Are you still doing intermittent fasting?

Yes but not on purpose. It's just the natural way of living when I don't buy snacks and my fridge is usually empty.

I feel way better living like this than when I'm home for the holidays binging on cheezits and having three meals a day. I like the hunger pangs; it feels like my body is doing useful work, and it makes the eventual meal all the more satisfying.

Couldn’t have timed your question better: It’s Ramadan, so a huge chunk of the world is currently fasting from 5am to 8pm (or thereabouts, depending on latitude).

I still skip breakfast and have done for years. I can skip lunch most days but I feel better if I have a small lunch.

Here's Peter Attia talking about some of the potential problems - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6wczdlcBtI - his perspective is particularly refreshing because he was a big proponent of intermittent fasting / time-restricted feeding for a long time.

For me, I only just realized I'd been doing it since college, like, accidentally. The way my schedule worked out, I just rarely ate before noon, and then usually ate dinner before 7pm. Only just recently did I realize that was technically IF?

These days, I've noticed that I usually get one major hunger pain about 9-10am, and if I can make it through that without eating, making it to noon is easy. So I just make sure to have an extra cup of coffee right to distract the mouth, and before long, it's lunchtime.

But I really hardly hold to that schedule on the weekends. I'm really not trying to do it intentionally, it's just habit at this point, so if I slip, IDGAF. Plus, now I've got kids, and I'm the designated "eat whatever they don't so nothing is wasted" parent. So that basically results in small snacks basically 7-7.

"Are you still doing Intermittent Fasting?" Yes.

"Are you still saying Intermittent Fasting?" No.

Out of respect to people who have the discipline to go 24hours or more without eating I can't bring myself to say I am "fasting" simply because I had a late breakfast and early dinner. "Time restricted eating" (TRE) is the phrase I personally use.

Adopting that phrase might free you from feeling like an imposter if that is partly the reason you are troubled by not adhering to it on weekends. Just do TRE weekdays if that is what your lifestyle will accommodate. It's what I do and I consider it a personal win.

I tried for more than 3 months and it did not help me lose or keep a specific weight. In my case, doing 16:8, 20:4, 22:2 type of fasting didn't work bc I was famished by the time I had the meal.

What I've seen in my fasting and weight logs, is that doing multiple day fasts helps me keep weight off. The problem I've had in the past was not transitioning to a 'maintenance' schedule.

I'm doing 3 days of water+coffee (this is my third week). Last time I tried this in 2021 I lost 25 pounds (195->175) in 2 months. My plan now is to transition to 2 days a week once I've lost the weight.

Lucky for you today! It's ramadan so I'm sure a few hackernews users are fasting until near the end of the month. I've always wanted to see glucose levels for people who fast like that.

Yes, but I’m cheating with my adderall prescription. I stop eating at 8PM and start at noon so I’m mostly just snacking through my eating window and when it wears off I’ll have a larger meal with a bunch of fiber so I’m not starving before bed.

Much easier to do when your appetite is suppressed. Also - don’t know if taking adderall breaks a fast, so I may be totally off.

Haven’t measured my weight change, but I’m certainly burning more calories than I’m eating so it could be a number of factors.

I was up until I got pregnant! (Intermittent fasting pairs extraordinarily poorly with morning sickness. And then once that wears off you're ravenous all the time.)

> weekend comes and it becomes 10X harder, especially if others are eating around me. And then a sunny day comes and you "have" go have some barbecue and beer, an hamburguer at night, etc.

It's okay to take days off! Especially if that makes the diet/lifestyle more sustainable for you overall.

Yes. I intermittent fast every day from 2pm until noon the following day. I allow myself a 2 hour eating window (22:2) per day. This 2 hours involved me eating a decent amount of a mostly raw vegan diet. I do still cook sweet potatoes, rice and broccoli. I also eat beans and some nuts. I drink 32oz lemon water and 32oz of celery juice each AM.

I fast for 2-3 weeks quarterly. Water only.

When I am sick for any reason I start fasting immediately.

