16:8 IF Diet - No results after 3 weeks

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EddieEHitler
EddieEHitler Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi folks,

After reading a number of inspiring stories, I decided to have a go at an intermittent fasting diet. I choose the 16:8 format whereby you fast for 16 hours a day and eat for the remaining 8. After 3 whole weeks of trying I haven't lost a single pound in weight. As a matter of fact I have gained 2. Just to point out that I haven't been going mad during the 8 hour eating window. I would generally skip breakfast and have lunch and dinner. Towards the end of the second week I had gained a pound and I was so concerned about it that I went for a food intolerance test. The food intolerance test showed that I have an intolerance to diary products so I've now cut those out completely for a week now. The test also showed that my body's ability to burn fat is extremely poor. On a scale of 1-100, I was in the 90's, which is very bad indeed.

It was suggested that I try some supplements as this could well be an under active thyroid. I've been on sea kelp, chlorella and also 12 billion strong probiotic capsules the past week. I still haven't lost any weight mind.

The other problem I have is that I have quite a serious knee injury and I'm awaiting a date for surgery so this is hindering my ability to be more active by going to the gym etc. Even walking becomes painful. Despite this, I would have thought eating around 1600 calories a day on a 16:8 daily fast would at least have some success.

I'm interested to know; has anyone shift from this IF to maybe 5:2 and had better results? Perhaps I'm being to optimistic as I've only just cut out diary the past week and also stopped drinking diet coke completely. I can't help but feel a little frustrated when the scales are going the wrong way! Appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!
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Replies

  • tiggsnanny
    tiggsnanny Posts: 366 Member
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    I don't know what the 16:8 diet is, after reading lots of posts over time on here, i've just decided to count calories and lose weight that way, it seems to be working ok, although I put on 3 pound recently lol.
    I did lose quite a bit with weight watchers, but I figured I could do it myself and it won't cost me anything.

    I wish you luck and I hope your knee gets sorted soon. I've had a stroke so I only walk really, I have a dog, so i'm quite sedentary. Slowly, slowly, wins the race :happy:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    are you logging your calories????

    weight loss is not about when you eat or what you eat...it's about how much you eat.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Count calories. In 8 hours, you can have a 800 calorie lunchg, 500 calorie snack, 1000 calorie dinner and end up gaining still. It si not the dairy or the diet coke. Find your TDEE and eat below this by 10-20%. If this means 1500 calories per day, then this what you need to do to lose.
  • piyuK
    piyuK Posts: 45 Member
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    bump..
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    are you logging your calories????

    weight loss is not about when you eat or what you eat...it's about how much you eat.

    This!

    I follow a similar eating schedule but only because it works for the way I like to eat and my lifestyle. But just because I only eat 1 or 2 meals a day in a very small window doesn't mean I can't overeat. Log your food accurately and honestly without seeing your diary can't say much else
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    IF is a style of eating not a 'diet'. you just need a deficit to lose weight...
  • Jessie24330
    Jessie24330 Posts: 224 Member
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    are you logging your calories????

    weight loss is not about when you eat or what you eat...it's about how much you eat.

    This!

    I follow a similar eating schedule but only because it works for the way I like to eat and my lifestyle. But just because I only eat 1 or 2 meals a day in a very small window doesn't mean I can't overeat. Log your food accurately and honestly without seeing your diary can't say much else

    I agree with this too. If I look back on some of the meals that I used to eat, I could have easily filled my whole day's quota for calories in one meal. I am Muslim and we fast for a month every year (Ramadan) from sunup to sundown which is pretty much what you are doing right now and I don't know anyone who loses weight in this time. In fact it is not impossible for a lot of people to gain in this time because they are so hungry by the time they eat that they end up eating WAY more than they should.

    Eat just once a day works for some people but I don't think it is the best for most people. Even if you are not starving and don't overeat at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a great plan. Your car wouldn't run on empty all day with the promise of gas at the end of the day so it seems that we should do the same for our bodies and keep them fueled with healthy food throughout the day. But, of course, if you are set on doing this then just make sure you are tracking what you are eating cause it is REALLY easy to overeat when you are consuming all your food in one short window of the day.
  • lorrennon
    lorrennon Posts: 43
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    I lived this way and thats why I am dieting now. No breakfast, Fast food for lunch, fast food for dinner. Turned out I was eating over 3000 calories per day in that 8 hour period. So now I'm being responsible (basically) and trying to lose those 8 hours over 16 months. I didn't try to diet like that, but I never ate breakfast so it just worked out that way. I am living proof that timing has nothing to do with losing weight (or gaining really) So now on my 120 lb loss quest eating more often but properly.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    I'm confused as to why you're only guessing at they thyroid issue, and throwing things at it that *might* help *IF* there's a problem... if you were able to have a food intolerance test then obviously you have access to medical care (unless maybe you got one of those quacky chiropractor-administered "oh your muscles fatigue when you get near dairy, you must be intolerant" type of tests in which case I'd ask for your money back and see an actual doctor).

