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[Hurdity]

Anyone else doing this - I can't see a post on it?

I joined the study when it started a few weeks ago and have extended by a week each time so have been doing it for 4 weeks now. For those unfamiliar here is some information: https://joinzoe.com/learn/covid-the-big-if-study

Would be interested to read other menopausal women's experiences of it! There is a facbook group for people to post but it's for everyone participating in the study...

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

Morning.  Interesting. 

We are hunger  hunter even; gatherers.  We would eat when food was available then sleep it off.  Our jaw is designed to eat fruits, berries, meat ....... as a recovering anorexic I have to eat B4 my body needs energy to avoid nausea = panic attacks. 

Of course food would be raw initially and as man developed strategies someone decided that cooking was the way to go. 

Does this idea stick to seasonal food stuffs?  As a child we ate what was in the garden or bought in the weekly markets, which may in towns have been daily: meat, fish, greens in the Winter; beans, peas, through Summer into Autumn when English apples/pears would arrive. - bananas were a treat, in season.  Thinking back to C.mas certain food stuffs would be in the shops then but not B4/after.

Bread, fish, milk would be delivered to the house on a regular basis. 

Which hours will you restrict yourself to eating/not?  Any particular reasons for trialling this idea?

[Dotty]

Hi Hurdity yes I’ve been doing it 😀 x

[Taz2]

I tried it but found it really difficult after 11 pm when I get a bit peckish. Very interesting info.

Taz x 

[sheila99]

I can recommend a trip to the Bolivian jungle, I no longer need to lose weight  . This wouldn't work for me, I can't do physical work without breakfast and it's 8pm before OH gets in so no eating after 6pm isn't going to happen. Perhaps cutting out snacks between meals might be a better way to go.

[Marchlove]

Same with me Shelia. It so depends on your personal situation as to what’s achievable.

Also, people with low cortisol and/or blood sugar fluctuations need to be more wary.

Snacks out…Yes 

[CLKD]

OH sheila    was it awful 

For years I stuck to eating every 3 hours, 24/7.  Now I am not as rigid though I do need regular patterns depending on what we are doing.  I'm having to give up snacks, I noted a couple of weeks ago that my jeans are tighter.  So no more crackers with home made jam at 11.00 p.m. 

[sheila99]

OH sheila    was it awful 

Not at all, I loved it - though not the diarrhea obviously. It's a hazard of travelling so I always have medication with me and not eating for a few days saves weeks of pain dieting. Fortunately it stopped before the Inca Trail, I wouldn't have been able to cope with that if I couldn't eat properly.

[CLKD]

PHEW!  Sadly when abroad I rarely ate much 

We are late today, so lunch to hand ;-)

Also: going back to the subject - how does this diet impact on calcium = osteoporosis

[Hurdity]

Hi there all

For those who haven't read the info it's an interesting idea - that you basically restrict your eating hours to a 10 hour window and fast for 14 hours. Eating includes anything sweet, and even milk in tea so outside the eating window you drink water, black tea, black coffee or herbal ( not fruit) teas.

You can make the window whatever you like and change from day to day so if you're going out for a meal you would estimate approx what time it ended and count back 10 hours and that's when you have your first bite/drink with milk etc.

Yes you eat normal foods - it's not a diet as such - you start the first week eating normally and recording your eating "window" and then for two weeks you try to limit to 10 hours and record as well. You also record three subjective measures - hunger, mood, and energy. It useds the same app as the Zoe Covid App and led by Tim Spector who did all the citizen science covid stuff. The idea is to eat the same amount within a shorter time window but I've been eating less as I'd like to lose weight and don't want to eat when I'm not hungry, so I have my breakfast really late and have my morning cuppa black with no milk ( yuk!).

I tried it but found it really difficult after 11 pm when I get a bit peckish. Very interesting info.

Taz x 

That's what I find most difficult - I was definitely an 11 pm snacker and I have stopped that during the study so often go to bed hungry but if I wait for breakfast and then eat a larger meal in the eve it's not so bad!

There is some science being carried out - which I haven't yet read (too busy at the moment), but it is to do with gut flora or biome as they call it. Apparently the fasting period is thought to reset the gut and let it sort things out ( very scientific language I'm using here  ).  People have reported less bloating and better bowel stuff ( maybe less IBS?).

Same with me Shelia. It so depends on your personal situation as to what’s achievable.

Also, people with low cortisol and/or blood sugar fluctuations need to be more wary.

