I remember this thread, I even posted in it! I had never heard of IF until this forum (I had never even heard of "Clean Eating" before this forum - tells you how little I knew).
I tried IF way way back at the beginning of this thread and the first day I just couldn't handle it and caved at dinnertime. I had tried a 24 hour fast and felt too run down and foggy. I don't believe I tried it again for a long while. I then started the IF where I only ate between 10am - 6pm. I had teas outside of that window and could easily follow along with that schedule. I workout about 5-6am and it was rough to not eat in the mornings, but not undoable. I liked that schedule and continue to do it today on my eating days.
As a side note, IF interests me for gut and metabolic health, not so much weight loss (although I did notice my more fatty areas tighten up nicely). I have had gut issues for decades and finally this seems to be the only thing that is helping.
About a month ago, I read Jason Fung's book "The Complete Guide to Fasting" (I recommend it - fast, easy read), along with Mercola's "Fat for Fuel" (he has a chapter on IF) and several blogs and interviews and tried their methods. I did a full 36 hour fast and to be honest, it just wasn't that hard. I then tried to go as long as possible and made it to 44 hours twice, and 40 hours once. This was while doing my normal intensive workouts. (I think my body is using the FAT stored as energy rather than the glucose readily available....read the books)
I work from home a lot and have so many temptations to graze all day, especially when I am frustrated. I eat totally clean, but I still eat a ton (it is snap pea and cherry tomato season here and those are my two favorite foods!). I am from the mindset to eat all you want if it is clean, but wanted to try the IF for my gut issues.
I am now trying a M-W-F fast to see if that will work for me. This is my first week and so far so good. It just is not hard for me, even being at home surrounded by fresh produce! Like Angie above said, get in, do it, and move on. I thought I would be thinking about food all day, but when I put my mindset that "Monday I will fast", it is easy for me to just fast. In fact, I find it much harder to do the fasts based on specific times of the day, meaning, for example, "Today I won't eat until 4pm. I will then have a 4 hour eating window, and then resume my fast." I find in that instance, I am constantly looking at the clock wondering if it is 4pm yet....seeing it is 3pm and cheating by eating just a bit early. Instead, I know I won't eat on Monday - then I don't even think about it.
I notice I am tighter and my gut issues go away. The clarity and energy the books talk about are also there (and I didn't even realize I wasn't at optimal clarity and energy...it wasn't like I was sluggish or foggy). For me, when I do the 6pm-10am fast, I don't get the above benefits. I only get them when I do the 24+ hour fast (ideally 36+ hour fast). I am going to continue to play with IF to see what works for me. I have extensive travel coming up and will see how that goes. I also notice my aches and pains are practically gone. When I started to eat clean several years ago, my gut issues and pains significantly improved, but now with IF, they are practically gone (and remember, I just started IF on a regular basis).
I would recommend this if starting IF:
*Read Jason Fung's book
*Fast on your "hard" workout days (that way you still have the caloric energy from the day prior in you). Then the next day do your "easier" workout since you won't have the caloric energy from the day prior in you.
*Your first meal after fasting should be a smoothie or soup, so extensive digestion is not required - this helped me a lot, but remember, I have gut issues.
*Know and prep what your first meal out of fasting will be PRIOR to the fast. I found that if I didn't prep, then I would just grab a handful of whatever was readily available, rather than plan. I also found that if it wasn't prepped, cooking during the fast knowing I wouldn't be eating it until several hours later was just too much temptation for me. My first fasting day I made a crab curry stew and while making it, I knew I wouldn't be eating it for 10 hours...that was just too much for me, I was salivating like crazy and couldn't stop thinking about it.
*While fasting, I try to only consume mineral water, citrus water, teas with cinnamon and ACV and citrus. However, as a backup I will have chia water, MCT oil and bone broth. I find that I get better results without the back-ups, but I am OK with using the back-ups when needed. I did do an extremely hard workout earlier this week and the back-ups just weren't doing it - I felt like I hit a wall and wanted to complete the workout. I had 2 spoonful's of coconut butter and was immediately energized. That is the first time I had to do that.
*Realize that you don't need to "eat small meals every 2 hours or you will die!" It had been so ingrained in me to eat constantly and to not miss a meal or I would wither away.
I really wish I had read the research on this years ago and tried it correctly - even though I am brand new to IF, the results so far have been wonderful. I love food and I love to cook, so I thought this would be extremely difficult, but it just isn't, once you find a schedule that works for you.
mad
