[atnyia]

This thread has been a trigger for me and my wife to start the IF.

To begin with, I have never really been obese, just overweight for a while around the time we had a baby. Yes, both of us put on weight. My wife, well, she obviously gained weight. I gained weight due to a poor lifestyle. The sleeping was considerably inconsistent; I used to smoke and there was a very heavy workload from the office.

When we moved to Pune, we moved to a low carb flour for chapatis, adopted a better lifestyle, and both of us shredded appx 10 KG each. My wife at one point was 16 KG lower than her peak weight. But she couldn't sustain and complained of overall weakness (reasons unknowns, in hindsight, we should have had incorporated some multivitamin supplement).

Cutting a long story, after coming to Bangalore, my fitness levels are one notch down since the lockdown/social distancing started. While both of us were in a sort of equilibrium, but we hadn't been able to progress further.

Adopting IF was a little easier for us because we usually have dinner early. So, we moved the dinner slightly earlier around 7 PM, and lunch at 11 AM for most days. We initially started with black coffee in the mornings but have now moved back to a cup of tea (with very little sugar). It's a bit of a violation but we did it because this is what is sustainable for us.

I have been able to break the plateau of 81-82 KG and have successfully moved to 78 KGs (which would otherwise be great, but both my fitness and endurance levels are down). My wife is a little slower while dropping KGs due to her thyroid issues but she has also dropped 2 KGs.

Originally Posted by graaja

There is a saying in Tamil "Pasithu pusi", which means eat only when hungry. I am sure this should be there in many other cultures as well.

We haven't followed IF extremely strictly and get ourselves a breakfast after 12-13 hours if we are feeling hungry (happens twice a week).

In the long term, that is our key takeaway - Eat only if we are hungry.

[NT56]

Originally Posted by graaja

Thank you for the kind words. What can be achieved by just a 16:8 IF depends a lot on every individual - your current health, insulin resistance, weight, activity level etc. Best way to find out is to start with the routine and monitor your weight. You will most probably start losing weight and your body will settle at a lower weight. If that settled weight is not enought, then you will have to tweak your routine by either doing longer fasts or making changes to what your eat during the eating window like cutting more carbs, or by adding some physical activity in fasted state. Start the routine and follow it for a month and let me know the results. We can then tweak it further.

After 2 months of 16:8 IF I have lost about 4kgs and an inch of waist. At this point I want to focus more on loosing fat (especially belly fat). @graaja what is the best way to go forward in your opinion. I am aware of some strategies in general namely lower carbs diet, strength/cardio workouts and longer fasts. But I am wondering what combination would give me best results and fit in my lifestyle.

Thanks for the inspiration and the guidance. You must feel really good about helping so many on their fitness journeys .

[graaja]

Originally Posted by NT56

After 2 months of 16:8 IF I have lost about 4kgs and an inch of waist. At this point I want to focus more on loosing fat (especially belly fat). @graaja what is the best way to go forward in your opinion. I am aware of some strategies in general namely lower carbs diet, strength/cardio workouts and longer fasts. But I am wondering what combination would give me best results and fit in my lifestyle.

Thanks for the inspiration and the guidance. You must feel really good about helping so many on their fitness journeys .

Thank you for your kind words. Yes. It feels very good when people change to a healthy lifestyle and start enjoying health.

It's great to know that you are seeing good results with IF. I would suggest you start strength training along with IF. Building lean muscles will naturally increase your basal metabolic rate which in turn will burn more fat during your fasting window. There are no workouts per se to reduce your tummy. All those core workouts will make your abdominal and core muscles stronger. When your diet (IF and low carb) results in your body burning fat, the stronger core muscles will start being visible. This is the secret behind a 6 pack

So, just continue with your IF and add strength training to your routine. You will start seeing better results.

Originally Posted by atnyia

I have been able to break the plateau of 81-82 KG and have successfully moved to 78 KGs (which would otherwise be great, but both my fitness and endurance levels are down). My wife is a little slower while dropping KGs due to her thyroid issues but she has also dropped 2 KGs.

We haven't followed IF extremely strictly and get ourselves a breakfast after 12-13 hours if we are feeling hungry (happens twice a week).
...

Great to know you and your wife have adapted to IF and are seeing results. Please continue this lifestyle till it becomes a habit and you can do it without thinking about it. I think your wife's thyroid issues will also resolve in the long run.

Originally Posted by atnyia

In the long term, that is our key takeaway - Eat only if we are hungry.

You got it perfectly right.

