Intermittent fasting

[Changingbackinamo]

Hope this is ok being posted here.

I've put on weight since lockdown began, no excuses I have been bloody lazy.

I hear good things about intermittent fasting and am wanting to try it.

Has anybody here done this? Would you mind sharing your experience and any pointers?

I'll be reading up today but personal experience would be most welcome

Morning Op I have periods of doing 16:8 which works well for me although I'm not super strict drinks wise and will still have tea, coffee, juice.

In reality I found by the time I'd squeezed three meals into 8 hours I just ended up cutting out all snacks which was actually a good thing. So I'm some ways I was still getting the important foods in IYSWIM? For the first few days all I could think about until breakfast was food . Oh and within my window I didn't particularly calorie count I just tried to choose clean and fresh options as much as possible. When I do it, I'll do Mon - Thurs.

I think there are lots of threads running in the exercise board too which you might find helpful.

Over on weightloss chat there is a 16:8 thread, I started this just under a fortnight ago and have lost 7lbs. Def give it a go - and that has been with being more relaxed (wine etc) on a weekend!

Oh and the reason I started was because I have managed to put on 11lbs over lockdown but this honestly feels like it is something I can stick with!

I’ve been doing it since Christmas and I love it. Have lost nearly 1.5 stone (plateaued a bit since lockdown - damn you chocolate). I’ve found it really straightforward.

I started 16:8 just after Christmas and was doing really well. Then fell off the wagon so to speak and stopped and regained everything I lost. Some wasn’t a loss as in on the scales but could visibly see and feel clothing looser and fitted better. I have always had really slow hair growth as in when I get my hair dyed I normally need to refreshed rather than worrying about root regrow they but since starting again my hair has grown much faster and 3 weeks after dying my hair I have regrowth and roots. Not major roots but compared to normal probably have the kind of roots I would have had at about 10-12 weeks at 3. Not sure if that’s coincidence or not.

Intermittent fasting is also supposed to be good for getting rid of the fats that surround your organs so improving overall health.

I started again a few weeks ago and doing quite well. The issue I have is I work at a supermarket on a Saturday as well as my full time job and I work from 2am to 9am and if I don’t eat I get dizzy and feel sick so end up eating at about 7am which is 4 hours before my window opens.

So I have now decided to be stricter with what I eat Monday to Sunday and even do longer fasts of say18:6 and allow myself to have a breakfast at 7/8am on a Saturday without the guilt and then letting myself feel shitty the rest of the week which influences what I eat as I am then more likely to eat too many snacks or junk.

There is a group on Facebook called delay don’t deny which is American and started by a lady called GIn who has written a book on intermittent fasting.

If nothing else IF stops me snacking on an evening and a morning. I had terrible habits about eating late at night and snacking throughout the morning at work after having had a breakfast.

I was doing keto with intermittent fasting and lost 11kg in a few months. Some days I just wasn't hungry, so would have a black coffee in the morning, but not eat anything till lunch time, then only have 2 meals in the day. I used 'carb manager' app which helped to track exactly how many carbs I was eating.

I loved it, because once I knew what I could/couldn't eat, I was still eating nutritious foods, didn't feel I was missing out and hardly felt hungry. I only stopped because I became pregnant.

Thanks for the replies, it's encouraging to hear how it works for you all

I'm going to start 16:8 tomorrow!

I don't eat much when it comes to meals but I'm a big snacker (think biscuits or chocolate and crisps at bed time - I know!)

We also have full fat milk which I want to switch for semi skimmed. I drink 2 x tea a day with 2 sugars and blue milk which probably contributes slightly

I havent weighed myself in a couple of years and we don't have scales. I'm almost nervous to know how much I have put on. I'm going to order some today so I can track my progress.

@dinodiva did you do 5:2 or 16:8?

On an average day this is what I have:

Tea with 2 x sugars and blue milk in the morning. Sometimes a bowl of crunchy nut but sometimes I skip breakfast.

Nothing for lunch but I'll grab a few biscuits if I'm peckish.

Tea: 4-5ish can be anything like spag bol (with lots of cheese) and garlic bread, chicken fajitas (with cheese), chicken and rice, shepherd's pie (with cheese on), beef stir fry etc.

I find that I don't clear my plate and always have 1/2 or 1/4 left.

Then because I haven't eaten all of my Tea I'm then hungry 1-2 hours later, back onto the chocolate or crisps.

I had a whole tube of Pringles to myself two days in a row last week

I eat more snacks than I do proper food.

My children are the opposite and I don't want to set a bad example so I need to change my eating habits for sure.

