I’ve done IF before and had moderate success. Restarted in mid-Jan and doing 16:8 but eating verrrry little before dinner. Like, 200 calories for lunch and that’s it.
Ive only lost 1 kg in the first month and tbh I’m not enjoying it at all.
It just feels like I can have a decent dinner but the rest of my 24 hours are pure deprivation.
I don’t enjoy hunger pangs, I don’t enjoy watching other people enjoy their lunch when I’m sitting there with my black tea, I dont enjoy having to keep under 1300 for my dinner (and clearly I’m failing or I’d be losing more). I don’t enjoy having the sort of body that holds onto every ounce like I’m in some post-apocalypse situation.
I have a highly active job and I don’t fuel my body during my shift like I probably need to, but I lose weight so painfully slow that I can’t afford to.
I feel hungry and tired. And after my one meal my stomach gurgles loud enough to wake the dead for a disconcertingly long time.
Any advice? I’m really wondering how sustainable this is for me.
Maybe try something else? I do 2 x 36 hour fasts instead of everyday. it works better for me. I say this as Im drinking black tea while coworkers are eating lunch.
Low carb could be worth trying too if that works for you.
Honestly my advice is stop. You don’t seem to be enjoying this at all and on top of that it doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe try something else? I’m gonna be completely honest, I like hunger pangs. I’m only saying that because it’s part of my day, it reminds me it’s working and I get a small boost from it. But if I was hating it, I’d stop. Being healthy shouldn’t be a drag on everything else, there are plenty of other weight and diet programs out there. Best of luck!
What do you typically eat? Make sure you’re consuming nutrient-dense meals and not just eating junk. That’s a recipe for disaster…
Even if you are not doing keto, look up a macros calculator online so you can measure how much protein is adequate for you and then go from there.
Have you tried having your larger meal at the earlier part of your eating window? And emphasize protein at that meal. You might find the rest of your eating window is much easier that way. I find I’m able to have a much smaller dinner than I’ve ever had before because my first meal is rather substantial.
Everyone who tries caloric restriction fails in the long run. Your body will not accept it and you will be miserable.I had the same experience over and over.200 calories is not satiating. Your body wants more than that.Eat less often, but when you eat fill up on nutrient dense foods like meat and eggs and stay away from carbs and sugary foods. People will disagree with that advice but it worked for me and I have sustained a big weight loss.
My advice world be to not count any calories.
From what I’ve read, IF works because of the effect on your hormones, not strictly CICO. When you eat, your body releases insulin and stores energy for later. When you are practicing time restricted feeding, you limit your body’s release of insulin throughout the day, and your body is more likely to use the energy rather than storing it. This is an over simplification of what I’ve read, but I hope it makes some sense.
You could also try lengthening your eating window to allow more have food throughout the day or eliminate any sort of calories/flavors/sweeteners you may be drinking during your fasting time. (Water, black coffee, black tea, etc. No flavored waters or cream in coffee.)
Try listening to your body and eat until you’re satiated. Focus on getting your body adequate protein, fats, and carbs; when you’re starting out allow yourself a craving now and then. Everyone’s body is different and energy needs vary every day.
How much water do you drink when you get thirsty? You have no idea. You start drinking, and at some point, your body gives you a powerful signal to stop drinking water, you’ve had enough. There’s no incentive to keep drinking more water. You just drank exactly what your body needed, without thinking about it at all.
How much alcohol do you drink when you want to drink alcohol? It’s completely different, because there’s no strong hormonal feedback to your brain saying “ok stop, you’ve had enough”, like with water. In fact it’s opposite of that response. Have more, want more.
It’s the same way with food
If you eat protein and fat exclusively (aka, what people need to eat in order to live) then your body has those same strong hormonal feedback mechanisms that it does with water. You eat until you get the full signal, and then you stop. You just ate exactly what your body needed, without thinking about it at all.
Carbohydrates do not provide that same hormonal feedback to your brain that protein and fat does. So you eat them until you feel physically stuffed in your stomach, or you intentionally, consciously restrict how much you eat, which causes dissatisfaction, because your body still needs the protein and fat from real food and it still hasn’t gotten it yet if you eat the carb-focused stuff.
Go low carb in general and eat a nice sized meal. I always eat in a deficit, but I NEVER calorie count. I make sure that I get full with like a big ass salad or like baked chicken breast with veggies on the side. The hardest part for most is really starchy foods. These are your breads, pasta, potatoes, rice and they will easily derail your progress if you overeat them. They also spike your blood sugar a ton (makes you even more hungry) and bloats your tummy 😝. Meat and veggies and plenty of water (add some yummy Mio/enhancers) and drink up! Eat comfort foods like Pizza, loaded fries,ice cream as a occasional weekend treat! You got this 😃!
200 cal for lunch seems awfully low. I eat about half of my daily food for lunch, the other for dinner. If you’re very tired and that hungry (sounds more than just appetite for snacking), then you may not eat enough good stuff, and could experience some deficiency, common is also electrolyte deficiency. Protein and fat are essential and help with satiety. Before IF, I used to eat a green salad for lunch and was wondering why I felt so weak. Now I add some meat or other protein, and feel good. A little bit of food made me hungrier than skipping a meal altogether. How do you do with carbs?
Try to just eat during your eating window and focus on completing the fast from food. Overtime you will likely lose weight and it will be me sustainable. I would focus on reducing high calorie dense food and replace with more veg.
Focus on positive life change not weight. Better to be fatter and healthy and happy than a miserable skinny sob