Success with Intermittent Fasting

[ssjtom]

Hi there,

I started my weight loss journey about 3 years ago now, At the time I had gotten to my heaviest - I'm 6ft male who'd reached around 17 and a half stone (Cheers dominoes pizza) - I was much much larger than I am now and carrying a lot of body fat at the time - I didn't work out because I didn't care and figured I would do something about it later - hence why the weight crept up on me so fast.

It's taken me 3 years to learn all I need to learn - I started off for a year or so very strict on most of what I ate - I was on Porridge or eggs for breakgast - chicken salad for lunch and chicken and brocolli for tea. I also tried to do Power 90 cardio and strength work outs every night (takes about 30 mins workout and 30 mins abs). This managed to get me down to about 16 stone - still obese but feeling much better about my self.

After this I broke up with my girlfriend, this put a lot of stress on me but instead of binge eating (the route she took) I joined the gym, started cardio and got more and more into my fat loss journey and researching my nutrition. I still had pretty epic cheat days at this point and was still drinking when I felt like it.

I've been at the gym probably 6-7 months now, I've got down to 15st on the button which I'm happy with. I'm still classed BMI wise (According to the NHS Calculator) as being the high end of overweight but at least I'm not obese anymore

I'm quite a large build so my main goal is to get down to 13 stone which is the high end of the acceptable weight for my height, age and gender. Now that I've lost weight to this point I was starting to struggle and then I started reading about intermittent fasting. This can be done by skipping meals for an entire 24 hours or the route I chose which is not eating at all till after I've been to the gym.

So I might wake up not eat - go to the gym and lift weights, box and swim then after all that between 12-15pm I would have my first meal. usually a 50g protein shake then a bit later Usuaully two poached eggs and some carbs (veg, rice or potatoes) then later on in the evening chicken breast and some more veg. I pretty much stick to this all week. More protein and fat than carbs fasting every day.

I don't feel like I've lost much more weight from this method (at least not the amount I was lead to believe would fall off me) but one of the reasons I chose this method in particular was because from what I'd read this approach allows my body to go into Keytosis and burn my stored fat. Once I work out lifting heavy weights and break down the glycogen stores in my muscle I build that back up straight after by breaking my fast.

I plan on continuing with IF and weight lifting till I reach my goal of 13 stone (it's hard to take into account the lean muscle I'm building vs the fat I'm losing) Sometimes my weight doesn't change at all even if I know I've been in a strong deficit of calories and been in the gym 6 times a week for 2 hours. In all honesty it's been a long journey and it's took completely changing my habits, my life and the way I look at foot and working out. I'm happy with the progress I've made but I can honestly say I was hoping that it would be a much quicker journey but I suppose that's a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks they can lose weight extremely fast and keep it off.

Anyway that's my story so far, I was wondering if anyone had used Intermittent fasting and how they found it as a tool for weightloss and how long they've kept it up for?

attached is an image of my progress first picture is 07/05/2013 last picture is 28/10/2015

Cheers

- Tom

[Diana]

Well done, and just be careful with fasting, I would have thought 5.2 is safer?

[ssjtom in reply to Diana]

Hi Diana,

I think there was a good documentary on BBC about the Doctor who brought IF to light as a healthy weight loss tool. He tried different methods the 24 hour fast worked for him.

I started on a website called Kino body who recommend the 18 -6 style fasting. This is mostly because it's best for building the most muscle while losing the most fat and I honestly feel satiated by it, I'm never hungry or feel weak - in fact I'd say I feel better living more off fat and protein than carbs but I do seem to be very carb sensitive from what I've found.

I think once I reach my goal weight I may try 5.2 or maybe just one 24 hour fast but as I still have a lot of fat store it should be more than safe for me to approach it this way (From what I understand of the concept).

Cheers

- Tom

[Diana in reply to ssjtom]

I'm one of those 'constant cravers', in fact I could never be a 5.2 girl, so calories, and loosely follow blood type diet ( dr D'Adamo) , read the book, and am sensitive to corn in any form, and wheat pastas.

So spelt or kamut for me.

I never miss meals, and love eggs and nuts ( read nut butter for that), a 1.5lb short of bmi, but losing cleavage, so settling for my now weight!

Take care

Tom ( nice pics btw)

[ssjtom in reply to Diana]

I actually read something quite interesting about craving food - it may be that your diet is lacking certain nutrients so when someone say craves chocolate - it's actually your body craving more magnesium so you can satiate your cravings without having the eat anything that's bad for you.

I've read a bit of that book my self and it is interesting how much whats in your blood stream can effect your weightloss/hormones.

