[download2live]

First baby step taken. 8PM dinner. Then tea at 7.30 AM. No mid night snacks.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ManneAtWheelz

Just one word about you and this post, 'FANTASTIC'.

Almost 10 years back I practised OMAD for weight loss but with zero knowledge about any weight loss programs, did it almost 2 months and I reduced my weight from 98 to 84. Due to some reason (only reason I felt is my hair fall) I gave up...

Will continue doing the IF and will share the results.

Only question I had in mind, can this IF methods be followed by older adults who age greater than 55? What if they have BP or Is a diabetic?

Thank you for your kind words!

I am very glad that you have decided to start your health and fitness journey again. Wishing you all the best. Looking forward to your results in a few months.

On OMAD and hair fall:
OMAD has to be planned properly. With OMAD, though the body can get its energy quota from stored fat, it still needs its micronutrients. So OMAD has to be an energy dense and nutrient dense food. Ideally, it should have a protein source (meat, eggs, fish, paneer, lentils etc), source of healthy fat (butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil), low or moderate in carbs (rice or rotis or millets in a small portion), lots of vegetables and greens that are rich in micronutrients. If we consume our regular Indian diet which has a major portion of rotis/rice and smaller portion of vegetables or protein, we will start developing nutrient deficiency which may lead to conditions like hair fall. Anaylyze what you had during your OMAD and that should give you an idea of the reason for hair fall. Even when doing Keto, hair fall is common in the beginning. A supplement of Biotin usually fixes this.

On IF for elders with blood pressure or diabetes:
IF is absolutely safe for elders with diabetes and blood pressure as well. In fact, IF reverses these medical conditions, and they need to take care of adjusting their medication with the help of a physician. Also, for medicines that need to be taken after food, timing of medication should be adjusted within the eating window. I will be writing a detailed post on reversing diabetes with IF soon.

Originally Posted by download2live

First baby step taken. 8PM dinner. Then tea at 7.30 AM. No mid night snacks.

This is fantastic! Welcome on the health and fitness journey. Keep at this routine for a few days and gradually increase the window. You will have total control over food in no time.

[Rshrey22]

Congratulations on your achievments!

Just to mention, your concept about insulin resistance is little wrong, in fact your body's insulin response is quite good since you could gain weight easily (insulin is anabolic) and exercise does help in weight loss (not just 10%), although I do agree weight loss is completely dependent on calorie deficit as you said.

[sachinayak]

This thread is an eye-opener. Certainly motivates me to attempt IF with an objective of improving health. I am diabetic, though reasonably under control with medication (not insulin). I am physically active / moderately fit. I run 1-2 times a week, do yoga twice a week. Do not get stressed typically. Weight loss is not an objective.

I would like to start with probably 12H/12H to begin with and over a course of 2 months get to 16H/8H which I hope becomes the new normal.

Just one question - would sticking to IF on weekdays, but reverting to my current eating schedule on weekends yield any benefits? Weekend schedules are quite often determined by a lot of external/social factors, which more often than not are not within my control. Would this break in the IF schedule harm?

[i@M.S.K]

@Graaja: Incredible!

You've not just shed kilos, but have also dropped age!
Great going, keep us posted with your future goals.

[ManasN95]

Hello Sir, what a brilliant story! Thank You for taking the pains to put up this thread.

I am morbidly obese ~112 kilos and 5'10 in height, 25 years of age.

I have been following IF, Keto and a combination of both but inconsistently, but I did have good experiences from it.

Coming to some specific questions I have:
1) I am targeting ~80 kilos as my ideal weight, which accounts to shedding of ~32 kilos.
How do I tackle the issue of loose skin? I want to absolutely avoid it at all costs, hence, would somebody here guide me as to what things I need to keep in mind when I take up this weight loss journey? I have started going to the gym, for strength training and also cardio session 3-4 times a week.

2) Multivitamins: I am currently taking multivitamins of TrueBasics Multivit (which claims to have many vitamins and minerals 100% RDA). My question, I am consuming food + multivitamins, which would take me over the daily requirements in some of the vitamins at least. What happens with the excess? Gets flushed out?

3) I am targeting losing ~4-5 kilos per month, please advise as to if this is a safe and achievable target? I do not wish to spend years coming down to my ideal weight. I am targeting June-July when I hit my target weight.

