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Ready to finally lose the weight? My IMF Success Story

83,629 Views | 399 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by Tailgate88
Tailgate88
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AG
Howdy Ags,

I have been a longtime lurker and occasional poster on the H&F board, but I finally decided it was time to share my story.

Before I go any further, I want to just say I have so much respect for many of you on here who are super fit, running races and Tris, lifting tons of weight, eating a very disciplined diet and generally taking really good care of yourselves. When I was in school, I was in good shape (ooh rah morning PT), worked out, and ran consistently. But once I got my first desk job and joined the corporate rat race, the pounds crept up on me and I have been basically been 75-100lbs overweight since. I wish I had gotten into racing or kept up with my workout routines but for whatever reasons, I just didn't.

Some of you can and may disagree with what some of what I'm going to say, or think I am oversimplifying it, or think it doesn't go far enough, or that you should lift more, or run more, or whatever more. Thanks, I appreciate your opinion, and feel free to share. But this is more directed at the many guys and girls out there like me, want to be in better shape, or at least weigh less, but for whatever reason (no judgement) can't carve out the time between career, family, kids, whatever to put in as much time and discipline as you have / we wish we had. Props to you, but understand, not all of us have the time and resources some of you do to devote to your fitness at this point in our lives (as much as we wish we did.)

It's not that I haven't tried until now. Over the years...the past 25 years... I did all the fad diets from Atkins right on down the list. But the problem for me is, none of them were sustainable. As soon as I got sick of the diet and went off it, the pounds would come back. Not healthy, and even more, frustrating. But doing the same thing day after day just didn't work for me. And obviously not for most people considering my story is pretty common. A few years ago, I remember reading about Intermittent Fasting on this forum and thinking "sounds cool but not for me". Then a couple years ago - two years ago this coming May, I hit 275lbs and decided I really needed to get serious about it. My step daughter emailed me and said "Hey, Mom said you were trying to lose weight, I've been doing this and it really works!" And she attached a link to this video.



I watched the video, I bought the book (Search Fast 5/2 Diet Mosley on Amazon), and I'll be damned if for the first time in 20 years, I've lost the weight and kept it off. Yesterday I weighed 202 ... so the 100's are just around the corner for the first time in a quarter century. And that is losing 50 lbs between May and Thanksgiving last year, then taking a break and going on "maintenance" mode (one fast day a week) until the day after Super Bowl this year, started at 220 and down almost 20 again. It's the easiest thing I've ever done, and I feel great.I do a combination of 8/16 and 5/2 fasts. Mon/Thu is 600-700 calories only. Most other days I just skip breakfast. I used to be a huge "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" guy but not any more. I don't even think about food until lunchtime now, and in the mornings my head is clear and I have tons of energy - it's by far the most productive time of the day for me. I can't even imagine going back. Yes, I occasionally eat breakfast for a special occasion or when my wife makes Sunday brunch, but the point is - you don't have to be perfect. Just stick to it "most of the time."

You may think 600-700 calories sounds terrible, and I'll be honest - at first it is a little rough. Just focus on lots of veggies, drink lots of water (I drink a gallon a day) and you'll get through it. It gets easier pretty quick - in fact now I actually look forward to fast days (especially Monday after a weekend of eating whatever I want). But here is the key: "There is always tomorrow." You can do ANYTHING for a day, especially when you know that tomorrow is a regular day. It's just a matter of getting your body used to the fact that some days you will eat 2000 calories and some days 600 calories - occasionally 600 will be a normal day. And trust me, after a couple weeks, it will be no big deal.

If you have struggled to lose weight and have never gotten anything to work - I just want to encourage you to give IMF a try. It's easy, doesn't cost anything, there are no pills, no meetings, no monthly fees, you don't have to buy special foods....and you can start tomorrow. There are a ton of other medical and health benefits to IMF that you can see in that video or read about in his book or read about online or in other threads on here. I just want to let all of you "regular guys (and girls)" like me know - you don't have to be a super athlete or a body builder or in your 20's or whatever to practice IMF. No matter what your story - no matter how much you have to lose - It's easy, you'll feel great, and lose weight. (Check with your doctor first blah blah standard disclaimer...)

