Intermittent fasting success stories?

[emer95]

I’m trying so hard! I gained about 15 pounds during quarantine, and even then I was about 5 pounds higher than I wanted to be. I felt disgusting at my heaviest. None of my clothes fit, I was sluggish and had no energy, and I was drinking every day.
I made a major change at the end of July. I do a 19 hour fast, and a 5 hour eating window. Basically I eat a very healthy lunch (kale salad) and then whatever I want for an early dinner. I’m a vegetarian and I tend to like healthy food. Lots of roasted veggies, whole grains, etc. I do like eggs, butter, beans and nuts for protein. I’ve cut WAY back on my drinking. I don’t even really miss it.
But the scale is moving so slowly it’s ridiculous! I’ve only lost 6 pounds so far, and that’s with working really, really hard for several months. I run, get 10,000 steps in every day, and do body pump.
I’m 46 years old so that could have something to do with it. I just cannot believe how long this is taking. Wondering if there’s something more I should be doing.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I am not overweight but sometimes I fast for one, two days, up to three days, when my body feels as though I have been feeding it very rich food. I begin to feel sluggish and out of sorts and I know that I need to reset my system and give my body a break. I not only feel energised at the end of the fast, but I find that it ‘cures’ dry skin, back ache, all sorts of everyday ailments. Obviously, consult your doctor before doing anything too drastic, but I wonder whether you need to kick start your system to cleanse, lose fat etc by trying a one or two day complete (water only) fast. Good luck and I hope that you get the results that you want.

 

[Karin1984]

Never go by scale alone. Always measure yourself, have you lost inches/cm?

We are talking 6 pounds in about 2 months? So 3 pounds per month. That is on the slow side for what is average for losing weight in a healthy way, but still not bad. The scale does go down.

I do weightwatchers and on the discussion board we always said, you have high speed trains and local trains, you cannot always chose which train you are on, but all that matters is to get to your destination. All you can do is hang in there.

Not sure how much of this is scientifically proven, but something else we always discussed was people with who burned a lot of calories through exercise, but didn't lose weight, that it has something to do with not eating enough. Your body needs fuel to burn it off, but if there is not enough fuel everything goes into storage. (I hope this makes sense, English is not my native language, and I have some problems now with translating what we discuss at WW)

 

[mousefan73]

One thing many say ( not sure I I believe it) is that you are under eating and in starvation mode? From my experience and what I’ve read on intermittent minute fasting - it’s not the time window that helps you lose weight but by default having such a short Time window for eating reduces the overall calories per day. Now there can be other health benefits, insulin resistance, aging etc. from the large time window. Etc.

I am your age too and the struggle is real. Honestly I’m too scared to even step on the scale but I think I gained a few pounds here and there late spring mainly do from drinking too. I love wine and it was just so easy to have a glass ( or 2) every night. we didn’t have to get up and go to work / school the next day. It was like a never ending weekend.

I don’t know what your starting weight was but if you’re under 200 pounds and you lost 6 pounds within basically two months that’s doing pretty good in my opinion. Wish I would have that much success

 

[mousefan73]

Never go by scale alone. Always measure yourself, have you lost inches/cm?

We are talking 6 pounds in about 2 months? So 3 pounds per month. That is on the slow side for what is average for losing weight in a healthy way, but still not bad. The scale does go down.

I do weightwatchers and on the discussion board we always said, you have high speed trains and local trains, you cannot always chose which train you are on, but all that matters is to get to your destination. All you can do is hang in there.

Not sure how much of this is scientifically proven, but something else we always discussed was people with who burned a lot of calories through exercise, but didn't lose weight, that it has something to do with not eating enough. Your body needs fuel to burn it off, but if there is not enough fuel everything goes into storage. (I hope this makes sense, English is not my native language, and I have some problems now with translating what we discuss at WW)

Your last point is true but what they’ve also found is that people who excessively work out trying to lose weight actually eat more than they realize because their body is trying to regain the fuel that they burned. I’ve caught myself doing this many times I will work out really intense and make an awesome salad at night and then I start adding protein things Avocado, cheese, meats and I think in the end if I would’ve added up the total calories I might as well stop by McDonald’s on the way home. But my body was starving.

 

[kymom99]

Think of the loss in terms of percent of total body weight. It could be more than you think. But yes it gets hard to lose after 40 generally.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

. I love wine and it was just so easy to have a glass ( or 2) every night. we didn’t have to get up and go to work / school the next day. It was like a never ending weekend.

