Hey all! 36 year old male here. My intermittent fasting journey started in March of 2020 when my wife and I noticed a friend had lost a significant amount of weight. We realized pretty quickly that IF was very doable for us and I had just crept up over 300 pounds. I’ve tried just about every diet, exercise program, and wonder pill that you can think of. Most things worked but weren’t sustainable, didn’t last, or led to other problems.
My first goal was to hit 232 pounds, this is the weight I graduated high school at. I’ve now officially seen 232 on a scale a few times but I just can’t break out of this plateau I’ve been in for 6 months or so. That’s why I’m here hoping maybe someone knows what I’m missing or where I should focus.
My current schedule is 18:6, but most days end up being 20:4. We stop eating dinner around 6:30pm most days and I tend to eat lunch around 2:30pm. I do have some portion control issues from time to time and probably need to work on that, sometimes lunches feel like I’m eating too much. I don’t count calories typically as that demotivates me, if that would help I could try. I will occasionally eat some snacks before dinner. For dinner we have home cooked meals and they vary wildly, in a very lucky man. On the weekends we dine out, eat takeout, etc and it isn’t necessarily healthy food. That’s what has made IF sustainable for us, within reason we can eat what we want and still have success. We do drink alcohol sometimes and usually maintain our normal schedule so those days would be 12:12, this happens one day per week about every 3 weeks. One thing that seems like a red flag to me is that I HAVE to have sweets after dinner, I am usually pretty good limiting it but I definitely have a crutch in chewy candy.
For exercise I have found that a treadmill is best for me due to our location, my schedule, etc. I strive for 1 hour per day 3 days per week. My most recent success was during a month that I was able to do 90 minutes 5 times per week. I have recently joined Planet Fitness and have been doing the 30 minute circuit workout with cardio before and after, along with multiple stretching sessions. This works out to be about 60 minutes total.
As far as medical and other issues, I’m on Adderall ER 20mg for ADHD and Flomax for BPH. I have very recently been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and am working on trying to overcome that so I can push harder on the treadmill. I definitely have some body dysmorphia issues that I have been trying to deal with by taking more measurements, comparing more pictures, and being more accepting of compliments. After losing most of the weight I had labs done and my vitals are all within good levels and as someone that has had high blood pressure and potential blood sugar issues this is a massive win for me.
I mentioned my wife and while this post isn’t about her, I want to point out that a partner that supports you and loves the same lifestyle is huge. She is my motivation and she’s killing it as well!
I would be extremely grateful for any suggestions, questions, or anything. I have considered omad and have tested a few days, while I can do it I haven’t fully committed yet.
Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from all of you! The progress pictures have blown me away and have proved to me that everyone’s bodies work differently.
I lost 90 lbs then got stuck on a plateau. Didn’t mind though. Gave myself time to adjust to a really different life. Breaking a plateau required a real change. I started with 4:3. That is four days on (lunch and dinner) and three days off (water only) I used to do half fasting but switched to serious water fasting. Now I switched to 3:4 so I have 36 hr fasts and one 60 hr fast per week. There are benefits from long term fasting, ketosis, autophagy, growth hormone, insulin reduction, and stem cell rejuvenation. Try longer and longer fasts, stay hydrated, don’t stress too much. Keep at it. Sneak pistachios in to replace candy. That sugar truly is the devil.
Try to cut calories by addressing the portion control issue. Perhaps in idea could be to have some type of filling but low calorie item in your typical lunch/dinner - broccoli, cauliflower, beans, lentils, cabbage. This will allow your to binge, feel full, but at the same time reduce your calorie intake.
Nice work!
You don’t need sweets after dinner! Just stop buying them.
As for portion control - drink at least one full glass of water before a meal. Then dish up less than you usually would. Another full glass of water after. You will feel fuller.
Cut out sugar and alcohol. Stop eating processed food. Eat enough good food during your meals so that you do not feel the need to snack. From my experience over the last 7 months, mostly OMAD, is that IF offers a great structure but what you eat is more important.
Holy cow! You lost over 20% of your body weight and managed to get key health markers, like BP and blood sugar, under control. Those are impressive achievements and while I don’t want to in any way discourage you from reaching your next milestone, I do think your body has already gone through a major transformation and the plateau is just a recalibration. I hate tracking calories myself, so I just focus on protein and try to get 100-130g a day. When I do that, I find that I simply can’t eat much of the unhealthy stuff cause I’m stuffed! Hydrate, use bone broth to fill you up, and maybe think about your fiber intake. For example, if you can’t part with sweets, maybe try switching to fruit to get some fiber.