I’ve heard some people say you can eat ANYTHING you want during IF. While I doubt that’s true, I’d love to get some first hand accounts of how strict you need to be with your intake.
If it helps, I am 39m, 5’7, 205 lb, I’d like to get to 175.
From what I understand 16:8 helps a lot with snacking less. Don’t just push your snack from 9pm to 8pm because it’ll fit in the window, instead realize how much snacking you may be doing and try to drop that. You might still be consuming extra calories after stabilizing on 16:8. If you notice that you can cut back some stuff here and there, and it should feel easier due to the discipline gained by telling yourself “no” outside the window.
Depends on how much you have to lose and how quickly you want to lose, but it’s certainly possible to eat more than maintenance calories in even one meal for many bodies.
However I have lost by just eating intuitively with 16:8, ie make an effort to eat better, without needing to count calories. This has worked well for me.
https://www.ginstephens.com/all-blog-posts/eating-you-are-in-charge
Gin Stephens also has a chapter in Fast, Feast, Repeat which goes into more detail on the difference between EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT! and Eat whatever YOU want!
I’m learning how to listen to my body. Ice cream on one day means I want to open my window after just 16hrs fasting- I prefer to go closer to 20- so I only have ice cream when it’s really worth it and I accept the impact it will have on me.
I eat whatever I want, although I love to cook so most of my food is organic meat and veggies prepared at home (and chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate). I lost 30 pounds (150 to 120) over a year and have been successfully maintaining my weight ever since.
I honestly have to eat pretty healthy and what seems like perfect to see any losses while doing IF. I don’t understand the people who are like “I eat whatever I want” - I am not one of those people sadly.
I’ve lost 30+ pounds since July doing 16:8 and not monitoring what I eat from noon to 8pm. I actually eat less healthfully than I did before IF. The difference is, my appetite is more under control now and I’m not snacking all day and night like I used to.
You definitely can’t eat ANYTHING you want. But if you limit your food consumption to an 8-hour window, you’ll most probably consume fewer calories. For most people, an 8-hour feeding window entails skipping breakfast and eliminating snacks after dinner. If you’re really sticking to IF, you’ll probably be too full after lunch to replace your breakfast calories.
I’m moderately strict about what I eat. I don’t eat fast food or anything, but I eat pizza once or twice a week, and today I ate a cookie. I also might treat myself to something if I started eating much later than usual one day. In theory, I eat between 12 and 8. But if I don’t eat until 3 one day, I might let myself eat something at 9 or 10 pm.
Basically anyone can do this and still lose weight, but keep in mind that the closer you get to your goal, the stricter you’ll have to be.
Pretty much every day of the week I eat healthy home cooked meals on top of regular exercise and 16:8. That being said, usually once a week I’ll splurge and have a meal of my choosing and not worry about the nutrition aspect of it.
38F, CW: 190, 5’7, GW: 150
I’ve noticed my body needs OMAD else it puts back the pounds right as it’s lost, IF is really sneaky that way for me. If I’m strict it works, if I am not strict it gets worse than what I started with.
I do CICO with 16:8 and 18:6 and I try to make my first meal protein and fiber rich to keep me full and it really works. I mix in healthy with some junk and I’m steadily losing 1-1.5 lbs/wk. I have also been doing 30 minutes of weights or cardio 5 days/wk. I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing much but I am eating way less because something about IF makes me less hungry and I’m strict about my eating windows. I hope that helps! It’s all about balance and once you find what works for you, go with it.
I try to limit refined carbs, by either swapping for the whole wheat/brown rice or by taking a smaller portion. I focus on trying to eat more fiber. And for the sake of my dental health, I watch how much sugar I eat. I don’t buy junk food anymore and it really helps with the chronic snacking problem I had. I compensate by making myself a cup of decaffeinated tea when I feel like reaching for my afternoon cookie…
I lost a significant amount of weight when I was doing 18:6 and also watching what I was eating. But now doing 16:8 most days (not really consciously, I just don’t usually eat breakfast) and not being really strict with carb+calories I’ve gained some weight back 😅 5ft6 female SW 190 lb was 120 lb at my lowest and now about 130 lb
No restrictions. 63 F, lost 36 lb since Jan, 2 lb loss last 3 mos. I don’t snack & never cheat. I don’t eat out and I can’t say I eat junk food or processed foods. Also, I hate exercise, but I do walk the dog nightly for about 1.5 mile.Example, yesterday I made chicken and sausage gumbo and shrimp etouffee, rice, baguette, and mini pecan pie and vanilla ice cream. Also, I had a glass of white wine. Normally, I wouldn’t have had the dessert or wine, but it was a family dinner with guests. Everything was homemad, except the ice cream and wine. I didn’t eat etouffee as I don’t eat seafood, and I only ate 1/2 a mini pie; they were baked in cupcake tins, so quite small. Yesterday was OMAD, so dinner was the only thing I ate other than the blk coffee and water. It can be done, but you’re not going to lose lots in about time.
I eat anything except anything with sugars or processed carbs like flour or processed starches. I’ll eat oily crispy pork if I’m craving it without any guilt. But if I eat sugars I’d feel terrible because I feel hungrier the next day.
I am doing 16:8 (sometimes longer).
SW : 210CW : 192GW : 170
5’ 11” 38yo Male
Been doing IF for 44 days straight.
Fluctuated for a bit at 197-200.
I was exercising ( just outdoor walk ) for 30+ minutes everyday. So I figured on having a Gatorade after.
Turns out the Gatorade was keeping me at the same weight.
Stopped drinking that ( now I drink either water or water with MIO ).
If I were to just drink water, it would be near impossible to me to enjoy IF.
