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Does anyone practice Intermittent Fasting?

JoeMO said:
Hey gang, this thread has me interested in doing this and I've started today. I weighed 310 on May 1, 2020 when I started walking and using myfitnesspal. By July I was walking 100 miles a month. I lost over 50 pounds by October, joined a gym and started lifting. Basically since that time, I've lost and gained the same 10 pounds over and over. I'm happy with where I'm at, but would love to lose another 50 over the next year or two. I tend to smoke and have a drink late at night so that's going to have to change a bit. So, we'll see what happens.
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I've been into fitness and weightlifting pretty much my entire life, off-and-on. I even flirted with becoming a CPT two or three times. I'm not an overall authority, by any means, but there are two competing factors here for you that stand out to me. First, my reaction to anyone who is not on a medically-prescribed weight loss program is: Fuck the scale -- what does the mirror say? IS your waist going down? Are you happy with the way you are looking and feeling? Who cares what your specific weight is, as long as you are looking and feeling good? Muscle weighs more than fat, but it is possible to get skinnier while putting on a few pounds.

Second, conversely, is that "lighter is better", especially when you are starting out at a shade over three bills. Your joints, muscles, and organs will love you for taking a load of stress off of them. The more, the better. If it's just a smoke and A drink in the evening, I don't think that's a big problem. However, if we're talking a six pack or more, then, well, yeah... There's plenty of science behind effective dieting, but one simple law of physics that can't be broken: burn more calories throughout the day than you take in, and you lose weight -- take in more calories throughout the day than you burn, and you gain weight. Is what is. If you are really struggling with a plateau at the moment, I'd definitely google a TDEE Calculator and start tracking your intake/expenditure. You might be surprised how many extra calories you are really taking in throughout the day that can be cut out without even noticing a difference.
 
Nick, thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. I could definitely lose the scale. I record everything I eat on my fitness pal. I have no real complaints. I'm just at the TTT stage - Things take time. The smoke and alcohol just fall outside my planned IF 8/16 hour time block. I plan to eat between 11:30 and 7:30 but tend to have a smoke and beer (1) or a bourbon (1-3oz) around midnight after I workout
 
JoeMO said:
Nick, thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. I could definitely lose the scale. I record everything I eat on my fitness pal. I have no real complaints. I'm just at the TTT stage - Things take time. The smoke and alcohol just fall outside my planned IF 8/16 hour time block. I plan to eat between 11:30 and 7:30 but tend to have a smoke and beer (1) or a bourbon (1-3oz) around midnight after I workout
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Understood. Everyone has to do what works for them. As you are experiencing, you'll get to the point where... TTT. Keep at it, my friend!

I was doing IF last year before I injured myself (again). I'm ready to get back into it now that I'm mobile again. It's a bit more difficult with the family home all day due to COVID -- my wife cooks when she wants, and if I want a happy wife, I eat when she cooks. ;) I'm doing alright with the intake/output thing at the moment, I believe. The main thing for me is maintaining a steady weight and volume so that all my robot parts continue to fit comfortably and correctly.
 
JoeMO said:
Nick, thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. I could definitely lose the scale. I record everything I eat on my fitness pal. I have no real complaints. I'm just at the TTT stage - Things take time. The smoke and alcohol just fall outside my planned IF 8/16 hour time block. I plan to eat between 11:30 and 7:30 but tend to have a smoke and beer (1) or a bourbon (1-3oz) around midnight after I workout
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Have you tried 18/6 or even 20/4? How are your cravings with the 16/8? I typically eat around 2 and stop after dinner, which is between 6-7. If I get hungry during my fasting window, I drink water or coffee, which helps.

But, don't starve yourself. I'd also say, give yourself a little reward now and then. It helps to cut down on the cravings/monotony and lets you know that you can always have sweets and still be ok.
 
bfreebern said:
Have you tried 18/6 or even 20/4? How are your cravings with the 16/8? I typically eat around 2 and stop after dinner, which is between 6-7. If I get hungry during my fasting window, I drink water or coffee, which helps.

But, don't starve yourself. I'd also say, give yourself a little reward now and then. It helps to cut down on the cravings/monotony and lets you know that you can always have sweets and still be ok.
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LOL, I just started yesterday! I eat lunch with a friend every week so I will probably always start around noon. We'll see if I'm even doing it in a month. Depending on how that goes, I could see trying any of the other options I've seen (5/2, taking a whole day fast 2 times a week, etc) or like you mentioned 18/6 or 20/4. Right now I tend to workout around midnight so when I get home I have two scoops of whey and 5g of creatine.
 
