Intermittent Fasting

I'm curious if anybody uses this on a regular basis just as your overall lifestyle or as a maintenance tool or weight loss tool?

I'm 8 months post op and the past 4 months or so the weight loss has slowed waaay down, which I know is totally normal. I would go weeks without losing anything and then lose a few pounds then slow again. After doing some research on Intermittent Fasting I decided to give it a try and I've been doing it for one week now and have lost 5 lbs. I'm doing the 16/8 version where I only eat between 11am and 7pm. I don't want to get too excited but I can see a few reasons why it's working for me so far. I only started eating breakfast about 4 months ago (when my weight slowed, not sure if it was related) so I have eliminated breakfast which was usually around 100 calories. Then in the evenings, I used to eat dinner then after another 2 hours I'd have another small snack, like 1/2 of a protein bar or a cup of light popcorn or some cheese. But now I've eliminated that as well. I don't find myself eating more during my "eat window" and I'm still getting in 70-80g of protein and I'm drinking at least 60oz of water. So basically I've cut about 200 calories out of my day and having that timeframe has really helped me say "no" to that snack after dinner that I really don't need.

Any experiences, good or bad, would be helpful. Also if anybody does the other method of fasting for 24 hours 2x per week? I didn't think that would be a good idea for post-op folks since getting protein in is so important but still curious if anybody uses that method.

Interesting... I'm doing something similar to you, and it's working well for me, but I hadn't thought of it as intermittent fasting, just finding what works for me. I cut breakfast out of my day because I'm not hungry for it, and it seems to "wake up" my stomach and make me hungrier the rest of the day. I also focus on getting in at least one litre of fluids before lunch, which keeps me from being hungry. As a result, I rarely have solid food before 1.30 p.m.

However, I get very "hungry" in the evening. It's probably not really hunger, because it goes away if I drink lots of fluid. But that's a bad idea right before bed (getting up to pee will disrupt my sleep) so I save some calories for a bedtime snack. My bedtime snack often consists of a veggie burger (no bun, just the patty) because those keep me full for hours.

I totally get what you mean by breakfast waking up your stomach! I felt that way for years and would not eat breakfast and only have coffee in the morning. I started eating breakfast a few months after surgery because we've been told all of our lives "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" so I wanted to implement that "healthy" change. But I never needed to eat in the morning, so I was only doing it to be "healthier". Now that I wait until 11am, I barely feel hungry. I sip on black coffee if I do feel any hunger and it quickly subsides.

And not eating in the morning has accelerated my water intake in the morning as well which is great too.

I'm over 5 years out and although I lost about 100 lbs and maintained most of my my weight loss I've never gotten under 247 lbs, and no matter what had a hard time losing the weight myself in last couple years-even with exercise and a reduced caloric program. I haven't really gained maintaining between 249-255 lbs for the last couple years. I started Intermittent Fasting on 9/25 and although I know it's merely just less calories which leads to any kind of weight loss, I find it easier to keep my calories down and to also record in MFP. Yesterday I was down to 247.5 lbs! So after 2 years seeing weight loss I'm pretty psyched especially since I have hypoglycemia and haven't had any jittery, low blood sugar episodes since I started I.F. which is suppose to help regulate blood sugar.

I realize It's not for everyone but it appears to be working ok for me and I also find that I am not that hungry. I also do the 16:8. First, I started fasting from 6:00pm to 10:00am, but yesterday to today it is from 8pm-12:00. It just a lot easier for me to not eat breakfast in the morning and go a little later at night so I can eat with family. I also like that I can adjust it from time to time and I hope eventually to do a whole day fast a few times a month. I'm 60 years old with a slow metabolism so I don't know if this helps or hurts my metabolism but for now I'm doing ok, and I lost about 6-7 lbs since 9/25-probably water, but still a loss.

Some Dr's recommend I.F. as a way to give the body a break, others think it's just a sham stating that CICO (Calories In/Calories Out) will help anyone lose weight-which of course it does, but as I said earlier-it works for ME, or at least for now appear to be! My personal physician recommended I adopt it to regulate my blood sugar, and help curtail my eating so it's not merely a fad for me, but hopefully a WOL. I have to see going forward how it works out? They also have some nice Apps for it-"Zero", "Body Fast", etc. But regardless of any program we try-it has to be sustainable, that is the key. So I hope I can sustain this as a overall healthy Way Of Life.

That is awesome! I feel the same way, I don't want to be too excited but this seems like a really simple and sustainable method for me that is working *so far*. Having those hard lines of "stop eating at 7pm" and "don't eat until 11am" has really helped me stick to it and eliminate those extra unnecessary calories. It seems like an easy "Way of Life" to continue with. And reading other people's experiences through other non-WLS forums, it's easy to adjust and adapt if necessary. If you're out late on a Friday and have a late meal, you just adjust on Saturday and eat later in the afternoon. As long as you get that 16 hour or more break, it's all fine. Fortunately I don't have any blood sugar problems but intermittent fasting has a lot of other supposed benefits not related to weight loss so I'm on board with that too.

Way to go and I hope it keeps working for you!

Here's a discussion of the research related to eating or skipping breakfast.

Breakfast. Take it. Or leave it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syleh_6Aopw

I do that long term. Not really for weight loss, but it helps my gut.

I started doing it to help my gut (IBS) and i quickly lost last 5 lbs of regain and ...8 more lbs I didn't plan to lose.

I never liked breakfast and post op WLS I often got nauseated or in pain when I decided eat too early. Now I just push non caloric drinks or water. I often start eating around noon, or later. Then eat as long as I am hungry, up to.. going to bed. I can get low blood sugars in a middle of the night so the only time for me not to eat is mornings. And since I have been under my goal for a while now, if I am hungry, I eat, as long as it is after lunch and after app 100 oz of liquids.

I kind of do that. I used to have breakfast then a snack, lunch then a snack, dinner and then another snack. I've since cut out all the snacks. I normally just drink a protein shake for breakfast followed by coffee which keeps me full until lunch. Then I have dinner as soon as I get home and then try to go to bed earlier. I've noticed when I stay up later I get the munchies. Also when I stay busy I don't really think about food. It does work somewhat for me. Although I still hit stalls.

Interesting topic, but counter to my diabetologist who wants me to eat more in the morning to support my blood sugar levels and actually eat less at night. This eating less in the evening is more in line with most of my health care team and helps curb the night time cravings. I have to ask - if you eat your bigger meals in the later part of the day. How's the nighttime grazing for you all? Hope this approach works best for you, but curious about eating heavier later in the day.

I have been eating my biggest meal at 7pm and then I don't eat until the next morning at 11am. Having that hard line of 7pm has helped my willpower in the evenings by giving me a concrete "reason" to say no to additional snacks. Especially when I consider if I do eat later in the evening, that means I have to push out my first meal on the next day in order to get that 16 hour fasting period.

From what I've read, intermittent fasting can help reduce insulin resistance and reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. But if someone is already diabetic then I'm not sure if there are benefits or dangers.

Here's a good read on some possible benefits: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-i ntermittent-fasting