Panigale1199's Journal, 21 April 2016

I'd say that's pretty much the same as I feel. I always start the day with a bulletproof. Most sources say that fat in your coffee does not break the fast as it does not give you an insulin response. It give you serum fats which can be used, true, but it also leaves you in a 'fat burning mode' though that idea sits wrong with me. Any calorie reduced diet is a fat burning mode. Also, if you ate 4000 calories in fat, you'd still gain weight regardless of insulin response. I eat light through the day and have a large meal around 6, then a protein shake after the evening workout. I sleep fairly well if I've eaten late. If I don't, I can be up at 1 AM making mistakes. 

Intermittent Fasting 16:8 as I do it just means having a shortened eating window - I have food between 1:00pm and 9:00pm becuase it suits my work schedule. In the morning I have Bulletproof coffee with butter, coconut oil , MCT oil and almond milk all blended together. It is many calories but does not technically break the fast because it is the high fat content that we want on LCHF programs. Fat satiates appetite so I am seldom hungry until 1:00pm. I end the night with a protein shake around 9:00pm. Basically I eat twice and have a protein shake last. Hope this helps. You may not be doing LCHF - so fasting with just coffee would likely cause hunger. It is the added fat that stays the hunger for me. Even just adding a tablespoon of coconut oil may help you. 

Hi, I have been IF for over 4 years on and off, but most on. Do l get hungry? Yes! Do I always eat? No. There are several formats for IF. I would suggest you test and see which format your mind and body likes. The most popular are Brad Pilon's 24ish hour. The warrior diet 20/4 and leangains.com 16/8. 2 things to note 1) I did read a study that IF was not as effective for females, but I have seen stuff on the other side, too. Find what works for you. Calorie restriction and fasting has long been proven as a major health benefit (longevity). I was a f&b director at a hospital for 3 years and our PH.D. Dietitian and I talk about this a lot 2) never heard of a 'potato hack', but it sounds like your are eating lots of carbs. With your body depending on carbs as fuel then long term IF will be a major struggle and failures. The classic warrior IF diet also is lower carb. Science has proven that a ketogenic diet that is low in carbs, moderate in protein and includes healthy fats is the best. This is the diet that I have found that makes IF a walk in the park. But it depends on which is more important, the potato or the IF? If your interested watch this video: https://youtu.be/_evJd_iZZzs 

Interesting. Thanks guys! I am only doing this potato thing for another day and then ending it. It was more as an experiment and for fun. I did lose almost 2 pounds so far on this hack. I wonder if its due to the lower calories, or the fasting im doing with it. I notice on weekends I will fast accidentally because I will be busy and not hungry and I can easily skip a meal. I feel the narrow eating window would work for me like leangains. I was just curious how people fair during fasting. Though if Is start getting headache I eat because I cant stand headaches. 

Hunger: It depends on the caloric deficit and workout. I run a leangains style carb/cal cycle. This is basically a 16:8 IF model, LC on rest days, moderate carbs and calories on lift days. This can be setup to cut, maintain or bulk (like any diet). I am cutting now (~1000/1500 calories). At that caloric deficit, I am hungry almost always. Same setup with higher calories, less hunger. The genius of IF for those of us for whom it works is that it makes hunger more manageable (vs. diminished). This is because you always know that you have a legit meal around the corner. 

IF for Chicks - The reviews are mixed. Pros here - http://www.leangains.com/2012/10/train-like-man-look-like-goddess.html Mixed Reviews here - https://www.reddit.com/r/leangains/comments/1kxu0s/any_females_on_lean_gains/  

Fat Coffee: (Sorry HCB!) I know this is a thing, that it works for some people, and I am trying not to hate, BUT how does it make sense to pop 300gms of shit tasting fat into your morning coffee on a cut? Dave Asprey "pioneered" this concept to sell his $40/lb coffee that is marketed as myotoxin free "bulletproof" coffee, and the magic elixir of fat loss. That's a crock. Some guy compared his coffee with folger's (or whatever) and the myotoxin levels were the same. Further, Dave achieved his weight loss with the assistance of modafinil and testosterone supplementation. For the record, I am all for better living through chemistry. To each his own. But it does cast some doubt on his attribution of his fat loss results to his magical coffee. (rant over)  

What is a "potato hack"? 