Sorry to hear about your cleavage glad to hear you're right on the edge of your goal though! Mine was more trying to lose my cleavage so I'll keep on going

Thanks - the first is so shameful and embarrassing now but any day where I feel like I've not made progress or it just isn't working I can look back and see - oh yeah... it's worked a lot more than you thought!

[Diana in reply to ssjtom]

Well that is true, lacking stuff, blood type has more truth, than most would like to admit.

Being post menopausal things aren't going to be what they were, I'm ok with that tho

[ssjtom]

Hi Tewson,

From what I've read or heard I wouldn't suggest such an aggressive fasting regime unless you have a high body fat percentage. Mine for instance is still around a 24 and with that amount of fat there's plenty for my body to feed on in Ketosis without doing undue damage. I should also state that in a 24 hour period I still get every calorie I would have got on a 'healthy diet' - I just consume this within 2 meals after my work out.

The reason I do this is because of weight lifting it apparently gives your body a much larger window to build muscle due to dropping your glycogen levels down then boosting them up. All the research I've done suggests that IF is not only healthy it's actually healthier than the suggested (eating 6 times a day.

I've only been doing IF for about a month now - most of my journey was done by eating lean meat and veg this is just something I've been looking into that sounds like it might be just what I'm looking for shifting my last 2 stone to get down to a healthy weight and BMI.

If you have any reference where you've heard that IF does damage or is bad for you I'd like to read it as I haven't found much negativity surrounding it. I do totally register what you're saying about eating disorders though but to be honest before IF I was counting ALL my calories and Macros which is more of an eating disorder than eating two big meals a day.

I should also say that I do have one day a week where I eat bad carbs, have a drink - or whatever I want, just a normal full day of eating (this is to restore anything lost during the week through the process of fasting).

Nothing harsh about your reply sir, always open to debate and learn new things especially when it comes to weight loss and whats healthy as this has become a real passion of mine over the last few years.

[ssjtom]

Also just to add - if you do have history with eating disorders or problems with your bloodsugar then definitely don't jump in to any diet you're not sure about always check with your GP first to make sure this is right for you.

Even if it seems faddish some doctors definitely recommend IF as a weight loss alternative from your usual diet. If I ate the diet suggested by some nutritionists there's always bread on it even if it's brown and my body is a fat store machine as you can tell from the old pictures. Even small amounts of carbs seem to make me store fat.

[RobLandsdown91]

Hi Tom,

Well Done! Just out of interest how old are you.

Good luck with the rest of your loss!

Rob

[ssjtom in reply to RobLandsdown91]

Hi Rob,

I am 28 (29 in a few months) started changing my ways after uni when my office job meant putting on more and more timber.

If anyone's interested you can find the Horizon BBC documentary about IF here.

dailymotion.com/video/xvdbt...

[RobLandsdown91 in reply to ssjtom]

Hi Tom,

I'm 23 (24 on Thursday) and was (until last month) 31st. I had gastric bypass (which had to be reversed after 3 weeks due to ulcer). I've always been big since a kid.

Feel free if you would like to contact me via a DM on here.

[ssjtom in reply to RobLandsdown91]

Hi Rob,

Good to hear from you. I feel your struggle, I was always carrying weight growing up and always envied people who it seemed so easy for. I still do now in the gym sometimes when I'm there for my 5th day and some people who are super in shape don't seem to do anything but talk on their phones and take selfies

Sorry to hear that your Ulcer meant the bypass being reversed but I think it's important to realize that it is never too late to start changing your lifestyle and your relationship with food and exercise. It's best not to look at the 31stone and say I want to weight this or look like this right away - that just isn't attainable. It's all about setting goals you can achieve one step at a time!

At 31st if you start cutting your calories and introduce some light exercise you'll find at that weight fat will start coming off very quickly at first but it's all about consistency and self accountability. You have to keep trying, if you fall off your eating regime or stop working out you need to not get into a freefall and let it take over - motivation is so important.

We can talk by DM if you prefer I'll answer any questions you have that I might be able to help with. Let me know what your diet and activity level is right now? Be honest and real about it don't ever be embarrassed and don't every stop trying.

Just as some small tips -

at your weight starting out you'll want to get on a treadmill on a high incline (like going up a hill) go at a slow walking pace and keep it consistent, do 30 mins, build it up to an hour... when it gets too easy increase the speed or the incline. Swimming is also great at that weight because it's easy on the joints, if you're not a strong swimmer you can try walking or running through the pool and keep trying to increase how many lengths you do etc.

once we get some weight off you and your knees aren't under as much stress we can talk about HIT Cardio and introducing some weight routine (lifting weights is key for boosting your metabolic rate and losing fat - cardio can only do so much).

It's really important to note you can not outtrain a bad diet!!!! You must be in a calorie deficit to lose fat and to decrease your weight. Nothing decreases weight as much as building more muscle and eating lean protein high fat and low carbs (IMO).

