I was the fat kid growing up and finally lost weight (80 pounds) as an adult (F34) and looked great! I was lighter than I had been even in high school! I loved clothes and styling and taking pictures finally. Posted my awesome before and after on Reddit. But then life got rough and I got off track and I’ve gained back almost 50 of the 80 I lost. I’ve restarted OMAD and have been doing it for two weeks. I’m just severely disappointed in myself and I don’t love my body like this. The scale has barely budged and I’m just so discouraged. Anyone else doing this again?? How do you feel???
Yah, first time I lost 53 pounds, then gained back 30. I gained back because at some point I said screw it, and went back to my old eating habits. I fell into a bit of a depression, and it was hard to stop the downward spiral. But I knew food wasn’t a solution to my problems. At least not the way I was going about it.
This time around, I’ve lost about 45, for a total loss between 65-70 pounds, and I’ve been maintaining for about 2 months. Next week will mark 2 years since I started my initial weight loss journey.
I probably have another 10-15 pounds to lose, but I’m taking the long view. Instead of crashing and burning like the first time around, I’m celebrating my ability to maintain my weight in my current range. Instead of saying screw it… and that’s the difference between the first time and now.
I know that if I really want to lose the 10-15, I can. I know how. Clean up my diet, track what I’m eating, increase my activity level. But for now, I’m fine where I am.
Before, I thought maintaining my weight meant that I had to keep it exactly at a number at that seemed hard and frustrating. This time, I recognize that weight is a range, and I can float up a bit and down a bit and stay in relatively the same place over time. That’s helping me to manage. I have an upper weight limit that tells me when I’m too far out of bounds and I tighten up what I’m doing to get back to where I should be.
BTDT!! Honestly, my motivation is how much better I feel physically and mentally when I’m in shape and at a healthy weight. I know I’ve done this once, and can do it again. I’ve also promised myself to gettherapy to support myself thru the tough times (when I can afford it lol) and stop the emotional eating - I have a warning weight when I know somethings up, and find other coping mechanisms. Life style changes take time, it’s a shift from the inside out! You got this!
I’m in the same boat. I went from 185 to 120 in 9 months. I wanted to lose about 5 more pounds, but I couldn’t get under 119. And that was only for a day. I hovered between 120-125 pounds for about 7 months. One day, I got really hungry and depression hit hard. I lost all motivation.
I’ve gained back 30 pounds. And still searching for motivation to lose it again.
Weight loss is a roller coaster, it’s never only loss.
Additionally, you have to change behaviors outside of OMAD or IF. You can be successful losing weight using IF, but many people add lbs back on when they stop because their actual behaviors didn’t change (adding workouts, healthier food, etc). Many people, myself included, didn’t change the way I ate when doing IF and once I loosened my IF schedule, I saw some weight gain back because I hadn’t changed my food habits.
Hi honey, I’m 34 right now and still have yet to get out of obesity. At one point I lost about 100lbs, let’s just say that with life and the development of pcos, I gained it ALL back. Regain is a nasty bitch, and I’m sorry you’re dealing with it. Just know you did it once and you can do it again! We just need to work on self love and kindness, because your body doesn’t need to be punished it just needs to be loved and nurtured. You totally got this.
Everybody falls off the board sometimes while they’re learning to ride the waves. Keep at it and try not to be too hard on yourself. Every slip up is a learning experience and makes us stronger in the long run.
I was doing keto and if…. I went from 210ish post pregnancy) to 137. My goal was 145… I was almost 200 again and decided enough was enough…. feel pretty crappy. Both physically and mentally. But I am getting on track now. =)
So, here are my tips for you. Instead of doing OMAD (bc I lost a lot of weight this way and it did come right back after stopping) do something that can be a lifelong change for you. For me it’s sticking to 2 meals a day with no snacking. I can do that for the rest of my life. You can even do 3 meals if that’s what’s sustainable for you.
During weight loss, I make sure I’m eating healthy, do some calorie counting, exercise and strength training. But when I’m done losing weight, I’ll still eat healthy and just two times a day.
Another big tip is that it’s not enough to just lose weight but you need to stay in maintenance mode and not let yourself go back to ‘normal’ eating or change weight significantly for at least 6 months as this will help reset your body set weight (you can Google that) to the new weight it tries to maintain for you.
And most importantly go slow, bc your body will want to put weight back on with avengence if it loses too fast. You want to do it slowly and throw in a couple chest days periodically to help reset.
