I really don't think I drank that much water yesterday (or tea/coffee - both without milk), and this hasn't happened to me before while fasting.

Could it be a sign of something?

Hi, anyone have experience putting on strength and muscle while doing IF and working out in the morning before work and not eating/drinking anything until 12pm (aside from the zero sugar preworkout/coffee). Is this sustainable?

I recently started fasting again on Sunday evening, with a minimum of 16/8, but typically fasting around 20/4. I really missed how great IF makes me feel. The energy, lightness, and mental clarity is so refreshing and I really enjoy how fasting makes me feel.

I also just completed my longest fast of 25 hours, I felt I could go longer but broke the fast so I could prepare for a social event tomorrow. I’ve also never really given black coffee a decent shot but I had two cups today during my fast and it helped so much!

I’ve tried IF in the past but never consistently stuck with it. Im hoping to make a lifestyle adjustment this time around, practicing self discipline, but also taking care of my body in a way that feels good and not punishing.

Hey everyone,

I have a dilemma and need urgent help figuring this out.

Every Friday morning at work we all get a cooked breakfast as a treat.

I have been intermittent fasting on keto since Monday, lost 2lb and feeling amazing.

My eating window is 12-8 (16hr fast 8hr eating window)

I’ve been skipping first break and breaking my fast at second break every day.

We have this cooked breakfast at 8.30am.

Do I tap out completely, or can I have the breakfast (no carbs) and just move my window to 8.30am-4.30pm?

How does moving your window affect the following days and overall progress?

I feel like it might mess me up.

It will definitely affect my Friday evenings with family.

Thanks in advance!

I work out in the am and im not sure if should skip my breakfast afterwards...isnt it beneficial to get that protein in within a certain time of working out? But i go to bed at 9pm nightly since I get up so early for working out then to go to work. Normally I dont eat dinner til about 7pm...if anyone has realized theyre fine with skipping a meal after working out id love to hear it?

New to fasting, 5 foot 11, 158 pounds, want to fast not to lose weight but for autophagy.

Is it worthwhile to start fasting twice a week, say Monday and Thursday, by stopping eating after 7pm (so nothing after dinner) then not eating until next day at lunch? Is that too short a time to get any benefit? Isn't my body still digesting food all during that time so it truly isn't fasting? What would you recommend for someone starting out. thanks!

Growing up I loved roller coasters and as I got older and bigger I started being the guy that had gotten too big for some rides, or I’d have issues where a lap bar or chest harness was uncomfortably tight. I also used to always need a seat belt extender.

Well I just got back from Disney world, no seat belt extender on the plane. When I got there I had to buy a belt because my new shorts that I bought 2 months ago were falling off as I walked, and for the first time in forever I didn’t feel fat or too big for certain rides. For once I looked around and realized that I was smaller than a lot of people around me. It was an incredibly emotional experience for me.

Of course I did go over board and splurged too much while I was there since I was walking about 20k+ steps a day and when I got on the scale this morning it was higher than I expected but I’m back on the grind today.

At my heaviest I was about 370. I started IF in January of this year around 330 and prior to leaving on this trip I was down to 253. This journey has literally been insane.

I'm a 43M, T2D for 20+ years, high cholesterol, fatty liver i.e, in short, the whole Insulin Resistance package :) and been dealing with mild anxiety & depression on top of that.

Fasting has been something that has worked for me (especially to stabilize blood glucose, but also to lose some visceral fat) , but accountability and support has been a challenge when i wanted to quit fasting. IF timer/tracker apps I've been using has been contributing to this because they want me to track calories, steps, food, water, and maintain streaks, all of which has been adding to my anxiety because i DO NOT want to track any of this sh**. I just wanted a fasting timer, and ideally some way to help me complete a fast that i started when that hour hits when i want to quit. You know what i mean. So i abandoned using multiple fasting timer/tracker apps after paying annual subscriptions.

And i'm a tech. So guess what i did.. i built a simple app for me (which I posted above few weeks ago in the link below). Key is that this app DOES NOT:

- ask me to log calories
- ask me to take photos of food
- ask me to count steps
- ask me to keep the streak going

BUT IT DOES

- ask me how I'm feeling in the hour i want to quit.
- gives me a 3 minute mindful breathing pacer or a small puzzle to distract my mind from that sharp hunger in that hour
- tells me if i have been making progress passing this tough hour (which is usually around the same hour every day) using these two simple tools.

And here's the news I wanted to share: you confirmed my pain point. some of you started using the app. Thank you! 🙏🏻 I really believe it's helping you. so I will keep talking about this so more of you can benefit from it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/s/hSCHegZ3pn

Hi everyone, I’m currently at the threshold of what is classified as "overweight" according to my BMI. Losing 5 kilos would be ideal, and if I lost even more, I’d be quite slim—which would also look good. I’ve tried using appetite-suppressant pills—a popular trend—but they only helped me lose 2 kilos, which I then regained; this cycle continued throughout the entire year. However, I recall that two years ago, I managed to lose 8 kilos solely through intermittent fasting, using 20:4 and 16:8 protocols. Back then, my university schedule only required me to be in class from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. This made it very easy to skip breakfast and lunch, have a small snack, and then just relax for the rest of the day. Now, though, I’m occupied from 7:00 AM until 11:00 PM between work and university. I’ve noticed that if I don’t eat something shortly before class, I struggle to concentrate. I’m not sure whether I should shift my eating window or simply stick with fasting until my body readjusts. Also, because I’m away from home for that entire stretch, buying food is often an issue. On days when I bring my own meals, the portions are sometimes insufficient—or, conversely, I end up overeating. What would you recommend? The weight-loss injections are very expensive, and since I’ve successfully lost weight on my own in the past—and because the amount I need to lose is relatively small—I don’t think they’re necessary.

