Pattyloo's Diary

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pattyloo

New member
I started IF today. Break-fast at 8:45am. Should be no problem to do 12/12 or maybe even 10/12. Either will be a great first day.

Weather is good. I love the unseasonal cool temps (low 60's). Will dog walk on 'the hill' today.
 
Good to see you started a diary :) I'm also happy that we're not getting summer temps yet; much better for exercise this way.
 
Good morning Patty (it's 8.15 am here in Tasmania) & good to see you have started a diary. You're about to go into Summer, while we're about to go into Winter. What sort of dog do you have? My dog insists on taking me for a walk at least twice a day. Life is so much better with a dog.
Are you going to calorie count as well as doing IF or just start with IF & see how you go?
 
I've done IF for 3 days. It has been very easy to do 8/16 (8 hrs eating). I start eating after 9am (sometimes even 10am), and always stop by 5pm.

I am hungry in the am's. For this first week, I am taking it easy in the am's. A light dog walk with my beagle, or just fun on the computer to take my mind off my hunger. I think it would be difficult for me to wait til noon to eat. I'm not having any problem at all at night. But, I'm in bed by 9pm. So, I only have 4 hrs of not eating. I'm up by 6am, so it's also 3-4 hours in the am.

I weighed today and am down 1 lb since beginning. So, that's a good thing.

I'm not calorie counting at all. I may do that down the road. But, for this first week, I'm just doing the fasting/eating window.
 
welcome to the IF club... one comment on your notation... i did this at the beginning, too. but since it is called intermittent fasting and not intermittent eating (though that is essentially what it is, too), the first number should be the hours of fasting as in 18/6.

if you have not seen any of my postings, my first advice is not to be too overaggressive. it took me about 2 weeks before i was comfortable with 18/6, but after a time when i was in my weight loss mode (the first 4 months i averaged about a 10 lb loss/ month) i often chose an OMAD (one meal a day) which is similar to a 20/4 IF day.

also do not be discouraged if weight loss doesn't pick up for a few weeks. it takes a bit of time for your body to respond. my advice would be to weigh yourself one of more times a day and keep a spreadsheet. from day to day you might not see a change, but week to week i guarantee you will.

good luck.
 
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pattyloo said:
.... I'm up by 6am, so it's also 3-4 hours in the am....
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lol... i'm usually up at 4am and i don't eat until around noon. it would be dishonest of me to say IF is easy. you will still get hunger "episodes" as i call them. i can't say this will be the same for everyone, but they do pass. some mornings i say... "ok, just today" ... but in 15 -20 minutes i think to myself, "i can't believe i was thinking about it" and the hunger passes. it's a mental attitude you have to accept. it gets easier... but not much.
 
pattyloo said:
... Will dog walk on 'the hill' today.
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mornings are when i walk most days. here is a thought to keep while you're walking. by your schedule, chances are you are 12+ hours into your fasting in the morning. everyone else eating breakfast at 8am will spend the next 4-6 hours dealing with the sudden increase of blood sugar triggering an insulation reaction. they will be in lipogenesis (fat storing) mode. out on your walk your body will need energy and through ketosis your body will be tapping fat reserves to increase blood sugar. you will be in lipolysis (fat burning) mode.
 
Yes, Overlandflyer - I read your section on IF. I think it was in the 'Club' area. That helped me to decide to try IF. I have done it very sporadically in the past. I've listened to Dr. Fung before, and I love him. I truly believe that fasting is God's way of us healing ourselves of many ailments. I've discovered joint aches go away if I don't eat for 12 hours or so.

This time, I've let my body tell me when to break-fast. I think I realize why I failed previously. I was forcing my body (from Day 1 of IF) to not eat until noon, and eating up til 8pm. It was a very difficult 16/8 for me - waiting through the entire morning when I was already hungry at 6am.

Starting at 9am or 10am works better for me. I believe my method will change over time, but I'm not going to force it. Eventually, maybe breaking-fast at noon will work for me. And, that is when I can get down to 18/6 instead of 16/8. But, I'm quite pleased that I'm handling 16/8 this easily.

When you do OMAD, what does your meal look like, and do you keep track of macros or calories consumed? On OMAD days, do you sit down for a meal just once, or do you eat a little each hour for 4 hours?
 
It's great that you have gotten straight into IF, without too much trouble. I think it's really good to give your body that break from food. Unfortunately, I can't do it (Dr's & cardio's advice).
 
pattyloo said:
... When you do OMAD, what does your meal look like, and do you keep track of macros or calories consumed? On OMAD days, do you sit down for a meal just once, or do you eat a little each hour for 4 hours?
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i have never counted calories, but i will admit i probably having some idea. i am at the weight i want to be at now, so my diet is what you might term "maintenance". i have a tough time eating even a moderate amount of food at one sitting, so i guess my answer would be that i do eat maybe 2-3 mini-meals within the OMAD four hours or so, though some of my meals might seem a little strange. a bagel sandwich is somewhat normal, but in an hour i might have just a bowl of steamed vegetables or an apple with some peanut or almond butter. if i can fit in a small bowl of oatmeal or maybe an egg with some leftover steak or ham before the window closes... it depends.

the real goal with OMAD isn't the calories you consume (not saying it doesn't matter some), but in the extended fasting time. some great stuff happens after 14-16 hours of no caloric intake. cells start entering apoptosis and autophagy repair phase. in more general terms your digestive system gets a rest. keeping your insulin level high or even moderate all day will eventually lead to insulin resistance.

when i think about it, it's less like OMAD and more like just a shortened IF day.
 