I’m back at it for a second time. I used IF to drop about 30 lbs before my first pregnancy. Gained weight with pregnancy (a normal amount for my starting weight, well within the OB’s guidelines), dropped to a new low weight when breastfeeding, and then gained after weaning and spiraling in postpartum depression. I’m back at it again and making progress. I think it helps that I am in a much better headspace and doing this for myself and not for the purposes of getting pregnant. That’s something I’d prefer to avoid for a while
I think the hormone responsible for fake hunger, ghrelin, is a mean and nasty asshole. For me, it really comes down to recognition of that asshole, which means questioning myself:
“Am I truly hungry?”
Most of the time, I’m not. So distraction is key. A coping plan helps. Put the plan on your fridge.
Granted I have severe ADHD, and at times I can hyper focus (common symptom), so it’s easy having an intense project that significantly helps me stop emotional eating. I just finished a leather tote and found myself depressed when the project was completed. So there’s a connection with being engaged in an enjoyable project and mood. I just finished a Lego flower bouquet project. Same thing. Makes it so much easier to fast and you notice you weren’t even hungry during the project. Think I’ll start on a leather passport wallet today.
Another coping mechanism is journaling. You might be confused at the time you’re craving food. Record your mood, what you are craving, etc. then after a few days go back and read your last week of journaling. I guarantee you it’s eye opening, and you will discover your emotional patterns with mood and food. Then you can tailor a strategy for yourself and set yourself up for success.
Best wishes!
I’ve done it several times. The first I didn’t know what it was, I just did what turned out to be IF, on my own prompting, and I lost 60lbs in 2 months. Get that off for 5 years then shit went sideways and gained it back. Again, not knowing what IF is, I just did what I did the first time, and lost the same amount in the same time. Kept it off for about 8 years then life and stress brought me to 40lb over, and I did the same again. Kept it off until Covid and over Covid I went 60lb over again. From Sept to Dec 2021, I lost it again, and then I got Omicron a couple weeks ago, and I EAT when I’m sick. Like… the only thing that makes me not feel miserable is stuffing my face. SO… I’m maybe up 15lb again, but the hardest thing for me isn’t to not eat once I’m not eating, but to start the stopping of the eating. So after 2 weeks of full binging, I’m having a very hard time putting the food down.
As for the scale, ignore it. Don’t even let it be a part of your thoughts. DO THE WORK AND THE RESULTS WILL FOLLOW. Fuck what that asshole scale says. If anything, go by how your clothes fit. And the first two weeks is nothing… it may take a while to kick in. JUST DO THE WORK.
Also, get your eating under control. I see a lot of people in here that essentially eat ANYTHING during their OMAD or eating phase of IF. DON’T. Don’t use that time for a free for all, cut ALL the bad shit out of your habits, and eat lower calories. When I get into full disciplined IF, I have already cut out almost all carbs, and sugars. Then when I hit my target weight, it was just a matter of adding back in other meals. Still low calories, still limited diet, just no longer OMAD or long fasting. Make it as easy on you as possible for long term success by training your MIND about what you eat. When I held the wait off for 5+ years at a time, I went those 5 years with no bread, starches, or sweets. Only sugars were natural (fruit), and in very limited quantities.
Keep at it.
Do the work.
Results will follow.
I have to tell myself this every day right now.
It’s my first time doing intermittent fasting to lose weight, but it’s definitely not my first weight loss rodeo. In 2017, I started walking more, eating less portions and more healthy stuff. It paid off, I lost about 10kg and all was right with the world.
Then everything changed the year after and I’ve been gaining weight steadily since then (eating late, then COVID, then maintaining a sedentary lifestyle as an admin staff at work). Not only did I gain the 10kg back, but I also gained an extra 6kg.
So, here I am again. Decided to finally do something about it this year rather than those half-baked attempts I’d tried in the other years. I started IF and exercising more than 4 times a week.
It all seemed to be working at first, but last week, my confidence took a hit when I saw I’d gained back some of the weight I’d lost this month.
Sooo, yeah. I’m as discouraged as you. Haven’t really been watching what I eat in the past one week, though I’m still keeping to my eating window.
Someone on here said we should focus less on the kg/lbs and more on the in/cm, so that’s what I’ll do, I guess.
All in all, I get what you mean and I’ll just keep going at it just like everyone has advised me to.
All the best!
Don’t do OMAD or IF for weight loss.
Weight only stays off when you change your habits and mind set… permanently.
You need to work on your relationship with food and your body if you’re going to have success. OMAD is only a quick fix/band aid, and is not sustainable in the long run for most people.