Hi Kal, I really wouldn't get too hung up on definitions of the 'right' way to IF. You have to remember that everybody already IF's, unless they get up in the middle of their sleeping 'fast' to eat. That's why the first meal of the day is called break..fast. There are fatburning and general health benefits from even this 'normal' daily fast. All IF'ers are trying to do is prolong the regular fasts, and reap the health/bodycomp rewards.

Is it better to do a 48 hr (beyond which your free amino acid pool will run out, and you will start losing muscle as well as bodyfat - how fast is anybody's guess, suffice to say muscle is difficult to replace, so why risk it?) once a week than an 18 hr fast every day? Nobody knows. And the answer is probablly different for different individuals.

What you described above is actually 'alternate day fasting' . Most people here have a daily fast/eating window cycle. But I stress again, there is no right way to do this. If anything, the 'right' way is whatever you can stick with long term.

The symptoms you describe are pretty typical 'too much too soon' signals. If it was just the headache you could just pop a headache tablet and punch through it. But the other symptoms will make it very likely that you give the IF 'ing experiment away altogether. Only push the fast length as much as you are totally comfortable with. It took me several months to gradually ramp up my overnight fast to 15 hrs. Everybody is different.

Stuart.

Thanks so much Stuart. And you answered a question I had that was causing confusion. I see now the difference between a daily fasting/eating window and alternate day fasting.

It is alternate day fasting that the original Eades blog spoke of. This is what I am attempting.

Thanks to everyone for helping me sort this out.

Back when I played music for a living, we would play most nights of the week. The clubs would buy us dinner before the show and then brunch on our way out of town the next day. So we would eat dinner before the show, play, get to bed in the middle of the night sometime, sleep till noon, and finally get "break-fast" around 1 or 2.

I did this routine all the time for many years....I was healthy and THIN!

After I stopped playing, and returned to college to "get a real job", I met my new husband he invited me to lunch. "Sure", I said. "Pick me up around 2". He was like, "WHAT???"

I realized that my schedule was not like other people. I stilll didn't eat for the day until about 2. I was thin and healthy.

Flash forward...Enter marriage and "normal" routine...three squares a day and twenty extra pounds.

Ha-Ha-Ha...normal...I listened to all the experts who droned on and on about normal. And dieting rules. And how you would ruin your health if you did such and such. So I damn near break my poor long suffering body, screw with my emotional well-being and end up morbidly obese trying to diet like normal people are supposed to.
In regards to the experts and their opinion of normal: I am borrowing a line that has appeared in every military sci-fi book known to man, "Kill 'em. Kill 'em all."

Hello all,

I'm new to the site, though been lurking for a while. I found this thread a couple of days ago and something just clicked when I read it. I did read through the links in the OP, but had already decided to give IF a try. So far it's gone very well. I'm fasting for 19 hours and eating LC for 5 hours, logging everything in Fitday to make sure I'm keeping everything within reason. Hopefully things will keep on being as easy as it has been so far. *crosses fingers*

Just wanted to introduce myself and thank everyone for sharing their experiences in this thread. My weight loss has been depressingly slow so far (following Atkins stringently, logging everything, and exercising) and I'm hoping this can help. I suspect I may have other health issues hindering me, but for now I have to try all I can (within reason!) to get the scale moving downwards.

I have been trying to keep up with the thread, but have been struggling to get any computer time. My kids are home from school, and using the computer quite a bit.

Glad to hear so many did well getting through the holidays without much food trouble. I am struggling to keep my IF and workout schedule. Is it time for the kids to go back to school yet?? LOL

Welcome Kalyana and Chrysane
Sorry I haven't been lending much to our thread lately, but I'm still here, just been very busy.

I think we're all busy right now, and having kids home from school certainly adds to it!

I made a committment to do the bike whether I eat on plan or not---of course it's helping add to my feeling better when I do stay on plan, but I'm approaching my eating and my exercising as two separate things right now, so that I can develop a good pattern for exercise---I've never been an exerciser so for me to not have missed a day on the bike since I got it is a super big thing....

I'm also experimenting right now with adding a few more carbs and that seems to be working as well.... though if I don't begin losing again after my exercise is stable I will of course have to cut back. I'm hoping since I'm staying the same weight wise now that it will bump into losing as my exercise increases---we shall see!!

