Intermittent Fasting

[Missie]

The 16/8 method

"In this version, you only eat during an eight-hour period each day.

Skip breakfast every day.
Eat only during a set 8-hour period, such as between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. You should keep this time consistent every day.
You should base these hours on when you need food for energy, such as when you’re at work and when you exercise.

Fast for the other 16 hours. "


I am going to start this from tomorrow.. I hope.

 

[overlandflyer]

.... I am going to start this from tomorrow.. I hope.

so how's it going?

i have to say, when you see the "instructions" like that in writing, it sounds easy.
in reality, i have probably mentioned this previously, but it took me the better part of 2 weeks before i got to 16/8 IF.

i think everyone is a bit different. my biggest challenge was to cut out evening snacking and calling it quits after dinner. i suppose for some it might be to have to delay the traditional right-when-you-get-up breakfast. all i had to quit was the occasional toasted bagel, though morning hours are sometimes rough to get through without at least one hunger episode.

 

[Missie]

I am sorry, I am horrible.. I gave up on this already. T_T but I will be fasting in like 2 weeks for 1 month for religious reasons. Our eating window is like 10 hours and we have to fast for 14.
Hopefully it'll go well. I'll update here.. hope I dont forget

 

[overlandflyer]

you're not horrible, you're human.

there are days that hunger almost wins. after nearly three years of intermittent fasting i still deal with hunger episodes nearly every day, but i know that feeling doesn't last more than a few minutes, it eventually passes and i can deal with it.

 

[Cate]

I can't do IF either, Missie & not because of not being able to mentally cope with the hunger. I wish I could, but I have tried & felt really unwell & it's also against the advice of my cardio & GP. I do try to not eat in the evenings though as I feel even that makes a difference. I usually have a non-eating window of about 12-13 hrs.

 

[overlandflyer]

i believe nutrition to students attending medical school is likely deemed as important as i considered U.S. history was to my engineering degree. when i talk with my GP in regard to nutrition or specifically my success with intermittent fasting, i get the most general talking points i have heard for more than a decade in the face of more recent research as to be almost laughable. he cares about blood pressure and triglyceride levels and frankly i get the feeling he is a bit surprised that i am doing so well.

i sometime wonder if science has a problem with the religious ties to fasting.
i have to admit for a field of study that seems to have gotten so much wrong, religion certainly nailed it with fasting.

 

[overlandflyer]

IF for nearly 5 years now, i occasionally watch some Youtube videos on IF which seem to be more numerous than ever. something that i could stress as the most important to consider is how you start. the key here is to start slow. IF is not a quick fix and is actually questionably even a "diet". after years of IF i know how to handle hunger, but someone starting off has likely never had to deal with it. do i get hungry from time to time?... yes... everyone does. does it eventually go away..... yes.

the best way to begin IF'ing is to start with your sleep time. that's a bunch of hours you naturally do not eat anyway.

next it depends on your habits. i was never that hungry in the morning, so delaying breakfast for a few hours was no big deal. my nemesis was eating late into the evening. it took almost two weeks, but i eventually learned to stop eating an hour earlier... then another... then another. after a while i was delaying breakfast until about 11am or noon. on the other end, i cranked back my evening snacks until i could stop at 6 or 7 pm.

my typical day now is somewhere between 16/8 and 18/6 (IF notation for your fasting / eating windows). occasionally i'll do a 20/4 day and usually due to a social event, i also occasionally do a 12/12 day.... something i recommend to friends even if they don't IF...giving your digestive system a 12 hour break is better than nothing.

he has some critics, but i find Jason Fung to be one of the best to explain how IF works.