Intermittent fasting

[abbby]

Can it be intermittent fasting for 10 hours (and fast after the 10th hr till the next day)? Intermittent fasting with carbs, does that slow down the weight loss progress?

[PNGMK]

My understanding is you can only lose weight if it's at least 12 hrs (if it's a daily IF) but the rate will be very slow. Some recommend going to 14 or 16. I can only do that by skipping breakfast or dinner. Most people find it easier to eat dinner and go to bed and only have a drink in morning and then normal lunch.

Today I had lunch and skipped dinner and wait for breakfast tomorrow but it's harder.

[Lisafuller]

I don’t think there’s a strict number of hours that you need to fast in order to see results. The most important thing is to eat less and stick to the hours you have set for yourself.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Little word to the wise with regards to fasting. It will only slow down your weight loss. Very valid reason for this. The serotonin levels in the brain control the hunger cravings and also the storing or releasing of fats from cells to burn.
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If you fast for more than 12 hours, the brain does not receive the required notification markers/levels from the blood cells to keep burning fats/sugars but instead, goes into survival mode. When that happens it stops burning fats and even worse, the sustenance you did/do take in, is then automatically converted into storage fat (survival mode because after 12 hours the brain/serotonin levels no longer have a reference point as to when the next feed will be. Ideally you should have three balanced meals every day (reduced portions and no carbs if truly trying to lose weight). meals should be 4~5 hours apart and nothing 2 hours before retiring for the night. Stay away from sugars, salt, carbs, dairy products. Coffee & tea are okay along as it is kopi or teh 'O'. Nothing but black. I am a new Man!

[Lisafuller]

Oh yes, I have read that if you fast for too long your body goes into survival mode and stores more fat instead of burning it for sustenance. I think it’s best to forgo fasting altogether; instead try a balanced, healthy diet and exercise frequently so you go into a caloric deficit. That’s what I believe to be the most healthy, surefire way of losing weight.

[Nav5700]

It works fine. I started with 14 hours fasts. Yes body does go into starvation but it took a month for my body to do that and I stopped losing any weight. However, You can simply trick the body later on by introducing one cheat day where you don't fast. I lost 15 KGs in 6 months without altering my diet except the total removal of sugar from my diet. Good luck.

[sundaymorningstaple]

It works fine. I started with 14 hours fasts. Yes body does go into starvation but it took a month for my body to do that and I stopped losing any weight. However, You can simply trick the body later on by introducing one cheat day where you don't fast. I lost 15 KGs in 6 months without altering my diet except the total removal of sugar from my diet. Good luck.

And if you will go read my link posted above, you will see that I lost 26kg in 22 weeks. And got rid of HBP, High Cholesterol & gout under control. Don't fast. Do it sensibly.

[Lisafuller]

It works fine. I started with 14 hours fasts. Yes body does go into starvation but it took a month for my body to do that and I stopped losing any weight. However, You can simply trick the body later on by introducing one cheat day where you don't fast. I lost 15 KGs in 6 months without altering my diet except the total removal of sugar from my diet. Good luck.

14 hours seems pretty intense. The first month seems like torture. I’m trying to wean myself onto intermittent fasting slowly. For now, I’m trying to exercise more and eat smaller, more nutritious meals.

[Nav5700]

It works fine. I started with 14 hours fasts. Yes body does go into starvation but it took a month for my body to do that and I stopped losing any weight. However, You can simply trick the body later on by introducing one cheat day where you don't fast. I lost 15 KGs in 6 months without altering my diet except the total removal of sugar from my diet. Good luck.

And if you will go read my link posted above, you will see that I lost 26kg in 22 weeks. And got rid of HBP, High Cholesterol & gout under control. Don't fast. Do it sensibly.

Isn't that an unhealthy speed of losing weight? I heard from my doctor that a fast weight loss is unhealthy. You are losing more than a kg per week, it's pretty intense. Plus intermittent fasting is for people who don't wanna exercise. If you are overweight, I will highly recommend against exercise involving your knees and running. Swimming is the best during initial weight loss journey.

[Nav5700]

It works fine. I started with 14 hours fasts. Yes body does go into starvation but it took a month for my body to do that and I stopped losing any weight. However, You can simply trick the body later on by introducing one cheat day where you don't fast. I lost 15 KGs in 6 months without altering my diet except the total removal of sugar from my diet. Good luck.

14 hours seems pretty intense. The first month seems like torture. I’m trying to wean myself onto intermittent fasting slowly. For now, I’m trying to exercise more and eat smaller, more nutritious meals.

It is pretty intense to start off with 14 hours. There are days your cravings are so intense that you can eat a whole cow. But again it's mind over body. Mostly i drank water and black/green tea and coffee during the fast, these are the pretty much drinking options you have I think. Trust me, once you get it going you will start to enjoy. You will be more alert and your sleep requirement will go down. You can start with 12 and take it from there. Like 8 pm to 8 am.

