I’m trying to lose weight again, IF seems to be the only thing that works for me. But I’m realizing that I get discouraged easily, like if I stop losing anything for a couple of weeks I give up. I realize I need to change my mindset and decide I’m in it for the long haul whether I’m losing consistently or not. So I guess I’m looking for your stories of long, slow loss and how you kept motivated? I’m female in my mid 50’s and it’s gotten so hard to lose anything.
Don’t weigh yourself. Or weigh yourself only every three months (this is what I do).
Make your goals about sticking with IF, not about the number on the scale. That way, you succeed every day you stick to your IF schedule, no matter what the scale number might be doing.
Weight loss is always going to be a slow, nonlinear process. That’s just how human bodies work. You can control whether you stick to your IF schedule today; you can’t control exactly what number is on the scale today. So measure success by what you can control.
IF has health benefits beyond just weight loss, too. Read The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung to learn a lot more about how insulin works, the problems that consistently-high insulin can cause, and how IF helps.
I have a family history of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes, so it feels good to know that IF is a way I can reduce insulin resistance. Every day, I find myself thinking about how while I’m fasting, my pancreas is getting a break from pumping out insulin and the rest of my body is getting a break from having to deal with constantly high insulin. That feels like a success every day.
Research, research, research. I read a lot of the posts here and one trend I’m seeing with the people who are struggling more with not losing weight is that they don’t do enough research. They ask questions which usually the people who have decent amounts of progress usually can answer. The people who answer know how to answer questions because they do a ton of research. Another trend from the people who struggle is that they think all they need to do is reduce the number of meals they eat everyday by 1.
The people who usually do a lot of research tend to add in their age, how much rest, height, starting weight, current weight, goal weight, how many calories they eat, what kind of foods they eat, their IF timeframe, how long they’ve been doing IF, level of physical activity, etc. because they know if they’re going through a plateaue people can’t answer anything without these information if they make a post trying to get help.
So, I would start out by exhausting your research.
If you stay focused on your health, you will realize that by doing IF, you are helping your body do what it is meant to do, which is to use your fat stores when needed, which has many health benefits beyond losing weight. If you have been a yo yo dieter like me, your metabolism is probably slower than most, so your body has adapted to that, and by doing IF, you can kickstart it again, as well as helping your insulin resistance. So even if you are not losing at a great speed, try to think of it as a healthy lifestyle rather than a diet. You are doing your body good!
I’m in my mid-thirties and couldn’t lose the quarantine fifteen for a whole year! I saw results fast with IF within 2 months…my chubby face is now going back to normal and my stomach got flatter. I still have 10 more pounds to lose, but it’s not budging yet (I’ve been only doing IF for 2 months).
I’m the same, IF is the only thing that works best for me.
It’s really a little cliche, but it’s not about motivation. It’s about dedication and discipline. Just stick with it and everytime you feel yourself falling off, try to listen to words of encouragement from people around you or on youtube. That works for me.
I understand! I am close to your age and it has been slow for me too. Menopause doesn’t help things. ;) I lost 12 pounds in 10 weeks, plateaued for a while, gained a little back, then lost it again just before surgery … while I recover I’m doing just 12:12 because I have meds I need to take throughout the day with food. I worried I’d gain weight but have maintained for two weeks (I weight myself every day). Life happens and we need to be flexible and kind to ourselves. I’ll go back to 16:8 to 20:4 eventually and back to exercising as soon as I can and hopefully will continue at a pound per week or thereabouts. I don’t have specific advice except to just keep at! There may be things we can do to speed up the weight loss, but if I can lose without making myself crazing counting calories, I will take the slow and steady route!
This is going to be an unpopular opinion I know… But all these apps that people are using I’m not buying it. Realistically just figure out what type of time frame you want to use for your fasting and move about your day as you would normally until your fast is over. How does that old saying go… Water never boils when you look at it? Something like that lol! Same concept with your fasting. If you’re continually looking at an app to see what stage you’re in, such as ketosis, it’s just going to make things worse for you overall because you’re basically staring at a timer. That’s just my 2 cents