I know there are other threads on here about IMF and I could have put this post on any of them, but I just want those of you who are browsing over here because for the first time in a long time...or ever...you are sick and tired of being sick and tired and are ready to do something about your situation to know that this is an option that has worked for me. And for the record, I've shared it with my wife and a couple dozen friends and I haven't kept a spreadsheet or anything, but is seems like everyone who has tried it is losing weight and loving it.

It's not a diet - it's a lifestyle. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Gig 'em
AggieOO
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Nice work! Super happy for you and your results.

I tried IF for awhile to try to lean out, but it just doesn't work for me due to my workout schedule. Sometimes I workout at night, sometimes early morning, and sometimes multiple times a day. I just couldn't get the energy needed to sustain some of the early workouts in a fasted state. I did find that I quickly adjusted to not eating until noon or 1 pm. I thought getting through the morning without eating my arm would be unbearable, but only took a couple days to adjust.
wbt5845
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AG
I really appreciate this.

If you've followed me here, you know I lost about 80 pounds due to keto AND IMF. Not sure I did IMF correctly, though, and found it impacted my HM training too much last year so i cut it out.

Now I'm down to the last 10 pounds I want to lose and am open to trying something different. You mention several specifics of your plan but not the full plan. Would you mind sharing the full plan with us?

When I IMF'd, I did Tuesdays and Thursdays as 24 hour fasts (nothing Monday 6 PM until Tuesday 6 PM - same with Wed/Thur). And I stuck with keto as well.

I noticed you metnioned fasting several days and having several low calorie days too. Care to elaborate?

wbt5845
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AG
Oh yeah - and obligatory....

Tailgate88
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AG
wbt5845 said:

Oh yeah - and obligatory....


Oops sorry about that. I wrote the OP on my iPad with a bluetooth keyboard and when I cut and pasted it into
TexAgs it had some formatting issues. Should've reviewed that a little closer. I cleaned it up.
Tailgate88
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AG
And I actually hit 199.6 this morning - first time under 200 pounds in 25+ years. Pretty excited about that!



Chapter Four - The Plan

(This chapter is the actual Weekday Fast plan spelled out and summarized. You might want to print it and put it where you can refer to it until it seems natural.)

Measure Your Success! - Track calories and weigh every day

I call this the Weekday Fast program, because on weekdays you do some sort of intermittent fasting. Like most of you, I work a 40+ hour work week, have kids with crazy school and extracurricular stuff, and am always on the go. In this crazy, busy world we live in, an eating plan has to be something that fits into your schedule and lifestyle. This does.

Flexible Weekly Schedule

Monday FAST 5/2
Tuesday FAST 8/16
Wednesday FAST 8/16
Thursday FAST 5/2
Friday FAST 8/16
Saturday FAST 8/16 (or don't)
Sunday FAST 8/16 (or don't). Plan your meals for the week.

Every Day

Weigh yourself first thing
Track your food and exercise on MyFitnessPal
Drink lots of water! We will discuss this more in the next chapter.
Optional but highly recommended: "Get up & Go!" (Move your body for a minimum of 20 minutes first thing in the morning).

Fast 8/16 Days

Eat everything in an eight hour window, e.g. 12pm-8pm or 1pm-9pm.
Try to limit carbohydrates - salads with lean protein are great for lunch.
Snack Smart! A handful of almonds, a little cheese, a piece of fruit, pickle spears etc.
Eat what you want but eat slowly and watch your portions!

Fast 5/2 Days

Eat everything in an eight hour window, e.g. 12-8 or 1-9.
Limit total calories to 600 for men or 500 for women.

