Starting 16:8 tomorrow, any advice

[Makemedoit]

Just that really. Am going start tomorrow. I have about 3 stone to lose in total but hoping to lose about half a stone in the next 6 or 7 weeks. So any tips or advice for me?

@lazylinguist preventing myself from getting over the difficult bit is my aim for the first few days I think I've just had a bowl of home made sweet potato and carrot soup with chilli flakes, and that'll be it now til dinner at 5.30pm. I'll try fruit tea in the morning and no apple but won't beat myself up if I don't manage it (hoping to have a better night's sleep).

@Makemedoit well done! What time do you normally have your first cuppa of the day? I only work term time so am on a/l atm. During the term I have mine around 7am, can't imagine going without until noon! Have bought some rooibos red bush stuff this am and will try that tomorrow.

That's so awesome you're 3lbs lighter than you thought I need to lose 10lbs, ideally a stone, but first goal is half a stone like you. I've always lost really slowly before - one pound a week if I'm lucky - so hoping this fasting thing is quicker!

I've decided to switch to 15:9 at least for a week. Am back at work this week and I can't function if I don't eat breakfast before logging on. Thinking of having breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12.30pm and dinner at 5pm. Am usually in bed by 10pm so suits me better cos am always less hungry in the evenings.

This sounds like a silly rant but my weighing scales are annoying me. I bought new electronic scales from argos. I weigh myself in the morning in the bathroom in the exact place and from one day to the other it varies by a few kg :/ might go to the gym tomorrow just so I can use their weighing machines!

How many calories are people aiming to stick to in their eating windows? I'm using mfp and hoping for a max 1500 (my BMI is 28 and I want to get it down to below 25 asap).

So could I do 11am - 7pm? Is the idea just to eat say a brunch and a dinner so 2 meals a day only?

Good luck OP, I did a few months of 14:10 and started 16:8 a couple of weeks ago, there’s no way I could have gone straight to it but now it’s second nature.

We eat dinner quite late and I exercise in my lunch break so tend to do 12-8pm.

If you’re a breakfast person, maybe you should work with that, give yourself loads of protein and limited slow-release carbs (around 400 calories in total, like a handful of oats with Greek yoghurt and berries, eggs and a bit of ham/smoked salmon) at breakfast and then have a late lunch/early tea and do it that way round. You might find it easier to drink black tea or just plain water in the evening. I think most people skip breakfast because they’d really miss the evening meal, as it’s often the most social meal but perhaps it isn’t for you.

How many calories are people aiming to stick to in their eating windows?

One of the main reasons I'm doing 16:8 is to avoid calorie counting, weighing, measuring or logging of any kind . I know it works for some people, but I find it infuriating and tedious, so it makes me more likely to fall off the wagon!

I know that if I skip breakfast and eat what I'd normally eat at lunch and dinner, I will lose weight (especially if I also manage to resist snacks in the afternoon). That's enough for me. I don't weigh myself either, I just go by how I look and feel and how loose or tight my clothes are!

I'm aiming for 1000 calories and no more than 1200 as an absolute.

Well not had a great day today as felt unwell this morning - horrendous headache and feeling sick. Ended up breaking my fast early with a mug of tea and a couple of biscuits at about 10am but didn’t have anything else until about 3pm

Feeling a bit better tonight. Don’t know if it is food related or stress related - lots going of big stuff happening at the moment.

Will try and get back to it properly tomorrow.

Hope everyone else doing ok.

Am aiming not to count calories to start but just to get my body used to the fasting and then think about what I am actually eating during my eating hours!

Hope you feel better soon @Makemedoit, remember to be kind to yourself, if that's a biscuit so be it ;)

Sorry you've been unwell @Makemedoit - definitely look after yourself.

I'm doing baby steps. Today hasn't been great diet-wise, but the sun shone and we enjoyed a pub lunch (with an ice-cold pint!). I ate between 11am - 8pm. Approx 1500 kcals, maybe more. But did 15k steps and sod it I've had a good day. Tomorrow I'll try harder to not eat before noon. Still having my morning cuppa though can't quite give that up yet.

I'm only planning on using MFP for a couple of weeks. Have forgotten what good food is after a year of eating crap (reckon I'd normally be putting away 2.5k - 3.5k calories a day! I'd eat from 7am til 10.30pm, snacking lots and drinking alcohol 3-4 nights a week).

Your body stays in fasting mode if you stay under 50calories so I should think you can have a cuppa! X

Oh really? That would be amazing! MFP shows a cup of Yorkshire with milk (I have a tiny splash) and one sugar (I have half a level teaspoon) is 26 kcals. So I hope that by having this first thing I'm not breaking my fast.

I can drink rooibos or fruit tea throughout the rest of the day, but not first thing.

@arethereanyleftatall

I do it a different way round and am always surprised no one else does it my way! I eat breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon and then bring my dinner forward to 4pm. It's pretty easy once you get used to it. And, if I don't feel like doing it that day, or I'm going out, I just don't do it that day.

