Intermittent Fasting help

I started intermittent fasting a couple of weeks ago. I'm eating between 1:00-8:00 daily- calories between 1200-1400. The first week I lost 4.5 lbs. This week I haven't lost anything. I haven't changed anything between the 2 weeks. I have 40-50 lbs to lose and I wouldn't expect to plateau so soon. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    Hang in there. So long as your calories out are more than your calories in the weight will eventually budge. But weight loss is not linear and sometimes (often, in my case) it feels like two steps forward and one step back. As for the IF regime, if that makes it easier for you to keep to your calorie goals than great.
  • RovP6
    RovP6 Posts: 108 Member
    Fat loss is not a linear process

    ri2tplzxbfsi.png
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    IF doesn't work if you're not in a calorie deficit. Are you still weighing all of your food with a scale and eating at the calorie limit that MFP set for you?
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    Many people find they vary how much they lose week to week, and it's really common if you have a big water weight drop the first week (and 4.5 lb included some water weight) to gain back some of the water the second week. You are still losing fat if nothing has changed.

    Try not to fret over what happens in an individual week and just be consistent and stick to your cals for several weeks and the assess.

    If you are female water weight tends to vary during the month due to hormones too. Also, if you recently added to your workouts, that's another thing that can lead to water weight sticking around.
  • oocdc2
    oocdc2 Posts: 1,361 Member
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    seabs88 wrote: »
    I started intermittent fasting a couple of weeks ago. I'm eating between 1:00-8:00 daily- calories between 1200-1400. The first week I lost 4.5 lbs. This week I haven't lost anything. I haven't changed anything between the 2 weeks. I have 40-50 lbs to lose and I wouldn't expect to plateau so soon. Any suggestions?

    Why would you do that to yourself?
    Why not simply let MFP determine your caloric intake, based on your numbers and how much you want to lose, and simply eat whenever and whatever you want staying within that limit?


    The original post only asked about a "plateau" so I don't see how challenging a person's decision is helpful.

    Because people on diets only to realize that its all good in the beginning and then come back posting threads such as this one "why does it no longer work", and not realizing its all about CICO. Nothing else. Nothing.

    It *is* all about CICO, but it also could be about limiting the time you allow yourself to eat if you tend to sneak extra calories at night because the 200 calories you had left when you got home isn't fulfilling. I've been doing IF for about a month, and I do like waiting to eat until 1:00 pm so I have a decent lunch and 600 calories for dinner.

    There isn't anything mystical or magical about IF, OP: you're just setting official start and stop times for when you eat so you have bigger meals. FYI, it could easily take a year to lose 40 -50 lbs. in a healthy way. It's a journey, not a race. Good luck!
  • seabs88
    seabs88 Posts: 11 Member
    Sharon_C wrote: »
    IF doesn't work if you're not in a calorie deficit. Are you still weighing all of your food with a scale and eating at the calorie limit that MFP set for you?

    I am still in a calorie deficit and eating the 1200-1400 calories per MFP, which is why I'm questioning if I should be changing it up somehow. I still think 4.5lbs lost in 2 weeks is pretty good, but I'm just surprised that the weight loss completely stopped when nothing else has changed.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    seabs88 wrote: »
    I started intermittent fasting a couple of weeks ago. I'm eating between 1:00-8:00 daily- calories between 1200-1400. The first week I lost 4.5 lbs. This week I haven't lost anything. I haven't changed anything between the 2 weeks. I have 40-50 lbs to lose and I wouldn't expect to plateau so soon. Any suggestions?

    Why would you do that to yourself?
    Why not simply let MFP determine your caloric intake, based on your numbers and how much you want to lose, and simply eat whenever and whatever you want staying within that limit?


    The original post only asked about a "plateau" so I don't see how challenging a person's decision is helpful.

    Because people on diets only to realize that its all good in the beginning and then come back posting threads such as this one "why does it no longer work", and not realizing its all about CICO. Nothing else. Nothing.

    Nope. As of right now this thread is only about mismanaged expectations and a failure to understand weight fluctuations not CICO or even IF.



  • frankz00
    frankz00 Posts: 3 Member
    RovP6 wrote: »
    Fat loss is not a linear process

    ri2tplzxbfsi.png

    Is that graph from an app? If so, which one?
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    It's really easy to underestimate how much you're eating and overestimate how much you're burning. If you're weighing all your food and logging it accurately, you'll keep losing weight as long as you're in a deficit. If you're getting impatient, try adding more exercise into your day.. it can only help.