Intermittent Fasting Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been doin IF since last November and in May found that I had lost 18 pounds.
But now I am up 5 pounds again!! I am still fasting. Anyone know what’s going on?
Perhaps my calorie intake has increased? Will that make such a difference?

Have you been watching your sodium intake?

[Anonymous]

Charlotte here. I’m definitely feeling my appetite start to correct, a month in. I have been planning to do 16:8, but I am naturally gravitating towards a six hour eating window so I’m letting it happen. I figure that I’ll consider a day a win if I do a 16 hour fast, and if I feel like starting the window later or closing it earlier depending on the day, that’s fine too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charlotte here. I’m definitely feeling my appetite start to correct, a month in. I have been planning to do 16:8, but I am naturally gravitating towards a six hour eating window so I’m letting it happen. I figure that I’ll consider a day a win if I do a 16 hour fast, and if I feel like starting the window later or closing it earlier depending on the day, that’s fine too.

I do the same. Making it to 16 is no problem at all so I will usually try to extend it until I’m naturally hungry. I don’t just start eating because I hit 16 and “can.” I’m more at an 18:6 than a 16:8 because of this.

[Anonymous]

Question - I want to try a 24 hour today. I started at 5 pm yesterday. Do I go until 5 PM today and then open the window for a certain time and then close it? Or do I just...not eat anything today? (Sounds harder). I have been doing 18/6 for a month and it has changed by life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question - I want to try a 24 hour today. I started at 5 pm yesterday. Do I go until 5 PM today and then open the window for a certain time and then close it? Or do I just...not eat anything today? (Sounds harder). I have been doing 18/6 for a month and it has changed by life.

Every time I have done a longer fast, I have done it in the first way you referenced (basically one meal a day). I know there are some people who do the up/down approach, which sounds like your second option (so, today would be your "down" day and you don't eat at all). I think the important thing there is that a fully "up" day needs to follow every single "down" day...and your "up" day should not be time restricted. Gin Stephens talks about all of these options at length in her books. They are definitely worth a read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question - I want to try a 24 hour today. I started at 5 pm yesterday. Do I go until 5 PM today and then open the window for a certain time and then close it? Or do I just...not eat anything today? (Sounds harder). I have been doing 18/6 for a month and it has changed by life.

Every time I have done a longer fast, I have done it in the first way you referenced (basically one meal a day). I know there are some people who do the up/down approach, which sounds like your second option (so, today would be your "down" day and you don't eat at all). I think the important thing there is that a fully "up" day needs to follow every single "down" day...and your "up" day should not be time restricted. Gin Stephens talks about all of these options at length in her books. They are definitely worth a read.

Thank you so much! I am not really ready for ADF, looking forward to my OMAD at 5 pm!

[Anonymous]

I wish it worked for me but it doesn’t. It has helped me maintain, so I haven’t gained any weight during Covid, but no pounds lost either. And I‘ve really cut back. At this point I can o y assume I’m doomed thanks to to age, stress and perimenopause hormones. 🙁

[Anonymous]

Mya here. I’m still “kind of doing IF.” I do anywhere between 12-17hrs fast depending on my workouts. Overall, I find 15 works best to keep my energy up to do moderate exercise daily. I can refuel after workouts sooner and keep my appetite from getting too out of control. If I do a hard workout late morning, it’s best to do around 12 hours to fuel my workout. The length of my fast also doesn’t seem to have any effect on my weight loss. I am still losing about a pound a week. So, overall, no dramatic results, but steady progress, and this approach is pretty easy to maintain and fit into my lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

New here but not new to IF. I’m Jen. I’ve been doing IF on and off for about one year. Consistently all of 2020. I lost only about one pound. I keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs. I’m trying to stick to it.
SW 119
CW between 117lbs and 118lbs
GW between 110-113lbs
I’m 5’1”. I know I don’t have much to lose but it’s still frustrating I’ve been doing this for so long with so little progress. I started at 16:8 and now do mostly 18:6. I’ll keep trying and will follow this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New here but not new to IF. I’m Jen. I’ve been doing IF on and off for about one year. Consistently all of 2020. I lost only about one pound. I keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs. I’m trying to stick to it.
SW 119
CW between 117lbs and 118lbs
GW between 110-113lbs
I’m 5’1”. I know I don’t have much to lose but it’s still frustrating I’ve been doing this for so long with so little progress. I started at 16:8 and now do mostly 18:6. I’ll keep trying and will follow this thread.

I know this is a thread dedicated to IF, but have you considered trying other things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New here but not new to IF. I’m Jen. I’ve been doing IF on and off for about one year. Consistently all of 2020. I lost only about one pound. I keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs. I’m trying to stick to it.
SW 119
CW between 117lbs and 118lbs
GW between 110-113lbs
I’m 5’1”. I know I don’t have much to lose but it’s still frustrating I’ve been doing this for so long with so little progress. I started at 16:8 and now do mostly 18:6. I’ll keep trying and will follow this thread.

We have similar CW and GWs. Have you considered Alternate Day Fasting or extended fasting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New here but not new to IF. I’m Jen. I’ve been doing IF on and off for about one year. Consistently all of 2020. I lost only about one pound. I keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs. I’m trying to stick to it.
SW 119
CW between 117lbs and 118lbs
GW between 110-113lbs
I’m 5’1”. I know I don’t have much to lose but it’s still frustrating I’ve been doing this for so long with so little progress. I started at 16:8 and now do mostly 18:6. I’ll keep trying and will follow this thread.

The daily caloric requirements to maintain 110lbs versus 117 are less than 50 calories apart. I would track the value of what you eat for a week or two without changing your diet, then run a calorie calculator for both weights. You’ll be able to more accurately back out your level of exercise that way, for a more useful calculation. Then it’s just a matter of dropping the required number of calories, or adding in some exercise. The math doesn’t lie.

[Anonymous]

I need to start this - today shall be my first day. Let me see if I have this straight - I will fast for 16 hours and eat normally for 8?

Any thing I should be aware of?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New here but not new to IF. I’m Jen. I’ve been doing IF on and off for about one year. Consistently all of 2020. I lost only about one pound. I keep losing and gaining the same 2 lbs. I’m trying to stick to it.
SW 119
CW between 117lbs and 118lbs
GW between 110-113lbs
I’m 5’1”. I know I don’t have much to lose but it’s still frustrating I’ve been doing this for so long with so little progress. I started at 16:8 and now do mostly 18:6. I’ll keep trying and will follow this thread.

The daily caloric requirements to maintain 110lbs versus 117 are less than 50 calories apart. I would track the value of what you eat for a week or two without changing your diet, then run a calorie calculator for both weights. You’ll be able to more accurately back out your level of exercise that way, for a more useful calculation. Then it’s just a matter of dropping the required number of calories, or adding in some exercise. The math doesn’t lie.

I exercise 5x/week but never use that to add calories at the end of the day. I've read Dr. Fung and he talks about how calorie restriction can be detrimental to metabolism which is why IF appealed to me. Maybe it's also the quality of my calories.

[Anonymous]

After a few bad months I am trying to get into it again. I have been doing 47 hour fasts, which I strangely find easier than OMAD. The weight has been falling off. I eat Sunday evening, then Tuesday evening, then Thursday evening, then one meal a day Friday-Sunday.