I have struggled with eating disorders in the past (not so long ago) ao maybe it is my weird view on my body that I don’t see any difference. But I also don’t feel the difference in the way my shorts fit. I don’t use scale because it is a big trigger for me. And I am pretty sure ay least 85% of the time I am in a calorie deficit. Other 15% is when I feel like I am going back to ED so I stop thinking about calories and don’t care much about hours either. I don’t count calories because it is not good for my mental health but tbh after years of ED you end up counting them in your head pretty accurately. I just don’t use apps to count. I wan’t to know how long it took you guys to see a difference
This sounds like a difficult foray for you, with lots of mines hiding in the field.
One month is still early to see any dramatic improvement, especially if you have high insulin resistance. With a history of eating disorders, your metabolism might be very reduced, and that may take time to rev up again.
It’s been several months of being on and off dedicated IF for me to really see a little difference in the mirror, though my boyfriend only recently remarked that he sees significant changes happening.
Dr. Jason Fung and Megan Ramos report from their IDM clinic that sometimes it takes months to begin to reverse insulin resistance and train the body to burn its own fat stores again… They also mention that male and female patients often have different timelines for body changes - I believe they said women will see their waistline measurements start to reduce before scale weight budges, and vice versa in men.
I hear you on struggling with scales and needing to avoid them. That sounds important for you to do. It can be difficult, however, without quantifiable data to track what’s happening in your body. Not feeling your clothes fit differently sounds discouraging!
While you honor that, I would focus on the non-scale victories - how does your energy feel? Sleep quality? Hunger signals/food cravings? Is your relationship to food improving (emotional eating)? Are you feeling satiated after meals?
It would be helpful to know what you’re eating, snd if you’re doing two solid, satisfying meals in the 18:6 and/or if you’re snacking. Those can be a big influence in regards to how much insulin is getting stimulated in your eating window.