[Vin76]

Thanks for sharing G Raaja. Great level of details on IF and weight loss. While there is so much info on the internet, most of them lack clarity and some give wrong information. The details that you have given are very useful.
I started IF during the lock down, from Mid May and very religiously did 16:8 for close to three months, and managed to lose close to 8 kilos without any exercise. Had slacked a bit after that and saw my weight going up. Since beginning of this month have been trying to get back to strict 16:8. I find it absolutely easy doing IF during weekdays, when at work. It’s weekends, sitting at home, that’s a challenge. Will power is what one needs to do it as well as you have been doing. Thanks, once again for sharing your experience.

[4WheelPilot]

Take a bow Graaja! It requires a lot of hard work, grit and determination not just to lose weight but to maintain your physique. Whatever you have said regarding diet is 100 % true.

[StallionAmit]

Hi Graaja yours is a inspirational journey, congratulations.
I have one doubt when I skip breakfast I have splitting headache and acidity.
What should I do to avoid this while doing intermittent fasting.
Thanks
Amit

[turbowhistle]

What a great thread, am happy people are open to IF and looking at it as a sustainable way of life. My experience has been pretty similar apart from the training part.
Due to a surgery, I was not advised to pick up heavy stuff or even do strength training so exercise is not part of my life at all except some occasional cycling. I was not overweight at all (weighed 78kg and am 5’11”) but totally unfit. I could not run more than 3km, even walking more than 7-10km in a day would exhaust me.
Started IF in lockdown with some intermittent running and it has done small wonders for me. Won’t say I lost much weight but my digestive system has improved a lot and the fat got evenly distributed . The best part though is that it has changed the way I look at food and I learned to enjoy cheat days. Also one thing I noticed is that IF does wonders to your overall mood, I am much more active and happier these days and my anger levels have come down drastically.

[download2live]

Originally Posted by graaja

From a 90+ kilo foodie

How can a foodie avoid food. I have already given up on ever getting my weight down.

I love eating. And eating lots of good stuff.

I will try to put in protein like chana etc in place of carbs ( read more than 4 rotis or generous repeat helping of white rice).

Silent cry.

[Prash]

Thanks for sharing this. Wonderful write-up.

Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2016 for his research on how cells recycle and renew their content, a process called autophagy.

In our culture there is this concept of fasting on every 'Ekadashi' which is 11th day of the lunar cycle, comes twice a month. Also eating the last meal was before sunset as there was no electricity. Not eating for long hours and keeping oneself without food 2-3 times a month has always been the practice in our culture. This is the same autophagy that has been discovered lately.

I wanted to ask you, how can one reduce the size of tummy. My body is lean and I am with right weight. But have a bulging tummy.

Any suggestion?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Vin76

Thanks for sharing G Raaja. Great level of details on IF and weight loss...

It’s weekends, sitting at home, that’s a challenge. Will power is what one needs to do it as well as you have been doing. Thanks, once again for sharing your experience.

Thank you for the kind words!

Good to know that you have been following IF and have achieved good results as well. Please continue with this for a few more months and it will become a habit for life. What you experience in the weekends is quite common. I go through such experience as well at times. This is called hunger of the brain, not the body. You just need to focus your attention on something else for a brief time and the craving goes away - watch a favorite serial, have a cup of black coffee etc.

Originally Posted by 4WheelPilot

Take a bow Graaja! It requires a lot of hard work, grit and determination not just to lose weight but to maintain your physique. Whatever you have said regarding diet is 100 % true.

Thanks a lot for your kind words!

Originally Posted by StallionAmit

Hi Graaja yours is a inspirational journey, congratulations.
I have one doubt when I skip breakfast I have splitting headache and acidity.
What should I do to avoid this while doing intermittent fasting.

Thank you for the kind words, Amit!

These symptoms are expected in the first few days of fasting, and will go away. Are you having these symptoms even after a week? If yes, your body may be taking a little more time to adjust. You can try starting with 13 or 14 hours and increase the interval gradually. That will definitely work.

