Hi all, 44f/5’6”/128lbs. I’m new to IF and am on day 10. Before that I was restricting calories for a couple of weeks. I’m well versed in CICO due to losing 17lbs by counting calories about 4 years ago. CICO was bad for me mentally, which is why I’m looking at IF this time. I only want to lose a couple of pounds, but I want to have more energy, and just feel better overall.
Trying to do 16/8 to start. I eat mostly whole food, plant based, which for me means a lot of veggies, tofu and some whole grains. I eat dinner around 6pm and then around 7:30pm, I’ve been having a casein shake, which is just sugar free casein and unsweetened almond milk. I did track my calories for the first few days of IF just to make sure I wasn’t going nuts since it’s a shorter feeding window, and I’m eating about 1600 calories a day.
By the time my feeding window starts (12pm) I’m super tired and sluggish, a little shaky and a little nauseous. From about 6am-11am, I drink 2 cups of half-decaf coffee. To my knowledge, I don’t have blood sugar issues.
Any red flags you are seeing? Does it get easier? Any tips you can share?
It is my first time doing IF and I chose to do OMAD right away because I believe in myself that I have the discipline to do it, I need to.
My normal day usually go like this:
Morning: after I wake up I do 5 min of stretching then I sit for another 1-2 min in silence visualizing my body goal in my mind.
Afternoon: at 2:00pm I eat. I don’t count calories but I make sure that I only eat real foods or non-processed.
Evening: at 6:00pm I do 30 minutes of HIIT workout
It is my 24th day today. My starting weight was 242 lbs and it went down to 220 now. I lost 22 lbs. I learned that believing in yourself that you can do more really increases your potential in accomplishing things that you wouldn’t think you can do.
Starting my third week of 16:8, the second week was pretty rough. What helped me the most was cutting out sugar and coffee (with lots of sugar and cream) during my eating period. I’ve noticed that if I eat actual homecooked food instead of processed junk I eat a lot less, feel better and don’t seem to be famished when the time comes to eat. That all goes out the window if I have coffee though. For some reason it makes me want to eat. If I break my fast with fast food, I feel a full on hangover the next day.
Also drink a lot of water, some of the hunger and sluggishness can be from dehydration.
40F here with very similar stats to you. Honestly I don’t remember my first few weeks because I have been doing IF for over 6 years. I just want to let you know that if you get through the hard part, you WILL have more energy and feel better overall - that is why I am still doing it. Your weight is probably ideal right now, so don’t focus on the scale too much! I’m not really sure IF is the best way to lose those last vanity pounds.
I’m on day 10 and I had what you described the first 3 days with a horrible migraine as a bonus. I increased my water intake a lot and drank water before I even had coffee. A day or 2 later I started feeling great.