So I’ve been doing IF for 26 days and I lost 7 pounds in the first 10 days. Then I put 3 pounds back on in the next 16 days.
Not sure what I’m doing wrong. Started on a 14/10 schedule and moved up to a 15/9 and frequently 16/8. Severely curtailed my alcohol intake, most days to zero.
Suggestions are most welcome.
lots of data missing
Are you tracking your fasts with an app? Are you accurately and honestly tracking it all? Its very easy to say “yeah ive been fasting for 2 months” when in reality I only hit the fast point 10 days out of 20.
Are you eating too many calories, are you eating too few calories?
Are you weighing yourself at the same time of day? Oddly enough you do weigh more at different times of the day
Unfortunately its not as easy as saying “do this or that” but lots of things can be happening. There is also plateauing that you just need to work through.
Stick with it. You’re not necessarily doing anything wrong, and you’ve lost 4 lbs in a month, that’s a pound per week! Some things to consider:
You didn’t lose 7 lbs of fat in 10 days (sorry), so you could feel like you’re stagnating but actually steadily losing fat and this is just water weight going down and up
Alcohol is a diuretic, so you flush out water when you drink alcohol… meaning if you haven’t had as much alcohol, you’re probably retaining more water than when you were drinking. (Also why a night of drinking can sometimes lead to a low number on the scale the next day).
3 pounds is within normal daily weight fluctuations. Weighing yourself at different times of the day could easily cause a 3 lb difference. Eating more carbs or more salt could also cause a 3 lb difference the next few days, just due to water storage.
If it’s applicable to you, menstrual cycles cause significant swings throughout the month (about 5 lbs of monthly fluctuations is normal, not counting daily fluctuations having an additional effect). (This is also water weight)
If it’s applicable to you, starting a new exercise routine usually causes a few pounds of weight gain. Your body swells and retains water when building muscle.
Essentially, unless you know in your heart that you’ve been overeating, 2 weeks of data isn’t enough to say something’s wrong. Be patient with yourself and keep at it!