Originally Posted by drrajasaravanan

Hi
Sorry graaja I meant LCHF diet and mistakenly typed Keto. I have managed to stick to my schedule LCHF with IF which is lot more easier now and cutting down carbs as much as possible. Still not in Keto segment probably will be able to switch over next month. My better half is also getting comfortable with the same plan. Let's see how it goes. Cheers.

All the best to you and your wife with your healthy lifestyle Looking forward to your updates after you try Keto. Just make sure you take care of details like hydration and micronutrient balance etc. while following Keto.

[bpapache]

@Graaja Sir,

I am a new member in Team BHP but I have been following Team BHP from a looong time. The diversity of this forum is simply amazing. You get quality information be it any topic. Your thread strengthens this fact even more.

I've often read articles, threads and videos where people share their fitness journey, their achievements which will be very inspiring to the viewers/readers. But that's where it ends. You'll soon loose that inspiration over a period of time. But your thread is not something like any of them. Inspiring is one aspect, motivating and guiding so many people on and off the forum and help us through our fitness journey is totally another. I feel this is what separates you from everyone else. You are a true "Guru" in my view.

I sincerely thank you for all your time and efforts in sharing the knowledge and guiding so many of us.

I've been following this thread since its inception. I'm a 29 year old guy with 175cms height and I weigh around 72Kg. Diabetes is hereditary in my family and I'm quite sure I too will catch it if I don't correct my lifestyle.

I'll be honest with you, I never understood what a lifestyle is until I read this thread. And what an eye opener. I've started IF as a lifestyle from roughly 3 weeks. I started with 12:12 for a week and upped it to 14:10. Now i do 16:8 whenever possible and when not possible I'll atleast do 14:10. Everything you've explained is absolutely true and I'm experiencing them in my IF journey.

I would like to make another point. Discipline is very crucial in any aspect. But with IF maintaining discipline is made quite easy.

I've shared this thread with a dozen of my friends and family members. I'm planning to push my father to start IF. If not reverse his 30 years of diabetes at the least I want him to reduce the amount of insulin and medications he takes. Hope I'll be able to convince him to start it soon.
My wife is a breastfeeding mother. So I expect her to start IF too albeit few months down the line.

I'll share the progress in this thread at a later point.

Once again thank you for everything. Coach!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by bpapache

...
I sincerely thank you for all your time and efforts in sharing the knowledge and guiding so many of us.

I've been following this thread since its inception. I'm a 29 year old guy with 175cms height and I weigh around 72Kg. Diabetes is hereditary in my family and I'm quite sure I too will catch it if I don't correct my lifestyle.

...I've started IF as a lifestyle from roughly 3 weeks. I started with 12:12 for a week and upped it to 14:10. Now i do 16:8 whenever possible and when not possible I'll atleast do 14:10. Everything you've explained is absolutely true and I'm experiencing them in my IF journey.

I would like to make another point. Discipline is very crucial in any aspect. But with IF maintaining discipline is made quite easy.

I've shared this thread with a dozen of my friends and family members. I'm planning to push my father to start IF. If not reverse his 30 years of diabetes at the least I want him to reduce the amount of insulin and medications he takes. Hope I'll be able to convince him to start it soon.
My wife is a breastfeeding mother. So I expect her to start IF too albeit few months down the line.

Thank you so much for the kind words! You are too kind

I am very glad to know that you have changed over to IF lifestyle. With this lifestyle, I am sure you will lead a perfectly long and healthy life. I am also very glad to know that you are convincing your father and wife to change to this lifestyle and are also encouraging your friends to do so. This is the best you can do to create a healthy society!

I am sure IF will help in reversing your father's diabetes. Make sure to follow the precautions (cutting out medication during fasting window, regularly checking hbA1c levels and adjusting medication, taking the help of doctor in monitoring medication etc.)

Looking forward to your updates.

[Zed32]

Hi graaja, this is my first post on Team-bhp and it had to be to thank you for the this wonderful thread. Your detailed explanation related to health and weight loss have been very informative.

I weighed around 86kg in 2016, and then started CrossFit training with a diet cutting down carbs and sweets for about 3 months, I lost about 7kg in those 3 months but then due to a back injury had to stop my workouts and gradually gained back all the weight.

On 22nd of November 2020 I weighed 84kg, and read your thread that night, which inspired me to take up IF and on 14th January I weigh 77.10kg! It’s a wonderful feeling to get back into shape slowly again!

I was able to achieve this weight loss with IF only, I did not do any physical activity at all. I cut down my carbs and sweets considerably, I was not able to cut them out totally though, but limited it to twice or max three times a week(in small quantity).

