I’ve [28F] been doing a combo of 16:8,18:6, with an average of 19:5 and occasionally 20:4 and 24-25 hour fasts for about 41 days now. I’ve been doing well enough with the actual fasting, but I’m having a tough time managing my caloric intake when I do eat. It is incredibly difficult for me to stay away from carbs. I am currently being evaluated for ADD/ADHD and that may be making a contribution to my lack of consistency on managing my calories but my goodness is it rough. There are definitely some plenty days of good eating but I feel a bit powerless or out of control a lot of times. I’m not binging just not making the best choices (not the absolute worst either I guess, but still). I’ve lost about 7 pounds but I’m away from home and concerned I may have gained some of the weight back already.
Just wanted to vent about it 🥲
Honestly, everytime I travel I’m worried about gaining the weight back because all my routine (often including the fasting itself) goes out the window. But so far I’ve found that it really hasn’t affected my weight loss at all. I never gained during travels (even a 6 week trip where I basically didn’t care at all what and when and how much I ate) and usually even lose a little (though much less/slower than if I’m at home and following my normal routine. So my advice would be: before you beat yourself up, check whether or not you’re ACTUALLY gaining and if you are, how much. Small setbacks are really no big deal. The aim isn’t to be perfect. The goal is to lose the weight over time. Fluctuations in the short term are almost entirely irrelevant, other than to mess with your head.
As for your weight loss so far, that seems a decent weight loss and nothing to scoff at. Could you prob do better? Maybe, but why worry? What’s the rush. You do what you can. Plus, i did find that over time, the cravings and control over food i eat etc got easier. The first 2-3 months were the hardest. Literal daily struggle. Now it’s just second nature and no big deal for my day to day and i almost never have huge cravings or a lot of hunger. And when I do, since it’s rare, i just give in and pig out without any effects.
You lost 7 lbs in 6 weeks. That’s a little more than 1lb per week. I’d call that a success.
I, too, can’t really do the low carb thing. I’m pretty active and need the energy. Honestly, I don’t worry about it too much. I eat what I eat, exercise nearly daily, and I trust the process. I’ve lost 91 lbs in a year.
Go easy on yourself. Worry too much about daily calorie intake, and you might worsen the situation further.Take it slow because it’s a lifestyle and if you’re planning to keep doing it for a long time, it needs to be sustainable and a satisfying experience.
As others have said, I think if you zoom out and look at your progress you are doing well!
There are a couple things that helped me eat less overall during my feeding window that might be helpful to share.
Slowing down the speed which I ate and then giving myself some time to decide if i felt full helped me limit eating multiple portions and I generally felt better after meals.
Also, if the meal I am eating is a mix of carbs, proteins, and fats, I will start with the proteins/fats first. I felt like I ate more when I started with carbs.
You are doing great, don’t stress!