Anyway I'm babbling but if you have any questions hit me up.

- Tom

[RobLandsdown91 in reply to RobLandsdown91]

Sorry Tom - I've just realised that I didn't make it clear. I'm now 24st. I lost 7 stone with a balloon and the bypass.

I'll reply in full later. Sorry for misleading you

[ssjtom in reply to RobLandsdown91]

Hi Rob,

Even at 24 stone it's still quite heavy to be doing weights or heavy cardio and would still suggest high incline, fast paced walking for extended amounts of time or lots of swimming or if not swimming lunges from one side of a pool to another. You can start where I do with the power 90 cardio and strength program but it's very hard work especially when you're over weight but you can always take it really slow and do your best to keep up and learn the routines.

Cheers

- Tom

[8811]

Well done!!

[ssjtom]

Hi Tewson,

I don't think you should delete it as I think it's something important to put out there and address, for people who have had to deal with family members suffering from Anorexia or someone who's suffered them selves.

My Mum's a nurse practitioner, my sisters a Staff Nurse as is my sister in law so I wouldn't get away with anything too unhealthy. It was actually my mum who first brought up IF after one of her patients had come in talking about how much it helped them. I do hope your family member recovered and is doing much better now - as much as it's unhealthy to be overweight it can be just as if not more damaging to be dangerously underweight (A problem I've never had in my life thanks to my Scottish Genetics).

Like any lifestyle change it isn't for everyone and I do want to stress that you DO eat on IF - you try and fill what you would class as a healthy calorie deficit. The prolonged fast actually helps your body in a lot of ways and it is always suggested to have a cheat day where you eat completely as you would like - you can even have treats like chocoalte and fatty food as long as you don't go crazy and it's actually beneficial for you.

In case anyone missed it in my other reply you can watch the Horizon Documentry or here.

healthunlocked.com/api/redi...

Dr Mosley whos featured in the documentary also has a really good book to get anyone started on IF if they choose to try it out.

[jedi_d]

amazing photos Tom, I hope you keep it up. I've watched a horizon programme where the presenter fasts for 4 days, the try 5 days normal and 2 days fast a week. I think it worked for him, so I'm trying that myself. But I'm only on day 1

[ssjtom in reply to jedi_d]

Hi Jedi,

Yeah I believe Mosley does try and fast for 4 days - he does this under strict medical supervision and it's more to test to see how an extended fast effects your body and internal organs. There have been scientific studies where people have fasted for up to 40 days (insane).

It actually lead to him not only losing weight but all of his medical issues he had from eating previously cleared up. High blood pressure and blood glucose levels all became normal.

In the book he says what works for him is one day and night full fasting for 24 hours. He says this allows him to literally eat whatever food he likes the rest of the week. The one full day fasting means his entire week drops into a calorie deficit.

Some people like to do the reverse of how I do the 16 - 8 (16 hour fast followed by 8 hours of eating) and they skip their evening meal and don't eat after 5. I'm rarely hungry in the morning and work out around 11am so skipping my first meal or two works for me.

Keep me updated on how you're getting on Jedi.

[jedi_d in reply to ssjtom]

thanks Tom,

always nice to get a reply. I didnt realise he did a book, I'm all new to this fasting thing. I've only started training and controling what I should eat for about a month now... dont know what I'm losing, as my scalse bounce reading and give me different values every hour. they are going back to the store... but I'll take some photos this week, so I can post cool photos in hopefully less that 1 year

take care

Jedi D

[ssjtom in reply to jedi_d]

Hi Jedi,

It's great to hear you've started your journey. I think that it is so admirable the moment anyone makes strides to improve them self in any way rather than sitting back and continuing the same unhealthy habits.

There are a few books out there you can probably find a lot of free info on the internet as well. Dr Mosleys books quite good because it lays out a few different IF variations to try out and meal plans. There's the 8 hour body as well which is okay.

Two people I quite like who promote IF (who are super ripped) are Brandon Carter and Greg O'Ghalleger (kinobody) - they have loads of free videos on youtube as well.

I would definitely take pictures, seeing your progress visually will really spear you on and seeing where you started will help to keep you going back there. I also picked someone as sort of a role model to aim for. For me it was Tom Hardy in the film Warrior or even Henry Cavill as Superman in the man of steel. I used them as a bench mark of where I personally wanted to go and tried to figure out how they got to that point.

If you ever need advice or support I'm here brother - it's a hard road but try your best.

[jedi_d in reply to ssjtom]

Thank you very much, I appreciate your support! ......... this forum is fantastic

[weedeepeachy]

I don't know anything about fasting but just wanted to say well done, you have done amazing!!x