Intermittent Fasting

[PennyPop]

To begin with I’d throw out any rules honestly.

Just see how late you can go without breaking your fast. You’ll get to the point where you’ll be like ‘ah I can wait a little longer, just one more hour’ ..
That way if you do fall off the wagon so to speak there’s no guilt.

I have my coffee in the morning (it gives me something to look forward to in the morning ) then I drink 2L of water. I try to wait until I get home & then I’ll have OMAD.
I’m not mega strict though & won’t deprive myself anything & I go to lunch with friends etc.

OMAD is great for weight loss, as is IM. it depends where you’re at now though. It certainly may cuts the calorie intake.

Sorry if this is a load of waffle! hope it helps!

Love this, thank you! I feel like this might be how I do it!

Right now I'm just unhappy with my weight and when I catch myself in the mirror 🫤

I was talking to my husband about it all tonight and I realised that counting the calories in every single thing I eat is making me miserable. Googling the calories in 5 cherry tomatoes is depressing! I'd much rather be able to eat 5 cherry tomatoes within a window and not have to worry!

I'm going to fast as long as I can tomorrow, see how I get on and go from there.

I really appreciate the input from you guys, I feel positive!!
---

Worth reading Delay Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens as it explains how to get started with IF and various fasting schedules. We are all different and it’s worth finding out what works for you and your lifestyle.

I've read some stuff about her tonight too, got some homework to do!

 

[yogiessexdubs]

I agree, I’d be miserable counting calories.
Good luck today, & let us know how you get on!

 

[JL8828]

Good lucky PennyPop

 

[AlwaysSummer]

Agreed, counting calories is depressing. There has to be caloric deficit to lose weight regardless of the chosen diet. I find with IF my appetite naturally self corrects and I don’t need to worry about eating more than intended. I was away couple of weeks ago and overindulged in eating and drinking but totally enjoyed myself. Re-started IF after getting back and 10 days in am back at the weight ( which is within normal range for me) I was before going away, no stress no fuss.

 

[penpitstop]

Does anyone have any experience of having tried both 5:2 and 16/8 (not at the same time obviously!)?If so which do they find more effective? I have always done 5:2 and it works really well for me. However I have a 3 month old and 500 calories a day with 4 hours broken sleep is not a form of torture I wish to inflict on myself!!!

 

[AlwaysSummer]

Does anyone have any experience of having tried both 5:2 and 16/8 (not at the same time obviously!)?If so which do they find more effective? I have always done 5:2 and it works really well for me. However I have a 3 month old and 500 calories a day with 4 hours broken sleep is not a form of torture I wish to inflict on myself!!!

I do a version of it where I aim for 17-18+ hours of daily fasting combined with low food Monday (aiming to eat around 500-800kcal). My husband and I have done several fasts from Sunday night until Tuesday morning, however like you, my sleep was disrupted on Monday nights after a few of those. Hunger wasn’t a problem really, just felt wired. Doing low food Mondays works really well for me though. It’s a case of trial and error and seeing what works for you. I do find having a low food day ramps up weight loss and great for getting over plateaus. I can imagine adding a second day per week would work even better for weight loss.

 

[PennyPop]

Thanks guys! Today has been good! I fasted until just after midday and got half an hour on the exercise bike in too. I was hungry by lunch but no more than I would be usually

I've had a cheesy omelette with some veggies and a handful of so of popcorn...oh and a cheeky bourbon biscuit!

I've even managed a litre and a half of water so far today and I am NOT a water drinker!

 

[PennyPop]

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well! I've just come on for a quick bit of advice...I'm out for dinner this Friday and I'm wondering if it's more effective to have a long fast prior to going out, or a long fast post dinner? I fell off the wagon last weekend BIG time and I reeeeally don't want to fall off again because I was so disappointed and annoyed with myself. I want to try and be as prepared as possible!

 

[whocarez]

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well! I've just come on for a quick bit of advice...I'm out for dinner this Friday and I'm wondering if it's more effective to have a long fast prior to going out, or a long fast post dinner? I fell off the wagon last weekend BIG time and I reeeeally don't want to fall off again because I was so disappointed and annoyed with myself. I want to try and be as prepared as possible!

why would you starve yourself before or after it.
Enjoy the meal draw a line and get back on track the following day.
it cannot be perfect every single day there is no quick fix to weight and life happens. be good 90% of the time consistently enjoy the days when something comes up choose boiled veg potato over fried or mashed.
consistency is key one day isn't going to throw everything be consistent for 6 days take the dinner following week be consistent for 7 days!