What has this done for me? My weight is finally where it should be from decades of abuse. Autoimmune conditions and diabetes are under control.

I posted a while back that my sleep was about 2-4 hours nightly. Over the last 5 or so months that has increased to 6 hours a night.

Edit: I drink at least 1 gallon of water per day.

I've been doing 20/4 for quite some time, even through weekends. barbecue, hamburgers and drinks on the weekend are my weakness too. my tricks to beat hunger are:

- go for a walk, it will stop/slow your craving pretty fast. i do walk a lot, but just going around the block is usually enough to distract my stomach.

- consume electrolytes like potassium capsules. i take 1-2 99mg capsules per day.

- get some iodized salt, eat a 1/2 teaspoon 1-2 times a day with water. this will boost your energy on an empty stomach.

- coffee/caffeine. i drink 3-5 cups of coffee or tea per day.

- eat a big, healthy dinner, with some berries or an apple for dessert.

I've often wondered if I'm doing it wrong. I seem to feel the best when I've had a big breakfast, don't eat during the day, and have a light dinner. I also tend to lose weight when I do that.

I've been intermittent fasting for about 30 years now, although I didn't know it was called that and I never consciously decided to do it. It's just the way I naturally eat: one meal per day.

Been doing it for the last six months... I lost no weight for months.Found I was eating sweets and cakes on my days "on" which more than made up for the fast. Also be warned when you fast there is a marked reduction in your intelligence hard to explain but you will notice it if you start looking. Could be because I am a little older 53 but I think I can correlate the reduced performance directly to the fasting. Still keeping at it and I will tell you why it is simple an easy way to eat and over the long term if you keep at it works.

I do it occasionally, especially if I over-indulge the night before. This morning, for instance. I had far too much pizza last night, so I skipped breakfast.

But I also do it sometimes to try to lose weight, which hasn't been successful. I'm still a little reluctant to do it every day, and my wife worries a lot when I say I'm considering it. But cutting calories has been really, really hard, so I'm still thinking about it.

I definitely don't have the same energy level by lunch if I skip breakfast, so that's a factor, too.

I skip breakfast most days (or wait until ~10am to eat anything) and don't typically eat anything after about 6pm. It's kind of like accidental IF, but it works for me.

I did a 19-hour a day fast for 3 years. Stopped for a year, then started again a few months ago on a more manageable 18-hour schedule.

At first I lost a lot of weight, but then it slowly came back despite being sticking to the plan. So that was frustrating.

I do find that I have much less gastric trouble when I fast than when I don’t. I just feel comfortable in this mode. This time around I am allowing myself to have broth if I get very hungry.

One of the ways is to not starve or deprive yourself of food that you like. I wouldn't include alcohol in it. But moderation is the key. I eat from 6am to 6pm and I eat well during those hours, but try to restrict after that time. Sometimes it's hard to not follow that regimen and I try to not feel guilty about it. It's alright to be easy on yourself sometimes.

Never intentionally, but some people consider 16 hours without eating to fall under fasting, and that's a schedule I generally follow naturally. It's pretty easy considering half of that is just sleeping, there's usually a few hours gap between dinner and sleep, and the rest happens from skipping breakfast.

Effortlessly, by replacing carbs with high quality proteins and fats. No interruptions of a carnivore diet for the last 36 months, 90 pounds down, diabetes and cancer in remission. I was a severely bulimic binge eater on carbs. On high fat/protein I feed at about 7 and 3 and am just not interested in food other times.

for about 5+ years, 14-18 hours depending on the life / work. all that in parallel with powerlifting or powerlifting + MMA, so would go up and down in weight intentionally (up for strength / down for competitions).

I hear you re: weekend and beers, and on those nights I would just start eating much later next day.

Also if you miss occasionally one day every couple of months because you were out on a late dinner or date - no harm done. I still find it easy to keep a 13-hour window which I read is the minimum threshold for IF.

Live a little. Turning IF into a religion makes it really hard to follow and a chore.

