And if so, do you recommend it?
….I’m pretty ADHD & not great with sticking to rigid routines lol. But I’ve been reading through this awesome sub lately & want to try IF for the first time. I was thinking a varied routine might keep me interested.
……..Also thank you to all of you here for inspiring me! Ready to shed this dang Covid 21lbs 🤦♀️😂💪
I, too, have ADD… so as much as I try to stick to a routine, it doesn’t always work out.
I just do my best to keep myself on track and if I need to adjust my schedule by an hour or two one day, I don’t best myself up about it. I usually try to do 16:8, but some days it’s more like 14:10. And some weeks I’m just not very hungry, so I (unintentionally) end up going OMAD. As long as I stay pretty close to my windows, I don’t have to worry about getting completely off track.
I think one of the reasons I’ve failed in the past is because of too much rigidity, so being a little flexible works best for me.
Every few weeks I’ll eat outside of my window for a couple of days to get my metabolism up and running. I just got the feeling that my body was getting used to the routine and would find myself consistently low on energy outside of my eating window.
I do because I might have to plan for a special meal/meal time. Or I might not be hungry from a prior day, so I extend my time. Even, I need to keep it interesting. I average right about 1.5 lbs/wk for weight loss, so it works for me.
I started with 16:8, after 4 months I switched to 18:6 because I just wasn’t hungry. It’s been 11 months and more often I’m doing OMAD but I keep my app set at 18:6 because I like the flexibility. It all works!
I do 16:8 as my standard, but often start eating an hour or so later and if I can have an early dinner my fast starts earlier. On Christmas I had a decent 3 course lunch out (but did not have seconds) and started my fast after that finished. I then fasted 22 hours because I really didn’t need any more food till lunch the next day. It’s also the first time I’ve lost weight over Christmas. The idea is IF can be flexible with what works with you.
I have a minimum of 16 hour fasting window, but I typically fast for 16-20 hours? If that’s what you mean then yes.
My eating window is offically 12-8 PM but oftentimes I actually eat between 1-7PM, so I typically do about 18:6.
I’m going to go back to 20:4 OMAD once I stop breastfeeding and that variation in the past when I did it was 20:4 to 23.5:0.5
Ha! I have ADHD too, but for me, I would never be able to keep track of a routine that changed every day. I prefer a “set it and forget it” daily routine so I don’t have to use any of my limited executive-functioning energy on IF. I do OMAD because it’s super simple — just don’t eat until dinner.
But to answer your actual question, yes, you can totally do a different schedule every day if that works for you. IF should fit your life, not the other way around.
I’d recommend getting a fasting app with a timer and calendar tracker just so you can check to see how long you’ve been fasting each day.
I dont so much switch up as i adapt my schedules to my days. I try to do omad (or more like a one hour window) as often as possible, but i refuse to feel hungry for hours, so if im hungry sooner ill eat sooner and aim for 20/4 or 16/8. . And sometimes my social schedule gets in the way too.I think i currently have 20 omad days a month.
Not really regularly, but if I know I’ll get to eat something I like at nighttime (I do OMAD, only eat lunch) then I’ll just skip lunch and eat dinner instead, making it a 33-34 hs fast, I did that on Christmas Eve and the day after to enter ketosis quickly
Also I don’t really care about times, if I eat earlier or later some day then so be it