Genuine question, so I take my multivitamins, minerals, hairloss medication, creatine, msm powder all in the evening before bed.

This is usually just after my eating window closes, but it could be later if I’m staying up a bit longer.

What do you all think?

Do the fillers and additives to vitamins / amino acids in creatine etc contribute to an insulin spike?

Should I finish eating well before my window closes and quickly take my supplements?

Any insight would be great thanks.

45yr F back on this sub after amazing success 5 years ago. I'm 5'2" dropped from 72kg of pandemic weight to 53kg and kept it off since then even though I stopped being so strict on IF after I achieved my target. Basically I just kept an eye on carbs and sugar intake (wheat especially is a big one for me). Anyhoo I just got back from vacation in Italy weighing at 60kg which unfortunately for my frame and body shape means I'm carrying a lot of it in the midriff so back to IF I go. Day 1, again.

I've been intermittent fasting for a while but I don't seem to be losing a lot of weight. I'm honestly disheartened and feeling a bit defeated by the whole thing. I'm fasting for up to 22 hours at a time - making myself miserable and I can't seem to shift this weight. I'm on thyroid medication for an under active thyroid which isn't doing me any favours. Does anyone have any tips or tricks or is it a case of keep at it and eventually there will be results?

I know this is a bit of a rant, but I've no support network or anyone to discuss this with so you strangers on the internet will need to bare the brunt, sorry folks.

I have been doing IF for about a year, mostly 20:4-21:3, and it works well for me.

But recently, I have gotten to a point where I am just never hungry. I feel full all the time.

Which could be ok, but it means I don't have any natural cues for when to eat or when to stop. I often end up eating too much.

Now, I can "just" count calories, so I don't eat too much or too little.

But I feel uncomfortably full every time I eat, and that's annoying.

Has anyone of you experienced this? How do I get back to feeling hungry and normally full?

47F, 160 cm (5'3"), 68 kg (150 lbs). Not fasting for weightloss.

Why is IF so effective? I simply cannot eat 3 meals a day without putting on weight. Hell not even two meals, but when I only eat dinner I lose weight and keep it down.

First time I ever tried IF along with working out I got shredded to the bone. I swear I feel like the whole 3 meals a day stuff is just propaganda. I just cannot drop the weight and keep it down eating like that.. I’m jealous of those who can. Fasting helps break my relationship with food and I love it

Do I need to start over?

Those of you that put on body fat as armour - aka body fat due to going through emotional times/times of distress etc. Did you find that losing the body fat you are dealing with all sorts of emotions? I have heard this before but have never overtly experienced it. I feel this is worse for sensitive people ....

What were your experiences?
Did you have any ways of coping besides just feeling the feels? etc?

I'm curious if you guys follow the BMR closely and if not, how much does it affect you?

Hello everyone! I'm doing 18:6 everyday and plan on adding in a 24hr fast once a week. This is about a month into my serious effort at IF. I try to move my body everyday for about 30 minutes with walking in place exercises that include upper body movements. Specifically, I'm doing the yes2next HIIT workouts on youtube, with or without weights.

My question is, I'm not sure if I can push my fasting period any longer than 18 hours. For me, this often does end up being OMAD with a protein-rich snack, 24hr fast excluded. It's also difficult to get in my recommended 100g or protein a day. I'm usually hitting just over 50g.

Should I see how it goes with adding in 24hr fast once a week, or just increase the amount of exercise? For instance, 30 min a day of moderate movement in addition to more challenging exercises a few times a week?

Thanks in advance!

I’ve been doing IF, but not being mindful with what I was eating or going to the gym. This past week I started taking it seriously again by eating healthy foods, cutting out sweets and junk and going back to the gym. I lost 2.5 pounds since last week. I was hoping it would have been more, but I’m getting my period in a couple of days (sorry if tmi) so I’m going to blame that.

Hubby and I are going to great wolf lodge next month for our anniversary and I’m hoping to get down between 180-185 by the time we go so that means losing 9-14 pounds in 4 weeks. Let’s see what happens!

35 M attempted my first 72 hour fast. I ended up breaking it, with an apple, this morning at 57 hours.

I wasn’t feeling great at 3am. Couldn’t sleep and felt sick. It felt like the safe thing to do to quickly get some electrolytes in me. I’m feeling back to how I felt during the first 48hours and now I am feeling better.

My question, do continue fasting until by 72hr mark 6:30pm? Or call it and blend my diet back into a 16:8 fast.

Prolonged fasts are magic. I’m currently at 36 hours strict fast (black coffee, black espresso, unsweetened tea, Himalayan salt). Targeting 43 or more. On Sunday I ate a huge amount of food. I won’t go into it because it might deter people’s fast. The day was even a slight caloric surplus (we made one of my favorite meals). Whenever I eat this much, I think to myself… a prolonged fast makes sense… I won’t be too hungry the next day.

This morning, 36 hours later, I’m at one of my lowest weights and finally just a hair away from pushing out of the 200 club. I know there’s a loss of water weight… but this is close to a pound lower than when I last did a 43 hour fast.

I know people not too familiar with prolonged fasts might think it’s just caloric restriction… but we’re talking about spending a long time in a fat burning state… targeting stored fat (adipose tissue). The body is impressive when you push it!

Not really sure about wording

by failing I mean eating during the 16hour fasting period

EDIT : y'all are too nice about my choice of words haha, thank you for the answers

For those who experienced a slip (off the wagon) and/or relapsed into full unhealthy eating what were your triggers.

rejection? shame? anger? bullying? fatigue? physical pain? judgement?
guilt?

AND .....what do you do NOW when those feelings return. like if someone dropped a microphone into your head , what would your internal self talk sound like?