Intermittent Fasting

DSinnona31

Hey everyone!

I am trying to drop around 15-20lbs and hit a plateau. What is the right way to start intermittent fasting?

twarmer1

Slowly work your way into the right timing that works for you.

515TeachNRun

Be sure you are fueling your body correctly during your eating window; get enough macros and calories. As the previous poster suggested, start with a smaller window and gradually increase. Drink plenty of water.

Nony_Mouse

Intermittent fasting will only help weight loss if that way of eating helps you to stick to your calorie goal/deficit. There's nothing magical about it outside of that.

There are different 'breeds' of IF also, so it depends which you are talking about. If you're determined to give it a go, I'd suggest starting with something like 16/8 (fast 16 hours, with an 8 hour eating window). Many of us simply call this 'skipping breakfast', or technically eating breakfast late. If you're a breakfast person but don't really care about dinner, you could also do it that way. When and what you eat in the 'eating window' is up to you.

Personally, if I wasn't losing weight as expected, I would look at things like my food logging, to see if I could tighten that up in case I'm eating more than I think (ie, are you weighing and logging every single thing that goes in your mouth?), have I recently started a new form of exercise, or increased intensity or duration (causes fluid retention for muscle repair), things like that.

If you're losing that 15-20 lbs within a healthy weight range already, or close to it, it's going to be slow, and small increments of fat loss can easily be lost in the 'noise' of normal weight (fluid) fluctuations. How long has your weight been static? Do you use a trending app so you can look at your weight loss over time rather than a single snap shot?

fmfdfa2020

I'm not an expert on it but what seems to work for me is to stop eating around 4 to 5pm and end my fast any time between 9am to 11am. I shoot for 16 hrs fasting but usually end up with 17 to 18 hrs (again because not hungry in the mornings). I'm trying to fast 3 to 4 days of the week. It's amazing how fast you get used to it and find that you are not focusing on food as much. My plan is called 16/8 - 16 hours fasting, 8 hour window of eating. I have never been able to or wanted to do a fast where you're going an entire day or days without eating, so this is really a great middle ground I think, especially since a lot of the time your are sleeping . Good Luck!

mmapags

DSinnona31 wrote: »

Hey everyone!

I am trying to drop around 15-20lbs and hit a plateau. What is the right way to start intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting in and of itself won't break a plateau. It's still about accurate intake logging the correct amount of calories. It's not really a quick fix. I like it because I like larger meals 2x per day rather than smaller less satisfying(for me) meals. It can be a real help in hitting your calorie targets if it's suits your preferences.

A few questions to help give helpful suggestions, what is you calories goal per day and weight loss goal per week? Are you using a food scale for all your logging? How long since you last lost weight? Bear in mind, as the previous poster said, when you get closer to goal, it can seem very slow.

I'm within 5 or 8 lbs of goal and recently went 6 weeks with no loss showing on the scale. Had a whoosh and was down a kilo in a couple of days. Water retention can mask fat loss sometimes. As far as how to start IF, skip breakfast and eat your first meal midday. Simple. It is still all about managing calories for fat loss.

H_Ock12

When I did it, I worked my way into OMAD. I started with 16/8 (skipping breakfast), then stretched to 20/4 (snack for lunch plus dinner), then to just dinner.

SageJJ93

I use the Zero app. Start with a 16/8 fast because its effective and easy. If you like it you can play around with times to fit your lifestyle, the app makes it so much easier. Good luck! 😁

xGreatWhiteNorthx

Find what works for you.

If you're someone who needs to eat regularly through the day , more than an 8-10 hour fast may not work well for you.

I've never been a breakfast person and tend to snack at night after my kid goes to bed so for me, 14-16 hour fasts with my 8-10 hour window being from about 3-11 or 2-midnight works for me since that's when I'm naturally hungry.

I get my fuel in when I need it(I work evenings at a physical job) and if I want a snack when I get home or to kick back with a joint and some munchies when my kid is in bed I can do that and all I have to do make sure I manage my calorie intake through that 8-10 hr window so that I'm still at a deficit.