A simple guide to Intermittent Fasting!

[Serebii]

I will say that, as a biological female and having issues with PCOS, IF was pretty much the only way I could lose weight in any meaningful capacity. I had tried everything before, CICO, exercise, Keto, gluten free, even had my doctor put me on birth control and metformin to hopefully ease my symptoms.

I lost about 40lbs in about 6 or 7 months, which was HUGE for me, and some other symptoms caused by my PCOS began to clear up as well. (Super heavy periods, acne, etc.) No matter how strict I was under any other diet or lifestyle change, nothing else worked. There is absolutely something there that helps.

[Rebel_Minx]

I do intermittent fasting. That's how I went from 255 lbs to 180 lbs. I am back to doing IF again as I gained some of that weight back. I have already lost 10 lbs this year. Whenever I restart my IF, I always drop weight really fast and then get to normal weightloss.

[infestedvirus]

Exactly, you're completely right.

(My issue with diets is the mindset, you know, when you know you shouldn't eat something, your mind is always there IF helps in this respect.)

I know haha, I follow also a diet. And I get cravings as well, but for this reason, when I do my shopping I only buy healthy things... Or I know I will cheat. However, when I do cheat, I make sure I really want to do it and then its fine.

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I will say that, as a biological female and having issues with PCOS, IF was pretty much the only way I could lose weight in any meaningful capacity. I had tried everything before, CICO, exercise, Keto, gluten free, even had my doctor put me on birth control and metformin to hopefully ease my symptoms.

I lost about 40lbs in about 6 or 7 months, which was HUGE for me, and some other symptoms caused by my PCOS began to clear up as well. (Super heavy periods, acne, etc.) No matter how strict I was under any other diet or lifestyle change, nothing else worked. There is absolutely something there that helps.

This is very interesting! Congratulations! And yes, theres more to it than the usual calorie surplus / deficit which still is very important and what makes a difference at the end of the day. But still, I feel a BIG difference if I eat carbs before a workout or not. Happy to read about your experience.

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I do intermittent fasting. That's how I went from 255 lbs to 180 lbs. I am back to doing IF again as I gained some of that weight back. I have already lost 10 lbs this year. Whenever I restart my IF, I always drop weight really fast and then get to normal weightloss.

Congratulations and keep at it, always of course, in a healthy way

[DarkSkies]

This is the first time I hear about this. Thanks for sharing!

[Unown]

Thank you for sharing.

Could you give some examples of your day for 16:8 or any of the fasting methods that you did?

Ie. 2am - 9am: sleep
9am - 12pm: work
12pm: 1st meal of pasta etc
2pm: snack of etc etc
6pm: dinner etc
7pm: exercise etc

Like, in general I don't follow a 16:8 intermittent fasting, but my regular days are always 2 meals a day, once around 12:30~1pm, and then dinner between 7~8pm, sometimes with snacks in between when I'm bored/hungry so technically it's within that window, however I don't exactly feel any of the benefits that you've mention. Would that mean I'd have to try a different intermittent fasting method or am I doing something wrong?

[infestedvirus]

Thank you for sharing.

Could you give some examples of your day for 16:8 or any of the fasting methods that you did?

Ie. 2am - 9am: sleep
9am - 12pm: work
12pm: 1st meal of pasta etc
2pm: snack of etc etc
6pm: dinner etc
7pm: exercise etc

Like, in general I don't follow a 16:8 intermittent fasting, but my regular days are always 2 meals a day, once around 12:30~1pm, and then dinner between 7~8pm, sometimes with snacks in between when I'm bored/hungry so technically it's within that window, however I don't exactly feel any of the benefits that you've mention. Would that mean I'd have to try a different intermittent fasting method or am I doing something wrong?

Ah, interesting! Yes, I have a family member who also follows a similar schedule, but surprisingly, they weren't aware of fasting. I think it might be related to your ability to listen to your body's needs already.

What works best for me is quite similar:

Sleep from 22h to 6h
First meal at 13h
Last meal at 20h or before
It's a bit less than the typical 16:8, but it gives me the flexibility to snack on a fruit or Greek yogurt before or after my eating window, which happens quite often.

Regarding the benefits, perhaps you've already found the ideal window where you feel your best. Have you experimented with eating in different schedules, and if so, how did that go?