[sundaymorningstaple]

For the record, I wasn't on any type of exercise program. In fact I worked 12 to 14 hr days back then and that along with 3 hrs of transport time (1.5 hrs each way). The program I was on was developed and monitored via blood test at regular intervals by the doctor who designed it. Oh, not a PhD doctor but an MD who is a cardiologist, now based in the US, but originally from S.Africa. The diet was tailored to my age, height and shoe size. Because of my age, the diet was modified to lose 1 kg instead of the 1.5~1.7 kg capable for younger people. The reason I lost more than the designed weight was because I also gave up salt in my diet.

If losing the necessity of taking 2 HBP meds and lovistatin and allipurinol every day is unhealthy you have some reading comprehension problems, methinks. My local doctor also approved and monitored my progress and is the one who stopped my meds at the end of the diet. So, the answer to your question is a resounding NO.

[Lisafuller]

It works fine. I started with 14 hours fasts. Yes body does go into starvation but it took a month for my body to do that and I stopped losing any weight. However, You can simply trick the body later on by introducing one cheat day where you don't fast. I lost 15 KGs in 6 months without altering my diet except the total removal of sugar from my diet. Good luck.

14 hours seems pretty intense. The first month seems like torture. I’m trying to wean myself onto intermittent fasting slowly. For now, I’m trying to exercise more and eat smaller, more nutritious meals.

It is pretty intense to start off with 14 hours. There are days your cravings are so intense that you can eat a whole cow. But again it's mind over body. Mostly i drank water and black/green tea and coffee during the fast, these are the pretty much drinking options you have I think. Trust me, once you get it going you will start to enjoy. You will be more alert and your sleep requirement will go down. You can start with 12 and take it from there. Like 8 pm to 8 am.

I guess the hardest part is just taking the initial plunge. I have such a sweet tooth so abstaining from sweet drinks and desserts will be hard for me. Although I guess the result will be worth it.

[Nav5700]

14 hours seems pretty intense. The first month seems like torture. I’m trying to wean myself onto intermittent fasting slowly. For now, I’m trying to exercise more and eat smaller, more nutritious meals.

It is pretty intense to start off with 14 hours. There are days your cravings are so intense that you can eat a whole cow. But again it's mind over body. Mostly i drank water and black/green tea and coffee during the fast, these are the pretty much drinking options you have I think. Trust me, once you get it going you will start to enjoy. You will be more alert and your sleep requirement will go down. You can start with 12 and take it from there. Like 8 pm to 8 am.

I guess the hardest part is just taking the initial plunge. I have such a sweet tooth so abstaining from sweet drinks and desserts will be hard for me. Although I guess the result will be worth it.

That's so true, sugar is just like any other drugs, it gets addictive and becomes difficult to let go. I personally started with reducing sugar gradually like instead of two biscuits, eat one or two spoons of sugar to one. Then that 1 became half and then zero at a point. Afterwards I started with the fasting from 8 pm to 8 am. You see I took my dinner at 7 pm and stopped eating by 8 pm and then slept by 10 pm or 11 pm. Whichever suits you. Also always brush your teeth at 8 pm so you know that if you eat anything after that you will have to brush teeth again so that helps too. My wife is currently doing 20 hours after her pregnancy and it's helping her get back in the shaoe she wants. Anyway good luck, i think 8 pm to 8 am. Shouldn't be that hard as most of the hours you would be sleeping hopefully.

[Lisafuller]

It is pretty intense to start off with 14 hours. There are days your cravings are so intense that you can eat a whole cow. But again it's mind over body. Mostly i drank water and black/green tea and coffee during the fast, these are the pretty much drinking options you have I think. Trust me, once you get it going you will start to enjoy. You will be more alert and your sleep requirement will go down. You can start with 12 and take it from there. Like 8 pm to 8 am.

I guess the hardest part is just taking the initial plunge. I have such a sweet tooth so abstaining from sweet drinks and desserts will be hard for me. Although I guess the result will be worth it.

That's so true, sugar is just like any other drugs, it gets addictive and becomes difficult to let go. I personally started with reducing sugar gradually like instead of two biscuits, eat one or two spoons of sugar to one. Then that 1 became half and then zero at a point. Afterwards I started with the fasting from 8 pm to 8 am. You see I took my dinner at 7 pm and stopped eating by 8 pm and then slept by 10 pm or 11 pm. Whichever suits you. Also always brush your teeth at 8 pm so you know that if you eat anything after that you will have to brush teeth again so that helps too. My wife is currently doing 20 hours after her pregnancy and it's helping her get back in the shaoe she wants. Anyway good luck, i think 8 pm to 8 am. Shouldn't be that hard as most of the hours you would be sleeping hopefully.

I’ll try out the 8 PM to 8 AM schedule, hopefully that works for me, I tend to get very hungry at night. Thanks!

[6nd68rrp]

Not sure if i understand it correctly.

Had been skipping lunch for a year or so. not much weight loss but it maintains.

From this forum, it says to need minimum of 14hrs?? Tot it is more about just controlling the calorie intake to reach a negative much easier.