Do you think this will help???

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LizC26
LizC26 Posts: 319 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been losing 1lb a week for the last 3 months or so....Last 3 weeks it has stalled....I've been only eating in a 4 hr window (7pm-11pm) and keeping to 1200 cals....with only a little exercise...

Do you think if I spend a week or so eating small meals throughout the day, I can maybe re-start my weightloss...Just to throw my metabolism off??? Any other ideas are welcome too :)
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  • quietlywinning
    quietlywinning Posts: 889 Member
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    It would certainly be worth a try!
  • han182
    han182 Posts: 82
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    How come you only eat for 4 hours? I think eating small regular meals will kick-start you, keeps your blood sugars stable so you're less hungry! :flowerforyou:
  • talysshade
    talysshade Posts: 273 Member
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    Yes.. that is much healthier in itself than eating everything at once.. I'm honestly quite amazed you don't get hungry later in the day. I'd say give it a shot!
  • CassieLEO
    CassieLEO Posts: 757 Member
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    Huh??? You only eat in a four hour window? Do you mean you dont eat all day long except for those four hours??? I hope not lady. If you do then common sense would tell you that this isnt healthy and isnt going to do anything to help you be healthy in the long run. I would also HIGHLY suggest you see a doctor who specializes in eating disorders if this continues.
  • nitamo
    nitamo Posts: 64
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    I'm amazed that you can make it through the day not eating till 7 pm!! I'd be starving by noon:-)
    I think that eating smaller meals throughout the day should kick start your metabolism nicely.
  • angiemartin78
    angiemartin78 Posts: 475 Member
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    If you eat 6-8 small meals a day it keeps your metabolism going constantly and keeps your blood sugar regulated.

    Why do you only eat within a 4 hour window? That's probably whats keeping you from losing weight.
  • MsKeelah919
    MsKeelah919 Posts: 332 Member
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    Yes!! You dont eat regularly enough for your body to want to release the extra reserves. It probably is terrified to only get fuel once a day... its in mainteance mode!!! Preserve the reserves! :) Good luck!
  • talysshade
    talysshade Posts: 273 Member
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    You may also want to try eating a bit more, and a bit healthier. I'm no expert, nor can i be sure of course, but it appears to me you eat out a lot? I see a lot of restaurants.. fast foods.. nothing wrong with that of course, a calorie is a calorie. But some foods affect your metabolism different than others. Take vegetables for example, because they're plants they're much harder to digest, which in itself helps you burn more calories.

    Also, 1140 calories for a daily goal is quite low.. the minimum truly appears to be 1200, so i suggest eating a bit more actually, maybe around 1300 calories a day. Or drinking water.
  • lulutm
    lulutm Posts: 57
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    Much better to eat smaller meals throughout the day, than to just eat in the "four hour window." You metabolism is probably in the toilet, after being starved all day. Are you exercising???
  • LizC26
    LizC26 Posts: 319 Member
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    Huh??? You only eat in a four hour window? Do you mean you dont eat all day long except for those four hours??? I hope not lady. If you do then common sense would tell you that this isnt healthy and isnt going to do anything to help you be healthy in the long run. I would also HIGHLY suggest you see a doctor who specializes in eating disorders if this continues.

    It's not a ED....There are actually 3-5 different plans that follow variations of this rule...You can Google them....LeanGains, The Warrior Diet, Eat Stop Eat.....It's all proven healthy....

    And actually, it keeps you from being hungry once you get used to it....I've always had the hardest time stopping with a small meal....It just makes me hungrier...
  • MaMaofAnE
    MaMaofAnE Posts: 1
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    How do you feel about upping your exercise a little? If you currently walk, then every 5 minutes, up your speed of walking for 30 to 60 seconds and then return to normal rate for the next 4 minutes. This way you are working up to increasing your speed. Also try some weight lifting. Use whatever you have at home. Small weights, cans of food, etc. Do a series of weight lifting, squats, lunges, etc. while watching your favorite tv show or maybe during each commercial. We all lose muscle mass as we age and as we all know, muscle burns fat quicker. Hope all goes well. You are doing great!
  • jessbennett1986
    jessbennett1986 Posts: 243
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    Most definitely! Think of your body as a furnace. When you pile on a bunch of wood, it lasts for awhile but will burn out quickly and will run out of heat. If you give your furnace a small amount of wood every few hours, it continues on and the heat is consistant and will last all day. Same for your body. Give your body six small meals a day to keep your body going. Your body will be less likely to store any of the food as fat also. When you only eat once a day your body stores alot of that food because it knows that you will not eat again for 24 hours. If you eat consistantly throughout the day, your body is no longer worried that it will not get nourishment in 24 hours and will be more apt to let "go" of those calories. You should honestly be losing more than 1lb a week on a 1200 calorie liimit if you are really only eating that much. Therefore try out the 6 meals a day. I bet you will start losing at least 2lbs a week, maybe even more! And think of it this way as in terms of exercise, the more you exercise the more you get to eat! So if you like eating a lot, compensate by exercising maybe 10 min more than you are now so that you are allowed more calories to eat. Good luck to you
  • CassieLEO
    CassieLEO Posts: 757 Member
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    Huh??? You only eat in a four hour window? Do you mean you dont eat all day long except for those four hours??? I hope not lady. If you do then common sense would tell you that this isnt healthy and isnt going to do anything to help you be healthy in the long run. I would also HIGHLY suggest you see a doctor who specializes in eating disorders if this continues.

