I understand that results take time, but I’m getting frustrated with NO results so far. It’s been a month, I started at the end of November. Started with 16:8 and recently went to 18:6. Surely I’d see even a pound or so of weight loss? I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I’m not overeating at all during my window. I work out (run and walk).
Is it normal for ANY results to take much longer than 4 weeks?
Make sure you are also on calorie deficit. You may not overeating but you may be eating calorie-rich foods. That is why calorie count was a game changer for me. Even when I am not looking every single food and calorie in detail. I have an aprox idea of my intake a day to make sure I am keeping my deficit.
I’ve watched some videos on IF and one common thread is that while it is very good for health it doesn’t always result in immediate weight loss. As I understand it though it may train your body to better utilize fat stores resulting in longer term changes though. I think if you concentrate on also eating high quality foods (not processed) and cutting down on saturated fats while eating a lot of vegetables you will see results
How are your clothes feeling? I’ve been doing 16:8 and while I haven’t lost a ton on the scale, my clothes fit much better and you can see it in my face when I compare pictures. I think they call it body recomposition? Anyway with you running and such perhaps you’re seeing a stall because you are also actively gaining weight through muscle?
Going by scale can be sht waiting for significant results. Track your progress with nonscale victories. Maybe you own a few smaller shirts or pairs of pants? Try those on now. Are they fitting better? Look at your face. Is your jawline getting some definition? How are you performing physically?
I was considerably sedentary for most of my IF journey. Aside from 1 or 2 hours slow stationary bike and occasionally going out to get groceries most days were spent at home or working. Still when I went out for a game of tennis I was able to return balls I couldn’t catch just a few months ago. Still not at my ideal weight but I know 20-30 lbs from now I’ll be doing bursts of double unders with my jump rope I haven’t touched in years.
I just calculated the number of calories in my daily lunch smoothie. It’s 600 calories. I broke my fast earlier today with a 200 cal protein bar.
I am 5’6/F/39/127 pounds and exercise HARD 4-5x per week My maintenance calories are about 1900 per day (TDEE). This means after my protein bar & smoothie I’ve got 1100 calories to spare for dinner and snacks - just to maintain my weight! If I wanted to lose a pound a week I’d need to 500 fewer calories per day (and keep working out the same amount). That’s only 1400 calories! Two big meals and I’ve eaten that much.
TL; DR - It’s easy to eat more than the body’s maintenance & hard to consistently eat at a deficit. Knowing exact amounts of calories, protein, and fat in the foods you eat every day is useful. IF doesn’t cause you to suddenly burn vastly more active/resting calories. It just re-directs your hunger to stored fat calories during the fast.
Are you tracking what you eat and how many calories? I’ve found that if I go over 1200 calories I don’t lose anything. So I track everything I eat, including any condiments, making sure to keep between 1150 and 1200 per day. Anything over that and I don’t lose. Give it a try!
Have you reduced your caloric intake? If is just a tool but it’s not going to automatically speed up metabolism, it’s just helpful curbing snacking etc. I maintain but don’t lose weight on 16/8 or 18/6 (essentially 2 meals a day). I have to either reduce calories (about 1400 to maintain) or do a longer fast which is preferable (one day skip eating). But I’m short, not really overweight and older. A lot depends on your circumstances but not everyone who starts IF loses at the rate we often see celebrated here. I understand it can be frustrating.
It doesn’t matter if you fast 16:8, 18:6 or 20:4. If you’re not counting your intake and you’re not in a calorie deficit you won’t lose weight.
I fast daily 16:8, but my maintenance calories are 1,700. If I go over this, then I put weight on, but if I eat 1,700 plus exercise, then I lose as I’m creating a calorie deficit.
Not sure if you’re logging your calories, but even doing this for a few weeks is a real eye-opener and you may see where you are going ‘wrong’. Also, a big shock to me was portion sizes. What is classed as the recommended portion size usually differs greatly from what we think it is.
I appreciate all the feedback and encouragement!
I don’t think my clothes are fitting differently, but I’ll pay closer attention from now on. I like the idea of taking pictures so I can compare. Ideally I’d like to lose 6 to 10 lb, so maybe I’m not seeing results right now because it’s not a huge amount? I’m definitely not tracking calories, so I will look into that as well.
I’m pretty new to this, but what I’ve noticed is if I go too low on my calories for too many days in a row my weight loss stops. I do 16:8 and count calories just to be sure I’m not eating too much. Try throwing a higher calorie day in once in awhile.
I lost 5kg in the first 4 weeks doing one meal a day. But that was because I was eating less than 50% of the calories I used to eat. If you eat the same calories in a reduced feeding window you won’t lose any weight.