Hypothyroidism/ intermittent fasting / weight loss
mlk1987
Posts: 23 Member
I’d love some advice on losing weight with hypothyroidism.. I did intermittent fasting on Monday and lost 3 pounds I ate normal for one day and gained them right back! I know it probably water weight but I even tried gluten free I’m still not losing like I want to or used to I had been trying to lose 10 lbs for about 4 years until I realized it was my thyroid got on meds for it it hasn’t helped any! .. I’ve actually gained 10 more pounds! That I just can’t seem to get off .. should I lower my calories? Right now I’m eating 1400 a day would just love some advice
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Replies
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Weight loss is about small changes over a long period of time. If you restrict one day, you may see a drop, but as you rightly said, it will go back on immediately as its just water weight.
You can lose with hypothyroidism. But you need to pick something that works and stick to it. If IF works for you, go for it. At the end of the day, it's a method of reducing your calorie intake.7 -
Being hypo does not stop you losing weight. But you need to stick to it for a long time. Thus chose a way of eating that keeps you happy and that you could keep up forever. Also, how spot on is your medication? I don't mean blood levels, but how do you feel? There's no reason to not feel good with hypo. The only two reasons people don't feel good is because they don't stay on top of things and increase the dose when needed, or because their doctor is ignorant and doesn't know what they do. If you feel good it's easier to stick to a diet as well.4
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Your hypothyroidism is not the big issue here. (I'm severely hypothyroid.)
The problem is partly impatience, and partly not understanding how this plays out in real life.
What do we care about? Fat loss, right?
Big (multi-pound) scale changes overnight aren't about fat loss, they're about changes in water retention** and digestive contents. Weigh yourself, eat a half pound apple, instantly weigh a half pound more. Drink a pint of water, weigh another pound more. Sweat outdoors in the heat for a while, lose a pound. It's meaningless, when it comes to fat loss. But it makes the scale a lying liar that lies, in the short run.
Fat loss is a creeping, gradual, slow thing that happens in the background, and hides in amongst those daily random water/food variations. Over a period of multiple weeks, you start to see a trend that tells you you're losing fat. One week, your weight is (making up numbers) meandering between 148 and 152 pounds, up and down. Two or three weeks or a month later, it's meandering between 145 and 149, maybe - again, up and down. That's what fat loss looks like, on the scale . . . over weeks to months, not days.
If you have only 10 pounds to lose, you should be losing *slowly*, because fast loss creates health risk. That will be even more confusing on the scale. It will take patience, and persistence. There won't be instant gratification, or quick results. But it can work.
Get a calorie goal for slow loss, stick with it long term, be patient, adjust based on multi-week actual results, and hang in there. It'll work.
** Read this: https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations10 -
Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.2
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Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
That’s not how it works. The body is constantly burning energy. If you eat too much, regarless of when surplus enrrgy is stored as fat. Yeah, when quickly accessible energy is low your body uses fat. But this gets replenished in the time you do eat.4 -
Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.7 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.2 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
I'm about as far away from IF as you can get - I snack all day, I eat whenever I feel like it - and yet, my body is not storing fat. I've lost 30 pounds. Why? Because I eat in a calorie deficit.7 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin is supposed to rise when people eat. The frequency of that happening is not an issue.
If you eat bigger meals but less frequently you will get a bigger and longer rise than someone who eats smaller amounts less often.
Ditto a fewer / bigger meals person will have a longer period after eating when they are tucking away calories for future use and get back to using body stores slower than someone eating more / smaller meals.
And it simply doesn't matter to healthy individuals or for losing weight.
Whatever your insulin levels you can't extract more calories from the food you eat. How much you eat over an extended period of time matters and not how you divide up your calorie allowance. You burn body fat in a calorie deficit no matter the timing or frequency of your meals.
Before you think I'm against IF - I'm not, it was a game changer for me to lose my excess weight (but not for the reasons you believe!). I'm against bad information though.7 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin is supposed to rise when people eat. The frequency of that happening is not an issue.
If you eat bigger meals but less frequently you will get a bigger and longer rise than someone who eats smaller amounts less often.
Ditto a fewer / bigger meals person will have a longer period after eating when they are tucking away calories for future use and get back to using body stores slower than someone eating more / smaller meals.
And it simply doesn't matter to healthy individuals or for losing weight.