I am looking forward be guided by you all.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by download2live

How can a foodie avoid food. I have already given up on ever getting my weight down.

I love eating. And eating lots of good stuff.

I will try to put in protein like chana etc in place of carbs ( read more than 4 rotis or generous repeat helping of white rice).

Silent cry.

This was an issue I faced as well. I know that one should eat clean and everything, but the great part about IF or OMAD is that one can still enjoy their regular meals. Yes, it is not the ideal way, but it is still better than nothing. I had tried Keto before and I missed eating my normal meals and so when I shifted to IF and then later OMAD, I loved the fact that I could eat my normal meals. Like I said, it isn't ideal, but with simple exercise like cycling for half an hour along with IF/OMAD, I lost around 15kgs in 4 months. So you should at least start with IF and later try and slowly shift to LCHF diet. Also if you read properly, you'll see that the carbs have to be replaced by fat and not proteins as you plan to do.

[mallumowgli]

Awesome thread @graaja. Great that you decided to start a thread on your fitness journey. If there is a benchmark in a fitness journey it is you. Havent read the thread in detail as yet but will keep referring to it

Wishing you many more milestones in your fitness journey

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Thank you Graaja. Sounds good. Starting on Sunday. Told my wife my skin will be glowing soon and other 60-year old women will be making wolf whistles at me

Narayan sir - if you decide to follow graaja's regime I can assure you that the age of the wolf whistlers will get lower and lower as you age in reverse like the OP

[graaja]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

I am diabetic, though reasonably under control with medication (not insulin). I am physically active / moderately fit. I run 1-2 times a week, do yoga twice a week. Do not get stressed typically. Weight loss is not an objective.

Just one question - would sticking to IF on weekdays, but reverting to my current eating schedule on weekends yield any benefits? Weekend schedules are quite often determined by a lot of external/social factors, which more often than not are not within my control. Would this break in the IF schedule harm?

With your active lifestyle, if you add IF, you will be out of medication for diabetes in 6 months to a year for sure. All the best. Looking forward to your diabetes reversal update soon.

Yes. Like I had earlier replied to PearlJam, 1 day of IF is better than 0, 2 days better than 1 and so on. It is just how long you can keep your body free of insulin determines how quickly you reverse the insulin resistance. So, if you do 5 days of IF and 2 days of normal eating, there will be no negatives. You may reverse diabetes in 12 months instead of 10 (just as a figure of speech).

Also, start with at least 13 hours of fasting. And as you increase your fasting window, time your medications within the eating window. Do not take the medication during the fasting window. Also, once you get to 16 hours or more of IF, you can test your hbA1c maybe once a couple of months and have your doctor adjust your diabetes medication accordingly.

Originally Posted by i@M.S.K

@Graaja: Incredible!

You've not just shed kilos, but have also dropped age!

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by ManasN95

Hello Sir, what a brilliant story! Thank You for taking the pains to put up this thread.

I am morbidly obese ~112 kilos and 5'10 in height, 25 years of age.

Coming to some specific questions I have:
1) I am targeting ~80 kilos as my ideal weight, which accounts to shedding of ~32 kilos.
How do I tackle the issue of loose skin? I want to absolutely avoid it at all costs, hence, would somebody here guide me as to what things I need to keep in mind when I take up this weight loss journey? I have started going to the gym, for strength training and also cardio session 3-4 times a week.

2) Multivitamins: I am currently taking multivitamins of TrueBasics Multivit (which claims to have many vitamins and minerals 100% RDA). My question, I am consuming food + multivitamins, which would take me over the daily requirements in some of the vitamins at least. What happens with the excess? Gets flushed out?

3) I am targeting losing ~4-5 kilos per month, please advise as to if this is a safe and achievable target? I do not wish to spend years coming down to my ideal weight. I am targeting June-July when I hit my target weight.

I am looking forward be guided by you all.

Thank you for the kind words. Answering your questions:

1. The biggest advantage of IF is autophagy that breaks down dead cells and recycles them. So, if you include regular long fasts of 20+ hours or OMAD, your body will automatically recycle those loose skin cells.