I'm also less mobile since lockdown so that isn't helping.

Try really hard to have only black tea and coffee or herbal tea - I do 12-8 and spend all morning drinking lots of water and green tea - I sometimes have a normal tea with a dash of skimmed milk. I use an app called zero to track my fasts as well! I know exactly what you mean about the scales - was horrified when I got back on them!

I've done it and would recommend. Only for 24 hours though and you have to be careful when you do it to make sure it's safe (ie not on a day where you are doing intense exercise for example)

I'm 5"3 and currently buying in a size 12 mostly. I do have plenty of 10's which I fit into but 12 is definitely more accurate.

I don't think a size 12 is large in general but with me being short, I definitely look alot more podgy than I did last year.

Problem areas are my stomach, thighs and upper arms. I've also noticed a double chin creeping up if I catch a glimpse of myself on the front camera

@MsHarriet I do 16:8. It’s a bit more like 18:6 at the moment because we are eating in the evening with the kids rather than later on.

I do 16:8
2 meals - no snacks (though have my tea/coffe with oatmilk)

not strict when out with family/friends.

I'd second what Daisy says about watching training day clashes. My exception is if I run first thing (well, 8am ish) I find it easy to run on an empty stomach after a cuppa, then I can easily hold out until 10ish fit breakfast when I'll have overnight oats made the day before and a mug of real coffee. It feels like a treat but keeps me going til lunch.

If I was doing weights that day however I couldn't fast first.

But definitely find what works for you. As I'm often just cutting out the snacks in particular evening ones like a few pp have said (god, I could eat crisps forever), it doesn't feel like dieting or restricting myself.

Hope it goes well OP.

Thank you @dinodiva. Sorry one more question, what are the hours you don't eat please? Thank you.

Inspired

I do 16:8, have done for several years. I don’t squeeze three meals into the 8 hour window though, I just have lunch and dinner. My eating window is 1-9pm as we tend to eat late. Don’t even think about it now, I exercise in the morning (so fasted).

At the moment, I usually eat lunch around noon and then eat in the evening at 5.30. Sometimes I have some chocolate once the kids are in bed.
Weekends I am much more flexible and will eat later and sometimes have breakfast as well.
I like it. I find I don’t get a mid afternoon lull either.

I've been doing this for years, not to lose weight but to maintain it and for the health benefits (there are many) I generally eat from 11am to 7pm. We eat dinner at 6.30, after that I brush my teeth and don't want to/need to eat again.

I do it 3/4 days a week, before lockdown I was working 3 days a week and I don't IF on work days, I tried it but didn't have enough energy. Now I'm at home I'm probably doing it 4/5 days a week without thinking about it.

If you want to lose weight then try to cut out most of the snacks, all those calories add up, and focus on a nutritious Mediterranean diet combined with IF. I find it a great way to eat and very sustainable in the long term. There's a great thread in the weight loss section and the OP has lots of resources to help you.

I’ve done Keto for about 2 years and started 18:6 when lockdown kicked in, as I could see food becoming too much of distraction/ focus. I eat between 12 and 6. The morning is fine, sometimes I end up not eating until 1. Sometimes I get a bit hungry in the evening, but doing Keto makes it easier due to no sugar crashes etc. I tend to eat brunch and dinner. Sometimes I have snacks in between but not loads.
When I go back to work I will try to keep it up, but I may do 16:8 instead.

Taking notes thank you

No more snacks as of today, I'm determined!

I'm going to switch to semi skimmed milk from now, and have my 2 cuppas a day with just a dash of it.

I very much like sweet tea but will have a go at cutting out the sugar from the brew completely.

I'm popping to the shops now so will get something nice (and healthy-ish) for my meal tonight.

I say healthy-ish, DH will complain if I start trying to serve up salad but I can do balanced.

Just from my own experience, I'd maybe try cutting down on sugar gradually, I find I'm much more likely to stick with it that way. So maybe, if you cut down from 2 teaspoons of sugar to one for a week , get used to the new taste, then go down to a half. IME your palette adjusts any you just don't want the sweet stuff anymore.

I've also found in baking you can often reduce the sugar by a third and no one notices!

Great suggestion, thanks

I've been having 2 sugars for years I think suddenly dropping to 0 will put me off tea

I've been doing 16:8 since Christmas and have lost over 20lb. I've not been super strict so still drink tea and diluting juice within the 16. I also don't do it every single day, I have breakfast now and again if I'm going running in the morning (usually exercise later on).

I've found it quite easy, I dont have three meals though, just lunch and dinner. I pretty much eat what I want though and don't weigh or measure anything.