Intermittent fasting or counting calories?

grammy700

Hi,
Planning to lose 35kg and wondering which is a better approach.

Intermittent fasting or counting calories. Can anyone give some advises?

lianatherunner

Intermittent fasting is pointless if you aren't watching calories.

sijomial

Why not both?

You can do IF and lose, gain or maintain weight.

IF is an eating pattern and doesn't govern your overall intake and it's your overall intake that decides if you lose weight or not. You might get lucky of course, but why rely on luck?

It's also very revealing to log all your food and drink and see where your calories are coming from.

grammy700

Thanks. I will try to do both.

The problem is staying on course. After IF it gets hard not to overeat.

Any possible idea how to remain motivated counting calories and not overeating when it is time to break If?

Lietchi

If intermittent fasting makes you want to overeat at the end of your fasting hours, I would argue that IF is perhaps not the best idea for you?

I did a light form of IF for over 6 months (skipping breakfast) because it suited me: whether or not I had breakfast, I'd be equally hungry at noon, so skipping breakfast was an easy way for me to have more calories left for my dinner and evening snack (I prefer eating most of my calories then).

MerryFit519

grammy700 wrote: »

Thanks. I will try to do both.

The problem is staying on course. After IF it gets hard not to overeat.

Any possible idea how to remain motivated counting calories and not overeating when it is time to break If?

Which IF schedule are you following? There are many different ones, and some may be easier to get started with if you find yourself so hungry you want to binge when you break your fast.

I follow a 4:3 (feast 4 days, fast 3 days) because it suits me well and I enjoy the food days off. After the first week, I found it was hard to overeat on the 'feast' days..my body just didn't want to be stuffed. I keep an eye on what I'm eating for the most part, but it is more about getting enough of the right nutrients etc. My calories on those days usually falls below the goal (my TDEE) because it is hard to overeat the good foods! lol (a big bowl of broccoli and I'm stuffed, for example) Once a week I eat out with my husband and I don't perfectly log/weigh/measure etc. (4 weeks = 11lb loss on this IF so far. I'm down 26lbs total since May 2nd (started with keto)...first bunch was water weight I'm sure

My husband follows a different IF schedule, 16:8. He used to be a big late night snacker so adjusting to an 8 hour feeding window was tough for about a week. He eats between noon and 8pm. For the first few days he would watch the clock and have food in his mouth at 12:01on the dot lol...couldn't wait. Over the next few weeks though, his body has adjusted and he sometimes 'forgets' it is eating time. He also doesn't miss the late night peanut butter sandwiches either. He does not do any calorie counting, but like me, says it is hard to overeat once adjusted. In 4 weeks, he's dropped 17 pounds.

I share both of our stories to highlight one thing...both of us took a little time to adjust. It is natural to feel hungry when you limit your eating window. Personally, I'd encourage you to give it a try. Do your best to stick to whatever IF window you choose, even if at first you go over your calorie goals. In a short amount of time, I'm betting you'll find yourself naturally eating/craving less. Just do be sure to eat as many nutritious foods as you can (you'll be fuller longer, likely consuming less calories and of course be giving your body what it needs)

MerryFit519

ps- I have a sister who does OMAD (one meal a day) IF. I could never do it, but she loves it. She has a one hour eating window, and literally eats anything she wants...some days are nutritious and other days, not so much. (she hates counting calories) She lost 30 pounds in the first 2.5 months. I wouldn't necessarily suggest this approach but, thought it would be worth pointing out another type.

paperpudding

I wouldn't commit to a specific IF pattern - just experiment with timings and spacings of meals to find what suits you.

And whatever or no, IF you do, you also need to count calories.

MerryFit519

paperpudding wrote: »

I wouldn't commit to a specific IF pattern - just experiment with timings and spacings of meals to find what suits you.

And whatever or no, IF you do, you also need to count calories.

can I ask why you wouldn't commit to a specific pattern? (experimenting I totally understand, like, find the one that will work for you long term that you enjoy and is effective) But..why not commit when you find the one that 'fits' you?

As for counting calories on feast days or during feeding windows..I think that is perfect advice when someone has no idea what they've been consuming or what the better/more nutritious alternatives might be. Example..learning a small bag of potato chips is less helpful in what it provides for 140 calories than a 1 oz. palm full of almonds (even if calories are similar) The almonds of course being full of nutrients and likely to be far more satiating.

wunderkindking

MerryFit519 wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

I wouldn't commit to a specific IF pattern - just experiment with timings and spacings of meals to find what suits you.

And whatever or no, IF you do, you also need to count calories.

can I ask why you wouldn't commit to a specific pattern? (experimenting I totally understand, like, find the one that will work for you long term that you enjoy and is effective) But..why not commit when you find the one that 'fits' you?

As for counting calories on feast days or during feeding windows..I think that is perfect advice when someone has no idea what they've been consuming or what the better/more nutritious alternatives might be. Example..learning a small bag of potato chips is less helpful in what it provides for 140 calories than a 1 oz. palm full of almonds (even if calories are similar) The almonds of course being full of nutrients and likely to be far more satiating.