Originally Posted by turbowhistle

What a great thread, am happy people are open to IF and looking at it as a sustainable way of life. My experience has been pretty similar apart from the training part.
...
The best part though is that it has changed the way I look at food and I learned to enjoy cheat days. Also one thing I noticed is that IF does wonders to your overall mood, I am much more active and happier these days and my anger levels have come down drastically.

Thank you for the kind words! It is great to see many like you adapt to the IF lifestyle and make it a habit.

Originally Posted by download2live

How can a foodie avoid food. I have already given up on ever getting my weight down.

I love eating. And eating lots of good stuff.

I will try to put in protein like chana etc in place of carbs ( read more than 4 rotis or generous repeat helping of white rice).

Silent cry.

IF is not about avoiding food, but to eat in a smaller window. In the first phase, do not cut any food you love (how muchever junk it may be). Just get the eating window right. Start with a 13 hour window and increase it to 16 hours. In the 8 hours of eating window, still eat what you like. Gradually, you will find your relationship with food to improve. When that happens, slowly cut down the junk from most of the days and have them on occasions. This way you will gain control over food.

I am still a foodie and enjoy those brownies, ice creams, pizzas and biriyanis! It is just that I plan my cheat meals carefully and enjoy those cheat meals to the full extent. I have a cheat coming up today evening - going to enjoy a few scoops of my favorite flavors of Amul ice creams.

Originally Posted by Prash

Thanks for sharing this. Wonderful write-up.

In our culture there is this concept of fasting on every 'Ekadashi' which is 11th day of the lunar cycle, comes twice a month. Also eating the last meal was before sunset as there was no electricity. Not eating for long hours and keeping oneself without food 2-3 times a month has always been the practice in our culture. This is the same autophagy that has been discovered lately.

I wanted to ask you, how can one reduce the size of tummy. My body is lean and I am with right weight. But have a bulging tummy.

Any suggestion?

Thank you for your kind words. And you are absolutely right. Fasting has been part of many cultures and religion - and still exist. It's just that most of us forgot these in our modern lifestyle.

If you have only a tummy, that could be visceral fat. This also can be addressed by IF and/or low carb. Start following intermittent fasting and include longer fasts often. This will take care of the visceral fat and the tummy should reduce.

[rohitgaur]

Thanks for Sharing Graaja, its an amazing journey
I started much later than you , in 2018 to be precise, have absolutely no faith in physical workouts and used to be a huge big time foodie. Keto and IF made me lose 22 kilos in six months. Went on moderate carbs in 2020 , have gained back 6 kilos.
Manoj Vijayakumar and Neander Selvan are actually pioneers and I have added your name to the list.
For the uninitiated, I assume I can share the link to MV's free Keto protocol
www.keto168.com
There are standard diet plans for those who wish to live a carb free, inflammation free life. I am saying this coz with my 135 kilos 6 feet frame, I jump out of my bed at 6 Am and do not feel lethargic at all.
Will come back to you guys once I hit 120 , next goal

[irajput]

Extremely happy to see such positive results! Intermittent fasting has worked like a charm for me! I had hit a peak of 98 kgs last year and I was feeling miserable. Every night order from Domino's at 3 a.m had become my routine. Safe to say it was very very damaging for my body! I felt constricted and extremely uncomfortable in my own body due to my mass. The lockdown fortunately kick started my fitness journey! After witnessing one of my professor lose 8 kilos with intermittent fasting, I decided to give it a try and it has given me great results. I combine it with weight training and jogging and I have the best muscle definition I ever had. While I haven't documented my current weight, the ability to fit and look good in my formal pants from 2 years ago which I couldn't get above my thighs before lockdown is helping me guage my progress!

Also, if anyone is looking to get the numbers on calories and fats, Healthify Me is very useful! I was surprised to know how carb loaded the wheat rotis I was consuming were.

[Stribog]

Lovely post, but one aspect that I would wish to touch upon ( that you briefly covered) is strength training.

Strength training comes under "Anaerobic exercise".

Basically there are two ways your body burns energy to fuel movement.

Aerobic - with oxygen. This basically is a slow burn, your body draws on the energy stores from your blood (oxygen and glucose both can be used) as fuel.

