Over the past couple weeks, I experimented with adding a strict feeding window to my current plan to eat to hunger and satiety. I tried an 8-hour window, from 10 am to 6 pm every day.
In the end, I found that adding the fasting window didn't really add anything of value, and in fact, started to cause problems. Part of it was a bit psychological. Sometimes I would inadvertenly load up on food right before 6 pm, subconsciously knowing I wouldn't eat again till 10 the next morning. Even trying to eat only to satiety, I ended up consuming more than I really needed.
Second, I found that some days the window felt fine, and other days there were times when I really wanted to eat. One morning I woke up very hungry around 8 am and wanted to eat. Sitting around foro two hours in a hungry state really wasn't that fun.
I think have a fixed eating window has the potential to be a chronic stressor, as Mark Sisson wrote abotu recently. It's also interesting that Mark stated he is not big into intermittent fasting himself.
After dropping the fixed eating window, all problems went away. Some days I still end up eating within an 8-hour window, but it happens naturally, in a non-stressful way.
I think there are benefits to communicating that there is "food security" (knowing you have steady access to food sources) to the body. There have actually been a number of studies on the opposite of this "food insecurity" and its negative effects. For example, a new study just linked food insecurity to higher levels of inflammation.
At any rate, it's back to plain old eating to hunger and satiety for me.
It sounds almost to simple to be right, but I now strongly feel that intermittent fasting should be a purely “natural” occurrence, meaning you don’t eat because satiety levels are such that you are in no need/mood to eat. This is what I would call intermittent fasting. It can come up simply because you are so involved in certain activities, i.e. work (hunt) or a project that your focus is just on that activity and nothing else. Example, I eat a small and simple breakfast, I have a full work load at work and am so involved that “hunger” or the desire to eat doesn’t pop up until 4 or 6 pm. Schedules for the body/eating are not natural. Art Devany has talked of this often years ago.
Marc
Still making positive progress on the eating to satiety project? I myself wonder if it ever becomes “easy” to eat to satiety. Any new discoveries?
Sorry for the double post.
I remember a post about standing up to know if one’s full.
How exactly you do judge your fullness? Do you try to imagine your stomach and sense how “filled with stuff” it is? Or do you have more of an emotion?
Also, I’m having trouble distinguishing mouth hunger from stomach hunger. What are the factors that tell you, Yes, I’m sure I’m really hungry right now (and not just bored).
Said,
Eat REAL FOOD for a 3-4 month period…..no cheating ! And watch what happens. You will find that a 4 ounce piece of meat will satisfy you for a meal and that magically your “hunger” regulates itself beautifully
Marc
I just go by the physical sensation, mostly in the stomach. Certainly, it’s easy to snack when you’re not really hungry – it’s big business!
I think it probably takes a little time and practice to regain the eating sensations.
Yes, intermittent as based on hunger, not on a pre-planned schedule. I believe you are right!
Hm, I hope so.
I try to eat out rarely, eating home-cooked food for all but 2 meals a week. I’ve been doing so for several months, but have been gaining weight while still feeling that I try hard to restrict my eating.
I hope time and practice will indeed help.
I may reread your posts, Matt, about the carbohydrate and fat mixtures, as I wonder if palatability is contributing to my continual hunger.
Said,
Make it palatable to satisfy satiety….but you have to watch your portion control.
Do you have a desk job?
Marc
Yes.
You need to do a little “digging” to find out what your real calorie requirements are.
The general consensus is that adult males need 2200-3000 calories a day. Not much much has been written about this yet, but I now believe that that amount is way to high for an adult male that sits in the office for close to 8 hours a day.
Thoughts anyone?
Marc
When I tracked calories, I found that the values given in the below link were pretty accurate:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/DRI/DRI_Energy/energy_full_report.pdf
I did make adjustments depending on how active my day was, though.