Comment by AnonC | Hacker News Reader

Comment by AnonC | Hacker News Reader

I’ve been doing intermittent fasting (time restricted feeding) with 16:8 (I do at least 16 hours fasting and at most 8 hours feeding window everyday) for several years. It’s more convenient (as with others, I find skipping breakfast easy) and makes night times easier in a few ways (fall asleep fast, have a good sleep, etc.). Social outings in the evening could be an issue since I stop eating by around 6, but it’s not a big deal to break the rule sometimes. If I want to, I can easily compensate by eating a little later the next day.

With intermittent fasting, I didn’t lose any weight at all! I learned that weight management is about what you eat and how much you eat. A reduced feeding window can help in reducing calorie intake. But I do continue it because of the convenience and because I’ve read that it’s helpful in different ways not to be stuffing the body with food for a long time during the day.

I recommend this method of IF to people, and tell them to start with 14:10 or even 13:11, and then build up from there. I’ve heard from some people that they suffer from acidity when doing IF. I haven’t had that issue.

You are correct that IF works because you eat less calories, there's no real magic there. The key though is that it is mentally easier than other diets to actually eat less calories.

Most diets fail because people need to make a decision about what to eat at the worst possible time - when they're hungry. Whether ordering at a restaurant or looking into the fridge at home, a regular diet expects you to make the healthy choice when your body is craving the bad food. With IF hunger is easier to tolerate because you can simply look at the clock and remind yourself you can eat in X hours. I also feel that it turns hunger into a good feeling, like a sore muscle after a workout, it feels like progress.

An added side effect I noticed when pairing IF with weight lifting is that when it was time to eat, my body actually craved the healthy food like protein.

Yeah, 14:10 is very doable. That's eating dinner at 8pm then lunch at 12pm. I do that all the time without ever having consciously decided to do intermittent fasting. I wonder if stomach acidity issues has to do with what people are drinking. I imagine someone drinking acidic like tea/coffee (or even diet sodas) might end up with issues with this whereas someone drinking water probably wouldn't.

I've been doing 14:10 for about 9 months, and even that has had a big effect on my weight. And I don't even consciously realise I'm actually fasting at all.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com