Thank You for your advice, Overlandflyer. I actually love all of the mini-meals you described. I have a week of data to report:

I lost 7.5 lbs doing 16/8 for 7 days!
If I can lose an average of 2 lbs/week doing 16/8, that is a huge win. I have never been able to lose 2 lbs/week consistently.

Starting today (begin of week 2), I will adjust my break-fast time to 9:30 instead of 9:00am. Goal is to gradually reduce my eating window by adjusting slightly each week. At this time, I will keep the end of feeding window as 5:00pm. That just works with my routine.

I'm not focused on doing 20/4 now. If I reduce my window by 30 minutes each week, I could be there in 8 weeks though. It's just hard to imagine being able to withstand hunger both all morning and all evening. I've already seen that the hunger doesn't last long. But, it's still difficult to go through for me.

I didn't do any calorie counting or portion control in week 1. I ate what I wanted, which included pasta or pizza on many days of week 1. I still made sure to eat lots of veggies and my protein shake on most days. The first 3-4 days, I made sure to keep eating right up to 5pm. I did that to stave off hunger as long as possible. But, by the end of the week, I sometimes stopped eating at 4:30 and even though I knew I had more time to eat, I didn't. I had learned that the evening hunger isn't so bad that I can't get through it.
 
Looks like you´re adapting well. 2 pounds a week is doable but usually doesn´t last very long so don´t be disappointed if the losses level off a bit after a while. In the first week most people lose a lot of water weight (which tends to come back right away if we get back to "normal"), which looks and feels great but may set unrealistic expectations for the future.
 
pattyloo said:
Thank You for your advice, Overlandflyer. I actually love all of the mini-meals you described. I have a week of data to report:

I lost 7.5 lbs doing 16/8 for 7 days!
If I can lose an average of 2 lbs/week doing 16/8, that is a huge win. I have never been able to lose 2 lbs/week consistently.

Starting today (begin of week 2), I will adjust my break-fast time to 9:30 instead of 9:00am. Goal is to gradually reduce my eating window by adjusting slightly each week. At this time, I will keep the end of feeding window as 5:00pm. That just works with my routine.

I'm not focused on doing 20/4 now. If I reduce my window by 30 minutes each week, I could be there in 8 weeks though. It's just hard to imagine being able to withstand hunger both all morning and all evening. I've already seen that the hunger doesn't last long. But, it's still difficult to go through for me.

I didn't do any calorie counting or portion control in week 1. I ate what I wanted, which included pasta or pizza on many days of week 1. I still made sure to eat lots of veggies and my protein shake on most days. The first 3-4 days, I made sure to keep eating right up to 5pm. I did that to stave off hunger as long as possible. But, by the end of the week, I sometimes stopped eating at 4:30 and even though I knew I had more time to eat, I didn't. I had learned that the evening hunger isn't so bad that I can't get through it.
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Very nice! I've never been able to lose 2 lbs/week either. Usually it's a pound or less. Right now I'm averaging -2.7 pounds for the past 6 weeks and I almost feel like something is wrong lol. Stay with the plan. You will do good!
 
Hey Patty, looks like you are really off to a great start! Good for you.

Losing 2 lb/week is possible, I did it for over a year. However to be honest looking back I am not sure losing that fast was the best thing for me. I think I lost muscle along with the fat, and kind of screwed with my metabolism. But it worked and I am happy to have the weight gone. I don't mean to discourage you, just wanted you to think about things. Losing weight in a healthy and consistent way is more important than how fast you lose it!

How much weight do you want to loose? And what is your general age and health, that is important.

Always good to see someone new doing so well!
 
even losing 50 lbs i'm sure i lost some muscle. when i was 220, i really didn't get that tired just walking, but a little while ago i could barely make it a few hundred feet carrying a 44 lb car battery. i'm sure i lost enough muscle that was letting me drag around that extra weight. not necessary now.
 
You're off to a great start. Even if a lot of that is water weight it is such a good motivator. You're doing well with IF. How smart to just stretch it out an extra 30 mins each week. 16/8 seems good to me.
 
I'm waiting til 11am to eat today. I did the same thing yesterday, and it wasn't difficult. I'm trying again to see if I can do 2 days in a row. Actually, I've decided that I WILL do it today. I just can't say that for tomorrow - yet.

I started doing this yesterday (Monday) because on Sunday eve, I ate later than planned (I was up later than usual and ate normally until about 0pm). Break-fast at 11am gave me a 13-hr fasting period before eating on Monday. It's important for me to do at least 12-hr fasting periods.

I stopped eating at 5pm on Monday like I normally do, so I should be hungry now. Knowing that helps me get through it. I'm not weak or failing. I'm just hungry because it's time to eat. But, I'm strong enough to wait another 90 minutes. And I have a nice roast beef that I cooked overnight in the crock pot waiting for my lunch!
 
Good to see you are doing well. Your roast beef lunch sounds good to me!

I have not done IF, but if I did I don't think skipping breakfast would be hard for me, but I know stopping eating at 5 pm would!

Keep up the good work.
 
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