Intermittent Fasting For Fun and Badassity

[Ready2Go]

Some good info when I was looking into it:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting

This is a great reference site.  The author goes through some very technical personal experiments with different approaches to IF.  Very focused on IF for folks who are doing serious fitness training.  There are some very good points about changing only one part of overall diet/exercise levels at a time, i.e.  don't change to low-carb, start exercising, and IF all at the same time if you want to evaluate where the health/fitness gains are coming from.   

Did another 36-hour fast.  Tuesday night to Thursday AM.  Only real problem was when my home-made bread came out of the oven last night.  That was tough to walk away from!!   Woke up this AM feeling great and ready for the day.  Very unusual for me as a confirmed night owl.  Have not felt the need to overcompensate with eating today; once again the challenge has been to eat regular amount because I am just not that hungry. 

Has anyone here had blood work done to look at before/after effects of IF?   

[FrugalShrew]

Thanks for the IF challenge, Erica!

I skipped breakfast this morning and it felt great.

Ready2Go, you are a champ -- a 36-hour fast and resisting fresh-baked bread!

I've never even done a 24-hour fast. I'd like to try that someday soon.

[Erica/NWEdible]

Did another 36-hour fast.  Tuesday night to Thursday AM.  Only real problem was when my home-made bread came out of the oven last night.  That was tough to walk away from!!   Woke up this AM feeling great and ready for the day.  Very unusual for me as a confirmed night owl.  Have not felt the need to overcompensate with eating today; once again the challenge has been to eat regular amount because I am just not that hungry. 

Has anyone here had blood work done to look at before/after effects of IF?

Holy crap, you're a pro already! Nice job. I'd love to see before/after fasting bloodwork. If I run into anything in the science literature I will post it.

[Erica/NWEdible]

Some good info when I was looking into it:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting

This is a great reference site.

The most recent post from that site addresses woman and fasting particularly: https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/women-and-fasting-part-10/

Since we've talked a lot about the female experience fasting I thought it might be interesting for the ladies who are IF'ing.

===

I'm on hour 22 of what I intended to be a 24 hour fast. (Except for one snap pea that I ate mindlessly in the garden, but I'm still counting this as a successful fast.) I was hungry at around 2ish, which is normally when I break an 18 hour IF, but that faded fairly quickly. Just that expectation of eating, more than true physical hunger, I think. I'm feeling now like I might try for 36 hours. I don't feel a strong drive to eat, and this is a good night to serve up leftovers and simple food for the rest of the family.

[MEJG]

+1 to adding a bit of salt if you feel light headed and think it may be blood pressure related.

We got back from vacation last night, planed 36 hr fast today. Water and an 8oz cup of black coffee so far and a busy day planned. I'll check in tomorrow. It feels great to get back into it.

[Erica/NWEdible]

New fasting record! 40 hours. 8 pm Thursday to noon Saturday. Felt totally great, all fine and then...I was hungry. Had brunch of a couple scrambled eggs with feta and avocado. Very full and satisfied now.

I like these slightly longer fasts. I think I will try to do them maybe weekly.

[Ready2Go]

New fasting record! 40 hours. 8 pm Thursday to noon Saturday. Felt totally great, all fine and then...I was hungry.

Congratulations.  I think getting through the day is what's difficult.  Overnight and part of the next morning is almost a freebe.


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[Erica/NWEdible]

Congratulations.  I think getting through the day is what's difficult.  Overnight and part of the next morning is almost a freebe.

Thanks, and agreed! Debating going straight into another 40-ish hour fast. I'll see how I feel tomorrow I guess. We're on the road all day - might be a great time to fast, might be hard because I'll be trapped in a car with kids for several hours. Will play it by ear I guess.

[MEJG]

First fast was tough.  I always forget how hungry I am the first few fasts I do.... then my body seems to get the message.  34 hour fast this time, 10pm Friday to 8 am Sunday with just water and a cup of black coffee yesterday morning.   I felt great yesterday!

 I have to work today from 12-5 and I thought about just extending until dinner but I was super hungry and a little more tired than I wanted after walking the dog this morning (an easy 2.5 mi, nothing strenuous). Broke the fast this morning with breakfast with the family, oatmeal made with whole milk and some peaches mixed in. 

Scale says I'm down 2 pounds exactly since yesterday am, total goal is 25.5 pounds.  If I can keep up the ADF ish, and walking the dog I think I can do it by Nov 1st- just in time to hit maintenance for the holidays.

[partgypsy]

Female. not for me. In college a charity hosted 3 day fast where you could sponsor people. A couple people I knew always did it. Me, I really notice if I skip a meal. So I would just sponsor someone.

