Who wants to start intermittent fasting?

[cosypompoms]

I'm no expert but I have been doing Intermittent Fasting (IF) since September and I've lost 9kg/ a stone.

I eat breakfast at 7:30, lunch and the tea at 4. So my eating window is finished by 4:30pm. So it's a 9 hour eating window and 15 hours of fasting.

I haven't read any books about it but I do listen to podcasts about it.

open.spotify.com/episode/7hKdAJpfDEeRnGDEo42MWP?si=RpKRylgHTb6nJtmBPPH9dg

open.spotify.com/episode/5YEfEhHllXaFxiEO6WZxMq?si=11rhciaDSkKj_V8p2mAU6w

I don't know anyone in real life who does IF so thought there would be a community here.

NatureGlimmers interesting on the Tim Spector taste stuff. After having fruit teas and getting used to them without sugar, on Friday at work, I made myself half a cup (I wasn't optimistic.. .) of tea without milk and it was ok! Black tea for me in a morning now until 12!
Just out of interest, how much weight have people lost in January?

I lost 7/8llbs in January. Very happy with that.

Hi all,

Coming back to this after being away with work. Lots to catch up on and sounds like people are going really well!

@cosypompoms thanks for the 30 plant suggestion, I actually did that for a while but our dinners are good (a few veggie curries a week) so I get it easily. But breakfast and lunch I just can’t get enough bread 🤦‍♀️

Does anyone use a food diary that’s more about nutrition than calories?

I listened to this Zoe podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/zoe-science-nutrition/id1611216298?i=1000640228694

and lots of it seems to make sense. They don’t recommend calorie counting long term though..

They talk about adding things in for health instead of cutting things out which I love the idea of and seems to connect with IF. They also talk about eating window at the end

Also listened to one about building habits where they talked about environment change which has resulted in shopping for swanky new lunch containers to make prepping food for days away from home more attractive! These things always end up in online shopping for me 😂

@Pepperypottery I try to do upf free as much as possible which means no bread. I know I could make my own or buy very specific ones but I also know these are not habits I can commit to forever. Fasting helps as I miss breakfast which would previously have been toast or cereal. Both ultra processed and no fruit/veg. Then for lunch I now have a baked potato.
I too am confident I get the 30 plants as long as I cook from scratch in the evenings. I do lots of one pot batch cooks with all sorts of veg thrown in and just do carbs to go with, normally pasta. We then have one or two evening meals that go a bit off piste but keep portions reasonable.

@NewYearNewYu I’m trying to do UPF too so all bread is sourdough from a good bakery. I thought it would make me eat less, given the soft/unfulfilling aspect of UPF shop bread wouldn’t be an issue, and given the price but… it hasn’t 😬

That should say No or low UPF!

Yes I think bread is moorish in a way rice,pasta and potatoes aren’t. It’s also so easy to just slice and eat. I remember a Victoria woods sketch about how at least food addiction doesn’t need to break the bank, once loaf of sliced white, a jar of Hartley strawberry jam and you are set for the night.

Well I'm still heading right direction I think, but hard to prove it, as I'm still battling with my slow digestion, and like @passwordnotsecure and @OctopusRule my scales are quite temperamental so I have to do a 'best of 3'. Also they're hard to read with varifocals.
Anyway, I feel good. I'm just going to try and up my good fats intake this week. Any suggestions? Work is nut free, so that's not an option. Maybe I'll just pour some olive oil over my soup tomorrow.
Well done for all the losses, and thanks to @Pepperypottery for the Zoe suggestion. I'll listen this week. It probably doesn't say anything that they haven't said in the other podcasts I've listened to, but I think it's helpful to have the msgs repeated to stay motivated.
Good luck this week everyone.

@passwordnotsecure I've lost 1.7 kg or 3lb 12 oz. I'm happy with that as I'm basically trying to maintain at this point.

@Pepperypottery my kids are really into counting the plants a week. I'm not joking but we had 107 this week! Lots of those are herbs and spices. I was amazed. Last week we had 67 which is a bit more normal for us. The kids want to count again this week so I'll let you know.
Thanks for the podcast link. I'm listening now. Also I agree about new Tupperware, mine changed our life.

@allnewfor2024 how about seeds and avocado?

We eat ‘breakfast’ at lunchtime, as our first meal. Usually a choice of porridge, fruit, yoghurt - if at home, overnight oats and fruit if out and about.

@allnewfor2024 yes it’s probably not news if you listen to their podcasts, I’m finding listening to podcasts good for keeping up momentum/interest. Trying to retrain my brain with constant messaging!
How about cheese for good fat? Doubles as fermented food if you get the right one!

@brightpompoms 107! How did you manage that 😆 we also had a fridge spreadsheet for a while, think we tapered off around 50 usually! Including the herbs and spices…

Thanks for the tips @Pepperypottery and @brightpompoms
I added sunflower seeds to my soup - absolutely delicious. And coincidentally I'd just treated myself to a wedge of Stilton - I hadn't realised that it's fermented.
I'm now chomping through a punnet of grapes.

I’ve been actually pretty hungry today. I’ve had two cups of black tea, and two of green tea, as well as a glass of sparkling water. Drinking more has to be a good thing though!

@allnewfor2024 you sound like me - am feeling good - and that's keeping me going!

On the subject of rubbish scales - does anyone have a recommendation for a non-rubbish set?

@Pepperypottery @allnewfor2024 yes that podcast taught me that cheese is fermented. I was actually shocked. I did go and buy some kombucha tea today too.
I feel that a fasting podcast is like having good association. Friends that keep me on the straight and narrow!

I did a 22 hour fast today, don’t intend to do it often but occasionally. It was not too bad if I’m honest, long as I’m at work and have meetings all day I am ok as I’m usually scoffing my lunch either between meetings or during them! The only issue is usually I stop eating at 8 but tonight I’m hungry!

And also when I did eat rather than making something slower I made something quick which resulted in bread, which like others have said I’m trying to avoid. So think if I do it again I need to make sure I have something f prepped and ready to go.

Hi, IF is great I've been doing it for a few years but it would be nice to do it with someone. Mindy Pelz is a great person to listen to, she has so much knowledge in this area and has published a book called Fast Like a Girl, and has just published a book on fasting for pre menopausal and menopausal women.

Carrying on the tea conversation..I bought some green tea. To be honest this was a little silly as I'm not enjoying the black tea.
Green tea tastes like grass!
I think I'll be leaving it in the staff room at work!
Back to water....😆

I like white tea

I’ve switched from breakfast tea with milk in the evening to chamomile. One step at a time! I only realized from this thread that chamomile is also not allowed.
I really don’t like green tea but I guess I should give it another shot..

Twice as an end of week treat I’ve gone back to my old routine of milky tea and chocolate late in the evening and slept so badly. Not sure if it’s directly connected though

How does white tea compare with black and green?

Not sure but it doesn’t have the bitterness so I find I can drink it without milk and sugar. I get a bit bored of green tea.

I heard a podcast saying to persevere with green tea and it gets less awful. In fact they said to drink three cups a day but using the same teabag to get the most from polyphenols. I think it was dr micheal Mosley on just one thing

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vmbm?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

I reuse the same green tea leaves for tea all day (usually 2-3 cups of tea). Not sure if it’s healthier, but it’s cheaper!! Also recommended on the box to reuse the leaves once. I’m not unsure if reinfusing a teabag works as well but definitely does for loose leaf tea.