling stressed. Loads of people have the opposite and it really helps them but I am prone to anxiety and high cortisol anyway.

I will see how it goes with gently increasing the gap. I quite happily manage 8-10.30 so will focus on that at the moment.

Yes of course if you can manage less i.e. 12 or 14 hours - start with that. In general, it should help you sleep (providing you leave at least 2 hour window before bed and dont snack before sleep)

I do 16/8 and sleep like a baby! Just woken up from my 9 hour sleep which isn't unusual. I've done 14/10 a few times. 16/8 does work for me in terms of weight loss but now I use it for maintenance (I do eat a lot). I've heard of some people doing 23/1! I couldn't do that. Maybe just try some variations for a week at a time and see which is most effective.

I'm doing 16:8 using 'Fastic' app which is great. To answer your question, fairyfingers, once you go over 12 hours without food/calorie drinks, that's what sparks fat metabolism.

I tend to do longer than 16 hours. Today I stopped eating at 3pm and won't eat again till after 11am tomorrow. It works for me as I don't enjoy breakfast so more than happy to miss that meal. I just eat one or two meals in between 11am-3pm - this morning was porridge/fruit/yoghurt - then I had a pitta bread with hummous and a ham/egg/cheese salad using a whole bag of my favourite salad leaves.

I'm trying to stop drinking tea (with skimmed milk) as that's against the rules in fasting - but I do still have the odd one or two.

I've been doing it for 30 days now and really like this way of eating; it certainly makes you think about what you're eating!

What you eat in your last meal before starting the fast will impact the way you feel during the fast. If you have high carb food pasta, chips, pizza, biscuit....... you will feel crap. If you still want to eat these, have them in the first meals, and focus on quality for the last one.

That's a really good tip, LeGrandBleu, I didn't know that.

What was your timings when you did 16/8 OP? I fast from 8pm until midday and it doesn’t impact my sleep. I have lost a stone doing this 4 days a week, I feel and look so much better for it.

@missyB1 wow well done! Can I ask how long it took to lose the stone?

I tend to eat between 12pm and 7pm and this suits me. I've lost about 34lbs since February.

I don't deliberately do fasting though. I calorie count and I'm busy in the mornings so naturally don't want to eat until about 12.

I'm not sure how much of my weight loss can be put down to having a specific eating window. If pushed, if you're doing more exercise and keeping an eye on what you're eating, I'd say that's what gives the weight loss

@RussGellar it took me 3 months to lose a stone doing 16/8 4 days a week. I’m happy with that loss and will just maintain the loss now by fasting 3 days a week and just eating healthily the other days.

That sounds great! I’ve been doing for just over a week now and so just wanted some ideas on how it will work over time. Thank you

I'm doing 15:9 using the fastic app. Eat between 10am and 8pm. Will do a few weeks of this and then move to 16:8.

@KurriKawari what does the app do? I’m eating 11-7 but just know my times but does the app help?

The app let's you log your water intake which I find useful, track your weight, track your timings, shares tips, shows your body status. Helps me to visually see my timings and what days I have fasted for longer. As I don't weigh myself it helps to visually see that I am keeping up and doing well. The regular reminders to drink water or find some me time are a nice touch.

I'm curious that everyone seems to choose to miss breakfast.

I'm not dieting and don't have weight to lose, but over the past couple of months I've noticed that I'm not really hungry for dinner, so I've pretty much stopped eating at about 3/4 pm and then have breakfast (eggs or porridge), biggish lunch and an afternoon snack. Looking into 16 8 and the health benefits I'm going to stick with it as I feel amazing! I get up at 5.30 am and am in bed by 9 pm reading so I never enjoyed eating close to.my bedtime.

Am I the only one who skips dinner 😂

Meant to say that breakfast is at 8. Best meal of the day for me!