I was raised Greek Orthodox. For Lent there is a fast, where for 6 weeks, a no meat, no dairy, no eggs, etc. If strictly traditional also no wine or olive oil. Also to approach from the view to eat for sustenance, and for reflection and appreciation of all one does have, but not eating to pleasure or fullness.  Even though it is not full on fasting, I still end up losing weight, and towards end feeling weak and shaky at times. So the last time I did it, I did include dairy, and ate seafood a couple times (which is allowed) during the fast and felt much better.
Oftentimes, fasting is something you should do with advice/consultation from a doctor. So those who are thinking of doing this, doesn't hurt to run this by your regular doctor who knows all your health situations to see what they advise.

[Erica/NWEdible]

On hour 35 of what I am hoping will be a 48 hour fast. Trying to nudge just a bit longer than my last 40 hour fast. Hunger and energy is not an issue (walked about 10 miles yesterday) but I slept like hammered shit last night. Seriously could not fall asleep.

I don't know if the IF is purely to blame - my son was up and down all night too - but it just felt like the normal "wind down and drift off to sleep" thing was not happening. I think I finally fell asleep at 1:30 am-ish, after abandoning my own bed and going to sleep in my son's room down the hall.

On the plus side, the IF'ing has, I think, helped with my weight loss goals. When I initially posted I had about 15 pounds I wanted to lose. Now it's more like 10. So that's nice! Pants that were definitely too snug fit comfortably now.

Anyone else have disturbed sleep with 24hr+ fasting? Or should I chalk this up to a fluke/kids?

[Ready2Go]

Anyone else have disturbed sleep with 24hr+ fasting? Or should I chalk this up to a fluke/kids?

My experience (n=3) so far has been that I woke up about 1 hour early each time. Normally I have a big problem waking up with the alarm clock, so I think that my sleep was somewhat disturbed.  Could not fall back asleep.  Little different than your experience but definitely not normal for me.


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[Hedge_87]

Another 24 hr fast in the books and felt great. I really tried to focus on drinking more water this time and had no lightheadedness this evening in the garden. I even went from a prolonged squating position while picking tomatoes to a "jumping squat/bodyweight thruster" type movement to see if I could recreate last week's situation but everything was OK. I  was really considering stretching it out to 36 hour or more but I had some salmon sitting in the fridge that needed to be ate and a grill that was feeling neglected. Maybe next week.

[jzb11]

I started IF with heavy compound lifting in Nov 2012.

I would workout early in the morning - 5:30-6:30 - heavy compound lifts and have my meals from 12-8 or 11-7. Over the course of three months I went from 230 lbs to 202 lbs. It was quite shocking really, I didn't realize that I had lost the weight until I weighed my self for a gym membership. Over the course of the three months, I still had the occasional MCflury or pizza.
I did all of this without one fricken day of cardio (which I hate with a passion).

At any rate I'm back up to 215, my goal is 185-190, so I'm back on the IF bandwagon. I am hoping to reach my goal in 3-4 months. Though I am walking an hour a day now along with my lifting.

[Erica/NWEdible]

48 hour planned fast was really a 45 hour fast, since I stopped eating at around 8 on Monday and started eating at 5 pm on Wednesday. Close enough. Dinner to dinner, with a skipped day in the middle. Honestly, it was totally fine. Easier than last week's 40 hour fast. I wasn't hungry, really, and while I *could* have fasted on, I'm not sure I think there's much health benefit to going more than 48 or 72 hours, and the risk of side effects increases the longer you fast.

So, I had a big bacon cheeseburger and a cup of herbal tea early Wednesday night, went to bed at 9 and slept like a muthafuckin baby. I am really liking these periodic, slightly longer fasts. I noticed I ate far less in "compensation" with the 45 hr fast than the 40 hour fast, so I think that's kinda a sweet spot, however the sleep disturbance is something I shall be paying attention to closely in the future.

Not really hungry now, the AM after the 45 hr fast, so I think I'll try to slip right back into a 19/5 or 20/4 rhythm today.

Since I started getting back into IF, my rate of weight loss has definitely picked up, despite food like bacon cheeseburgers. :) So that's kinda nice.

I started IF with heavy compound lifting in Nov 2012.

I would workout early in the morning - 5:30-6:30 - heavy compound lifts and have my meals from 12-8 or 11-7. Over the course of three months I went from 230 lbs to 202 lbs. It was quite shocking really, I didn't realize that I had lost the weight until I weighed my self for a gym membership. Over the course of the three months, I still had the occasional MCflury or pizza.
I did all of this without one fricken day of cardio (which I hate with a passion).

At any rate I'm back up to 215, my goal is 185-190, so I'm back on the IF bandwagon. I am hoping to reach my goal in 3-4 months. Though I am walking an hour a day now along with my lifting.

Right on! You can do it. I've heard fasted lifting is actually the best way to burn fat/recomp. Did you have any issues with strength gains or recovery working out fasted?

Another 24 hr fast in the books and felt great. I really tried to focus on drinking more water this time and had no lightheadedness this evening in the garden. I even went from a prolonged squating position while picking tomatoes to a "jumping squat/bodyweight thruster" type movement to see if I could recreate last week's situation but everything was OK. I  was really considering stretching it out to 36 hour or more but I had some salmon sitting in the fridge that needed to be ate and a grill that was feeling neglected. Maybe next week.