Also if I feel hungry in the afternoon, but had my last meal later the night before, I would just find myself a task to complete (household chore, or an actual work task) or would go for a walk / go shopping, which provides a 1-3 hour fast extension.

Yes, as I like the extra time it gets me (time not wasted on eating adds up!) and the extra mental clarity during the day.

I don't need to lose weight (I'm 110 lbs) so I eat before going to bed, which also helps me sleep like a baby: it's better than taking a melatonin!

I did 18/6 for quite a while before switching back to 16/8 due to a busy work schedule. IF is a long-term play - having the occasional burger or some beers late at night on Friday or Saturday won't affect your results much. Eat healthy, and keep at it.

I stopped because I wasn't seeing any effects. Also makes it more difficult to eat enough in a day (I was doing OMAD for a while).

That said my natural eating rhythm is not to eat breakfast so if you discount cream in coffee I'm doing a natural 16:8 anyway.

Yes - although I've started a weight lifting / functional fitness program, and I will now eat breakfasts on mornings after I've worked out.

Days where I don't work out, back to 16+ hours fasting.

I look at it as a key part of my overall strategy.

My caloric demands make it hard. I just stop eating 3-hours prior to bed to get higher quality sleep. But I don't start eating in the morning until about 30-minutes into my exercise, so that my body knows how to prioritize.

I used to be more strict about a 16 hour fasting window. Now I follow the spirit if not the letter of the law, mostly without trying. If I feel like I need to make serious diet changes, I can easily take it more seriously.

For over 2 years I eat nothing at all 2 days a week, usually Monday and Thursday, but they vary based on difference occasions. So far the experience has been very good and all the health benefits received.

I do the ‘skip breakfast’ for 2-3 months a couple times per year. It’s hard to start a set program though when my kids don’t finish their breakfasts — and then I don’t want to throw out their food so…

Yes, since 2.5 years - no eating Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Saturday and Sunday normal eating, also during holidays or vacation. Itˋs easy to get back to routine.

1 meal is hard but 3 meals are too much. Skipping 1 meal everyday and naturally u would be fasting for more than half of the day without doing anything special

I have found it easier to skip dinners than breakfasts. It has also done wonders for my reflux.

I'm on the extreme end of the scale. I'm fasting 10 times a day or more.

Yes and every 3 months a 5 day cleansing. Does wonders to my ibd (uc)

Ramadan so yes :)

Yes since 2015.

Did not lose weight but didn’t gain any either.

Yes, 2 years and intend to keep doing, my usual target is to hit 18hrs fasting (or more) 6 days a week.

But there are days when you just can't keep it up, esp. when socializing. And it's OK to not do it 1-2 days/week, it is not going to completely undo the gains you might have made (gains might be: better gut health, weight loss, weight maintenance, whatever).

To be technically correct, I practice something that's closer to Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) than it is to Intermittent Fasting (IF). Subtle, but important difference being, IF usually also entails reducing caloric intake, whereas in TRF you eat the same amount of food you would if you were eating throughout the day do it within a much smaller time window (4-8 hrs).

I had to work a lot at it, lest of which was developing enough will power to resist yummy food in front of me!

There are a few tricks that have helped me, and it all boils down to how strict you want to be and if and when you have to break it, don't feel guilty about it afterwards.

Here's what works best for me, in that order... #0. Never go to sleep without brushing my teeth, so, the first thing I do when I have wrapped up my last meal of the day is get up and brush my teeth. So if I have a temptation to break the fast before my intended time, then there's additional friction because then I have this one more boring chore to do, brush my teeth before calling it the day. Surprising this 2-min chore is a good enough deterrent to work! (Note: doesn't work if you really enjoying brushing your teeth :-D, so YMMV). Key is to add some tangible and immediate friction to breaking the fast/routine.

#1. Most of my friends and family now know about intermittent-fasting, so instead of forcing food, most of them are supportive and even accommodate in their planning. But still, so much of our socializing is built around food'ing that you will stick out like a sore thumb if you are too rigid/strict; that is where #2 comes in handy.

