Just started IF 16:8 about a week ago. It’s not perfect yet but that’s okay.
I see a lot of beautiful progress pics of people on IF and I have a question. Do most of you still snack or drink alcohol?
EDIT: I mean snack inside the eating window. Not during the fast hence it wouldnt be a fast
NOT snacking or drinking alcohol gave me the absolute MOST weight loss in the least amount of time. It let my body get mildly hungry between meals which is fat-burning time. Essentially I did my best when I ate hearty meals at noon and 6pm (give or take).
Traditional IF does not necessarily require or recommend this. But, it was what has worked best for me.
I usually do not snack, it’s just too easy to become a habit.
The rare times I eat something between my 2 meals, it’s a greek yogurt or a piece of fruit.
However, I have not been able to taste since May so snacking (eating, at all, really) is not enjoyable, so that helps!
I don’t drink alcohol, anymore, as it is just really bad for us. When I did drink, I really didn’t drink enough for it to affect weight loss, so just keep it to a minimum. In general, alcohol does usually impede weight loss, in several ways, so you have to be careful.
I’m eating healthy now and there is no place for typical snacks you can find in the snacking alley in a shop. During my meal I can eat a fresh fruit, yoghurt with frozen fruits, compot (cooked fruits with dash of lemon juice and a bit of water), all kinds of nuts and seeds, protein shake on milk with cocoa powder ect. Not sugar or sweeteners added. Not everything during one meal of couse he, he. I like it. I like it a lot!
I do OMAD so I do not snack.
Before starting my journey, I was a drinker at least 5 days a week. Interestingly, I lost the taste for it within a few weeks of OMAD. Crazy what prioritizing your health (OMAD + 1 h exercise/day) does! Without trying, I now drink socially, 0-2 drinks per month.
Yes, I do but within reason. Like, the feeding window is not supposed to be gluttonous. What I do is eat fairly naturally. I have a regular sized meal. If very hungry later maybe I’ll grab an orange or make a protein shake…or have some hard boiled eggs or something. But I don’t go nuts.
For me, IF (been doing 18:6) works well because my eating window opens up pretty close to dinner time. At 3:00, when it opens, I’m so hungry I eat everything I can get my hands on (only slightly exaggerating, but mostly low carb snacks). By the time dinner rolls around only a couple of hours later I’m stuffed so I eat pretty lite. I also usually have a glass or two of wine at dinner.
If I have anything snack-like, I have it with my daily meal. When I started out, I think I may have had a snack here and there, but over time I haven’t felt it necessary as I got used to fasting. Sometimes now I look at snack food in the store and think, “When am I even going to eat that?” Like, no point in buying it because I’m not going to eat in my fasting window and I get too full with my regular meal to fit in a new snack.
Edit: Oh, and I don’t drink alcohol so for me that’s a non-issue. But any flavored drinks I have with my meal also.
I still snack, but not every day. I’ve realized that a snack once or twice a week is not going to derail my goals. I think that this view has helped me stay on track, because it is a reminder that I can eat a regular serving size, have control over what I eat, and not feel like I’m depriving myself of anything.