    Also IF you're truly dairy intolerant/allergic, and it's only been a week, then it is really too soon to tell anything. Dairy allergy most commonly causes inflammation issues (my son was diagnosed allergic as an infant, via actual blood testing, but has since outgrown it), and we were told by the allergist that it can take up to TWO WEEKS for all traces of dairy to be elimintated from the body, and that lingering negative effects would be seen until then.

    Finally, a week of pseudo-treating a thyroid condition (assuming one exists) with kelp and other supplements is also not enough time. And frankly not going to do a hill of beans of good because if your thyroid is under active then your body needs more T4/T3, which you can't get through OTC supplements. The supplements you're taking are to support a program that includes natural or synthetic T4/T3, not to replace it.
  • EddieEHitler
    EddieEHitler Posts: 52 Member
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    Wow, thank you very much for all the helpful replies guys! The consensus here is pretty obvious. I've probably been a bit naive in thinking that I will lose weight no matter what, but of course if I am overeating without properly realising then that's the problem right there. I should point out that one or the main reasons I went for a food intolerance checkup was because of the real bad headaches I tend to get mid afternoon. The only way to get rid of them is sleep. I also feel very lethargic most of the time so if anything chlorella and sea kelp will hopefully give me a boost of some kind.

    I was hooked up to a machine called a Dach machine or something? Basically it pass a 5hz electrical signal through your body and outputs to the Dach(?) machine which gives you a reading between 0 and 100. The supplements were suggested to me due to the readings. I'd never heard of sea kelp or chlorella before hand to be honest. One thing I will do though is take at least one probiotic capsule per day to boost the immune system.

    Starting now, I will record everything I eat and see how things go. After all, I'm on the best website in the world for calorie counting!

    One more question, do you guys eat your workout calories? Cheers!
  • Jessie24330
    Jessie24330 Posts: 224 Member
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    One more question, do you guys eat your workout calories? Cheers!

    Some of them but not all. I have seen a lot of people get chewed out for saying this, so please don't anyone chew me out, but a lot of days I have trouble eating all my calories. Since my stomach has shrunk and I am not feeling the need to eat a few pounds of food at one sitting, combined with healthier food choices, I have to actually work on making my calorie goal a good amount of the time. I usually try to get within 250 of my calorie goal for the day so long as that passes my original goal (before exercise). I hope that makes sense. I get tempted to not eat them back but I don't want to lose the weight too quickly (never thought I would hear myself say that) and I want to make sure that my body has what it needs now, which is more than what it will need when I am 100lbs down so I think that if I end up with a net of 1200 for the day (for me personally at my weight) that that is just not good. I may be looking at this wrong but I am in it for the long haul this time so slow and steady and most of all healthy is my main concern.
  • thyme4
    thyme4 Posts: 35 Member
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    I have been following 16:8 protocol for about six weeks. I set my calorie goals at around TDEE less 15% and do not eat back exercise calories unless much more active than normal (since exercise already factored into TDEE ). So it depends on how you set up your goals in MFP.

    Regarding your comment about not burning fat efficiently, if there is no specific medical diagnosis you may find it helpful to change your macros to a higher protein/lower carb level from what you are eating today (not sure what your current macros are, but if you weren't watching the calories, these might have been out of sorts too).

    Good luck!
  • EddieEHitler
    EddieEHitler Posts: 52 Member
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    One more question, do you guys eat your workout calories? Cheers!

    Some of them but not all. I have seen a lot of people get chewed out for saying this, so please don't anyone chew me out, but a lot of days I have trouble eating all my calories. Since my stomach has shrunk and I am not feeling the need to eat a few pounds of food at one sitting, combined with healthier food choices, I have to actually work on making my calorie goal a good amount of the time. I usually try to get within 250 of my calorie goal for the day so long as that passes my original goal (before exercise). I hope that makes sense. I get tempted to not eat them back but I don't want to lose the weight too quickly (never thought I would hear myself say that) and I want to make sure that my body has what it needs now, which is more than what it will need when I am 100lbs down so I think that if I end up with a net of 1200 for the day (for me personally at my weight) that that is just not good. I may be looking at this wrong but I am in it for the long haul this time so slow and steady and most of all healthy is my main concern.

