Gonna try intermittent fasting, need tips

[Dlavjr]

I've heard all about it, it's been pushed for some time now, and I've tried it before but I was never consistent. Some of the biggest questions I have are, when is it best to go to the gym, before or after I break my fast? Are there certain foods that I should have at certain times, for example should I have a heavy carb based meal for my last meal to hold me for the fast, and should my first meal be a light one? Any tips and tricks from those of you that have done it would be appreciated. My goal is to shed the excess fat in my torso, and also still eat enough food to make some gains at the gym. I'm struggling with the ever tedious skinny fat and as a former binge eater I'm wondering if intermittent fasting will make it easier or harder to reach my goals. 

[Rigel]

I like to drink a hot beverage in the morning and prefer to exercise before I break my fast.

As to what type of macros you should eat and when I would say experiment, and listen to your intuition cause it is going to be different for everyone.

[DrewNows]

The "cleaner" whole foodie you eat, the less cravings and easier fasting will be...start small and gradually increase duration. Fruit/fresh juice is very hydrating while on a fast/empty stomach. skipping breakfast is usually a great way to start the intermittent fasting. Meal replacement with a green smoothie for lunch can also be excellent. You'd be surprised by how little calories you actually need to build muscle. LESS = MORE

Quality over Quantity 

[Michael569]

Why not try to tackle the binge-eating in the first place? Lot of people use IF to cheat on healthy lifestyle but it rarely a successful long-term strategy. 

 

[LfcCharlie4]

Defo cut first if you have excess fat, just start out with 16/8 fasting it’s quite easy really, probably just start eating at say 12 and don’t eat after 8.

 

but as others have said make sure that you actually deal with the issues you’re facing holistically, However intermittent fasting has helped with my appetite tbh.

 

while many will say it doesn’t matter what you eat as long as it’s time restricted, I defo disagree, focus on whole foods and eating healthily, as well as only drinking healthy drinks of course.

[Strangeloop]

I've used to do IF, at that point in my life I had a very strict routine, I meditated, read a book, exercised and did some beatboxing all of it before I ate my first meal, it was all in the morning as I worked in the late shift.

I don't know about eating healthy straight away. Sure it would be beneficial to do that, but it might be hard on you right from the start.

I'm suggesting this from my experience, I ate all kind of foods, my main meals cointained lots of Protein and carbohydrates. The main meals were at the start of the eating time and at the end of it With some snacks in between. I ate all kinds off foods even chocholate, some other sweets not too much though. For snacks I sticked with nuts and dried fruits. So if you want you can do something similar.

Thanks for this thread, I think I should get back on IF once again, because I have built some fat on me from the last time and IF is a great way to lose that fat combined with exercise in my opinion.

 

[TrynaBeTurquoise]

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/nutrition-articles/benefits-of-fasting/

Ben G my go to fasting guy

[Dlavjr]

On 1/17/2020 at 8:26 AM, Michael569 said:

Why not try to tackle the binge-eating in the first place? Lot of people use IF to cheat on healthy lifestyle but it rarely a successful long-term strategy. 

 

 

On 1/17/2020 at 8:37 AM, LfcCharlie4 said:

but as others have said make sure that you actually deal with the issues you’re facing holistically, However intermittent fasting has helped with my appetite tbh.

I've managed to get a pretty good hold on my binge eating problem, but the way I've done so is that I currently just eat like 5 or so small, hearty meals throughout the day and usually have a small handful of nuts or just chew gum in between if I feel the urge to eat more. That's why I'm worried intermittent fasting will re-engage my binge eating, because when 12 rolls around and it's time to break the fast, my eyes will likely be bigger than my stomach. I'm sure what will end up happening is I'll binge when 12 hits, then not eat again until right before the window closes, and I'm not sure that's particularly healthy, but you're right I need to find and solve the root problem and gain self control. 

[Dlavjr]

I'm thinking maybe I'll start off by doing fasting the first 3 days of the week just to expose my body to it, but I'm wondering if that'll just make it more likely that I'll binge eat on non-fasting days. I know I'm asking too many questions and I need to just do it and see what works for me, but I like to have a good idea of what I'm doing before I start.

[LfcCharlie4]

@Dlavjr I would say check out some resources online, I'm sure there are people who have had binge eating issues in the past now partake in Intermittent Fasting. A general guide will be a good place to start, but in your case you may need to go way deeper in terms of the relation to the Binge Eating aspect. 

Here's some thread on reddit I just found regarding Binge Eating and fasting: https://www.reddit.com/r/BingeEatingDisorder/comments/7y6e0w/intermittent_fasting_for_binge_eaters/

http://www.theiflife.com/break-bad-eating-habits/

However, a quick google search would show horror stories also, and its always good to look at both sides!

For me Intermittent Fasting is incredible and I doubt I'll ever go back, sometimes I don't partake on weekends if I'm going out with my friends or whatever, and around the holiday seasons I tend to not, however it's about finding a balance right for you.

[Dlavjr]

6 hours ago, LfcCharlie4 said:

@Dlavjr I would say check out some resources online, I'm sure there are people who have had binge eating issues in the past now partake in Intermittent Fasting. A general guide will be a good place to start, but in your case you may need to go way deeper in terms of the relation to the Binge Eating aspect. 

Here's some thread on reddit I just found regarding Binge Eating and fasting: https://www.reddit.com/r/BingeEatingDisorder/comments/7y6e0w/intermittent_fasting_for_binge_eaters/

http://www.theiflife.com/break-bad-eating-habits/

However, a quick google search would show horror stories also, and its always good to look at both sides!

For me Intermittent Fasting is incredible and I doubt I'll ever go back, sometimes I don't partake on weekends if I'm going out with my friends or whatever, and around the holiday seasons I tend to not, however it's about finding a balance right for you.