Currently 42 days without a soda.
Almost to 190 — should be under by the New Year!
https://i.imgur.com/fICPejC.jpg
Short answer: Not very strict.
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To elaborate, I aim for specific macros and do what I can to hit them. I don’t always hit them BUT the one macronutrient I focus on first and foremost and ensure that I hit at the end of the day is protein. If I want pizza, I have a slice or two of pizza. But before I do that, I’ll usually knock back a protein shake or a couple Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurts. Making protein my priority keeps my head in the game and keeps me from overdoing it whenever I eat something ‘good’. Limiting my pizza intake is a lot harder on an empty growling stomach than when I pre-game on 30+ grams of protein.
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But to address your point, no you cannot just YOLO and eat whatever you want. To get the results you’re looking for you’ll need to be in a caloric deficit. How you get that deficit and from what type of food/macros you get it from is up to you. If you want guidance on that feel free to PM me and we can discuss options.
I’m extremely strict with keto! I’ve been doing it for over eight years and honestly I just feel so much better on it, so that even though it’s restrictive it’s totally worth it for me for that alone. The 60-pound weight-loss and maintenance is certainly no small factor either ;)
I’m also OMAD!
Depends on what I am doing that day, IF excels at burning excess fat by doing nothing, but if I am doing nothing, I am not going to stuff my face come meal time.
If I just worked my regular 12 hour shift then went home and did a workout? A chef salad, ravioli, and a pair of muffins is my go to meal. Sometimes at my second break I get a pair of fruit cups from the market in the break room if I am struggling to finish my shift.
You really just need to be concious of what you have done versus what your body needs to make it to the next meal. I personally cannot do 3 days of 12 hour shifts and stick to 2000 calories, especially when I follow each shift with 30mins of resistance workouts. I think the average daily calories on hard work days is around 3500, but I can only tell you what works for me, everyone has different life circumstances.
during my eating window I try to limit my daily calorie intake to 1,200 (approx, as I use Cronometer and it does not always include the actual food i’m eating) but that’s just me cause I need to loose a lot of weight haha. calorie deficit plus hiit workouts three times a week AND doing 16:8 has been of tremendous help
I don’t consistently do 16:8 anymore, but I saw great success with it and lost over 40 pounds.
I understand that some people don’t like counting calories, but I would at least consider doing that, or estimating how many calories you were eating per day prior to beginning 16:8. Like, assuming you’re eating from 11-7 or 12-8 now, were you somebody who used to eat a fairly large breakfast? If so, assuming you keep the rest of your diet about the same, you should lose weight because you are cutting out a fairly large chunk of calories. However, if you were someone who ate a smaller breakfast, the effect wouldn’t be as dramatic unless you were also someone who had a tendency to eat late at night.
When I fasted I would typically eat 2 fairly large meals and one smaller meal (like a protein bar and some yogurt) in the middle. Unless you’re just eating like complete crap you’ll probably see some success.
I eat a vege based diet with meats for protein. I limit processed foods including sugar. I have the sugar and stuff just on special occasions like xmas or birthdays if i feel like it. I try to limit snacking and have set meals. Good luck
I suppose it depends on what you consider strict. You cannot eat anything you want. You go on a binge in your eating window, eat over your daily calorie needs, you will gain weight.
I have IF almost my whole life, without realizing it. Only ate once a day. Night time, a big ole carb laden dinner. The meal would probably clock in between 2,250 - 3,000. Which, actually was way too much for my 5’ 2 frame and being a woman.
I ended up being 75 lbs overweight by 28.
About 5 years back switched to keto, continued on with IF. I now eat between 1200- 1500 calories a day now and less than 20 grams carbs. Have maintained a perfectly healthy 125 lbs for several years now. Am healthy, feel good, and have more energy than ever.
I also find keto makes if easier to control over eating and feel full and nourished on the amount of calories it takes to maintain my ideal weight.
Do note, Keto is not necessary to have results from fasting, but for some it makes the transition easy. Especially if you a day long snacker or barely make it meal to meal. However, it may not be for you, and that’s totally okay.
Also note, don’t base your calorie needs upon mine. Mine are rather low, and very likely too low for a 6 ft male. Do calculate your calorie needs for height, weight, and activity level. For example, my husband loses weight at eating 2,500 calories a day. Yet I gain eating over 1,500. He can eat over a 1,000 more calories a day than my maintence level and be in weight loss.
I have to calorie count - I can eat my days calories in one meal if I eat what I used to eat
I get 2400 calories and I lose 1lb a week with that - I have to be careful to eat my protein as I go to the gym
I still eat the same things. Just less of it. But, I already ate fairly well.
When people say you can eat “anything” they’re just emphasizing the fact that it’s not necessary to only eat lean meat broccoli and protein shakes for the rest of your life. They’re not talking about a diet consisting of potato chips and ice cream and nothing else.
I’m very strict in that I keep my carbs less than 20 per day and try very hard to drink 3 L of water but somedays are better than others.
I also make sure my protein is a little under because going over can cause insulin to spike ( which is what I’m trying to lower bc of t2 diabetes). I do 22: 2 usually as I don’t find I’m that hungry most of the day.
I did 16:8 and went from 250lbs to 240lbs… then plateaued.
16:8 with minimal sugar I went from 240 to 230… then plateaued.
18:6 with minimal sugar (or 16:8 when I exercise late) and dropped from 230 to 220.
220 is an acceptable weight for me, 215 is the goal. (I’m tall and muscular, under 215 is too skinny).
Other than keeping myself to minimal sugar (an occasional dessert with the woman I’m dating), I let myself eat anything in my window, so long as I’m not neglecting fruits and veggies I’m good.
