Hey y'all! Anyone and everyone is welcome to jump in and join us.

This is the Intermittent Fasting DAily Menu/Results/Accountability Thread. It's where a few of us (or many) are going to log in and encourage each other while we experiment with our own IF plans. You can list or talk about anything--not just your food. I look forward to adding in HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and core exercises to my walking plan while practicing IF. So expect to hear about that too. hehe I expect some of us will talk about the known IF side-effects like insomnia, circadian rhythm disturbance, etc. It's all good! Let's hack this IF mofo! mkay?

There is not any 1 specific IF plan--there are so many to choose from, so this is a BYOIFP (bring-your-own-IF-plan) and join the fun! This is the thread where we'll post our daily menus and maybe some piccys at times! We can discuss progress, issues we might notice, look at how we may want to refine our own personal plans. I do think you should be healed from surgery and have your doctor's and RD's blessings to try something like this and you should do a ton of research and reading about Intermittent Fasting.

IF isn't only about weight loss, it's about taking specific measures to limit either quantities, calories, macros, or sometimes only consciously altering eating windows/schedules in order to effect metabolic change and reduce inflammation and improve health markers.

Ok, let's do this thang!!!

Silver lining @FluffyChix ... goal #3 is in your grasp!

I was going to do OMAD on Friday, but pretty much a fail! I didn't break my fast until after 9pm, so over 24 hr fast, yay. But then had beer, then dinner, then lots more beer, then 2 am street taco. I guess it turned into an 18:6, oops ?

Today will be an accidental IF day, since I didn't eat my first meal until right now. Probably another 18:6

6 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

Silver lining @FluffyChix ... goal #3 is in your grasp!

I was going to do OMAD on Friday, but pretty much a fail! I didn't break my fast until after 9pm, so over 24 hr fast, yay. But then had beer, then dinner, then lots more beer, then 2 am street taco. I guess it turned into an 18:6, oops ?

Today will be an accidental IF day, since I didn't eat my first meal until right now. Probably another 18:6

well, congrats on the 18:6 with a 24hour IF in there! Wooohoooo. I wanna party with you someday! But I'm a VERY cheap drunk! LOL.

Congrats on your IF day today. Accident or planned, our pancreas and livah don't care about the motivation for it. They just appreciate the break!

And hells to the yeah baybbeeeee! I've been forking with these last pounds WAY too long. I will take whatever help I can get! Haha! With any luck I will be down at or below my current ticker weight tomorrow. (Praying) LOL. Otherwise, I think small animals may be sacrificed and a pentagram drawn on the floor...just sayin'. LOL.

Oh but I did buy total craptastic stuff today at the heb. (Like canned chicken/tuna/sardines, pre-made brown gravy, campbell's cream soups, etc...) Ha! Oh and @GreenTealael totally made me jones for the strawberries and cream PP. So I got some of those in addition to my old flames bananas and cream and chocolate.

Edited August 12, 20196 yr by FluffyChix

13 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Wooohoooo. I wanna party with you someday! But I'm a VERY cheap drunk! LOL.

It's better professionally that I can handle my liquor. When I'm footing the bill I wish I was a cheaper drunk! ?

What kind of results have you all gotten with IF so far? I dropped 4 pounds the first week and then nothing.

13 minutes ago, GB in CA said:

What kind of results have you all gotten with IF so far? I dropped 4 pounds the first week and then nothing.

On around 9.01.18 when I started IF again at around 7 months post op, I weighed 167.2lbs and had been locked in a stall from hell...Today I weigh 135.4lbs. It takes time. And sometimes you have to heal inside before it starts showing externally on the scale. But without having your details it's impossible to say if you are doing IF correctly, and taking in the right amount of nutrition, etc...

Welcome btw!

2 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

On around 9.01.18 when I started IF again at around 7 months post op, I weighed 167.2lbs and had been locked in a stall from hell...Today I weigh 135.4lbs. It takes time. And sometimes you have to heal inside before it starts showing externally on the scale. But without having your details it's impossible to say if you are doing IF correctly, and taking in the right amount of nutrition, etc...

Welcome btw!

I am also locked in a stall from hell. I'm one year post-op. I've been doing the 16:8 IF. I eat about 1000 calories in my window, and I also work out 7 days a week. I burn between 300-400 calories a work out because I do weights and cardio. I just feel like I should be losing so much more with all my hard work. The Doc says I've lost 70% of my excess weight so she doesn't expect me to lose more, but I want to lose 44 more pounds! I feel like banging my head against the wall.

