Intermittent Fasting

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Joan
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Intermittent Fasting

Post by Joan » 4 years ago

Has anyone tried it?

After a couple of weeks of careful calorie counting, and - to my best attempt - underestimating my calorie burn, my weight stayed stubbornly constant. That's a lot of hard work, for no result, so I have have decided to try another approach.

So, any one had any experience with it? Any advice. I've just picked up Michael Mosley's latest book, which is slightly different to the 5:2 of 2012.

Right now I have eaten 120 kcals (saving most for dinner) and I am starving.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Regulator » 4 years ago

My sister is doing it and has done well.

I did try it but it is difficult to maintain if your other half isn’t.... but I did OK with it. Good thing about current approach is that Jon is doing it as well (albeit he does sometimes cheat when at work).
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by ransos » 4 years ago

My wife's done it for a couple of years now and the weight she lost has stayed off.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Joan » 4 years ago

Thanks for the feedback.

I haven't read the original book, but a lot of web pages based on it, so I think I know the basics. 5 days of not-excessive normal medit eating and 2 days of 500/600 kCals. I had st

The latest book - Fast 800 - suggests you start with 2-12 weeks on 800 every day, and then switch to 5:2, but 800kCal on the fasting days. It also suggests time restricted eating, extending your overnight fast every day to 12 hours and eventually 14 or 16. No wonder they don't recommend for anyone who has suffered from an eating disorder!

I'm not sure exactly what approach I will take, some hybrid, I think. I am confident enough that I have taken a "before" photo.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Lullabelle » 4 years ago

I understand the idea of fasting but it is something I would struggle with. Good luck x
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Joan » 4 years ago

Lullabelle wrote:
4 years ago
I understand the idea of fasting but it is something I would struggle with. Good luck x
I am struggling.

I decided to go with 800kcal per day every day, short term. I will stick it out for as long as I can, or 2 weeks; whichever is shorter 😁. They recommend 2 -12 weeks, and the fact that many people can stick to an 800kcal/day diet for 3 months is a testament to the truth that obesity does not mean gluttony or sloth.

It's hard. My cycle yesterday was a disaster, needing a rest after just 5km, though I eventually managed a staccato 37km. I joined a friend for coffee on another day while fasted (ie I hadn't had breakfast yet), and when she said something a little nasty, I burst into tears!

But on the brightside, wow! I lost 3.7kg in 6 days, and 4cm around my waist. I can hear my own voice in my ears saying "that's just water weight" and "you'll put that straight back on when you go back to normal eating" and "it's better to lose weight slowly". But apparently that's not true. Recent studies have shown fast weight loss is more successful that the traditional, slower approach

Image

Long term, this seems much better. As I mentioned above, for 2 weeks I literally counted everything that went into my mouth, even weighing the oil I cooked in, keeping it 300kcal below my estimated calorie burn. It was a huge effort, and the result was zilch. A classic red queen race. If that was what I need to do to keep the weight off for the rest of my life, I was going to fail. Intermittent fasting combined with normal portion control seems quite doable, with the occasional blowout perfectly OK. Once I sort out the mood/energy issues of 800kcal "fast" days, doing one or two a week I can manage. Especially as it's such a large calorie deficit that I don't have to be so precise on calories: going even several hundred calories over that is still a deficit.

Please: I am getting my five a day, and plenty of protein. I am only doing it for the short term. If anyone has anything negative to say, please don't. It won't be constructive, and if I read it before breakfast, I may cry.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Lullabelle » 4 years ago

Joan wrote:
4 years ago
I am struggling.

I decided to go with 800kcal per day every day, short term. I will stick it out for as long as I can, or 2 weeks; whichever is shorter 😁. They recommend 2 -12 weeks, and the fact that many people can stick to an 800kcal/day diet for 3 months is a testament to the truth that obesity does not mean gluttony or sloth.

It's hard. My cycle yesterday was a disaster, needing a rest after just 5km, though I eventually managed a staccato 37km. I joined a friend for coffee on another day while fasted (ie I hadn't had breakfast yet), and when she said something a little nasty, I burst into tears!

But on the brightside, wow! I lost 3.7kg in 6 days, and 4cm around my waist. I can hear my own voice in my ears saying "that's just water weight" and "you'll put that straight back on when you go back to normal eating" and "it's better to lose weight slowly". But apparently that's not true. Recent studies have shown fast weight loss is more successful that the traditional, slower approach

Image

Long term, this seems much better. As I mentioned above, for 2 weeks I literally counted everything that went into my mouth, even weighing the oil I cooked in, keeping it 300kcal below my estimated calorie burn. It was a huge effort, and the result was zilch. A classic red queen race. If that was what I need to do to keep the weight off for the rest of my life, I was going to fail. Intermittent fasting combined with normal portion control seems quite doable, with the occasional blowout perfectly OK. Once I sort out the mood/energy issues of 800kcal "fast" days, doing one or two a week I can manage. Especially as it's such a large calorie deficit that I don't have to be so precise on calories: going even several hundred calories over that is still a deficit.

Please: I am getting my five a day, and plenty of protein. I am only doing it for the short term. If anyone has anything negative to say, please don't. It won't be constructive, and if I read it before breakfast, I may cry.
One of our colleagues started following a weight loss regime of counting calories and sins, replacing some foods for others and it has worked, he has dropped a lot of weight, so it is do-able just takes focus.

