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Intermittent Fasting

Hello,

 

Hey everyone just wanted to start a quick topic to see if anyone else has tired, failed, or is curious about Intermittent Fasting. In the case of intermittent fasting (IF), the "diet" actually refers to periods of fasting, meaning you are restricted to eating very little—or nothing at all—for periods of time lasting anywhere from 16-24 hours. It may sound a little crazy, but intermittent fasting has been suggested as an effective weight loss tool, with research supporting its ability to increase fat oxidation, reduce body weight, and accelerate fat loss. 

 

The central idea behind the implementation of intermittent fasting is to reduce overall calorie consumption, ideally resulting in weight loss. Typically, IF protocols will have the individual undergo a period of intentional severe calorie restriction (ranging from 0-25 percent of the individual's normal daily caloric intake) for a period of 16-24 hours. Following the restrictive phase, the individual returns to relatively normal energy intake for 8-24 hours, depending on which version of IF they are following.

 

I am doing the 16 hour fast where I consume nothing but water and a cup of black coffee in the mid morning to hold me over. Then I eat my normal range of calories for the day in an 8 hour window. For me this is from Noon to 8pm. I am on my 5th day so can't atest to being an expert but I am loving all the research I have found and was just curious to see if there is anyone else out there.

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252 REPLIES 252

I am currently on my first week of 16/8 Leanfasting and i have already lost 7.4lbs. I work night shift, so i fast from 10:30 P.M. to 2:30 P.M. the next day. Which leaves my feeding window from 2:30 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. I take a pre-workout supplement before i exercise around 12:00 P.M., and a protein supplement after i exercise around 2:30 P.M. Then later in the night i eat two larger meals, trying to keep my intake around 40% Carbs / 30% Fat / 30% Protein. This has been amazing for me so far, to all of the naysayers out there you will never know what you can do until you try. I have been doing T25 since 1/4/16 and up until last Friday i had already lost 23lbs which had me at 194.4lbs. This morning when i weighed myself i was already down to 187.0lbs!! This is after i had been on a 3 week weight loss plateau, so i am definitly excited to continue with my IF program. At 5'7", i would like to lose another 15-20lbs and i am 100% confident that i will be able to after my progress already this week.

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1st I would like to say congratulations…. you are a champion;

The wife and I have had very similar results and have been on IF 19/5 for 8 weeks and we are dropping 1 kg per week, Not really paying much attention to food going in as in protein carbs ect. but I do have the philosophy that i need to cook what we eat no packet of cafe/restaurant bought stuff.
Im training for the sky tower stair climb here in NZ is for charity and have been squeezing in 2 hrs of walking a day a few times a week but it seems with this fasting stuff you just can’t fail as long as you choose to eat for the specified time only.

hope to here more of your results soon

Ray
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Thank you very much, things still going very well. Weighed in this morning @ 184.0. Down 10.4 lbs in 14 days and i haven't changed anything in my diet or my workout program. Just simply following the 16/8 IF program. If i can do it, anyone can.

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How many days r u fasting and following 16/8? Are U restricting calories too 500 or less on fast dats?

Sent from my iPhone 4078107757
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@Gile wrote:

Down 10.4 lbs in 14 days and i haven't changed anything in my diet or my workout program. Just simply following the 16/8 IF program.


You must have changed something (eg. drastically reduced calories and/or carbs) in your diet, otherwise you wouldn’t have lost 10 pounds in two weeks.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Like I said, I have changed nothing except for what time I eat. I eat the exact same 1000 calorie deficit diet I have been following for 3 months prior to trying Leanfast. I eat whatever I want in my feeding window, and nothing but water in fasting state. Don't judge something before you try it yourself.
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I am following the IF program 7 days a week. As far as my diet goes, I have been on a 1000 calorie deficit since 1/4/16. Now that I am starting to gain lean muscle I am considering move to a 500 calorie deficit. Right now I am consuming over 2200 calories daily.
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Losing 10 pounds with a cumulative deficit of 10,000 calories is plain amazing. Being able to gain muscle when in a 1000 calories deficit is even more amazing. Muscle is part of your lean mass, so there’s no "lean muscle" and "fat muscle". Maybe you meant your muscle is becoming visible, now you have shed 10 pounds of fat?

