What happens to your weight if/when you stop doing IF?
Another question: is it important that IF happens most days per week vs. 3-4 days per week?
So far today the problem I’m running into is that it’s almost 5:00, the end of my eating time and I’m not hungry. I need more than I’ve had today and I know I’ll be hungry in about an hour to 90 minutes. I’m not sure the 8 hour window is going to work for me. I think 9 to 10 works best for my ability to not be thinking of food and times, all the time.
@conmama, I started with 10 hours and now do 9 hours. I have had days off from it, and I definitely have milk in my coffee before I eat the first time. So I’ve been flexible and it has worked for me. For what it’s worth, I have never had any pre-diabetic issues. I can see how it might be different for those who do.
@oldmom4896 , I actually went ahead and ate (I made homemade minestrone soup and it was looking just too delicious). I’m sort of glad I ate, since I wasn’t really hungry and didn’t overeat. It’s 7 now and I feel very full still and don’t want to snack.
So, my question is…do you all eat even when you’re not that hungry when you reach hour 8?
@conmama, I start my eating noon or later and usually have dinner around 7. So this situation hasn’t really applied.
^^How do you manage to get through your morning to early afternoon without any food?? I need thinking energy for my work and energy for physical output! That would mean I’m up for 6+ hours without ingesting any calories after fasting for 11 hours overnight!
@abasket, speaking only for myself, I eat a very low carb diet. This causes you to produce ketone bodies as an energy source. Those ketones provide energy for your brain and your body for that morning workout. No headaches, no light headedness, and energy levels are normal.
Today was a beating. I worked a 10.5 hour surgery. Got home 15 minutes ago (6:45 pm CST) and went to the bathroom for the first time since 5:30 am, and just drank the first liquid I’ve had since coffee at 6:00 am. I literally had no time to do any of that. The last time I ate was 7 pm last night. I was hungry around 4, but right now I’m not hungry. I’m really just worn out from working the surgery. DH is on his way home to take me to dinner, so I will definitely eat, but fasting (even not on purpose) doesn’t kill you if you don’t have hypoglycemia issues.
@abasket, I guess we’re all different. The coffee is really all I need. And since I stop eating before 9 if I start at noon, the fast is not so long. No matter when you start, if you eat within 9 hours, the fast is 15 hours. If you eat within 8 hours, the fast is 16 hours.
“How do you manage to get through your morning to early afternoon without any food?? I need thinking energy for my work and energy for physical output! That would mean I’m up for 6+ hours without ingesting any calories after fasting for 11 hours overnight!”
I have never in my life had any desire to eat before noon. I ate only because the ‘experts’ told me I should. It’s easy for me to wait til 1 pm to eat. I’m not even thinking about it. That means an 8 hour window allows my to go til 9 pm. This makes social eating much easier and there’s nothing artificial feeling about stopping then. The night is pretty much over. For those who can skip breakfast with ease IF makes a lot of sense because it come so naturally.
Let’s keep this thread alive! I started food early today at 7:30am and ate my last meal at 3:30pm. That seems crazy, but I’m not hungry and won’t be until morning. I need to do a better job of planning my vegetables. I think of them more as dinner food items, and need to plan some in the morning
IF can be especially great if you have strict dietary needs (like an allergy). Not having to eat can mean a lot of freedom. I can’t imagine doing IF unless it was low carb, though, because the carbs make you hungry again pretty quick. I am trying to figure out a system. I like to wait until 2 to eat and then eat again around 6 but I’d rather just eat once at dinner (did for years). I mostly make it but sometimes scheduling requires me to move 2pm up to 12:30 or so. I’m trying to get more strict.
A positive that I forgot to mention before, is that waiting to eat until after noon provides the sensation of feeling hungry, something I rarely felt in all the years I ate breakfast. I think for many years none of my eating was in response to hunger. Because it was lunchtime? Because I was bored? Depressed? Scared? Sad? Happy? Sure. But truly hungry? Not really. Now that my first meal happens when I’m truly hungry, I am starting to not eat other meals unless truly hungry, too.
hmmm, I realized today that I am normally a 14/10 eater. As a serious night owl (and is not likely to change) I am ok with last snack (a banana typically) at 11 pm and food at 1:00 pm is easy. Extending this two hours seems possible. It is 10:42 here and I am having a light snack. Will be hungry tomorrow with even first thought of food about 1:00. and headache will set in at 2:00.
I’m giving this a try. I lost several pounds in the first week, but then over the weekend, gained them back! And I have not cheated once. Very frustrated. I think the problem is that, even though we didn’t do a formal Thanksgiving, there was a lot of bad carbs around, and I told myself that they don’t matter because of the IF. Well, they do. I can never go back to that kind of carb eating. Packed it all right back on.
Lesson learned.
Water weight can cause big fluctuations. It might be a good idea to just weigh yourself once a week and look at month-long trends…
thanks–I do know about water weight and fluctuations, but for me, daily weighing is a motivation and a precaution.
Daily weighing has been absolutely essential for me. I’m down another two pounds this week. I keep moving the goal posts. Twenty more pounds is my new goal. (11 more for my original goal)
@abasket , I used to also think no way could I skip a meal or fast. I get headaches from not eating and therefore have never been good about feeling hungry…it makes me nervous. ALl that was before I tried IF and fasting, though. After the first 2 times or so it’s really quite easy. I have energy, still work out, still go about my normal day. I do get hungry at the time I would normally eat a meal, then after about 30 min it just goes away!
I totally agree with what @CCtoAlaska says about low-carb. I also eat low carb/keto which naturally surpresses hunger. Carbs absolutely make me hungrier; I don’t know that I could IF while eating carby meals. It would be much harder. Also it is great for dietary needs such as gluten free, when you are out and about you don’t have to worry about finding something to eat!
Daily weighing for me is a feedback tool. If I find that foods are bumping my weight because I’m retaining fluid, it’s a sign the inflammation will eventually turn into real weight gain. But you have to be able to deal with fluctuauions because they are natural.
This is another stupid diet fad. Any diet that reduces calories will result in weight loss, but you don’t need to starve yourself several days a week to cut calories.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30470804/?i=3&from=intermittent%20fasting%20randomized%20trial