In the coming days I intended to include some physical activity like walking or stair climbs. I’m sure to get more fit with this.

I try to fast 16hours minimum every day and sometimes extend it to 18-20 hours, I have done OMAD twice and it worked very well, though I was very apprehensive in trying it out for the first time.

I have shared your thread with family and friends and I keep talking to them to get into IF. This can easily become a life style to adapt if one can manage the eating window properly.

Thank you again for getting me onto to the IF life!

Best Regards

[arpanjha]

@Graaja & all readers here, I have been religiously following this thread and as I had written a few posts back, I had started hard core keto in September and am still on Keto until I achieve 72 Kg from 88 Kg. Since last month I am on IF lifestyle completely. Mostly a 14-16 hour fasting window, the range is there because I usually do not have a fixed time of getting home. My usual practice is lunch fixed at 2pm, some nuts around 7pm with coffee and dinner around 10Pm to 11:30Pm.
Now off late I have been having a few peanuts, walnuts and almonds in the morning with my black tea without sugar at 7:30 am. Now, I am absolutely confused of this breaks my fast. I have the tea/coffee without milk and sugar almost 2-3 days with the nuts. I am confused. @Graaja can you please advise if this the right way?

Although I have been consistently losing weight about 50-100gms a day, but some times 1-3 days a week it just stays where it is.
I plan to move to very little carbs from February, despite being far from my target body weight of 72. Because a cousin doctor advised me not to be on long term Keto more than 5 months at a stretch, but IF is Ok.

Maybe I am not able to lose weight as fast as I did about 2 months back due to very reduced physical activity since last 2 months, as work has picked up significantly and I spend a lot more time behind the desk than 2 months back.

I am looking forward to advise from @Graaja and other friends here regarding my confusion with nuts and can I resume Keto after a 3-4 month break? Although don’t intend to add much of carbs anyway, maybe just a couple of chapatis throughout the day and a bowl of rice in the weekends.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Zed32

On 22nd of November 2020 I weighed 84kg, and read your thread that night, which inspired me to take up IF and on 14th January I weigh 77.10kg! It’s a wonderful feeling to get back into shape slowly again!

I was able to achieve this weight loss with IF only, I did not do any physical activity at all. I cut down my carbs and sweets considerably, I was not able to cut them out totally though, but limited it to twice or max three times a week(in small quantity).

In the coming days I intended to include some physical activity like walking or stair climbs. I’m sure to get more fit with this.

I have shared your thread with family and friends and I keep talking to them to get into IF. This can easily become a life style to adapt if one can manage the eating window properly.

Losing 7 kilos in two months is a fantastic start. Welcome to the journey of health and fitness. I am really glad to know that you are consistent with IF and are planning to include fitness activities soon. With this lifestyle change, I am sure you will start inspiring many in your family and friends circle and convert them to a healthy lifestyle. Please keep updating on your progress

Originally Posted by arpanjha

Since last month I am on IF lifestyle completely. Mostly a 14-16 hour fasting window, the range is there because I usually do not have a fixed time of getting home. My usual practice is lunch fixed at 2pm, some nuts around 7pm with coffee and dinner around 10Pm to 11:30Pm.
Now off late I have been having a few peanuts, walnuts and almonds in the morning with my black tea without sugar at 7:30 am. Now, I am absolutely confused of this breaks my fast. I have the tea/coffee without milk and sugar almost 2-3 days with the nuts. I am confused. @Graaja can you please advise if this the right way?

Although I have been consistently losing weight about 50-100gms a day, but some times 1-3 days a week it just stays where it is.
I plan to move to very little carbs from February, despite being far from my target body weight of 72. Because a cousin doctor advised me not to be on long term Keto more than 5 months at a stretch, but IF is Ok.

Maybe I am not able to lose weight as fast as I did about 2 months back due to very reduced physical activity since last 2 months, as work has picked up significantly and I spend a lot more time behind the desk than 2 months back.

I am looking forward to advise from @Graaja and other friends here regarding my confusion with nuts and can I resume Keto after a 3-4 month break? Although don’t intend to add much of carbs anyway, maybe just a couple of chapatis throughout the day and a bowl of rice in the weekends.

Very glad to know you have started IF and Keto and you are seeing results. Please continue this lifestyle and also include some fitness activities at least 4 to 5 days a week and you will see very good results.

