Hi all! Today marks day 6 for me at 20:4, give or take. As mentioned in my intro post, I have been doing 16:8 since June with some health benefits but not having much luck with weight loss (although I didn't gain, so I guess a good maintenance plan eventually!). Time to kick it up a notch.

I'm planning to update this discussion regularly to keep myself on track.

SW: 170 lbs
CW: 169
GW: 130 (ideal)

I really struggled the first two days with a 4-hour window 4-8 pm, but after that it got easier, although there's a bit of clock-watching happening as I get closer to 4 pm. I have headaches but they dissipate with a bit of pink salt in water. My black coffee intake is up and twice this week I added 1 tsp of MCT powder to my coffee to stave off the hunger pangs. Other than coffee I am drinking mostly sparkling water and flat water, and the odd cup of green tea.

I had one night out at a restaurant this week where I went way, way over my usual caloric intake of about 1100-1200 calories. I felt a bit guilty about that, but tried to remind myself that the OLD ME would have eaten that big meal on top of 1,000 or so calories from breakfast, lunch and snacks all day! So I am counting that as a win.

My workweek routine is to bring a snack to eat at 4 pm, which bridges me until I eat dinner with my family around 6 or so. This week it was a small salad, but next week I'll be better prepared and plan to bring just a hardboiled egg and some veggies. A small amount of protein seems to hold me better than anything else. I guess this isn't exactly OMAD, but I'm counting it as an appetizer! Eventually I would like to cut this snack out, but I'm giving myself some time to adjust to the shorter window first.

Yesterday, being Friday of a long weekend, I extended my window to 9 pm, as my husband and I were enjoying a few glasses of wine. Truth be told, I love my wine... but I think because of OMAD, I'm not able to drink as much as I used to. It hit me pretty hard and today (Saturday) I'm suffering a hangover! But, I'm not giving in... I'm drinking lots of water and black coffee per usual. Lesson learned! Anyway, cutting back on alcohol can only help my weight loss goals, I think.

I had a vacation day yesterday and took my kids to the movies to see the latest Spiderman film. They had popcorn, chocolate and sodas. I had water. This is another HUGE victory for me! Never in a million years did I think I could go to the movies and NOT snack.

I'm hoping this shorter window/OMAD will kickstart more serious weight loss. With 16:8 I wasn't really being consistent on the weekends, so now I am trying to stick to the plan 7 days a week. I find it a lot harder to follow when I'm not at work, as my routine is broken. I have three kids so we are always running around with activities and such, and I'm working on a PhD so I have classes some weekends as well... having coffee and water on hand at all times helps immensely. Three boys also means I prepare a lot of snacks, which tests my willpower. Every day, it gets a little easier.

One more thing: I'm not working out. At all. I do the odd walk when I feel like it, but otherwise, I'm just trying to get in more steps through my day. I'm not adverse to adding exercise in at some point, but I'm trying to make changes slowly, rather than doing it all at once. In the past, I'd go all-in on diet and exercise, and then get overwhelmed and give it all up. So for now, I'm focused on changing my eating for the better.

Wish me luck!