Intermittent Fasting?

[ereiam]

What do you think of intermittent fasting (IF)? I've been eating paleo since February and IF'ing since April. IF helped me to move the scale another 7 pounds down. I started my Whole 30 on August 1, but didn't realize that breakfast was part of the plan until I got to that section in ISWF. Waah. I don't want to eat breakfast. Not only is it unappetizing, but I don't want to add those calories back into the day.

Anyone left IF while on the Whole 30?

[Renee Lee]

You realize that proper execution of IF has you eating the SAME amount of calories that you normally would, just in a condensed window, right? It has nothing to do with calories, it's about timing. That's one of major reasons why people hit walls when IFing, because it is HARD to get 2000+ calories down your gut in a 6 hours feeding window, so they're calorie restricted, stressed from the fasting windows, probably exercising intensely, etc etc etc.

Hormonally, it is better to eat breakfast.

Additionally, we try to encourage people to get their food quality in line FIRST, before you start messing around with quantity or timing...so if you feel a need to be doing a W30, you probably don't have your food dialed in enough to be doing IF concurrently. Get the food quality to be old hat, THEN play around with IF if you want, but I'd still eat breakfast when you first wake up.

[Tom Denham]

There is some value to intermittent fasting, but I am confident that two things need to precede adopting intermittent fasting as a technique. 1. You must be overall healthy. If you have any health problems, metabolic issues, etc., intermittent fasting is too stressful and will cause problems. 2. You must be sleeping 8 hours per night. If you are not sleeping at least 8 hours per night, you already have cortisol issues that will only get worse with fasting.

In my view, you cannot do a Whole30 and practice intermittent fasting at the same time. The Whole30 asks you to eat at least 3 meals per day, starting with a meal within about an hour of waking and then ideally spacing them every 4 to 5 hours.

I do not consider myself a good candidate for IF because I do not sleep enough, but have practiced it some. I like the convenience of going hours without eating and find it surprisingly comfortable. I don't try it often enough to recognize any difference in body composition.

[ereiam]

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and ate breakfast this morning, albeit late.

Renee, I didn't know that with IF you are supposed to eat the same number of calories within your eating window. I thought that calorie restriction was an important part of IF. Anyway, your point about getting my food quality in line is a good one. I love Paleo but was cheating too often. So I needed a Whole 30 to get me back to the place where I was when I started paleo months ago. So far so good.

Tom, yes I sleep great. Usually 9 hours a night. IF'ing greatly improved my sleep and my energy levels during the day. All the same, I think I will put IF'ing aside for the Whole 30.

[buckeyeatheart]

I tried IF for a while and was constantly

Looking forward to the time I could get to eat. Then when I did have to eat, I would struggle to get in all the calories I needed and would feel so uncomfortable and bloated that I didn't want to do anything except sit. You are supposed to consume the same amount of calories with IF, it's the whole "fasting" thing that is supposed to have benefits, not calorie restriction. It wasn't for me, because I just really love to eat, and I love breakfast, but I think some people could do it (maybe not during the whole30). I would try out the whole30 as planned out, and evaluate how you feel. Then if you find you still don't want breakfast, try IF again but make sure you are eating enough!! IF and calorie restriction together are , in my opinion, too much going on and possibly detrimental to your health! Also, for some reading, I would recommend Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon because it talks about IF in depth and how you "should" eat when trying it. I'm only posting this because I thought it might help a little, I hope it does! And also because I meddled in it a bit myself for a few months this year. Good luck with your whole30!!

[buckeyeatheart]

Although I should say that Eat Stop Eat is more

about throwing in one 24 hr fast a week than the daily one. Personally this was too much for me, but just letting you know! It works for some!

[anjelevil]

Mark Sisson has written a great deal about if.I would disagree with needing to eat 2000 calories in one sitting.This is not realistic and it's not healthy.During some fasting where you are eating during a window,you can eat as you like but you are generally not eating a full days worth of calories.The reason for fasting is to give the digestion a break from food.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-intermittent-fasting/#axzz22xf6wfsf

The bbc has also recently reported on fasting and it's another interesting read http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549

Lean gains also talks about fasting as do many other low carb sites

[SugarfreeLife]

And here is this topic from women point of view: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/

[anjelevil]

I have another on women as well.Fascinating stuff http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women-and-intermittent-fasting/#axzz22xf6wfsf

[ereiam]

The links to the studies were interesting. The one written by Paleo for Women was enlightening. What I got from it is that IF has not been adequately studied in women and therefore women are going to have to be able to listen to their body's response to IF. I personally experience weight loss, increased energy and am at an age where I don't worry too much about reproductive hormones.

When I listen to my body, it says to keep up with the 8 hour eating window. It seems to be doing me worlds of good.

