So 10 days ago I started 16:8 with counting calories. The first 3 days were brutal but now it feels amazing as I always hated “3 meals, 3 snacks a day” way of eating that makes you think about food even more. I’m currently eating around 1850 calories (1000 less than my TDEE) and for my weight (35F, 350 Ibs) I lost pretty little weight the first week 1.1 kg (2.5 lbs?) to be exactly. Which is definitely too little to drop the first week for a person in my weight. Apart from that now I’m seeing a steady 300-400 gr gain everyday where I almost made it to my start weight. I drink plenty of water (like really PLENTY) and made sure not to exercise the first 2 weeks so my body can get used to this new rhythm. I feel so discouraged as I really don’t want to go to the surgery route. Is there any explanation for this? Any help is appreciated. Things I eat: I break my fast with overnight oats with berries and peanut butter on it, for lunch I have poached or grilled salmon or can of tuna with green salad (I make the vinaigrette myself and count the calories), I have a protein shake for snack and for dinner mostly eat chicken with veggies and sometimes throw in brown rice noodles to change things up. I always count the calories of the oil I use for cooking to stay in my limits. I only drink black coffee and water (175 oz).
In short: Give it a little more time to do its thing. For me it took over a month before the weight really started to come off. Your body is going to go through all kinds of adjustments before the magic happens. Be patient and you’ve got this!
I view the first month as “getting the process down.” Celebrate successful completion of fasting windows and successful completion of eating windows when you eat to plan.
Get attached to the process, not the scale.
This is a new lifestyle and the first 10 days is pretty insignificant.
I found this website very helpful for seeing just how long it can take to reach your goal weight eating a certain number of calories a day.
Set your activity level to “Very Light” even if you are very active.
I think its worth noting that 1 lb is equal to 3500 calories. Being 1000 cal under your daily means you are 7000 on the week, or two pounds. Exercise helps, but its not a miracle worker either. You’re on the right track, just keep it up.
Don’t fret! Patience is key. Your diet sounds great! Your body is just trying to adapt to the change in dietary schedule and you’re probably retaining a lot of water right now (175 oz is a ton of water - not saying it’s a bad thing, your body just isn’t use to it). It took me about a month and a half-ish before I started really telling the difference on the scale.
Keep at it, my friend!
You have to give it more time. Some sources say don’t expect much the first month. Get a hang of it and go steady. The beginning was likely some water, but then your body may have gotten “concerned” about the new eating and less calories, and tightened the metabolism out of fear of starving. That usually changes.
The one thing about weightloss is it isn’t linear… which is why I tossed my scale. It wasn’t healthy for me. I wasn’t focused on the process, improving my diet, exercising and most importantly improving myself. You are going to crush your goals but don’t stress over it. Just make good food decisions, watch your caloric intake, exercise if that’s your jam and stay in your eating window. Let your body do the rest, you’ll see results. You’ve got this!
Great job! I think if you went 18:6, you’d probably end up cutting out a meal. For me I start with a pea protein shake to break my fast and it ends up keeping me suppppperrrr full until ‘dinner’ from 4-7 depending on the kids and hubby. Find one with zinc. Iodine. Selenium vitamin d and the b vitamins and others. This supports your thyroid! This makes it work better and I’m turn helps boost or at least stabilize your metabolism. You got this!
You can probably afford to drop those calories even more if I am being honest. 1850 is what I eat as a 34 year old male to maintain my weight.
Especially at 300 pounds you have excess body fat that your body can tap into for energy and start burning. I would slowly start bring that number down a bit each week to ease your way into it. Small increments 150 cals a week and see how you handle it. Okay can almost guarantee that if you coming down from 1850 you’ll much better progress