I am post menopausal, have Hashimoto’s and am overall sick on meds. I’m 5’7 and 150 or so. I’m trying for 135. What am I doing wrong?
First, props to you for your efforts. A few things come to mind: First, two weeks isn’t enough time to tell if your approach is working - I’d commit to at least a few months. Second, are you exercising (more than you were)?
Also, my GF has Hashimotos, have you spoken to your endocrinologist about adjusting meds and IF? I know it can be tricky to get the meds right. I hope you feel better!
From what I understand, your body always prioritizes healing first, than weight loss. Sounds like you have a lot of hormonal/ medical issues your body needs to heal from…perhaps fasting is helping with that first? Do you feel better? Also look at how your clothes fit or pictures to see a difference. Another thing is trying to keep insulin low, especially with hormonal issues. Perhaps try for two meals and cut out snacking. Also look into healthy keto. Some good people to you tube are dr mindy pelz and dr Berg for info on fasting and hormonal issues. If anything, use IF for healing. Best of luck!
Let me give you an example: looking at online calculators, if I eat 1500 calories a day, I’ll stay the same weight. If I slip on a few days and have an extra cup of ice cream or French fries or a glass of wine in addition to that, I’ll gain weight. IF has been hugely helpful for me after I gained a good sense of how many calories I need to eat (or maintain) my weight. If you’re not tracking, honestly, the answer is that you’re eating too many calories for you to lose weight.
It’s most likely WHAT you are eating and not just how much. I know everybody bangs on about calories and deficit but there is a lot of good research that shows that doesn’t really work like a straightforward math equation. I stopped tracking calories a long time ago and I’ve done much better. IF is one good tool but alone it will not address all of your issues if you continue eating foods that do not serve your health. As a base line, I would cut out flour, sugar, refined vegetable oils (like canola oil etc not olive oil) and highly processed foods. Focus on nutrient dense foods, prioritise protein and vegetables, and be careful with carbs. Start there and see how you go.
I’m 44, perimenopausal and close to your starting height and weight with the same goal (reduce from 150 to 135). I’ve lost only 4lbs over 6 weeks but am not discouraged. I feel younger people with no major health issues may see faster results as may people who have a lot more weight to lose than 10/15 pounds. Anyway, lots of good answers and tips from redditors but wanted to share my solidarity!
I just jumped straight into OMAD and lost 15kg within 3 months. I just had a nice satisfactory meal with meat and veges with a juice. I’ve never counted calories since there’s really no need on OMAD unless you eat junk
All the best mate
A lot of time IF is working - but not in the way you think. It’s more than just a tool for weight loss. It heals from the inside out, so if you have poor health then your fasting periods could be working hard inside your body. I’ll also say 2 weeks isn’t enough time to get the data you need to make informed decisions. I recommend reading Fast, Feast, Repeat by Gin Stephens and watching Jason Fung videos on YouTube. I’d also recommend listening to The Intermittent Fasting Podcast w/ Gin Stephens and Melanie Avalon. Good luck!
I find that I can eat through the system. If I eat what ever I want and a ton of it, I won’t see any gains. I have to make sure that I eat when I’m hungry, but not to excess during my window. I also find that I have better appetite control and better results if I work out a little. I’m talking run a mile, and 2 strength exercises. My mile time is about 10.5 minutes for now. The whole thing takes me about 45 minutes.
Try that out.
But the real deal is that we are all different, and not everything works with every one. So IF just might not be your jam. Or maybe its only one component of your jam.
If you can tolerate it, try and fast most of the day and start your eating window at 4pm to 10pm or 5pm to 11pm.
I would recommend doing a trial for a few days with some frozen reduced calorie meals as your dinner because you know exactly how many calories are in each meal.
I like Amy’s Light and Lean, SmartOnes by Weight Watcher and some of the Lean Cuisine meals that are under 300 calories and have less than 600 mg sodium. If you snack after that, pick things like those little individually wrapped pieces of cheese and track the calories so you know your deficit.
PS: I would recommend taking your thyroid meds at the same time each morning if you aren’t already. It made a world of difference for me.
Are you working out at all? At some point, just doing IF won’t work alone. It may be that you have lost all you can through IF and it’s time to start shaping via various workouts. I can no long lose weight by just IF. I do at home HIIT 6 days a week and 16:8 IF and lose 4 lbs a month now.
I think weight loss can be frustratingly slow for peri and post menopausal women. Esp when you’re not particularly overweight. I’ve been doing 16:8 ton18:6 since early jan and have lost 1 lb. I am now weighing and measuring food (when I can) so I’m aware of what I’m eating and keeping calories at about 1259 my tdee is like 1400…I did a dexa scan too which revealed my basal metabolic rate was 987, which is lower than any calculator by 15% or so thus any weight loss for me is going to be like 1 lb a month …All I can say is slow and steady and maybe experiment with changing your diet (more veggies for gut health?!). Joe Mercia advises menopausal ish women to do a different protocol…3 days a week lower carb with a 16:8 window, two days a fast day (just one 300-500 calorie meal) and two days a higher car, higher calorie day. I’m currently in a 5 day fasting mimicking diet but maybe try the alternating protocol when I’m done.