With your amount of workouts, you seriously may not be getting in enough food. Also, try mixing things up. Do 1 day of OMAD or a 36 hour fast then a 2MAD in an 18:6 window. Have a feast day where you eat over your normal cals but make it healthy food (not a bunch of junk). How much protien are you getting? I found help with varying how much I got each day. Some days have been mostly veggies and only 20g of protein or less (autophagy days). Lots of good material in this thread!

So sorry you are stuck. Stalls suck! Congrats on losing over 70% of your weight! I would think you could lose more if you want. It may just take some time. Right? Don't give up. Congrats on losing 114lbs!!! WTG!

2 hours ago, GB in CA said:

I am also locked in a stall from hell. I'm one year post-op. I've been doing the 16:8 IF. I eat about 1000 calories in my window, and I also work out 7 days a week. I burn between 300-400 calories a work out because I do weights and cardio. I just feel like I should be losing so much more with all my hard work. The Doc says I've lost 70% of my excess weight so she doesn't expect me to lose more, but I want to lose 44 more pounds! I feel like banging my head against the wall.

I have been doing 16/8 for a couple of months about 600-700 ca/day, and then got stuck for about 2 weeks. So in addition to the 16/8, I started alternate day caloric restriction: 500 one day, at least 1,000 the next, and so forth. I continued my exercise regimen. Well, this is unbelievable, but last week I lost 6 pounds!!! That's more than I've ever lost in a week, from the very beginning! I am just a couple of pounds away from goal now, and very happy that this new IF tool has been so powerful. It is really good mentally, as well. On the low cal days, it is easy to maintain the restriction, knowing that I will be stuffed the next day. It is actually pretty hard for me to get in 1,000 cal in 8 hours. I've had to stretch it to 10. But the results are fabulous. I feel good - lots of energy, no hunger at all. The alternate day is actually much easier than the 16/8 by itself.

After I hit goal plus a few pounds to spare, I plan to continue the 16/8 and maybe do just 2 days a week of restricted cals (5/2). Might even add in a 24 hour fast once every couple of weeks. I am reading Dr. Jason Fung's book on IF and finding it so informative and quite fascinating. We all know that IF or any kind of fasting kills off senescent (zombie) cells that contribute to aging, mental decline, osteoporosis, and increased frailty with age. We have all heard that a 3 day fast prior to chemo makes the chemo much more effective in killing off the cancer cells, while maintaining health of good cells. But I did not know that a 7 day total fast (nothing but distilled water) once a year is potentially a potent cancer preventative (gives the body a chance to knock off any aberrant cells before they get a hold.) This is something to think about for the future, once my weight is stabilized.

My only issue with the IF and resulting ketosis is the insomnia. Everything I read says it will pass, but it's not. I cannot stay asleep. I wake up several times, wide awake. I wake up before my before my alarm and am only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night. There are suggestions to add carbs to go out of ketosis, but I don't feel I am ready to start adding carbs back in yet. But maybe I am. What do you think? I am working my way through Jason Fung's book on fasting, so I will see if he says anything about it. I love the energy, but not the insomnia, because I fear it will have detrimental effects in the long run. Anyone else experience this?

20 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

With your amount of workouts, you seriously may not be getting in enough food. Also, try mixing things up. Do 1 day of OMAD or a 36 hour fast then a 2MAD in an 18:6 window. Have a feast day where you eat over your normal cals but make it healthy food (not a bunch of junk). How much protien are you getting? I found help with varying how much I got each day. Some days have been mostly veggies and only 20g of Protein or less (autophagy days). Lots of good material in this thread!

So sorry you are stuck. Stalls suck! Congrats on losing over 70% of your weight! I would think you could lose more if you want. It may just take some time. Right? Don't give up. Congrats on losing 114lbs!!! WTG!

I wondered about not getting enough food, but I can't for the life of me get in to see the dietitian. I get about 50-60 protein from food and on weight lifting days I add another 20 with a protein drink.

Another IF question: Have any of you noticed your urine becoming quite dark? I drink at LEAST 64 oz of water daily, but my urine is much darker than I would expect. Just wondering if this happens from ketosis.

13 hours ago, AZhiker said:

Another IF question: Have any of you noticed your urine becoming quite dark? I drink at LEAST 64 oz of Water daily, but my urine is much darker than I would expect. Just wondering if this happens from ketosis.