This is sustainable activity, a lot of what OP described comes under Aerobic activity (except HIIT)

ANAEROBIC - Without oxygen. Here the activity is so intense that your body runs out of oxygen generated fuel and now has to 100% rely on the glucose in your muscles. This cannot be sustained for more than 2-3 min Bursts of explosive activity. Your body produces lactic acid far more intensely than during aerobic and the causes tiredness. That's why your muscles gets sore when you get occasionally lift that heavy suitcase or randomly do 5 push ups.

The body needs both to be fit. In some areas Anaerobic is very vital,

1) it helps reduce muscle loss - a huge issue as we get into the 40's as muscle degeneration accelerates at this age and gets progressively worse as we get older.

Muscle atrophy is also caused by our sedentary lifestyles. Weight lifting (an anaerobic exercise) helps improve muscle mass till the 40's and then helps reduce the pace of muscle atrophy.

What does this mean in simple English? If you lift weights consistently, when you are in your 50's and 60's, you will be a lot more fitter and stronger.

Builds lean muscle and burns fat - Anaerobic exercise is like a chest code in that you keep burning fat long after your work out is done. And the more you do this, the greater your fat burn in future work outs.

Improves bone strength and density - self explanatory. Again, like muscle atrophy, your bones become weaker with age. Boje density is the amount of bone material in your bones and again age + lifestyle + lack of calcium in diets leads to less dense bones.

Again, in simple English, it means you are more prone to fractures and women osteoporosis.

Helps mitigate or reduce chances of serious lifestyle diseases like Heart ailments, back pain, arthritis she diabetes.

This is not a bullet cure for these but someone who lifts and does aerobic exercise is likely to have a lower probability of catching these diseases or delay onset at least.

The best aspect though is the high. Similar to a runners high, pumping iron alleviates depression, and burns stress. And oh, you look sculpted (forget the really built guys here, that takes years of focussed work and in some cases steroids), clothes fit better and relative to people you age group you simply look better.

Include lifting in your exercise plan.

Some common myths / questions,

1) you will get buff like those body builders in the gym - no, just like how driving an hour daily won't make you a Schumacher, lifting 30 mins - 1 hr daily won't make you a Schwarzenegger that comes with years of hard work

2) I went for a day but I had severe, near debilitating pain in my muscles for a week after-

Welcome to DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Remember that bit about lactic acid and fatigue from lifting that heavy suitcase from the loft? Well the first time you lift weights, you are both using muscles that have atrophied from lack of use and age. Your body is breaking down glucose at an exponential rate, leading to a lot of lactic acid production leading to DOMS.

It is severe soreness. In many cases you might not even be able to walk easily or lift your hands above your shoulders (depending on the muscle group worked), but again as I clarified, the more you lift, the more your body regulates itself (glucose burning + lactic acid production) and the better you get at this and the Soreness disappears.

So when I started 2 years ago, 5 pull ups or bench pressing 10 kg would put me out of sorts for 3-4 days easy. But with time I worked up to a bench personal record of 80 kg (1 Rep maximum) or 60 kgs for 3 sets of 10 reps each and my body would not have any soreness. But then 6 months of inactivity during the lockdown and now I get DOMS for even 30 kg reps.

Depending though on your tastes, many lifters actually love DOMS. I for one missed it and am happy it is back. Nothing like doing a heavy leg day and the next day walking down stairs like you are Shankar Dayal Sharma.

3) I need a PT and they are expensive - PT's in a good gym are very useful but no, you don't need a PT. You have easy work out combos online and this is very very very important, the first few times you do a new exercise, always ask a trainer in the gym for a form check and correction.

3a) what's a form check? Lifting is very precision driven. By changing the angle of your elbow by a few degrees you can work out either the chest or use a lot more stabilizer muscles and dissipating the impact substantially. So the form check where someone experienced checks if you are doing a work out the way you should, is vital. Some work outs can even harm you badly if you use poor form (like squats for instance) but any trainer or even gym regulars will be glad to help you with a form check

Finally

4) every year I pay up on Jan 1st and go for 3 days, never to go again-

Yes this is a big issue, gyms infact count on this. They do what airlines call, "overbooking". Regulars usually stay clear the first week of Jan or change timings as usually traffic can even double but the majority,. 80% drop out after this and never go again.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-a6797716.html

Only 18% of gym members ever go to a gym regularly which is 4-5 times a week. Another 50% hit it 2 times a week, the rest never show up.