Snacks out…Yes 

Yes absolutely depends on personal situation! Partly the aim of the study is to find out how feasible it is for people to do it given everyone's diffferent lifestyle and circumstances eg I'm retired so it's easy - but there are people who work-out a lot physically doing it, as well as teachers or people who are out at work for the whole 10 hours! There is also a thought that it could lead to better blood sugar control because you're giving your body a long rest from insulin stimulation - so if that happens it would be incredible.

The thing is I'm sure women  with hormonal fluctuations - may well only be able to do it sometimes - but maybe it will help stabilise things like cortisol but they're not doing any objective measurements at the moment.

There are 100K people involved so it's a mssive study!

This wouldn't work for me, I can't do physical work without breakfast and it's 8pm before OH gets in so no eating after 6pm isn't going to happen. Perhaps cutting out snacks between meals might be a better way to go.

It's interesting how many people do very strenuous workouts before "opening" their eating "window" . I havemt yet tried attending Zumba before breakfast - but I may try tomorrow - because I normally get low blood sugar symptoms (sweats and shakes, desperate sugar cravings) if I do hevay physical exercise before I eat...

However farmers often do this - get up very early and do a few hours physical work and then come in for a mid morning large cooked breakfast. I think the body can get used to it - several people have reported they are less hungry as the study goes on. Maybe different for women though....


Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

Also: going back to the subject - how does this diet impact on calcium = osteoporosis

It's not a diet. It's called Time Restriced Eating, a type of Intermittent Fasting. You are supposed to eat the calories and food you need within a shorter time window. The idea of course is to have a balanced diet which includes calcium rich foods. I guess if people find they are less hungry so can't it as much as they did beforem within the 10 hours, they would cut out carbs and if they started to lose weight but didn't need to - would need to make sure they ate higher fat foods asnd slow release carbs I guess, in order to maintain the same weight

I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow and see if I've lost anything....good for me in the lead up to Christmas - but as I said it is not a weight loss "diet" - only if you want it to be....I've extended my participation for another week - you can do this and they get more data...

Hurdity x

[Hurdity]

Hi Hurdity yes I’ve been doing it 😀 x

Great - how are you finding it? Though maybe you post on the FB group and don't want to repeat yourself!

Hurdity x

[Dotty]

Hi Hurdity no I haven’t posted on the Facebook page although I’ve read some of the posts.

I don’t feel it’s made much difference to me as my normal eating times are within a ten hour window anyway. Breakfast at 7 and lunch at 1 and dinner at 5. I don’t eat after that. x

[Lanie66]

Hi Hurdity,

Although I'm not doing the Zoe IF study, I have used IF for a few years.  I've recently had some digestion/bowel issues so it's more important at the moment to get them sorted.

I started during peri and continued through post meno, I'm 56.  The best thing about IF was a massive reduction in bloating and IBS, I suffered with this for years .  By the end of each day I'd look pregnant and I'd be in discomfort.   IF stopped that and as a side bonus I lost weight.  I ate between 11.30am and 8pm which I know is more restrictive than the zoe stipulation.  Missing breakfast became easier and I liked the feeling of a flatter tummy which spurred me on.  When I'm sorted out with my current issue I'll hopefully be able to return to IF.  I occasionally exercised In the morning then found I needed sustenance straight after but I was fine at work (mostly desk job) supping on my black coffee until 11.30.  I just felt more healthy following that regime despite not being restricted to eating/not eating certain foods.

Lx

[Nicodemus]

Hi Hurdity
I didn't know about the Zoe study but I have been doing IF for about 3 months now. I have dinner somewhere between 7.30pm and 9.30pm and then don't eat again until about midday, occasionally a bit later. I thought I would find it hard as I tried 5:2 about 10 years ago and didn't get on with it due to migraines, but IF's been ok. Yes sometimes feel ravenous at about 10am but ignore it (tell myself it's bad bacteria demanding rubbish to eat). I also don't snack any more and have more or less ditched gluten. My partner is on a low lectin diet which I am on by default.

I did lose a couple of pounds quite quickly initially on IF and lost a couple of cm around my stomach. Has come back though due to a bit too much partaking of red wine.

It's interesting what you say about physical work Sheila. I go to the gym fortnightly and that's the only time I break the IF. I can do cardio fine on an empty stomach but I cannot lift weights or do resistance training. I get really lightheaded and my stomach growls. So I have something to eat about 1.5 hours before I go. In the summer I had to help my partner with mixing concrete which was quite physical and took all day and we both opted to have a decent breakfast before starting that.