Salmon comes first. ;) I'm glad this one went a little better wrt the light-headedness. Congrats!

My experience (n=3) so far has been that I woke up about 1 hour early each time. Normally I have a big problem waking up with the alarm clock, so I think that my sleep was somewhat disturbed.  Could not fall back asleep.  Little different than your experience but definitely not normal for me.

Thanks. I think I will try a few more 45-ish hour fasts and see if this is a recurring thing. If so, I will probably make >24 fasting a very infrequent part of my fasting practice because I really, really love sleep. Will pipe up if I learn anything from an actual scientific study or something.

[riverffashion]

I wasn't able to last at all when I tried a fast last week, but I did eat very sparsely at various times in the past and although I had  a lot more energy I definitely had quite a difficult time with sleeping. Falling asleep was really difficult, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and stay up for a couple hours, and get up very early.  At the time, I was eatting mostly vegetales, and a little vegetarian protein, mostly lentils or beans . no fruit, grains, starches or even statchy vegetables. And I drank a whole  lot of water .
Will love to get back into at least a similar diet, but must find a remedy for difficulty sleeping.. Exercise gives me more energy actually. What worked best is getting up early at 430 or 5, which caused me to go to bed earlier because I was tired earlier.
But because of some ongoing health issues, my body is really physically exhausted much of the time , so getting up early is difficult. 

[Erica/NWEdible]

I wasn't able to last at all when I tried a fast last week, but I did eat very sparsely at various times in the past and although I had  a lot more energy I definitely had quite a difficult time with sleeping. Falling asleep was really difficult, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and stay up for a couple hours, and get up very early.  At the time, I was eatting mostly vegetales, and a little vegetarian protein, mostly lentils or beans . no fruit, grains, starches or even statchy vegetables. And I drank a whole  lot of water .
Will love to get back into at least a similar diet, but must find a remedy for difficulty sleeping.. Exercise gives me more energy actually. What worked best is getting up early at 430 or 5, which caused me to go to bed earlier because I was tired earlier.
But because of some ongoing health issues, my body is really physically exhausted much of the time , so getting up early is difficult.

Is it possible you just weren't taking in enough calories? I would think under-eating and fasting might result in similar issues wrt sleep? I can eat a HUGE amount of veggies and it's still, like, 200 calories unless it's bathed in butter or coconut oil. I can't imagine getting a full daily caloric allotment from just green veg and some of lentils.  Are you opposed to adding in vegetarian sources of fat? Avocado, coconut, nuts - that kind of thing? Just an idea, but maybe it would help?

[Bob W]

So I'm headed for a Ketogenic diet just now to try to jump start my much needed and much postponed weight loss.

I plan on not eating between 6 pm and 7 am.   Does that qualify me as IF?    13 hours is a pretty good stretch.  I'm doing about 1,800 cals per day and less than 30 grams of any type of carb.    I'm 5'8" 230 now and want to be 175 eventually.   My daily cal need is pegged at around 2,600.   

[Erica/NWEdible]

So I'm headed for a Ketogenic diet just now to try to jump start my much needed and much postponed weight loss.

I plan on not eating between 6 pm and 7 am.   Does that qualify me as IF?    13 hours is a pretty good stretch.  I'm doing about 1,800 cals per day and less than 30 grams of any type of carb.    I'm 5'8" 230 now and want to be 175 eventually.   My daily cal need is pegged at around 2,600.   

My advice is wait to start IF until you are fully keto adapted. Start at reddit.com/r/keto - read the FAQ, then ask any questions you have - those folks are awesome. Once you get through the first few weeks of fat adaptation you'll find IF quite easy because your body will be able to pull from your own fat stores to supply energy.

I'm not keto (I eat too much fruit and veg) but refined carb restriction (sugar, flour, etc.) is the easiest way for me to lose weight comfortably, and I've learned tons from keto folk in my various N=1 dietary experiments. Also, if you haven't seen it, watch this. One of my favorite explanations of how a LCHF diet works for folks who tend towards insulin resistance.

[Bob W]

Thanks

[Bob W]

Just finished my salad and ham with lots of olive oil.   A problem with the keto diet is figuring out how to eat a moderate amount of protein,  virtually no carbs and a good amount of fat.   I may take to drinking the olive oil straight from the bottle.  For instance tonight is 1/4 lb chicken and a few tablespoons of olive oil.

Then the 13 hour window till a big breakfast of 4 eggs and 4 pieces of bacon. 

I think I am adapting pretty well to the LCHF deal as I pretty much avoided wheats and white carbs pretty consistently for the last couple of weeks.   

That may be one of the tricks of IF  -- avoiding carbs that have high glycemic responses.

[jzb11]

Right on! You can do it. I've heard fasted lifting is actually the best way to burn fat/recomp. Did you have any issues with strength gains or recovery working out fasted?

