Intermittent Fasting

[bjlay2000]

Here are a couple of good articles. They're both pretty quick and easy reads.

https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-1-diabetes-guide/what-is-ketosis#1
https://www.webmd.com/diet/fasting

If you are dead set on fasting, just beware of the section "Why Fasting for Weight Loss Can Backfire". This is all I was trying to get to.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I think I would be on a constant work fast if I saw what goes on behind those double doors where you work lol.

You get used to it. This past week I ate lunch after seeing a body about a week into decomp one day, a suicide with brains literally hanging out the side of the head on another. Your nausea response gets blunted fast.

My neck is healed and my knee is good enough, so I've started "running" again (15 minute mile, which is pathetic but a start) and

12:56 mile today, 118' elevation climb per runkeeper.

 

[Ggreen]

You get used to it. This past week I ate lunch after seeing a body about a week into decomp one day, a suicide with brains literally hanging out the side of the head on another. Your nausea response gets blunted fast.

Wow I got sick after catching a look at my infected stitches after a surgery last year lol. I just hope I don't have to get used to it at this point in my life.
================

I still do not understand the need for people who have been healthy their entire lives to pop in and give their advice on losing weight. Losing fat is different than losing muscle mass. Recovering from acute obesity does not happen the same way for everyone, and the vast majority of obese people will never recover. There are multiple paths to reducing the fat hanging off of our bodies. Intermittent fasting is one of many. It is completely safe and healthy when combined with proper nutrition and dieting. It is not starving yourself, it simply means that you consume your specified calories in a window of time daily. This doesn't mean you can let burgers fries and soda count for your calories (you actually can and will still lose weight, but your overall health will suffer). Unused calories become weight. Biology tells us that consumption under a certain amount of calories per day will equal a certain amount of weight lost due to the body entering ketosis and consuming the fat. The key to intermittent fasting is to pair it with a proper diet. I work with a dietician and my primary care physician to develop healthy meals that get my body the fuel and nutrients it needs to operate without fatiguing or putting my body into a nutritional debt that can lead to harm.

Fasting does not eliminate water weight, your fluid intake will remain the same. You may have to change the fluids you put in though. Soda has absolutely nothing but wasted calories in it. You can waste 1/4 of a 600 calorie day with 1 can of Coke, or you can have a boiled egg and a good piece of cheese that will actually fuel you.

Most people do not see fasting as a long term lifestyle, but it absolutely can be. Like I said Intermittent Fasting is not about starving yourself. In fact I'm very satisfied and rarely hungry. My hunger is more of a lingering addiction to feel full. Once a person using IF gets to their desired weight they will have to adjust their caloric intake to maintain their weight given their physical output. So you can continue fasting, just maybe adjust from 16-8 to a 14-10 giving you 2 more hours to consume the needed amount of calories. If anything IF is more about teaching you that food is fuel, you feel the energy being released from your oats when you eat them, you notice the difference in your skin and mental clarity when you add chia seeds to your diet. It is as much about training your mind as it is about cutting the fat off.

I understand there are a lot of people on here who live a gym life or a high cardio life, your health and nutrition is not the same as obese people who are recovering from it. In fact there is a common thread to why people give up trying to lose weight in the first place and it is that they have been lied to. Losing weight does not happen in a gym, at least losing weight efficiently. Too many obese people get caught up in the "sweat it out" mentality and think of that as the only path to slimming down. The key behind every single weight loss success story is diet. Physical activity helps, but it accounts for a minute number of total calories burned for the day. I'm not dismissing physical activity, it is an important part of overall health and wellness, but it is not necessary when it comes to losing weight. Diet is. Gym activities may give a goal which motivates a person to stick with it, but it also leads to a lot of setbacks when people try to push their body too far with too much weight on it. Injuries = weight gain.

So I'd like to keep it civil. If you have any negatives about IF please bring a real medical example. Not just so and so did it, quit it, and put the weight back on... no sh*&. And we all know that no matter when you eat, if you eat trash you will have trash results.

 

[foszoe]

Become an Orthodox Christian. We've been doing intermittent fasting for 2000 years
The Church gets proven right by science all the time!

