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Intermittent Fasting (diet during eating periods)

YoungThor

YoungThor

Well-known member
For those who’ve successfully cut fat while intermittent fasting, how strict was your diet during the eating window? I just started intermittent fasting, 16 hours fasted a day with an 8 hour window. If I just simply make healthy food choices during my eating period, is that enough to lose fat? Or do you think I’ll still have to follow strict guidelines, like macro and calorie counting? Thanks for any advice.
 
YoungThor said:
For those who’ve successfully cut fat while intermittent fasting, how strict was your diet during the eating window? I just started intermittent fasting, 16 hours fasted a day with an 8 hour window. If I just simply make healthy food choices during my eating period, is that enough to lose fat? Or do you think I’ll still have to follow strict guidelines, like macro and calorie counting? Thanks for any advice.
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I think it still comes down to calories in vs calories out. If you eat 4000 calories of healthy food you are still going to gain weight
 
But I wonder if intermittent fasting gives you more leeway for how many calories you can consume without gaining weight. Because for 16 hours a day your in an extreme deficit, likely leading you to burn your own fat stores for energy. Also, fasting actually boosts metabolism. This leads me to wonder if you can get away with getting a little crazy with the food intake during the feeding window while still seeing results since your still spending 2/3 of the day in a deficit.
 
YoungThor said:
For those who’ve successfully cut fat while intermittent fasting, how strict was your diet during the eating window? I just started intermittent fasting, 16 hours fasted a day with an 8 hour window. If I just simply make healthy food choices during my eating period, is that enough to lose fat? Or do you think I’ll still have to follow strict guidelines, like macro and calorie counting? Thanks for any advice.
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I did IF with a 2 hour window, right after gym. I ate 80% clean and the only macro I counted was protein. In 2 hours, its pretty hard to exceed the daily calorie allowance -isn't a 8 hour window a bit big (more a barn door than a window) ?
I'm again on IF now and trying to limit it to a 1 hour window (1 meal x day after gym). Here what I ate 10 min ago:
1 pound grilled tilapia filet (130gr protein), 200gr potatoes (4gr protein), half of a chicken breast (70gr protein), some cauliflower, 500ml whole milk with 50gr whey protein (67gr protein) Total protein: 270gr protein /my BW: 225lbs
 
Haha I guess it is more like a barn door. I was watching videos with Jim Stoppani and he mentioned he does 16:8. I also think he’s full of shiit when he says he’s natty though. I don’t want to restrict my eating too much because I can’t workout while I recover from this injury. I’m taking mk677 to help the healing process and to help avoid catabolism. It should also help fat burning hopefully. I’ll probably shorten the window in week two or at least shorten it some days but I couldn’t do 22:2 right now. That’s intense. And that’s a lot of food to consume in 1-2 hours. I imagine you eat out of a trough haha.
 
YoungThor said:
Haha I guess it is more like a barn door. I was watching videos with Jim Stoppani and he mentioned he does 16:8. I also think he’s full of shiit when he says he’s natty though. I don’t want to restrict my eating too much because I can’t workout while I recover from this injury. I’m taking mk677 to help the healing process and to help avoid catabolism. It should also help fat burning hopefully. I’ll probably shorten the window in week two or at least shorten it some days but I couldn’t do 22:2 right now. That’s intense. And that’s a lot of food to consume in 1-2 hours. I imagine you eat out of a trough haha.
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I’m on the 16:8. I could probably go to 18:6 but 16:8 works out well for family life and meal timing
 
YoungThor said:
Are you seeing results from 16:8?
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I do it mainly because I find it easier to restrict my calories. If I start eating at 5am when I get up I want to eat all day.

There are also all the health benefits that studies have shown come from IF.
 
Oconns28 said:
I do it mainly because I find it easier to restrict my calories. If I start eating at 5am when I get up I want to eat all day.

There are also all the health benefits that studies have shown come from IF.
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Ditto, 12 to 8 is my eating window, when I ate breakfast first thing in the morning then by 10am I am hungry again but on IF first pangs of hunger are around 11am sometimes later.
 
I use 16:8 all the way up to 23:1 throughout the week. It varies based on what my body is telling me what it needs (or so I would believe). In conjunction, I follow a Paleo diet, which already rids calorie counting. Combined I've lost 35 lbs in the last 6 months, without trying.

When using this fasting protocol with a more SAD (Standard American Diet), my results were still consistent but it does still come down to calories in vs out. Your appetite can make a world of difference, whether big or small. Depends on you.