 

[scantysandwich]

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well! I've just come on for a quick bit of advice...I'm out for dinner this Friday and I'm wondering if it's more effective to have a long fast prior to going out, or a long fast post dinner? I fell off the wagon last weekend BIG time and I reeeeally don't want to fall off again because I was so disappointed and annoyed with myself. I want to try and be as prepared as possible!

What did you decide in the end and how did you feel?

From personal experience I experiment with what works best for me in these kind of situations. There will always be something that throws us off schedule and coming up with strategies can be really helpful, and freeing. I find I tend to feel better if I fast longer before the big social meal. I know that after (the next day) I will struggle if there has been alcohol or lots of carbs involved and also eating late always makes me hungrier the next day. So I go easy on myself the next day and reset. Close my window at 5pm for example.

 

[gossipgirlxxo]

My friend keeps telling me that by fasting, the next time I eat, my body will store it as fat because it’s in starvation mode. Why is there so much conflicting information?

 

[AlwaysSummer]

My friend keeps telling me that by fasting, the next time I eat, my body will store it as fat because it’s in starvation mode. Why is there so much conflicting information?

Starvation mode occurs after extended periods of no food, that’s 48+ hours. Studies have shown that shorted periods of fasting increase metabolic rate. There is a lot of conflicting advice out there. If you are interested to read up, Delay Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens is a great book to read with all questions answered and backed up by scientific studies.

 

[PennyPop]

What did you decide in the end and how did you feel?

From personal experience I experiment with what works best for me in these kind of situations. There will always be something that throws us off schedule and coming up with strategies can be really helpful, and freeing. I find I tend to feel better if I fast longer before the big social meal. I know that after (the next day) I will struggle if there has been alcohol or lots of carbs involved and also eating late always makes me hungrier the next day. So I go easy on myself the next day and reset. Close my window at 5pm for example.

I did a longer fast before I went out, usually my window starts around 12/1pm but I went to about 4pm. I felt fine actually, I thought I would struggle but it was fine! I'm the same, eating late makes me hungry the next day, so I didn't fast the following day as I knew it would be a struggle.

 

[BR006]

I’m really interested in trying IF but I’m unsure on the rules around it.
Can you drink water/squash/fizzy diet juice during your fasting period?
What sort of calories should you aim for in a day roughly?
what’s the ideal fasting ratio?

 

[AlwaysSummer]

I’m really interested in trying IF but I’m unsure on the rules around it.
Can you drink water/squash/fizzy diet juice during your fasting period?
What sort of calories should you aim for in a day roughly?
what’s the ideal fasting ratio?

There aren’t many rules in IF, that’s the beauty of it. Simply drink plain water, black tea or coffee during your fast. Anything with flavour, even zero calorie drinks is discouraged as it will trigger insulin response in the body.

Depending on what your current diet is, start out by pushing back your first meal of the day by say 15 min. Eventually your body will be comfortable with longer fasts. We are all different and you might find your happy fasting period is different to others. For example my husband can comfortably do 20+ hour fasts most days where I average around 18+ hours a day.

The same applies for food intake. Some people combine IF with calorie counting, low carb or other diet plans. I don’t calorie count but aim for lower carb nutritious meals, lots of veg fruit and good protein. If you do IF for some time, you will naturally want to eat the right foods, iykwim. You will prob find that your appetite naturally self-corrects and you will be satisfied with less food. Listening to your body and learning to trust it is key.

 

[penpitstop]

I’m really interested in trying IF but I’m unsure on the rules around it.
Can you drink water/squash/fizzy diet juice during your fasting period?
What sort of calories should you aim for in a day roughly?
what’s the ideal fasting ratio?

After many recommendations on here I just finished delay don’t deny by gin Stephens (there is a more up to date version on Spotify audiobooks if you have it!). I have been doing IF for many years but this really opened my eyes to the many things I’ve been doing wrong. I highly recommend reading this before doing anything. Clean fasting is really important so only water and black coffee/tea when in your fast period