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.

@brightpompoms Good luck with the weigh in! I don't officially record my weight until Sunday but since I weigh daily I can see that it definitely looks like I'm in for a decent loss this week after only nudging the scale down for the last 3 weeks. Basically same situation as @NewYearNewYu and I also would have given up before or comfort ate my disappointment away so it feels very gratifying.

@pippablackwell well done on hitting your goal! That must feel amazing.

Can i join please. Will read PPs tomorrow.

Looks like most of you are doing fasting windows (16-18 hours/ missing one/ two meals) rather than fasting days (whole day with no or low calories intake like the 5:2 diet).

I'm assuming everyone's mostly over 40? I'm over 50 and have fasted before but finding it harder to do and harder to shift excess weight now than I did when I fasted in my youth.

Welcome @Superlambaanana , yes I do 20:4 on a good day, the eating window is longer on bad days. I have late lunch and early dinner. I don’t get hungry in the morning but do sometimes just before bed. I am also recording calories but having 1800, so not super low.
I have never tried 5:2 as I know I need routine and I can cope with the odd hunger pang as I know it will pass and I am losing weight.
I am mid forties and definitely perimenopausal, I also take some medications that make weight gain likely but this is working for me.

I usually do somewhere between 18:6 and OMAD. I read in Fast Feast Repeat that changing up your fasting schedule is good because it stops your body getting used to one thing and adjusting to it (though I probably need to reread it, as I can’t remember any specifics!). I loosen up my eating window on at least one weekend day to around 8-12 hours. I also do one 40-48 hour fast a week, with just coffee/ tea/ water. I find that easier than eating a small amount, like on 5:2. I’m 33, and I’m also interested in fasting for the benefits of autophagy and positive effect on the gut.

Hello, can I join in too. I've been fasting since the beginning of February and I've lost 1.3kg so far. Most of that came off in the first 2 weeks of fasting, and then the scales have stayed the same ever since.

I do 16:8, which I'm finding okay, some days are more of a struggle than others. I can't imagine being able to fast longer than that at the moment. Reading this thread has helped keep me in track. I'm also mid 40s, and I'm not only doing this for weight loss, but also health reasons but it's hard to not feel negative when the scales don't move at the end of the week. I need to try and change that outlook.

So I’m mid 40s too and I’m focussing my diet on protein (1g/kg of goal weight) as in vegetarian and haven’t been great at protein. Also aiming for 25g fibre a day. I am restricting calories but don’t need to make much effort with that if I’m having 1.5 meals a day.

so far I’ve lost 70% of my goal since 1 jan

@HairScratcher that's interesting, I'm also veggie so my diet is very carb heavy. Can I ask how you have increased your protein intake? I definitely like I need to change my diet in order to see more weight loss.

My current weight is 70.6kg and I'd like to get to about 66kg

So I do cheat because I love the Aldi caramel protein pudding which is 20g straight off but I’m trying to exclude that from my total!

I’ve been having chia pudding as a dessert which has around 10g. Cheese, eggs, Greek yoghurt, lentils and beans. Things like butternut squash and black bean stew, mixed bean quesadilla, bean salads. Then tofu in various guises. I occasionally have quorn.

I like a good french cream cheese on corn cakes instead of bread. Houmous and bean dips.

I’ve started making a crustless quiche for lunches - cheese and broccoli mainly

I do find it hard to get the protein I need!

I just make a concerted effort to focus purely on the protein and only eat carbs that help with that. I’ve been trying to find a good lentil or chickpea pasta but I can’t find a good one

also nuts and seeds - hemp seeds have a good protein content

Thank you for that! That's given me some good ideas, I like the sound of the crustless quiche. I'm going shopping today so I'll look for some more high protein recipes. I hadn't thought about increasing my protein but it makes a lot of sense.

I think it’s more important as we age as well!

if you find anything interesting let me know!!

I will do!

I've just added my breakfast into my fitness Pal hoping it would tell me the protein content, but you can only access those details if you pay for premium. Do you use an app to help track your protein intake?

I use MyFitnessPal for free and it shows protein for each food and then in the nutrition at the bottom you can see the days amount

It’s interesting that you say 1g/kg of goal weight not current weight. I’d always seen this recommended and couldn’t get my head around it but if I use goal weight it makes it easier.

@Superlambaanana I mostly do 16:8 and am mid 40's. I exercise a lot and want to build muscle, so eat quite a lot of protein (up to 100g a day) and average around 2100 cals a day. I lost 12 kilos early last year & so far have kept it off. I also drink a lot of water. Some days I wake up really hungry so do break my fast but overall I feel that 16:8 works for my body. I feel energised and sleep well (probably all the exercise)!

Thank you, I hadn't noticed that! So I have had 15g of protein for my breakfast today, so I need to find quite a lot more to get to 66g by the end of the day.

@Barbarachicken I need to drink more water and do more exercise! That is something I'm working on. It's great to hear of your success, well done!

@HairScratcher have you tried the Tesco Red Lentil Fusilli? We often use that to increase protein % and it's my favourite of the main supermarket lentil pastas. I eat quite similarly to you @HairScratcher, lots of beans, pulses, tofu and I have chia pudding every day (sprinkling flaked almonds on the top to increase protein). I'm not strictly vegetarian but try and base all my meals mostly around plants, and only have meat about once a week.

1g/kg of goal weight is interesting. I did once do a diet (pre-IF) where I tried to do 1g/kg of current weight. I lost quite bit of weight (all of which I put back on sadly) but I weigh more than 100kg so that had to inevitably involve a serious amount of supermarket meat to hit 100g+ every day, something I now try and avoid. I do try and maximise protein now, but I don't count macros as my main aim is to intuitively eat and I find the two hard to marry up. Interesting to hear everyone's experiences.

I will have a look for the Tesco one. Thanks

i only use the g/kg as a minimum. I wanted something achievable so I didn’t give up!

Just weighed in and lost 1.6kg/3.5lbs this week. I didn't do anything different to last week, when I lost only 0.1kg. Just goes to show how unpredictable weight loss is. That takes my total to 20lbs which is a milestone I'm very happy about 😊 The support on this thread is definitely helpful, so thanks everyone.

@NatureGlimmers 👏👏👏 that is a great milestone and yes I agree it’s hard when you don’t lose or lose a tiny amount, but so important not to fall off the wagon, as then you may see a decent loss the next week.
I have now lost a full stone this year. Really happy with that and wouldn’t tell people in real life so nice to have you guys to tell.

Well done @NewYearNewYu that's an amazing start to the year👏

Well done @NatureGlimmers and @NewYearNewYu both fantastic weight loss!

I haven't managed to fast properly this weekend due to some social engagements, nor have I been able to increase my protein. But I'm off shopping now so hopefully I'll be able to share a good weight loss next week. On the plus side, the small amount of weight I have lost hasn't gone back on, so I'm still down since the beginning of February which is a positive.

@NatureGlimmers brilliant!

I’ve not had a good weekend And I know it’s down to alcohol and sugar. Related to worry about stuff.

So getting back on it today. Doing a 20 hour fast and motivated to get back on it. I did dry January and it made such a difference, need to just stop drinking! Stupid thing is I do not actually drink much but even a glass or two makes me feel so shit!

Since I became perimenopausal I find alcohol makes me feel rubbish. It’s almost like my body can’t process it. I normally drink once a week and I have kept that up but now I’m limiting it to one glass of wine. Any more than that and it really stalls my weight loss.