I’m 37 years old and about 400 pounds. In the past I’ve lost 125 pound doing keto and IF (mostly OMAD) but I’m back and bigger than ever.
I’ve started back on Keto and IF multiple times but never stuck with it.
My head just isn’t in it. I know I need to but I can’t seem to make it stick. But my schedule predisposes me to eating OMAD or having a very short eating window (2ish hours)
I’m assuming some people have had success with just IF and no diet but how common is it? Should I really be looking at a diet along with IF? Any tips for making this work without a diet?
I’m fully aware at 400 pounds I should be on a diet and exercising but I’ve tried and so far it hasn’t worked out as well as I’d like it too. I’m thinking this might get me started.
And when I say no diet, I mean no calorie counting, no restricting carbs, etc… I’m not planning on pounding back a gallon milkshake and a box of cookies for my OMAD but I’d like to be able to have a bit more flexibility in what I eat. Maybe eat desert when we got to my mother-in-law’s or have a plate of pasta.
The most important thing is finding a lifestyle that is healthy and sustainable. It doesn’t have to be a strict diet, but rather guidelines to follow.
The most important nutritional things to focus on from my experience is avoiding sugar and bad fats (omega 6 and transfat), eating plenty of vegetables, and eating healthy fats (omega 3 and saturated).
Of course, on occasion you could allow for a treat like cake or pie. This is what I mean about being not too rigid like a diet.
IF doesn’t specify your diet, just your eating window. That said, calories in are what you are restricting. If you do OMAD but take in 3000 calories in the window, you won’t get results.
But it’s only effective if you stick with it. If you treat yourself every once in a while, and that helps you stick with it, that’s great.
Look up Dr Jason Fung on YouTube. He has lots of great videos on how IF works and practical advice. Good luck!
I believe at 400 you would see a lot of positive movement just with IF and not with a particular diet. I don’t have a particular diet (keto etc) I just do 18:6 or 20:4 and eat normally during my window, and I’ve lost weight, though now I’m closer to my goal (<10lb) I need to actually reduce carbs etc to make headway. By virtue of simply eating less you would start to burn some weight off. And I think if you go straight into a really different diet and eating schedule at the same time you’re more likely to give up because it’s more restrictive and less maintainable. Start with OMAD or 20:4 if that’s what your daily schedule lends itself towards but that’s already a big change probably, so don’t push yourself to make a lot of change beyond that at first. And only make changes you know you can really stick to long term. I think rather than having a particular diet it works, for me, to just ‘be sensible’ about food. It’s totally fine to have that dessert or plate of pasta when it’s in your eating window, the portion size is reasonable, and it’s not every day.
Allowing yourself some flexibility reduces the chance of failure by a lot. Because the next day, you aren’t full of guilt or the feeling that something has been lost. You just go back to your regular schedule and continue to benefit from IF. There are always allowances in any long term habit (be it IF, daily exercise, classes, hobbies etc) for special occasions or days when it just isn’t possible due to work etc - noting that most days you do need to be disciplined about it and not make every week a special occasion.
I personally had success with OMAD with just cutting out suger. So basically I had what ever I wanted to eat. Only rule was NO Suger.
It helps and will take you along way to loosing some of that 400. After that you can make another change or do as you see best.
I lost most of my weight (50-60 lbs—I know it’s a lot different than your goal) doing only IF and eating whatever I wanted during my eating window. I changed it up all the time, sometimes doing a 16:8, sometimes a 22:2, usually landing at a 18:6 or 20:4. Yes, food quality matters, but I suggest just focusing on fasting “clean” during your fasting window. It will work and I bet you will be amazed. I would highly recommend the book “Fast. Feast. Repeat.” by Gin Stephens. Or if you’re not a big reader, “Delay, Don’t Deny” by the same author. Now that I’ve been fasting for over two years, I have learned which foods work for my body and which foods don’t. It was a long journey (and I’m sure will continue to be), but I’m in a much better place with food mentally than I ever was before starting IF.
If you want to have good mental and physical health you are gonna have to stop eating processed foods….if you do what you suggest and just add in no more processed food, then yes, you will get down to the weight you want…
I do a 5:2 IF with less structured other days.
I want to retain a healthy relationship with food, so I focus on adding to my meals or think how can I make this nutritionally valuable. Adding veggies to every meal and eating 20-30g protein with meals. This creates satiating meals that don’t trigger any restrictive feelings.
I find it beneficial to track calories mainly to see if my week stays in a deficit. I’m not fasting for the ketosis but for a caloric deficit while not destroying my metabolism. So on my non fasting days I aim for maintenance calories. This is just what I found works best for me without creating an all or nothing lifestyle.
I didn’t want to worry about calorie counting and I couldn’t exercise due to a medical issue, but I was able to lose weight with IF. The key for me was doing alternate day fasting, so 36 - 42 hr fasts. On my eating days I try to focus on eating vegetables, fruits, and unprocessed foods but I am not super strict about it.
I had to work up to the longer fasts, but once I started using electrolytes on days that I wouldn’t be eating it got so much easier. I was able to continue losing weight even when my partner was trying to intentionally gain weight and I ate some of their really indulgent desserts on my eating days.