I remember some of you had questions referencing my posts. I don't have time to go back and find each one, but I'll try to answer based on what I remember.
I don't know how people have done long-term on Metabolic Renewal. I'm not really that dialed in on the FB group, mostly because I gave up FB for about a year. I just rejoined. I do think a lot of people have had success with it, though it's involved a lot of trial and error for some.
As I mentioned, I don't follow it really anymore. The program has you do a multi-page assessment at the beginning and at various intervals during the different phases. I'm sure the detailed assessment is very useful, but for me, it was kind of tedious. I just don't have the bandwidth in my life to pay that much attention to myself!
If anyone is interested in buying the program, I wouldn't discourage you from doing so, but I can tell you for me, the key take-aways were as follows:
Focus on reducing stress.
Incorporate a lot of leisurely walking/movement into your day (NOT speed walking)
Do short HIIT workouts a few times a week, but if you find you aren't getting results (and results could mean many things, including sleeping well, not just losing weight) ditch the HIIT and just walk more.
I do think it's a good, well-rounded program.
Regarding IF, it's like anything else--it's great for some people, probably not for everyone. I do think there are some great aspects of it, though. First of all, it's free! You will actually save money, probably. You don't have to buy any special ingredients, and you save time and the mental energy of 'what am I going to eat next?' I, personally, get sick of thinking of food. I find it annoying to plan meals. I try to cook one meal a day, usually a lot of food, then my family can eat the leftovers. I'll scramble an egg for my kids in the morning if they want it, or they'll help themselves to whatever. I try to make sure they're eating something nutritious, but I don't necessarily have to fix it for them at this point, so that's nice.
The other nice thing about IF is that you experience hunger. I think a lot of us have been conditioned to fear hunger, as if it's some terrible thing that is going to lead us to starvation and ruin! In reality, most of us could go a long time without eating and be absolutely fine. Before I started IF, if I felt hungry, I felt like I needed to eat something right away, even if dinner was almost ready. Now I can wait. Hunger is not an emergency. I find it usually passes without incident. Especially now that I'm middle aged, I seldom feel ravenous like I did when I was younger. As others have said, most of us probably need less food at this season of life! It's a bummer.
I have been fasting off and on over the years. For a while I was having difficulty staying consistent. It can be uncomfortable, of course, and I think I would take too many liberties and then it would be a slippery slope. I started getting discouraged because I felt like I was consistently letting myself down. Now I try to focus on how I feel. I really feel great (usually) when I fast. And I feel awesome the next day. I had to fast for almost three days for my first colonoscopy (based on the timing of the appointment, the fact that they were running late, etc.) Honestly, I felt AMAZING the following day. Absolutely amazing. I was shocked. A friend of mine is Muslim, and she loves Ramadan. She feels so good fasting everyday for a month (they can only eat after sundown.)
So generally, at this point in life, I'm focusing on how I feel. How workouts make me feel, how food makes me feel. I'm learning to tune into my body more instead of thinking about how I look. That's very freeing.
Sorry for the long post. I got on a roll.