Introducing intermittent fasting

[StuntNun]

This thread is for Bootcampers that are interested in introducing intermittent fasting. There are a myriad of health benefits from fasting and it is particularly useful for anyone who is likely to be insulin resistant (diabetes, prediabetes, PCOS). It can also be useful for reducing overall calorie intake if you are hoping to lose weight more quickly, you are in an extended stall, or are close to your goal weight and weight loss has slowed.

If you're like me and you've never skipped a meal in your life then fasting may sound daunting but it really isn't difficult. It only takes a matter of days to get used to the feeling of hunger rising and then passing again. If you already miss meals or find yourself not feeling hungry at breakfast time then it will be even easier to introduce intermittent fasting, you're just formalising something that is already happening.

You should wait until you are at least two weeks into Bootcamp to start fasting and some people may need to wait for longer. Once you are fully adapted to burning fat your hunger levels rise more slowly and you have access to your fat reserves to get you through a longer fasting period without much hunger.

The method that combines best with low carb is intermittent fasting 16:8 where you have a minimum of three 16-hour fasts per week. This is usually by missing breakfast so if you have finish dinner at 7 p.m. then you don't eat again until at least 11 a.m. the next day. You can also miss dinner and fast from lunch to breakfast instead but most people find that less convenient; it depends on your lifestyle.

The easiest way to introduce fasting is to give it a try. Make a note of what time you finish eating and see when you get hungry the next day. If you're naturally getting hungry after 12 hours then aim for 12.5 or 13 hours for your first fast and build up to 16 hours gradually. It's fine to have a cup of tea or coffee (with milk not cream) during your fast period. At your usual breakfast time you will probably feel hungry. Have a hot drink and/or a big glass of water and usually the hunger will subside and then rise again later in the day. You don't need to fast every day to get the health benefits so if you're particularly hungry one day then just have breakfast and aim to fast the next day instead.

Sorry, welcome Chips, we cross posted.

Wrote a long post earlier but it's disappeared. I did a nineteen hour fast again. Did have a very small snack (quarter of a cup of the hm soup dh made for dinner)between lunch and dinner, otherwise it was easy. Got my ACV with the mother today. As there are mixed opinions as to how drinkable it is diluted with water I'm still trying to decide whether to try it or just stick to it in dressing like I do with the non mother ACV I usually have. That article on conditioning was interesting stunt.This time last year we had new carpet in the sittting room and decided on a no eating in there rule. Although we have the occasional relaxing of this it has made it much easier to watch TV without constantly wanting to snack.

Quick question for Stunt: can I have a chai latte when fasting? Made with almond milk, so 30ish calories. Or is it too much?

Are you fasting with only water for 3 days solid Chips?

I reckon so Captain. I have been having bone broth which is about the same amount of calories.

Thanks Stunt I had it anyway.If it is ok, can break my fast from 12pm tomorrow, otherwise it would have been almost 2pm.

IHATETHECOLD- yes that's the plan but need to lose 4 more pounds first. I am hoping it will keep the loose skin at bay, getting old now so it doesn't so spring back anymore!😭 because I am in ketosis it's not actually too bad, it's more a mental battle saying that it's not something I am looking forwards to esp as I still need to cook for the family. I keep thinking of the health benefits and Google the science behind it.

Don't you feel dizzy?

no I felt fine. I had predictable waves of hunger at meal times but a glass of water and a black coffee sorted that. on the second day I felt a bit odd so I chucked a tsp of salt into a bit of water and knocked it back like a shot and I felt better - so maybe a salt imbalance? by the 3rd day I knew it was time to stop. I didn't feel hungry so much but knew I had had enough. next time I might be able to go longer, I plan on listening to my body and going from there. I actually felt great through most of it , I was extra worn out in the evenings and took it easy but I mostly did my usual activities. I didn't get the sense of spiritual enlighten I had read about - shame but I was proud of myself as I knew I was reducing my insulin levels. I am sure thats why low carbing is easier this time. Dr Jason fung on YouTube or diet Dr explains it really well.

That's amazing chips.
Good for you.

Another benefit of fasting. It takes me out of dustbin mode at breakfast. I'm not snaffling the left over carbs but have just realised I'm telling myself it's ok to finish off the LC stuff with no regard to how hungry or otherwise I am. So this morning for example I didn't scrape out the insides of my son's boiled eggs or lick the spoon after dishing up his yogurt (still hurt to bin it though but I'm getting there)

Very interesting stories, thank you everyone for sharing.

So long as I drink the water recommended by bootcamp, I'm finding myself having one 'normal' sized meal a day with no noticeable side effects. I try to get the water drunk as early in the day as possible, so it's through me and 'out the other side' before i go to sleep. The only time i ever notice any impulse to eat, is when i haven't drunk any water.

I tell myself i can have a square of Lindt 90% and/or an espresso any day i fancy them. I often feel a 'situational' impulse for one or the other (say after a meal, DH says oh, lets have a coffee) but no real 'body wants to have swallowed a coffee' impluses. So haven't had any and don't feel deprived.

Puzzlin'. Very puzzling.

I'm finding my energy levels are really low especially late afternoon onwards.

I'm walking the dogs in the evening like 😴 Really dragging my feet.

