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Intermittent Fasting for weight loss?

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barefoot

MyPTSD Pro
I know there have been a couple of IF threads here before, which are now closed as they were some time ago.

Wondering whether anyone has had any/much success with IF for weight loss?

I have been overweight for quite a few years – I probably should lose about 3 stone. But during the pandemic I put on a further 1.5 stone – partly because I was unwell so not at all active, partly because I was emotional eating, partly because I was home and treats were on hand and I went a bit mad for sugar...!

I mentioned wanting to lose weight to my GP recently and she suggested IF and sent me a website link to look at. I opted to try the 16/8 method (fast for 16 hours in a 24 hour period and eat in an 8 hour window) In reality, I am generally doing 18/6 as I find it easier to hold off eating for the first time in the day – if I start eating earlier I tend to get the munchies more later! So, my eating window is usually 2pm-8pm.

I think it has helped me to realise how much I eat when I don't need to – I'm more mindful now of not actually needing lots of food and I'm eating quite a bit less. I've cut right down on sweet treats. I'm just trying to eat more healthily really – and reduce wine-intake!

I've lost 11 lbs in 5 weeks, which is ok-going, I think – though I am slightly disappointed that it isn't a little more seeing as I've been trying very hard, eating much better and eating far less.

I'm curious about other people's experience of IF for weight loss.
Interested in any tips any one can share that might help to boost weight loss – or any thoughts on anything that seemed to be more or less effective as part of your IF experience?

I haven't lost all the pandemic weight I put back on yet and then want to lose more as I was overweight in the first place. Not sure if IF is going to be the approach that gets me there...?

Not really interested in following a 'diet' as such....more about changing the way I eat.
 
I usually stay out of fad diet threads - if you have nothing positive to add, right? So, you may want to just disregard all this.


I mentioned wanting to lose weight to my GP recently and she suggested IF and sent me a website link to look at.
This blows my mind. Wow.
Is this your regular GP? Does she know that your disordered eating issues (a) go back some years and that (b) they're inter-related with complex mental health issues?

Because I can't get my head around a qualified doctor actually suggesting that, beyond a superficial "if you wanna look better in Christmas photos, but not actually resolve this issue" kind of way...

So, my eating window is usually 2pm-8pm.
Because outside IF lingo, this ^^^^ would typically be referred to as "skipping breakfast". Great way to lose a bit of water weight short term, even better way to screw up your metabolism and make sustainable weight loss harder long term...

If you think about the complexity of the disordered eating issues you've described (which means addressing this in a way that simultaneously addresses the mental health issues involved, or you're reeeally setting yourself up for a mood dive in the medium term), the length of time it took to put this weight on, and the time it takes to shift make lifestyle changes and get them to stick...

Have you spoken to your T about addressing this issue moving forward? Because I think that would probably be a more comprehensive way to tackle this, which accommodates the mental health implications of sudden changed eating rules...
 
I know there have been a couple of IF threads here before, which are now closed as they were some time ago.

Wondering whether anyone has had any/much success with IF for weight loss?

I have been overweight for quite a few years – I probably should lose about 3 stone. But during the pandemic I put on a further 1.5 stone – partly because I was unwell so not at all active, partly because I was emotional eating, partly because I was home and treats were on hand and I went a bit mad for sugar...!

I mentioned wanting to lose weight to my GP recently and she suggested IF and sent me a website link to look at. I opted to try the 16/8 method (fast for 16 hours in a 24 hour period and eat in an 8 hour window) In reality, I am generally doing 18/6 as I find it easier to hold off eating for the first time in the day – if I start eating earlier I tend to get the munchies more later! So, my eating window is usually 2pm-8pm.

I think it has helped me to realise how much I eat when I don't need to – I'm more mindful now of not actually needing lots of food and I'm eating quite a bit less. I've cut right down on sweet treats. I'm just trying to eat more healthily really – and reduce wine-intake!

I've lost 11 lbs in 5 weeks, which is ok-going, I think – though I am slightly disappointed that it isn't a little more seeing as I've been trying very hard, eating much better and eating far less.