Your way is apparently the one best supported by research! Big breakfast and onwards is aligned with our natural rhythms and stops late night eating, which is known to be disproportionately bad for insulin. Here's a summary from a Harvard research doctor ... www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156

(I can't start at 8 though while I'm.wfh as it makes me sad to miss eating with the kids, instead I eat breakfast at 10 and try to eat and early dinner with the DCs at 5.30, though timing sometimes slips a bit later, I think that 9/15 with the benefits of eating together is better than 16:8 with me eating crappier food alone at my desk)

Thanks @OverTheRubicon - I'm starting to think 10 am - 6pm is more realistic for me anyway, so that article is reassuring. Oh, apart from Fri / Sat nights when I usually have a few drinks and crisps etc with dh.

Yeah it's about balance when you have children hey? I'm so aware I'm their role model and don't want to give them food issues My two love having breakfast with me around 7.30am term-time. Have said I'll just have my cuppa with them but I bloody love cereal so it will be hard!

I'm so hungry didn't sleep well last night as kept waking up hungry. Had my window 10am - 6pm today. Three decent meals, fruit and salad etc. 1500 calories. I'm now craving Weetabix or toast before bed as need my sleep and know I'll have another crap night going to bed hungry.

When does it get easier?

I don't find myself getting hungry but just feel sabotaged by timings. Today had to take someone to hospital unexpectedly so ate when I got home but was much later than when the fast ends. Yesterday I got caught up in some work stuff so was late eating again. Part of me thinks as long as I do low cal, maybe I don't need a fasting window. I don't know anymore!

@SatsumaFan if I do feel hungry I have a glass of water with lemon slices and usually takes the hunger away.

@bonfireheart oh wow, I'm so envious of people like you who can be too busy to eat, or forget a meal, or drink a glass of water to take hunger away. I've never done any of those things I get a really empty feeling and proper hunger every few hours. And my hunger wakes me up in the night (stomach makes loud noises and I get pangs). All I ever think about is food and when the next meal will be, what I'll have etc. Not helped by being responsible for feeding the family a healthy balanced diet so always thinking of recipes etc. Oh I just checked MFP and I'd only had 1200ish calories, so thought sod it and had the two Weetabix! Figured I'm doing ok for my first week.

Hope the person you took to hospital is OK now. If you start your fasting window later, do you not just end it later? That's what I'd do

I think because I love numbers and spreadsheets (geek) I find having MFP and the Fastic app keeps me accountable, if they say I need x then I do it and they nah sorry no more calories I kinda go ok, cos I don't like it when Fastic doesn't give me a star haha.

It's just me and DD12 at home and I always make two meals, which I know is a pain but means I don't end up eating what she is and standing in the kitchen, chopping veg and listening to a podcast makes the day go faster.

I do however need to drastically cut down on how many carbs I eat. I watched the How to Lose a Stone in 21 Days show on C4 yesterday and he was so anti-carb. I have carbs everyday, if not every meal. If you haven't seen the show, it's worth a watch. He recommends sticking to 800 calories, no mention of eating between certain hours.

Thank you, my nephew had a really bad asthma attack, the hospital are keeping him overnight as he is struggling to breathe so hopefully he will be home soon.

Weetabix is fine, at least it wasn't chocolate. I have weetabix every morning because it's the only thing that keeps me feeling full for ages. Is there anything specific that you find fills you up?

Sorry to hear about your nephew, I hope he's ok today? I'd not heard of that TV show so will look it up - thanks. I'm also a carb lover and have them at most meals. My evening meals are always based around pasta/potato/rice/bread, tho I try to have fewer carbs and more salad/veg. So hard tho seeing the boys tuck in to big bowls of pasta and warm crusty bread! I used to have cereal every morning too. Maybe cereal again or toast for supper 3-4 nights a week. So hard to cut dowm on them I find.

Umm, re filling foods? I think I'm a bottomless pit it takes loads for me to feel properly full (and I love the feeling, unlike slim dh who doesn't like feeling full). I can easily out eat my almost 6ft dh I try to have poached eggs at lunchtime with some ham as the protein helps. I've bought some of that Skyr protein yoghurt to have in the morning with fruit instead of cereal.

I also love data and stats but my rumbling stomach sees past them Will have to retrain it haha.

What foods do you find filling?

Ooo can I join a bit late? Not from today as I've already eaten but I'm hoping to lose 3 stone.

@SatsumaFan - I'm in similar situation - love breakfasts and i use to find it impossible to prepare food for my children but not eat myself. So instead of denying myself that, I'd skip lunches. So I'd only eat breakfast and dinner - with about 12-14 fast in between. If you're not snacking, you'll still be getting benefits, and you're giving you body a break in a form of 2x 12 hr fasts in a 24hr period. That's better than nothing, trust me. I don't own scales so I don't know how much I lost but I definitely saw difference within a couple of weeks :-)