That said, a 36 hour fast once every 1-2 weeks does allow more room to play with extra calorie intake within a single window.
 
MySTeek said:
I use 16:8 all the way up to 23:1 throughout the week. It varies based on what my body is telling me what it needs (or so I would believe). In conjunction, I follow a Paleo diet, which already rids calorie counting. Combined I've lost 35 lbs in the last 6 months, without trying.

When using this fasting protocol with a more SAD (Standard American Diet), my results were still consistent but it does still come down to calories in vs out. Your appetite can make a world of difference, whether big or small. Depends on you.

That said, a 36 hour fast once every 1-2 weeks does allow more room to play with extra calorie intake within a single window.
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I just listened to an interesting JRE podcast on sleep. The guy didn’t go too deep into it but suggested those longer fasts are actually bad for your body when it comes to sleeping and recovery. I know there are benefits as well. Thanks Mowglisml for suggesting it!
 
Oconns28 said:
I just listened to an interesting JRE podcast on sleep. The guy didn’t go too deep into it but suggested those longer fasts are actually bad for your body when it comes to sleeping and recovery. I know there are benefits as well. Thanks Mowglisml for suggesting it!
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Matthew Walker. Yes, I just finished his book. Fantastic. IF isn't found to be a problem. It's extended fasting, such as 36+ hours of fasting that become a problem in achieving deep REM.
 
YoungThor said:
For those who’ve successfully cut fat while intermittent fasting, how strict was your diet during the eating window? I just started intermittent fasting, 16 hours fasted a day with an 8 hour window. If I just simply make healthy food choices during my eating period, is that enough to lose fat? Or do you think I’ll still have to follow strict guidelines, like macro and calorie counting? Thanks for any advice.
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You do need to count macros or have a certain eating style (IF) to lose weight. It just comes down to consuming a caloric deficit. If you can do this by eating 5 meals a day, great. If you can achieve that by eating in an 8 hour window, great. I would count calories though, unless you have a really good eye and do not need to. If you want to know exactly how much you are consuming, counting calories is great and will greatly aid in cutting.
 
Heres a question: If youre only eating two or three times a day before starting a new diet plan, why would you do IF? Not implying this pertains to your situation. However, I see people jumping on the IF bandwagon because of its increasing popularity when they should be doing the complete opposite.
The better option would be eating healthier food while increasing meal frequency. By doing this, you stage the metabolism.
Save IF for down for down the road when you are trying to dial it in while on restricted calories.
 
Gcrewhcp said:
Heres a question: If youre only eating two or three times a day before starting a new diet plan, why would you do IF? Not implying this pertains to your situation. However, I see people jumping on the IF bandwagon because of its increasing popularity when they should be doing the complete opposite.
The better option would be eating healthier food while increasing meal frequency. By doing this, you stage the metabolism.
Save IF for down for down the road when you are trying to dial it in while on restricted calories.
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Do you have evidence of frequent meals being more beneficial to IF? Research on IF is empirical and growing. IF has a multitude of health benefits, namely insulin sensitivity, hormonal homeostasis, time less spent on toxin removal, and production of ketones. That said, I'm sure there are those that would benefit more from frequent meals, depending on their dietary needs and health status. One size does not fit all, IF included.
 
Over two decades of experience training high level athletes and backed up by Skip Hill who has trained 1000s online...
Experience from an expert will beat any study....not to say studies should be ignored, but everyone knows they can be manipulated.
If you want to do a serious recomp and actually put on a significant amount of muscle , stay away from IF.
 
Gcrewhcp said:
Over two decades of experience training high level athletes and backed up by Skip Hill who has trained 1000s online...
Experience from an expert will beat any study....not to say studies should be ignored, but everyone knows they can be manipulated.
If you want to do a serious recomp and actually put on a significant amount of muscle , stay away from IF.
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One hypothesis vs. the other. Anecdotal evidence of one and not enough of the other is not proof of invalidation. It doesn't apply the tried and true scientific method. We'll let research run its course. The answer is bound to arrive sooner rather than later. You may end up being right. My guess: every one person has their own set of needs. Some are better suited for one group vs. the other.
 
IF helps me keep my calories low. Because I typically consume 4-500 calories by lunch on non IF days. When I IF I can get by on 1,000-1,250 calories a day. Sometimes lower.
 
The hardest part of IF for me is not negating all the calories I burned during my fast by drinking 1,200 calories of beer that night.
 