#2. If the next big "party/meal/socializing" is planned then I will simply skip a meal the previous day to compensate for it. It is harder than it sounds, and it takes some mental and physical conditioning, but that's the best approach of trying to find a middle-ground. If it is unplanned,try to compensate it afterwards (best if done immediately the following day, instead of accumulating it for later!).

#3. Don't get anal about absolute calories (it is futile anyways), instead, I tend to focus on the quality of food I ingest: vegetables, protein, fibers, fats and limit added/refined sugar as much as humanly possible.

#4. And (I know this is a repeat) if you still have to prematurely break the intermittent-fasting/time-restricted-feeding routine, don't feel guilty about it and just enjoy the "extra" meal :-)

IM me if you want to know more.

Yes

Yes, though it depends on when you start paying attention and how you define "intermittent". My intermittent varies from 8-16 hours per day and 1-3 days per week depending on autophagy and ketosis, both of which appear at ~ 48 hours for me but can go from 24-36 hours depending on exercise, i.e. there are risks in running long distances while fasting, but I have a daily carry kit that includes gels and fruits so I've not been to an emergency room in 30 years, which brings me to my next point.

Chronic Type 1 Diabetic here so the things I'm about to describe are high risk and are not endorsed by anyone in my world-class care team. They are aware that I understand and accept the risks having grown up and been educated at Children's Hospital and Joslin. I wear an insulin pump and two Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM).

It's all about executive function. From a root cause perspective, I'd start there since that's really what determines health.

My fasting started 15 years ago when I read Seth Roberts Shangri La Diet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Roberts

I'm one of those people who can balance empirical and phenomenological despite n-of-1 emergent qualities.

In 2007, I'd fast for 3 days liquid-only roughly once every 90 days. I used Roberts extra light olive oil hack (ELOO) to help. I don't do that anymore though it had no negative effects in my experience. I practiced that cadence until 2020.

In 2019, I stopped eating meat. I like meat but it was the easiest way to get the caloric load and impurities down. From fall 2019 to summer 2020 I lost 50 lbs. Ate plant-based whole foods for two years, then and now vegetarian. Over that time I've varied from 0MAD, 1MAD, and 2MAD while finishing a half and full marathon in 2021 and 2022, respectively. I run mostly daily, varying between 10K and 10 miles with occasional half marathon distances tossed in for good effect.

Post 2022, I've done a series of experiments with some success. Those include emulating Valter Longo's protocol with soup for a Fast-Mimicking Diet (FMD). Also, my current regimen has been eating M-W-F and fasting T-Th-Sat-Sun. I sustained that for a couple weeks and I'm eating once or twice daily now. I'll probably reverse the intermittent binge-ing in new experiments, so 4 days eat, 3 days fast per week; theme and variations.

I'll probably return to a odd-metered cadence of fast-feast weeks as it made meals much easier with the challenges you mention.

For whatever reason, I ate 5-6K calories/day from high school through college and couldn't fast a few hours. At my age now, fasting is easier than eating and could very well be related to delayed gastric emptying or some other complication of disease. I have no evidence.

The less I eat, the better I feel, while benefiting from the anecdotal improvement in cognitive function that comes with ketosis. Like leading ultramarathon runners, I don't practice ketosis as perfection, but rather, a state I hit occasionally without making it an end-goal. Paraphrasing Peter Attia, it's the cycle, not the state that matters.

The limiting factor for me is of course not ketosis, but ketoacidosis. The former is well-managed for me because it's predictable, euglycemic, and easy-to-fix with carbs. The latter was common enough to me as a young person that I know the ketosis flu feeling well and avoid it by testing compulsively. Just like software!

FWIW, I've vomited water in euglycemic ketosis and know enough to avoid the emergency room. This scares my medical team, since there are truly frightening and deadly side effects (refeeding syndrome), but I'm still here.

I've worked in medical devices and healthcare so my learning has been enhanced by those experiences where we treated patients who responded well to coaching around metabolic illness including cancer and diabetes, both of which respond to diet and fasting.