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  1. #1
    Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    My Intermittent Fasting experience

    I'm two weeks into intermittent fasting but before I give my update I want to give a little background.

    I have lost alot of weight in the past and then gained most of it back due to being laid up from ankle surgery for like six to nine months and then months of just rehab. Plus being lazy and making poor food choices last year. The last time I dieted and lost a bunch of weight, I cut out all processed foods, calculated my calories and macro nutrients, weighed everything, spaced my meals out throughout the day and did strength training and cardio. Everyday I would have a pre workout meal, then gym, then breakfast, a few hours later lunch, then a snack, dinner and usually a snack after dinner. I was always hungry. From the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep I was hungry, unless I ate a heavy meal and blew out my calorie goal. At the end of my diet my strength had dramatically reduced. But I lost 80ish pounds. The journey sucked.

    Weeks prior to IF:

    I was preparing to go on vacation for two weeks. I was eating alot, lifting weights, my strength was up but I was heavy, 255+-. Went on vacation and had pancakes every morning, so when I got home I was bloated, pancake syrup running through my vanes and weighted 260.

    I started with 16:8 fasting. 16 hours of fasting and all eating in an 8 hour window. But that quickly morphed into 19:5 due to daily activities, convenience and hunger. Only water and coffee allowed during the fast. Cutting out all processed foods. Not counting calories but trying to maintain a balance of carbs, protein and fat. But that quickly changes. I go to the gym 6 times a week, 3 days cardio, 3 days lifting weights. I workout in a fasted state and have breakfast shortly after I get home from the gym, usually around 9am. My feeding window closes at 2pm

    Week 1: to follow...............
    Thanos was the hero

  2. Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    #2
    Week 1:

    I was hungry alot. To be expected. But the pains subsided each day that went by. I would be hungry for about an hour or two, and then feel fine. Eating became difficult. Literally, it became physically difficult to eat. Not sure what that was about. But I had to eat slowly. I wasn't counting calories, but I knew my caloric intake was low. It was difficult to get 3 meals in a 8 hour window, and as the week progressed my feeding window decreased to about 6 hours due to my daily routines. At the end of the week we had to figure out a different meal plan. We started to lean towards a Keto like diet. Which works out better for many reasons on IF. First, with having more fat, we get more calories. Also, fat doesn't spike insulin like protein and carbs. Who knew protein wouldn't be a main staple of the diet. Drinking more water, didn't do a whole lot for hunger pains and simply led to more trips to the bathroom.

    The working out wasn't too bad. The first 2 or 3 sessions were pretty rough but they got better. I am no longer taking a preworkout. Simply drinking a small cup of coffee in the morning. My strength and endurance had decreased. I would say on a scale of 1-10, 10 being 100%, my strength was a 7 and endurance a 6. But they quickly improved the following week. I did notice that my heart rate increased quicker than before. And I could maintain a higher heart rate longer than before. For example, on the arc trainer, I could be at intensity level 36 for 5 minutes and my heart rate would only go to 150. A max heart rate of mid 170s for less than 30 seconds. Now, after 5 minutes at level 36 my heart rate is 160ish and I can get my rate up to 180, and hold in the 170s for a good minute or two. And my hear rate stays elevated longer. I think this is due to adrenaline.

    Sleeping really good and no longer any heart burn indigestion issues at night. Really tired at the end of the day.

    Weight loss of 10 pounds. I'm sure mostly pancake syrup.
    Thanos was the hero

  3. Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    #3
    Week 2:

    I think we can call this 19:5 Keto-lite. My body has adjusted to IF. The hunger pains are barely there anymore. The hunger pains last for maybe an hour, once in the early morning and once in the evening. The wife tried OMAD, one meal a day, with no issues. She's going to do OMAD once or twice a week. It's strange, but even after the gym, I'm not really hungry. I'm eating so I make sure I can get more food in me during the eating window. I'm more like 2 meals a day. It has also become easier to eat compared to last week. I did over eat one night, quesadillas, and I felt it for a few hours. We are tracking calories. Just want to make sure we are getting enough. High fat, moderate protein and very low carbs. We are in a caloric deficit, maybe 500 calories per day.