    Thank you Jessie. Best of luck on your weight loss journey! :-)
  • EddieEHitler
    EddieEHitler Posts: 52 Member
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    I have been following 16:8 protocol for about six weeks. I set my calorie goals at around TDEE less 15% and do not eat back exercise calories unless much more active than normal (since exercise already factored into TDEE ). So it depends on how you set up your goals in MFP.

    Regarding your comment about not burning fat efficiently, if there is no specific medical diagnosis you may find it helpful to change your macros to a higher protein/lower carb level from what you are eating today (not sure what your current macros are, but if you weren't watching the calories, these might have been out of sorts too).

    Good luck!

    Thank you for that thyme4. I see that you're almost at your goal weight. Nice one! I checked my TDEE and it is 2,494. I guess I just take 20% off that and go from there? Have you been more successful on the 16:8 plan? I may just stick to it then and see how I go. Cheers!
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Eat just once a day works for some people but I don't think it is the best for most people. Even if you are not starving and don't overeat at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a great plan. Your car wouldn't run on empty all day with the promise of gas at the end of the day so it seems that we should do the same for our bodies and keep them fueled with healthy food throughout the day.

    When will people get that this car analogy absolutely DOES NOT WORK in comparison to the human body?

    OP, I have lost the last 80 or so pound intermittent fasting. It's incredible for me. But I've had periods where I've maintained, and even gained, over the last year because meal timing does not magically make up for eating at, or above, whatever your TDEE is.

    IFing simply helps some people get the deficit in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. It doesn't mean you can't stall, or gain, doing it.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Eat just once a day works for some people but I don't think it is the best for most people. Even if you are not starving and don't overeat at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a great plan. Your car wouldn't run on empty all day with the promise of gas at the end of the day so it seems that we should do the same for our bodies and keep them fueled with healthy food throughout the day.

    When will people get that this car analogy absolutely DOES NOT WORK in comparison to the human body?

    OP, I have lost the last 80 or so pound intermittent fasting. It's incredible for me. But I've had periods where I've maintained, and even gained, over the last year because meal timing does not magically make up for eating at, or above, whatever your TDEE is.

    IFing simply helps some people get the deficit in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. It doesn't mean you can't stall, or gain, doing it.

    I concur. That car analogy is full of **** when comparing it to fasting.

    I fast (3) 24 hour cycles a week and eat at my BMR or TDEE the other 4. Works fanstastic...lost 32 in 12 weeks so far and my workouts are getting better and better. I usually get a good run in during the end of each of the 3 fasts so for someone to say you wont have energy to do anything is plain wrong.

    The 16:8...I never really even thought of that as fasting. An 8 hour window to eat, well, that is what many people do on a very consistant basis. IF is just another way to create a deficit, and if you do the 16:8 you are basically doing very little different than every other suzy and joe out there who have to count their calories diligently to stay in a deficit each day. It really is no diff than that.

    A "true" fasting period is going a 20-36 hour cycle (I do 24) and getting in up to 500 calories, then eating at your TDEE the other 24 hour cycles. For me, TDEE is 2300-2700. Pretty good eating day to do 2300-2700. So much so that I really dont count much on those days becauase I know I can stay within that range or below.

    Teh 500 cal cycles arent that difficult either. Pretty simple snack/sanwich and a drink or however you want to do it.

    My cycle starsts sunday night at around 7pm. From 7pm sunday through 7pm monday I have up to 500 cals of which I use late morning, early afternoon if I need to. Then at 7pm I come off my fast and can eat 2300-2700 from 7pm monday night until tuesday night at 7pm. I dont go a day without a really good meal and still gain the benefits of fasting of which weight loss is just one of the many benefits.

    My body has learned what hunger is. Most people eat when they are bored, thirsty, or when the clock tells them it is time to eat when in reality our bodies dont need to eat that often
  • Jessie24330
    Jessie24330 Posts: 224 Member
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    Eat just once a day works for some people but I don't think it is the best for most people. Even if you are not starving and don't overeat at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a great plan. Your car wouldn't run on empty all day with the promise of gas at the end of the day so it seems that we should do the same for our bodies and keep them fueled with healthy food throughout the day.

    When will people get that this car analogy absolutely DOES NOT WORK in comparison to the human body?