I'm curious about other people's experience of IF for weight loss.
Interested in any tips any one can share that might help to boost weight loss – or any thoughts on anything that seemed to be more or less effective as part of your IF experience?

I haven't lost all the pandemic weight I put back on yet and then want to lose more as I was overweight in the first place. Not sure if IF is going to be the approach that gets me there...?

Not really interested in following a 'diet' as such....more about changing the way I eat.
I don't think it matters which diet you choose as long as you get your protein, calcium, vitamin D in both vitamin and food form......and either do calories (which limits sugars) or high protein/low carb (keto).......the key is to pick the one that suits you.................... choose one way, add daily exercise (1 hr) and stick with it. They will both have the same result........weightloss. As I understand intermittent fasting, if you are doing keto....it will increase your weightloss....but if you shift back and forth to eating things with sugar....you might be wasting your time. Intermittent fasting is just another thing to keep up with....and if you have food cravings at night (you can't get to sleep) you can't use food to help you get sleepy.....I gained weight with covid also, and have a high protein shake to start my day (Premiere Protein) and I add 1/2 cup of milk...get my protein, vitamins, and calcium in first thing.....leaving me open to a salad for lunch, and a reasonable "three thing" dinner....about 1200 cal total, with a little snack for bed.....I'm one of those that needs routine.....but good luck on the ID....report back...........I'd like to know if it is worth trying if I plateau. ;)
 
@Sideways I’m a little confused. I don’t have disordered eating issues...?

Or are you just meaning because I am overweight?

I’m overweight because I eat too much and exercise too little. And because my food choices haven’t been the healthiest - I have a sweet tooth and love pizza and pastry!

I put on more weight during the pandemic - as many people have - because I was at home all day, with snacks in easy reach, feeling bored and fed up. I had coronavirus, which developed into long Covid so I haven’t been exercising for several months, I’ve actually barely left my house since the spring. My taste was also screwy for a few months with many savoury foods tasting inedibly salty, so it was even easier to eat sweet things as they generally still tasted nice.

I can't get my head around a qualified doctor actually suggesting that

Yes, this was my usual GP. As I say though, I don’t understand your comment about does she know my disordered eating issues go back years and are inter-related to complex mental health issues?

She has seen me to know what sort of size and weight I am. And I told her I’d put on weight over lockdown and the reasons why. I said I was going to try to eat more healthily (less sugar, less processed food etc) but asked if she had any other suggestions re approach.

She suggested IF and said she knew lots of patients who have done well on it, plus she knows lots of doctors who eat that way too.

Because outside IF lingo, this ^^^^ would typically be referred to as "skipping breakfast"

Yes. Though it’s a 2pm-8pm window because that’s where I’ve chosen to put my eating window. I could have breakfast lunch and then late afternoon/very early evening meal, finishing up around 5pm or 6pm if I wanted to. But it fits into my day better moving it later.


Have you spoken to your T about addressing this issue moving forward?

I told her I’d put on weight during lockdown and was wanting to lose some. I said GP had suggested IF. Therapist said she had done IF herself for years - doing an earlier window - so she was supportive of it.
 
I understand intermittent fasting, if you are doing keto....it will increase your weightloss....but if you shift back and forth to eating things with sugar....you might be wasting your time.
Thanks @TruthSeeker Yes, I have seen that keto and IF are often used alongside each other - that lowering carbs perhaps makes IF more effective in terms of weight loss. I haven’t dug around into it too much but don’t think I want to go hardcore keto. I don’t really want to do ‘a diet’ as such - more about changing to sustainable, healthier eating habits, if that makes sense.

That said, I am reducing my carb and sugar intake. Though perhaps this isn’t very effective if I’m not being more hardcore and consistent about cutting them out. Will see how I go and may revisit reading up on keto to see how do-able it looks for us...

Intermittent fasting is just another thing to keep up with

It is. Though I have to say, I was surprised by how easily I took to it. For me, it has helped to add structure and routine so that I’m not just potentially on a mindless graze-a-thon all day and evening. It is certainly making me realise I was taking in way more food than I needed before.
if you have food cravings at night (you can't get to sleep) you can't use food to help you get sleepy.
Fortunately, I don’t have this - I can see how IF could be difficult if you have late night cravings/eating habits, especially if they are tied up with falling asleep.