Whatever your insulin levels you can't extract more calories from the food you eat. How much you eat over an extended period of time matters and not how you divide up your calorie allowance. You burn body fat in a calorie deficit no matter the timing or frequency of your meals.
Before you think I'm against IF - I'm not, it was a game changer for me to lose my excess weight (but not for the reasons you believe!). I'm against bad information though.
Ok fair enough like I said I am here to learn. I was told the primary reason why IF works in the first place is its effect on the insulin level. If not insulin than why does it work? What’s the difference between eating 1400 cals in one meal or spreading it to six?2 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin.
No. Insulin (which is not some evil force) will be the same overall, but in a different pattern. If you eat 6 meals a day with 1400 total cals, spread across the day, you will have a little bit of insulin after each (that necessary to transport everything where it needs to be). If you eat 2 big meals of 1400 total cals (or one huge one), you get a lot more insulin after each, again, as necessary to transport everything where it needs to be. (The overall amounts will vary depending on what specifically you eat (and of course whether you are insulin resistant), but not meal timing.)The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat.
No. You cannot store net fat in a deficit, and your body prefers to store fat as fat, which has nothing to do with insulin. Insulin basically helps in bringing nutrients where they need to go and therefore decreasing any rise in blood glucose -- if glycogen stores are not full (which they won't be at a deficit typically), carbs get stored there. It's unlikely in a deficit that carbs get stored as fat (which would be the only relevance of insulin), and even if some did, more would be burned (and in that storing and burning themselves take some cals, that would be a less efficient process, and thus good for someone wanting to lose, but also why it's not usual).If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
I currently do a form of IF (largely just due to natural rhythms I've fallen into during covid plus liking to have 2 bigger meals now that I've cut cals some), but that has zero to do with false claims about it having some weight loss superiority or eating in other patterns preventing weight loss due to insulin. (This insulin thing is one of the worst myths that people spread, and it is a calories don't matter claim.)2 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin is supposed to rise when people eat. The frequency of that happening is not an issue.
If you eat bigger meals but less frequently you will get a bigger and longer rise than someone who eats smaller amounts less often.
Ditto a fewer / bigger meals person will have a longer period after eating when they are tucking away calories for future use and get back to using body stores slower than someone eating more / smaller meals.
And it simply doesn't matter to healthy individuals or for losing weight.
Whatever your insulin levels you can't extract more calories from the food you eat. How much you eat over an extended period of time matters and not how you divide up your calorie allowance. You burn body fat in a calorie deficit no matter the timing or frequency of your meals.
Before you think I'm against IF - I'm not, it was a game changer for me to lose my excess weight (but not for the reasons you believe!). I'm against bad information though.
^^^
THIS! I’m not against IF. It wouldn’t work for someone like me, but I’m all for different things working for different people.
I’m against bad information also which is what you are giving. You are implying that someone eating at a 250 calorie deficit a day would lose MORE weight on IF than someone eating at the same calorie deficit throughout the day and that is simply NOT true.
As above, it’s normal for insulin to rise after eating. If it didn’t, that would be a very real health concern and you would need to be on medication. A calorie deficit is the ONLY thing needed to lose weight. How one achieves that deficit is highly individual. Low carb, high carb, IF, OMAD, just counting calories all have the SAME result if you eat in a deficit.3 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin is supposed to rise when people eat. The frequency of that happening is not an issue.
If you eat bigger meals but less frequently you will get a bigger and longer rise than someone who eats smaller amounts less often.
Ditto a fewer / bigger meals person will have a longer period after eating when they are tucking away calories for future use and get back to using body stores slower than someone eating more / smaller meals.
And it simply doesn't matter to healthy individuals or for losing weight.
Whatever your insulin levels you can't extract more calories from the food you eat. How much you eat over an extended period of time matters and not how you divide up your calorie allowance. You burn body fat in a calorie deficit no matter the timing or frequency of your meals.
Before you think I'm against IF - I'm not, it was a game changer for me to lose my excess weight (but not for the reasons you believe!). I'm against bad information though.
Ok fair enough like I said I am here to learn. I was told the primary reason why IF works in the first place is its effect on the insulin level. If not insulin than why does it work? What’s the difference between eating 1400 cals in one meal or spreading it to six?