Not at all. Although I was in a beginner phase where it's quite easy to gain strength/mass. I went from 1 pull up to 8. I started deadlifting 225 and worked my way up to 350 before hurting my lower back (stupid mistake). I believe I was well on the way to 400 before my injury. I've plateaued on my incline bench at 190 lbs. With that said I think if I upped my protein intake and ate for hypertrophy I'd see all kinds of gains, but that will bring a bit of fat gain as well. So my goal now is to hit 185-190 (about 8-10% bodyfat currently) before working toward beast mode with an ultimate goal of 200-205 with 10% bodyfat. 

I saw great strength gains following the reverse pyramid method here.

http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

A typical weight day for me involves doing one compound lift via the reverse pyramid method for that body part, followed by 2-4 exercises for that body part at 4 sets for 8 to 12 reps.

[FrugalShrew]

Wow, so I just broke my fast after 37-hours! That was wayyyy easier than I expected. And it sort of happened by accident . . .

As I posted on here recently, I was hoping to try a 24-hour fast, something I had never done before. I figured I would do it on the weekend, since being hungry at work interferes with my concentration. But I ended up fasting from 11 p.m. Thursday to 12:00 noon on Saturday with very little effort. I just listened to my body, and since it wasn't hungry, continued not eating. (It helps that Friday and today have been warm days. I'm always less hungry when it's warm out).

On Friday, I started the day planning to fast until lunch. I did have some hunger pangs around 12, but I was frantically trying to finish a project at work, so I didn't get out of my office until 2:30 pm to go get some lunch. As I was walking, I realized that I wasn't very hungry anymore. The walk was feeling better than food usually does anyway, so I extended the walk and extended the fast. I didn't have any concentration issues that afternoon either. By the time I got home, not only was I not hungry at all, I had an incredible amount of energy. I've really gotten into some bad food habits lately (especially stress-eating sugar/french fries/potato chips), and I think the extended fast helped me to recalibrate the system.

I woke up Saturday and still wasn't hungry at all, but I noticed that I was feeling a little dizzy-ish. I typically have a low baseline blood pressure, so based on the comments above, I decided to have some broth to get some salt into my system. That helped a lot. Then I took off on a 20-minute walk to the grocery store, shopped, and walked back with my groceries. When I got home, my energy levels were still high, but I wasn't feeling that great again (light-headed, etc.), so I decided that it was time to break the fast. I had a nectarine to start, and about an hour later, a bowl of fresh-made brown rice, chickpeas, and sesame sauce.

Overall, this first fast was successful beyond all of my expectations. This is really exciting.

[sisto]

Has anyone tried the Fast-5? I used to do that, but got out of it and had just recently been thinking about doing it again and saw this thread. It's basically where you fast for a period of time and then have a 5 hour window that you can eat in and then start the fast again. They recommend eating from 5 -10 and fasting all the way until 5 the next day.

[Bob W]

Wow, so I just broke my fast after 37-hours! That was wayyyy easier than I expected. And it sort of happened by accident . . .

As I posted on here recently, I was hoping to try a 24-hour fast, something I had never done before. I figured I would do it on the weekend, since being hungry at work interferes with my concentration. But I ended up fasting from 11 p.m. Thursday to 12:00 noon on Saturday with very little effort. I just listened to my body, and since it wasn't hungry, continued not eating. (It helps that Friday and today have been warm days. I'm always less hungry when it's warm out).

On Friday, I started the day planning to fast until lunch. I did have some hunger pangs around 12, but I was frantically trying to finish a project at work, so I didn't get out of my office until 2:30 pm to go get some lunch. As I was walking, I realized that I wasn't very hungry anymore. The walk was feeling better than food usually does anyway, so I extended the walk and extended the fast. I didn't have any concentration issues that afternoon either. By the time I got home, not only was I not hungry at all, I had an incredible amount of energy. I've really gotten into some bad food habits lately (especially stress-eating sugar/french fries/potato chips), and I think the extended fast helped me to recalibrate the system.

I woke up Saturday and still wasn't hungry at all, but I noticed that I was feeling a little dizzy-ish. I typically have a low baseline blood pressure, so based on the comments above, I decided to have some broth to get some salt into my system. That helped a lot. Then I took off on a 20-minute walk to the grocery store, shopped, and walked back with my groceries. When I got home, my energy levels were still high, but I wasn't feeling that great again (light-headed, etc.), so I decided that it was time to break the fast. I had a nectarine to start, and about an hour later, a bowl of fresh-made brown rice, chickpeas, and sesame sauce.

Overall, this first fast was successful beyond all of my expectations. This is really exciting.

That is awesome ---- I'm considering fasting for 36 hours per week once I am fully keto adapted.   I seriously get the not being hungry thing.  Apparently cutting carbs really does cut cravings?   

[Bob W]

Right on! You can do it. I've heard fasted lifting is actually the best way to burn fat/recomp. Did you have any issues with strength gains or recovery working out fasted?

