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.

@allnewfor2024 congratulations on a great start and all the gym attendance! How long do you go for? I can't afford the gym and I don't have time with two young ones but I do a weighted hula hoop everyday for 15 mins whilst using 2kg hand weights. Then I'd do 40 squats and 20 half push ups. I should get up and do it now really.
It's become MY time and I have a podcast on and I love it. It's been 4 months now and going strong.

I'm looking forward to hearing how everyone is getting on and I hope we all see this as our lifestyle now. I feel it's flexible enough to be realistic.

@cosypompoms
I've mostly done yoga and Pilates - so not for weight loss, but to make me less creaky/ feel better. Hopefully it's laid down some foundations that I can build in with a routine like yours. Well done with your exercise, I might be asking for tips soon!

@allnewfor2024
I was listening to a micheal Moseley podcast earlier and the first was saying how bad exercise is for actual
Weight loss but great for maintaining a weight.

Exercise is bad as in counter productive? Why would that be?

So if you are doing say 16/8 do you stick to the fasting time or the eating time?

so for eg I stopped eating at 8pm and can then eat at 12. Last night I started fasting at 7pm. So do I still stick to not eating until 12 or I can eat something at 11 because I’ve done the 16 hours?

@HairScratcher that’s very much up to you. I do 16:8 or less so would wait till 12 but if you’re starving at 11 you could eat then.

Slotting myself in 👋

I've done intermittent fasting before on and off and had some good results. Strapping myself in for the long term now. I've got a date in mind and I'm working towards that. I still count cals in my window as it keeps me on track. I've got a fair bit to loose. Started properly on New Years day. I train 5 days a week so keen to keep my protein high. Going well so far. Crisps are my downfall so need to stay strong on that 🤣

@NewYearNewYu
I've heard one of the van tulleken twins argue that your body more or less fixes your daily calorie expenditure. So if you 'spend' extra calories, rather than burning off fat, your system will 'save' them elsewhere, for example, by making you move less the next day.
He says that nevertheless exercise is really good for you - it means that you rest more profoundly, restore your body better. It's also good for insulin resistance, so important for long term weight management.

In Fast Feast Repeat Gin talks about how the first few days of fasting are tricky, but then you generally get used to it, but then at somewhere like 4-8 weeks people tend to start to find it difficult again because this is when the glycogen in your liver has depleted and you have to start fuelling yourself from fat, which is something the body needs to get used to.

I think I've hit this stage because I found it perfectly manageable for 5 weeks, and now when I get to about 17 hours of fasting I'm getting light headed and shaky. When that happens I break my fast because it seems like it could be dangerous to ignore.

For those that have been doing this a while, did you experience this? How long did the phase last? Is it something to be concerned about or will I push through it?

@Pepperypottery Yes, I was really chuffed and I need to keep reminding myself that I've done it before and can do it again - 40lbs in 6 months FELT SO GOOD - and now I'm just repeating the final 14lbs by Easter (I hope)

Yes, my twin gurus were/are Michael Mosley and Gin Stephens (and I've since added Tim Spector of Zoe fame).

First 12 weeks: So I used MM's 12 hardcore weeks of 800 calories a day and did them in an eating window of typically 2-8 hours... longer to start with and then shorter ones. My normal week in the second half was typically a 5-6 hour eating window with one day a week when I ate 500 calories in 30 minutes, and then 800 calories in 8 hours the next day. I also did a few 36 hour fasts. So fully capitalised on MM's lose the first chunk as fast as you can - I'm menopausal so not as fast as before but still 24 lbs in 12 weeks - with a few lapses (such as ice cream with friends).

Second part: I ate between 800 and 1200 calories most days and continued with a harder fast once or twice most weeks (36 hours or a 500 calorie 30 minute eating window) followed by a longer eating window the next day (8-10 hours). I did find as I neared my target weight I did need to do much shorter eating windows most days which Gin talks about - so many were 2-4 hour windows. That said, I did have the occasional indulgent day, usually with mates.

So I was quite hardcore, and saw it as the most important thing in my life in those months - and luckily was able to treat it as such.

Now Im being a bit easier on myself - a lot of loss last year (3 deaths) - and taking Gin's words to heart that when life is tough don't push the fasting so hard. So although I would like to lose 14lbs by Easter - so just over 1lb a week - if I don't manage it, Im not going to worry. I'm very happy on non-sociable days to eat in just a 2-5 hour window, probably around 900-1100 calories, healthy stuff and feeling full and satisfied, but equally am not going to be too restrictive when seeing friends or on days when I feel low. High protein, lowish carbs, lots of veggies and good gut stuff really seems to help me.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001tscq?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Here's the link @NewYearNewYu for the podcast. What I meant was exercise burns less calories than we think. So it's not a great tool for weight loss.

Yes I guess it is easy to overestimate. I try to do exercise for lots of reasons but I don’t eat extra when I have.

Wow @loveyouradvice I am in awe! That is very inspiring. It is very hardcore! Did you find you could function well with that level of calorie restriction? And, if you don’t mind sharing, what made you so committed to the process? I feel like I need to change my way of thinking as the main goal.

I’m a stress eater, but also had a negative relationship with food as a young adult with restricted eating and too much exercise. Now I would probably joke, if asked, that I don’t have that problem anymore etc etc but I think I’m actually afraid of being hungry so IF weirdly feels like facing my fears!

