Well, that's makes me feel better Stuart! No, I don't eat "meals", just a bite of this, a bite of that...then I have my meal at dinner time, tonight it was a dozen wings and a chocolate protein cake/cookie thingie. You know it's funny...they say it takes 28 days to break a habit, yet it only seemed to take a week of this 'grazing' for it to have turned into a habit!!

Although I don't see it doing any harm since I am still fasting (just not as long thses past few weeks), I can feel that it is the beginning of a bad habit I need to break. I know for a fact, I am eating more calories by grazing. I feel more in control when I only eat a snack at the beginning of my window and then dinner at the end.

I think it's important to keep reminding ourselves that while low carbing may make calories a lot less important when the aim is just maintaining, if you want to lose, every calorie counts. The calorie (intake) level at which a particular individual begins to lose may well be higher on lower carb, just as the rate of loss may be higher for calorie intakes below the particular macro ratio 'loss threshold', the lower the carbs, but calories are critical. All the stuff about calories taking care of themselves on low carb is only partly true.

I personally eat fewer calories by grazing during my eating window rather than a large meal and a snack, and I find it much more enjoyable. I hate feeling rushed about food. And since I have no intention of sitting down to eat a 4 hr meal (there's not enough time in a day already) I eat the small amount of food which feels comfortable while other people are consuming a 'meal', then continue to eat 'slowly, on the run' - if that makes any sense. A piece of gourmet spiced jerky will last me for ages.

Stuart

Sounds like you all had a great holiday! My xmas isn't over yet - got another dinner on the 29th. Ahh, the joys of a divorced family plus in-laws Xmas=lots of driving. But I love it.

So I have had one hell of a month. Pretty much fell off the LC wagon, not too hard but wasn't really worried about what I ate. Been eating g-free pizza, potatoes, bit of sweet stuff, chips, nachos. (I'm back on the wagon now) I did, however, keep up the IFing, mainly bc it's second nature to me now. Most days were a total fast, then a large meal, especially on the 2 xmas dinner days. Didn't gain an ounce! I am so surprised - I figured I'd be up a few pounds of water weight at least, but nothing. I'm not looking at IFing as a licence to eat crap - I don't want to eat HC again - but it's nice to know that for me, IFing will protect against weight gain if I do indulge once in a while.

Here's a link to an Art DeVany blog re: IFing and mental clarity that I thought you guys would find interesting. I thought the comments were interesting too - one person refers to IFing as "metabolic exercise". I do feel sharper during my fast times, though when eating higher carb not so much. Lower carb really makes a difference there too, in my case anyway. I also found with carby eating that I started to get sleepy when I needed to eat, and felt spaced out. Never feel that when I'm eating normally (LC).

Had the same thing happen to me before I went LC. I would get so sleepy that I could barely function. Also noticed it with some of my co-workers. Going LC helped. But going IF really helped . I bet it has something to do with insulin resistance and blood sugar. In fact I have the sneaking suspicion that folks who exhibt this symptom have incipient diabetes. Yet another reason I like LC and IF.

Pork belly is just uncured slab bacon, I ask for the carne (leaner cut) at the local Mexican market. Asian markets may carry it too.

I do seem to lose some after I make it part of my main meal 6 - 8 oz cooked. I just bought some more, 6 lb for $12.

WOW! So I tried the intermittent fasting today....19 hours into the fast I completely cratered. Now I have a headache, am a total bitch, and feel awful. I am SO disappointed in myself! The plan was to make it to 8 for dinner tonight. But I ate some crap at 4 and felt like I could go thru the drive thru at McDonalds for a BIG MAC..of course I didn't.....and this from a completely organic, unprocessed, all natural food practitioner. I wuold have eaten anything put in front of me.

After having studied the literature I really believe in IF. How can I make this work?

Last night's dinner ended about 8, and by 3:30 today I thought I was going to pass out. Had 1 1/2 cups of black coffee this morning, and the cup of black tea I had about 2 really made me feel sick. I am typically neither this wimpy nor this whiny.

Up until 2 I felt great. I thought I would be able to make it.

Your advice is deeply appreciated.

With gratitude,

Kaly

Update: I am finished with dinner at 6 pm.
I basically ate from 3 to 6

So, with dinner ending at 8 last night, does this mean I completed a 19 hour fast with a 3 hour eating window? I might be able to get used to that. I got full rather quickly for dinner this evening and do not feel the need to eat anymore tonight.

Once again, any advice and help is GREATLY appreciated.

Kaly--If you finished eating at 8pm and began eating the next day at 3 pm, then yes you completed a 19 hour fast. You finished today at 6 pm so if you eat again tomorrow at 3 pm, you will have completed a 21 hour fast. If you read back though this thread, you'll see suggestions to work up to your ultimate fasting time--especially if you exhibit the symptoms you experienced yesterday. Many of us just jumped right in as you are doing and several folks worked up to their fasts over time. Whatever works for you and is something you can stick with is what you should do. Also, although there is no final word on the minimum amount of fasting one should complete, I think most of us try for at least 15 and a target of at least 18 on our fasting days. Any more than that is just gravy (as they say), so don't worry about shooting for 20 or 22 hours each day--especially in the beginning stages. Shoot for 15 or 18 and then see when you're really hungry and need to eat.

HTH

KB

KB thank you So much for responding. I have been reading the threads (all of the them...one through three...as well as eades' initial blog). However, reading it and EXPERIENCING it proved to be enormously different!