Weekends

"Live Your Life!"
Practice Fast 8/16 if you want skipping breakfast is second nature to me now.
No other restrictions - just watch quantities and try to make good food choices. Remember, you have to get on the scale in the morning! Enjoy what you want, but pay attention to how much you eat and only eat until you are full. The key to this plan or system is changing how and especially WHEN you eatbut you DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP ANYTHING you love. It's all about WHEN and to a lesser extent HOW MUCH you eat. Take your time eating and stop when you are full..

Tips for Fast 5/2 Days

For maximum success on Fast 5/2 Days, follow these tips:

No restaurant meals. You cannot trust what they tell you about their nutritional information.
If you have a restaurant meal or social activity, swap days so you can eat your Fast 5/2 dinner at home. For example, make Tuesday your Fast 5/2 day.
Eat a big vegetable only salad for lunch with low calorie dressing - I love mustard and balsamic vinaigrette.
For dinner, think fish or chicken with lots of vegetables. If you prefer to skip meat, go for it! Just find some non-meat sources of protein instead.
Severely limit those carbohydrates on Fast 5/2 days! If you are craving some pasta, make some Zoodles!
Come up with a few recipes you really enjoy and eat them consistently
Remember, Fast 5/2 Days are "work days". If you are craving something, tell yourself "I can have it tomorrow."
Focus on how your body is able to fight off disease and make you healthier in a fasted state.
If you get really hungry, drink some water and go for a five minute walk.
For a mid-afternoon snack, try a few dill pickles (not sweet!), a few strawberries or a few grapes.
Chew slowly and make every bite last. Notice when you are getting full, then stop eating! Take your time and enjoy the meal.
Embrace the feeling of slight hunger as how your body feels when it is in Repair & Replenish mode. You can even picture your little magic white blood cells fighting infections and the Cancer cells starving to death. Sounds silly I know but who cares?
Notice and appreciate how your mind is sharper and you are more productive when your body is not busy digesting food!
Remember to plan ahead! Go into your Fast 5/2 day knowing exactly what you will eat and snack on. Track everything with MyFitnessPal!

Measure & Monitor

If you were put in charge of an extremely important project at work and told that your outcome would be judged carefully to determine how successful you had been, you would probably do the following if you wanted to be successful.

1. Put in place a mechanism to carefully track your ongoing progress
2. Pay close attention to the time and materials you were using
3. Evaluate your progress on a daily or weekly basis to see what is working and what is not

By doing these three things, you are MUCH more likely to succeed in your project, right? Congratulations, YOU are hearby in charge of the most important project of your life YOU. That's right, YOU are now in charge of "Getting Healthy, Getting Fit & Living Your Life". Here are the tools to track and measure your progress.

Weigh Yourself Every Day

Every morning you should weigh yourself and have some sort of mechanism for monitoring your weight. This is important for several reasons

When you weigh yourself the morning after a Fast 5/2 day, you will nearly always see that you have lost some weight. This is an important REWARD in the Cue, Response, Reward cycle for the new habit you are developing for fasting two days a week. Your Cue is time Monday or Thursday. Your RESPONSE is to reduce your caloric intake to 500/600 for the day, and your REWARD is the weight loss you will see on the scale. There are other rewards for a Fast day such as feeling great, thinking clearly, sleeping better and the other health benefits, but none are so clear cut and precise as seeing that you've lost a specific amount of weight on the scale as a reward for your Fast day.
You must MEASURE something if you want to track it. As I've said, you will adapt to this way of eating in a few weeks, but for some people there will be some natural second thoughts before that adjustment is complete. When you can pull up your spreadsheet or smartphone app and see that graph line trending down, it will keep you motivated.

You will need a decent quality, digital scale that is accurate to at least one decimal point. I bought this one on Amazon for about $60. It has Bluetooth capabilities, and you can set it up for up to four family members. Each person can load their app on their smart phone, and every day when you weight it sync the results to your profile. You can pull up graphs and charts showing your progress on both the app and their website! In addition to pounds/kilograms, it also measure bone density, water %, muscle mass %, fat% - so you can see your progress in all those categories too.

