"IF" intermittent fasting

So just curious if any one is having results with IF? I'm lookin to do it 6-7 days a week I'm on a 19 hour fast with 5 hour eating window been doing it for a few days now feel great I don't have the normal food craving I did when I was dieting and doing the whole 5 meals a day thing. Think it has a lot to do with eating only 2-3 times a day but big meals in a short period I still eat healthy but I don't feel like I'm depriving myself and counting the minutes to eat my next 300 calorie meal ( when I was eating 5 small meals) any ways just wondering if anyone was having results and how they feel

I have been doing IF for the last 4 months on pretty much the same regimen as you. I lost about 5 kg in the first 2-3 months, but was also keeping a very casual eye on my cals at the same time (1500-1800 per day). I have now increased cals slightly to stop losing weight (I only needed to lose that amount).

I love that I get to eat one decent, filling meal each day. I always found frequent small meals difficult to stick to and not satisfying. 

There are several great things I have discovered doing IF:

1. Feeling hungry wont kill me. I still get hunger pangs during the day but I just ignore them. They pass.

2. I dont need to worry about what to eat or preparing/buying food during the day so I get more time to do other stuff, and life is cheaper. I also amazingly find that food temptations are now not an issue. I just know I cant have anything until "feeding time" so, I honestly dont worry about it. I can go out to lunch with friends and not eat. It bothers them more than me.

3. My daytime energy levels are more constant. No post-lunch slump. My training is unaffected (I run 3 times a week (up to half marathon distances in a fasted state) and lift weights on another 3 days).

4. An amazing sense of freedom from worrying about food. Dont get me wrong I LOVE food and am an excellent cook - but I channel all this toward my evening meal and eat like a king for that meal.

I am glad you are finding IF suits you. It is hard explaining to people who dont do it that if feels so right AND is not difficult. Nice to come across other people who have tried and appreciate it!

I'm really interested in this and would like to get started soon. I'm reading all I can find on the subject but your regimen sounds quite workable. Am I right in thinking that if I have a daily eating window of 1-6pm, eating a sensible lunch and dinner within that time slot, I will get the benefits of IF? Surely this is just skipping breakfast? I value your advice as this sounds quite achievable for me and I hope I haven't misunderstood. PS. I'll be running 3 times a week with other exercise on 3 other days and rest on Sunday. I have 26 pounds to lose and am in good health.

Original Post by Polly7827:

I'm really interested in this and would like to get started soon. I'm reading all I can find on the subject but your regimen sounds quite workable. Am I right in thinking that if I have a daily eating window of 1-6pm, eating a sensible lunch and dinner within that time slot, I will get the benefits of IF? Surely this is just skipping breakfast? I value your advice as this sounds quite achievable for me and I hope I haven't misunderstood. PS. I'll be running 3 times a week with other exercise on 3 other days and rest on Sunday. I have 26 pounds to lose and am in good health.

From my reading, the common daily IF fast is anywhere from 16-20hours. the timing of that seems to be totally up to you to decide. Personally, I prefer about 19 hours fast from 10pm to 4pm. I like to eat dinner late and therefore skip breakfast and lunch and have a later dinner. I have a snack at 4pm or 5pm (banana before gym in the evening, dinner after) and dinner at 8pm or so. Personally, I feel that skipping 2 meals helps to control my calorie intake better than just skipping one meal as I would probably not overeat at one meal (dinner) but probably could end up overeating if i had lunch AND dinner. However, that is something you need to sort for yourself. Just do as is comfortable for you, but keep an eye on your food consumption for a little while to make sure you are not doing a reflex overeat.

As for running and exercise: I usually exercise in the evening and therefore have a small snack before hand at 4-5pm. On Sundays however, I schedule my long run (15-22km) and always do this in the morning (between9am-12)and do not eat before hand. I have not noticed any energy issues so far. On these days however, I usually break my fast early (2pm).

Just give it a go and see how you feel. there are many variants to try. No one regimen is correct. Just go with what works for you.

Thx u furrybelly and congrats on the weight loss it's amazing to me how doing IF I don't feel the need to eat... ok maybe towards my last hour of fasting but most the time im not obsessing with food like I was before. Polly I'm not sure you age and all but on YouTube there's a Chanel called TMW they got a lot of advice on IF the reason I ask ur age is they cuss a lot so if you do check it out I warned u lol but they give give good advice and fill in some Q/A you might have bout IF

I just have a few question. I just started reading about IF 1. Do you alternate your calories? Ex-mon,1200 tues,600 wed,1200 and so on.. 2. How many hours is your fast? 3. Are any foods off limits? Ex- white potatoes, white rice

I really want to try IF because of the health benefits but, I already do fast 16-18hours everyday. I only eat 3 meals a day for a total 1200 daily. I consume my meals anywhere between 7:30am and 3:30pm. I have been doing this for 7 months and wasn't trying and had never heard of IF. My reasoning for eating this way was because I wanted to learn to eat when I felt hungry not by the clock.

Thanks for the extra info and I'll check out YouTube as well. I'm in my late 40s and was slim all my life until a few years ago. I used to run in my 20s and had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. I'm still in a high after my morning run 4 hours ago. I'm now in my 'feeding window' and have just had a healthy sandwich for lunch. Starting to make the big Sunday lunch with dessert for all the family and intend to make this my last meal until lunch tomorrow. I'll keep track to see if it's affecting my weight loss and will keep checking this thread too - its great! Thanks :-)

Kimandboys there's a lot of different ways to IF some do low calorie then fast 24 hours 2x a week or every other day or do it every day I'm currently on 19/5 everyday and I love it women are little are different as far as how long your eating window should be.like I told Polly check out TMW on YouTube they got a lot of great info but be warned they do cuss lol but they give great advice. I'm becoming a huge fan of IF I actually fasted 20 hours 2day (i was busy with work) but feel great only been 4 days but I never thought I'd feel the way I do doing IF. 5 small meals a day I was starving now I think about food a lot less. BIGGEST TIP crystal light is a huge helper and it doesn't break your fast Typical eating day -2scoops of protein with a turkey burger on wheat with some coleslaw but no mayo just rice vinegar,Splenda, and pepper then few hours later some good old home made turkey chili I'm trying to average bout 1,500 cals a day so far so good. I've tried litterly every diet and new Fad for losing weight but I truly think I've found something I can stick with be4 when I was dieting by the 4th day I was spacing out at the ceiling dreaming of my next meal or cheat day not anymore :)

Kimandboys also I try to avoid white rice and white bread white pasta things like that as far as food off limits if it fit in your cals for the day eat it but personally I just avoid it replace it with whole grain taste better and u don't feel guilty but like I said if u want it and it fits in your macros eat it