Not at all. Although I was in a beginner phase where it's quite easy to gain strength/mass. I went from 1 pull up to 8. I started deadlifting 225 and worked my way up to 350 before hurting my lower back (stupid mistake). I believe I was well on the way to 400 before my injury. I've plateaued on my incline bench at 190 lbs. With that said I think if I upped my protein intake and ate for hypertrophy I'd see all kinds of gains, but that will bring a bit of fat gain as well. So my goal now is to hit 185-190 (about 8-10% bodyfat currently) before working toward beast mode with an ultimate goal of 200-205 with 10% bodyfat. 

I saw great strength gains following the reverse pyramid method here.

http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

A typical weight day for me involves doing one compound lift via the reverse pyramid method for that body part, followed by 2-4 exercises for that body part at 4 sets for 8 to 12 reps.

If you want to super charge your work out progress do 2 simple things ---- 1.  Do about 5 high intensity sprints with 2 minutes rest between them before lifting.  (super jacks the testosterone)  2.  Use a light box (5,000) lumens while lifting and stare at it on and off.    (also jacks the testosterone)

Of course you know not to work the same muscle more than once per week or work out more than 45 minutes in any given session?

Two additional oddball tricks are to watch old games of your favorite team winning big games while lifting and to lift in the presence of females.  These too increase testosterone significantly.  But definitely do the first two I mentioned.

[FrugalShrew]

That is awesome ---- I'm considering fasting for 36 hours per week once I am fully keto adapted.   I seriously get the not being hungry thing.  Apparently cutting carbs really does cut cravings?

That sounds awesome. A 36-hour fast is very rejuvenating :D I might try to do these longer fasts on a more regular basis, too.

I think you're right that cutting carbs does cut cravings. Outside of the fasting experience, over the years I have gone through extended periods where I've cut out all sweets & white carbs, and for me that definitely causes a reduction in cravings.

How is keto-adapting going?

[Bob W]

That is awesome ---- I'm considering fasting for 36 hours per week once I am fully keto adapted.   I seriously get the not being hungry thing.  Apparently cutting carbs really does cut cravings?

That sounds awesome. A 36-hour fast is very rejuvenating :D I might try to do these longer fasts on a more regular basis, too.

I think you're right that cutting carbs does cut cravings. Outside of the fasting experience, over the years I have gone through extended periods where I've cut out all sweets & white carbs, and for me that definitely causes a reduction in cravings.

How is keto-adapting going?

Not so great thus far.   I have probably dropped several pounds in the last couple of weeks but haven't weighed.   I can tell by look, feel and pants fit that I'm headed in the right direction.    I've pretty much cut out most carbs on most days but we are on the go every weekend so that makes it harder.   I keep sunflower seeds and beef jerky on hand so I can use those.    I've had wheat a few times.   So this week will be the big push week.   I'm assuming my carb levels are somewhat depleted so I may make it to a keto like level of carbs within 5 days.   

In the past I never was able to achieve ketosis according to the keto sticks test.   So I'm doubting I will ever be truly keto but just the same the benefits of not spiking insulin coupled with a 1000 calorie daily deficit should help me make progress on my primarily weight loss goal. 

I have very aggressive dream goals for my 60 pounds of weight loss and that is why I am going the rather extreme keto route and thinking of fasting as an adjunct.   

Fingers crossed!

[Erica/NWEdible]

In the past I never was able to achieve ketosis according to the keto sticks test.   So I'm doubting I will ever be truly keto but just the same the benefits of not spiking insulin coupled with a 1000 calorie daily deficit should help me make progress on my primarily weight loss goal. 

Just because you aren't spilling ketone bodies in the urine doesn't mean you aren't in ketosis. That's just a sign you aren't using ketones particularly effectively. So while most people will turn the stick purple during transition to keto adaptation, it's not a hard and fast rule. Now, if you are eating wheat - well, yeah, then you aren't in ketosis. But don't get hung up on the keto sticks. Have you done the keto macro calculator from reddit/r/keto? If not: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

[FrugalShrew]

Sounds like you are making great progress. I love carbs like there is no tomorrow, so I'm totally in awe of what you are doing. Being on the go makes everything harder, but sunflower seeds and beef jerky seem like smart snacks!

[Bob W]

In the past I never was able to achieve ketosis according to the keto sticks test.   So I'm doubting I will ever be truly keto but just the same the benefits of not spiking insulin coupled with a 1000 calorie daily deficit should help me make progress on my primarily weight loss goal. 

Just because you aren't spilling ketone bodies in the urine doesn't mean you aren't in ketosis. That's just a sign you aren't using ketones particularly effectively. So while most people will turn the stick purple during transition to keto adaptation, it's not a hard and fast rule. Now, if you are eating wheat - well, yeah, then you aren't in ketosis. But don't get hung up on the keto sticks. Have you done the keto macro calculator from reddit/r/keto? If not: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

thanks for that!   Great site.

[riverffashion]

Did an unintentional mini fast . 10pm last night to 12 noon today. Didn't experience hunger, but became a little light headed at noon before meal. Had green salad with ground beef and mozzarella. Coffee with milk . definitely could go longer next time.