For the most accurate results, you should weigh at the same time every day so your results are consistent. The best time is first thing in the morning, as you will be your lightest after you first wake up and use the restroom. Remember water is heavy! "A pint's a pound the world round." That first 32oz glass of water you are going to drink will actually add TWO POUNDS of weight! Of course it's temporary, but still you can see that your weight will naturally fluctuate during the day as you ingest and eliminate foods and fluids. First thing in the morning when you haven't been drinking any liquids for many hours, but you have eliminated all of them, is the time you will be at your minimum daily weight, and therefore the best time to measure it. So get on the scale and then head to the kitchen for that first glass of water!

MyFitnessPal

Along with weighing yourself daily, you should also develop the habit of logging everything you eat into the free MyFitnessPal app. Download it to your smart phone and also log in and familiarize yourself with the web interface. MyFitnessPal has thousands of foods, including most restaurant menu items, in their database. As such, you are able to accurately track exactly how many calories and how much sugar, fat, carbohydrates, protein and sodium you are consuming.

An added benefit to tracking everything in MyFitnessPal is it makes you aware every time you eat and accountable to yourself. If you know you are going to have to log that extra donut in, you are less likely to eat it after all.

Buy a Food Scale

You can get an inexpensive digital food scale on Amazon for about $10. This will allow you to measure your food accurately (especially on fast days), so "6 oz of baked chicken" REALLY IS 6oz of baked chicken. Also, it's kind of fun to be able to weigh everything in the kitchen. Is that pound of hamburger meat really a pound? Does a pint of water really weigh a pound? Now you'll know!

Track Your Progress

If you are utilizing a weight tracking app and MyFitnessPal, that may be enough to track your progress. I also have a "Daily Food Log" spreadsheet I've developed that I use that lets me track not only my weight and food choices, but also my moods and "how I feel" each day. This can allow you to stop trends and identify if there are certain foods that don't agree with you, or interfere with your progress. For example, this is how I realized that any day where I have pizza, pasta, or go to a restaurant for dinner is not going to be a day where I weigh less the next day. Does this mean I don't eat pizza, pasta or go to restaurants? Heck no! But it avoids disappointments and allows me to plan my indulgences.
nowitchoke
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Thanks for sharing! Congrats on the progress, looking forward to reading your guide.
The Pilot
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AG
Thanks for sharing!
wbt5845
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Thanks for the paper and your input.

Question - do you view this as a weight loss tool only or a lifestyle?
Tailgate88
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AG
wbt5845 said:

Thanks for the paper and your input.

Question - do you view this as a weight loss tool only or a lifestyle?
Well, I guess it's a lifestyle - but it's not just about weight loss. The reason I say "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle" is because diets don't work. Sure you can lose some weight on them, but unless it's something that is sustainable, you'll eventually go off it and gain the weight back. That's not healthy, and it's frustrating.

To me, this is the first thing I've ever done that checks all four of these boxes:

1) Sustainable - because it's not the same old thing day in and day out. It's only two days a week. You can do anything for a day, and tomorrow is a normal day. As far as skipping breakfast, I'll never go back. I feel great in the mornings, my head is clear and I have a lot more energy because your body isn't busy digesting all that breakfast food.

2) Easy - I mean, it's pretty dang easy. Skip breakfast, limit calories two days a week, make good food choices the rest of the time, but hey, live your life on the weekend. When it's time to eat pizza, eat pizza. When it's time to tailgate, tailgate. Yeah, Monday the scale is going to show it, but by Friday you'll be back where you were at.

3) Healthy - Intermittent Fasting:

reduces and prevents Cancer. Cancer cells LOVE sugar. When you practice Intermittent Fasting, you have a lot less sugar floating around for them to eat. When you are in a fasted state, you are starving Cancer cells. And all of us have Cancer cells floating around in our blood. It's a matter of whether our bodies and immune systems can kill them.
reduces Type 2 Diabetes.
reduces inflammation, which can cause heart disease
is good for your heart, because it improves your cholesterol and triglyceride levels
helps fight Alzheimer's, Dementia and memory loss
reduces Blood Pressure
extends your lifespan and increases HGH in the body
reduces Asthma
reduces Eczema and Psoriasis
helps you sleep longer and deeper
increases mental clarity and productivity
and more. All of these bullet points are based on ongoing research and studies.


