Has anyone given Intermittent Fasting a try for long periods after surgery. I'm really interested. Not so much for the weight loss, that would be nice too but I'm still early out, but more to place focus on hydration , erasing whatever amount of ghrelin that has returned and feed schedule/pattern forming.

Interesting video explaining what I am specifically talking about, please watch before responding

https://youtu.be/tIuj-oMN-Fk

I haven't tried this myself, but my son has researched it and done it for weight loss. He said he likes restricting his eating time rather than restricting his diet because he doesn't feel deprived. He didn't keep doing it due to different things going on with his schedule, but is talking about going back to it once he gets back to a regular routine.

32 minutes ago, ChaosUnlimited said:

I haven't tried this myself, but my son has researched it and done it for weight loss. He said he likes restricting his eating time rather than restricting his diet because he doesn't feel deprived. He didn't keep doing it due to different things going on with his schedule, but is talking about going back to it once he gets back to a regular routine.

Interesting, do you know if he did it for a long span of time?

I am pre-surgery. I have tried it before and I can't imagine it would be good after surgery, because it would take steel will to not eat a large meal after not eating anything all day. It sounds like it would be a path to really stretching out your sleeve.

5 minutes ago, Swanton_Bomb said:

I am pre-surgery. I have tried it before and I can't imagine it would be good after surgery, because it would take steel will to not eat a large meal after not eating anything all day. It sounds like it would be a path to really stretching out your sleeve.

Maybe different for different people, but I've been doing something similar for a while (unknowingly) where I just don't eat until midday,only eat within a few select hours span, then back to fasting. I've done a much more coherent effort for the last two days, I'm fine.

On 8/1/2018 at 8:32 PM, GreenTealael said:

Interesting, do you know if he did it for a long span of time?

@GreenTealael

He did it for about a month using a time restricting plan - seven or eight hours in a day for food consumption. He had to play around with which hours worked better for him in the beginning. He had about 20 extra lbs to lose and lost about 25 I think it was.

I could listen to that guy all day. Excellent presentation... and he's funny. Well worth my 36 minutes. (Crap. I forgot to check to see if he had any other videos.)

I've been feeling down on myself for not being able to get all the protein that I was told I "needed" every day since my surgery. Some days I probably take in fewer than 250 calories. It's almost as though I have "willpower in reverse" which I assumed is bad.

Now I suddenly feel fine about my 7weeks-out post-op. Here I thought I was stuck in starvation mode with my body burning muscle and spewing it out like lava from a volcano. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

All I've been doing is a seven-week intermittent fast! And I've lost a little over 40lbs in the process.

Yes, I definitely need to drink a lot more. Being dehydrated isn't doing my body any favors. And I'm taking my vitamins. That's good, too. Now I feel good about intermittent fasting as well.

Thank you, MatchaGirl (aka Green Tealael) for sharing this mind-expanding video. I can't wait to share it with my oldest doctor son who struggles with his weight. His wife, also a doctor, struggles with her weight too. I've heard them talking about cutting calories and exercising more... with little to no results. When doctors don't even know how to lose weight, how are we to know?

Edited August 3, 20188 yr by Missouri-Lee's Summit

3 hours ago, Missouri-Lee's Summit said:

I've been feeling down on myself for not being able to get all the Protein that I was told I "needed" every day since my surgery. Some days I probably take in fewer than 250 calories. It's almost as though I have "willpower in reverse" which I assumed is bad.

It was difficult to get in all my protein and water in the beginning as well. As time passes your restriction will loosen up and you'll be able to get in more at one time, it will be easier to get in what you need. I couldn't do high intensity exercise during that time because I just didn't have the energy reserves from the lack of calories but I did sit ups, squats and planks to build muscle mass. Just passing this along because I think what you are doing is normal for this phase of your surgery, don't be down on yourself.

I usually do intermittent fasting on days I'm not traveling, or on days when I travel alone. I wait until as late in the day as possible to eat. I try not to eat again after my "dinner".

I'm not sure if it helps. My calories are so low, I'm bound to lose weight. But I figure it can't hurt. I'm not usually hungry in the morning, so I don't have to make a huge amount of effort to fast.

17 hours ago, ChaosUnlimited said:

It was difficult to get in all my Protein and Water in the beginning as well. As time passes your restriction will loosen up and you'll be able to get in more at one time, it will be easier to get in what you need. I couldn't do high intensity exercise during that time because I just didn't have the energy reserves from the lack of calories but I did sit ups, squats and planks to build muscle mass. Just passing this along because I think what you are doing is normal for this phase of your surgery, don't be down on yourself.

