Intermittent Fasting

[Kelt]

I’m trying out the free version of the app “Zero“, basically a countdown timer with history tracking. So far so good. I’m doing 16/8 now.

I’m also one of those people that likes cream in my morning coffee and I had read that for some people heavy cream is OK, and for some people it breaks the fast but the only way to tell is to take glucose measurements. I went ahead and picked up a glucose/ketone tester (Keto-Mojo) and I’ve been having fun playing with it. I have always wondered how different foods affect me since everybody is different, and now I have a toy to play with to find out. With my science background give me something to measure and a way to measure it and I just go down the spreadsheet rabbit hole.

Bonus! I’m one of those people that gets to have cream in their coffee, doesn’t budge the needle.

[Kelt]

For the last five days I seem to have settled in at 18/6. The fasting portion doesn’t seem to bother me at all, I just make sure I have some thing to do the last couple of hours. The six hour feeding window is just right for two good meals without getting hungry in between. I like the amount of variety that I can get across two full meals.

So far so good.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Kelt

For the last five days I seem to have settled in at 18/6. The fasting portion doesn’t seem to bother me at all, I just make sure I have some thing to do the last couple of hours. The six hour feeding window is just right for two good meals without getting hungry in between. I like the amount of variety that I can get across two full meals.

So far so good.

I have some questions if you don't mind. Do you do this 7 days a week or just a portion of the week? How do you get all of the nutrition your body needs in just 2 meals? Do you use additional supplements or vitamins?

I think that's it for now. I kind of fell into intermittent fasting by accident on the Sundays that I work since my work schedule is in the middle of the day and really doesn't allow for my normal 3 meals (unless I eat dinner very late, which I don't like) so I have some interest in possibly expanding it to more times during the week. I'm not sure I could do it 7 days a week.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by Gemme

I have some questions if you don't mind. Do you do this 7 days a week or just a portion of the week? How do you get all of the nutrition your body needs in just 2 meals? Do you use additional supplements or vitamins?

I think that's it for now. I kind of fell into intermittent fasting by accident on the Sundays that I work since my work schedule is in the middle of the day and really doesn't allow for my normal 3 meals (unless I eat dinner very late, which I don't like) so I have some interest in possibly expanding it to more times during the week. I'm not sure I could do it 7 days a week.

Hi Gemme-
You’ve been around these parts for long enough to probably recall a decade ago when we were both in the healthy weight loss thread. Intermittent fasting at that time didn’t have the press it enjoys now but that’s when I discovered it for myself as being helpful for losing weight. Since I get hungry about every four hours after I start eating for the day I ended up eating too much, cutting that down to 2 1/2 made it easier for me at the time. Now I’m engaging with it for other reasons (I do have some pounds to takeoff too, and it’s working).

I have bumped my fasting interval from 16 to 18 in order to drop out that other half/small meal because I found that portion to not be adding anything nutritionally, just macros. Since I’ve only been doing this interval for about six days that makes the answer to your question about seven days a week “I don’t know“. So far it feels great and meets some other goals so I will try to continue and just play with it.

As far as meeting my nutritional needs I’m finding it to be pretty simple by simply cutting out anything processed or refined. Variety in vegetables and meats is key for me. Part of my current project is to reset my pallet, I got to a point where my taste buds were really only recognizing sweet and salty so I was ignoring other things that are really good for me. It’s amazing to me how much that has changed in just a couple of weeks, I’m now incorporating more sour and bitter and really enjoying it while tapering down on sweet things with no feeling of sacrifice.

When it comes to supplementing that is something I’ve done my entire life though mostly just vitamins. This is the bigger part of my current health project. I’m really working on improving my bacterial environment and due to a recent diagnosis of osteopenia I am also really honing in on minerals. My goal is to do most of this through the foods that I eat but I acknowledge that things like depletion of soil and crop hybridizing have made it such that our food can’t really deliver all that we need so yes I am doing some supplementing.

TLDR: No, I never have a short answer.

[Kelt]

I have now been doing this interval, 18 to 19 hours, for a month and it’s becoming routine. I’m more than willing to be flexible if there’s an issue with my schedule, but other than that it seems like a reasonable way to just keep doing things. I feel good and my energy levels are stable.

[iamkeri1]

I had a big old long post mostly typed when an ad popped up over my page and erased it all.



I started intermittent fasting 107 days ago. It is very comfortable for me and I'd like to talk to other people about it. I use 2 apps which I'll say more about as time goes on. For now I just want to "bump" this post and get the discussion going again.


Smooches,
Keri

[iamkeri1]

I use the simple app to keep track of fasting times, hydration, movement, and food I have eaten. I wanted to commit to intermittent fasting so I bought a membership, but I think they also have a free version. They provide coaching via AI which can be helpful with goals and encouragement. The coach can also provide good recipes if you need them. They also have a Facebook member group. I dislike FB so I don't participate in that group. I find it especially helpful keeping track of what I am drinking. Historically I don't drink a lot of liquids, so I need help in that area.

Smooches,

Keri