    Workouts have improved. When working out, at around 16-17 hour of fasting, I notice the adrenaline. I exercise for an hour, then feel the adrenaline, and I can go workout another hour. It's crazy. I could never workout this much before. My muscle recovery is much quicker. By the end of the second week, my strength is at a 8 and endurance is 7. Endurance is strange. Before I could do cardio on the arc trainer for 30 minutes easily and 60 minutes was difficult. Now it's difficult to do 30 minutes non stop. However, I can do 30 minutes, go do something different for a few minutes and get back into cardio with ease. Before, my workouts only lasted 60 minutes at most. Now, I can workout 90 minutes and only leave because of time. So non-stop endurance has decreased but overall endurance has increased.

    I'm sleeping better than ever and wake up with energy.

    weight loss, an additional 3 pounds
    Thanos was the hero

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    #4
    Glad you found soething that works for you.

  5. Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    #5
    1 month in

    It has become really easy to get 20 hrs of fasting and then eat 2 meals and a snack in the 4 hr eating window. Eating has become different now. With previous diets it was always making sure I didn't eat too many calories. Didn't want too much fat, or calorie dense foods. I wanted high volume and low calorie foods. High protein, mod carbs and low fat. Now it's the complete opposite. All recipes are high in fat. I need the calories in the high fat foods. And the high fat foods definitely lessen the hunger the following morning. If it's a lean protein meal, It's better to add fat than carbs.

    I injured a wrist in week 3 deadlifting. I was near my max working weight. The weight came up easy but then there was a pop. The day of the injury, I would say my strength was a 9 out of 10 compared to before this diet. I haven't hit any heavy weights since then. Just the other day, I slipped and fell landing awkwardly and may have sprained that same wrist. So it may be a while before I can lift anything heavy.

    My endurance, is through the roof. 11 out of 10 compared to before the diet. I can really notice the adrenaline. There's no longer a need for a coffee or pre workout before the gym. I can do so much more treadmill and elliptical work. Also, I'm hiking with a treestand and gear on my back for an hour plus at a time with no issues. I could never do that before.

    Weightloss so far............17lbs in the first month
    Thanos was the hero

  6. NOT a Pro Angler sdbrison's Avatar
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by boneil View Post
    Weightloss so far............17lbs in the first month
    Impressive. Good job
    "If People Concentrated on the Really Important Things in Life, There'd be a Shortage of Fishing Poles." - Doug Larson
    "Peace is not the absence of turmoil but the presence of God" Jo-Ann Thomack

  7. Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    #7
    Another month and another 10 lbs. Because of hunting, I have only been going to the gym maybe once or twice a week. have had a couple family gatherings where there was alot of eating. Been experimenting with eating two meals in a 2-4 hr window vs eating one big meal. Not sure which I prefer. I have noticed that when I have a high carb meal or say high sugar meal, like cinnamon rolls and icecream in a single day, my hunger is increased for a few days. It has gotten really easy to go 24 hrs without eating.
    Thanos was the hero

  8. Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    #8
    The month of November, so much eating and little to no gym time. Just hunting, family gatherings, birthdays, going out, but still tried to maintain fasts between the big meals. Still lost almost 3 pounds. I have one more month of little gym time, and alot of family gatherings.
    Thanos was the hero

  9. Member
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    #9
    please keep posting on here with your updates. They are motivating for sure! I lost 77 pounds on Paleo a few years ago but gained it all back. I just started KETO and I have a long ways to go. I started NYE at midnight at 323.6 pounds. At the time I got off Paleo I was at 233 so I have plenty to lose. reading your stuff is awesome and motivating!

  10. Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by vandamit View Post
    please keep posting on here with your updates. They are motivating for sure! I lost 77 pounds on Paleo a few years ago but gained it all back. I just started KETO and I have a long ways to go. I started NYE at midnight at 323.6 pounds. At the time I got off Paleo I was at 233 so I have plenty to lose. reading your stuff is awesome and motivating!
    OK, I will. Wasn't sure if anyone was reading because of the lack of comments.

    So November and December were a bit of a bust. I wasn't eating healthy and injuries kept me out of the gym. I guess about half of the time I still had an 8 hour eating window, due to being in the woods. Meals were almost always eating out and there were lots of holiday and birthday treats eaten. The amount of cookies and cake eaten was fabulous. Through it all I gained 5 lbs. It was a good 5 lbs.

    Now what sucks is getting back to the gym. So sore after my first trip back, but I do believe that my injuries have healed. What doesn't suck so bad is going back to IF. I was worried what it would be like starting over with the hunger pains, but its not bad at all.

