Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I have been dabbling in the idea of trying IF (eating daily from 12-9pm ish).. The thought is a lil scary since I have totally conditioned my body to eat RIGHT when I wake up. I actually get hunger pangs 45 minutes from when I wake up if I haven't eaten!

The whole process is rather intriguing to me, mostly because my hubby and his mother are super lean and fit, even if they don't workout. And they hardly EVER eat until lunch time, just naturally.

So my question is, are there any women that can share there experiences with IF? Or is is hardly helpful for women like some ppl believe? ALso, how do you ease yourself into it so your body gets used to not eating in the morning?

flag	asked Aug 2 2011 at 16:24 Amanda 498●3●10

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12-9? That's just skipping breakfast,no? You've never done that? – ben61820 Aug 2 2011 at 17:16

No I haven't like I said.. unless I was at a detox place where we juice fasted for a week =) But this is skipping breakfast daily and only eating in an 8 hour window.. – Amanda Aug 2 2011 at 18:45

Thats not all leangains is. To make it short, leangains is fasted training followed by the largest meal of the day. Carbs are included on training days and excluded on non training days. Fasting in general is fantastic for losing the last 5-10lbs and for eating much more along the lines of our ancestors who did not eat 6x or 3x a day. – Bill1102inf Jun 8 at 19:07

Annie · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-02 17:42:33Z UTC

Hi Amanda, I am female and had great success with IF and I still do it a few times per week. When I first started, I purposely did not eat until late in the afternoon until around 3-4pm. I drank green tea or coffee with a little heavy cream and did not have much of a problem with hunger. (I have not had a problem with hunger since going VLC. I am not sure if you are VLC or not.) Now, it follows a more natural path. If I am hungry early in the morning, I eat, if not, I don't. It works out to several times per week that I am not hungry in the morning and I don't eat until the afternoon, so it ends up being a feeding window of about 1-9pm. I think that IF works great for fat-loss, appetite control and maintaining weight. Good luck!

Sutton · Answer 2 · 2011-08-02 18:33:22Z UTC

I have used IF on and off for the past couple of years and really enjoy the freedom of not worrying about what to eat all the time. It definitely takes some getting used to when starting out. If you decide to jump into it full force, rather than gradually shifting your breakfast back, the first few days will present you with some significant hunger pangs, but they usually only show up around meal times, and don't last longer than 20 minutes. At least that's been my experience. I find sparkling water really helps. I also agree with Annie that it is easier when you are lower carb.

Another thing I have noticed is that it seems to be more difficult to adhere to the fasting window during the luteal phase of my cycle (between ovulation and menstruation). During this time, I listen to my body and tend to shorten my fasting window.

Good luck if you decide to give it a shot!

stephthegeek · Answer 3 · 2011-08-02 17:50:01Z UTC

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I just do a cup of coffee in the morning with 1/4 cup of heavy cream (usually decaf but sometimes regular). But I was always a person who wasn't hungry right when I woke up, and the cream takes me through til 12-1pm easily and is mostly fat. Without it, I'm pretty hungry by 11am.

I'd suggest doing it gradually, shifting your breakfast forward half an hour each day. Also a big dinner helps :)

answered Aug 2 2011 at 17:50

stephthegeek
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I usually use SoDelicious coconut milk creamer. I wonder if that would be acceptable and if it would spike my insulin enough to interuppt the fasting period? hmmm – Amanda Aug 2 2011 at 18:50

totally unnecessary and preposterous while doing IF for fat loss, that 1/4 cup of heavy cream COULD HAVE been your bodyfat that you COULD HAVE burned off if you used more than 1% of your brain. And to upvote this crap shows the mentality of much of PH – Bill1102inf Jun 8 at 19:10

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Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed! Not all of us like black coffee, and who says I was unhappy with the pace of weight loss anyway? – stephthegeek Jun 14 at 0:49

Dragonfly · Answer 4 · 2011-08-08 22:00:36Z UTC

I started IFing regularly after I had been Primal for about 3 months. I, too was a first-thing-in-the-morning breakfast eater, but I noticed that after I had been Primal for awhile and after doing 6 weeks of vlc, I was no longer starving first thing.

I've been using IF on a daily basis for 6 months and I love the freedom! I tend to eat in a 6 or 8 hour window that varies in starting time from 10 am to 2pm. Usually 2 meals and a snack or 3 full meals. Occasionally just one meal! I go by my hunger--and occasionally ignore the ghrelin-induced hunger if it suits me better to eat later.

Here's a great link from LeanSaloon that helped me:http://theleansaloon.com/2011/03/29/you-will-be-hungry/

When I first started out, I would eat a teaspoon of coconut oil in the morning instead of breakfast. Now I start my day with black tea and heavy cream.

StarvingBitch · Answer 5 · 2012-06-08 18:50:54Z UTC

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I've been doing it for 3 weeks and I love it, I stop eating between 6 and 7 and don't eat again until between 10-11 the next day, it works perfectly, my workouts I have plenty of energy and my scale is moving on average 2.5 lbs a week, whereas prior I was losing maybe .5 to 1 lb a week.

answered Jun 8 at 18:50

StarvingBitch
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Nice progress, expect it to stall though, 2.5 is a lot/week unless you have a whole lot to lose, anyway - sexy nic – Bill1102inf Jun 8 at 19:13

Bill · Answer 6 · 2011-08-02 17:47:31Z UTC

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Check out Mallory's website

http://malpaz.wordpress.com/

She has done IF with some amazing results. The girl is ripped, even by male standards.

answered Aug 2 2011 at 17:47

Bill
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Thanks for the link I'll check it out! – Amanda Aug 2 2011 at 18:45

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??? Mallory started and ended with low body fat because she is in recovery from nearly a decade of severe anorexia, which almost killed her and might have effected her body permanently for the worse. She's infertile and does not want to be. She can't gain body fat no matter what or how much she eats. She's come amazingly far with a paleo diet and is a smart cookie but there's nothing to emulate there for women who might want to gain some muscle. Mal doesn't fast or do LeanGains. She can't even exercise because of her health issues and her primary goal of restoring fertility and body fat. – animalcule Aug 2 2011 at 18:53

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....i just finished bulking...FWIW, i stopped leangains yes. i am working on fertility, yes. i do know how to gain weight, yes but have trouble finding what works for me. its definitly not true i cant gain fat no matter what, there WAS a time when i needed some 5-7000 cals a day to keep weight on, but those days are long gone. and...i can exercise, i cannot jog/run/sprint or walk far due to knee problems. i can however do pushups chinups and dips all day long if i wanted :) but fertility first – Mallory Aug 2 2011 at 21:25

Thanks for poppin in Mallory, I do like your site anyways! Thanks for sharing and good luck with your pursuit of mother hood =) – Amanda Aug 2 2011 at 22:06

gee, let me add the excess neg votes sure make me feel good – Mallory Aug 4 2011 at 1:01

IF, LeanGains for Women

6 Answers