Coming to your questions:

1. Yes. Nuts in the fasting window will break your fast. Avoid them during fasting window.
2. Though there are no long term studies that prove Keto is safe, there are also no studies that prove it to be unsafe. Personally, I don't think Keto is unsafe, but is just a little difficult to sustain in our diet practice. As long as you are replacing carbs with fat keeping protein the same, and are taking care of electrolyte balance by supplementing with magnesium and potassium supplements, and if you do not have any pre-existing kidney or liver issues, you are safe with Keto. But if you are in doubt, it is perfectly doing LCHF and include carbs in the form of lots of vegetables and maybe very little grains like millets, pulses etc.
3. Weight loss will not be linear with a constant drop in weight every day. Small plateaus and small spikes are very common as the body adjusts. So do not worry about the stagnation or even a small upward swing for two or three days. What matters is the trend in the long term.
4. If you have become comfortable with the 14-16 hour fasting window, include a couple of longer fasts per week like 18 or 20 hours. This will also help you to not get stuck in a plateau.

Keep up the good work.

[drrajasaravanan]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

Now off late I have been having a few peanuts, walnuts and almonds in the morning with my black tea without sugar at 7:30 am.

Although I have been consistently losing weight about 50-100gms a day, but some times 1-3 days a week it just stays where it is.
I plan to move to very little carbs from February, despite being far from my target body weight of 72. Because a cousin doctor advised me not to be on long term Keto more than 5 months at a stretch, but IF is Ok.

Maybe I am not able to lose weight as fast as I did about 2 months back due to very reduced physical activity

Hi,
Avoid having any nuts or any form of food except for black coffee, black tea or lemon water with salt during fasting window.
Weight changes can fluctuate between 0.5kg to 1kg based on changes in your body water content. Don't check it every day. I check it every alternate weeks.
Don't be alarmed if there is no change in your weight if you are replacing your fat and gaining lean muscle the weight loss will be less and gradual but in a good way.
I would say 90% of your health depends on what you eat and 10% depends on your exercise. This is personal with no validated data.
Regarding long term data I will do a journal search but from what know there are no long term studies for or against Keto diet. Sustaining a Keto diet for long term is tough unless you are very focussed but doing intermittent Keto with LCHF and IF would be lot easier and that's my personal opinion.
One mistake people don't realise is overdoing proteins during their Keto diet which is not good and can potentially harm.
Good luck, Cheers

[arpanjha]

Originally Posted by graaja

Very glad to know you have started IF and Keto and you are seeing results. Please continue this lifestyle and also include some fitness activities at least 4 to 5 days a week and you will see very good results.

Coming to your questions:

1. Yes. Nuts in the fasting window will break your fast. Avoid them during fasting window.
2. Though there are no long term studies that prove Keto is safe, there are also no studies that prove it to be unsafe. Personally, I don't think Keto is unsafe, but is just a little difficult to sustain in our diet practice. As long as you are replacing carbs with fat keeping protein the same, and are taking care of electrolyte balance by supplementing with magnesium and potassium supplements, and if you do not have any pre-existing kidney or liver issues, you are safe with Keto. But if you are in doubt, it is perfectly doing LCHF and include carbs in the form of lots of vegetables and maybe very little grains like millets, pulses etc.
3. Weight loss will not be linear with a constant drop in weight every day. Small plateaus and small spikes are very common as the body adjusts. So do not worry about the stagnation or even a small upward swing for two or three days. What matters is the trend in the long term.
4. If you have become comfortable with the 14-16 hour fasting window, include a couple of longer fasts per week like 18 or 20 hours. This will also help you to not get stuck in a plateau.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you @Graaja for the reply.
1. Ok, so I will stop having the Nuts in the morning.
2. I will keep on doing Keto for a few more weeks, and later maybe start LCHF, but I am not sure yet because I am still about 5 Kg apart from my target weight.
3. I understand the plateaus, and plan to monitor weight once or twice a week.
4. I have been doing 18 hours to 20 hours fasting also once in 10 days or so. I will try to include this once a week.
Also, I will try to include exercise at least 4-5 days a week, although I walk daily about 4 Kms or so.

Thanks again for your guidance and sharing so much information.

[motorworks]

What an inspiring thread! So good to see the transformation!

I did not know that IF has this kind of impact. Salute @Graajas determination!

Im in a bit of a situation myself, so just checking for some feedback. I turned 39 few months ago, I weigh about 75-76 kgs, and my height is about 5.8. I have had a history of being overweight, so in the last 10 years I have gone up to 84 kgs twice and thru some dieting rigour come back to my right weight of 72-73. However in the last 1 year I have added 4 kgs and im unable to find a routine to knock these off. My earlier dieting plan was thru a consultant and it was quite strict, but manageable to some extent. Since I work at office all 5 days, at times following a defined food plan becomes difficult, and hence the hesitation to go back to that stringent diet plan.