Finally did you read the Diet Doctor article I linked to upthread about hunger being a conditioned response? I found it fascinating just how many situations make me hungry when I don't need food. DH and I used to be terrible for evening snacking but since I started fasting again last week I don't want to eat in the evening because it means I'll have to wait longer to eat the next day. A few evenings ago I actually sat next to DH who was eating hot chicken wings and told myself I wasn't hungry... and I wasn't. An impressive result because seeing and smelling food triggers an insulin release that makes you hungry. That's why it's so hard to resist food that's in front of you, even if you weren't hungry before you saw it. That's why Costa have all the cakes and pastries at eye level when you're queuing.

I'm already at 16 hours today thanks to an early dinner last night so I'm going to see how I go, I'll just eat whenever I get hungry. I have a school governors meeting at 5 today so I want to get my two meals in before that.

Finally did you read the Diet Doctor article I linked to upthread about hunger being a conditioned response? I found it fascinating just how many situations make me hungry when I don't need food. DH and I used to be terrible for evening snacking but since I started fasting again last week I don't want to eat in the evening because it means I'll have to wait longer to eat the next day. A few evenings ago I actually sat next to DH who was eating hot chicken wings and told myself I wasn't hungry... and I wasn't. An impressive result because seeing and smelling food triggers an insulin release that makes you hungry. That's why it's so hard to resist food that's in front of you, even if you weren't hungry before you saw it. That's why Costa have all the cakes and pastries at eye level when you're queuing.

I'm already at 16 hours today thanks to an early dinner last night so I'm going to see how I go, I'll just eat whenever I get hungry. I have a school governors meeting at 5 today so I want to get my two meals in before that.

Oops sorry for the double post. My Internet keeps dropping out.

Oh my goodness, ACV with the mother (a tbsp in a glass of water) what a revelation. It was like knocking back scrumpy in my long ago mis spent youth.

That was an interesting article, stunt, and explains a bit how I could go from zero to a 100 on the hunger scale in about 10 seconds when I saw/smelled/even thought about food. I'm much less triggered by sight/smell/thought already, which is very liberating. I'm heading comfortably towards 16 hours again just now. By this act alone, I'm probably dropping about a third of my calories, because I used to eat a lot in the morning. I just need my gut to become more settled because otherwise the bootcamp and IF are transforming my life, and my relationship with food. It's just the toilet trips that are a bit miserable, but I've started pysillium husks to see if that helps.

KOKO Cherries it will get better, especially as you fine-tune what works for you.

I comfortably managed 18 hours today then had three scrambled eggs and two slices of bacon for brunch at 11:50. I'm still amazed at how much less hungry I am. I used to have that for breakfast and also have some yogurt and strawberries, and still need lunch.

Absolutely, Stuntnun, I think that article clarified for me what i had been experiencing. Might have been clearer if i had referred to the article i found so helpful. I get the theory of relying on my own experience for my own body, but so often find i need to recognise my experience in someone else's analysis before trusting my own judgement. Hoping this will improve as I continue on this WOE.

It is just sooo different from so much of the received wisdom around. Sigh.

I had dinner at 4.30 yesterday so I only have to make it to 8.30 this morning to get my 16 hours in. Water and caffeine are supposed to help the breakfast-time hunger pass so I've had a cup of tea and a pint of water and I'm sipping at my bouillon now before the chaos of getting the four kids out to school starts. I couldn't face the ACV yesterday so I think I'm going to give up on that in water and just use it in salad dressings.

I'm a daily weigher and the scales were two pounds lighter today so we'll see whether that 'sticks' or not. I'm in the normal BMI range so weight loss tends to be a bit haphazard for me. But I was a size 10 after DS3 so it would be nice to get down one clothes size again as I have a lot of clothes in the wardrobe that are a bit too tight at the moment. I also have two pairs of size 12 jeans from a loooong time ago my student days that I haven't worn for decades. It goes to show just how much clothes sizes have changed over time.

Just completed another 16 hour fast. About to have chicken and mozerella salad for lunch. I WAS really hungry today and under normal circumstances I'd probably have eaten. However, had a physio appt at 9.30 and because of the unpredictability and over excitability of my gut right now, I decided it was safer not to eat. By the time I got home it was 11.30, so I decided it was so near eating time I could just hang on till 1pm. Had a mug of bullion and managed fine. I would NEVER have been able to do that a month ago.

Only managed 15 hours yesterday. No good reason why, just cba. then went on and had a carby twatty afternoon. Think AF is due terrible excuse
However, back on track now. Didn't eat from 6pm yesterday until 2pm today, so did a 20 hour fast! Was definitely hungry, but otherwise ok. I'm feeling stuffed now after my sausage casserole. I brought extra snacks with me today in case I needed them, but I don't think I will need them.

I did nineteen and a half hours today. No problems with hunger but I did find at dinner tonight that I had to be very firm with myself about not eating the same again. Now I'm away from the table I'm ok.

I was hungry all day yesterday so I had three meals in my eating window instead of two. I was peckish in the evening but I suspect that was conditioning after a stressful time fixing DS1's bike. When I went to bed my tummy was actually rumbling but I didn't feel too hungry and now in the morning I feel fine again and not hungry. I would definitely have ended up snacking last night if I wasn't aiming to fast this morning so I think intermittent fasting is helping me deal with non-hunger eating. I only have to make it to 10:30 this morning anyway. I have a batch of bone broth in the slow cooker stinking the house out so I'm looking forward to trying that when it's done.