So to me, it's worth it JUST FOR THE HEALTH BENEFITS alone. The weight loss is just a "happy side effect".

"When your body gets to a healthy state, it naturally returns to a healthy weight."

4) Rewarding - After a Fast 5/2 day, all you have to do is look at the number on the scale and you get instant feedback that what you are doing is working.


Once you hit your target weight, you can back off to one Fast 5/2 day a week (Monday!) and then do a second if needed just by keeping an eye on the scale.

BTW, I forgot to mention this, but I drink red wine pretty much every night, including a glass on Fast 5/2 days. 120 calories, just build it in.
AgFan131
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Fasting is a great method for insulin maturity and mitochondrial oxidative efficiency.

Great feedback!
vansprinkle
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AG
This is great. My wife and I have been doing IF since December. We cheat on weekends but do a good job sticking to the morning fasts for at least 5 days a week. We've both lost a few pounds and we both feel great.

Like you said, after the first week of skipping breakfast, it's second nature. I'll occasionally have donuts or pancakes with the kids on the weekend, and sometimes will eat or drink late into the evening on the weekend.

I haven't exactly tried the 5/2 days like you suggest, but I have had the random day where simple cold veggies with a small amount of ranch and Franks Red Hot Sauce sounded delicious for lunch (usually on a Monday after a bad weekend). And as you mention, those days of minimal caloric intake are always followed by very noticeable weight losses.
Wife is an Aggie
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Do you workout on your 5/2 days?
Tailgate88
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AG
Wife is an Aggie said:

Do you workout on your 5/2 days?
I advocate "Get Up & Go" - meaning move your body first thing in the morning for at least 20-30 minutes. Personally, I walk my dogs every day for 35 min - about 2.5 miles.

Mon & Thu are Fast days. On those days, I put the dogs up after the walk and then go back to the street and run 4-6 HIIT intervals. Basically just run as fast as you can for 30-45 seconds then walk for 1:15 = 1:30 to recover. It only takes 10 minutes but woah does it get the blood pumping.

On Tues & Fri I go to the gym and lift. Even though those are days after Fast 5/2 days and I eat nothing before my workout, I still have great workouts and feel good. Note I am not a power lifter and I'm a 51 year old guy so I'm not in there throwing down massive iron but I enjoy it and my wife tells me she can see the difference.

Sometimes on Sat or Sun if the weather is nice, I'll extend the walk or drop the dogs off after one lap and jog a second lap. I like running, but the older I get the harder it is on my joints so I can't run distance on a consistent basis anymore.
rshackelford
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AG
Happy to hear your results have been positive! Mine have been as well.

Ive been an on and off lazy bag of chit and obnoxious exercise and diet yoyo individual for most of my life. I've never sustained any type of physical fitness regiment for longer than 6 months, and my body weight has ballooned up to 260 and gotten as low as 185 in my entire adult life since I was basically 18. I just tend to do things in extremes and get burned out.

I'll work out super hard. Usually doing the latest fad video workout series (p90x/insanity/ect), and starve myself basically eating like a small rabbit, and that's just not sustainable. I'll lose interest and get super fat and lazy again, eating an obnoxious amount of junk food. Eventually it landed my general health in the pits and now at 35 I have to see a pulmonologist, cardiologist, internal medicine, and general family medicine docs for various issues created by my own bad habits.

I'm now going strong at a consistent fitness regiment for close to 2 years. It took me this long to finally find something I enjoy doing and can sustain and improve consistently at. It is legitimately a lifestyle that fits in well with my busy schedule and that I readily and happily sacrifice things like sleep, tv time, (and unfortunately) and some family time to fit in.