JoeMO said:
LOL, I just started yesterday! I eat lunch with a friend every week so I will probably always start around noon. We'll see if I'm even doing it in a month. Depending on how that goes, I could see trying any of the other options I've seen (5/2, taking a whole day fast 2 times a week, etc) or like you mentioned 18/6 or 20/4. Right now I tend to workout around midnight so when I get home I have two scoops of whey and 5g of creatine.
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Does that fall within your window? I don't know what brand protein you are using, but if it is outside your window, some whey proteins are very calorie dense, so just be careful there, Also, if you are mixing with anything other than water, don't forget those calories, as well.
 
kann said:
Does that fall within your window? I don't know what brand protein you are using, but if it is outside your window, some whey proteins are very calorie dense, so just be careful there, Also, if you are mixing with anything other than water, don't forget those calories, as well.
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Yep, what Nick said. Anything over 50 calories, they say breaks a fast. I tend to not push it, so I try not to have any calories at all, outside coffee (which has about 5 calories a cup). It sounds like that's outside your window and you're more than likely breaking your fast with the protein/whey by itself, especially if you're mixing it with something other than water.
 
kann said:
Does that fall within your window? I don't know what brand protein you are using, but if it is outside your window, some whey proteins are very calorie dense, so just be careful there, Also, if you are mixing with anything other than water, don't forget those calories, as well.
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It does NOT fall within the window. I'm using water with Dymatize Whey Isolate (110kcal per scoop), but it's the best time for the protein and the creatine. So I really don't see a way to get around it. If I feel it's not working, I'll take the creatine during the window and just use a 1/2 scoop of the protein. Since I workout at midnight and have lunch with a friend at noon (albeit, once a week) I would rather not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Another option would be to have the window be 6 until 2, then just break it one day a week when I eat out with my friend.
 
JoeMO said:
It does NOT fall within the window. I'm using water with Dymatize Whey Isolate (110kcal per scoop), but it's the best time for the protein and the creatine. So I really don't see a way to get around it. If I feel it's not working, I'll take the creatine during the window and just use a 1/2 scoop of the protein. Since I workout at midnight and have lunch with a friend at noon (albeit, once a week) I would rather not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Another option would be to have the window be 6 until 2, then just break it one day a week when I eat out with my friend.
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That second option sounds like the better idea. When I 8/16, my window is something like 1600-0001. Once a week treat, especially if it's healthy for you, probably won't break the bank, as it were. Again, gotta do what works for YOU.

What is your daily max calorie target? Have you estimated what your TDEE is? Keep at it, Joe!
 
kann said:
That second option sounds like the better idea. When I 8/16, my window is something like 1600-0001. Once a week treat, especially if it's healthy for you, probably won't break the bank, as it were. Again, gotta do what works for YOU.

What is your daily max calorie target? Have you estimated what your TDEE is? Keep at it, Joe!
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Hey Nick and bfreebern, I appreciate your help. Target to remain at 245 lbs. is 2357kcal. If I do 1700-0100 I can join a Vherf and have a drink or two with my stogies as well (if I ever remember).
 
I think I am going to give this a try. I really need to lose some weight, and I rarely eat breakfast in morning. I just really need to stay away from the mid morning and late night snacking.
 
I tried to get on the wagon with this but fell off during the holidays. It’s not that I can’t do it, it’s that it doesn’t lineup correctly with anyone else in my life right now. Hard to tell people your not eating, when they have prepared something for you :/.
So I’m going to try and go back to my first love...no carb dieting. At least this way I can usually make most happy. But even this is a struggle. After my first go of it I realized that there are a lot of carbs in everything we eat and a lot of them are not good carbs.

Now where did I leave that wagon?
 
Indeed, intermittent eating is very good at trying to lose weight, but once you develop a habit, it will become much easier than it seems at first glance. It took me two weeks to get used to the meal schedule outlined in the diagram. I used not only interval meals, but also diets and studied articles https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/Keto-Diet-Food-List-What-to-Eat-and-Avoid in order to lose weight as quickly as possible ... Nevertheless, a meeting of graduates was waiting for me then and I could not appear in a terrible state.
 
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JoeMO said:
Been back on IF for about a week. Eating 11-7 on a 16/8. Trying to walk and lift a bit more and eating Keto but still eating too many carbs in general.
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Just keep at it, Joe. You are making steady progress, and that's the important part. Continue to adjust as you go along, and you got this!
 
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