.report back
I will! 😀
 
I don’t have disordered eating issues...?
I was responding to the picture you gave here (and knowing you have ptsd as well):
I have been overweight for quite a few years – I probably should lose about 3 stone. But during the pandemic I put on a further 1.5 stone – partly because I was unwell so not at all active, partly because I was emotional eating, partly because I was home and treats were on hand and I went a bit mad for sugar...!
If you've found a way to make healthier food choices for yourself, that's great:)
 
Hi @barefoot,

I do the IF sometimes...I also have two - a friend and coworker who do it and we share experiences.
I do not do IF to lose weight but to actually regulate my regularity. I do not poo (TMI) when i eat three meals or more a day. But when I eat less, I am more regular (and healthier look poo tmi) so this motivates me. Also I find exploring my feelings after experiencing hunger interesting (am I annoyed more? am I more loving? am I more laid back or aggressive?) it gives me a sense of what my childhood may have been when my needs were not met. It is a learning for me to see how impulsive I am to eat and also not eat...when I am happy I eat less than when I am sad.

Food is like sex in such it is extremely unique set of factors each person needs. So not sure if these comment mean anything to you.

When I do not over eat (as I often do with my husband who loves eating), I sleep better, my body feels less stuffed/sluggish, I feel more relaxed, I am regular and I am in touch with my feelings about food in general. But the reason I do not do it often enough is I also walk about 10K steps a day (most of days)...so after a good walk, I need to replenish.
 
I practice a form of it - once in a while I go past my desired cut off time by an hour or so - or eat later the next day than I had planned, depending on the varieties/quantities of liquids I consume for break-fast. I typically stop eating around 8pm and don't eat solid food again until around noon-ish or later the next day. I like to give my digestive system a break from what used to be constant eating of less than healthy or nurturing choices around the clock.

I learned those random little growling sounds are not hunger pangs, as I'd been taught to believe. I also chew my liquids as if they were solid foods to initiate the digestive juices and such. I chew solid foods until they are liquid once I learned there's no teeth in my gut to finish chewing what I so often mindlessly inhaled. I still apologize to my body for making it work so hard with so many poor choices for so long. I also don't drink with my meals anymore, other than maybe a cups worth of water in case I feel I need it.

When I rise in the mornings, hydration is my priority, typically around 9ish or later (sometimes much earlier). I first drink water/lemon water. Then I'll have an herbal tea blend or roasted dandelion root tea with some blackstrap molasses, or my flax milk/greens powders (from Your Super.com)/mushroom powder/plant collagen powder/turmeric etc. powder and and froth up a cafe' worthy beverage and sweeten it with a bit of maple syrup - depending on what I'm feeling like having - and the weather.

Then, about an hour or so later, I'll have a fruit/veggie (more veggies than fruit) juice with lots of fresh greens, some ground chia seeds and whatever powders I still wish to consume mixed in and left gellin' together for about 15 minutes before I drink it.

Often times, I'll make a smoothie with several handfuls of greens, a big handful of microgreens, a little sunflower seed butter, frozen bananas, a little flax or oat milk, and water - or a different variety if the urge hits. If I haven't used any powder mixes yet, they get added to the smoothie. That'll be my lunch - and sometimes I'll later add a serving of whatever dinner leftovers we have or a big salad topped with various goodies.

We usually eat dinner each night, except for therapy pool nights, around 7:00 - and unless we have some kind of dessert or wish to partake in popcorn or whatever, we stop eating for the night at that time. We'll still partake in water or herbal infusions/teas, but no more solid food.

It's been a very beneficial routine for us for the last several years with no ill effects that we're aware of. I'd think they would have showed up by now. I've been practicing a whole food plant-based gluten-free low-sodium mostly vegan lifestyle, with no caffeine or alcohol, which has been monumental in benefiting my overall wellness, both physically and mentally (other than the emotional aspect at times of past choices and such), more than anything else I've tried thus far. Not at all easy to begin with, especially when trying to navigate society as a whole, but fairly simple once you find your groove with it.
 
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