I know the CICO crowd is going to say I’m cheating or missing something. I’m really, really, really not.
I love IF for the way it makes me feel. My skin is better. My hormones are more under control. My body craves better food and the junk food I used to eat tastes weird - I mostly don’t even want it any longer. I like the 19:5 window. It’s easy to remember and I can plan ahead for reasonable, balanced meals.
But I have a LONG history of not being able to lose weight, like at all. And IF doesn’t seem to be breaking that so far - it’s been one month today and the scale hasn’t budged.
For example, two summers ago I did the whole foods diet - no sugar, no dessert, NONE from March through August. It was NOT easy. And I would lose a little water weight here and there, but the scale stayed the same. Even more frustrating, as soon as I got tired of the drudgery and started eating sugar again, I immediately gained six pounds. Those pounds never budged.
Yesterday I got upset about not losing weight despite being hungry for so long, and I ate three pieces of pizza. Today the scale went up three pounds. Past experience says those pounds aren’t going away, ever, and I’m so frustrated I could cry.
Does anyone else have this body type? And PLEASE don’t try to analyze the CICO aspect of it. For half the month I was using protien shakes for one or two meals of my two-meal-a-day plan, so that I could definitely know for sure how many calories I was taking in. It was less. My body just won’t let go of an ounce….
That USED to happen to me, and I had to learn about my body’s composition and how it works. Even got my thyroid checked, came back negative, just in case. You have stubborn fat >>>same here<<< and it is the type of metabolism that needs to know one is in control and committed and not playing around. Tell it, talk to it! “You are gonna have to eat your freaking storage >>autophagy<< and I’ll feed you the basics, so our body doesn’t lose muscles.” I learned that my body will first lose the new fat fast and the old fat I gained in 2014 – that’s the robust fat that needs an austere approach.
But stay committed once you start. Please, start again! Right now! Because you don’t lose anything, only gain >>IF YOU QUIT. Cut the sugar, like go to your pantry and throw that crap out! Good on you if you’ve done this already.
Please, keep in mind that there are approximately 39g net carbs in one slice of pizza, and perhaps your body has an intolerance to carbohydrates, and lowering your net carbs might help a lot. I avoid eating after the orb “sun” set because the metabolism works like the rising orb and sets like it, and anything consumed at night rots in our system and causes toxins – not a concept from Western medicine.
I hope you try again and do not give up. I started 16:8 IF on January 2nd after doing several rounds of ADF, which was not sustainable for me. May you find the stumbling block that causes you distress, and tackle it but stay consistent. Nothing but positive vibes and good hopes for you!
Talk to a doctor about possible health issue affecting your metabolism. Don’t fall into the trap of “cause = effect” when you hop on a scale a few hours after eating.
The scale might show 3 more pounds after eating 3 pieces of pizza, but those 3 pieces of pizza did not equal 3 pounds of mass. Your weight fluctuates all day long. There may be underlying health issues that are causing bloating and water retention, and other issues, but there is no health issue that would turn 750 calories of pizza into 10,000 calories making it into fat stores.
But you mention taking protein shakes so you “definitely know for sure how many calories I was taking in”. Is there a reason you don’t also know that with regular food?
Definitely check your protein powder! There are lots of brands out there that pump it with sugar/sugar alternatives. Clean protein powder can cut out excess ingredients. Syntrax is a good brand, and available on Amazon (assuming you live in the US).
I have not lost much weight either doing If. I did lose quite a bit on Keto previously and I also do believe I am insulin resistant and have some hormone imbalances . Here’s the positive though, without the scale , I also love If. I have more energy , as you said my skin is radiant , my hair is healthy and I also feelLike my body composition has changed. My tummy isn’t bloated at all. I feel like I look better even if it’s not reflected on a scale. I wish I would have taken measurements when I started ! Anyway wanted to bring a few positives in and tell you not to give up!
I would suggest doing a metabolism/body comp test (Dexa fit, bod pod or the like) . Like you I calculated my tdee, weighed and measured food etc and i didn’t lose at all. I discovered that my metabolism was 17% lower than it should be given height weight age and muscle composition (my bmr was like 980 calories; they measure twice just in case!)..Why is another story (I suspect 15 years of calorie restriction and over exercise when I was a dancer and need to keep under 105#) but at least I knew I wasn’t crazy. Now trying IF as a way to lose without risking further metabolic adaptation via consistent deficit. Once at goal weight I’ll calorie cycle and slowly add calories (and do more weight training) to try to improve basalMetabolic rate.
If you’re convinced that your calories in are correct it might be your calories out that is off. The TDEE numbers are all based on averages and flat multipliers, but not everyone sits at the top of the bell curve for their stats. There are some medical tests to better check what your actual metabolic rate is as well as check for other potential medical reasons for this.
I have a few thoughts on this. How old are you? When you are fasting, is it a clean fast (only water, plain green tea, or black coffee)? Are you doing 19:5 every day?
Things I think you could change (in no particular order):