@ChaosUnlimited My problem isn't so much keeping it down or not being able to get in more at any one time, I just have no interest in eating. Appetite zero. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose, especially for people who are at the opposite end of the spectrum: intense hunger. It does; however, interfere with the protein intake my body needs to do the high-intensity exercise you mentioned. I wonder if it's even possible to do high-intensity exercise without using one's legs or feet.

It's always comforting to hear kind words from others. Isn't it strange how we always seem to know how to be understanding and patient with others, but rarely with ourselves? How many times on this forum have I cheered on someone else, yet when it comes to myself, I'm harsh and overly-judgmental.

On 8/3/2018 at 4:04 AM, Missouri-Lee's Summit said:

I could listen to that guy all day. Excellent presentation... and he's funny. Well worth my 36 minutes. (Crap. I forgot to check to see if he had any other videos.)

I've been feeling down on myself for not being able to get all the Protein that I was told I "needed" every day since my surgery. Some days I probably take in fewer than 250 calories. It's almost as though I have "willpower in reverse" which I assumed is bad.

Now I suddenly feel fine about my 7weeks-out post-op. Here I thought I was stuck in starvation mode with my body burning muscle and spewing it out like lava from a volcano. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

All I've been doing is a seven-week intermittent fast! And I've lost a little over 40lbs in the process.

Yes, I definitely need to drink a lot more. Being dehydrated isn't doing my body any favors. And I'm taking my Vitamins. That's good, too. Now I feel good about intermittent fasting as well.

Thank you, MatchaGirl (aka Green Tealael) for sharing this mind-expanding video. I can't wait to share it with my oldest doctor son who struggles with his weight. His wife, also a doctor, struggles with her weight too. I've heard them talking about cutting calories and exercising more... with little to no results. When doctors don't even know how to lose weight, how are we to know?

Its an interesting concept, funny thing is I remember reading an article a decade ago about the effects of fasting on the mortality of lab rats. I found it interesting then, even more interesting now...

On 8/3/2018 at 10:22 PM, sillykitty said:

I usually do intermittent fasting on days I'm not traveling, or on days when I travel alone. I wait until as late in the day as possible to eat. I try not to eat again after my "dinner".

I'm not sure if it helps. My calories are so low, I'm bound to lose weight. But I figure it can't hurt. I'm not usually hungry in the morning, so I don't have to make a huge amount of effort to fast.

I did it for 5 days no big deal, weekend off, going back to it tonight, I'm curious about it long term, so I will experiment. My cals are not low and I'm close to goal so I'm going to switch things up a bit.

On 8/4/2018 at 1:54 AM, Missouri-Lee's Summit said:

@ChaosUnlimited My problem isn't so much keeping it down or not being able to get in more at any one time, I just have no interest in eating. Appetite zero. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose, especially for people who are at the opposite end of the spectrum: intense hunger. It does; however, interfere with the Protein intake my body needs to do the high-intensity exercise you mentioned. I wonder if it's even possible to do high-intensity exercise without using one's legs or feet.

It's always comforting to hear kind words from others. Isn't it strange how we always seem to know how to be understanding and patient with others, but rarely with ourselves? How many times on this forum have I cheered on someone else, yet when it comes to myself, I'm harsh and overly-judgmental.

I would just walk, its what millions of generations of humans did and we are built for it. High intensity exercises can come when you are ready.

@ GreenTealael I'm no longer able to walk or run for exercise. I've had a crippling condition for years that limits my mobility.

I read Jason Fung's book The Obesity Code a few months ago and LOVED it! I've watched many of his youtube videos as well as his videos on Diet Doctor. I've tried intermittent fasting a few times. Sometimes 1 or 2 days. Sometimes 4 days. I do the 8:16 where I eat for 8 hours and fast for 16 hours. Tried switching up the times I started to see what worked better for me (8:00AM to 4:00 PM works better for now). I do think it helps. It is another tool we can use. There are so many benefits. But it isn't easy. I am still trying to do IF consistently, but seem to only be able to do it for a day or sometimes two a week. Hoping that as I continue to practice, it becomes easier.

On 08/01/2018 at 17:58, Swanton_Bomb said:

I am pre-surgery. I have tried it before and I can't imagine it would be good after surgery, because it would take steel will to not eat a large meal after not eating anything all day. It sounds like it would be a path to really stretching out your sleeve.

Not my experience. I have a sleeve and I do IF here and there for various reasons. It’s not about not eating all day, it’s about limiting the window during which you eat. Say an 8 hour window and then fast the other 16. So if you delay your first “meal” till 10am and have your last meal at 6 you’re good. That’s what I do when I do IF. And it doesn’t make me any hungrier than any other time. I still stop when I’m full.

A lot of vets do it for regain and it works quite well!