I’ve done IF in the past but never went full on. This time I decided no cheating, and I’m combining 16:8 with calorie counting (1300 a day or less) and 3-4 high intensity 2-4 mile walks a week. I’m Drinking water non-stop. I’ve been doing this since Feb 16, so a little under a month.
I’ve lost 1.5 lbs. That’s it.
I’m 43 and 5’5” and SW was 171
I don’t get why the needle isn’t moving more. What else am I supposed to be doing. I eat very little sugar, eating higher protein and greens. I’m at a loss. Do I need to do longer fasts?
You may have lost more than that. 4 weeks is what I consider short term. Short term fluctuations in weight can easily just be changes in water weight and other changes. You can force quick changes on a scale, but they are not real. Real loss of fat takes time and over 4 weeks that loss could easily be masked by those other fluctuations. For example I can manufacture and 8 pound loss in 24 hours just by dehydrating myself. So you need to be careful about the fluctuations you see day to day or even week to week. I really advocate against constant weighing early on as it can lead to frustration and expecting to see something happening that you won’t on a scale.
The number on a scale doesn’t tell you composition, water weight, body fat percentage, etc. Two people of the same weight can look vastly different depending on their body fat percentage and many other factors. Over the short period it is hard to see changes like that on a scale. So getting on a scale daily or even weekly won’t really tell you much other then giving you some data to look back months later to see the trend line. So lets say you were in a 500 calorie deficit perfectly per day over those 4 weeks. That might mean 4 pounds in fat lost. But that could easily be masked by water weight changes. So you could easily be down 3-4 pounds of fat and slightly up in water weight and look like you gained.
Real weight loss take long term changes and consistency. Getting too fixated on numbers, dates, and other goals can make your frustrated and stop. So don’t think about those things. Just implement the changes you can do long term and just do it long term.
The scale can flucuate wildly. Pay attention to how your clothes are fitting.
Try to keep a consistent routine in terms of water intake, exercise, and the how/when/where of weighing in.
I always weigh myself once a week. Same time, same scale, same location. So every saturday morning in my bathroom, no clothes, before I shower or drink anything and after using the bathroom.
If your 3 or 4 months in, and the scale hasnt moved… then Id be worried.
What you’re doing is good. Look at your starch intake. Rice, noodles, bread, etc will cause you to retain water. It’s makes the scale read heavier than you are.
At 43, I highly recommend adding basic weightlifting. As we age our muscles atrophy and that messes up your body composition.
Check out r/StartingStrength
If you are truly eating 1300cals/day, remaining active and not loosing weight, you should see a doctor (not judgning!!). Honestly, try and stick with it another month and I’m sure you’ll start to see progress.
How do you feel? How are your clothes fitting? Did you take pictures or measurements other than weight? The scale can go up or down 5 lb for me on any given day so I don’t find it a reliable metric. However, I’m just about a month in and my waist and hips are about 0.5 in smaller, and I’m down 1% body fat with my gym’s inBody machine.
Each person is different. But I hadn’t seen significant and rapid results until I went to 18+, and then OMAD. So far I’ve lost 80 lbs. But the first 50lbs took what felt like forever, the last 30 of that wasn’t happening until I kicked it up to 18 hours. I gained back 15 over the holidays but I ate way too much junk. And just now got back down pre holidays.
I would make my fast at least 19 hours. So many Drs seem to be in agreement about the extra benefits after 18 hours. I do a minimum of 19 and since Feb 14 have lost almost 11 lbs. (2 tenths of a lb less) and I’m 20 years older than you and also female. Usually I do from 19 to 63 hours and have one meal. Sometimes a second meal within 4 or 5 hours. Then I fast again until I decide to eat, always after 19 hrs minimum. The thing that encourages me is a keto breath meter. It took me a couple days to get over a 10 reading (10 to 39 is a optimum level of ketosis) but a few hours after a meal I am back to 16 and overnight I always get back to 20.