I am not going to give up. I guess the next step is to eat breakfast and lunch tomorrow and be done eating by 6pm? Then on to another fast through to dinner on Monday evening, yes?

Gonna give it another whirl. and yes! I experienced REAL hunger today! wow....I used to only THINK I was hungry!

Again, thank you. I am usually not very needy on these forums until now.

kalyana welcome aboard, its a bit slow here now compared to the usual throughput.

I would avoid the tea, its not a good choice, it gives me hunger on an empty stomach. I sometimes have coffee with cream or coconut oil in the mornings. Today I had some nuts and coconut oil because I had to take irritating medicine-- I felt better today, did two workouts plus woodcutting and didn't get hunger pangs at 4 PM as usual. Dinner was chicken, fish, eggs and a big spinach salad.

I was on two meals per day long before I started IF. One day I had to fast before a blood test, I felt great the next day so I just kept doing it. Its probably best to start slowly. I read the Fast-5 plan pdf file, it has good info.

Yes, I was doing great until the black tea! I claim it to be the villain. at least for me.

I will read the Fats 5 pdf file and see if that helps. Even though my first experience was dreadful, I somehow feel very confident about the overall theme of IF.

Thanks so much Mike.

Kalyana, when I IF, I follow the 19/5. That seems to work best for me...and I generally just do IF on weekends or days when I'm off work.

Yesterday was a HUNGRY day, I was starving all day even though I didn't eat more than usual. I get days like that every so often.

And then today, I ate more than I usually do when IFing. Two meals AND a snack in my 5 hour window. I was seriously hungry by the time I was ready to eat. I broke my fast at 12:30 with chicken broth heated up with 2 tbsp butter; followed up by steak w/butter, some green beans, two slices of hot capicolla and about 1/2 ounce of fresh mozarella. Way more food than I usually eat. Then I had a snack of about an ounce of cheese. Then dinner was 4 slices bacon, 8 oz. chicken, 1.5 oz cheese and green beans. And I still felt like I could go on eating. But I closed my window.

I'm wondering if it might be a reaction to my trip to CA. My parents eat two meals a day...and I pretty much followed their lead while there (I did have a couple of LC snacks on one or two days). They eat SMALL meals, one at about 10AM and one around 7pm. They don't understand low carb and think that I should be eating tiny, low fat meals because I'm overweight while at the same time offering me truffles and chocolate mousse cake or whatever. *sigh* So on the food front, the trip was difficult and I was hungry through most of it. However, I DIDN'T eat the sugar. So that part was a victory.

And when I got home, I didn't suddenly pig out. In fact, I only ate three meals a day all week (I generally eat three or four times a day on eating days). Then yesterday was a hungry day...and I can tell that I dropped some weight (I often do around the hungry days). But then today I was STILL hungry and wanted to eat a lot, even though I was IFing. But I decided to go with it, and not sweat it. Objectively, I ate about the same amount of food that I usually eat (or a *little* bit more) and it was all low carb.

And on the upside, I didn't get a headache like I did the first few times I IFed. So I know that I got *enough* food and that my ratios were good. Oh, and I didn't feel stuffed and bloated either, like I do when I eat too much.

Will do another IF day tomorrow.

Have a good evening, all.

Ok, so if I chose to start out doing 19/5....does this mean I would do the following:


Day 1: eat breakfast and lunch and stop eating by 6
Day 2: eat first and last meals between 1-6
Day 3: eat breakfast and lunch and stop eating by 6
Day 4: eat first and last meals betwen 1-6
repeat, etc...

Is this intermittent fasting?

Thanks again for the help. The above schedule seems really do-able...so I want to make sure it is truly IF the way Dr. Eades and the other researchers would prescribe.

Hello all, and the new alls also!!

I have been trying out eating smaller meals as well during my eating window, funny how it all goes in waves, isn't it? I've upped my carbs a little and lowered my calories, so far that is also working for me (I agree, Stuart, calories do seem to count!) which is cool because I've eaten such low carbs for so long I am getting bored with some of my choices. Yesterday I had fresh veggies with dip and ate carrots and really enjoyed them.

I really think the biking is helping too. I'm up to 2.5 miles, and I haven't lost any on the scale, but I haven't gained anything at all either AND I can so tell the difference just looking at my legs, they're firming up---hooray!

I am hoping as I develop my routine and lengthen the time and distance I bike that I do start losing, but not gaining while upping my carbs a bit is a very nice thing!!

Ruth

Ruth: Awesome job with the stationary bike. I have been sporadic with my cardio since Christmas Eve and am starting to miss it. Never, ever, ever in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would say I missed exercise . But it is a nice feeling of accomplishment to do the work isn't it .
Kalyana: IF seems to be a real individual thing. It really is what works best for you at any given time. Most people mess around with schedules until they find what fits for them and then adjust as the need arises. The symptoms of headache and extreme hunger you had would appear to me to indicate that you might want to start off at like 15 hours of fasting and then work up from there. I tend to keep my eating window at around dinner time (more or less the same time every day). So if you wanted to fast for a shorter period of time you might open your window a little earlier and then close your window a little later. Just play around with it and see what works. I know you will do great with whatever schedule you arrive at.
Made sauteed chicken thighs with mushrooms and a sauce composed of chicken stock and a soupcon of dry vermouth from a Julia Child recipe for dinner. Just remove potatoes and use a different thickening agent then flour and lots of her recipes are amazingly adaptable for LC. And darn tasty too .
Take care all.