This Is What Intermittent Fasting Feels Like

If you’re thinking of doing it, here’s what to expect

I’m two months into Intermittent Fasting now. I was inspired to try it by Dave Wentworth’s article here on Medium.

It hasn’t been better than I expected. Or worse.

It has been different.

I’ll start by answering the burning questions. Then, I’ll describe how I.F. feels.

The Burning Questions

Have you lost weight?

Yes, 6 pounds in 8 weeks.

Which version are you doing?

I aim to fast two days a week, between evening meals (about 22 hours).

I stop eating after my evening meal on a Sunday, then resume eating with my evening meal on a Monday. I do the same between my Wednesday evening meal and my Thursday evening meal.

What do you consume while you are fasting?

Just drinks. Water, tea (herbal), coffee (black).

How do you eat when you’re not fasting?

I try to eat a regular, healthy, balanced diet. I aim to drink alcohol on weekends only.

Do you exercise?

I aim to do half an hour of pretty intense cardio (exercise bike at the moment) 3 days a week (my non-fasting weekdays).

I.F. Feels Intense

You will get hungry. It comes and goes in waves.

The most challenging time for me is lunchtime on the day I’m fasting. I’ve found that a glass of sparkling mineral water with ice and lemon helps.

Once I’m through lunchtime, the afternoon is OK, but the last hour is always testing.

We are not used to feeling hungry. It is useful to reconnect with it.

In the beginning, I was scared of hunger, as if it was going to force me to crack and give in.

As I’ve got used to I.F., hunger now feels interesting rather than scary. It acts as a reminder to me.

When I feel a hunger pang, I remember what I am doing. I am following a plan I researched, chose, and made a commitment to follow.

I also remember why I’m doing it — to reach a healthy weight.

So, yes, intermittent fasting does feel intense. But the intensity is not all negative.

Hunger is not a pleasant feeling, but if you are lucky enough to know that eventually, you can satisfy it, then you can rationalize it.

I.F. Feels Possible

I’ve been overweight nearly all of my life. I’ve rarely been in the obese category, but I have spent a lot of time in the overweight category.

I have lost weight before — many times. I’ve tried different combinations of eating plans and exercise plans and had a variety of results.

Out of all the eating plans that I have followed, I.F. is the easiest.

It is beautifully simple.

A problem I have encountered with other weight management techniques is there is no exit plan.

I lost loads of weight when I cycled 12 miles twice a day as my commute. When I changed jobs and drove to work, I put the weight back on.

I lost some weight following Slimming World. But, I couldn’t picture repeating that process daily for the rest of my life. When I stopped, I put weight back on.

With I.F., you effectively have these heavy tools, these trump cards — your fasting days — which you can put into use up to a maximum of twice a week.

I can see myself living like this— with these trump cards available if I need them — indefinitely.

I’ve had weeks when I couldn’t fast at all. I gained weight.

I’ve had weeks when I could only fast for one day. I maintained weight.

I’ve had weeks when I fasted for two days. I lost weight.

I like the simplicity and clarity.

When you’re not fasting, you are eating normally. You can join in with family meals. No special shopping. No points to count, planners to fill in, meetings to attend (and pay for).

Of course, you have to make sure that eating normally means that you eat healthily.

You can’t (consciously or subconsciously) make up for your fasting days on your non-fast days.

But overall, it feels possible because it is so simple.

I.F. Feels Forgiving

I have an emotional eating problem. I eat and drink my feelings. If I’m tired or stressed, I will eat too many biscuits or drink too much beer.

I am trying to improve, but it is a challenge. I’ll get there.

The forgiving nature of I.F. is this: When you stumble, I.F. gives you a way to get back on track quickly.

Start your next fast day.

Once you start, you may as well continue.

Now you’ve only got a few hours to go.

You’ve done it. You’re back on track.

As well as being back on track, you’ve had a chance to reset. To stop the spiral of bad choices/feeling bad/more bad choices.

Completing a fasting day gives you a sense of achievement and reminds you of this:

You — only you — are in control of what goes in your mouth.

I had an awful week. I didn’t fast, I didn’t exercise, and all my bad habits came back with a vengeance.

In the past, it would have made me throw the towel in on whatever eating plan I was following.

I would have spiraled for weeks before eventually starting again with some other new plan.

Instead, this happened:

The week after the awful week, I fasted again for two days and regained control. I didn’t manage to fit in exercise.

The week after that, I built the exercise back in and fasted for one day.

Now I’m completely back on track with both fasting and exercising.

I.F. Feels Flexible

Any new eating plan has its challenges within a family context. My wife has never needed to manage her weight.

Every time I try something new, I know it makes life harder for her.

I might be eating something different, shopping for different things, able to join in with some meals and not others.

I.F. is better because:

• It’s a lot easier to prepare nothing than prepare something different.
• At the weekends I eat family meals as usual.
• Every family evening meal during the week, I eat as usual.
• It’s just Breakfast and Lunch, two days a week when I’m not eating.

If my wife and I get the chance to go away for the weekend, I’ll be able to eat and drink as normal.

You get the picture — there is a lot of ‘as normal’ going on here.

What I.F. boils down to are organization and willpower.

If you want to lose weight, pick the two days in the week (not consecutive, that’s too much) that will suit you best to fast.

Then, get on with it.

Key Take-Aways

Intermittent Fasting works. I’ve found it works better — for my lifestyle and aims — than almost any other weight management technique I have used in the past.

Follow a similar plan to mine, and you can expect to lose between 0.5 and 2 pounds a week.

What I.F. feels like is this:

Intense — you get hungry, but you can mitigate and rationalize.

Possible — you’re only ever a few hours away from finishing your fast. It’s not easy, but it feels achievable. The plan is super simple.

Forgiving — if you mess up, getting back on track is relatively easy.

Flexible — you can follow it and not make anyone else’s life harder

As with any eating plan, do your research, make sure you are aiming for a genuinely healthy weight, and act responsibly.

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