NFT: Intermittent fasting?

with any aggressive change. I did something similar to that back when I was able to workout more, definitely saw changes but I didn't think it was necessary (the gym portion was far more important). Skipping breakfast or not depends on when you workout. I used to workout either first thing in the morning or during lunch so having next to no energy for that is counterproductive. If you workout after work than this is probably more doable/desirable.

I wouldn't really go crazy with the fasting. If it works for you, great, if not try switching it up or spacing your meals out to 5x per day in much smaller portions.

In comment 13348419 UConn4523 said:

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with any aggressive change. I did something similar to that back when I was able to workout more, definitely saw changes but I didn't think it was necessary (the gym portion was far more important). Skipping breakfast or not depends on when you workout. I used to workout either first thing in the morning or during lunch so having next to no energy for that is counterproductive. If you workout after work than this is probably more doable/desirable. I wouldn't really go crazy with the fasting. If it works for you, great, if not try switching it up or spacing your meals out to 5x per day in much smaller portions.

Thanks for responding. Im enjoying this more because I basically eat two more bigger meals and I actually feel full. Not eating breakfast doesn't bother me. I can drink black coffee during the fasting period so 2-3 cups in the morning to get me to lunch is really all I need. During the eating period between meals Ill eat apples and even a smoothie after the gym. Ive been also drinking a gallon of water every day with some ACV in it and Ive been meal prepping all my meals for the week on Sunday. So far its been a breeze and the weight is literally falling off.

In comment 13348429 ZGiants98 said:

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In comment 13348419 UConn4523 said: Quote: with any aggressive change. I did something similar to that back when I was able to workout more, definitely saw changes but I didn't think it was necessary (the gym portion was far more important). Skipping breakfast or not depends on when you workout. I used to workout either first thing in the morning or during lunch so having next to no energy for that is counterproductive. If you workout after work than this is probably more doable/desirable. I wouldn't really go crazy with the fasting. If it works for you, great, if not try switching it up or spacing your meals out to 5x per day in much smaller portions. Thanks for responding. Im enjoying this more because I basically eat two more bigger meals and I actually feel full. Not eating breakfast doesn't bother me. I can drink black coffee during the fasting period so 2-3 cups in the morning to get me to lunch is really all I need. During the eating period between meals Ill eat apples and even a smoothie after the gym. Ive been also drinking a gallon of water every day with some ACV in it and Ive been meal prepping all my meals for the week on Sunday. So far its been a breeze and the weight is literally falling off.

I tried the gallon of water thing once. Pissed all night. Lack of sleep wasn't worth it.

In comment 13348431 feelflows said:

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In comment 13348429 ZGiants98 said: Quote: In comment 13348419 UConn4523 said: Quote: with any aggressive change. I did something similar to that back when I was able to workout more, definitely saw changes but I didn't think it was necessary (the gym portion was far more important). Skipping breakfast or not depends on when you workout. I used to workout either first thing in the morning or during lunch so having next to no energy for that is counterproductive. If you workout after work than this is probably more doable/desirable. I wouldn't really go crazy with the fasting. If it works for you, great, if not try switching it up or spacing your meals out to 5x per day in much smaller portions. Thanks for responding. Im enjoying this more because I basically eat two more bigger meals and I actually feel full. Not eating breakfast doesn't bother me. I can drink black coffee during the fasting period so 2-3 cups in the morning to get me to lunch is really all I need. During the eating period between meals Ill eat apples and even a smoothie after the gym. Ive been also drinking a gallon of water every day with some ACV in it and Ive been meal prepping all my meals for the week on Sunday. So far its been a breeze and the weight is literally falling off. I tried the gallon of water thing once. Pissed all night. Lack of sleep wasn't worth it.

For me, I piss all day. The gallon is gone by the time I get home from the gym at 7 PM so by the time I go to bed Im already good.

when I did it I was 24/25, living in NYC and my entire world was in a 1 mile radius. Then I moved back to CT and a gym was in my building and went 6 days a week and ate really well, best shape of my life.

I have much more going on now between a kid and a house, and sharing 1 car so the gym isn't in the cards. Once we are consistently over 40 degrees i'll start running and biking again, and will start a new eating regimen along with it.

