Intermittent Fasting For Fun and Badassity

[anotherAlias]

I think it's time I gave this a try.  I need to lose some weight and in general get healthier.  Ive always worked out and been in reasonable shape.  My problem is I snack too much.  That was all fine when I was younger but now that I'm 40, I'm developing an unattractive paunch.  So my goal is a daily 14 HR fast and two big meals with no snacks.  It should be easier to manage portions if I only have to do it twice instead of keeping track of a half dozen mini and not so mini meals.  I think the hardest part for me will be skipping breakfast.  I tried today and made it until 6:40 a before my headache got the better of me and I had some cookies and a granola bar.  That wasn't great but it was 2 hours later than i usually have breakfast and about when I would  normally be having my first snack.  So im calling that success. Tonight I'm going to load up on more veggies and protein and see if I can make it until 8am.  I adapt best to change in incremental steps so I think I will just try pushing back an hour each day.  Hopefully between that and the HIIt workout I've started,I'll be able to slim down a bit and fit into more of my summer clothes from last year.

[riverffashion]

I think it's time I gave this a try.  I need to lose some weight and in general get healthier.  Ive always worked out and been in reasonable shape.  My problem is I snack too much.  That was all fine when I was younger but now that I'm 40, I'm developing an unattractive paunch.  So my goal is a daily 14 HR fast and two big meals with no snacks.  It should be easier to manage portions if I only have to do it twice instead of keeping track of a half dozen mini and not so mini meals.  I think the hardest part for me will be skipping breakfast.  I tried today and made it until 6:40 a before my headache got the better of me and I had some cookies and a granola bar.  That wasn't great but it was 2 hours later than i usually have breakfast and about when I would  normally be having my first snack.  So im calling that success. Tonight I'm going to load up on more veggies and protein and see if I can make it until 8am.  I adapt best to change in incremental steps so I think I will just try pushing back an hour each day.  Hopefully between that and the HIIt workout I've started,I'll be able to slim down a bit and fit into more of my summer clothes from last year.

Good for you! Skipping breakfast was a hard concept for me at first, because for a long it was my absolute favorite meal of the day if .. If i feel like eating those breakfast foods later during my feed Window I certainly can. Drinking a lot of water really helps & I was surprised to find that if I drink a tea or coffee ( for me it is decaf ), that it helps stave off any Hunger. I will add that i do put a little milk in it and must also help - some would consider this not a true fast, but due to my health issues , i do this . I was surprised that I haven't been feeling sick to my stomach or having migraines in the mornings, I always did before (though i still experience migraines most of the time in general b/c i have migraines chronically). Poss for you it is temporary as your body adjusts.
An unrelated question: what time do you get up!? (And go to sleep) .
Keep at it & it will get easier. I helps me to busy myself in the mornings. But you are awake so long in the mornings, I'm wondering when your feeding begins ? Could be experiencing such strong Hunger due to being awake so many hours before eating..

[anotherAlias]

I go to bed around 9pm and wake up around 5am.  I may have to play around with my eating window to see what works. I normally finish dinner around 6 so if I start eating at 8am then 2 meals may not work. I'll see how it goes and adjust as necessary. Maybe 3 meals would be better.  I just need to stick to the no snacking...that's my Achilles heel.

[riverffashion]

I go to bed around 9pm and wake up around 5am.  I may have to play around with my eating window to see what works. I normally finish dinner around 6 so if I start eating at 8am then 2 meals may not work. I'll see how it goes and adjust as necessary. Maybe 3 meals would be better.  I just need to stick to the no snacking...that's my Achilles heel.

As long as you stick to your desired calorie intake you will do fine, regardless of how many meals &/or snacking you do.
I find I am much less hungry all around (maybe different for different ppl).
 Your body will likely adapt to w/e you end up doing. If not, maybe add a little something during the "fast" (sml amt of protein maybe?) to benefit your physical well being if issues persist.

[meadow lark]

Okay, I'm on board, too.  Fasted 24 hours so far, and planning to eat whenever I get hungry.  I'm home from work and I feel like I don't know what to do  with my time since I'm not making dinner.

[KisKis]

I love that IF has become a thing.  Like others have previously said, I think it is so important to listen to your body.  IF will not work for everyone.  My mother would have a terrible time with it.  She is a grazer and always tells me to eat smaller meals more often.  She is also one of those "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" types.  I hate breakfast.  The woods by my school bus stop are probably still filled with mounds of rotting bagels, toast, and waffles that she tried to force on me two decades ago. 

I am also female, but IF comes naturally to me.  It has never affected my hormones or anything like that.  Sure, if there is good food around, I definitely want to eat it, but when I am not in any special party/social environment, I like to skip breakfast, eat a large lunch around 1pm, eat a light dinner around 5-6pm, and that's it.  When left to myself, I don't bother with snacks, but I have a serious sweet tooth, so if there is a birthday at the office or someone brings me baked goods, I can't refuse.  I only drink ice water.  This holds for the weekends as well unless there is some sort of party going on, which unfortunately, there usually is.  I end up in a cycle of gaining 5 lbs. after a party weekend, and then slowly losing it over the next 2-3 weeks, and then gaining it back again at the next party.  My target weight is about 3-5 lbs. lower than my typical low, but I'm not complaining.  I could probably get there fairly easily with more exercise and a longer fast, but I'm lazy and I would have a hard time maintaining it, so I am happier at a stable comfortable weight that results from my normal diet. 

Anyways, my point is, listen to your body.  There are "studies" out there supporting almost every diet method, but I have to believe (even though it's totally unscientific) that bodies and their optimal diets have variation.  Obviously, the one clear rule is calories in, calories out.  How you go about keeping your calories input and output levels even probably doesn't matter that much as long as you find something that isn't too painful.  Being able to maintain your specific strategy is key.  It won't work if it's just a crash diet.   

[anotherAlias]

It's been just over a week into this experiment.  I've been doing really good at the no snacking between meals but not so good at the rest of my goals. I'm really struggling to make it 14 hours before eating in the morning. I normally wakeup with my stomach growling.  I drink tea or water until I get to work but I'm struggling to focus on work until I hit 14hrs.  I'm also finding that I'm still eating 3 meals which means I have to pack 2 meals to take to work which is kind of annoying. I'm going to keep at this for a couple more weeks to see if I can adjust.

[riverffashion]

Three weeks strong beginning to eat at noon each day. Still my feeding cutoff is waaay too long, so I will commit now to stopping at 10p to begin...and 9 and so on. I know this doesn't really still count as IF, but progress I suppose. I notice when I eat later than late at night (like 11 or 12) I will experience sick feeling in stomach I.e. nausea thru out the next morning- a good indication my body doesn't like that timeframe.

[Metric Mouse]

I never knew this was a thing. I stopped eating breakfast many years ago; always made me sick to my stomach to eat first thing in the morning. So now my schedule is eat around noon, and then again around 6. Occasionally I'll break it up and eat a light snack around 5 a.m. or so, a few hours after I get up. But mostly just eat when I'm hungry, after drinking a few large glasses of water to make sure I'm not actually thirsty - human bodies sometimes confuse those two signals.