Lost 27 on intermittent fasting, gained 18 back :(

yoilnits

Last year I lost 27 on intermittent fasting, going from 187 to 159.8, then added exercises, and started having more appetite, ended up slowly going off the fasting schedule, to eating like everyone else in the house, 3 meals a day, mostly healthy, but probably more calories than needed, causing me to gain 18 back in the last 6 months. I am now 176 :( Can’t believe I let it loose these last 6 months. So ready to get back on track, but have a week long trip to Europe next week, so can’t start a restrictive diet now, but really hope my weight, at least doesn’t go up. Feel discouraged… :(

yirara

Don't feel discouraged! You had success, but maintaining your weight didn't work. That's not unusual. What you should do now is consider how to keep the weight off. Find a way of eating that fits your schedule and lifestyle, reduce calories somewhat and eat exactly this way, then at some time transition into maintenance, continue eating the way that works for you. If intermittent fasting doesn't work for you then don't do it again. Do something that you can keep up. You can do it!

yoilnits

Thank you @yirara trying to figure it out of what will work this time. I feel like as long as I stick to something, it will work.

cmriverside

Intermittent fasting works if it causes you to eat less.

Just eat less.

How were you accounting for your food when on IF? I mean, the 27 pounds you lost - was it fast because you under-ate? That's common with IF because people tend to restrict as much as possible and try to get by on one meal or use a lot of caffeine to keep their energy up when all that is needed is a reasonable daily calorie deficit and then go up just a couple hundred when you reach goal.

Are you willing to learn about calories and to some extent macros, and log your food?

yoilnits

I was eating between like 9am and 3pm. No sugar, flour or potatoes. Ate very healthy and under calories, so I kept loosing, until I started eating dinner again and then on top of that started to add the white carbs here and there. Once before I was successful at calorie counting, but as soon as I stopped counting, weight went up again. Recently I’ve tried to start again, and I do it in the morning but then get carried away. I wish I could get back on track, then it’s easy to keep going.

sollyn23l2

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48693711#Comment_48693711

I think it's important to consider why it's not working for you. Are you getting too hungry? Are you unhappy/unsatisfied with the food you are eating? It's ok to change what you're doing to work with your body and lifestyle. I don't believe we should have to be white-knuckling it through our day until we're allowed to eat (or even worse, have all the joy sucked out of the food we are eating). Sure, we can't eat whatever, whenever we, however much we want... but it's important to find ways to make it sustainable for you.

cmriverside

Well, full disclosure - I've been on this site since 2007 logging food. I lost a bunch of weight and I've kept it off within a few pounds. I eat "white carbs" including sugar, potatoes and pasta. Not every day and not every meal but I do work them in. I cannot maintain my weight loss without logging food. I don't have to weigh every bite (though I do when I'm at home) and I can look at a meal and guess within a couple hundred calories how many calories that meal contains. That comes from having logged for a consistent amount of time. For me, I HAVE TO see those numbers in front of me - daily. Otherwise I start eating more, forgetting what I've had, eating bigger portions, tossing out all my personal food rules (there aren't many, but still..)

Even if you only log when you start to put on a few pounds, that is likely better than nothing.

Were you weighing yourself regularly while you were putting on those 16 pounds? It's not out of control, you can lose that again. Just a tad more discipline for a few months. The bad news is that the last 15 pounds are the most difficult to lose because the margins for error and balancing the numbers are so small.

AnnPT77

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48693711#Comment_48693711

Yeah, to me, that's the thing: We need to find new, permanent, pretty-happy habits we can follow the overwhelming majority of the time for the long term, in order to avoid regain. Our whole weight loss process doesn't need to be about finding/practicing those habits, but IMO some of it should be.

Maybe you need to count long term, maybe you don't. (I do.) If intermittent fasting, or restricting certain foods is something you can do long term, then it's a good tactic. If you can't do it long term, I'd suggest finding a different approach that's easier to sustain.

Like Riverside, I never completely cut out sugar, flour, potatoes or literally any other food I enjoy. I ate the calorie dense foods less often, or in smaller portions. I prioritized nutrient-dense foods I actually like eating, and cooking methods that didn't amp up the calories for no particularly important-to-me reason. I found ways to move more in my daily life I could keep up forever. I kept doing the same pretty-serious exercise schedule I'd been doing for fun while staying class 1 obese for a dozen years 😆. There are no universal "thou shalts" about eating or activity. IMO, it's about finding our own personal best sustainable habits.

This is an aside, but I never understand how potatoes became evil: Whole potatoes, cooked in non-frying ways, are quite nutrient dense, and research always lists them as one of the very most filling foods. Most people probably fry them, and put highish-calorie things on them - regular ketchup, cheese, sour cream, etc. That can be a problem. But potatoes themselves are IMO a pretty good choice, even on reduced calories.

If you gained 18 pounds in 6 months, that implies that you've been eating on average around 375 calories daily above maintenance during that time period. That's a good-sized number, but not dauntingly huge. Yes, to re-lose you'll need to cut more than the 375, but if it's only 18 pounds to lose, it doesn't need to happen at breakneck speed with a huge cut or punitive new exercise or both.

I'd suggest finding a moderate path back to your desired weight, and thinking while you do that about practicing habits you can sustain to maintain a healthy weight. Drama is optional: This isn't an epic battle between good and evil, it's just a search and practice mission in pursuit of slightly better habits.

You can do this. If it helps you to count, count. If it doesn't, use your calorie knowledge from the last round to gradually cut down (and/or be more active) routinely, until weight starts to creep off. Just keep working at it until you find your personal best formula. That'll work.

Best wishes for success!