    It's not a ED....There are actually 3-5 different plans that follow variations of this rule...You can Google them....LeanGains, The Warrior Diet, Eat Stop Eat.....It's all proven healthy....

    And actually, it keeps you from being hungry once you get used to it....I've always had the hardest time stopping with a small meal....It just makes me hungrier...

    You can call it any type of diet you want, it isnt healthy, and it will hurt you in the long run. The only type of "Diet" that works is a lifestyle change, or you will rebound and be wondering what happened when you gain back the weight and more.
  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
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    Huh??? You only eat in a four hour window? Do you mean you dont eat all day long except for those four hours??? I hope not lady. If you do then common sense would tell you that this isnt healthy and isnt going to do anything to help you be healthy in the long run. I would also HIGHLY suggest you see a doctor who specializes in eating disorders if this continues.

    It's not a ED....There are actually 3-5 different plans that follow variations of this rule...You can Google them....LeanGains, The Warrior Diet, Eat Stop Eat.....It's all proven healthy....

    And actually, it keeps you from being hungry once you get used to it....I've always had the hardest time stopping with a small meal....It just makes me hungrier...

    Those are all diets, and you should probably find a forum related to those if you want to get the information you want to read.

    On MFP you will get different responses as you've seen because most if not all people on MFP would think that it's unhealthy to eat in a 4 hour window.

    Or maybe you should have put it in the subject title that you are doing a warrior diet, or leangains and that you have a question. You might get a better response.
  • angryguy77
    angryguy77 Posts: 836 Member
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    She asked a simple question, I don't think labeling her is going to help. Does she look unhealthy? Not even close to that. Just because she is experimenting with a different way to lose does not mean she has a disorder. Layoff or offer something constructive. Everyone loses differently, this is why I don't take advice too seriously on this site.
  • LizC26
    LizC26 Posts: 319 Member
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    She asked a simple question, I don't think labeling her is going to help. Does she look unhealthy? Not even close to that. Just because she is experimenting with a different way to lose does not mean she has a disorder. Layoff or offer something constructive. Everyone loses differently, this is why I don't take advice too seriously on this site.

    LOL....I should have known I was throwing myself to the wolves with this question :) I respect everyone's opinion, but I like yours the best....
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    It might help. Just be sure that you've not become so used to eating a lot of calories at night that you still want them and end up eating even more. If it were me, I would add more exercise because it would add firmness while burning calories.
  • Lizmhoughton
    Lizmhoughton Posts: 92 Member
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    I'm not sure how the diet you're doing works, but i got good results from eating a decent sized breakfast, and a late lunch (330 PM) followed by exercise and maybe cottage cheese and fruit for dinner if i was hungry. i try not to eat late, but with my current schedule i dont get to eat dinner until almost 9PM, so i try to especially limit my carbs at night.
  • DontThinkJustRun
    DontThinkJustRun Posts: 248 Member
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    You are describing Intermittent Fasting, as I'm sure you know. You're going to get A LOT of people who don't understand this LIFESTYLE, yes it's a lifestyle not necessarily a diet. And the don't understand because they haven't read the research behind. I used to be one of those people who thought it was ridiculous and unhealthy. However, I have since done my research and think that if could be a very healthy LIFESTYLE if it works for you. I'm considering doing 1 24 hour fast, but have yet to make it work into my day because I have been slave to you must eat 5-6xs a day for so long that it is very difficult for me.

    My recommendation would be to keep doing your research and see if you can find a forum that would have better info for you.
  • LizC26
    LizC26 Posts: 319 Member
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    You are describing Intermittent Fasting, as I'm sure you know. You're going to get A LOT of people who don't understand this LIFESTYLE, yes it's a lifestyle not necessarily a diet. And the don't understand because they haven't read the research behind. I used to be one of those people who thought it was ridiculous and unhealthy. However, I have since done my research and think that if could be a very healthy LIFESTYLE if it works for you. I'm considering doing 1 24 hour fast, but have yet to make it work into my day because I have been slave to you must eat 5-6xs a day for so long that it is very difficult for me.

    My recommendation would be to keep doing your research and see if you can find a forum that would have better info for you.

    Of course it's a lifestyle...NOT A DIET....It's feels much more natural for me to eat this way and it's something I can sustain for a long time...I was just asking if I took a break from it for a week or a few days, would that help boost my metabolism/ break through my plateau, since i read that confusing your metabolism is the best way to get results :)

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