When I am hungry I can be very cranky so fasting would not be right for me.
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I am becoming the thing I despise

Post by Joan » 4 years ago

Yesterday a friend - the one who made me cry - was complaining about general aches and pain and feeling like she was coming down with something. This has been going on for a while, so she knows it's not the 'flu. It was all I could do not to say, "That sounds like inflammation. Maybe you should consider intermittent fasting". In case that doesn't make me seem like a monster, you need to know that comes from reading and YouTube, and not because I have experienced any physical symptoms good or bad except a mild case of keto flu, or perhaps hypoglycemia.

But it gets worse: also yesterday, I bought a spiraliser, the must-have gadget of 2015. Yeah, I know. Try not to hate me.
Lullabelle wrote:
4 years ago
One of our colleagues started following a weight loss regime of counting calories and sins, replacing some foods for others and it has worked, he has dropped a lot of weight, so it is do-able just takes focus.
Losing weight is always "doable", it's keeping it off for the following years or decades that is the hard part. Apparently even bariatric surgery isn't a panacea, half of them put on significant weight a few years after the surgery.

"Syns" sounds like Slimming World. A few of my neighbours joined that a couple of years ago. Their weight loss was so impressive (and they looked healthy as well as good, and served me SW food that was very enjoyable) that I went to meeting. I decided not to join because it was too prescriptive for me ("no, you can't make your own yogurt, you have to use one of the brands we specify"), but subsequently all four of them stopped attending the meetings and in the last year returned to their previous weight. I haven't asked why, because I can't find a polite way to ask "why are you fat?" 😂
When I am hungry I can be very cranky so fasting would not be right for me.
It probably isn't, but - here comes my neo-evangelism as mentioned above, so feel free to stop reading right here - the least strict form of IF I have read about is 12:12, and you likely are nearly doing it already. You stop eating after you have finished dinner, say at 8pm, and you don't have anything (but water or unadorned coffee or teas) until you have breakfast at 8am. Apparently the benefits of fasting start in that time frame.
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Re: I am becoming the thing I despise

Post by Lullabelle » 4 years ago

Joan wrote:
4 years ago
Yesterday a friend - the one who made me cry - was complaining about general aches and pain and feeling like she was coming down with something. This has been going on for a while, so she knows it's not the 'flu. It was all I could do not to say, "That sounds like inflammation. Maybe you should consider intermittent fasting". In case that doesn't make me seem like a monster, you need to know that comes from reading and YouTube, and not because I have experienced any physical symptoms good or bad except a mild case of keto flu, or perhaps hypoglycemia.

But it gets worse: also yesterday, I bought a spiraliser, the must-have gadget of 2015. Yeah, I know. Try not to hate me.

Losing weight is always "doable", it's keeping it off for the following years or decades that is the hard part. Apparently even bariatric surgery isn't a panacea, half of them put on significant weight a few years after the surgery.

"Syns" sounds like Slimming World. A few of my neighbours joined that a couple of years ago. Their weight loss was so impressive (and they looked healthy as well as good, and served me SW food that was very enjoyable) that I went to meeting. I decided not to join because it was too prescriptive for me ("no, you can't make your own yogurt, you have to use one of the brands we specify"), but subsequently all four of them stopped attending the meetings and in the last year returned to their previous weight. I haven't asked why, because I can't find a polite way to ask "why are you fat?" 😂


It probably isn't, but - here comes my neo-evangelism as mentioned above, so feel free to stop reading right here - the least strict form of IF I have read about is 12:12, and you likely are nearly doing it already. You stop eating after you have finished dinner, say at 8pm, and you don't have anything (but water or unadorned coffee or teas) until you have breakfast at 8am. Apparently the benefits of fasting start in that time frame.
The syns are slimming world. Someone else I know lost a lot of weight a few years ago but has been steadily putting it back on. She stopped going to the classes because she was uncomfortable with others knowing she had 'failed'.

I know I would benefit health wise for dropping a few pounds, just need the motivation, assess my dietary habits.

Good luck to all who embark on any life changing journey.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Lullabelle » 4 years ago

So far this year we have walked 22.3 km so not doing bad.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Joan » 4 years ago

Lullabelle wrote:
4 years ago
So far this year we have walked 22.3 km so not doing bad.
That's excellent. I am doing a bit more walking too. It's a pleasant way to spend some time, and the world looks different at that pace (as long as I keep my phone in my pocket!)
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Lullabelle » 4 years ago

Joan wrote:
4 years ago
That's excellent. I am doing a bit more walking too. It's a pleasant way to spend some time, and the world looks different at that pace (as long as I keep my phone in my pocket!)
I recorded my walk to work which isn't far but adds up. Will also add my walks home, weather dependant.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Joan » 4 years ago

F' me! I started recording my weight in October, and partially logging my food. As of this morning I have lost 10.1kg since then. 🤯

And the old belt I got out because my jeans wouldn't stay up are now done up on the tightest hole. That means they are sitting way too high, mum-jeans style, but I am not loosening them!
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Lullabelle » 4 years ago

Another 5.71km walk today, 84.5km so far this month.
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Re: Intermittent Fasting

Post by Joan » 4 years ago

Lullabelle wrote:
4 years ago
Another 5.71km walk today, 84.5km so far this month.
That's amazing. It's not that far from my cycling distance.

Have you found a pub with a Labrador by a fire on your walks?

😁
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