[Erica/NWEdible]

Updating.

So my unofficial goal with moderate fasts was to attempt a 40-48 hr fast weekly, from Monday pm to Wednesday pm, and try to do about an 18 IF the other days.

The prior two weeks went well, but this past Tuesday pm after about 24 hours I was just NOT feeling a longer fast and ended up having a big dinner (this red curry cabbage salad with beef thing that's my favorite food ever). It was interesting, because the feeling of hunger this time was very different than the prior attempts at 40+hr IF. It wasn't like a little grumble or tightness, it was like, if I don't eat, I'm going to vomit. Like, extreme carsickness. Also felt really tired. So my n=1 experience is that just because a 40+ hr fast is pretty easy once, doesn't mean it's easy subsequent times, and that combining daily IF with a weekly longer fast is probably too much, at least for me.

[riverffashion]

Yesterday, I fasted from 10:30am-5:30pm, then had a chicken breast & steamed vegetables & coffee. Then went back into a fast until today @ 1:30pm & had a veggie Patty, small green salad & steamed vegetables & coffee. Felt fine today.
I'm on vacation, but decided when I get back to get back into veganism/macrobiotic diet ( while grains/ beans & other legumes /vegetables for health & energy.

[new old life]

Hi Everyone!
Long time lurker here. Posting here first since this is a topic I am much more comfortable contributing to as I am not new to IF. I have been doing it on and off for 5 years or so. I've gotten back into IF seriously in the past month for weight loss and have been hitting the 16 hours pretty much every day. My typical fast schedule is 730PM - 1130AM weekdays, and then the weekend is where I usually do a longer fast. Last weekend I pulled my first 36 hour fast ever. 12AM Saturday morning/Friday night till 12PM Monday.

Currently fasting, but not sure how long I am going to make it last. Started 9PM last night, so I am definitely 16+ hours right now. Might do a 24 with an evening work out thrown in there.

Current goals for IF:

*Get weight sub 200
*Approach 10% BF
*retain muscle build (No skinny fats here)

Current Stats

Weight - 235 lbs (down 10 from 5 weeks ago)
BF - above 20

I am pleasantly surprised to find other IF'ers here to talk to

[Ready2Go]

Updating.   

Background: before learning about IF,  I had lost about 10 lb through a combination of calorie reduction and skipping dinner on a regular basis. Then Erica started this thread and I learned about Dr. Fung's, etiology of obesity, and all the reasons why my efforts were doomed because calorie reduction doesn't work long term. This knowledge led to experimenting with some 24/36 hour fasting, and learning that I can do this.

More reading and study led to my new approach, an IF plan that looks like: normal eating one day, next day breakfast and then fast until the next day. This gives me just under a 24-hour fast on alternate days.  I have been doing morning exercises, and I think I feel better eating breakfast afterward.  I have been following this approach for the last 2 weeks, and it feels comfortable.

After following the primal thread,  I was also inspired to cut my carbs.  Not real interested in the paleo/primal argument as such because I am a vegetarian, but the primal discussion got me refocused on the carb part of my eating. I bake bread about 3 times a week and my breakfast mania is a bagel with egg and cheese. Bit of a challenge here.  I know bagels are the ultimate hi-carb bad food to some, but I cannot give it up.  So instead I have been passing on the bread and any other proceed foods. One major carb-a-day and the new plan led to another 2 lb weight loss, which puts me at my lowest weight since college. Woo-hoo! 

Learnings about insulin resistance have also led DH to cut his snacking and consumption packaged snacks.  That is a fantastic development, because there is no more pressure from DH to buy junk food.  Win on health and savings!

[MEJG]

Ready2Go - really happy you liked Dr. Fung's lectures! they really opened my eyes :)

Update on me.  I did a 60 hr fast from dinner Tuesday night to breakfast Friday morning.  I was planning on 36 hours but I felt so freaking good fasting on Thursday am I decided to go big.  I did really well until after dinner on Thursday and then I got super tired and a little light headed.  A little salt and a lot of water helped.  Breakfast on Friday morning was sweet potato hash browns with garlic and parm cheese and an over easy egg with coffee- let me tell you it was amazing.

Fasted againSaturday. Not sure if I will feed tonight at dinner or go until tomorrow dinner or Monday morning.  I work from 10-5 or 6 today and won't have time for lunch- I never do on work days.  So no reason to eat breakfast. 

I like fasting, and I like not worrying about counting on my non-fasting days.  My inlaws bought us dinner last night and I had a giant hamburger, sweet potato fries and a salted carmel milk shake. Not the healthiest- and I need to work on my sugar intake, but it sure feels nice to be able to indulge when a someone treats you to a meal and not worry you'll ruin your whole week of "dieting."

