Hi everyone. I’ve had great success with IF since this past September - I’ve lost 45lbs! (in combination with exercise) I’m about 10lbs away from my goal weight and realizing that I may actually need to lose a little more than that. I’ve adhered to 18:6 - 19:5 - 20:4 - OMAD fasting schedules pretty much the entire time. There may have only been 4-5 scattered days where I did a 16:8 or so - basically I’ve fasted daily for the last 6 months!
I’m also training for a half-marathon in May and recently completed a 12mi run for the first time. I burned 1400 calories alone with that run. I’ve been running nearly 5 days/wk in addition to some strength training, though on the mild side. So, I burn a lot of calories per week - last week I burned nearly 6000!
My eating routine is to make a protein shake immediately after my run (usually around 1pm) which breaks my fast. I often but not always then eat a snack of some sort (carrots and peanut butter, granola, yogurt, fruit, pretzels, etc) and then I eat a larger dinner. I’ve nearly 100% eliminated excess sugar like candy, chocolate, pastries etc. , only eating things like this on special occasions.
My question - is it a good idea to take a day every now and then to NOT fast at this point? Not uncommonly, the last 10 or so pounds are proving difficult to lose. Has my body become too used to this? I’m confused because I do tend to burn between 3500-5500 calories per week and am definitely in a caloric deficit. Because of the training, do you think that maybe I’m not eating enough and have gone into a “starvation” mode? Has my metabolism possibly slowed down? Should I eat more during my window or extend my window?
I just want to reach my goal weight (it’s not just about the number, but the amount of body fat is still higher) and am confused as to why weight loss has stalled. Thank you!
Yes, you may have reached a plateau, and you could eat to break it. But, have you considered that you may be replacing fat with muscle, which doesn’t show on the scale. I’ve been working out for a while, and I’ve only lost 5 pounds. But, I have gone down 3 pant sizes.
You also could be overestimating calories burned. Apps are awful for this, and bodies are just different. Maybe you figured cals burned per mile before you lost 45lbs and you’re burning less because a) you’re lighter and b) your running is more efficient.
My recommendation is to add either speed work or strength training. Both will snap your body out of its comfort zone, increase muscle mass and therefore increase your metabolism, and making your running stronger, easier and faster. My easiest runs have ALWAYS been when I was cross training. I was running less and still going faster and further with ease. If that still doesn’t help, look at calories then.