Wow I got sick after catching a look at my infected stitches after a surgery last year lol. I just hope I don't have to get used to it at this point in my life.
================

I still do not understand the need for people who have been healthy their entire lives to pop in and give their advice on losing weight. Losing fat is different than losing muscle mass. Recovering from acute obesity does not happen the same way for everyone, and the vast majority of obese people will never recover. There are multiple paths to reducing the fat hanging off of our bodies. Intermittent fasting is one of many. It is completely safe and healthy when combined with proper nutrition and dieting. It is not starving yourself, it simply means that you consume your specified calories in a window of time daily. This doesn't mean you can let burgers fries and soda count for your calories (you actually can and will still lose weight, but your overall health will suffer). Unused calories become weight. Biology tells us that consumption under a certain amount of calories per day will equal a certain amount of weight lost due to the body entering ketosis and consuming the fat. The key to intermittent fasting is to pair it with a proper diet. I work with a dietician and my primary care physician to develop healthy meals that get my body the fuel and nutrients it needs to operate without fatiguing or putting my body into a nutritional debt that can lead to harm.

Fasting does not eliminate water weight, your fluid intake will remain the same. You may have to change the fluids you put in though. Soda has absolutely nothing but wasted calories in it. You can waste 1/4 of a 600 calorie day with 1 can of Coke, or you can have a boiled egg and a good piece of cheese that will actually fuel you.

Most people do not see fasting as a long term lifestyle, but it absolutely can be. Like I said Intermittent Fasting is not about starving yourself. In fact I'm very satisfied and rarely hungry. My hunger is more of a lingering addiction to feel full. Once a person using IF gets to their desired weight they will have to adjust their caloric intake to maintain their weight given their physical output. So you can continue fasting, just maybe adjust from 16-8 to a 14-10 giving you 2 more hours to consume the needed amount of calories. If anything IF is more about teaching you that food is fuel, you feel the energy being released from your oats when you eat them, you notice the difference in your skin and mental clarity when you add chia seeds to your diet. It is as much about training your mind as it is about cutting the fat off.

I understand there are a lot of people on here who live a gym life or a high cardio life, your health and nutrition is not the same as obese people who are recovering from it. In fact there is a common thread to why people give up trying to lose weight in the first place and it is that they have been lied to. Losing weight does not happen in a gym, at least losing weight efficiently. Too many obese people get caught up in the "sweat it out" mentality and think of that as the only path to slimming down. The key behind every single weight loss success story is diet. Physical activity helps, but it accounts for a minute number of total calories burned for the day. I'm not dismissing physical activity, it is an important part of overall health and wellness, but it is not necessary when it comes to losing weight. Diet is. Gym activities may give a goal which motivates a person to stick with it, but it also leads to a lot of setbacks when people try to push their body too far with too much weight on it. Injuries = weight gain.

So I'd like to keep it civil. If you have any negatives about IF please bring a real medical example. Not just so and so did it, quit it, and put the weight back on... no sh*&. And we all know that no matter when you eat, if you eat trash you will have trash results.

 

[Ggreen]

Results are still rolling in. I'm also expanding into other dinner foods. I'm wearing work shirts that I was given when I started back in 3/16, these shirts were too small then now they fit loosely and comfortably. So in basically 1 month I've gone from the largest I've ever been to smaller than I've been in approaching 3 years. Major changes I've noticed have been waist size, my belt is officially getting a new hole, love handles are melting away, and my chest is shrinking. My gut is getting loose, but it is far from gone.

Living lowcal, gluten free has had some very positive changes in other aspects of my life. First and foremost my energy and motivation levels are at new highs, I don't have to take dumps all the time and they are back to being consistent, I feel better. I don't know how to explain how much better I feel but it is like a mental clarity and alertness. My joints, feet, and back are great. Losing fast food meant I lost that fast food hangover. All and all I couldn't be happier with IF and a balanced diet.

I am going to get on a scale sometime this week and just check my progress weight wise. I may be disappointed with the number, but my pant and shirt size going down should help keep me motivated.

