Intermittent fasting to lose 5 Lbs.
maria_antoinette
Posts: 239 Member
I am at or around goal weight for over 25 years now.. weighed over 150 in highschool .. Since that time I Successfully cut out bad food from my diet.. I am 5'4" 130 lbs. 45 years young and go to gym and do light cardo and weights. I eat meats, veggies, low glycemic fruit and rarely ever cheat (like maybe a drink at a party once a month or something yummy at a party). i keep it close to 1500 or even 1200 on some days... just to even it out during the week... Lifestyle of good choices is easy because i married a gym buff and my entire family is all about health and good food...
in an attempt to lose some more weight and fix stomach issues... i recently in the past 2 months cut out sugar and white starch to see if that helps my stomach and hunger issues.. and it has... with no sugar in my diet and white starch i am not hungry and gas and bloating has gone away.. i also CUT DAIRY because of lactose issues..
Sounds great right?! yeah wonderful............ my ONLY little issue that bugs me for years and years now..is that i have been wanting to weigh 125 for forever..... Cant do it.. and i dont want to CUT calories.. we all know how bad that is... i would literally be happy to lose 1 lb. a month.. and KEEP IT OFF............
Maybe intermittent fasting would work......... once a week.. from what i have read it means to eat only in a 6-8 hour window everyday of healthy foods of course... and then the rest of the time NOTHING.. only water.
what do you think? isnt breakfast the MOST important meal of the day..
in an attempt to lose some more weight and fix stomach issues... i recently in the past 2 months cut out sugar and white starch to see if that helps my stomach and hunger issues.. and it has... with no sugar in my diet and white starch i am not hungry and gas and bloating has gone away.. i also CUT DAIRY because of lactose issues..
Sounds great right?! yeah wonderful............ my ONLY little issue that bugs me for years and years now..is that i have been wanting to weigh 125 for forever..... Cant do it.. and i dont want to CUT calories.. we all know how bad that is... i would literally be happy to lose 1 lb. a month.. and KEEP IT OFF............
Maybe intermittent fasting would work......... once a week.. from what i have read it means to eat only in a 6-8 hour window everyday of healthy foods of course... and then the rest of the time NOTHING.. only water.
what do you think? isnt breakfast the MOST important meal of the day..
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Replies
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I am at or around goal weight for over 25 years now.. weighed over 150 in highschool .. Since that time I Successfully cut out bad food from my diet.. I am 5'4" 130 lbs. 45 years old and go to gym and do light cardo and weights. I eat meats, veggies, low glycemic fruit and rarely ever cheat (like maybe a drink at a party once a month and a hotdog at a kids party). i keep it close to 1500 or even 1200 on some days... just to even it out during the week...
in an attempt to lose some more weight and fix stomach issues... i recently in the past 2 months cut out sugar and white starch to see if that helps my stomach and hunger issues.. and it has... with no sugar in my diet and white starch i am not hungry and gas and bloating has gone away.. i also CUT DAIRY because of lactose issues..
Sounds great right?! yeah wonderful............ my ONLY little issue that bugs me for years and years now..is that i have been wanting to weigh 125 for forever..... Cant do it.. and i dont want to CUT calories.. we all know how bad that is... i would literally be happy to lose 1 lb. a month.. and KEEP IT OFF............
Maybe intermittent fasting would work......... once a week.. from what i have read it means to eat only in a 6-8 hour window everyday of healthy foods of course... and then the rest of the time NOTHING.. only water.
what do you think? isnt breakfast the MOST important meal of the day..
Fat loss is primarily governed by energy balance and not by the timing of your meals.
What this basically means is that your options are to increase energy output or decrease energy intake if you want to continue to lose weight.0 -
Have you looked at Every Other Day Diet? Lots of scientific evidence and it seems good for losing 5 pounds and keeping it off. I had no effect with IF, but my husband has - I think that he was eating less.0
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You said:Fat loss is primarily governed by energy balance and not by the timing of your meals.
What this basically means is that your options are to increase energy output or decrease energy intake if you want to continue to lose weight.
ok..!
