Ok so I am entering my 8th week of IF 20:4. Over the last 3 weeks I have been teetering a few ounces up and down no real weightloss. I have not been calorie counting, but I entered 2 days worth of what I ate on MFP and realized I’m hanging between 1,000 and 1,200. Is having a lower calorie intake slowing my progress or does my body just still need to accomodate to this food change? Also I am not intentionally eating less but have changed over to healthier options for my food so I guess the calories are significantly less that then more processed food I was eating prior.
I can force a change of almost 8 pounds in 24 hours because of water weight. 8 weeks is short and 3 is even shorter. Real weight takes a long time to come off. Even if you are losing a pound a week in fat that is only 8 pounds over that period. Many people see an initial quick drop off because of the changes they make but that isn’t likely real weight but just water and other reconfiguration. You have to be very careful to expect that the weight will come off steady like that. For example it took me 2 years to lose 70 pounds and 20-30 was the first year. There were many points where I would level off for long periods of time or even regress slightly. Obsessing over the numbers on a scale daily or even weekly are largely meaningless as there can be many fluctuations that happen. And it can lead to you stooping what you are doing or becoming frustrated you aren’t reaching some goal. In the end 3 weeks is meaningless as is 8. What matters is 52 weeks or 200 weeks. You are trying to move to a sustainable way of eating that will take time to implement. Personally I didn’t even have a scale for the first year of doing IF and I really advocate not weighing yourself all the time especially at the beginning. I have a scale now but I still only get on it rarely.
Understand that the change you are making is to try and move to a sustainable way of eating for the long term. Trying to force change in a short period of time will likely lead to failure. It is what causes yo you weight changes as people try and force loss with something unsustainable only to revert back.
It’s good to change your routine fasting once in a while maybe once a week if you are doing 16:8, try 20:4. If you are 20:4 maybe try 16:8. Try eating at mantainence, & try eating purely clean keto. Also try weighing yourself 1x a week, and not stressing yourself with unwanted negativity