 

[Ggreen]

Today I found out that my wedding band is too large. I have worn the same size (lost a couple) since I got married oct. 2016. I have been eating at restaurants with the wife on the weekends. Generally dinner at the Mexican restaurant or breakfast at another. I basically just try to not order carb heavy meals and try to eat within my 8 hour window. Results are still rolling in (or rolls off ) and I'm a very happy faster.

 

[singlesix]

I am amazed at the weight I've loss doing a low/no carb meal plan.

 

[Hohn]

Great posts, GGreen.

I passed through the good side of 200# last week and so far it appears I'm slowly but steadily still losing, even though sedentary. I think a lot of people don't realize just how little food we actually need to eat. Our bodies are amazingly efficient. If you could burn gasoline for fuel, a typical human would get 100mpg walking-- 300mpg on a bike.

The other thing is that people don't realize how much the metabolism rises and falls based on what we eat, not just what we do. Sugar isn't JUST empty calories devoid of nutrition, it also doesn't signal to our body that we've been fed, so those calories are far less likely to be burned. As a result, we consume more calories and have less energy. We want energy-- want our body to burn calories. To do that, we must make sure our body KNOWS that is has the calories to burn.

What does this? Fat, more than anything else. Fat is what stimulates the hormones that say "I'm not hungry anymore" and also the hormones that say "I've got energy to burn, so spend all you want."

Diet is as much a hormone game as a calorie game. What we were all taught about calories in=calories out is wrong because it assumes that calories out aren't affected by calories in, which is dead wrong.

That's why so many get stuck in yoyo diets. They slash their calories in but end up cutting the output as well. They are tired and groggy all the time.

But if you slash only the carbs, you cut the calories in but have little to no effect on calories out.

 

[Ggreen]

I can't wait to pass through the good side of 200#. I don't feel like it is unattainable anymore. When I was eating and living my pre fast life I felt a hopelessness and helpless to beat my weight gain demons. I never thought gluten free was a possibility, but here I am over a month on and down shirt sizes, under my smallest adjustment in the belt, healthier skin and teeth, and more energy than I know what to do with. The lighter I get the more this energy needs to be burned, so I will have to start walking/jogging. I mean I can't hardly stand to sit still during my 8 hour feeding window. I sleep through the night. My focus is like a laser beam and my mind is problem solving faster. It sounds like nonsense, but it's amazing what your body does when it is fueled properly rather than filled with bs and spilling over with waste. I'm happy for you hohn, and I am a firm believer that weight loss is not a physical game as much as it is mental. You can sit in a chair all day and as long as you eat properly you can maintain a healthy weight, even lose weight. Now not saying sedentary is good for overall physical condition, but it is possible to cut weight without paying a gym membership.

 

[Ggreen]

Started this about 5-6 weeks ago. I weighed 295 in flip flops, tshirt and shorts, today I went to the doc's office to face the same scale. I weighed 267 in work pants/shirt/steel toes. I'm ecstatic. My doc is deployed right now so I the PA I've been seeing weighed me in and she was thrilled. This stuff works. 33lbs of pure fat, fasted away.

 

[thunderchicken]

Started this about 5-6 weeks ago. I weighed 295 in flip flops, tshirt and shorts, today I went to the doc's office to face the same scale. I weighed 267 in work pants/shirt/steel toes. I'm ecstatic. My doc is deployed right now so I the PA I've been seeing weighed me in and she was thrilled. This stuff works. 33lbs of pure fat, fasted away.

That is awesome! If I could figure out a doable schedule I would probably give it a try for a week or two just to see how it works for me.

 

[Ggreen]

That is awesome! If I could figure out a doable schedule I would probably give it a try for a week or two just to see how it works for me.

It's easy and hard all at the same time. The easy part is you don't have to make time for anything, the hard part is combating the instinct to eat when you aren't hungry or eating outside of the schedule. I've never felt hunger pains, but I've felt the hunger hankering if that makes sense.

 

[Hohn]

It's easy and hard all at the same time. The easy part is you don't have to make time for anything, the hard part is combating the instinct to eat when you aren't hungry or eating outside of the schedule. I've never felt hunger pains, but I've felt the hunger hankering if that makes sense.

