I often see progress pics and read success stories of people on losing weight through IF. But I rarely find out what their diet is. So I’m wondering if IF works to lose weight with no diet.
Depends. If you eat way more to “make up” for the meal(s) you skipped then you might not lose weight. If you mean diet as in only certain types of foods then the idea is you dont need one. Many people do keto and find they have better results that way but it is not a requirement.
I started about a month ago, down 10 pounds. I’m not eating with a diet mind, but I do notice I’m not snacking at all during my 8 hour window. Breakfast, lunch, dinner is often just a pbj sandwich or something because I’ve run out of time and I’m not famished.
I can eat ice cream and donuts and chocolate, and still lose weight.
But if I have wine or beer or other alcohol, I gain weight like crazy.
So…. It depends. But overall, IF works for me by restricting time, not calories. I eat whatever I want, in the amounts I want. I’m happy and not hungry, and losing a couple pounds a week without stress or deprivation.
You’ll find yourself drifting toward “good” food after a while because that will be what you are craving. You’ll get more attuned to your body and needs.
It can, so long as you’re still at a calorie deficit. I’ve lost over 80lb in a year eating the same meals I used to eat. I started with 18/6 then switched to a OMAD diet with occasional 48h/72h fasts. I did make an effort of adding more veggies on the side to get more micronutrients and fiber. I also leaned my portions more towards fat/protein heavy meals since carbs, especially refined sugar, gets absobed by your body faster and you won’t stay satiated for long, making the fasting bits harder.
Hope that helps.
Through my experience, no. I have done 16:8 for the past 3 months without doing CICO & I’ve lost next to nothing. Less than .3 pounds per week average loss, sitting at 5lb lost in 3 months. At this rate, it’ll take me a year to lose 20 pounds, and I’m a 5’5f 190 pounds.
I’ve had to change up my routine, add a litte more fasting and better calorie monitoring to hopefully see slightly faster results!
I do 18/6 and I eat whatever I want in that 6 hour window.
I’m still eating the same kinds of stuff, but I find myself more aware of things like, “I should eat some veggies today - it’s been a few days” lol.
I started at 153 in May and was at 139 in Oct. I have a loose goal of 129. I’m only 5’1” and 110-130 is the recommended weight range for my height.
If I were more serious (cutting out candy, sugar, booze, etc., or started working out), I’m sure I’d have met that goal already.
But the fact that I’m near my goal just by limiting when I eat (and not what) has been amazing.
I’d like to add that I’m not super strict either: my feeding window is 2-8pm, but sometimes I’ll eat earlier (like if my office buys lunch, I’ll eat early to participate) or later (if I go for drinks and pizza with friends, I’ll have calories past 8 PM). I’d say I fast 6 days a week, if you average it out.
Edit to add: sometimes I forget to eat until later, also. Like, I won’t have lunch until 3 some days because I’m just not hungry at 2. I still stop at 8 PM on those days, though. Again, I’m not super strict about it.
I do low empty carb, low added sugar, high protein, high fat. I avoid eating out and stopped drinking alcohol during the weight loss phase (down 25lbs since July on 20ish:4)
Yesterday, I ate three snack sized Snickers and a couple little Twix on Halloween and last night I wanted to snack so bad (didn’t) couldn’t fall asleep, and getting to 21 hours this morning has been hell. I just drank a little salty home made bone broth because I felt so awful. Lesson learned!
I’ve been doing 16:8 (sometimes unintentionally 17:7) for 4 weeks and I’ve lost 4lbs so far. I haven’t changed my diet whatsoever. I still eat whatever I want I just stick to meal times. Breakfast is cut out and I have lunch and supper. I don’t count calories I’ve just noticed I’m eating less in the day now, obviously.
I can’t say for everyone but I do 20/4. I eat a nice meal in the evening and have a delicious chocolate dessert everyday as well and the weight just keeps leaving.
See me tonight shoving a chocolate cupcake in my face happily sitting in my skinny jeans with longjohns on underneath.
This is just me, but I do OMAD some days and do 18/6 or 20/4 some days and I do pretty much eat whatever I want. I’ve lost 28 lbs in 6 weeks. But the thing with me is when I do sit down to eat my main meal I get full about half way through it so I end up not finishing it all.I’m sure it can be done but I don’t usually eat the limit of my calories during my eating window.
ive lost 40 pounds in 11 months without changing anything other than when i eat. i’ve tried working out, i try eating better, but i’m going through a ton of life changes rn. one thing that fills me with hope is knowing i’m still actively losing weight without much effort.
Depends. If you’re eating the entire time you’re window is open and the food consists of a lot of processed food, then no. If you do OMAD and keep a small eating window (1-4 hours), fasting clean, then yes for the most part you can eat what you like. However, for best results you should eat as limited carbs (reasonably) and clean fast (nothing but water, black coffee and black or green tea during fast). I found I could dirty fast and eat 2 small healthy meals, still losing weight but it was much slower.
I’m more conscious to not binge, but I still enjoy the occasional McDonalds, and I eat chips and pizza and sweets.
I do think most of us naturally end up doing more of OMAD after a while. I’d say I currently have 1.5 meals per day. I usually have a snack after work, dinner, and a low sugar dessert.
When I did IF years ago I literally ate candy and fast food and still maintained 120lbs
It can! I have been doing OMAD for 47 days and lost over 25lbs. I eat until I am full. No restrictions. I have had many carbs and even fast food and I am still losing. But I have a lot to lose so I will likely have to be more careful of what I eat as the pounds drop.
If you have underlying insulin resistance, just IF alone will not work. It will make you exhausted and slow down metabolism (which happened to me). I would be unable to function when I ate simple carbs on IF and have cravings all night long. For such people, IF needs to be augmented with healthy diet choices with low carbs and healthy fats and high protein.
Nah, I tried eating healthy and failed very quickly I eat whatever I want
IF is the only thing that I’ve been able to adapt and get use to and I’ve been doing it for over a month
It’s still a life style change, and if you aren’t prepared for hunger pains then you might find yourself not being consistent