Intermittent Fasting...am I doing too much?

LadyRaeB

I am never hungry in the morning, but have been drilled with that "breakfast is the most important meal" mantra all my life. I was forcing myself to eat. One day my husband said "just eat when you get hungry" and a light went on like DUH. I drink about a gallon of water between 6am and 6pm which fills me up and I only really start getting hungry around 6, so that's when I eat dinner. I usually work out around noon and have a poached egg afterwards, other than that I get all my calories at dinner.

I never felt satisfied with traditional "diet plans" because the meals were always small and unsatisfying. This way I can pretty much eat whatever I want at dinner (I don't care for fried, greasy, overly processed etc food anyway) including desert and still not go over my recommended daily intake. Not feeling deprived has eliminated my tendency to binge or sneak snacks. I'm just getting started but I've lost 14lbs in 3 weeks.

But my husband is now concerned that I'm losing too fast, that my diet is too extreme. Am I doing it wrong? Should I be stretching my meals out a bit more?

tomatosoup3

I don't know about the diet itself, but when I started out (not doing IF, just good old calorie counting) I also lost about 14 pounds in 3 weeks. But then it tapered off to about 1 pounds per week after that.

I'd say that if you continue losing weight this fast, then yes, something is wrong. But if this was just the initial "woosh" (which is quite common) and the weight loss slows down, then you're okay.

ps- are you actually meeting your caloric goals? or are you hundreds of calories short each day...?

TavistockToad

what are your stats, and how many calories are you eating per day?

LadyRaeB

I'm not sure what you mean by "stats"

Honestly no I have not actually been meeting my caloric goals. With my exercise added in I've been falling short. According to myfitnesspal I should be getting about 1500 calories per day and I've eaten 1100-1500 every day. And I count *everything*...sauce, kool-aid, multivitamins... But then when I add my exercise my daily goal jumps up to 1800-2000 and it's just been impossible for me to get there without gorging or eating when I'm not hungry.

Christine_72

Your stats are height, weight, age etc

Do you weigh everything you eat? If not, chances are you are eating more than you think..

RodaRose

LadyRaeB wrote: »

I am never hungry in the morning, but have been drilled with that "breakfast is the most important meal" mantra all my life. I was forcing myself to eat. One day my husband said "just eat when you get hungry" and a light went on like DUH. I drink about a gallon of water between 6am and 6pm which fills me up and I only really start getting hungry around 6, so that's when I eat dinner. I usually work out around noon and have a poached egg afterwards, other than that I get all my calories at dinner.

I never felt satisfied with traditional "diet plans" because the meals were always small and unsatisfying. This way I can pretty much eat whatever I want at dinner (I don't care for fried, greasy, overly processed etc food anyway) including desert and still not go over my recommended daily intake. Not feeling deprived has eliminated my tendency to binge or sneak snacks. I'm just getting started but I've lost 14lbs in 3 weeks.

But my husband is now concerned that I'm losing too fast, that my diet is too extreme. Am I doing it wrong? Should I be stretching my meals out a bit more?

No. If things are working for you, you can eat an egg after working out and eat the rest of your calories at dinner.
Here is a group for intermittent fasting. Most of them eat twice a day: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

LadyRaeB

Christine_72 wrote: »

Your stats are height, weight, age etc

Do you weigh everything you eat? If not, chances are you are eating more than you think..

I'm 27, 5'6" and about 270lbs. I cook most of my dinners so I either weigh or measure everything. We go out to eat every Thursday and I go by the restaurant's nutrition information for those meals, so it might be a little off then. But like I said that's only once a week. Otherwise I try to be as precise as possible and logging everything, including cooking oil.

RodaRose wrote: »

No. If things are working for you, you can eat an egg after working out and eat the rest of your calories at dinner.
Here is a group for intermittent fasting. Most of them eat twice a day: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

Thanks! I'll check it out.

llbrixon

You are doing great!

RodaRose

@LadyRaeB If you want to increase your calories, here are some suggestions for calorie dense foods:


http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1

avocado
cheese
full fat dairy
Greek yogurt
ice cream
peanut butter (or other nut butters)
dark chocolate
less lean cuts of meat (including beef, pork, sausage, etc.)
seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc.)
nuts
olive oil
coconut oil
butter
beans and lentils
protein shakes, bars, and smoothies
hummus
beef jerky
cornbread
tuna
full calorie condiments
full calorie sauces & dressings
sour cream
guacamole
whole grain pasta
rice
bacon
whole eggs
quinoa
fruit and fruit juices
pretzels
bananas
scones
muffins (bran, blueberry, banana nut, etc.)
potatoes (sweet, red, gold, purple, white, etc.)
dried fruit (raisins, apricots, plums, dates, etc.)
granola
coconut
salmon
edamame
olives
honey
molasses

MiltonAFC

Absolutely not. I'm an IF'er as well, many people save their calories for later in the day to have two big meals and a snack. You can YouTube "kinobody" and many others.

I personally don't really get hungry until 2-3pm, if I do get someone hungry before that I drink water or 0 calorie flavored sparkling ice water(these things are magic, highly recommend them!)

The unofficial/official rules of weight loss is losing anywhere between half to two pounds a week is perfectly acceptable. Anymore than that is risky you're creating such a huge caloric deficit which will ultimately cause you to plateau quicker and lose muscle fiber at the same time.

HOWEVER, if someone is really overweight by a lot. Its not out the ordinary for them to lose 2-4 pounds a week. Same way how it's standard for someone to lose 3-6lb, maybe more or less when they first start dieting.

LadyRaeB

Thanks for all your input guys!

Moonbeamlissie

I think your fine. I lost a huge amount of weight my first couple of months and then it tapered down. The smaller you get the harder it is to lose the weight. I also like just eating one meal a day. It makes me feel better to sit down to dinner with my family and not have to decide what i can fit in with the calories I have left. If i get hungry during the day I will eat some sort of fruit and plenty of water.