Like you I find that coffee is really all I need in the morning unless I work out at 6am like I used to.

The other advice is switching out your gym routine every month or two. Your body will adapt so keeping it surprised, for lack of a better term, will keep that shock going. Something as simple as alternating running outside from running on a treadmill will use different muscles.

Monitor class on top of my basic weight lifting at the gym every day and it's been really fun. Always something new and I burn about 600 calories in 30 minutes. Ive just really seen IF picking up lately and was surprised at how quickly I'm seeing results.

is the ideal goal for weight loss.

Aside from weight/fat loss, it has many other benefits (eg insulin, skin health, heart health). Also, if you work out in a fasted state, studies show it can increase your HGH levels by over 1000 percent, which is great for older guys like me.

Kimmel swears by it. He said he lost all of his weight without ever really hitting the gym (he later installed a treadmill desk where you walk on it while you work). More recently he's started weight training (I'm guessing his body didn't look all that impressive being plump and losing weight without exercising) but it certainly worked for him.

breakfast and snack and lunch and snack and dinner and dessert every day, although sometimes I'll double up on the snacks on cheat days, (weekends and most weekdays)

I still can't seem to shed the weight.

In comment 13348510 DC Gmen Fan said:

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is the ideal goal for weight loss.

That's the old adage and it's true if your strictly just restricting calories but with IF your basically putting your body into a mini-Ketosis almost every day. Your body runs out of sugar/glucose and it HAS to burn fat for about a 4-5 hour period before you break your fast again so this is a little different IMO.

In comment 13348511 Now Mike in MD said:

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Aside from weight/fat loss, it has many other benefits (eg insulin, skin health, heart health). Also, if you work out in a fasted state, studies show it can increase your HGH levels by over 1000 percent, which is great for older guys like me.

Ive heard about HGH levels spiking. Id like to try working out on a fast but I dont know how to do it with my work schedule. I cant skip breakfast and lunch and I only workout after work. Might be able to try it on a Saturday or something though.

In comment 13348504 ZGiants98 said:

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Monitor class on top of my basic weight lifting at the gym every day and it's been really fun. Always something new and I burn about 600 calories in 30 minutes. Ive just really seen IF picking up lately and was surprised at how quickly I'm seeing results.

Back when I used to get summer Fridays I'd drop my wife off at work and then head to this 1,800 acre park about 20 minutes north of her office. I used to strap on the heart rate monitor, and power walk up and down the trails for 2 straight hours with no stops. I'd maintain a 150ish heart rate, 4-4.5 mph pace, and burn 1,500 calories across roughly 8-9 miles. Legs would be jello after but it was awesome. Wish I had the time to do it even once per week.

My workouts are only about an hour. I do the 30 minute class I mentioned after a short workout. The first 30 minutes I alternate days with weights with light running. The class also hits muscle and cardio too so I dont stress too much. I feel like Im getting a nice balance.

I eat 12-8. Coffee only in the AM. Simple, and it definitely works for my metabolism to keep me fairly lean, without really going crazy counting calories or being completely devoid of carbs/fats. I Just eat 2 balanced meals and 2 protein shakes With nuts/fruit in an 8 hour period. Works well for me.

For morning workouts I'll just change my start/end times for the window. i.e. 10-6 window.

My strength is on point and I'm not super ripped but definitely in the range I want to be.

Is the best . I do 16/8. Never felt better.

Johnny and Charlito. It's amazing to me how many people are doing this and having great results. I dont feel like it's even hard. Seems like everyone who has done it, says good things or swears by it.

I ain't young anymore and I've eaten every which way you can think of for weight loss and/or strength enhancement... lol.

I still like to do all compound lifts and later in the day for optimal strength. I'll do 30 minutes of HIIT or just straight jogging every other day 3x per week. (I love morning workouts but I'm definitely stronger later in the day).

The concept of I.F. is actually pretty logical. I always thought I was carb sensitive (and I am - especially with glutenous grains) so when I was doing 6 smaller meals a day I had to cut my carbs/fats way down in order to lean out. And I was always bloated. I tried food combining back in the day which actually worked well for me as well, but I have always had a sensitive digestive system. With I.F. you are giving your digestive system a rest for a good amount of time, so my gut feels great (regardless of what I eat) and I leaned right up within a few weeks of starting it. On top of that cutting carbs always had a negative effect on my guitar playing. Now I don't have any issues with my fingers... lol.