I'm really trying to change my life.  My recent gene diagnosis has really shaken me.  I know I can lose weight doing this, and I know as long as I can stay on the path that I can fast once a week forever (as maintenance).  The science behind it inspires me and I really need to change my weight set point down to a healthy weight.  My goal is a BMI of 22.5, which will give me wiggle room for keeping my BMI under 25 for the rest of my life. I don't ever plan on going longer than 72 hours at a time- I had some weird body reactions the few times I did that before.

Last November I was down to 125, which is a BMI of *just* under 25 for me.  I felt great.  I was able to stay there for months with no effort.  Then I got pregnant and I gained about 10 pounds with the holidays and feeling nauseous (eating helped keep it at bay), had a m/c in January and then two weeks later flew to a foreign country to finally pick up our daughter (adopted)- stayed there a month.  I came home and then we had to really work on our daughters nutrition- which lead to increased consumption of carbohydrates (pasta, rice, beans) and eating every two hours while modelling good eating habits for her.   So I gained a little more weight, and then got pregnant again in May.  I lost that pregnancy at the end of June.  I spent two weeks giving myself a lot of space emotionally, lost my dog, my pregnancy and found out about my gene diagnosis in three days.  So I spent about 2 weeks eating a lot of icecream and drinking a lot of wine :-)  So here I am.  I need to take charge of my health, and my weight as well as consistent exercise are two major components. 

[riverffashion]

Yesterday, I fasted from 10:30am-5:30pm, then had a chicken breast & steamed vegetables & coffee. Then went back into a fast until today @ 1:30pm & had a veggie Patty, small green salad & steamed vegetables & coffee. Felt fine today.
I'm on vacation, but decided when I get back to get back into veganism/macrobiotic diet ( while grains/ beans & other legumes /vegetables for health & energy.

I then had a bowl of fruit and a coffee at 3:30pm then fasted until this morning at :930 . oatmeal with milk and coffee.
Interesting to discover if I eat only when I'm hungry, I consume much less. Breakfast for example- recently it was my biggest ( and really quite large ) meal of the day . now I find Im not even hungry in the morning sometimes. And later in the day it's really only small portions my body wants.

[puglogic]

Um Erica, red curry cabbage with beef recipe?   Pretty please with sugar stevia on top?

Going to try a window tomorrow, for the first time in months.  Maybe eat between 9:00 to 5:00, and try to narrow it down as the week progresses.  I love how I feel when I do that.

[Erica/NWEdible]

Um Erica, red curry cabbage with beef recipe?   Pretty please with sugar stevia on top?

Going to try a window tomorrow, for the first time in months.  Maybe eat between 9:00 to 5:00, and try to narrow it down as the week progresses.  I love how I feel when I do that.

Here you go!

If you are watching calories/carbs, you can just leave out the honey in the dressing entirely. I've done it that way and I'm still licking the bowl at the end.

Good luck with your upcoming fast!

[GoldenNeko]

Didn't think such a tread existed around here! Pleased to see Mustachians fasting.

I did a water fast this Sunday (last meal sat evening, and breakfast this morning, so a bit more than 24hours). I'm willing to fast one day per week, sunday or monday, starting now.
My previous fasting history is made of a few 2-3 days fasts, and one big 10 days water fast two years ago. I enjoy the peace of mind fasting brings.

Would a one day per week fast qualify as IF?

[Bob W]

So I've been doing a paleo type diet with attempts at keto.  Don't think I have achieved keto yet, party because I am a cheating SOB.   But I'm down with the fast and hopefully that will kick me into keto.

So this Wednesday at 7 p.m. I will begin a 36 hour "fast."    I use the term "fast" loosely in this case as I plan on eating approximately 600 calories of protein with a bit of fat during that time period.  Still that will be a 3,300 calorie deficit.   I'm sticking with primarily protein in an attempt to preserve lean muscle tissue.

Start at 7 p.m. Wednesday.  Goto 7 a.m. Friday.  Friday it will be back to the 1,800 calorie keto diet.

If all goes well,  I will continue this each week until I reach 70% of my weight goal. Which is about 45 lbs more to drop.

Will report back on my results.

[Erica/NWEdible]

So excited at all the peeps doing this!

Yesterday was great - didn't break a 22 hour fast until 6:00, so that was a 22/2 type window.

I've also noticed that a few things can make an IF fast easier, particularly if I'm trying to stretch my fasting time frame. The first is broth. Some people might not consider that a true fast, but c'mon - it's like 10 calories. Very filling as a hold-over instead of yet another cup of coffee (jitters!). Second - and this is odd but I'm loving it - is the juice from lacto fermented vegetables. Basically, pickle brine. I've been drinking the curried cauliflower brine and I'm shocked how delicious I find it. Both these things have one thing in common - SALT! So I think maybe that's why I find them so satisfying when fasting.

Not helpful if you are a strict water-only faster, but I'm not, so meh, it's good with me! :D

[GoldenNeko]

@BobW: I'm curious about the protein intake. In the 24h first hours, the body uses the stored glycogen, so basically, sugar stored in the muscles and blood. Why would you lack protein?
Be sure to drink a lot ! And good luck

@Erica: awesome! You should see all the people doing juice fasts in vegetarian forums, your broth is very low calorie compared to that ;) You're doing really well.

