Idk if this breaks the rules at all but whatever I’m here! Hello! I’m new to this so this is about to be long as hell lmao.
I’m 22F, 5’3 and weigh probably around 200 rn.
During the pandemic I had an intense emotional breakup from a longterm relationship and started working from home so in the past year I’ve gained like 30lbs from overall lack of self care and depression and new anxiety meds. I really want to get myself back into shape and lose 40lbs and I have heard great things about IF but I don’t really know where to start.
Ig for background I genuinely do like healthy foods a lot I love fresh fruit smoothies and salmon and my greens and I have tried to cut out dairy and red meat and pork bc they don’t sit right in my stomach but my biggest problems with food are water intake (easily dehydrated) and snacking constantly. Working from home gets really boring so every few hours I find myself gnawing on one thing and then another so I really only have dinner most days outside of snacking on indulgent things that make you feel like crap like ice cream, cheezits, cookies etc.
I’m struggling trying to figure out the one meal a day thing for myself, I don’t know when would be the best time to give me the most energy during the day (I work 8:30-5) and the least amount of cravings before trying to sleep bc before bed cravings are the WORST. Or what to have within that meal and how much for my body type and goals. Are there certain drinks/snacks I can have throughout the day even while doing OMAD?
I know this is a lot but I want to give myself time to find a routine of it that works but I don’t want to keep putting this off bc it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for months for myself. Sorry this is all over the place but thank you for anyone who took the time to read it lol.
Hi girl! Hold your horses! Start with a bigger eating window, and work your way down to OMAD. Fast for 16: eat for 8. Then when you’re comfortable, get to 18:6. Then eventually 20:4! Let your body adjust to a fasting schedule before jumping right into OMAD. Also, I cannot stress enough, staying hydrated is so important for fasting. Set alarms for water breaks, or get a gallon jug and do a water challenge thing where you write lines on the side of how much you should have had by a certain time. Black coffee (or tea) is your new best friend. Anything other than that or water during your fasting window is breaking your fast and will be harder to see results. Last of all, give yourself some grace! Be patient! It is NOT easy. But it does get easier along the way :) you got this!!
Start with 12:12 for a few days
Then 16:8 for a few days
Then 2 meals a day
Then Omad
Because omad is tough stuff (and effective)and should be approached gently, alternating with 2mad or 16:8 if you need to.
So yeah it does work, but take it easy on yourself going into this as well. Its taken me two months to get used to various IF options, just started omad last week, and it takes some adjusting lemme tell ya. It is…very…..very different.
And get used to putting some pink salt on your food to stay sane during the long fasting hours.
I agree, start slow with IF, if you try to do too much too soon you will be miserable and quit. I started with 14:10, then once I got used to that moved to 16:8. I am staying mostly 16:8 with some 18:6 a few times a week. I personally don’t plan on doing 20:4 OMAD because 16:8 is working for me right now. And that has worked for many others who have reached their goals too! The key is to find what works for you & that you can make your lifestyle & not be miserable.
I was going to comment to start slow, but you’ve got that coming through clearly here!
Other tips would be that you have clearly recognized a food and boredom issue, I definitely have this too! I’ve been fasting since Jan 1, 2021 and it still hasn’t gone away. The thing that has changed is my awareness of the “boredom hunger” vs. actual hunger, for me hanger is a good description because I feel my mood slip - usually after 18-20 hours of fasting. So start small and focus on building intuition for your true hunger. Some other things that helped me with this were keto test strips like 7$ on Amazon. Fasting until I got to ketosis really helped when I got bored hungry! Also, track your progress and use an app. If you follow the fasting you’ll lose weight and it’s so motivating to see the differences. When you get bored you can just look at how far you’ve come!
Also, there’s some great books on IF. I really like “fast. Feast. Repeat” by gin Stephens. She focuses on fasting for weight loss and provides a lot of different approaches. Also, she tells you how to skip around to start quickly if that’s something you need.