Also sorry to hear about your losses, what a tough year

Hi @Pepperypottery. Yes, I did function well with that level of calorie restriction but I did have a few days when I needed to open my eating window earlier than usual and go for slightly more calories (after week 12).

First half, once I'd got through the first two weeks, when yes, my body was adapting and I had some days of feeling a bit faint or shivery, I was fine. Probably only 4 or 5 days in all of feeling rough, and I knew going so hardcore so fast was the reason and if I'd adapted more slowly I probably would not have had this..

What I really love about IF is that I get less hungry - I think there's something physiological as others mention it a lot, once thru the first 2-3 weeks. And for me eating relatively big portions in a short window makes me feel full and satisfied in a way no other diet ever has - and then I dont get hungry for the rest of the day. I really did not get hungry often doing it ... perhaps once every 10-12 days - and I just told myself that hunger is nothing to be scared of, and that it was far better for my health to lose the weight.

You asked what made me so committed to the process....

1. Feeling totally fed up how often I had dieted and how much of my life I had wasted either dieting or feeling guilty about not dieting and just not wanting to do that any longer - My life is too valuable. Having realised this, I made myself spend a lot of time thinking about this, so I really felt it.

2.Having the time to commit to it - I recognised that it was a big thing I was taking on, and saying this is THE most important thing I am doing for these 6 months. I probably spent 30mins - 2.5 hours each day reading inspiring posts (on Mumsnet and Gin Stephens website) and books about dieting and in the second half I read more and more about gut health and enjoyed putting really great gut feeders into my diet. So yes, I over-invested in short term knowing I wouldn't be successful otherwise.

3.Vanity!!!!!! Yes, this is the embarrassing one.... I asked myself why I couldnt lose much weight when Covid first came out - when my life might have depended on it, but could do so later We had a Uni reunion where I would be seeing lots of people I hadn't seen for 20 years... Vanity meant I wanted to look darn good and sexy!! Yup... the image of walking into the room looking like the woman I wanted to, really motivated me... and it worked... That was the first 13 weeks .. (MM also talks about how fast weight loss is really good BECAUSE it motivates us, and that during those first 12 weeks we don't change our metabolism (ie it doesnt adapt to having less calories, but usually does AFTER 12 weeks, so it is a magic window))

1. Public commitment and a buddy. I told my friends and had a weekly check in with one of them who was also losing weight.

Good luck - it is tough - and I think we need to be realistic that if we are losing more than a stone, it is a major investment of time and energy and adapt our life so that we can do it. And also that there are times in our lives when other things are more important - and that is okay.

ps Gin Stephens is very good about being able to function with reduced calories... she says we're getting plenty of calories, as we have so much stored fat which we are burning... once our body's are adapted to doing this easily, its not a problem as we have enough for years!

Marking place as I need to do this really!

@loveyouradvice I love your advice! Thanks so much for helping us all!

I fasted for 17.5 hours today and I feel awful. I've had a huge row with H and it's my period and I know there's different views on fasting during menstruation.

But I've eaten now and have gone to bed to rest. The kids are drinking me mad and I just need to write this day off!

Been lurking.

Started 16:8. Was doing well (trying soooo hard not to have milk in tea!).

But today I totally fell off the wagon and had a bowl of cereal in the morning. By mid morning I felt like rubbish!!!

So back on it from tonight.

I find the week so much easier due to being busy at work. So tomorrow for example I have a meeting that I have to drive to 10-12 so long as I don’t have breakfast I literally can’t eat. But on the weekend I find it really hard.

Any tips?

Yesterday I just focused on housework but today just wanted to chill.

@cosypompoms - hope you have a good rest.

I am with you with the kids!!! Probably why I had a ‘bad’ day today.

@MrInbetween why don't you look at fasting as a whole lifestyle that can be flexible to suit you. That way it's sustainable.
So Monday to Friday you do 16:8 if that suits you and on the weekends you do 14:10 or even 12:12. If it's doesn't work for you it's pointless so I'd make it flexible.

That's what I do anyway. Monday to Friday I'm 15:9 as that fits with my lifestyle and I can be consistent. No wine or snacks. On the weekends I can go one way or the other and either do 12:12 or I'll go mad and do a 24 fast or anything inbetween.

Last night I finished having a glass of red wine at 8:10pm so I thought well I won't eat until 8:10am at the earliest but as it turned out I didn't eat till 3:30pm.

I've lost a stone in 3 months doing that so it's working so far. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

I’ve been fairly consistently doing between 16:8 and 18:6 this week and have found it successful in the past.
I only did a longer fast once, as when I broke it I then had immediate horrendous diarrhoea. I googled and apparently you have to be careful how you break your fast or this happens. Do you have that issue @cosypompoms

Not really had that problem so far. I also wonder if I should think about what I break a fast with but normally it's porridge with lots of nuts and seeds and fruit.

Today it was falafel and salad.

Thanks for the word of wisdom! Will be kind to myself. I have to be careful not to think ‘oh fuck it I’ve had one bad day so will Jack it in!’

Back to it tomorrow, the ironic thing is it’s the psychological but that’s hard not the actual feeling hungry that I can pretty much just ‘name’ and move on from! But as soon as my mind says ‘oh this is silly’ I’m doomed!!

I find work days harder because I’m more tempted to eat! Back to work this week so will see if I can maintain it!