Yeah exactly what i thought.. and well if i try it.. i usually drop water and go back up.. i even tried doing some crazy 2 hour gym thing last year where i was literally spinning for 2 hours a day and doing light weights like crazy for 3 months and ditched the scale and calorie logging... only good food however. nothing crazy.. i ended up gaining like 15 lbs because i was like so hungry and probably was overeating.. so like i went back to calorie counting and dropped that 15 in a month. My friend however lost 15 lbs... same age etc.. same weight.. same issue.. but she did HARD CORE weights... so maybe thats it.. forget the cardio and focus on WEIGHTS???0 -
Think you missed the point about energy balance - if you drop a high calorie burning activity (cardio exercise) and replace it with a relatively low calorie activity like weights you will be adjusting your calorie balance the wrong way to lose weight.You said:Fat loss is primarily governed by energy balance and not by the timing of your meals.
What this basically means is that your options are to increase energy output or decrease energy intake if you want to continue to lose weight.
ok..!
Yeah exactly what i thought.. and well if i try it.. i usually drop water and go back up.. i even tried doing some crazy 2 hour gym thing last year where i was literally spinning for 2 hours a day and doing light weights like crazy for 3 months and ditched the scale and calorie logging... only good food however. nothing crazy.. i ended up gaining like 15 lbs because i was like so hungry and probably was overeating.. so like i went back to calorie counting and dropped that 15 in a month. My friend however lost 15 lbs... same age etc.. same weight.. same issue.. but she did HARD CORE weights... so maybe thats it.. forget the cardio and focus on WEIGHTS???
Calorie balance - for weight control
Cardio - fitness, heart
Weights - strength, body composition.
PS
And don't compare yourself to your friend, you don't know her calorie balance.0 -
Think you missed the point about energy balance - if you drop a high calorie burning activity (cardio exercise) and replace it with a relatively low calorie activity like weights you will be adjusting your calorie balance the wrong way to lose weight.You said:Fat loss is primarily governed by energy balance and not by the timing of your meals.
What this basically means is that your options are to increase energy output or decrease energy intake if you want to continue to lose weight.
ok..!
Yeah exactly what i thought.. and well if i try it.. i usually drop water and go back up.. i even tried doing some crazy 2 hour gym thing last year where i was literally spinning for 2 hours a day and doing light weights like crazy for 3 months and ditched the scale and calorie logging... only good food however. nothing crazy.. i ended up gaining like 15 lbs because i was like so hungry and probably was overeating.. so like i went back to calorie counting and dropped that 15 in a month. My friend however lost 15 lbs... same age etc.. same weight.. same issue.. but she did HARD CORE weights... so maybe thats it.. forget the cardio and focus on WEIGHTS???
Calorie balance - for weight control
Cardio - fitness, heart
Weights - strength, body composition.
PS
And don't compare yourself to your friend, you don't know her calorie balance.
what? i did not follow.. tell me exactly what you think i should be doing.. i know i messed up by overdoing cardio.. never AGAIN.. all the trainers at the gym told me i was out of my mind thinking spinning would help me.. they all told me to just lift weights.. is that what you are saying?0 -
"What this basically means is that your options are to increase energy output or decrease energy intake if you want to continue to lose weight."
I think you missed his point as well.
"increase energy output" = burn more calories
"decrease energy intake" = eat less calories
How "good" or "healthy" you eat is not relevant *for pure weight loss* though obviously good for your health and you enjoy it. But to lose weight, you have to *eat* (intake) less than you *burn* (output). You can accomplish that by burning more or eating less or a combination.
Since you are in no hurry and want this to be permament, building muscle (ie weightlifting) would give you slower results (burns less that day than cardio) but means you have more muscle and your general energy output overall will become higher - meaning that over time you can eat the same calories and lose weight or eat more calories and maintain. Its the better long term solution than just losing 5 pounds as quickly as possible through high cardio (which you would have to continue) or lower food (again, have to continue).0 -
I have a friend who never allows herself to be more than 5 lbs. overweight... when she hits the 5 lbs. she goes on a watermelon diet, she only eats watermelon, seriously she eats the seeds too for something to chew LOL... but for a few days to up to a week, until that weight is gone and a couple extra pounds too... watermelon and water. I don't know if it's good for you to do it or not, but she is active and a smart eater and never gets overweight since she got fit.0
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NOTE there's a few typos still in here so if it reads badly sometimes, sorry.