I can wholeheartedly relate to this!

 

[antmaril]

I tried intermittent fasting from early July to mid-September. I was eating between Noon and 6:00 p.m. I wasn‘t really dieting during the eating window, but I certainly was paying attention to what I was eating. Nothing happened. Very discouraging. I am 69 years old and have been retired for many years. I have put on some weight during the pandemic. I should probably try a low carb diet, but I’m not sure I have it in me. So hard.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I do this as part of my normal routine because I like to run in the morning, and I always run while fasting. That shortens my "eating" window to about 8 hours each day. But the key for me is not the fasting period itself - the key is that the smaller eating period makes it easier to control total calorie intake. At the end of the day, it really all comes down to calories in vs. calories burned while also being sure to keep your metabolic engine running at full speed. Eat too little and you kill your metabolic engine and begin to store fat. Eat too much and you store fat because you ate too much. Very fine line which allows for healthy weight loss. A battle I face every day.

But slow weight loss is better - by the time you reach your goals you will have established eating habits that you can maintain.

 

[1GoldenSun]

I think that as long as the weight is going down, all is good. Time is on your side.

 

[Christine]

If you don't have a ton of weight to lose, weight loss can be slow; especially as you get older. You don't give an exact date, but it appears that you have lost 6 lbs in about 9 weeks. That is more than 1/2 lb per week which is the recommended rate of weight loss.

But...one thing you need to check: Intermittent fasting isn't some magic formula. It combines fasting for long periods to get your insulin at better levels as well as a short eating window which naturally tends to restrict the amount of calories you put in. But I'm here to tell you that I could easily overeat in a short eating window because that's just who I am. In order for me to lose weight at a pleasing pace, I need to be at just under 1500 calories per day. It is *very* easy to go over that with some of things you listed (beans, butter, nuts) if you don't portion control those items. So easy. So that's great your are eating healthy and it's good that IF is working somewhat for you, but your next step is to actually measure out and count the calories your are eating during that 5 hour window.

 

[kymom99]

If you don't have a ton of weight to lose, weight loss can be slow; especially as you get older. You don't give an exact date, but it appears that you have lost 6 lbs in about 9 weeks. That is more than 1/2 lb per week which is the recommended rate of weight loss.

But...one thing you need to check: Intermittent fasting isn't some magic formula. It combines fasting for long periods to get your insulin at better levels as well as a short eating window which naturally tends to restrict the amount of calories you put in. But I'm here to tell you that I could easily overeat in a short eating window because that's just who I am. In order for me to lose weight at a pleasing pace, I need to be at just under 1500 calories per day. It is *very* easy to go over that with some of things you listed (beans, butter, nuts) if you don't portion control those items. So easy. So that's great your are eating healthy and it's good that IF is working somewhat for you, but your next step is to actually measure out and count the calories your are eating during that 5 hour window.

I tried South Beach for a while in the past. It really helps eliminate the cravings, but I missed fruits and other carbs too much to stay with it. I think any restrictive diet is hard to sustain. I had a friend lose 25 lbs on IF before her son's wedding last year. She has gained it back and then some.

 

[Christine]

I tried South Beach for a while in the past. It really helps eliminate the cravings, but I missed fruits and other carbs too much to stay with it. I think any restrictive diet is hard to sustain. I had a friend lose 25 lbs on IF before her son's wedding last year. She has gained it back and then some.

I don't do IF myself. Like the OP, I was about 5-10 lbs "up" in March as we started to lockdown. Then for the next 6 weeks I "comfort ate" and became 15-20 lbs higher than I wanted to be. I said "enough is enough" and just stopped doing all that eating. Beside eating cookies and ice cream, my portion sizes at regular meals were large. I just got on a calorie-logging app and set my stuff to 1500 calories, and I managed to drop 15 lbs between April and early August. I'm now at 5'7" and 139 lbs and any weight loss has pretty much stalled. I do no exercise due to an issue with my left ankle. I do have days where I try to do IF. Mainly on the weekends. I'll stop eating at around 6:30PM and not have anything to eat on Saturday or Sunday until 11:30 (basically I skip breakfast). This allows me to easily fit in a carryout meal from a local restaurant without blowing out my 1500 allotment to badly.

 

[Heather07438]

Never go by scale alone.

