I’ve been eating 1 meal a day for about 3 weeks. Last 2 weeks changed to keto plus IF. I eat very clean. No sugar substitutes, no sweeteners, no fruit, no hidden carbs. Basically meat, fat and salads with low carb veggies. I do have around 8oz coffee with a splash of heavy cream in the morning. The cream does break the fast I know.
I don’t count calories. I have no idea how many calories I consume. I fill up very quickly with 1 meal. I don’t have an eating window and I don’t snack.
My weight is not changing and I’m not working out much. I walk and sometimes work outside in my garden. It’s not a matter of gaining muscle.
I also notice I’m not able to sleep well.. I’m awake often at night.
I have started to get the tingling in my hands and feet again. This happens sometimes. It’s low calcium. I do not do a great job at eating much calcium. There is calcium in veggies but I fill up so quickly in 1 meal I don’t think I can get enough from plants alone. I do eat cheese but not every day.. this low calcium is usually accompanied by low Vitamin D.
I don’t crave carbs and the fasting is not hard for me. Why is my weight not dropping and why am I losing sleep? Would calcium/Vit D cause this? Could I potentially be causing myself other vitamin and mineral deficiencies because I can’t eat much on 1 meal? Is this possibly too low calories? I am very thirsty and drink a lot. I would think all that water would help drop weight.
My husband is eating the same as I am. He is much heavier and losing around 1lb a day. He sleeps great. I seem to be the opposite.
I’d count your calories to get an idea of how much you are eating and go from there. Without data it’s hard to make suggestions. You still need a caloric deficit to lose weight.
Fasting can affect your sleep. I usually feel very awake when I fast and can have a difficult time falling asleep. Play around with adjusting the time you eat - closer or farther from your bedtime. Everyone is different. Also, I found a magnesium pill before bed helps a lot!
Side note, I get tingling in my extremities when I’m low on potassium. I started drinking electrolytes (potassium - No Salt and sodium) in my water and the tingling stopped. Another sign of low potassium and excessive thirst.
Everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for the other. Make small adjustments to your routine and monitor how your body responds. Keep a log. It infuriates me how easy my husband can lose weight. Sometimes I swear he can just think thin and poof he loses pounds. Unfortunately for me it took some finagling before I started to steadily lose weight. I have a substantial amount of weight to lose. I’m currently doing a mix of 18 hour fasts with weekly 36-48 hr fasts thrown in. I plan my fast’s around my life so each week is different. Also. I’m not keto and I eat roughly my maintenance calories on non-fast days.
Happy fasting!
Have you had a check up and blood work with your doctor lately? I would get one if not, to rule out hormonal or thyroid issues. Also, this may not be the right fit for you, it sounds like you don’t feel great, food is fuel, and maybe you need a different combination to feel your best.
You could also try a multi vitamin supplement. Calcium makes a difference in my sleep. Also, for me, 3 weeks is not enough time for IF to kick in. Plus, as already mentioned, it seems harder to lose a little weight than a lot.
try counting calories for a week or so. keep loose track (round up if unsure) if u don’t have a food scale, and see if you’re hitting or surpassing your TDEE. there’s a lot of things than can hide a ton of calories (cooking oils, nuts, and cheese are the big ones, at least in my diet lol)
if you’re consistently under your TDEE, it may be another issue. i eat dirty af, but i still lose weight bc i’m under my TDEE, so if you’re eating clean and not losing weight, smth’s up. either you’re consuming too many calories or there’s another issue you should probably talk to a doctor about.
As others have said you’re going to need to start counting calories, at least to get an idea of what you are eating. I read somewhere that women get a stupidly large amount of calories from salad dressing. I forgot the exact number. “Salad” means different things to different people. A “splash” of heavy cream is different from person to person.
It’s easier for men to lose weight (burn fat) for a bunch of different reasons. One being they tend to have more lean muscle mass. They also tend to be more physically active during the day. How much you move your body outside of purposeful exercise has a huge impact on calories burned. It’s a very overlooked weight loss tool.
While fat loss is basically calories in/calories out, at some point you do need to be mindful of where those calories come from. Your body handles protein, fat and carbs differently. Keto also may not be the best approach for you. I find I do much better with some carbs.
Regardless of what you choose, IF, Keto, low fat etc., calories matter.
ETA if you’re eating later at night, ie closer to bed time, this may be impacting your sleep especially if you’re eating “heavy” meals that require a lot of energy to digest (like meat). I sleep better if dinner is light and I stop eating at least two hours before bed.