I know the feeling. Didn’t eat breakfast or lunch yesterday. Starving for dinner when I got home? Nope. I ate because I’m used to it and I knew I should.

I ate a good amount and felt neither full nor hungry. It’s like my stomach just doesn’t send strong feelings either way.

Quesadilla for dinner tonight. Feel the same before and after eating.

I’m now so sensitive again to refined sugar that half a can of root beer— with food in stomach— felt like someone had slipped me some speed. Blood felt like fizzy soda in my limbs, heart rate up, light headed. From HALF a can!!

Keep up the great job. Weight loss is 90% mental, the other half is physical. (Yogi)

 

[thunderchicken]

It's easy and hard all at the same time. The easy part is you don't have to make time for anything, the hard part is combating the instinct to eat when you aren't hungry or eating outside of the schedule. I've never felt hunger pains, but I've felt the hunger hankering if that makes sense.

Working nights and having to go to my kids volleyball games 2-3 evenings a week and then hurrying home to grab a bite and head to work is a bit of an obstacle. However, I am considering giving IF a try.
IMHO, I don't think I could do it as a long term lifestyle though

 

[Ggreen]

Working nights and having to go to my kids volleyball games 2-3 evenings a week and then hurrying home to grab a bite and head to work is a bit of an obstacle. However, I am considering giving IF a try.
IMHO, I don't think I could do it as a long term lifestyle though

You set the hours you eat. Just because I do noon to eight doesn't mean you have to. I think consistency is key to sanity tho. Just choose the window that fits your lifestyle.

 

[Hohn]

I find that one of the best parts about IF is the flexibility you gain. Partly because your body and mind are becoming used to eating less food and less often, I suspect.

For me, my hunger urges are FAR less intense on IF. If I don't have time to eat, I don't. And I don't suffer terribly for skipping, I just eat when I can.

 

[Wcarm]

I’m been doing the 16:8 for about 2 months now and dropped 15 so far. My diet hasn’t been horrendous but I find what I’m battling the most now is not over eating that first meal or in general once I start my window. Been toying around with trying keto, just picked up keto clarity and also the primal blueprint as well.

 

[CCCCCCC]

So many people search for a "diet." It's not so much about the diet as it is your lifestyle. Too many people go on diets, lose weight, tell everyone about their magic diet, and end up fat in another month. Staying fit long term is a lifestyle.

I couldn’t agree more. The things you eat and your activity level are huge. Plus, it seems everyone’s body responds differently to certain foods excercise etc.

 

[Ggreen]

Quick update. I'm down right around 40 pounds since I started fasting and dieting 6 or 7 weeks ago(I can't recall the exact start date). No exercise other than daily activities and increasing my steps to around 10k per day. My pants are falling off, and I feel great. I cannot give all the credit to fasting as I gave up fast food, gluten (I have toast once a week), and candy/cookies/etc... Between the fasting and eating appropriate this fat keeps melting.

My key takeaways so far...
Always have enough to eat. I've made the mistake of getting lazy and not packing enough snacks (boiled egg, cheese, nuts..) and my hunger gets pretty rampant. Calories are important.

Fast food is fast fat. I'm sure a measurable percentage of my weightloss is due to giving up fast food.

Go to dinner with your wife and don't make her feel bad or guilt her into your diet. My wife is breastfeeding and less than half a year from giving birth to our daughter. I do not let my new lifestyle cramp her foods. It takes willpower to not get into her cereals or baked goods, but I don't. I also do not force her into my diet by mandating the tempting foods be removed. If I can't resist something in my refrigerator then I know my new diet will not be longterm. You cannot eliminate temptation so you have to train to overcome it.

Flavor, eat healthy foods that are packed with flavor. I've said before and I'll say it til i'm blue in the face. Flavor is key when you are going from overconsumption to underconsumption of calories. With everything I eat I try to pack in the garlic, onions, peppers. I stay mostly away from salt, but I did not give it up completely. Savor the flavor and eat slower so that you finish your serving when others are finishing first or seconds. Take your time and enjoy the taste of the fuel you are consuming.

 

[Bfish]

Congrats man! Sounds like you are becoming much healthier! Happy to see you've about made it a couple of months now too going strong!