How to get out of this trap? Simple. Show up.

I too have joined at last count 6 different gyms (Talwakars, Planet Fitness, Golds, Fitness One + 2 local gyms) over 10 years and totally must have gone 20 days.

Two years ago though was my own wake up call, after much forcing I did a master check up and the numbers were horrible. While I have never been fat (72 kg has been my max at 5'6), and thus never thought I was unhealthy but, my blood sugar was all over the place, good and bad cholesterol horrible, vitamins and minerals all severely deficient. I could not climb 3 flights of stairs without needing a 10 min break.

After joining, I showed up. That's it. My only goal in the first month was, show up 6 days a week.

Many a time I used to just sit at the gym do one work out and then spend time on my phone. But habits form and now, lockdown aside I have missed more than 5 days in a gym only when I was myself hit by Covid. The key thing I check now when my travel desk makes bookings during my travel, gym pictures and reviews of hotel gyms on TripAdvisor. It's so much of a habit that even if I am travelling to the US or Australia where timezones are a challenge, the first thing I do when i reach the hotel is shower and then hit the gym.

It's just that rewarding.

Do a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic on a weekly basis. Ideally use cardio to warm up (45 mins) followed by lifting. The rewards will be very visible.

[powerdrive]

Congratulations ! I'm another beneficiary of Intermittent Fasting and Low carb diet. I will share my story in detail later. I was 100+ kg at the end of 2018, now I touched 78. On the way to reaching 75, which is my target. Foe the people who would like to believe in scientific evidences, Please go through video lecture series by Dr. Jason Fung titled "Aetiology of Obesity" in youtube. You can understand why IF is more basic and powerful form of managing obesity and metabolic syndrome. For many Tamil facebook, the Paleo group started by Neander Selvan proving to be extremely useful to manage and reverse diabetes and other health issues in a scientific manner. The group also consists of few medical volunteers.

FYI, I just finished 150hr extended fasting started after Diwali. usually I do 72hr or 100hr, but decided to extend my limits. I don't participate in events, but from not running 100m to recently completing 10k in 70mins and doing a 3m + 3m elbow plank is a big deal for me.

[hondafanboy]

I have been using intermittent fasting as a lifestyle the past two years. Intermittent fasting is one of the important tools that helped me in my fitness journey from a 90+ kilo fat to 68 kilo fit person.

Thank you Sir for sharing your journey , knowledge and experience with us. Feeling very inspired by it.

What about the sleep pattern ? Does less or more sleep affects the weight loss processed triggered by IF and some form of workout?

[PrasannaDhana]

Wonderful Graaja brother!

You are an inspiration! Your journey motivates me greatly. I was not much into intermittent fasting until I went through many of your and other BHPians posts in the weight loss thread last year.

Once I started following intermittent fasting, I was actually shocked to see how effortless it was, after the first few days.

To everyone reading this, there is no magic in intermittent fasting, it is super effective because it makes calorific deficit easier. If you are planning to lose weight, always remember that calorific deficit (nutrition) is the most important part of the equation.

Thank you for documenting your journey!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by rohitgaur

Thanks for Sharing Graaja, its an amazing journey
...
Keto and IF made me lose 22 kilos in six months. Went on moderate carbs in 2020 , have gained back 6 kilos.
Manoj Vijayakumar and Neander Selvan are actually pioneers and I have added your name to the list.
I am saying this coz with my 135 kilos 6 feet frame, I jump out of my bed at 6 Am and do not feel lethargic at all. Will come back to you guys once I hit 120 , next goal

Thank you for the kind words. 22 kilos in 6 months is a great progress. Wishing you all the very best in achieving your next target of 120. Please do share in detail with pictures, your fitness journey. It will be a great motivation to many.

Originally Posted by irajput

...I decided to give it a try and it has given me great results. I combine it with weight training and jogging and I have the best muscle definition I ever had. While I haven't documented my current weight, the ability to fit and look good in my formal pants from 2 years ago which I couldn't get above my thighs before lockdown is helping me guage my progress!