I love posts like yours - ones that tell us everything we need to know and then have a clear question.
Anyway great job on keeping a good weight all these years. Personally i think you are better off staying right where you are if you don't want to start on the yo you dieting treadmill. However i will respond to the IF window idea and tell you what i would do to get the remaining weight if i were you. That said, i do not think you will be successful at keeping it off, though IF might help you there.
When i say IF it seems there are two types. One is a period of hours you can eat in the day and the other is fasting a couple of days a week only 500 calories. When i say IF, i'm only talking about the eating window. I know its confusing.
I don't think IF will help you lose the weight, unless you deliberately focus on cutting calories as well. The idea of an eating window to help you eat less and control your calorie intake. In itself it will not cause weightloss. In fact as you allude to, it might even slow it down. I think to keep the metabolise going strong throughout the day, you do need breakfast. So if you were to do IF, i'd suggest a big meal first off in the morning (which is hard, and one at the end of your eating window. I've done this for a month at monastery when we had to finish lunch before midday. However i would admit, i gained weight because i was eating a lot of dessert by the end of it. I actually think that a small window like that can lead to rebound eating when you stop doing it. Now i eat normally again but finish by 7pm at night. Its 11pm now and i'm a little hungry but i'm comfortable with this much hunger. Just need to drink some water until i get to bed.
What i am also trying is the weekly 2 day fast. If you keep strict control of your calories on the other days as well not to go up above 1500 you might slowly lose the weight. On the 2 day fasts you are supposed to eat 500 (according to the recommended plan) Im not able to stick with it that low, though i try. I will keep trying to do this and see how it goes for a few more weeks or as long as i can. I've got friends who don't do it lose weight but for other health reasons. And i find to kick start a diet, a short fast is useful.
But i don't know if that will help you get to your goal. It might do. I'm hoping it will help me get down to my goal weight too which is 135 or thereabouts.
What i know does work though is a ton of exercise in combination with a calorie controlled diet. But this is not reasonable for people who work I think. And so far i have never been able to keep it going after the exercise stops - which it always does. And i haven't been able to moderate my eating back to a sustainable level either. But you might find a way. I sometimes go on long cycling journeys with a loaded up bike. I ride all day. About 100km most days. When i do that i.e. eat three meals a day. I don't over eat. I eat LOW go foods and eat as healthy as possible. I got pretty skinny doing that. The main thing again is not to eat all your calories back. I wasn't counting calories when i did it but i couldn't go to shops so i was forced to eat well.
An alternative to cycling 100km a day might be running 1.5-2 hours most days. This will make you really tired, unless you eat more. It made me really tired. I was training for triathlon until i injured my knee and had to stop. I wasn't counting calories at the time but seemed to be able to not eat so much. I only ate healthy and was vegetarian at the time. I was in fitness junky mode. It was great.
This year i've gone off sugar too like you. Its great. I will do this for the rest of my life. So far, its over 7 months. But actually i do eat it some times in special circumstances (6 times this year). And now for the fun of it, i'm experimenting with sugar free desserts - just using fruit and dried fruit for sweetness but they can be high fat, so i still have to be careful there.
Whatever you decide to do, if you want to keep the weight off forever, it has to be a sustainable strategy - one that you can commit to doing forever, like you do when you quit smoking for example. ( i have found that using my quit smoking experience and strategies have helped with my quit sugar strategies). So try to work out some strategies that you can do forever but these will have to be either ways that enable you to eat fewer calories or burn more.0 -
I have a friend who never allows herself to be more than 5 lbs. overweight... when she hits the 5 lbs. she goes on a watermelon diet, she only eats watermelon, seriously she eats the seeds too for something to chew LOL... but for a few days to up to a week, until that weight is gone and a couple extra pounds too... watermelon and water. I don't know if it's good for you to do it or not, but she is active and a smart eater and never gets overweight since she got fit.
sounds like me.. the minute i hit 135 i start the really count the calories until i am back to 130.. but for some reason if i continue to do that and go down to 128 or lower.. the moment i hit my regular 1200-1500 calories the weight goes back up...0 -
Whatever you decide to do, if you want to keep the weight off forever, it has to be a sustainable strategy - one that you commit to doing forever. So try to work out some strategies that you can do forever but these will have to be either ways that enable you to eat fewer calories or burn more.