The Reddit thread was really good, I saw some sides of the negative affect spectrum. Only thing left at this point is to try it, I definitely relate to the "eat a little too much, then say 'fuck it's and binge" mentality, but that doesn't happen as frequently now that I've stopped smoking weed. I'll try planning out my meals more to be more dense and see what happens, meals like oatmeal with fruit and tuna sandwiches with a nutrient dense salad keep me full for some time, probably two meals like that plus a protein shake should be enough to encourage muscle gain while also allowing my body to digest food and hopefully lean up a little. Thank you for the research on my behalf, though, I'm gonna do some more research myself while I start the actual fast itself. 

[King Merk]

Ease into it bro. Start slow. Simply start by pushing back when you have you First meal by one hour ever week.

For example, if your first meal now is at 8am, push it back to 9am for a week. Then 10am the next, etc.

Keep pushing it back to whatever duration feeding window you desire. Most the scientific literature show the real benefits start around 16 hours of fasting which is why the 16:8 fasting to feeding is so popular.

With regards to your training, it’s ideal to train right before you break the fast. Personally, I do roughly 20:4 fasting to feeding ever day so my workouts will be around the 18-19th fasting hour.

Obviously if you wish to gain muscle you need to eat protein. For health and gains, I advise a low carbohydrate and higher fat/protein diet.

1g of protein per pound of lean body mass is the sweet spot for most. To find your LBM simply subtract your fat mass from your total bodyweight.

Hope that helps. Lemme know if you have any other questions.

I’ve been in the fitness industry for years and people pay me every day to give them this kind of advice.

Health is wealth. 

[Sagar Takker]

Check out The Dry Fasting Miracle by Luke Coutinho. It's an amazing book on the topic and will answer many questions and provide tremendous inspiration.

My experience with intermittent fasting; very briefly, I lost 4 Kgs very easily. I haven't fallen sick despite many odds since I started intermittent fasting. I experience much higher energy. I wake up at 4 am and sleep for around 6 hours; and yet stay energetic and alert. I'd also add that intermittent fasting might not be the only reason for above results; other consistent practices like meditation, working out, taking high quality supplements could be a factor.

[Dlavjr]

4 hours ago, Sagar Takker said:

Check out The Dry Fasting Miracle by Luke Coutinho. It's an amazing book on the topic and will answer many questions and provide tremendous inspiration.

My experience with intermittent fasting; very briefly, I lost 4 Kgs very easily. I haven't fallen sick despite many odds since I started intermittent fasting. I experience much higher energy. I wake up at 4 am and sleep for around 6 hours; and yet stay energetic and alert. I'd also add that intermittent fasting might not be the only reason for above results; other consistent practices like meditation, working out, taking high quality supplements could be a factor.

How did you manage to sleep so little? I'm finding myself sleeping longer just to avoid feeling the tremendous hunger, especially late at night.

On 1/20/2020 at 9:21 AM, LfcCharlie4 said:

@Dlavjr

 

[Sagar Takker]

18 hours ago, Dlavjr said:

How did you manage to sleep so little? I'm finding myself sleeping longer just to avoid feeling the tremendous hunger, especially late at night.

 

It could be because of several reasons. I would attribute it to having clarified my life purpose. Leo's course helped me do that. My life purpose drives me. I am excited to wake up each morning and work towards my life purpose.
Meditation, semen retention, healthy diet, no distraction (no social media, no unnecessary internet browsing) could be other major contributing factors. 

[Deezeetho]

On 15/01/2020 at 6:28 PM, Dlavjr said:

I've heard all about it, it's been pushed for some time now, and I've tried it before but I was never consistent. Some of the biggest questions I have are, when is it best to go to the gym, before or after I break my fast? Are there certain foods that I should have at certain times, for example should I have a heavy carb based meal for my last meal to hold me for the fast, and should my first meal be a light one? Any tips and tricks from those of you that have done it would be appreciated. My goal is to shed the excess fat in my torso, and also still eat enough food to make some gains at the gym. I'm struggling with the ever tedious skinny fat and as a former binge eater I'm wondering if intermittent fasting will make it easier or harder to reach my goals. 

Check bb.com. 

I 'd go 16hr fast. 8hr window. A few meals per day. Skip breakfast. Doing cardio workout is rough but, Its manageable. Start small. Build up. 

Weight loss is cals in/out. Fasting should equate to less cals in. Furthermore, since you have a 8hr window to eat, it limits the alternative junk food or snacks you can eat. There's adding in keto and doing longer fasts. 72hrs is full blown ketosis. You begin shredding weight like crazy. 

[Deezeetho]

On 31/01/2020 at 6:05 PM, Dlavjr said:

How did you manage to sleep so little? I'm finding myself sleeping longer just to avoid feeling the tremendous hunger, especially late at night.

 

That's been my experience. I sleep more because I avoid food and the workouts are intense. Its 8-9hrs of deep sleep. I noticed that my dreams were vivid. I just noticed my bed time came sooner and most times, I didn't remember passing out. 

[LfcCharlie4]

@Deezeetho While when simplified weight loss can be simplified to move more, eat less, be careful not to make it as simple as that. 

Each person is unique and there is a number of factors effecting weight loss. 

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/fat-loss-articles/reasons-you-cant-lose-weight/

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/fat-loss-podcasts/how-to-lose-weight/

Things like Stress/ Cortisol spikes, sleep deprivation, frequent snacking, not moving enough (I don't mean just 1 killer workout a day), chronic cardio, Hormones, deficiencies and thyroid etc. 

There's solutions to most of these but the common belief that Fat people just eat too much and don't exercise (while very often a big part of the porblem) don't always tell the full story. This way of life for the long term could cause inflammation and hormonal issues for example.