Every calorie / protein controlled study on IF shows no benefit over conventional eating.
Do it, if it helps you consume less calories.
Good luck eating +3,500kcal on IF. People that can do that is actually fairly impressive
 
AlexPowell said:
Every calorie / protein controlled study on IF shows no benefit over conventional eating.
Do it, if it helps you consume less calories.
Good luck eating +3,500kcal on IF. People that can do that is actually fairly impressive
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How do you define "benefit"? Can you please post an abridged reference list to every calorie / protein controlled study that you are citing? I'd like to review these data for my own educational purposes.
 
MySTeek said:
How do you define "benefit"? Can you please post an abridged reference list to every calorie / protein controlled study that you are citing? I'd like to review these data for my own educational purposes.
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Absolutely. Benefit is improved body composition

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If you want to do additional research, the Google search terms will be "Fasting review pubmed". There is a lot on diabetes as well. Not sure how this applies to regular people. It should, however I'm always a little hesitant to use them :)
 
AlexPowell said:
Absolutely. Benefit is improved body composition

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If you want to do additional research, the Google search terms will be "Fasting review pubmed". There is a lot on diabetes as well. Not sure how this applies to regular people. It should, however I'm always a little hesitant to use them :)
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Oh body comp. I can agree with that. Calories in and calories out. It's basic math. My focus was on physiological benefits such as autophagy, immune function, insulin sensitivity, etc. These and more have shown to be potentially more efficient on a time restrictive diet.
 
MySTeek said:
Oh body comp. I can agree with that. Calories in and calories out. It's basic math. My focus was on physiological benefits such as autophagy, immune function, insulin sensitivity, etc. These and more have shown to be potentially more efficient on a time restrictive diet.
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I can't really say the science swings one way or the other as of yet. Dr. Longo is putting out some decent stuff though. I'm fairly confident that there is no HARM in doing IF though. However if someone says they are bulking on IF in order to get "Lean Gains", I'm going to call BS!
 
Folks who have followed the science on IF will readily admit that its main strength is its behavioral facilitation of the dieting & weight loss maintenance process (for SOME but not ALL individuals). In other words, it can simplify and/or increase the ease of imposing and sustaining a net caloric deficit by the end of the day/week/month/year. Nothing particularly magical compared to conventional dieting from a physiological standpoint.

The weight of the research evidence has consistently shown that IF is not significantly more effective compared to conventional linear caloric reduction. It's an option for some who prefer it, not the magic bullet for all. Here's the latest example of a long-term comparison

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Seimon et al recently conducted the largest systematic review of IF research to-date, comparing the effects of intermittent energy restriction (IER) to continuous energy restriction (CER). They found that overall, the two diet types resulted in “apparently equivalent outcomes” in terms of bodyweight reduction and body composition change. In addition, neither IER or CER was superior to the other at improving glucose control/insulin sensitivity.

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Here's another recent systematic review & meta-analysis, this time on long-term outcomes in IF vs linear dieting: "...neither intermittent or continuous energy restriction being superior with respect to weight loss. [...] Blood lipid concentrations, glucose, and insulin were not altered by intermittent energy expenditure in values greater than those seen with continuous energy restriction." Invalid Link Removed

Also, have a look at the recent ISSN position stand on diets & body composition, there's a section on IF that concludes that it's a viable option, but not a superior option

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After reading this, I stopped my intermittent fasting, now getting fat again. Thank you.

;)
 
When people jump on the bandwagon about these diet approaches, it should be a huge red flag there is some level of bull**** involved.
 
Gcrewhcp said:
When people jump on the bandwagon about these diet approaches, it should be a huge red flag there is some level of bull**** involved.
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Skepticism is good. Cognitive dissonance, not so much. Exuberance doesn't discredit anything. Empirical evidence will be/is the ultimate judge. I would agree a calorie in vs a calorie out is what it boils down to, regardless of timed feed windows. Blindly pushing it away because it doesn't fit your life's narrative isn't the best approach with science though. We need to keep testing new ideas and change our opinions if something proves to be better.

In this case, IF doesn't seem to make a difference for body comp when measuring calories in/out (brown fat theories aside). It's intrigue to most is the ability to better control calorie intake and smaller margins of error. It forces those with less control to take control. Whatever works, works. Do what suits you and encourage those around you to do the same.
 
My Mother in Law , Brother both do it. It works for them. I dont because I like to keep aminos steady in my system every couple or few hours when possible.
 
It certainly comes down to calorie in vs calorie out. However, if you're eating healthy and "clean" it's definitely going to be hard overeating with IF, simply because you must eat so much filling foods in a short time.
 
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