Intermittent fasting advice

[Fleurraindrop]

Calling on all you intermittent fasters out there for as much advice and tips as possible please 😊 I hate breakfast so I think this may be the one that works for me. Can you tell me your eating / fasting schedules and what works for you the ones that have been successful on this?
Also it would be great to hear what kind of things you do eat during the hours you are allowed to eat , is it calorie restricted etc ? I also a vape ( I know it's bad and need to give up!) and I know it may seem a very silly question, however does vaping break a fast. So far today I've had water, black coffee and black tea only.
I actually feel ok , I had a couple of hunger pangs and rumbling tummy but feel alright which has surprised me.
I have a stone and a half to lose

Hi, so there's different flavours of intermittent fasting. The easiest kind to ease yourself into it is the 16:8 which is where you only eat in an 8 hour window every day, for most people this means skipping either breakfast or dinner and limiting snacks between meals, so eating in a window something like 12 noon to 8pm or 8am to 4pm. By eating people mean anything that has calories, so fine to have black coffee or vape outside the window and in fact it's really important to stay well hydrated so you would be encouraged to drink plenty of water outside your eating window too.

Some people find this most simple kind of IF sufficient to lose weight without worrying at all about what exactly they eat during the window, for most people though particularly if like you you don't have a huge amount to lose, you do need to do something extra - whether that's monitoring/reducing calorie intake during the eating window (IF is still helpful in my experience compared to 'just' calorie counting as for me it's easier to feel full and still incorporate the odd treat or higher calorie item spread across two meals a day rather than 3 or 3 plus snacks), reducing carbs and increasing protein, or possibly moving towards the more extreme versions of IF - the 5:2 (which is only eating 500 calories on 2 days a week, eating normally the rest of the week) or the Fast800 (which is eating only 800 calories a day on a low carb/med diet type plan for a short period).

For now and for health I would start with the 16:8, you can ease yourself into it by having a slightly longer eating window to start with, particularly if you do feel hungry in the mornings, for me though cutting out evening snacking was a huge win so just getting into the habit of eating my dinner then not eating again at all until the next day was great. Maybe just see how you go with that and aiming for healthy lunches and dinners with plenty of veg without worrying too much about calorie counts or whatever for a few weeks, if you find you aren't really losing you can consider portion sizing and calorie counts and so on?

I agree with @maxelly - start with 16:8 and see how you feel.
I try as much as possible to follow IF although closer to 18:6.

I will almost always not have breakfast and have a later lunch (about 12.30 or 1pm if i can push it). This means dinner just before 7 and then lots of water. I try and do this every day - but in all honesty, real life means that sometimes I have dinner later or just feel like some porridge in the morning.

During my eating window, I'm really a protein and salad/veg kinda girlie. Over the years, I've found that rice and bread both bloat me. I've not yet decided to avoid gluten because i actually really love bread & potatoes. I will eat them in moderation when presented lol.

I have friends who started at 16:8, moved to OMAD and even do 36 hour fasts every now and then. They swear by how amazing it makes them feel (with weightloss/management as a bonus)

Depends how old you are (harder after 50) and how quickly you want to lose. I'm in my 50's and need to see results quickly for motivation, so I try and eat from 5-7pm and that's it. Coffee with splash of milk in morning.

I lost a stone like this, I know it's pretty drastic but it's short term. I work out too but I think it's 80% what you eat and 20% exercise.

Like you I don't like breakfast either so would have black coffee with sweetener and plenty of water to get me through (I also vape). My eating hours were between 11am-7pm but I didn't calorie restrict. I lost about a stone (6 kilos) in a year with little to no exercise but it depends on your personal goals and what you want to get out of it.

IF is a great way to let your digestive system reset and use up left over energy in your body.

Hi I started with making my portions smaller and then 16:8 then 19 then 20 then 22 hours , I'm doing that now so I stop eating at 4 and eat at 1 2 pm , it works for me, the tip I use is when I break my fast I eat properly till I'm full then after I eat my food after half an hour I will eat anything i want with a cup of English tea because i cn last till the next day but if I don't have tea I really feel it . I have lost 2 stones since July xx

@Accbabymom1994 - I would love a spoon of your determination! Well done on your loss! What kind of meals are you having in your eating window?

Hey thank you so much! I pretty much eat whatever I want , I'm not restricting myself on anything, because my stomach has gotten smaller I get full quickly so I don't need to restrict myself anymore, I normally have whatever is there and a cup of tea with 2 biscuits or cake or whatever is there.

I eat between 12 and 6pm. I limit what I eat too but not too much. I do it most days but not religiously.

I'm thinking of switching from 9am to 6pm eating hours because it's become so cold and I want warm food lol . I stopped eating at 2.45 today and I'm freezing cold and I know I won't be able to keep it up! I'd rather lose it slower .

Hi all,

@Fleurraindrop Hows the IF going? Any ups/downs?

I've never been big on breakfast and so I feel like I'm enjoying it. I've been 18:6 so far, but most days have not managed 2 full meals in that time frame. Has anyone tried OMAD?

I think i could easily get away with one meal and 2 snacks (one being yoghurt, because i absolutely love it 💖)

Apart from reduced calorie intake, the benefits of fasting for long periods is supposed to be amazing. I know a lady who does a 36-48hr fast every month. I''d like to get there one day - but will try OMAD+2 first.