I started to see I.F. pop up a bit within the last few years, and it made sense to me because when I was at my leanest was during my wrestling days... granted we were workout maniacs for wrestling but I always used fasting at that time.

Definitely helps with inflammation as well. Allows everything to cool down and reset. Let's your digestive track clean itself out for a while.

All about? I'd love to try something like this, I simply don't get up and eat a lot when I'm working and I rarely want to eat when I wake up. I could use a boost badly

Definitely recommend.

If you are looking for another sort of change to make to improve shape - I'd look into ice baths. There's some really interesting stuff out there for what they can do for your body.

I't literally just not eating for 17 hours, and then eating for 7 hours.

So you'd basically just have water and coffee/tea in the morning (no sugar although I do use a little 2% milk - I'm only racist when it comes to coffee)

and then eat your meals from 12pm through 7pm. You cannot eat between 7pm and 12pm the next day. It's really easy.

...I have been asking a lot of workout questions. I have been a runner for most of my adult life and involved in martial arts. I cracked my ribs in a grappling session in September 2015 and running became something I put off and now back into it. I am 42 so my metabolism and diet needs to improve.

I want to look into the intermittent fasting. Does anyone know of any success in getting their body in ketosis? Joe Rogan (UFC, comedian) talks about it on his podcasts alot.

Also, I have fitbit which I use to track my runs. At lunch I have been going on walks. When I track my exercise, the Fitbit reads that my running puts my heart in cardio mode and my walking in Fat Buring mode. It doesn't make sense as I would think jogging and running requires more effort.

The theory is (or has been as I know of it for many years) fat burning is optimal at 60-70% of your max heart rate, so that completely makes sense.

In comment 13348725 Johnny5 said:

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The theory is (or has been as I know of it for many years) fat burning is optimal at 60-70% of your max heart rate, so that completely makes sense.

Thanks Johnny - I agree and I always thought that as well but I am usually in my best shape when I am running regularly. I am sure that my diet is also dictating my fat percentage.

In comment 13348754 Drewcon40 said:

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Thanks Johnny - I agree and I always thought that as well but I am usually in my best shape when I am running regularly. I am sure that my diet is also dictating my fat percentage.

Yep I hear ya, and that's a conundrum, cardio or fat burn? lol. I enjoy running but I seem to get a good balance between the two from HIIT. If I run for long periods of time I seem to lose muscle more than fat. So I started a quasi-HIIT cardio day where I brisk walk for 2 minutes and then run for 2 minutes. Seems to be a good mix for me right now... maybe give that (or some variation a try).

It's important to note that by shrinking your window you are usually in a calorie deficit. Both my meals are about 700-800 calories which is a pretty big meal if your eating lean meats, ect. Just because you fasted for 17 hours though, doesn't mean you eat 3000 calories in your eating window. You still have to be sensible.

But honestly it's really hard for me to eat more than 2000 calories in a 7-8 hour period, unless I eat like shit... lol. I allow myself some leeway on weekends but it's still tough to break 2500 calories even on the weekends unless I'm gorging myself on cheesecake.

In comment 13348835 Johnny5 said:

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But honestly it's really hard for me to eat more than 2000 calories in a 7-8 hour period, unless I eat like shit... lol. I allow myself some leeway on weekends but it's still tough to break 2500 calories even on the weekends unless I'm gorging myself on cheesecake.

Yeah, that's supposed to be the point... I just don't want new people reading this to think "Oh, I can eat whatever and how much as I want as long as it's in my eating window". No... you can't wuff down an entire Pizza and then go have a steak for dinner as long as you fasted for 17 hours. lol.