[Delaine Ross]

Before I started Whole 30, I naturally fell into a 16/8, 20/4, then a day of "normal eating." I love the freedom of not having to plan 3-4 meals daily and it makes life a little easier for me. I would drink bulletproof coffee and wouldn't be hungry til mid to late afternoon. It honestly felt the opposite of stressful bc it was one less thing that I had to worry about.

I understand why Tom has said not to IF during a Whole 30 and have been compliant since Day 2. I do plan on going back to IF after Whole30 bc it makes sense to me.

[Muppet]

I was doing fast five but then I would just eat for the whole five hours - I love snacking! Now I skip breakfast and just do lunch and dinner with no snacks. I think I was getting run down with a five hour window because I am also nursing. I am no hungry in the mornings so this is more about listening to my body....

[Cubamix Crossfit Coach]

Hello, Right now im doing whole 30 with Intermittent Fasting eating one meal a day at night (3 meals together using the meal template) usually 5 whole eggs omelete or scrambled, with onion garlic tomato sea salt olive oil, chicken and fish fillet, 2 sweet potatos, 1 grapefruit, 1 or 1/2 avocado and i make a big vegetable shake (put like 8-10 vegetables raw  in shake with water and ice) i drink it with meal and i take fish oil supplement i finish in like 1 hour and i dont feel bloated my stomach feels fresh and full, im doing this because i want to lose the stubborn fat in the abs but im fairly lean you can se my top 2-4 abs im doing exactly like it says in whole 30 no meal replacements, no multivitamins, no protein shake, no sugar etc i been doing it for a week and im cofident i will finish it feeling great, but i have done lots of Fasting before, eating healthy for over 2-3 years so im not new to healthy eating but whole 30 is way healthier than what i have done before, but i once ate kinda like this for a competition so is all good chicken vegetables healthy fats and sweet potato, im also a crossfit coach so i workout in the mornings with no food just lots of water and 2-3 cups of coffee from 10am-5pm, since i started this i have extreme energy during the clases like never before i feel great im a better coach great motivator active during the whole class is awesome and im lossing body fat really easy, i would only recomend IF if your trying to lose the last few pounds like if you have 10% body fat but not if your overweight or kinda lean, when i started i started little by little changing eating habits taking one bad thing at a time it has taken me like 6 years from when i was 16 years till now 22 years so i know what im doing, hope this helps you have a good day.

[DavidB73]

I cannot comment on the Whole30 as I have yet to do it, however I plan to start in Jan.  I can comment on Intermittent Fasting.  When I started my weight loss journey back in June I had never heard of IF or eating paleo.  I started to read about ways to lose weight and I stumbled onto Intermittent fasting.  I started to do it in June 2013, and ate whatever I wanted during an approximately 8 hour window. After two or three months I felt so much better than I had in years, I had energy, I was losing weight (about 30 lbs) then I read about Paleo and started to eat paleo and do IF.  The weight loss continued, my feeling amazing continued.  Everything was awesome until my dog died a few weeks ago and I started eating way more crap.  I do not feel anywhere near as good as I did (but I have only gained 2 or 3 lbs)  I'm getting back into things now, and plan to do the Whole30 in Jan, but I can honestly say if people consider it to not be the full whole 30 because i am not going back to eating breakfast than whatever.  I do what works for me and IF has been the best thing ever for my body.  Whole Foods has been the second best.  maybe for other people they need that breakfast, but for me it just messes me up, and I do not plan to go back to that again. 

[glennith]

I've been doing 'paleo' since January this year and have loved the way it has made me feel. However, the past two months have been hard for me, a major ankle operation and the loss of my mother has conspired to put me in situations where my food was less than ideal. I read a book written in 1900 on fasting and no breakfast and have been trying the no breakfast route for the past 10 days - and feel good. Then I read 'It Starts with Food' and have decided to do the Whole30 starting in January. My question is, do I still skip the breakfast or do the 30 days as recommended?

[amberino21]

I've been doing 'paleo' since January this year and have loved the way it has made me feel. However, the past two months have been hard for me, a major ankle operation and the loss of my mother has conspired to put me in situations where my food was less than ideal. I read a book written in 1900 on fasting and no breakfast and have been trying the no breakfast route for the past 10 days - and feel good. Then I read 'It Starts with Food' and have decided to do the Whole30 starting in January. My question is, do I still skip the breakfast or do the 30 days as recommended?

The whole 30 recommends eating within an hour of waking, so to follow the program as suggested you would need to do that. (When you're doing IF you're never really missing breakfast, your first meal is "breaking the fast" no matter how long after waking it is...)

Try it for 30 days - give yourself every opportunity to experience the program as written. If, after 30 days, you feel no benefits then you're free to do what you like with the knowledge that whole 30 style doesn't suit you!