There is 0 difference except that for some people, they would struggle to stay at 1400 calories over 6 meals but can do it eating only 1 meal. THAT is why IF works for THOSE people.4 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin is supposed to rise when people eat. The frequency of that happening is not an issue.
If you eat bigger meals but less frequently you will get a bigger and longer rise than someone who eats smaller amounts less often.
Ditto a fewer / bigger meals person will have a longer period after eating when they are tucking away calories for future use and get back to using body stores slower than someone eating more / smaller meals.
And it simply doesn't matter to healthy individuals or for losing weight.
Whatever your insulin levels you can't extract more calories from the food you eat. How much you eat over an extended period of time matters and not how you divide up your calorie allowance. You burn body fat in a calorie deficit no matter the timing or frequency of your meals.
Before you think I'm against IF - I'm not, it was a game changer for me to lose my excess weight (but not for the reasons you believe!). I'm against bad information though.
Ok fair enough like I said I am here to learn. I was told the primary reason why IF works in the first place is its effect on the insulin level. If not insulin than why does it work? What’s the difference between eating 1400 cals in one meal or spreading it to six?
Essentially nothing, in a healthy person, except insofar as it affects satiation and appetite, which is quite individual; or practicality; or happiness.
Sustainability is important for weight loss. Very important. Meal timing is a sustainability factor.3 -
To the OP: being hypothyroid doesn't stop weight loss, especially if you have it under control with medication. It still comes down to calories in - calories out. Have you stayed in a deficit for a fairly long period - like 6 weeks? Have you weighed and logged every bite you ate? Are you careful about the data entries you use to log your food and exercise?4
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Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin is supposed to rise when people eat. The frequency of that happening is not an issue.
If you eat bigger meals but less frequently you will get a bigger and longer rise than someone who eats smaller amounts less often.
Ditto a fewer / bigger meals person will have a longer period after eating when they are tucking away calories for future use and get back to using body stores slower than someone eating more / smaller meals.
And it simply doesn't matter to healthy individuals or for losing weight.
Whatever your insulin levels you can't extract more calories from the food you eat. How much you eat over an extended period of time matters and not how you divide up your calorie allowance. You burn body fat in a calorie deficit no matter the timing or frequency of your meals.
Before you think I'm against IF - I'm not, it was a game changer for me to lose my excess weight (but not for the reasons you believe!). I'm against bad information though.
Ok fair enough like I said I am here to learn. I was told the primary reason why IF works in the first place is its effect on the insulin level. If not insulin than why does it work? What’s the difference between eating 1400 cals in one meal or spreading it to six?
The main difference is that some people would find it easy to stick to 1400 cals with one meal and other people might find it easier to stick to by dividing it up differently. That's by far the biggest advantage of tuning eating frequency and timing - to make adherence easier for an individual.
Don't worry about insulin unless you have a medical reason to do so. The causes of those medical reasons are predominantly obesity and genetics and you manipulate calories to fix obesity.
3 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »Intermittent fasting is 'normal eating' you still eat your calories. The only difference is you have a time window of five or six hours a day when you eat those calories. The reason it works in theory is because while you are in fasting your insulin level-insulin the hormone that is directly responsible whether your body is in fat storage or fat burning mode-will go down, you kind of tell your body to start burning excess fat. If you are comfortable doing it once a week try to extend it to more days. You need to teach your body, but it needs time, experiment with it. If the 1400 cal puts you in calorie deficit and you can sustain it, over time you should be able to lose weight, but patience is key.
@bubus05 I thought you recently acknowledged that counting calories matters? Yet here you are, giving out bad advice again.
OP this is not correct, you won’t lose MORE weight eating the same number of calories doing IF is I would simply tracking my calories and eating the same food throughout the day. If IF helps you stay in a calorie deficit, by all means have at it. But it is simply a tool to help you eat LESS not eat the same and magically lose more. That’s not a thing.
I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin is supposed to rise when people eat. The frequency of that happening is not an issue.
If you eat bigger meals but less frequently you will get a bigger and longer rise than someone who eats smaller amounts less often.
Ditto a fewer / bigger meals person will have a longer period after eating when they are tucking away calories for future use and get back to using body stores slower than someone eating more / smaller meals.
And it simply doesn't matter to healthy individuals or for losing weight.
Whatever your insulin levels you can't extract more calories from the food you eat. How much you eat over an extended period of time matters and not how you divide up your calorie allowance. You burn body fat in a calorie deficit no matter the timing or frequency of your meals.