In comment 13348690 Joey in VA said:

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All about? I'd love to try something like this, I simply don't get up and eat a lot when I'm working and I rarely want to eat when I wake up. I could use a boost badly

It definitely has given me a boost. I eat pretty healthy and exercise but I hit a plateau. I'm 6 foot and have a pretty athletic frame. I sit behind a desk most of the day and my weight had been stuck around 210-215 lbs. I run a 5k/10K almost every single month and do all sorts of things but the weight wasn't going down like it used to. 180 lbs would be really skinny for me (10%body fat) and 195 lbs would be "good" IMO. I've cut carbs, cut calories, ect... but every time Id lose a few lbs it would creep right back up. I tried this and I'm instantly down to like 203 LBs in a little over a week and its still falling off every day. I'm a believer.

Im going to try to get it to 18/6 soon. The longer you fast the better the results. Some guys are really extreme and even do 20/4!

I'm going to give it a shot..after the Super Bowl

Think I'll try this out. I already skip breakfast most days due to lack of appetite, the bigger challenge will be not eating too late.

I lost about 65 lbs 5 years ago, and in those 5 years its all slowly come back due to life, work, stress, laziness, etc.

I've been trying to go back to the routine that lost me the weight but it's making me more tired, sore, and hungry than I've ever felt. Maybe IF will help and also give me a boost.

over the fasting period. I think anything over 30 calories will break the fast so mixers for your coffee/tea or even stupid things like gum could screw you up. Its really important for your body to completely run out of sugar in your system and start burning fat.

Drink a ton of water. I bring an entire gallon of water to work and literally chug it in the morning. It actually keeps me kind of full.

In comment 13348890 ZGiants98 said:

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over the fasting period. I think anything over 30 calories will break the fast so mixers for your coffee/tea or even stupid things like gum could screw you up. Its really important for your body to completely run out of sugar in your system and start burning fat. Drink a ton of water. I bring an entire gallon of water to work and literally chug it in the morning. It actually keeps me kind of full.

How hangry do you get some days?

In comment 13348898 Giantology said:

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In comment 13348890 ZGiants98 said: Quote: over the fasting period. I think anything over 30 calories will break the fast so mixers for your coffee/tea or even stupid things like gum could screw you up. Its really important for your body to completely run out of sugar in your system and start burning fat. Drink a ton of water. I bring an entire gallon of water to work and literally chug it in the morning. It actually keeps me kind of full. How hangry do you get some days?

I've really been good man. Coffee is a crutch, the gallon water with the ACV helps, also carbonated soda water will artificially fill you up. When lunch hits I'm really not ravenous and I make a pretty good meal (usually some protein like Salmon, a Turkey burger, or chicken, with a ton of veggies and like half a sweet potato) I pre-make all my meals Sunday night (takes about an hour). They are all about 700-ish calories. When I come home from the gym I have another meal ready to go. It's super easy and takes the thinking out of it. I think it would be much harder if I was wondering what to do for lunch/dinner every day with the diet in mind.

Why not do it every night?

In comment 13348909 trueblueinpw said:

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Why not do it every night?

lol nice

Z I have read that after 18 you start to get catabolic. I am digging the 16 for now. I am (very) short but have a powerlifter build. I love eating this way, so easy. I highly recommend it.

Starting/adding to this thread.

It spurred me to do some more googling on the topic, and I'm giving this a whirl starting today.

Step 1: coffee is black....

In comment 13352840 bigbluehoya said:

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Starting/adding to this thread. It spurred me to do some more googling on the topic, and I'm giving this a whirl starting today. Step 1: coffee is black....

I started when the thread popped up , just to see how hard it was. It's very doable. Especially if you already drink your coffee black.

I found myself drinking a lot more coffee before lunch.

If I'm reading this thread correctly, drinking black coffee during the fasting period is acceptable? And then you can eat as much as you want during the eating period?

In comment 13352877 BigBlueShock said:

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If I'm reading this thread correctly, drinking black coffee during the fasting period is acceptable? And then you can eat as much as you want during the eating period?

That's not how I took it.

Yes on the black coffee but odds are if you're doing this your goal is health..So "anything" is probably counter productive.

telling you what to eat. It's telling you when to eat.

If you consider your diet as a given (whether you eat immaculate paleo clean or you eat junk), this method of eating is believed to be more conducive to weight loss / burning fat than the traditional morning/noon/night 3 meals a day.

Pairing it with a paleo diet (for instance) is going to yield better results than pizza and beer, needless to say.

