i want to start "light" IF. 11-7. With coffee in the morning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is something like this worthwhile if you only do it half the days, or do you need to do it every day to make it work? I play in tennis matches a few times a week at 10 am and I have to eat a real meal around 7:30 or 8 am in order to do well.

My experience has been no. My approach is to try to do one 20-24 hour fast per week, and skip breakfast the other days, pushing lunch into the early afternoon when possible. I have milk or cream in my coffee, don’t fast on days when I’m not feeling it, and am kind of halfhearted about the whole thing at times. I try I stay low carb on days when I don’t fast, but eat whatever is on the menu for dinner.

I’m down about 20 pounds. It’s been pretty easy, fasting is not hard at all once you are adapted to it. I feel great. I think people would be better served by shooting for 18 hours rather than 16.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is something like this worthwhile if you only do it half the days, or do you need to do it every day to make it work? I play in tennis matches a few times a week at 10 am and I have to eat a real meal around 7:30 or 8 am in order to do well.

I think it is better to do every day so your body gets used to not eating until noon or 1. Once your body adapts you won't need to have that meal in order to do well at tennis. You might have a couple of bad weeks, but it will serve you better in the long run to get a schedule.

[Anonymous]

You probably need the energy if you are doing competitive matches. I'd just eat a small snack those days before the match and stop eating dinner a little earlier the night before. A lot of research says there's benefits at 12 hours, so you could stop eating by 7pm the night before. I do't know why everyone always does a later fast window. I like to exercise and can't really workout hard at the end of a long fast. And it's not good for muscle recover to fast for hours after a hard workout.

IF was hard for me in the beginning. Now a 14 hour fast typically is the sweet spot for me. I use almond milk or any other unsweetened milk in my coffee. It might be 20-30 calories and stevia. Or I do stevia and black tea. I use it for calorie management mostly, and for me, it's better to eat a small breakfast at 9am sone days than to be starving at noon. When I did that I ate a huge meal to get full.

Don't be afraid to experiment with what works best for you. Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

That is basically normal eating in a day. There will be no headaches or any side effects. Have two black coffess in the morning, you will not even be hungry the very second morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is basically normal eating in a day. There will be no headaches or any side effects. Have two black coffess in the morning, you will not even be hungry the very second morning.

Yup. And since it's basically normal you also probably won't lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you skip dinner then?

[Anonymous]

This isn’t IF lite.. this is IF. 16:8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you skip dinner then?

are we referring to OPs schedule. 11-7 is IF. I do 12-18 but it doesn't matter what the window is.