Even with the lifting, diet still remains 90% of what drives my overall health and body fat/weight. I can work out like a champ and get bigger and stronger, but if I eat like trash, no amount of lifting will get rid of the body fat that comes with it. So I got super strict with my diet. Going full keto (I hated it honestly, it's not my thing, and totally unsustainable) and I ultimately plateaued pretty quickly and my strength gains took a nose dive. I cut calories and carbs so much that I just could no longer recover from my workouts, my strength numbers declined in EXACT relation to my % of body weight lost. That was NOT my goal. Ultimately I pleateaued in January this year and had to change something up.

Enter IF. Now I didn't buy a book. I did a decent amount of research on it and understand the basics pretty well. Well enough to implement it. And the results have been fantastic. My calorie intake is up. I'm eating the types of foods I like eating (within reason), and my strength gains are going back up to where they previously were when I weighed 260, except now I am 40 pounds lighter. I have been able to basically pinpoint how much of what kinds of foods I can eat to either maintain, or lose body fat. I can keep strength gains going up, without adding the additional body fat in the process. And it's so easy to implement. Yes you can get the fitness pal app and count your calories and deprive yourself while doing IF and get even better results...but if you're like me, and you just want to get stronger without getting fatter, it works wonders. Just wanted to share
Tailgate88
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AG
Thanks for sharing that. I really believe IF is a healthy choice for nearly everyone. It allows you to live a normal life most days but still keep your weight in control.
OaklandAg06
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AG
Thanks for sharing- after reading your story I started doing my own research to learn more about IMF, and have decided to give it a try, starting with the 16/8 fasting sequence. I figure I will stay with it for the next 30 days, see how it goes, and if it is something I can truly maintain, and will hopefully continue indefinitely.

Right now I am 5'11, 223lbs, looking to get down to sub 200. I am down from 246 this time last year. Maybe this will be the final piece of the puzzle.
Tailgate88
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AG
OaklandAg06 said:

Thanks for sharing- after reading your story I started doing my own research to learn more about IMF, and have decided to give it a try, starting with the 16/8 fasting sequence. I figure I will stay with it for the next 30 days, see how it goes, and if it is something I can truly maintain, and will hopefully continue indefinitely.

Right now I am 5'11, 223lbs, looking to get down to sub 200. I am down from 246 this time last year. Maybe this will be the final piece of the puzzle.


Once you get out of the habit of eating breakfast it is easy. My body just doesn't get hungry in the morning. Drink plenty of water and coffee or tea and you'll be fine. If the weight isn't coming off, try throwing in a 600-700 calorie day and it will. Keep us posted!
Tailgate88
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AG
Wrong emoticon above.
AgEng06
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I want to give IF a try, but I don't think I can do it with 5 am workouts. I don't think I can make it through them, or the hours afterwards, without something to eat. Any ideas?

Note: I would be trying IF to see if it has any benefits for me in the way I feel or overall health, not to lose weight.
harge57
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Give it a shot. I have found I lift much better during my fasting period.

I no longer get light headed doing heavy squats, stomach feels great on hot runs.

All I can say is try it.
OaklandAg06
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AG
Well, 4 days in, and today has been interesting.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday I made it to 16-17 hrs fasted and felt great towards the end of the fasting period. I am following the 16:8 approach as that seems to be the easiest for my life.

Today, I barely made it 14.5 hrs fasted, and then when I went to work out I felt like I was going to barf and had very little energy (but could still do the work inside the set, just thought I was going to die afterward).

I am thinking I might not have eaten enough yesterday- big lunch but light dinner, but combined probably not a full day's worth of calories. I am doing a little more research today to see what I may have missed or would result in such a big difference from one day to the next. Any ideas, or is that somewhat typical for getting started with IMF?

I am drinking more than a gallon/day of water.
AgEng06
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AG
Alright, going to give it a try. I did a little reading that suggested drinkings 10g BCAA before the morning workout, then again post-workout, and again mid-morning to help make it to lunch.

