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!!!

Did 18 h and some minutes. I was quite fine first but after 18 h I felt a bit jittery today.

8 hours ago, summerset said:

Did 18 h and some minutes. I was quite fine first but after 18 h I felt a bit jittery today.

That usually happens to me after 18 hours, which is why I don’t do many >20 hr fasts.

For me it seems to depend on quite a few things if I feel good on a fast or not.

On 2/5/2020 at 7:04 PM, LaLaDee said:

Hi all, everyone seems to be doing really well! I'm down about 6kg or 13lb since I decided to tackle my regain as a New Year resolution.

I have to take a lot of medications with Breakfast and with dinner, so I was struggling a bit with IF. I get nauseated and sick if pills aren't accompanied by some food. I had to adjust everything so I'm now doing 14 hour fasting window, with a 10 hour eating window. Unfortunately, due to my long working hours, sometimes it's 12:12 by the time I get around to eating dinner. Hopefully, I'm still getting some benefits from this IF approach. It's early days. My long term goal is to find an approach I can use for the rest of my life. It would be great to lose some more weight and then finally figure out this maintenance business!

If you can only do 12 hours, it’s ok. The scale is moving and that’s the ultimate goal. Consistency is the most important tactic.

On 02/07/2020 at 00:16, summerset said:

For me it seems to depend on quite a few things if I feel good on a fast or not.

True.
If I don’t get at least 7 hrs sleep, I’m going to feel like crap and need to break my fast earlier.
Which sucks bc getting enough sleep sometimes is nearly impossible

Energy expenditure and how much I ate the day before seems to be a big influence for me.

When it comes to sleep... I know I'm going to crash after I've eaten when I'm tired. So after a crappy on-call-duty I tend to fast as long as possible to stay at least moderately alert.

I took a break from extended fasting (24 hr wet fast then 18hr modified fast) because my weight dropped to quicky (10 lbs in 2 days)

Most of it was swelling/water weight but I want to be careful also

I dialed it back to 14hr modified today and will start 18hr again tomorrow night ?

LOL I dropped 2-3 more lbs overnight. I'm still within ideal range (so no stress) but now I know I have to take it easy with hardcore IF for a bit and only do a modified version

I guess there is merit for me in being flexible, stepping in and out of the lifestyle as needed.

On 02/08/2020 at 08:43, GreenTealael said:

LOL I dropped 2-3 more lbs overnight. I'm still within ideal range (so no stress) but now I know I have to take it easy with hardcore IF for a bit and only do a modified version

I guess there is merit for me in being flexible, stepping in and out of the lifestyle as needed.

Lol, I keep having this same problem.

TBH, I love IF so much that I’m almost to the point where I’m willing to risk dropping a few more pounds just to keep the IF lifestyle.

I’ve found that I’m more anxious and grumpy when I have a larger eating window, and I’m toying around with the idea of saying, “screw it, let’s see where this leads!”

The whole point of this process was for me to start living my best life possible, and when I started this journey, I had never heard of IF, let alone try it.
It was only after surgery that I found this thread, started reading, then watched all of Dr Fungs videos, then read his books, etc....
Discovering IF was a huge “A HA” in my life and when I don’t have IF days, I don’t like it.
I feel lazy, unmotivated, and blah.

So if I truly want to lead my best life, that’s gonna include way more days with IF than without.
Eventually my body will let me eat more once I break fast, no?

1 hour ago, Sheribear68 said:

Lol, I keep having this same problem.

TBH, I love IF so much that I’m almost to the point where I’m willing to risk dropping a few more pounds just to keep the IF lifestyle.

I’ve found that I’m more anxious and grumpy when I have a larger eating window, and I’m toying around with the idea of saying, “screw it, let’s see where this leads!”

The whole point of this process was for me to start living my best life possible, and when I started this journey, I had never heard of IF, let alone try it.
It was only after surgery that I found this thread, started reading, then watched all of Dr Fungs videos, then read his books, etc....
Discovering IF was a huge “A HA” in my life and when I don’t have IF days, I don’t like it.
I feel lazy, unmotivated, and blah.

So if I truly want to lead my best life, that’s gonna include way more days with IF than without.
Eventually my body will let me eat more once I break fast, no?

IDK... It seems like the longer I fast the less I eat. But i have a comfortable buffer zone.

Is your VSG preventing you from eating more? Or lifestyle?

I was at much higher calories when I started IF (1000-1200 or higher in August 2018) and no exercise. This hasn't changes ?

So I didn't use it for weight loss, although I lost a little. Personally I ❤ IF as a hydration facilitator, maintenance tool and all it's other holistic properties (anti-inflammatory, autophagy, etc)

On 02/08/2020 at 11:24, GreenTealael said:

IDK... It seems like the longer I fast the less I eat. But i have a comfortable buffer zone.

Is your VSG preventing you from eating more? Or lifestyle?

