I’m a big dude ( 30yo male, 340lb, 6’5) and i’ve just started in intermitent fasting.
For me it’s pretty easy to stay a whole day without eating (eating just the dinner, for example), but in my first week it seems to be pretty inefficient. I’ve lost some lbs (from the water retention, i guess), but since then i’m pretty much stuck.
I’m not eating THAT MUCH (specially considering my size and weight), and some days i didn’t lose a single gram on the scale.
I’ve cut all the carbs and just drink zero sugar soda (not sure it’s alright to drink it). Maybe it’s just the wrong option for me?
Could you guys suggest a viable fasting? Can i eat some carbs, or should i completelly avoid them? Should i stick to 24h, or try a more flexible approach?
Thanks!
Try alternate day fasting, if possible. It’s not for everyone, but it worked well for me. 1 day of eating what you want, 1 day of no more than 500 calories total, that’s it. No diet sodas as the sugar substitutes can mess with your body’s hunger signals. Black coffee and water only during fasting times. I’m 6’5” and started at 245, dropped to 218 in a single month. Ymmv, but alternate day fasting was a game changer for me.
I’m no expert but I bet you it’s the sugar free soda. The digestive process starts when you taste something sweet, even if it’s sugar free. Your body still thinks it’s getting carbs, so it releases insulin. Insulin spikes will keep you fat. The goal is to have a 0 insulin response for a long time.
Keep slogging away! It can also take a couple weeks for your body to key into what’s going on.
Personally I’m a big guy like 6 foot 6 300ish. I just went 16-8 and am slowly moving into 18-6. That’s working well and I’m not worried about what I eat in the window I generally eat a snack at the beginning and a full meal around supper. Don’t drink pop and don’t snack but when I do eat I don’t restrict what I eat at all. It’s working great for me losing weight and feel amazing. I recommend easing into it and not being super restrictive especially at our size. There’s a ton of damage to undo it’s going to take awhile. Also don’t weight yourself everyday you’ll go crazy do once a week at most
Don’t drink or eat any artificial sugars/meats and such. Stick with wholesome food. As little processed food as possible. Definitely no soda…replace with seltzers. During your fasting period, only drink water. This will help you. Stay as active as possible, lots of walking. Good luck!
P.s. I am 6’5. Used to be 270 pounds, down to 235 with muscle gain from weight lifting and lost lots of fat.
Weight loss generally comes down to calorie intake vs calories burned. Because you’re bigger doesn’t necessarily mean you burn more calories.
Generally speaking all calories are not the same. I wouldn’t cut carbs out completely but you probably want to steer towards healthy carbs that are high in fiber. Veggies, quinoa and fruit are good options.
Go heavier on proteins but stick with fish (salmon), turkey and chicken for meats. I buy some ground turkey and throw some bbq and quinoa on it and it’s solid.
Try eating more beans and lentils - high in protein and fiber.
Hello! I too am a big guy (6’, SW 335lbs), and have had a lot of success with IF so far. I started in September with 16:8, then within a few weeks to 18:6. I was pulling OMADs by October a d am happy to say I made it through xmas and hit the new year down 35lbs.
On a break as I have pneumonia right now, but will restart soon for more progress.
I have to admit, I’ve been pretty lazy with the IF, didnt really cut out any foods, just limited alcohol. I eat what I normally eat, just only during my window.
I always advocate that people who are just starting fasting should start with a simple fasting window and work their way up to longer ones.
I’ve been fasting for almost 2 years and I try avoid 24 hour fasts, unless I have something coming up in which I know I won’t be doing my regular fasts.
So maybe start with a a baseline 16/8 (or maybe 14/10) and if you feel good go longer without eating. But for now have an easier fast as a baseline each day and extend from there depending on how you feel. And then raise your baseline fasts as your become more comfortable.
Also, if you’re able to exercise try working that into your fasting schedule.
Hope this helps👍🏾
One thing to remember is that weight loss is often not a linear straight down, mostly do to water and the normal fluctuations of the body. Even the act of the body using a fat cell involved water getting used, stored, and then let go days later. So it’s not going to be this steady loss of a few grams a day most of the time.
Once you’ve plateaued for a few weeks should you really start to reexamine. Though given your size, weight should be falling off a lot since it would in theory be hard for your to eat maintenance in one sitting. Any chance you are eating more than you think you are? It might be worth weighing and tracking for a week just to be sure.
Also, I often see people lose weight for a week or two, then flat line for 2 months, then continue losing weight. So be realistic with time frames and expectations too. Often the internet gives an unrealistic expectation (or it’s just not accurate) and the pics we see might only represent 0.000001% of people doing fasting and not getting the same results.
Some things to consider are qualityOf sleep, regular daily walking goals, stress management, sufficient protein intake (with protein targets being a goal and fat/carbs being limits), or add in a weekly/fortnightly longer fast for a while if the cycle persists for over a month.
I personally fast all day Monday (last meal Sunday night, next meal Tuesday lunch) and 16:8 the rest of the time and that allows maintenance while not worrying at all what I eat on weekends. My weekdays just follow 16:8 and unprocessed food with no sugar. And a glass of sugar free soft drink at dinner because…it works for me.
Greetings, fellow big guy — please, please do yourself a favor and watch this bariatric surgeon/phd researcher on YouTube — the man is damned sharp and can explain things in ways you will hopefully find very easy to follow and motivating.
ZERO carbs, or as close to zero as you can possibly get!
Damn, wildly different experience, you went OMAD and practically went keto (or well, you went keto, there’s just different thoughts on sodas) it’s been working for me so that proves every person is a world.