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Any information needed on the program, or questions can be directed below.

http://www.leangains.com/?m=1
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Cardio Nut,

 

Please accept my apologies as I have just gotten back on this forum and am now replying to you a year later haha. Based on the eating schedule you listed in your post you are eating in a 12:12 window. Meaning 12 hours you are feeding and 12 hours you are fasted (sleeping most of this time). This doesn't really put you into a "class" this is a pretty standard eating schedule that most people have. Most people taught not eating breakfast yet these same people tend to eat well into the night and early morning. 

 

I don't write the rules on fasting or Intermittent Fasting but I have heard from a couple sources that you need to at least shoot for a 14 hour fast if you want the benefits but most people including myself stick with the 16:8 method. I fast from 9:00PM till 1:00PM the next day. The only thing I consume in this 16 hour window is a pre-workout drink (artificial sweetener so zero cals) and a cup or two of black coffee (4cals a cup) I try to not have any but if I do consume any calories I keep it under 15 if not less. 

 

If you exercise and want to see even more results you are supposed to exercise during your fast and at the end of it if you can. I don't have that luxury with my work schedule so I workout at 5:00AM for about an hour. If you have read any of my earlier posts or done any research on IF you will know since there is no food for my body to convert to energy it goes after the energy deposits stored on your body (aka fat). I calculate my daily calories and make sure I eat as close to my calories as I can in order to not deprive myself or not to eat over my number so I don't cancel out the fast and exercise. There are nay sayers and there always will be. This diet, lifestyle is not for everyone...not even for most but for myself I love it since I get amazing results and feel amazing. Not to mention a couple times a week when I want to be bad I usually have so many calories to play with I indulge in the finer things in life. People around me think I am crazy when I am eating a donut then come in the next day and tell them how I lost 5 pounds this week.

 

I am a professional at gaining weight but adapting IF into my life I have now become a professional at losing weight as well :)!

 

I fell off the bandwagon for some personal reasons and will not make a list of excuses. But I started back January 2017 and as of today have lost 25 pounds and getting back to my ideal (goal) weight. Mind you people say this can eat away at muscle but I have put on muscle during this time and my body is starting to show some of my hard work. I have recently been getting "holy crap look at you arm muscles" or "dang look at your legs bulging" from people around me. I am not complaining and neither is my fiance. hahah. Hope this helps! 

 

Blake

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Just wanted to add my 2 cents on this. I am not currently doing IF due to a powerlifting injury which I had to go out for surgery in late December and i have not 100% got back to the grind yet. However, I can attest to the fact that I used 16/8 IF over the course of 8 months while training heavily for an upcoming powerlifting meet.  I was able to gain a TON of strength over those 8 months and at the same time I dropped 50 lbs.  I will soon star IF again with my old program. I work 4 days on 2 days off so my fasting schedule is as follows. I will eat 230pm-1030pm on the 4 days that I work and consume approx. 3000 calories a day. on day 1 off from work I will fast well beyond 230 usually until 5 or 6 and then eat as much of my 3000 calories as I can before my 1030 mark.  On my second day off I will eat as much of whatever I want starting from the time I wake up until 1030 with no calorie restrictions.  this gives me time for recovery and the ability to load up for my first day back to the gym.  I also only workout on the days I work (the 4 days I am in IF). my workout is always completed at 230 right before my first meal. this way I am drawing on my energy from fat stores while my body is at its most fasted state.  also when breaking my fast immediately after a workout I try to eat a large portion of my calories for that day usually 1200-1500 of my calories are taken in within the first hour of breaking my fast.  with days off from IF for reloading it did cause my weight to yo yo a little maybe lose 4 while fasting and gaing back 2.5 on off days. but consistently  I would see a net loss of 1-2 pounds in a 6 day span.  and that's all I have to say about that

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Hawkinsblake I am an  intermittent faster too  you might be really interested in reading this book called engineer the Alpha man 2.0  it's all about intermittent fasting and natural hormonal regulation. Besides intermittent fasting helping you eat less there's also a plethora of hormonal benefits that help you gain muscle and lose fat talked about in this book.  hope this helps  sincerely Matt 

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I have been intermittent fasting for almost two weeks to improve my health.  I am overweight (320  lbs) and I work from home. Although I walk everyday to get my 10k, my constant grazing during the stressful work day was prevented any weight loss.   With IF, I feel great and I finally have control on my eating schedule.  I am eating healthier, have lots of energy and I am not hungry.   I am up to 15k steps/day,  losing weight (about 15lbs in 2 wks) and I am confident I can keep it up.  

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