I started this morning (or last night), but didn't work out today. Tomorrow morning will be the first real test.
BullSprig07
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AG
AgEng06 said:

Alright, going to give it a try. I did a little reading that suggested drinkings 10g BCAA before the morning workout, then again post-workout, and again mid-morning to help make it to lunch.

I started this morning (or last night), but didn't work out today. Tomorrow morning will be the first real test.
That is exactly what I was going to suggest to you. During the week I generally hit the gym in the afternoons after work but my favorite and BEST workouts are Saturday morning around 10 am "fasted" workouts on black coffee and essential aminos.

I've got to where I look forward to this workout all week. I'm not sure if it is solely being in the "fasted" state or the fact that I'm not stressed from a workday or maybe higher testosterone levels in the morning or a combination but I've set multiple weightlifting PR's while fasted on Saturday mornings.

Luckily my gym has child care so I bring my little boy and then we either meet up with mom for a big Mexican breakfast or head home and cook/consume copious amounts of eggs and bacon around noon.

FWIW Ben Greenfield suggests essential aminos as opposed to Branch Chain. He also pushes his own line of (expensive) essential aminos so read into that what you will.
irish pete ag06
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AG
AgEng06 said:

I want to give IF a try, but I don't think I can do it with 5 am workouts. I don't think I can make it through them, or the hours afterwards, without something to eat. Any ideas?

Note: I would be trying IF to see if it has any benefits for me in the way I feel or overall health, not to lose weight.
I used IF when I was "cutting" with keto. I worked out at 6-7 AM fasted and it didn't affect me. I did Wendler's 531, 4 days per week with a strength gain emphasis (less volume, but more weight).
DavidAg02
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There is a great Ted talk about the western diet and intermittent fasting. The guy giving the talk says how a lot of people who criticize the western diet say it's high in carbs, high in calories and low in nutrition. He agrees that is part of the problem, but adds that another big issue with the western diet is that we eat too frequently (3 meals a day or more) and when we do eat, we eat too much (bad portion control, the idea of eating all that we are served, etc.). I'll see if I can find the video.
Tailgate88
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Completely agree with that.

For those worried about working out while Fasted, I think it's like anything else - your body will adapt to it after a few weeks, if you even have any difficulty at all. I have no problems at the gym or on runs while I am in a fasted state. I realize everyone is different, but I just strongly believe the benefits to IF are worth whatever effort it takes you to figure out how to make it work for you.
RG20
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Quote:

I want to give IF a try, but I don't think I can do it with 5 am workouts. I don't think I can make it through them, or the hours afterwards, without something to eat. Any ideas?

Note: I would be trying IF to see if it has any benefits for me in the way I feel or overall health, not to lose weight.
What if you started your eating window right after your workout? I am assuming you could eat your first meal somewhere between 7 or 8 am. You could make 8-4pm your feeding window; then fast until the next morning.

I can see some difficulties in that especially if you want to dine out in the evenings, but it's another idea.
AgEng06
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AG
Yeah, I like cooking and eating dinner w/ my kids too much to do that. Working out fasted and eating in the 12-8pm window has worked well so far, but thanks for the suggestion!
Know Your Enemy
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AG
So is the idea to basically cut out a meal or do you eat the same thing you normally do just within a tighter time window?
No Bat Soup For You
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AG
Junkhead said:

So is the idea to basically cut out a meal or do you eat the same thing you normally do just within a tighter time window?
I cut out breakfast which wasn't hard because I always had to force myself to eat first thing in the morning because I heard that was what you were supposed to do.

Honestly, I've tried to eat the same amount of calories in that shorter window and I can't do it. I feel stuffed by the time I get to within 500 calories of what I was eating before with 3 meals and 2 snacks per day.

Once I get to my goal weight I'm going to have to stop IMF so I can eat enough not to lose more weight. I'm 6'4", 224lbs right now. I want to be between 215-220.
eric76
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AG
When I was younger, I would often forget to eat for a day or two, especially on weekends. It wasn't all that unusual for me to realize on Sunday night that I hadn't had anything to eat since lunch on Friday.