Patttience
THANK You for your post.. I agree with you.. its also hard to post this info because most people get upset about me wanting to lose 5 lbs.. but i am just being honest of my issue the past 10 years........... what i DONT want to do is slow my metabolism.. so i am looking for advice everywhere...0 -
If you want to lose weight you must be in a calorie deficit - so concentrate on your diet.
You keep going off at tangents - intermittent fasting, excluding types of food, dropping cardio, doing weights, excessive exercise, comparing yourself to your friend.....
Really think about what you want to do and then focus on what you need to achieve your goals.
You don't do cardio to lose weight.
You don't do weights to lose weight.
You don't lose weight by copying part of someone else's diet and exercise routine!
If your priority is to lose 5lbs slowly then make sure you have a moderate calorie deficit over a long period of time.
Sorry but none of this makes sense without knowing what you were hoping to achieve by doing a lot of Spinning. If it was to get fitter and burn some calories then no doubt you achieved that.i know i messed up by overdoing cardio.. never AGAIN.. all the trainers at the gym told me i was out of my mind thinking spinning would help me.. they all told me to just lift weights.. is that what you are saying?
If you thought Spinning would make you lose weight without a calorie deficit then you were doomed to fail.0 -
If you want to lose weight you must be in a calorie deficit - so concentrate on your diet.
You keep going off at tangents - intermittent fasting, excluding types of food, dropping cardio, doing weights, excessive exercise, comparing yourself to your friend.....
Really think about what you want to do and then focus on what you need to achieve your goals.
You don't do cardio to lose weight.
You don't do weights to lose weight.
You don't lose weight by copying part of someone else's diet and exercise routine!
If your priority is to lose 5lbs slowly then make sure you have a moderate calorie deficit over a long period of time.
Sorry but none of this makes sense without knowing what you were hoping to achieve by doing a lot of Spinning. If it was to get fitter and burn some calories then no doubt you achieved that.i know i messed up by overdoing cardio.. never AGAIN.. all the trainers at the gym told me i was out of my mind thinking spinning would help me.. they all told me to just lift weights.. is that what you are saying?
If you thought Spinning would make you lose weight without a calorie deficit then you were doomed to fail.
Here is what i did.. i was spinning lets say 700-1000 calories a day using a BELT that measured calories.. and then i was going home and eating an extra 500-600 calories of healthy food a day... mainly salad with olive oil and chicken etc... my GOAL is spining was to either maintain weight or lose weight... BIG FAIL.. i gained 15 lbs..
!! Lol... I KNOW now that was stupid. 0 -
Plain and simple: eat a little less food.
You haven't said anything about actually weighing your food with a food scale. How do you know what your intake is?0 -
Plain and simple: eat a little less food.
You haven't said anything about actually weighing your food with a food scale. How do you know what your intake is?
I weigh everything... use calorie counters. you name it....since i have been maintaining for over 25 years.. i am methodical because if go ABOVE my calorie i jump up to 135 what feels like overnight.... if i CUT the calorie.s. i do go down. but like i have to cut to 800 just to weigh 125.. not very healthy.. done with that..0 -
I used to intermittent feast for a couple of years, but recently started something new. It's good to experiment! Try eating only dinner two days out of the week until you lose the 5 lbs or go 1000 calories a few days at a time as a shock to your system. I say a few days cause it takes 3-4 days on an extreme deficit for your body get pissed off and lower your metabolism.