Thanks to this thread, I'll keep committed to fasting regularly.

[FrugalShrew]

Updating.

So my unofficial goal with moderate fasts was to attempt a 40-48 hr fast weekly, from Monday pm to Wednesday pm, and try to do about an 18 IF the other days.

The prior two weeks went well, but this past Tuesday pm after about 24 hours I was just NOT feeling a longer fast and ended up having a big dinner (this red curry cabbage salad with beef thing that's my favorite food ever). It was interesting, because the feeling of hunger this time was very different than the prior attempts at 40+hr IF. It wasn't like a little grumble or tightness, it was like, if I don't eat, I'm going to vomit. Like, extreme carsickness. Also felt really tired. So my n=1 experience is that just because a 40+ hr fast is pretty easy once, doesn't mean it's easy subsequent times, and that combining daily IF with a weekly longer fast is probably too much, at least for me.

Erica, earlier in the thread, you mentioned the difference between IF with normal calories vs. fewer-than-normal calories. I would assume that the 40-hour fast leads to the consumption of fewer calories. Are you going calorie light on the 18-hour IF days, too, or do you think you were consuming your normal calories in the shortened window?

[Erica/NWEdible]

@Erica: awesome! You should see all the people doing juice fasts in vegetarian forums, your broth is very low calorie compared to that ;) You're doing really well.

Thanks! Juice fasting doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I guess if it's green juice with lots of veg, maybe? :)

Erica, earlier in the thread, you mentioned the difference between IF with normal calories vs. fewer-than-normal calories. I would assume that the 40-hour fast leads to the consumption of fewer calories. Are you going calorie light on the 18-hour IF days, too, or do you think you were consuming your normal calories in the shortened window?

Yes, I think you nailed it. I think I consume slightly but not hugely restricted calories on the 18 hour IF days (like if maintenance is 2000, probably 1600-ish calories, which if good because I am trying to drop a few pounds). But I think that slightly restricted calorie load + no calories for nearly 2 days means my total weekly calorie level is just too low and my body was telling me that. I'm sure I could "gut through it" but why, you know? My conclusion - just for me - is that I should probably either do a daily 18-23 hour IF, which I find very comfortable, OR a longer weekly 36-40 hour fast, which I also find very comfortable, but not both. The combination to just too restrictive for me.

For now, I'm back to a 1-4 hour daily eating window in the evenings and I really like it. I enjoy a large, substantial meal, so sitting down to steak with blue cheese, veg and mushrooms (tonights dinner) and just really enjoying it and feeling totally satiated while still being under for my daily calorie needs is perfect for me right now.

[Bob W]

@BobW: I'm curious about the protein intake. In the 24h first hours, the body uses the stored glycogen, so basically, sugar stored in the muscles and blood. Why would you lack protein?
Be sure to drink a lot ! And good luck

@Erica: awesome! You should see all the people doing juice fasts in vegetarian forums, your broth is very low calorie compared to that ;) You're doing really well.

Thanks to this thread, I'll keep committed to fasting regularly.

not sure really?  I've been on 50 grams of total carbs per day for 10 days at start of fast so my glycogen may be a bit low?  I'm an old weight lifter on a calorie restricted diet so I try to get my protein everyday.   

[riverffashion]

I fasted from yesterday at 5pm until today at 2pm . only began to feel hunger at 1pm. Having Oatmeal with milk. And black tea.

[GoldenNeko]

@Erika, sure juice with cucumber and celery should be very low cal...

@BobW: just be sure to drink a lot. Fast by itself creates toxins and ketosis, so you get the headaches, light heartedness and low blood pressure.
I'm just afraid that, by adding more proteins, you'll add more pressure for your body (more ketosis + energy used for the digestion process) and especially kidneys, so you'll be slower to eliminate the toxins. I'm no therapist or doctor though, so please, do your own research and listen to your body.

BTW, I saw questions on the thread about the sleep pattern being changed while fasting. I tend to see it as normal. After all, with no food to digest, the body can fully heal and rest during the night, with less time needed. I've always slept less while fasting, but went back to my normal "sloth" self when eating again.

[sunnyca]

Intermittent fasting has helped a great deal with my weight loss goals.  I've been trying fast roughly 15 hours per day.  I've been incorporating calorie restriction and healthful food choices as well, although I do cheat occasionally.  Case in point:

Walked 2.5 miles to the local Dairy Queen last night and had part of a mini Blizzard around 9pm.  Worked out at the gym this afternoon, had a bunch of meeting, so fasted until 3pm, when I broke my fast with... a Caramel Drumstick (yikes!).  I did also have some wheatgrass-lime juice as well.  Despite the sugary diet cheats, my clothes are fitting *much* better than before.

Light dinner tonight, then should be good to fast until tomorrow afternoon. :)