I've been losing weight lately, but fairly slowly, just by cutting my portion size mainly by using smaller plates and bowls.

I used to put three or four scoops of ice cream in a regular bowl. Now, it is about 1/2 to 3/4 a scoop in a small bowl. What is really good is half a scoop of lime sherbet topped with fresh strawberry slices. I've been doing this for a while which is what made me think of applying it to regular food as well.

For meals, with some exceptions, I use either a salad plate or a small to medium bowl. The exceptions are for generally for things that can't fit on a salad plate without hanging over the edges such as a chicken leg quarter. There is also an exception for hamburger and fries for when I place an order to go -- when I cook it myself, I skip the fries. Also, if I have an egg and a piece of ham, I put the slice of toast on another plate.

I haven't been doing this very long, but I'm definitely down a few pounds already. It will be interesting to see how it works over a few months.
Tailgate88
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AG
Much of what we do, that we are think are conscious choices, are actually habits. Until I started on this journey, I would order the 1/2 lb cheeseburger, because I ALWAYS have ordered the 1/2 lb cheeseburger. Extrapolate that to every meal too. Now that we're past middle-aged though, the metabolism has cranked way down and require a lot less food (and calories) to stay healthy and maintain our weight...but since we're in the HABIT of eating X amount of Y, we keep doing so.

I tell people - "Humor me. Next time you order a cheeseburger, get the 1/3lb...or the 1/4lb. When you're done eating, set a timer for 10-15 minutes. If you're still hungry, go back and get more to eat." Needless to say, nobody ever is.

My wife makes bad ass spaghetti, so I always filled up my plate. Now I put a "half" portion (and often use zoodles instead of noodles or even just put the sauce over other vegetables). I am still PLENTY full and I still get to enjoy spaghetti. I don't feel deprived at all, and it's 1/3 to 1/2 less calories.

If you deprive yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure. Instead, we have to learn how to eat MINDFULLY - enjoying whatever we want, but making better decisions on portion sizes.

After struggling with my weight for over 20 years, I've learned in the past couple years that by making just a few, easy changes such as portion sizes and timing your calorie intake, you can make big changes in your health and weight, without feeling deprived. I'm down 80lbs, 20 to go!
eric76
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AG
Tailgate88 said:

Much of what we do, that we are think are conscious choices, are actually habits. Until I started on this journey, I would order the 1/2 lb cheeseburger, because I ALWAYS have ordered the 1/2 lb cheeseburger. Extrapolate that to every meal too. Now that we're past middle-aged though, the metabolism has cranked way down and require a lot less food (and calories) to stay healthy and maintain our weight...but since we're in the HABIT of eating X amount of Y, we keep doing so.

I tell people - "Humor me. Next time you order a cheeseburger, get the 1/3lb...or the 1/4lb. When you're done eating, set a timer for 10-15 minutes. If you're still hungry, go back and get more to eat." Needless to say, nobody ever is.

My wife makes bad ass spaghetti, so I always filled up my plate. Now I put a "half" portion (and often use zoodles instead of noodles or even just put the sauce over other vegetables). I am still PLENTY full and I still get to enjoy spaghetti. I don't feel deprived at all, and it's 1/3 to 1/2 less calories.

If you deprive yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure. Instead, we have to learn how to eat MINDFULLY - enjoying whatever we want, but making better decisions on portion sizes.

After struggling with my weight for over 20 years, I've learned in the past couple years that by making just a few, easy changes such as portion sizes and timing your calorie intake, you can make big changes in your health and weight, without feeling deprived. I'm down 80lbs, 20 to go!
Very true. I don't feel deprived eating smaller portions on a smaller plate. Putting the same amount on a larger plate does make me feel like I should eat more just because the plate looks so empty.
carano
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I see a lot of people skipping breakfast but has anyone ever done like a 9am to 1pm eating window? So skipping dinner? I love my coffee and cream in the morning.
 
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