It has been my experience and observation that what 'works' changes as life changes and/or you lose weight. Also probably seasons and biology and hormones and a billion other things. Being willing to flex and change with that, rather than white knuckling it through something (anything, not just IF) that isn't serve you is a good skill to have.

I'm a pretty lax IFer, but in the year of my weight loss I've found that the lower my BMI drops the less... workable the longer intervals are. I just don't have the body fat, I guess, to eat 500 calories for a day or even really do a 1 hour eating windo. When I was obese? No problem. Overweight? Doable. Healthy weight and middle of the BMI chart? NOT ANYMORE. Still fine with a 16/8 thing, but I'd be kind of surprised if that doesn't have to change as I move lower and closer to my goal weight.

paperpudding

MerryFit519 wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

I wouldn't commit to a specific IF pattern - just experiment with timings and spacings of meals to find what suits you.

And whatever or no, IF you do, you also need to count calories.

can I ask why you wouldn't commit to a specific pattern? (experimenting I totally understand, like, find the one that will work for you long term that you enjoy and is effective) But..why not commit when you find the one that 'fits' you?

As for counting calories on feast days or during feeding windows..I think that is perfect advice when someone has no idea what they've been consuming or what the better/more nutritious alternatives might be. Example..learning a small bag of potato chips is less helpful in what it provides for 140 calories than a 1 oz. palm full of almonds (even if calories are similar) The almonds of course being full of nutrients and likely to be far more satiating.

That's not quite what I said.

I meant don't commit to a pattern, until you have experimented with what works for you.

I personally don't commit to any pattern of IF myself and eat usually 5 x per day,but sometimes more, sometimes less, but no rules or commitment about it.

Re your second paragraph - that doesn't really have anything g to do with IF.

Of course also count calories on every day and learn what works/ what is worth it to you.

Moveit80

Counting calories.. try to up the protein to help build muscle as well as feel full.. drink more water 🤙

sijomial

grammy700 wrote: »

Thanks. I will try to do both.

The problem is staying on course. After IF it gets hard not to overeat.

Any possible idea how to remain motivated counting calories and not overeating when it is time to break If?

Are you sure you want to do something that makes weight loss hard for you?
It's hard enough already!
The smarter way is to try and make the process as personally easy as possible.
Now that might be IF (of which there are many different forms).
Perhaps explain which version you are thinking of and why you think it will benefit you?

Motivation is personal and also a limited resource you have to play out carefully to maximise the benefit. e.g. being motivated while food shopping is relatively easy compared to having to be motivated every time damn time you open the fridge or food cupboards. Maybe pre-plan and pre-log your first meal after your fasting period and then it comes down to discipline and not motivation?

(BTW - I'm not against IF at all, it made my weight loss far easier. But I also tried a different version at maintenance and it made things harder and less enjoyable.)

corinne724

I did both and I lost 45lbs.

MerryFit519

sijomial wrote: »

grammy700 wrote: »

Thanks. I will try to do both.

The problem is staying on course. After IF it gets hard not to overeat.

Any possible idea how to remain motivated counting calories and not overeating when it is time to break If?

Are you sure you want to do something that makes weight loss hard for you?
It's hard enough already!
The smarter way is to try and make the process as personally easy as possible.
Now that might be IF (of which there are many different forms).
Perhaps explain which version you are thinking of and why you think it will benefit you?

Motivation is personal and also a limited resource you have to play out carefully to maximise the benefit. e.g. being motivated while food shopping is relatively easy compared to having to be motivated every time damn time you open the fridge or food cupboards. Maybe pre-plan and pre-log your first meal after your fasting period and then it comes down to discipline and not motivation?

(BTW - I'm not against IF at all, it made my weight loss far easier. But I also tried a different version at maintenance and it made things harder and less enjoyable.)

Couldn't agree more with the bolded piece of this quote!

Personally I love the 4:3 plan (and find it easy) for two specific personal reasons:

First, when I've done calorie counting alone, I found myself obsessing over food to the point of stressing me out; Not good (for me). Now that I have my routine down, my 3 'fast' days (of 500 or less calories) require no thought b/c I've nailed down a few perfect combo days and I repeat them. (usually involve fish, broccoli, small number of almonds, hard-boiled eggs etc) It literally makes me feel free from food taking over my days. Stress is gone, and those tend to be my most productive days.

Second, is that for years I've had horrible constipation issues, and felt bloated all the time, my stomach hurt etc. Adding lots of healthy fiber has helped a ton of course, but also, on the 3 'fast' days, I feel so..."light", no bloat, etc. I enjoy the feeling of being more empty, a lot!! lol.

My 2 personal reasons would be the total opposite of someone else's feelings/what they enjoy/find easy. But that's why I agree so much with that bolded piece.. you really do have to find what feels personally easy and enjoyable so you'll want to keep doing it (rather than worrying it will be hard)