Absolutely. Often diet changes come with increase in activity. That will build muscle mass which is more dense. So while the weight isn't flying off you may be still be slimming down to smaller sizes.

I find once I get myself into good shape with increased muscle, the calories become less of a focus because that muscle mass starts burning off more calories naturally.

 

[Kae]

Make sure you are eating enough calories.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I am not an expert, but am also trying to drop a few Covid pounds and the scale has been slow to move for me as well. Here are some things I’ve found that may or may not apply to you.

- make sure you are eating enough calories in a day, so your body doesn’t go into preservation mode and hold on to fat

- don’t go by the number on the scale. If you are going to weigh yourself, try not to do it more than once a week and do it at the same time of the day. Weight fluctuates throughout the day and can often be salt/water weight. I can fluctuate over a pound up and down throughout the day.

- vary your exercise routine. Our bodies get used to routine and stop burning effectively. Alternate cardio with strength building. Also give your body rest days.

That all said, while I understand how frustrating it is to not lose at a rate we’d like, the numbers are moving in the right direction and that’s what matters. Slow and steady still wins the race.

 

[emer95]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I really do think I’m not getting enough calories, which seems like it would be a good thing, but I can see that I’m going into starvation mode. I’m not overweight at all, just higher than I like to be. A typical day of eating for me is:

black coffee and water until 12:30 pm
Kale salad for lunch, with almonds
Energy bites (made with peanut butter, oats, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds) as a snack, two small ones
Dinner varies, but last night I had 4 pumpkin raviolis from Aldis (a small portion) and a slice of baguette with butter. The night before that I had corn chowder soup with crackers.
I stop eating at 5:30 pm and just have water for the rest of the night. I exercise in the morning and take walks at night.

I can get a little crazy with the number on the scale. I need to stop weighing myself daily. I do feel better and more comfortable in my clothes. I think I also need to come to terms with the fact that I can’t be the same weight I’ve always been. It might not be a realistic goal.

 

[ashley0139]

I don't technically do intermittent fasting, but I count calories. You could eat only one meal a day, but if you're eating 3000 calories at that one meal, you won't lose weight. It doesn't seem like that's what's happening for you, but something to think about. Oil, butter, dressings, and sauces are thing that we put on our food without thinking about it that add a ton of calories. It's crazy how little a tablespoon of olive oil is. Starting almost 3 years ago I lost 30 pounds over 9 months. I've put back on about 10 of that over the last 2 years and am working to get back down now.

 

[GreatLakes]

I am a big proponent of fasting and have been doing intermittent fasting for about 6 months and love it. I am not doing it for weight loss, my weight generally is withing about 3 pounds depending on the day, but have found it makes me feel much better, my body composition has improved, and I am see hormetic effects as promised. I really do believe in he benefits of a compressed eating window but you still have to watch what you eat inside that window. I know of a lot of people that think you can take your current eating habits, move them into a shorter window, and still see substantial benefits. That isn't the case.

I highly recommend reading The Complete Guide to Fasting by Dr. Jason Fung. The book does a really good job of talking about the benefits of fasting beyond weight loss and addresses some myths about fasting (you are starving yourself) and about fueling you body (the calories in vs calories out falsehood).

 

[beavismom]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I really do think I’m not getting enough calories, which seems like it would be a good thing, but I can see that I’m going into starvation mode. I’m not overweight at all, just higher than I like to be. A typical day of eating for me is:

black coffee and water until 12:30 pm
Kale salad for lunch, with almonds
Energy bites (made with peanut butter, oats, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds) as a snack, two small ones
Dinner varies, but last night I had 4 pumpkin raviolis from Aldis (a small portion) and a slice of baguette with butter. The night before that I had corn chowder soup with crackers.
I stop eating at 5:30 pm and just have water for the rest of the night. I exercise in the morning and take walks at night.

I can get a little crazy with the number on the scale. I need to stop weighing myself daily. I do feel better and more comfortable in my clothes. I think I also need to come to terms with the fact that I can’t be the same weight I’ve always been. It might not be a realistic goal.

That doesn't sound like enough calories to me. Even if you don't do it long term, I would look into one of the calorie tracking apps for a few days. I have used Lose It with some success. It can get annoying to use, but if you give it a bit, it will show if you aren't getting enough calories. Like many others have said, getting too few calories is going to slow down your metabolism overall. Good luck!