Intermitent Fasting...

[Richo]

What's everyone's take on Intermittent fasting? I read up on it in Mark's daily apple and think it could work for me. Anyone had success with it??

[Morrigainz]

Oh yes. Check out the thread we have going about it

[cline]

Yup. I IF before workouts on Saturday and Sunday. Usually about 12hrs. I do a quasi fast before workouts during the week (don't eat for about 5 hours).

[weirdquark]

I've had good success with once a week 24 hour fasts as long as I'm paying enough attention to what I'm eating the rest of the week to have a net calorie loss. It's not more effective than other ways of restricting calories the same amount, but I found it more pleasant to fast one day and eat a normal amount the rest of the time than I did to spread out the calories I did not eat over the entire week and have to eat under maintenance every day.

[Inksplat]

I've had pretty mixed results, personally.

I did a week of Fast5 (5-hour eating window, 19-hour fast), and lost some weight. But I was rarely hungry for my second meal during the 5 hour window, so I figured I'd try the whole Warrior Diet eating once a day thing. I immediately stopped losing and actually started gaining (even though I was eating about the same amount of food as during the 5 hour window). I then switched back to Fast5, and continued to gain.

Switched to eating 3 meals a day, and proceeded to start losing again.

But that was with making IF a regular thing, and not a once a week or whatever.

[msuroo]

I've had pretty mixed results, personally.

I did a week of Fast5 (5-hour eating window, 19-hour fast), and lost some weight. But I was rarely hungry for my second meal during the 5 hour window, so I figured I'd try the whole Warrior Diet eating once a day thing. I immediately stopped losing and actually started gaining (even though I was eating about the same amount of food as during the 5 hour window). I then switched back to Fast5, and continued to gain.

Switched to eating 3 meals a day, and proceeded to start losing again.

Were you logging your food during these periods? Your overall daily intake should drive your weight gain/loss, not when you eat it. It could be that some aspects of IF were driving you to eat more - even in a smaller window.

Personally, I love IF because I find that I'm much more sated on the same amount of calories when I eat them in big meals.

But that was with making IF a regular thing, and not a once a week or whatever.

*shrug* a once a week 24 hour fast still counts as "regular".

[Inksplat]

Were you logging your food during these periods? Your overall daily intake should drive your weight gain/loss, not when you eat it. It could be that some aspects of IF were driving you to eat more - even in a smaller window.

Personally, I love IF because I find that I'm much more sated on the same amount of calories when I eat them in big meals.

*shrug* a once a week 24 hour fast still counts as "regular".

My 1 meal a day was a 1lb steak cooked in butter, plus a side of mashed cauliflower. It would normally come out around 1300-1500 calories for the meal. I weigh over 300lbs, and I was gaining weight. Currently, eating 3 meals a day, I average about 1500-1700 calories a day, and I'm constantly dropping weight.

Clearly, Calories In/Calories Out isn't a flawless mechanism. What's the quote, something like Calories In/Calories Out is doing arithmetic when your body is doing calculus?

I'm not suggesting IF doesn't work, just that, in my body's current state, it doesn't work for me.

[cline]

I do it less as a means to control calories and more as a means to work fat burning when I workout. Also, I'm trying to challenge my beliefs that I have to have to have a snack before I work out. I don't. I've never failed in a workout due to being hungry or lack of energy. I actually feel lighter and more focused.

[Kirkor]

Don't forget that IF is about superior nutrient partitioning, insulin sensitivity, and other goodly things not just calorie management.

[Richo]

Thanks for the feed back guys. On my second day now and all going well. Not feeling hungry like I thought I would and feeling a lot more energetic and less lethargic.

[Brah]

I like the concept of IF but don't actually practice it. I appreciate how it challenges a lot of the old assumptions about eating. Truthfully, I don't think nutrient timing is all it's hyped up to be so I just eat when convenient. Ideally I have a good bit of carbs before working out just because I feel better, but if I have to go a long time without eating I don't sweat it like I did when I first started out.

I have seen plenty of people have success with it, but as Inksplat pointed out it might not be perfect for everyone.

[Daverin2112]

I'm actually on the LeanGains style of IF. I have to say, whether it is simply helping me stay in a good calorie range, or if the claimed metabolic boost is working... it's working! And I trained fasted once... I actually really liked it, because it meant I had nothing in my system. This is good because I have GERD, and often I find labor causes my acid to act up. It's annoying...

[Toph821]

I've been doing it for a couple off weeks, but not sticking to a full-on schedule. I mostly like it because since I've been eating somewhat strictly paleo, I'm always full and don't always WANT to eat. I.F. means to me that I can skip lunch a couple of times a week and use it to my advantage.

I've been not eating lunch on my off workout days, which are Tuesday and Thursday. Some people advised me against this, but it seems to be working well for me. Of course, last week sucked; I ate whatever I wanted and didn't work out, so I have to get back into the swing of everything this week.