    So January starts, at 232 and weak as hell. It was 237 but lost 5lbs of bloat in two days.
    Thanos was the hero

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    #11
    Time spent in the gym...What you did is IMPOSSIBLE if you have anything else going in your life,which was evident in your case with the hunting and family things. I have been yo yo dieting for 50 yrs and lost a ton of weight total. I have plenty of will power when dieting and stick to it faithfully,sometimes keeping the weight off for 2,3 yrs,but things happen in life and you begin to backslide. You know what's happening but the scale goes in the closet. You finally decide that something has to be done and the cycle begins all over again. I fear that if a person is a food lover,this is never going to change. One meal a day for me but unfortunately,it's from 5 to 9 pm.

  12. Member
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    #12
    If you don't mind me piggy backing I just would like to share my experience so far. Started on NYE at midnight at 323.6, planned to start keto and IE Fasting the next day, didn't happen so I ended up starting on the 2nd which was last Wed. I eat between Noon and 6 and give my body 18 hours to burn stuff. I eat steak, cheese burgers (no bread), bacon, chicken breasts, pork chops, over easy eggs and broccoli, asparagus and avocado. I also eat plain pork rinds on occasion. All kick butt yummy meals. I drink black coffee and water and also vodka/soda water with some lemon and lime juice. I believe I've had almost zero sugar and 10 to 20 carbs a day max so far. This morning I weighed 307.6. I'm down 16 pounds in 6 days basically. I'm not dumb I know a lot of that is water weight but it's sure not all water weight. This Keto stuff is amazing. I would like to share on occasion if you don't mind me piggy backing?

  13. Member
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    #13
    i'll give a quick follow up if no one cares. Today was my 1 week weigh in and I'm down 19.6 pounds. Yes some of that is water weight, yes it sounds far fetched but I have pictures to prove it. And I feel awesome.

  14. Stocks/Investments Moderator boneil's Avatar
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    #14
    Awesome on the those numbers. Everything about IF sounds far fetched but too many people are getting crazy results. I didn't believe it till I tried it myself.
    Thanos was the hero

  15. Member
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    #15
    Quote Originally Posted by boneil View Post
    Awesome on the those numbers. Everything about IF sounds far fetched but too many people are getting crazy results. I didn't believe it till I tried it myself.
    your exactly right and honestly I'm not hungry in between meals at all. 20.6 down as of this morning and counting. it's melting away and fast which is good cause I got a lot to go.

  16. NOT a Pro Angler sdbrison's Avatar
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    #16
    Keep posting. It is a never ending battle to keep the weight off.
    "If People Concentrated on the Really Important Things in Life, There'd be a Shortage of Fishing Poles." - Doug Larson
    "Peace is not the absence of turmoil but the presence of God" Jo-Ann Thomack

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    #17
    I put on ten over the holidays, its coming back off pretty easy by simply not eating processed foods. Ive managed to maintain at the 30+ I lost for a year now.

  18. Member
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    #18
    12 days in and I'm down 23.4 pounds. Started at 323.8 and was at 300.4 this morning. Can't wait to crack into the 200's for the first time in years. Been making different stuff, pizza, chicken parmesan using the pork rinds, meat filled omelets. It's important to get the healthy fats, I try to eat atleast a half an avocado a day. When I eat veggies like broccoli I usually add a couple spoon fools of coconut oil (which has zero flavor but high in good fat). So I use my veggies as a "fat delivery system". Melting off and I feel more happy, have a better attitude and more energy that I can remember having in years. Keto is the real deal folks.

  19. Member
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    #19
    14 days in and I'm down from 323.8 to 298.8 so 25 pounds down and I feel so freaking good it's not even funny. clear heard, great attitude, sleeping so much better.

  20. Member
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    #20
    Quote Originally Posted by vandamit View Post
    12 days in and I'm down 23.4 pounds. Started at 323.8 and was at 300.4 this morning. Can't wait to crack into the 200's for the first time in years. Been making different stuff, pizza, chicken parmesan using the pork rinds, meat filled omelets. It's important to get the healthy fats, I try to eat atleast a half an avocado a day. When I eat veggies like broccoli I usually add a couple spoon fools of coconut oil (which has zero flavor but high in good fat). So I use my veggies as a "fat delivery system". Melting off and I feel more happy, have a better attitude and more energy that I can remember having in years. Keto is the real deal folks.
    Keep up the good work.

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