fast-5, physiologic timings for fat burning

[Phoebe]

I want to try the fast-5 diet, but am worried I won't get adequate calories if I eat completely healthy in the 5 hour window.  

I'm also curious as to how other's eat in that window?

At 5pm, I have a bland, noseclipped protein drink (observing the two-hour flavor-free window).  The drink contains about 330-360 calories, and includes a tablespoon of healthy oil, and 34 grams of protein.  After an hour has passed, I eat what I want, but I try to go for a big salad or lots of vegetables first.  Sometimes I have fruit in addition or instead.  Then I have something that includes at least another 10 grams of protein, if not more.  I also take vitamins with supper.  Then I eat whatever non-nutritious snack food suits my fancy, usually chocolate in some form, but by this time, there is not a lot of room left in my stomach to go too far overboard.

I think the SLD calories are essential for me as far as reducing appetite and making the daytime fast possible.  I think it also helps that I get my SLD calories as noseclipped nutrients that my body needs, anyway.  I hope this information helps you.  Good luck!

[Tayster]

I have read the Fast-5 book and most of the comments here, but I haven't seen the answer I am looking for, so I'll ask to see if anyone else has experienced this.

My weekends are different from my weekdays.  Friday nights usually involve family movie night (READ: popcorn).  Also, I usually eat a bigger breakfast (waffles or pancakes or French toast) with my family, instead of my usual oatmeal or cereal and my eating schedule is usually based around when my family eats.

So here is my question: Is it possible to do the Fast-5 diet on weekdays only?  Like start it on Sunday night before bed and end it on Friday night.  (Making sure I don't pig out all weekend.)

Has anyone else tried this or do I need to be the guinea pig for this one?

[Seneca]

Fast-5 does work on a weekday only basis. In fact, that's one of the suggestions the author makes in his discussion of a maintenance schedule to avoid unwanted further weight loss.

After reaching your weight loss goal, you’ll need a maintenance plan.  You can continue with the Fast-5 plan indefinitely, but if you continue to lose weight you can increase your meal size, cut back on your fasting days or lengthen your eating window or fast only on weekdays or weekends.  But switching will make it difficult to keep a consistent schedule. (p. 27)

The biggest problem I've found with off-plan weekends is that the following Mondays are hungry days. It takes me about 24 hours to get back in the groove. You can always try it and see. Most of the fasting regimens seem to be flexible in various degrees, and like SLD, we tinker with them until we find what works for us.

 

[goblyn]

More or less I was doing fast 5 without knowing it for most of the time i lost the weight represented in my ticker, but only on the weekdays.  I take oil in the morning, then have just coffee during the day (and water, and occasionally unsweetened tea) and then supper and evening snacks. 

[Tayster]

I am going to start this next week, in conjunction with SLD.  (I plan on eating my weight in Cadbury Creme Eggs this weekend.  Feast for the famine. )   

[Mr. Al]

I want to try the fast-5 diet, but am worried I won't get adequate calories if I eat completely healthy in the 5 hour window. 

I'm also curious as to how other's eat in that window?

Yesterday morning I weighed 180.6 [started fast-5 about a month ago at 192lbs ] I knew that Friday night would be a Special Day for me and I would eat way more than I normally do during the rest of the week. On my last SD a few weeks ago, I gained 2lbs so I was expecting to gain weight again.

First meal at 5pm - 1/2 a cup of cooked oatmeal and yogurt. Coleslaw and salad dressing.

Snack at 7pm - Ice cream sandwich and mini chocolate bars

Second meal 8pm - Humous, Cous Cous, bread buns, chicken and veggies, soup, mini-cinnamon bun.

I was full at this point and could have ended my my eating window, but I wanted to push the envelope.

Snack at 10pm [yes, I extended the window. ] 1 pint Ben and Gerry's New York Super Fudge

Weight this morning: 180.8. I did gain weight as I expected, but I didn't think the amount would be so low. I'm very happy and pleased.

I will be below 180 for the first time in more than 10 years in the next two weeks, probably sooner.

Any time I feel hungry, I remind myself of the Q&A from the Fast-5 website:

"People holding at a plateau weight using Fast-5 have reported having increased hunger just before the weight loss begins, so try to think of increasing hunger as a good thing." http://www.fast-5.com/content/faq

[kt]

Nice job, Mr. Al!

I particularly appreciate your embracing of flexibility...

I've found as time goes on that I need to indulge heavily less and less often, since I really can have dessert every day if I want.