    OP, I have lost the last 80 or so pound intermittent fasting. It's incredible for me. But I've had periods where I've maintained, and even gained, over the last year because meal timing does not magically make up for eating at, or above, whatever your TDEE is.

    IFing simply helps some people get the deficit in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. It doesn't mean you can't stall, or gain, doing it.

    Just because you are losing weight does not mean that it is healthy for you to do this. I would lose tons of weight very rapidly if I just stopped eating for a week or two but that does not mean that my body is doing well on the inside. If you don't want to compare to a car, which is just the easiest analogy, then think about a child/teen in school. If they don't eat for the whole day, they will not be able to perform at their best, a fact which I don't think anyone would argue with. Just because you force your body to function without adding more fuel to it during the day doesn't mean that it is good for you. Why would you treat your body different then you would want your child to treat theirs? Plus, the idea of this process, or it should be anyway, is to form lifelong healthy eating and exercise habits and not solely to lose weight. If fasting is what you want to do then go for it but don't act like you are doing yourself a favor. It is not a method, imho, that should be pushed as a healthy option to people.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Options
    Eat just once a day works for some people but I don't think it is the best for most people. Even if you are not starving and don't overeat at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a great plan. Your car wouldn't run on empty all day with the promise of gas at the end of the day so it seems that we should do the same for our bodies and keep them fueled with healthy food throughout the day.

    When will people get that this car analogy absolutely DOES NOT WORK in comparison to the human body?

    OP, I have lost the last 80 or so pound intermittent fasting. It's incredible for me. But I've had periods where I've maintained, and even gained, over the last year because meal timing does not magically make up for eating at, or above, whatever your TDEE is.

    IFing simply helps some people get the deficit in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. It doesn't mean you can't stall, or gain, doing it.

    Just because you are losing weight does not mean that it is healthy for you to do this. I would lose tons of weight very rapidly if I just stopped eating for a week or two but that does not mean that my body is doing well on the inside. If you don't want to compare to a car, which is just the easiest analogy, then think about a child/teen in school. If they don't eat for the whole day, they will not be able to perform at their best, a fact which I don't think anyone would argue with. Just because you force your body to function without adding more fuel to it during the day doesn't mean that it is good for you. Why would you treat your body different then you would want your child to treat theirs? Plus, the idea of this process, or it should be anyway, is to form lifelong healthy eating and exercise habits and not solely to lose weight. If fasting is what you want to do then go for it but don't act like you are doing yourself a favor. It is not a method, imho, that should be pushed as a healthy option to people.

    You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, no clue of how the human body works, no insight into how other people function, and trying to educate you would be an utter waste of my time.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I have been there so I guess I can speak some from my own experience...I think one of the IF selling points is "no calorie counting needed" but many of us didn't read the fine print before jumping in blindly..It doesn't mean you don't watch what you eat just chow down to your heart content during the eating window...Being mindful is key for any way of eating...
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    Options
    Eat just once a day works for some people but I don't think it is the best for most people. Even if you are not starving and don't overeat at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a great plan. Your car wouldn't run on empty all day with the promise of gas at the end of the day so it seems that we should do the same for our bodies and keep them fueled with healthy food throughout the day.

    When will people get that this car analogy absolutely DOES NOT WORK in comparison to the human body?

    OP, I have lost the last 80 or so pound intermittent fasting. It's incredible for me. But I've had periods where I've maintained, and even gained, over the last year because meal timing does not magically make up for eating at, or above, whatever your TDEE is.

    IFing simply helps some people get the deficit in a way that makes them feel more comfortable. It doesn't mean you can't stall, or gain, doing it.

    Just because you are losing weight does not mean that it is healthy for you to do this. I would lose tons of weight very rapidly if I just stopped eating for a week or two but that does not mean that my body is doing well on the inside. If you don't want to compare to a car, which is just the easiest analogy, then think about a child/teen in school. If they don't eat for the whole day, they will not be able to perform at their best, a fact which I don't think anyone would argue with. Just because you force your body to function without adding more fuel to it during the day doesn't mean that it is good for you. Why would you treat your body different then you would want your child to treat theirs? Plus, the idea of this process, or it should be anyway, is to form lifelong healthy eating and exercise habits and not solely to lose weight. If fasting is what you want to do then go for it but don't act like you are doing yourself a favor. It is not a method, imho, that should be pushed as a healthy option to people.
    [/quote u dont stop eating for a week or two. you fast for 18 - 24 hr cycles a couple days a week. even on fast days i have a large meal.

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