I was at much higher calories when I started IF (1000-1200 or higher in August 2018) and no exercise. This hasn't changes ?

So I didn't use it for weight loss, although I lost a little. Personally I ❤ IF as a hydration facilitator, maintenance tool and all it's other holistic properties (anti-inflammatory, autophagy, etc)

Honestly my sleeve is still fairly tight even after a year PO

When I’m eating how I prefer (low carb, high protein, >80oz water daily) it’s freaking hard to get in over 900 calories.
About the only way to get in >1100 calories is to expand my eating window to >12 hours and pack in some extra carbs.
Which lead to sugar cravings
Which leads to me feeling bloated and yucky and completely unmotivated to exercise, work, be productive, be intimate with hubs.
A couple of times, I’ve had a very noticeable increase in anxiety and depression after just 3 days without IF.

At first, I was utilizing IF as a way to survive.
If I tried to eat much before noon I’d have stomach cramps, nausea, feel sick and bloated, and not drink.
Pushing my water to the early part of the day and eating later made all the difference in the world and allowed me to enjoy—rather than endure—this process.

Sleeve gets tighter the longer it goes without food, but usually by 16-18 hours I’ve got enough of an appetite to get in 3/4-1 cup of food.

39 minutes ago, Sheribear68 said:

Honestly my sleeve is still fairly tight even after a year PO

When I’m eating how I prefer (low carb, high Protein, >80oz Water daily) it’s freaking hard to get in over 900 calories.
About the only way to get in >1100 calories is to expand my eating window to >12 hours and pack in some extra carbs.
Which lead to sugar cravings
Which leads to me feeling bloated and yucky and completely unmotivated to exercise, work, be productive, be intimate with hubs.
A couple of times, I’ve had a very noticeable increase in anxiety and depression after just 3 days without IF.

At first, I was utilizing IF as a way to survive.
If I tried to eat much before noon I’d have stomach cramps, nausea, feel sick and bloated, and not drink.
Pushing my water to the early part of the day and eating later made all the difference in the world and allowed me to enjoy—rather than endure—this process.

Sleeve gets tighter the longer it goes without food, but usually by 16-18 hours I’ve got enough of an appetite to get in 3/4-1 cup of food.

@Sheribear68, I say this out of caring, but this doesn't sound healthy to me

For all the positives on BP, I think there is an unfortunate reinforcement of disordered eating on here.

1 hour ago, Sheribear68 said:

About the only way to get in >1100 calories is to expand my eating window to >12 hours and pack in some extra carbs.

Fats. Fat has more cal per gram than both protein and carbs (9 vs 4) And for most fat doesn't trigger cravings, instead suppressing hunger which is why Keto is such a booming lifestyle.

Honestly each macro nutrient has it's merits and purpose for optimal health which is why food fit for human consumption contain them. I think water & alcohol are the exceptions (real geniuses correct me if I'm wrong ❤)

As you move towards maintenance more research is warranted to decide what your long-term lifestyle will look like. Here's a research journal to consider (oh and I'm sure you'll find plenty on either side of the argument)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/14672862/

On 02/08/2020 at 13:59, sillykitty said:

@Sheribear68, I say this out of caring, but this doesn't sound healthy to me

For all the positives on BP, I think there is an unfortunate reinforcement of disordered eating on here.

I get that. I truly do.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve always been an extremely goal-oriented person and I will drive myself relentlessly to meet challenges.
If I’m not focused on a goal or on a project I get restless, anxious and cranky.

This is probably getting into the headwork topic, but I have been working with a therapist on this since a couple of months prior to surgery and we’ve been working on recognizing when these behaviors start to send me into a spiral.

So the good news is that later this year, hubs and I are going to be doing some remodeling around the house. Once I start to go down the Houzz, HGTV, and better homes and garden rabbit hole, I’ll not be as focused on diet and exercise. ???

Seriously though, I’m keeping journals and through that it’s how I actually identified that when I IF, I’m more secure than when I don’t.
Time will tell if that turns into an actual problem or not, but I’m prepared to do the headwork and face it if/when it becomes necessary n

On 02/08/2020 at 15:01, GreenTealael said:

Fats. Fat has more cal per gram than both Protein and carbs (9 vs 4) And for most fat doesn't trigger cravings, instead suppressing hunger which is why Keto is such a booming lifestyle.

Honestly each macro nutrient has it's merits and purpose for optimal health which is why food fit for human consumption contain them. I think Water & alcohol are the exceptions (real geniuses correct me if I'm wrong ❤)

As you move towards maintenance more research is warranted to decide what your long-term lifestyle will look like. Here's a research journal to consider (oh and I'm sure you'll find plenty on either side of the argument)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/14672862/

I hear ya on adding fats.
Some days I eat an astounding % from fats —like over 50%.
Problem is that fats are such an appetite suppressant for me that I have to be careful or I don’t meet protein goals.