Try something for a month or a couple of weeks and see what happens! It's fun to experiment sometimes
Good luck!0 -
I used to intermittent feast for a couple of years, but recently started something new. It's good to experiment! Try eating only dinner two days out of the week until you lose the 5 lbs or go 1000 calories a few days at a time as a shock to your system. I say a few days cause it takes 3-4 days on an extreme deficit for your body get pissed off and lower your metabolism.
Try something for a month or a couple of weeks and see what happens! It's fun to experiment sometimes
Good luck!
YES!! ok perfect.. love to hear things like this.. experimenting is fun..0 -
May i ask why the number on the scale is your goal. If you have not been doing an adequate strength training program, as a woman, you have naturally continued to lose muscle mass as youve aged. Which means it will be harder and harder to maintain your current weight on what you are now eating. And as you approach menopause it will get even harder to maintain, your body will hang on to fat for dear life to make up for lost estrogen. This is the most important time of your life to build back that muscle. Now like somone else mentioned if you exchange lifting with cardio you wont be burning as many calories so youll have to adjust if you dont want to gain, but you can do a strong 3 day a week strength and then do cardio on the other days. But i can tell you that number on the scale means nothing, you need to look at some of the recomp pictures of ladies on here that have gained weight and are smaller, leaner and defined and i might add divine looking.0
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May i ask why the number on the scale is your goal. If you have not been doing an adequate strength training program, as a woman, you have naturally continued to lose muscle mass as youve aged. Which means it will be harder and harder to maintain your current weight on what you are now eating. And as you approach menopause it will get even harder to maintain, your body will hang on to fat for dear life to make up for lost estrogen. This is the most important time of your life to build back that muscle. Now like somone else mentioned if you exchange lifting with cardio you wont be burning as many calories so youll have to adjust if you dont want to gain, but you can do a strong 3 day a week strength and then do cardio on the other days. But i can tell you that number on the scale means nothing, you need to look at some of the recomp pictures of ladies on here that have gained weight and are smaller, leaner and defined and i might add divine looking.
Working on adding more strengh training for sure.0 -
well ok let me rephrase.. forget the number on the scale.... i
If i gained 10 lbs and lost 2 inches i would be so happy............. great , even better.....:)!
usually though measurments on my body and scale go hand in hand.. so its eisier to just say 5 lbs.. it gives people an idea0 -
I do IF myself....16/8
But still, calories in vs calories out.....
regardless of when you eat them0 -
well ok let me rephrase.. forget the number on the scale.... i
If i gained 10 lbs and lost 2 inches i would be so happy............. great , even better.....:)!
usually though measurments on my body and scale go hand in hand.. so its eisier to just say 5 lbs.. it gives people an idea
than lift weights
eat at or just below maintenance....
Wash, rinse, dry, repeat0 -
Plain and simple: eat a little less food.
You haven't said anything about actually weighing your food with a food scale. How do you know what your intake is?
I weigh everything... use calorie counters. you name it....since i have been maintaining for over 25 years.. i am methodical because if go ABOVE my calorie i jump up to 135 what feels like overnight.... if i CUT the calorie.s. i do go down. but like i have to cut to 800 just to weigh 125.. not very healthy.. done with that..
Maybe you're supposed to be the weight you are, 130? Have you ever thought of that. I mean, it sounds like you're doing everything possible to restrict yourself (which in my opinion isn't good). If you're having to cut your calories extremely low then that's your body's way of saying, "NO, I'm comfortable at 130!" Eat healthy, do moderate exercise (change it up throughout the week) and don't obsess over your number.0 -
I have been intermittent fasting and I LOVE it!!!! It helps me to stay under my calorie goal because I am only eating between 11am and 6:30 pm. I used to be a late night snacker. I did not count calories over the past weeked due to a birthday party. I am back on track today.0
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yeah i dont eat at night anymore at all!!!0
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well ok let me rephrase.. forget the number on the scale.... i
If i gained 10 lbs and lost 2 inches i would be so happy............. great , even better.....:)!
usually though measurments on my body and scale go hand in hand.. so its eisier to just say 5 lbs.. it gives people an idea
than lift weights
eat at or just below maintenance....