Congrats on your 10 yr all time low!  Fast - 5 took me from 153 to 138...mostly last year.  I'm kinda holding steady right now, as I've been slacking on the fast.


kt

[IndianGirl]

Hi, does anyone have experience with a 16 hour fast? I am planning fasting from 6 pm to 10 am the next day. Will be great if people can share some experiences on 16 hour fast.

[NTB]

Hi, does anyone have experience with a 16 hour fast? I am planning fasting from 6 pm to 10 am the next day. Will be great if people can share some experiences on 16 hour fast.

Hi there IndianGirl.  Hope all is well with you, haven't heard from you for a while.

I haven't adhered to a constant number of hours, like 16, in my intermittent fasting.  I'm somewhat flexible about the timing.  Typically I start my fast right after dinner (usually by 7 or 8 p.m.).  Eating the next morning at 10 a.m. is barely a "fast", since you are not really skipping a meal, but just having a late breakfast or a brunch.  But you definitely get a lot of benefit by making sure your stomach is empty all evening and through the night, since this allows insulin to get very low, and fat burning revs up.  Definitely, nighttime is the most important time of day to be fasting.

Your 16 hour fast sounds like an excellent way to start IF, because it should not be too hard.  You may find when you start that your stomach grumbles a little, or you have a bit more energy at night and sleep a little less soundly.  But you will probably adapt to that.

If the 16 hour fast works, you could extend to 18 hours by skipping breakfast -- and breaking your fast with lunch the next day.

Good luck!

[Pinkmug]

Helloooo I Girl, I was lurking and saw your post, and have such an experience. Not long ago, I started skipping breakfast. I ate nothing from 9 or 10 p.m. till 13:00 the next day. I did that for experimentation, and also honestly time spent sleeping in the morning feels better than time spent eating!
Contrary to what I imagined, it wasn't hard to do. My hunger at 1p.m. was the same with or without breakfast.
I did this for well two months or even more (I may have mentioned it on my thread or on the Weight Zone).
Unfortunately it didn't work for weight loss at all! 
So I started having 'a little something ' again on the run in the morning, usually nuts. (not that it's making any weight difference either).

[nougat]

hi IG
when i tried fasting at night i kept waking up starving hungry.  believe it or not it is way easier to fast from say 8pm to 3pm next day.  which i believe is 19hours.
good luck.

[IndianGirl]

Hi Todd, I am doing good, thanks for asking

Pink, ur new photo is really nice, uplifting.

Thanks for the inputs, Todd, Pink and Nougat.

I was wondering if eating 50-60 cals worth of food amounts to breaking the fast....example if I eat 7-8 almonds, would it amount to breaking the fast? Or if I eat half an apple, will it amount to breaking the fast? It will be nice if during the fast I can eat a piece of fruit, especially in the early mornings....is IF ok with small/minute snacks, or do the rules totally prohibit snacking?

[nougat]

i believe any cals break the fast.  but as usual people react differently and you may find that just a tiny snack may not effect you.

[NTB]

I-Girl:  In a strict sense of the word "fast', eating any food is breaking a fast. Some people talk about a "juice fast" allowing fruit or vegetable juices, but that's not a real fast, it's more of a "detox" technique.  In real fast, you can only have non-caloric liquids -- preferably just water, but some fasts allow unsweetened tea or coffee.

That does not mean your idea of a very small snack is not a good one! Certainly if you only have a piece of low glycemic fruit (like an apple or orange) or a few almonds, this will have a minimal impact on your blood sugar and insulin.  So this will not be too different from fasting.  But the fruit or nuts should be a very small dose and separated in time by many hours. Be careful, though. Some fruits, like bananas, pineapples, watermelons, etc., have a high sugar content, and certain nuts are calorically dense.

There really are no absolute "rules". I think it is up to each of us to experiment and find out what works. When I'm fasting, I usually find it easier to just avoid eating anything and just have water or mild teas, because for me, sometimes a small snack actually reactivates my hunger, which was totally suppressed while fasting.  But I'm not absolute about it.  I find that certain snacks, like an apple, don't re-stoke my appetite.

I'm interested in how you are using the fast. Is it for weight loss and management, health, or some other reason?  In my case, I fast not only for weight management, but also because it makes me feel clear and energetic, and because of the research indicating that it has benefits to our health and longevity: http://gettingstronger.org/2010/05/calorie-restriction-and-hormesis/

Good to hear from you again.

Todd