If I need to knock off 3-4 kgs and if it can be done thru IF, how should I go about this? Is it like eat-all, but stick to the fasting window or do you take a certain diet plan during the period too?

Request some feedback please!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by motorworks

What an inspiring thread! So good to see the transformation!

I did not know that IF has this kind of impact. Salute @Graajas determination!

Im in a bit of a situation myself, so just checking for some feedback. I turned 39 few months ago, I weigh about 75-76 kgs, and my height is about 5.8. I have had a history of being overweight, so in the last 10 years I have gone up to 84 kgs twice and thru some dieting rigour come back to my right weight of 72-73. However in the last 1 year I have added 4 kgs and im unable to find a routine to knock these off. My earlier dieting plan was thru a consultant and it was quite strict, but manageable to some extent. Since I work at office all 5 days, at times following a defined food plan becomes difficult, and hence the hesitation to go back to that stringent diet plan.

If I need to knock off 3-4 kgs and if it can be done thru IF, how should I go about this? Is it like eat-all, but stick to the fasting window or do you take a certain diet plan during the period too?

Request some feedback please!

Thank you for your kind words.

Whether IF alone can get you that 3-4kg of weight loss, the duration of IF, or a combination of IF + LCHF or IF + Keto, depends on factors like your current metabolism, activity levels, insulin resistance etc.

The best way to decide this is to start with the 16:8 IF and cut out sugar from your diet. Follow this for a few weeks and see how your weight responds. Based on this data, we can tweak it further either by increasing the IF window (once you get used to 16:8, this will be very easy), or by cutting a little bit of carbs from the diet.

Once you reach your target weight, most of the times, just IF with moderate carbs and a few cheat meals now and then will be enough to maintain your weight for life. That is the advantage of IF in that you can easily make it your lifestyle without any stress.

[motorworks]

Originally Posted by graaja

Thank you for your kind words.



Whether IF alone can get you that 3-4kg of weight loss, the duration of IF, or a combination of IF + LCHF or IF + Keto, depends on factors like your current metabolism, activity levels, insulin resistance etc.



The best way to decide this is to start with the 16:8 IF and cut out sugar from your diet. Follow this for a few weeks and see how your weight responds. Based on this data, we can tweak it further either by increasing the IF window (once you get used to 16:8, this will be very easy), or by cutting a little bit of carbs from the diet.



Once you reach your target weight, most of the times, just IF with moderate carbs and a few cheat meals now and then will be enough to maintain your weight for life. That is the advantage of IF in that you can easily make it your lifestyle without any stress.

Thanks for the input. Im hoping to start IF from this coming week. Some questions, would be great to have your guidance. In the fasting period, can one have black coffee, without sugar? I think it would not be so difficult to miss breakfast ans head straight for lunch on a weekday, but the real challenge is to miss the early morning coffee. And in case one feels really tired during the IF period, would it be ok to consume fruits like Apple?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Thanks for the input. Im hoping to start IF from this coming week. Some questions, would be great to have your guidance. In the fasting period, can one have black coffee, without sugar? I think it would not be so difficult to miss breakfast ans head straight for lunch on a weekday, but the real challenge is to miss the early morning coffee. And in case one feels really tired during the IF period, would it be ok to consume fruits like Apple?

Yes. It is perfectly fine to have black coffee without sugar or green tea during the fasting period. But fruits are not allowed as they will break your fast. The tiredness will be there only for the initial few days. Once your body gets used to switching to fat for fuel during fasting, you will in fact start feeling much more energetic in fasted state than in the fed state. Yes. It is hard to believe this, but tell me when you experience this

[NPV]

Originally Posted by motorworks

In the fasting period, can one have black coffee, without sugar? I think it would not be so difficult to miss breakfast ans head straight for lunch on a weekday, but the real challenge is to miss the early morning coffee. And in case one feels really tired during the IF period, would it be ok to consume fruits like Apple?

This is an easy one, so I'm taking the liberty of answering
Avoid fruits/juices during the fasting period. Black coffee/tea (or green tea) without milk & sugar is fine. Lime juice (with water, without sugar) is fine too. You can even add a dash of Apple Cider Vinegar to the lime juice. Both black coffee and apple cider vinegar are helpful for weight loss. Lime can help prevent kidney stones especially when on a low carb/keto diet.

*Edit:I'm not a doc, also just noticed @graaja has responded to your query as well