Hi all, I am a newbie here and am aiming to do 1 or 2 24-hour fasts a month as a personal endurance challenge and to increase mental clarity. (Disclaimer: I tried once and failed after about 16 hours - going to try again later this week armed with some better tools.)
Most of the posts I see on this sub are about weight loss. However, I am not aiming to lose weight. My weight/BMI is in an ideal range and my body fat is already lean for my age (I’m a 43-year-old female and BF around 19-20%). I do have some hypothyroid issues which are successfully treated through medication. I work a desk job, but in my free time I am very fit and active (I lift weights, cycle and swim).
Just curious if there are some tips and tricks for fasting while maintaining weight? I know it’s inevitable to lose a few pounds during a fast, but I don’t want to get into the cycle of losing and gaining, losing and gaining.
Fasting doesn’t inherently cause weight loss. Fasting is a tool or method used to limit caloric intake and that deficit results in weight loss. If you just want to maintain weight but continue to use fasting as a means of regulating food intake, just eat at maintenance calories and you’ll be fine.
I have been at maintenance for quite a long time now, and undertaken lots of self experimentation, and I am of the opinion that I look my best right as I am now, 175-180, which is where I hover.
I have been as low as 160 before, but I look like shit at 160 on my 6 foot frame. I did not want to hear that when people told me at the time, but I was in the zone. I now have the benefit of hindsight.
I have gotten very dialed in on my body over time, and I have managed to figure out that as much as I currently exercise I need approximately 3500 calories each day in my OMAD just to maintain my weight. Much less than that and I will continue to lose weight, albeit more slowly. I have to make a very conscious effort to make sure I am eating enough each night, and I will often have desserts or else use “fillers” like sauces or other condiments to add more calories to my meals.
I guess if I was not such a stubborn jackass I would move to 2MAD instead of sticking to cramming it all into one meal. but OMAD is my comfort zone so this is what I stick with.
Me. I’m not wanting to lose weight. Just doing 20:4 at the moment with a weekly 24 hour thrown in but I’m going to try a 3 day fast soon. I want to do 3 day fasts every couple of months.
51F, 5ft, 45kg, body fat of 21%
I’m not fasting for weight loss. I do lose some fat during longer fasts (5 day). For shorter fasts I don’t notice a difference as I got back to eating how I usually do.
I don’t have a scale so I don’t really track weight. At a certain point it’s a useless metric. 50F 5’4” ~110lbs. I don’t track calories etc. but I know what I’m eating. I tend to go by how I’m feeling, my performance in the gym etc.
The people who lose a large amount of fat doing IF or shorter fasts are the ones who have a lot to lose and who are making generally poor food choices that are dramatically improved with small changes like not eating for 16 hours. For those who have their nutrition and movement in check the impact of fasting will be much less in terms of fat loss.
Your body can only burn so much fat within a given time period. You’re really not going to be losing and gaining. Most of the weigh loss you see on the scale is “water weight” which comes back when you start eating.
It’s important to understand what goes into making up the weight you see on the scale.
I’m not doing it for weight loss as I have an athletic build, currently on day 5 of a 12 day waterfast to try to beat my record of 10 days (years ago). It’s a mental exercise more than anything and I love the feeling of discipline and accomplishment it gives me :)