Before you think I'm against IF - I'm not, it was a game changer for me to lose my excess weight (but not for the reasons you believe!). I'm against bad information though.
Ok fair enough like I said I am here to learn. I was told the primary reason why IF works in the first place is its effect on the insulin level. If not insulin than why does it work? What’s the difference between eating 1400 cals in one meal or spreading it to six?
Please just stop reading all the woo about insulin, carbs, starvation mode, and then posting that information when you don’t have a clear understanding yourself.
I’m happy you are here to learn, but are you really?? Many people have tried to get through to you, but your response in this thread is baffling.
IF isn’t magic. It’s a tool to help people eat in a way that fits their calorie goals. Some people prefer to eat 1 meal a day, others 6. Whatever works for the individual to achieve theirs goals. Insulin has nothing to do with it. Unless there’s a medical condition, don’t concern yourself with these things, and certainly don’t try to educate people on it.
I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just trying to stop you from confusing people more than they already are. It can mean the difference of getting healthy now vs years down the road, if ever.
I do want to add that asking questions is great and encouraged! 🙂 If you don’t understand something please come forward. It will also help other people with the same question.5 -
Your hypothyroidism is not the big issue here. (I'm severely hypothyroid.)
The problem is partly impatience, and partly not understanding how this plays out in real life.
What do we care about? Fat loss, right?
Big (multi-pound) scale changes overnight aren't about fat loss, they're about changes in water retention** and digestive contents. Weigh yourself, eat a half pound apple, instantly weigh a half pound more. Drink a pint of water, weigh another pound more. Sweat outdoors in the heat for a while, lose a pound. It's meaningless, when it comes to fat loss. But it makes the scale a lying liar that lies, in the short run.
Fat loss is a creeping, gradual, slow thing that happens in the background, and hides in amongst those daily random water/food variations. Over a period of multiple weeks, you start to see a trend that tells you you're losing fat. One week, your weight is (making up numbers) meandering between 148 and 152 pounds, up and down. Two or three weeks or a month later, it's meandering between 145 and 149, maybe - again, up and down. That's what fat loss looks like, on the scale . . . over weeks to months, not days.
If you have only 10 pounds to lose, you should be losing *slowly*, because fast loss creates health risk. That will be even more confusing on the scale. It will take patience, and persistence. There won't be instant gratification, or quick results. But it can work.
Get a calorie goal for slow loss, stick with it long term, be patient, adjust based on multi-week actual results, and hang in there. It'll work.
** Read this: https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
OP, your thread has gotten a little off track, so I wanted to highlight this info to make sure you see it.
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Thanks so much for all your feedback! I go for more blood work in the morning as the medication does need adjusting because I just don’t feel better. But some of this information has helped so much in understanding how weight loss really works because there is always so much debate on the internet. Carbs vs calorie counting vs IF etc. I get confused sometimes but I will stay in a deficit and try and be patient and adjust my meds. 💗 thanks and God bless4
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Keep us posted on how things are going for you, maybe, as you progress? Wishing you much success!1
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I am here to learn. Where do I say I in this thread calories dont count? They do.
As far as I understand the frequency of meals influence one's insulin level, the more meals one has the higher the insulin. The higher the insulin the more the body wants to store fat. If I am wrong here please explain. If you are in principle against IF I get it, it is not every one's cup of tea, but the OP seems at least willing to give it a go hence I am trying to help in that regard.
Insulin bonds with carbs to allow the carbs to be absorbed by the cells in your body and used as fuel. The more insulin in your body, the more your body wants to convert carbs to fuel, not store them as fat.
That is assuming that your body is working like it should. Some people have a medical condition called Insulin Resistance. If you think you have it, ask your doctor, he can run some blood work to create a diagnosis. Insulin Resistance prevents insulin from bonding with carbs to be used as fuel. Usually the body responds by producing more insulin. So if insulin is working at 50% efficiency, your body will produce twice as much to do the same job. In severe cases, the body cannot produce enough insulin to process the carbs you consume. In this case, the unused carbs will eventually be stored as fat, and your body will either remain unfed, or will have to rely on other fuel sources.
There are some studies to suggest that IF may help improve insulin sensitivity, but only for people who actually have Insulin Resistance.
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