I just want the rest of the journey to go smoothly, and to reach goal sometime in 2008---that would make me a happy girl!

Ruth

Ruth-- You should be proud of yourself for starting and faithfully exercising. Have you been noticing the improvement in fitness? KUTGW

I interacted with someone recently who felt that Intermittent Fasting would mess up the metabolism and make it harder to lose weight. I don't agree, but it can be difficult to relay why it does not without just saying that they should read certain articles or studies. You know that many people will not go and read up. I need to reread some of the information so I can respond more intelligently the next time. It is not that I need their approval, but I do not want to look like I am following something that I haven't researched. I find some of the IF information difficult to explain to outsiders.

I played around with all the "healthy eating" rules too. I forced myself to eat breakfast within an hour of waking up, hungry or not, because eating breakfast apparently helped weight loss. It just made me hungrier. Course it was high carb fare as well The eating several small meals thing - been there, done that too. Awful, especially when you're 5'2 and all the calorie counters put my weight-loss carloie intake between 1100 - 1300 calories a day! That's some small meals.

I feel much better LCing, and better still eating when I'm hungry - which usually isn't til around 2pm for me as well.

Back from holidays and returned to regular LC eating and IF. Most days away or entertaining were not IF and higher carb as well with limited choices. I knew that I would be up and it would cost me a few weeks to get back to where I was but had a bit if a shock returning home. I was up almost 10 pounds! Down 3 today to 7 from my pre Christmas weight and have begun my workouts again as well as LC/IF.

Good news ...
While away for 3 days my wife decided to do a 24 hour Bragg's fast and will do that once a week on Thursdays, possibly getting into IF later in January.

Today was an 18 hour fast ending at 1:00pm and we will have a Thai Curry Fisherman's Soup for our New Years meal and watch Disc 1 of Season 3 "Lost". We were going to go to a dance but have been away or on the go for a while and decided to take advantage of a night free of guests, traveling, etc., and have looked forward to this (Lost 3) for a while. I went into Chinatown today for the Thai Curry, Lemon Grass, Coconut Milk and Sea Scallops. We already had Shrimp, Fish Stock and celery.

Glad to be back.

My daughter's in Toronto right now with her boyfriend visiting his mom and sister--she called and said it was snowing! Hopefully all of you living where the weather is a bit colder are taking care of yourselves and keeping warm!

My grand daughter's in New York visiting her dad, so I had a solo New Year's Eve---worked until 8pm and just relaxed at home. I had an off plan treat so am up a lb today but also fasting today so I should lose that soon....

So today is the first day of 2008---I made it through the holidays pretty well but now my focus is to both get in shape and hopefully start losing again--I would like to make goal this year sometime--it took me close to a year to lose the first 105 so I know it may take me most of this year to lose the rest, I'd just like to get that scale moving again!!

I'm working today, hope most of you have the day off!!

Ruth

Hello from another new recruit. So far, so good.

I started two days ago on Sunday. I was just back from a vacation in Paris, and at 7:30 that morning the five-hour time difference was telling my body that it was time for lunch, so I ate breakfast and skipped lunch, just to remind myself what hunger felt like. The next day I was able to hold out until 3 pm (for a 19-hour fast), and I closed the window after supper at 8. Since I’m home all day today with fewer distractions than at work I decided to do the breakfast/supper thing again.

I think I’m going to enjoy this. Snacking is my downfall, and it’s so much easier to avoid eating altogether than trying to choose the least bad option. If the takeout window is closed, there is no choice.

Happy New Year! Hope everyone got the year off to a healthy start. I stuck to my WOE in spite of visiting relatives today. Yea!

I am fasting until 3 today. let's hope it goes better for me than the first attempt.

happy New Year everyone. It's gonna be a good one!

Back in the swing and only up 3 pounds.

Yesterday:
Total: 1636 IF 19/6
Fat: 92
Carbs: 56 - 23 = 33
Fiber: 23
Protein: 169

Yogurt with Raspberries and Whey Protein
Thai Curry Fisherman's Stew with Carbquick buns.

80 min resistance workout with hand/leg weights and an hour shoveling.


Today will be at least a 24. My wife is doing a Bragg's Fast for 24 hours, one day a week (may never get into IF ) and I said I would match her and have dinner around 5:00pm today.