If your urine is dark, you're likely dehydrated. IF and low carb cause you to lose extra fluid. I get 100floz in per day as a minimum. Try drinking more water if possible? ((hugs))

17 hours ago, GB in CA said:

I wondered about not getting enough food, but I can't for the life of me get in to see the dietitian. I get about 50-60 Protein from food and on weight lifting days I add another 20 with a Protein Drink.

What do your meals and eating window look like? Can you post a day or 2 of typical food/schedule? My RD is on board with my IF/EFs but said I really need to have days where I not only fluctuate low on protein but follow those with days I fluctuate higher in my range. That staying at 50-60 every day is a little on the low side and could cause probs down the road long term.

On 8/11/2019 at 9:13 PM, AZhiker said:

Ok, so I am trying to break this 6 month stall - sooooo close to goal, but just keep gaining and losing the same 3 pounds. I have been doing 16/8 IF for over a month and doing fine on that. But I am going to tweak it this week and add alternate day IF, as well. Today I had 500 calories. Tomorrow I will have about 1100. Wed will be back to 500, Thurs will be over 1000, etc, until the end of the week. I know when I consistently cut the calories - like to 500-600/day, my weight loss grinds to a halt. I then get hungry (or stressed) and tend to overeat or eat compulsively the next day or so. Interestingly, when I have done that, I actually lose pounds. Soooo...…. I just need to control the ebb and flow of the intake - making it healthy and disciplined - writing everything down, and alternating the restriction with more than I usually eat. I am also upping my exercise just a bit - adding 30 more min. of either walking or elliptical, along with my usual 20 flights of stairs, 10,000 + steps ,and leg and arm routines daily instead of every other day.

I watched the You Tube of Dr. V that someone posted, about mindful eating. Very good. I am going to practice that , as well. It took me half an hour to eat just my salad at lunch today!

So I am asking for some accountability partnering here. I will follow this plan and then report back next Sunday with the results. I feel much better with a definite plan of attack that is objective and measurable. I've been struggling with head hunger a lot recently, and I think this new plan has already helped with that. Thanks to you all, for the support and encouragement you have given me and everyone else. This is such a good forum.

So I am reporting back after a week of alternate day restricted calorie IF. Prior to this week I was averaging about 700 per day and just feeling stuck. This past week my calorie intake (still very low carb) has been 500, 1015, 530, 1175, 540, 1165, 400. That averages 760/day - about what I was eating before. BUT...... TA DA! I LOST 6 POUNDS and met goal weight in the process! That is simply amazing to me. It was quite easy to do. The restricted days were easiest, because I knew I would be eating more the next day. The high calorie days were actually quite uncomfortable, as it was very hard to get those calories into an 8-10 hour window. I was more full than I would have liked, but kept going for the sake of the experiment. I did my exercises every single day, although alternated with light and heavier weights, rather than skipping days altogether. I also tried to get my exercise in during the fasting times for more fat burning.

Bottom line: IF is a very powerful tool. 16/8 is great. It does a LOT. But alternating day caloric restriction just shoves it into a whole new gear. I will keep this up for 5 more pounds, then change to 5:2. I'd like to add a weekly 24 hour fast as well.

4 minutes ago, AZhiker said:

So I am reporting back after a week of alternate day restricted calorie IF. Prior to this week I was averaging about 700 per day and just feeling stuck. This past week my calorie intake (still very low carb) has been 500, 1015, 530, 1175, 540, 1165, 400. That averages 760/day - about what I was eating before. BUT...... TA DA! I LOST 6 POUNDS and met goal weight in the process! That is simply amazing to me. It was quite easy to do. The restricted days were easiest, because I knew I would be eating more the next day. The high calorie days were actually quite uncomfortable, as it was very hard to get those calories into an 8-10 hour window. I was more full than I would have liked, but kept going for the sake of the experiment. I did my exercises every single day, although alternated with light and heavier weights, rather than skipping days altogether. I also tried to get my exercise in during the fasting times for more fat burning.

Bottom line: IF is a very powerful tool. 16/8 is great. It does a LOT. But alternating day caloric restriction just shoves it into a whole new gear. I will keep this up for 5 more pounds, then change to 5:2. I'd like to add a weekly 24 hour fast as well.

Yaaaaayyyyyy!!!! Congrats on a successful ADF IF and ALSO on goal!!!! Woooottt!!!!!! Now keep going and get that 5lb bounce window!!!! You totally have this!!! 5:2 or even 5:1 depending on how you have to maintain sounds fab!!!! WooooooTTTT! So excited for you. Can you tell? You rawk!!!!