2. I am not an expert on this subject. But I guess the excess will be flushed out by the body.

3. Yes. 4-5 kilos a month is a perfectly achievable target.

You are already on the right track by incorporating strength training into your schedule. IF + strength training is the perfect combination to lose fat and at the same time build lean muscles. I am very confident that you will be successful. Looking forward to your before, after comparison in another 6 months. Please also keep updating your progress regularly. This can be a motivation to others and will also keep you on track.

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Awesome thread @graaja. Great that you decided to start a thread on your fitness journey. If there is a benchmark in a fitness journey it is you.
...
Narayan sir - if you decide to follow graaja's regime I can assure you that the age of the wolf whistlers will get lower and lower as you age in reverse like the OP

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Need to be careful. We don't want Narayan sir to be banned from undertaking this journey due to the inherent (wolf whistle) risks

[ike]

Originally Posted by graaja

With your active lifestyle, if you add IF, you will be out of medication for diabetes in 6 months to a year for sure. All the best. Looking forward to your diabetes reversal update soon.

Yes. Like I had earlier replied to PearlJam, 1 day of IF is better than 0, 2 days better than 1 and so on. It is just how long you can keep your body free of insulin determines how quickly you reverse the insulin resistance. So, if you do 5 days of IF and 2 days of normal eating, there will be no negatives. You may reverse diabetes in 12 months instead of 10 (just as a figure of speech).

Also, start with at least 13 hours of fasting. And as you increase your fasting window, time your medications within the eating window. Do not take the medication during the fasting window. Also, once you get to 16 hours or more of IF, you can test your hbA1c maybe once a couple of months and have your doctor adjust your diabetes medication accordingly.

I'm also an overweight diabetic inspired by your journey. A very basic question, when you say fast for 13 Hrs., does it include the time one is asleep? For example, Can I have my 3 meals of the day between 9 in the morning and 8 in the evening and not have anything till next morning?

[Jeroen]

Amazing story, great achievement. I look at those two images of you, before and after, and it is difficult to see the same man!

Thanks for sharing, very encouraging.

Jeroen

[RajeevSharma]

I am inspired. Can you please tell us your height BMI index etc as I have gone through entire post (saved to be read later). Please ignore if you already have shared such details.

Your will and dedication stands out.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ike

I'm also an overweight diabetic inspired by your journey. A very basic question, when you say fast for 13 Hrs., does it include the time one is asleep? For example, Can I have my 3 meals of the day between 9 in the morning and 8 in the evening and not have anything till next morning?

Yes. 13 hours includes sleep. If you have your last meal of the day at 8PM and have the first meal of the day at 9AM, it is a 13 hour fast.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Amazing story, great achievement. I look at those two images of you, before and after, and it is difficult to see the same man!

Thank you so much for your kind words Jeroen

Originally Posted by RajeevSharma

I am inspired. Can you please tell us your height BMI index etc as I have gone through entire post (saved to be read later). Please ignore if you already have shared such details.

Your will and dedication stands out.

Thank you for the kind words! My height is 180cm and my BMI is 21.3 at 69 kilos. However, I have shifted my focus from BMI to getting rid of the fat layer around mid section and building lean muscle mass. So, I may go up by a few kilos when building lean muscle mass.

Also, BMI is a very approximate guideline and has a wide range. I use BMI to set initial target when overweight. After achieving the initial target, I shift the focus to waist measurement which is a better indicator of visceral fat.

[maddyoni10]

Hi Graaja

Thanks for a very nice article on IF. I have done IF and lost weight, 78 to 70kgs, in a matter of 3 months. Towards the end of it, I felt I lacked energy as I still relied on the carb heavy 2 meals during the eating window. Having achieved weight loss I wanted, I went back to my regular 3-meal diet and have slowly gained weight. Your article is inspiring to make IF a lifestyle and not a temporary change to achieve weight loss and it also makes me realize my mistakes.

What a coincidence that I restarted my IF this morning and am more than happy to read your article on it.

Thanks
Madhav

[Vivek-Bharathy]

Wonderful Bro. Keep rocking... Truly Motivational.

I second each and every point that mentioned here. Spot on. Just wanted to share my experience. I tried intermittent fasting ( 16:8 ) with brisk walking for 6-8 kms a day during this lock down period. I could see good result

1. My weight reduced from 96 kg to around 85 kg

1. My insulin level dropped. I was in the pre-diabetic stage and now its well under 90.

1. Feel a lot energetic and active.

Apologize for hijacking your thread.