Dill-Ag13 said:
Need a bit of help here digesting this thread (bad pun intended...)
Jumping on this IMF train after I do some more research and pick a plan. I'm 29 y/o and have 2 kids, 5ft10 male. Historically I've been a yoyo dieter moving between 140lbs and 170lbs. I've done simple diets and generally have lost weight through maintaining a calorie deficit by exercising. Over the last year my career has become more challenging and with two kids I don't have the energy to get up and exercise and burn 500+ calories in the mornings (think: triathlon training). I still make a point of getting up early each weekday and exercising, but nowadays that looks like a 20 minute jog or walk.
Some questions:
-Thinking about a 5:2 fast or an 18:6 fast. An 18:6 fast just seems like skipping breakfast... something a lot of people do anyways... right?
-Can I drink black coffee during a fast?
-On an 18:6 fast do you only eat twice or can you eat throughout the 6-hour window?
-Does anyone here exercise heavily on fast days or the morning after a fast day?
An 18:6 model for me would look:
11:30am brunch: a couple eggs, some fruit, greek yogurt, leftovers --> targeting ~700 calories
5:30pm dinner: whatever the family is cooking up --> targeting ~1300 calories
I'm not sure how effective this would be, seems like I'd be eating the same amount of calories just without breakfast..
A 5:2 model would look like this:
Mon, Thurs fast
The other days an 18:6 model --> mostly to gain some structure back in terms of eating (i.e. less grazing, target meal times, etc.)
Congrats on giving IMF a try. Your summary is a good one. My life has been crazy for the past year so I haven't been on this thread as much as I should have, but we are about to empty nesters so I'm going to have a lot more time!
To answer your questions, Yes, 18:6 is just skipping breakfast. But believe it or not that simple change can have a profound effect on your health and, as a happy side effect, your weight. That is usually enough to maintain and lose a little if you are strict about what you eat too... and of course lower carbs and eating healthy carbs are always recommended. The magic is, your body is not spending so much time digesting food (thus producing insulin) and after some number of hours, it goes into "housekeeping" mode. digesting food (and storing fat) uses lots of energy. When your are in a fasted state (several hours since digestion ended) then your body can focus on healing and a bunch of other healing and maintenance tasks, and when it runs out sugar, it starts to burn fat. Weight loss is just one of many healthy side effects of having your body in a fasted state. Many people practice "OMD" or One Meal a Day - so essentially doing something like a 20/4 or 22/2. There are days that I push through until 4:00 my typical day is a 1:30 lunch and 7:30 dinner, so it's probably 18/6 or 17/7.
5:2 helps when you are trying to actively lose weight. Ironically one of my best friends who I have been trying to get to try IMF for years called me out of the blue yesterday. He pretty close to 300 I am guessing, but he said "Man, I'm a dumbass. I should have listened to you years ago. I've lost 15 pounds in 11 days." (His results are not typical and he also has cut out beer in favor of a vodka and water,)
I gained 25 pounds during Rona lockdowns and have dropped 10ish - we have family in town this week and then we are shipping two kids off to two colleges but in a couple weeks I'm going to be hardcore back on 5:2 to lose my 15 and get back under 200. If anyone wants to join maybe we can do a Zoom call and I'll answer any questions. Meanwhile, post them up. There are lots of knowledgeable people on this thread and we have collectively lost a LOT of weight.