Wash, rinse, dry, repeat
yes thats what i am doing... i did MORE cardio then weights in the past which did nothing but make me gain weight.. so now i will switch that up and that should do the trick i hope..0 -
yep.. thats what i am doing...0
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I think it depends on your bodytype and lifestyle. Intermittent fasting works VERY well for me. I still consume all of my macros I just do it in an 8 hour window. I usually workout fasted when time permits (but that is what I prefer because I feel gross working out with food in my stomach). By the time I am ready to eat it is 10am and I allow myself to eat my meals (ALL my calories too!!!) until 6 PM. My window changes depending on my day. For me....it works. It's not everyone's preferred method. You may want to give it a try for a week and see how it goes. If it works for you, great. If not, then you'll know rather than relying solely on what others tell you (because we all have different body types). Some people think IF is crazy talk, but putting food in my mouth at 7 AM just has NO appeal to me whatsoever and NEVER helped me to lose any weight. But working out fasted and eating at 10AM (based on what time I wake up-it could be noon if I sleep in on the weekend, then workout, then run errands before I eat) and then eating all of my macros/calories, etc). until 6 PM...lost 90 pounds....so there you go. When I went off the IF protocol I gained weight back...went back on and guess what happened...burned off the weight.
I also lift weights (not those piddly 5pound ones either)- again: works for me, but perhaps not for others
I also eat clean and stay away from land animals and dairy products (people think that's nuts too)- again: works for me :-)
Having said that: try IF out if you want and determine if it works for YOU and if YOU can live with it :-)
Hope this helps. Just ONE of many viewpoints :-)0 -
Plain and simple: eat a little less food.
You haven't said anything about actually weighing your food with a food scale. How do you know what your intake is?
I weigh everything... use calorie counters. you name it....since i have been maintaining for over 25 years.. i am methodical because if go ABOVE my calorie i jump up to 135 what feels like overnight.... if i CUT the calorie.s. i do go down. but like i have to cut to 800 just to weigh 125.. not very healthy.. done with that..
Is it possible that your healthy lean body just has 5 more lbs. of lean muscle than you would like? Why are you concentrating on the number it says on a scale? Sounds and looks like you are at a healthy and thin body now. Why the need to cut down to 125? Even your body rebels against it, so why not listen to it telling you that your ideal weight is 130? Just a thought.0 -
Plain and simple: eat a little less food.
You haven't said anything about actually weighing your food with a food scale. How do you know what your intake is?
I weigh everything... use calorie counters. you name it....since i have been maintaining for over 25 years.. i am methodical because if go ABOVE my calorie i jump up to 135 what feels like overnight.... if i CUT the calorie.s. i do go down. but like i have to cut to 800 just to weigh 125.. not very healthy.. done with that..
Is it possible that your healthy lean body just has 5 more lbs. of lean muscle than you would like? Why are you concentrating on the number it says on a scale? Sounds and looks like you are at a healthy and thin body now. Why the need to cut down to 125? Even your body rebels against it, so why not listen to it telling you that your ideal weight is 130? Just a thought.
In the past, once i am around this weight around 130 i am feeling all FLY and skinny and i go and FALL OFF THE WAGON and end up gaining weight only to diet again to get back to 130... (never past 135)....
THIS TIME I at the maintenance phase i am LOGGING IN EVERYDAY and logging what i eat..to notice patterns etc.. and funny enough.. no WEIGHT GAIN... i think thats because i LOSE focus when i feel thin... so if after logging in and weighing myself etc. and being accountable for a few months and i am STILL 130.. then perfect !!! my body weight wins.. whatever.. i look good anyway....
but the way things are going.. and me ACTUALLY monitoring my maintenance....i feel thinner allready... so i am pretty sure that all these 20 years.. i have just been EATING to much once i hit that 130 mark....0 -
So, based on how you describe your diet, you have been eating Paleo correct? Is that how you have been effectively maintaining or is that a new way of eating for you?
I am not as familiar with the specifics of that lifestyle, but if that has been working for you so far, what is recommended in Paleo when you are not losing as much weight as you want?0
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