I thought this would be an appropriate area to post this question. I have heard several ads for NJ DIet. Supposedly they take a DNA test and perfect a perfect meal plan for you, It sounds reasonable, But I have read that it can be up to $2K,

Is it true that there is something that can be concluded from your DNA, hair sample, saliva, etc? Has anyone ever tried it? I am not dropping 2K on something that I believe I have a handle on. I respect the opinion of this board and was curious if anyone has experience with this.

Intermittent fasting was the best one, saw results quickly. Unfortunately, I tried going back to it but my body doesn't agree with it anymore.

Or does that count as eating because you are consuming calories?

In comment 13352948 debo_GIANTS said:

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Or does that count as eating because you are consuming calories?

No-go

Black coffee, tea, water, seltzer, etc. as close to zero calories as possible, and definitely not more than 30-40 calories.

In comment 13352877 BigBlueShock said:

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If I'm reading this thread correctly, drinking black coffee during the fasting period is acceptable? And then you can eat as much as you want during the eating period?

I can't drink black coffee, I do add a about 3 TBSP of 2% milk. Hasn't stopped me from burning fat off. Maybe it would be faster burning, but i'm good with how it's going. To be fair I only am wanting to drop maybe 2-5 % of my current bodyfat just to see my abs. So far so good.

My typical weekday looks like this, roughly 4 meals and about 1900 calories:
Before noon - two-three cups of coffee with small amount of milk.
12pm - 2-3 eggs with veggies and Ezekiel toast with flax or coconut oil.
2-2:30pm - Whey protein, 2 TBSP of nut butter, banana mixed into a shake.
4-5 PM - Raw almonds or pistachios with pea protein powder shake.
6-8 PM some type of animal protein, Baked regular or sweet potato, veggies. I'll have a cup of berries right before 8pm.

Rinse and repeat. I do the same thing on weekends.... however I will allow myself a beer or two, and some more leeway with junk at one meal (i.e. ice cream).

Working for me.

of calorie intake? when you ingest the calories, and what type, is tweaking the system. if you want to ingest all the calories at once, then fast, and can handle that over eating slowly over the same period would just be a matter of choice.

Long term, it's a matter of selecting a long term eating regimen that is healthy and sustainable balanced with movement (aka exercise) that is sustainable. Everything else, IMO, is a fad/yo-yo diet. This isn't knocking the idea, but really almost every diet has one basic principle: lower calorie intake. Some people claim that low, sustained eating makes your body avoid storing energy. This diet seems to imply dosing your body once a day and then fasting is the way to go. which way to go is a matter of debatable minor efficiency percentage. it's all about calories in vs calories burned overall. so if eating once a day allows you to keep the calories under control, go for it. there is nothing magical about when you eat that is going to make a big difference. It's all about controlling what you eat. When you eat it is all about what works for you.

For losing weight, generally yes... at the end of the day calories taken in vs calories burned is the main factor effecting weight loss/gain/maintenance. I actually prefer this because it's not a diet per se, it's just condensing the "eating window". One of the main theoretical benefits is you are giving your digestive system a break. I generally eat about 1800-2000 calories anyway, normally broken down into 5 smaller meals. All I have done with this is condensed my eating window to 8 hours, and it has made a very big difference for me. My gut feels much better and I am definitely dropping body fat percentage and it does not feel like a "diet".

I'm sorry, if you're only taking in 1800 calories a day, that's a diet. No matter how you want to break it down.

In comment 13355904 BigBlueShock said:

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I'm sorry, if you're only taking in 1800 calories a day, that's a diet. No matter how you want to break it down.

For you maybe, but it's not... lol. I have been weight/power lifting, etc etc. for over 30 years. I was a certified personal trainer in and after college. I ahve tried pretty much every diet and fitness fad under the sun. At this point, at the very least I have discovered that I know more about my body than anyone else. My basal metabolic rate coupled with my lifestyle and fitness regimen supports between 1800-2200 calories effectively. It's basically what I take in for the most part, all of the time and maintains me at about 170-175 lbs (and I'm short... under 5'5" lol). I'm short but carry a lot of muscle. I was running at about 15% body fat before I started the intermittent fasting. I'm at about 12% right now.

... should be "But it's not for me"