It's awesome to know another IF'er! I totally understand the elation you get when you fit into clothes which fit you many years before. Please continue with this as a lifestyle and you will have a healthy and fit life ahead!

Originally Posted by Stribog

Lovely post, but one aspect that I would wish to touch upon ( that you briefly covered) is strength training...

Fantastic writeup on strength training. Thanks a lot for sharing. I will be writing about importance of exercise which will touch on strength training and it's advantages with lean muscles and bone density. But I would not have written it to the extent of detail you have covered. Thanks once again for sharing.

Originally Posted by powerdrive

Congratulations ! I'm another beneficiary of Intermittent Fasting and Low carb diet. I will share my story in detail later. I was 100+ kg at the end of 2018, now I touched 78. On the way to reaching 75, which is my target.

FYI, I just finished 150hr extended fasting started after Diwali. usually I do 72hr or 100hr, but decided to extend my limits. I don't participate in events, but from not running 100m to recently completing 10k in 70mins and doing a 3m + 3m elbow plank is a big deal for me.

That is an awesome transformation you have made. Please share more details with pictures for the motivation of everyone. Also 150 hours of fasting! Hats off to your dedication.

Please share more details of what preparations you made for the 150 hour fast, what supplements you took, how you broke the fast etc.

An important note on long fasts: When doing long fasts like 72 hours or more, one needs to be careful in preparation. Though body derives all the energy it needs from fat, it still needs micronutrients like sodium, potassium and magnesium. So while doing long fasts, it is very important to take supplements. Without supplements, you could experience symptoms like light headedness, cramps etc.

Also, breaking the fast is very important. You should never break the fast with a carb loaded meal. The resultant insulin shock can be nasty. The longer the fast, the smaller the first meal has to be and the first meal should have mainly fat and protein. This will kick off the digestive system without spiking insulin. Carbs should be introduced gradually into the system.

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

What about the sleep pattern ? Does less or more sleep affects the weight loss processed triggered by IF and some form of workout?

This is a very good question and I missed covering this aspect. Sleep and rest are very important in weight loss. I would recommend at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day. Your body undertakes repair of torn muscles only during sleep. This is very essential when you are into strenuous workouts.

Also lack of sleep increases the level of cortisol which is a stress hormone. Cortisol triggers the fight or flight response of the body which triggers the release of glucose which in turn triggers increase insulin which in turn inhibits fat burn. Cortisol is also the reason why stress can lead to obesity. This is where reducing stress in day to day life helps in weight loss, and where practices like meditation, yoga etc help.

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Wonderful Graaja brother!

Once I started following intermittent fasting, I was actually shocked to see how effortless it was, after the first few days.

Thanks you so much Prasanna

Hope your fitness journey is progressing well. Looking forward to hearing your success story soon.

[ManneAtWheelz]

Just one word about you and this post, 'FANTASTIC'. The way you transformed your body and this post detailing in a granular level. What a wonderful and memorable jouney you had so far!!

After going through your post, only question I had in my mind "Did the new year resolution come early?"

Almost 10 years back I practised OMAD for weight loss but with zero knowledge about any weight loss programs, did it almost 2 months and I reduced my weight from 98 to 84. Due to some reason (only reason I felt is my hair fall) I gave up that routing and gained back my weight slowly. Post marriage my weight never looked back, reached 125kgs but now reduced to 120kgs. Only positive thing I fed myself is that I'm 6'2" height personality so it's ok that I'm so much of weight and I can reduce (I'm stupid here).

I started to read this post in the morning after finishing my breakfast, got self motivated & determined strongly, didn't eat anything till now (11:00pm). But my wife strongly opposed my decision saying we have a travel plan (hardly 2 hrs) in the early morning so I can't continue the fast. I requested for a black coffee (even though I didn't like this decision) but wife offered me a regular strong coffee, now we married people know that we have no choice other than obeying the orders. Jokes apart, I felt little head ache during this fasting that too in the end of the break but that too manageable only. Will continue doing the IF and will share the results.

Only question I had in mind, can this IF methods be followed by older adults who age greater than 55? What if they have BP or Is a diabetic?