Intermittent Fasting

Hi there! I have done IF for about a year, but I did not personally feel that it suited my wellness journey because I have a history of disordered eating. IF allowed me to starve myself and binge with a feeling that I was justified. Also, being a woman, I experienced some pretty negative side effects every month, a week before my period. My periods then became erratic. I have read many books in IF and also writings by female practitioners. My own experience probably has much to do with my history as a bulimic when I was in my early 20s, and the unhealthy relationship that I have with food (emotional eating, overeating).

I spent about 15 years as a bodybuilder, which was, for me personally, just another unhealthy expression of my lack of balance.

My advice would be to evaluate your relationship with food before you jump into IF. If you have a bad relationship with food then I feel that this should be addressed before you IF because the fasting-mentality can foster disordered thinking and behaving around food. Others have great experiences, but I can only speak from my own wisdom as I have experienced IF.

I hope that helps!
Jenn

Welcome to MFP!

I've been doing IF for many decades. Long before it had a fancy name and became popular. I simply called it Skipping Breakfast. LOL.

I eat my first meal of the day around 1pm. Skipping breakfast (aside from a cup of coffee) leaves me ample calories for a good lunch and dinner, as well as room for a few snacks and treats. I should note that the only reason I decided to not eat breakfast was because I'm one of those people that simply isn't hungry in the morning, and it seemed stupid to eat food I didn't want to eat at that time of day.

Intermittent Fasting has no magical properties in and of itself. It is merely a way that some people find helpful to limit their caloric intake and, therefore, lose weight. If anyone tries to tell you differently, just smile and walk away.

Hello! First week IF and I’ve only lost 1lb, I hear of all these amazing stories of 6lbs down on their first week and it’s hard for me not to be disappointed. I eat no more than 1400 cal/day and do 4 intensive works out a week. I’m a female, 5’8 and 165lbs - looking to drop 25lbs. Any one experience the same slow weight loss or have any feedback to share

avaisadora wrote: »

Hello! First week IF and I’ve only lost 1lb, I hear of all these amazing stories of 6lbs down on their first week and it’s hard for me not to be disappointed. I eat no more than 1400 cal/day and do 4 intensive works out a week. I’m a female, 5’8 and 165lbs - looking to drop 25lbs. Any one experience the same slow weight loss or have any feedback to share

Those stories help perpetuate the myth that skipping meals or low calorie days do something more than just rearrange your daily or weekly calories. Any weight loss method out there will have people who drop 6ish pounds in the first week. I did more than that and my weight loss plan is completely customized for me.

Losing actual fat weight takes time. Your body can only metabolize a certain amount of stored fat each day and that amount goes down the less you have to lose. There is no way to speed it up and if you tried your body would be eating your muscles for energy instead of the fat stores.

Each day we are in a calorie deficit we are chipping away at our weight and the thing is time will keep passing whether we are in a deficit working at our goal or not.

Increasing your fasting time is a tool that can help with maintaining a calorie deficit. It is nothing special. I should know I have been doing it naturally for more than 20 years and I have gained plenty of weight in that time and now I have lost quite a bit. Some of the johnny-come-latelys that have found this method will exaggerate it into something more. It is not. No matter how easy a tool might make it weight loss still requires a person to be truly ready to do the work and change. That is why all methods including this one have such a high fail rate.

You lost a pound and that is GREAT. Please find a way to celebrate the success.

avaisadora wrote: »

Hello! First week IF and I’ve only lost 1lb, I hear of all these amazing stories of 6lbs down on their first week and it’s hard for me not to be disappointed. I eat no more than 1400 cal/day and do 4 intensive works out a week. I’m a female, 5’8 and 165lbs - looking to drop 25lbs. Any one experience the same slow weight loss or have any feedback to share

I am also female, 5’8” and my goal weight is 165. 🙂 Not judging your goals, but your weight right now is pretty close to the healthy range for your height. As such, it’s unrealistic to expect such a dramatic loss in such a short time. Celebrate the loss of a pound! Unless you are obese, losing six pounds in a week is not realistic or healthy. Good luck!

avaisadora wrote: »

apullum wrote: »

avaisadora wrote: »

Hello! First week IF and I’ve only lost 1lb, I hear of all these amazing stories of 6lbs down on their first week and it’s hard for me not to be disappointed. I eat no more than 1400 cal/day and do 4 intensive works out a week. I’m a female, 5’8 and 165lbs - looking to drop 25lbs. Any one experience the same slow weight loss or have any feedback to share

If someone is losing 6 pounds in the first week of a weight loss plan, it is water weight. Six pounds of fat would only be a healthy pace of fat loss for someone who was VERY obese and under strict medical supervision. Doing IF does not change this. IF is simply how some people prefer to create a calorie deficit.

One pound per week is really the max pace at which you should be trying to lose if you only have 25 pounds to go.

If you don’t already use a food scale to weigh all solid food, get one and get in the habit of using it consistently. With a small amount to lose, your deficit will be small and it’s very easy to wipe it out with a few logging errors. The best way to avoid logging errors is by weighing food.

Thanks for the advice! If anything I think I may undereat, which from what I hear can get in the way of weight loss as well. I had a baby 2yrs ago and ever since then he same old tricks stopped working for me. Which is why I’m trying out IF. Agree that 6lbs is agressive, however it’s hard to keep working so hard (I’ve been working on this baby weight for over a year now) to see small movements on the scale.

Undereating doesn't impede weight loss. You may have heard of things like "starvation mode," which are myths, at least in the sense that they are typically used. However, there are many other good reasons not to undereat.

Additionally, if you're not seeing the scale go down, then you're either eating at maintenance and/or experiencing normal weight fluctuations. Calorie deficits don't just stop working for weight loss. Follow IF if you prefer to eat that way, but know that it doesn't do anything special for weight loss. It is just how some people prefer to eat while being in a calorie deficit.