Hi I’m new here, been doing 16/8 5 or 6 days a week for four weeks and I weighed myself for the first time today and I didn’t even lose a pound. Feeling really discouraged. I have a vacation coming in July and I was hoping to have lost at least 15 pounds by then. Any advice? I lift weights and do 8k-10k steps a day.
I’m not here to judge you but looking at some of your past comments and I see that you were doing 6 days deficit and one day completely off of IF to start.
I’m not a petite woman (or even a woman at all) but I know the hardest weight loss group in here is petite women. The calories for maintenance are so low that the deficits become very small .
Calorie counting is more of a week or month long cumulative thing, so if you’re adding up calories you didn’t eat and then one day relaxing it, you won’t necessarily (and in your case obviously) get results.
If 1200 calories is such a strain that you need a day off a week from it, then it is too few. Trying to lose 15 pounds in a short span of time is a very very aggressive plan and there’s going to have to be a lot of austerity. But austerity doesn’t match well with sustainability.
Some of the amping up measures that can help you and that you can try….obviously making this a 7 days a week thing, cutting out sugar substitutes completely and then slowly cutting out sugar completely, limiting carbs to as little as possible, and and then maybe limiting calories back to the 1200.
But some of what your goals are might have to change. You might have to redesign your plan to be a happier-at-your-weight 152. A lean 148 by next Christmas.
I lost 10 pounds with OMAD. It took me about 2 months. I’m 52 and didn’t have much to lose except menopause weight. What finally made a difference was cutting out most carbs, changing morning coffee to black only, and taking a long walk every evening. I don’t do heavy cardio, lift weights or do anything to kill myself. I do some squats with 5 pound weights. I stuck to my eating window of 2-4 hours starting at noon. I gave my body the chance to switch over to utilizing my fat stores by having a long fasting window. The more I stuck to this, the quicker the weight came off. I feel incredible and energized. My hunger cravings subsided. My OMADs consist of calorie dense whole healthy foods, totaling between 1000 to 1200 calories. For example: avocados, chicken, salads, fresh veggies, granola with yogurt, nuts, fruit. I feel so full, I don’t need or crave a dinner. Hope this helps.
The closer you are to a healthy weight the harder it is to lose that little subcutaneous fat. For women as we get older this can make it much harder. Your sedentary TDEE is 1600-1700 calories. You strength train and are highly active with walking. You should see more recomp, muscle replacing fat simultaneously. You may also retain water as the muscles develop.
Make sure you’re drinking enough water. Prioritize protein and fats as your energy source. Carbs can hold people back by causing us to retain water as well. I personally would stick to calorie counting since you are only 15lbs to your goal. I had to start doing this with being 30 to my goal/estimate and it has payed off.
Someone did mention insulin resistance. I would say this is possibly the case if your physical measurements haven’t changed. I make mention to prioritize monthly measurements over the number on the scale. If this is the case you should be doing IF every day on a lower carb diet, if possible. Nothing extreme but 16:8 should pull you out of it depending on the severity when done every day. I had it when I was 250lbs. I had a 18 month stall and tried every method possible to lose weight except a form of fasting. After a week on 16:8 I dropped 6+lbs of probably all water. It was ridiculous.
As a fellow shorty, it is a journey.
According to Jason Fung’s book, “Life In the Fasting Lane”, for women it may take 6 months to start seeing weight loss from fasting. Also, if you are lifting, you may have lost fat and gained muscle, which means that the number on the scale will remain the same or even be higher. If you are just starting with the IF lifestyle, you may want to consider measuring non-scale victories to keep you motivated. Examples I can think of are: feeling more energetic, consistently maintaining the IF schedule you chose as a goal, clothes feel looser.
I had the same experience. Firstly it is possible that you have gained muscle - I have a scale that measures body composition but I guess you don’t? Have you lost inches?
If not it’s possible you may have insulin resistance or something else going on and it might be worth seeing an endocrinologist to get checked out.
First of all, fasting isn’t a calorie-reduction diet; it’s an eating schedule. If it works at all, then you shouldn’t have to ALSO reduce calories or eliminate food groups. That would be called a…diet.
Secondly, 16/8 is considered a maintenance fast. To make your body burn stored fat for energy, you’ll have to fast for longer periods than that such as OMAD (23/1) or even extended fasting (more than 24 hours).
If you’re working out, you build muscle. Muscle is heavier than fat, so as you’re building muscle and burning fat, you could be slimming down but be gaining weight. I would measure your arms, chest, biceps, neck, shoulders, thighs, calves, waist, etc.
The scale doesn’t tell the whole truth. It’s great for beginners who are 30+ lbs overweight because they lose a lot really fast due to the excess their bodies have. For smaller people, weight training and caloric deficits aren’t going to show on the scale very well. For example, my scale went from 250 to 198 (6’3M) in 9 months. I’m at the point where my scale doesn’t budge because I’ve added weight training. I look better in the mirror than I have in a long time and I feel GREAT, but the scale says I gained 7 lbs.
Exercise while fasting, but ensure you ingest plenty of fluid and electrolytes. I am postmenopausal, and I tried everything to lose weight. Fasting and exercising force your body to use fat for energy. It worked for me.
“You may be losing weight and gaining muscle.
If you’re losing inches but maintaining your weight and you regularly strength train, you may actually be losing fat and gaining muscle. The process of gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is called body recomposition.
Most scales don’t differentiate between the amounts of body fat and muscle you have.”
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/losing-inches-but-not-weight#losing-weight-gaining-muscle
I’d prioritize cardio over weights for weight loss. Run at least one mile a day. Then focus on incline and intervals.
Consider trying 5:2 mixed with 16:8 to get things moving.
I’ve seen best results for me when I workout right at the end of my fasting window.
What’s your TDEE? 500<TDEE is the recommendation
Also, 80/20 fat/protein zero carb
I’m doing it all. 20/4 2mad IF, 500<TDEE, 80/20 and losing weight quickly. 13lbs down so far and feeling great.
56f, 5’6”, SW 187, CW 174, GW 149
Fasting helps, but in the end it boils down to calories in < calories out. I recommend downloading a calorie counting app, like Cronometer, and logging your food intake (for accuracy, I also recommend purchasing a food scale and actually weighing and measuring your food). I was blown away when I started tracking and discovered just how much I was over-eating. Time-restricted eating makes it easier to consume fewer calories, but it’s still easy to go over-board, too.
Either not counting calories correct or your body is just recomping. Muscle neutrinos getting re activated and muscle bellies filling up with water will hide any fat loss on the scale but not in the measurements. If your measurements haven’t changed then something is happening with your calorie intake.