I've been doing it less than a week. I'm doing 16/8.. I break my fast at noon and finish eating by 8 pm. At night before bed I'm not hungry at all, but the morning gets a little rough around 10 until it's chow time. I get woken by cats super early, so my hunger is full force before I'm allowed to eat. That's when water is my best friend! Since I've been doing the IF thing I've lost weight every day.  

I'm always hungry to a degree at some point in the fast. This morning I woke up hungry but water helped it. If needed I'll have a coffee with a TBSP of coconut oil, TBSP of half/half, and small amount of stevia - it helps tide me over. I've been thinking about hunger recently, speaking for myself it's something I've almost been afraid of, something to be avoided. But allowing ourselves to be hungry can be a good thing, to eat because it's time, because we need to, and not just because we want to. For me the hunger is more mental than physical. 

The only time I feel hunger during a fast is if I'm sitting around doing nothing. If I keep busy then I don't ever notice it. I've been on hunting trips where I fasted for nearly 24 hours every day and only ate 1 meal after the sun went down and didn't feel hungry until I smelled the food cooking in the pot. I also only fast occasionally, or unintentionally. 

I fast 8pm to noon except for coffee with a little milk in the morning, not bullet proof. I tend to get hungry around 11am but not so bad I can't wait another hour. When I ate breakfast (mainly protein with some fat & carb) I was hungry around 11:30am so I don't find it hard to fast 16:8. If I get really hungry though, I eat something as I lose concentration. That's happened maybe a handful of times in almost two months. Oh, and one day we had breakfast out as a treat ... I had indigestion for the rest of the day and it was a really good, well cooked meal. 

Dave Asprey didn't invent what he calls Bulletproof Coffee, but he sure has marketed it. It works, but so does chasing a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil with a cup of coffee. It's the fat that matters, when I'm not on an IF day I have an avocado with a cup of coffee for breakfast (not mixed together, guacacoffee, anyone hahaha), but the concept is sound, regardless.  

Hey Phil. What is "the concept?" That fat blunts hunger for than other macros? 

That fat doesn't provoke an insulin response, Jimmie. Do you disagree with that? 

I 5:2'ed for awhile - weight loss wise, it was logical, I appreciated the regenerative/health benefits, and the compartmentalised way to help control intake. However, I had to abandon it as it grew to intefere with my sleep quite a bit which is apparently not unheard of for women doing IF - (not saying all, just some), which end up having this issue. Much of the research conducted on IF (at least at the time I did it) was still only done on men, and there does appear to be some differences in how each gender responds to IF. I'll be curious to see what more long-term research yields on the subject as I still think it holds some promise in terms of anti-aging benefit, etc. 

Yeah I have read about some mixed reviews for fasting for women. But I wonder if there are women out there leaned out while using IF. I can understand over weight individuals losing weight/fat in the beginning. But what are you are around 22% BF trying to get to 17% ish? Like the last few pounds. I wonder if women actually leaned out successfully IFing. I like the idea of IF because I do it on the weekends all the time. Like some said- you dont feel hungry when your busy. Last weekend I had breakfast early and worked on my garden all day. I didnt notice hunger until 6:00pm. I felt fine too. No headaches and I kept hydrated. I also think fasting could be natural too. Not forced. Its took to hear all sides because I am wondering if a leangains approach can help me get down to 17% BF. But like its said above- for women its mixed. Gahhh women have it tough 

@real_gone_girl Diddo I would like to see some more research on IF for women as well. I guess in the meantime you have to be your own guinea pig! 

@Panigale1199 - I think it ultimately may come down to the "guinea pig" approach (lol for sure on this, I agree, I always called it "Being your own science experiment") - while there's been some indication that, for instance, metabolic benefits for women at least in terms of glucose/insulin relationships aren't as clear-cut positive as they are for men, we know it's still really under-researched, so if YOU feel good, and you start to see results, who's to argue, especially with the lack of clear evidence either way!  

@real_gone_girl You are right. So far I feel good and I haven't purposely tried IFing in a long time. First go around didn't go so well. I was also low carbing at the time and the combination had me nausea cranky headaches and i just wanted an apple. I think I might give it a go with my current diet and see how I fair!