Intermittent fasting question

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nicolemeadows225
nicolemeadows225 Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I had lost 19 pounds in 6 weeks counting calories on this app. So proud and 1 lb to hit the big 20 and my halfway point. Then I read about intermittent fasting and how great it was so using the same calorie counting strategy here I started doing all my eating during 6 hours (noon to 6) and fasting the other 18. Welllll....guess what. Two weeks later I’m still at just 19 lbs. I’m eating the same amount of calories. I’m so frustrated I want to give up. So my question is...am I in a plateau or does fasting just not work for me? I hate it and want to go back to what was working for me but it’s all just so discouraging now that I’m afraid I’ll actually gain if I go back to the simple way I was successful with. Please help me out here. Thank u. Nicole M

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  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,122 Member
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    It shouldn't make any difference if you're still eating the same amount of food. Intermittent fasting doesn't do anything special except reduce the number of hours you can eat, making it easier to stick to your calorie goal.
    Perhaps it's just coincidence, and you're experiencing a stall. Stalls are normal, losing 19lbs in 6 weeks is a lot, especially if you only had 40lbs to lose. Your body may be stressed and holding on to some water weight.
    Have patience and wait another few weeks. It takes time to
  • EatRightStayStrong
    EatRightStayStrong Posts: 9 Member
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    Alternate the window of when you fast and when you are exercising to avoid the body from getting acclimated. Fasting is most effective when it is being done in several weeks cycles on and off. When off fasting I would consume and resume my regular diet however I would try to increase the output in my exercise routines more cardio for endurance and weight loss or heavy strength training to gain size and power.
    Hope this helps
    Cheers!
  • gunshowgreg
    gunshowgreg Posts: 169 Member
    edited May 2021
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    OP, I do IF regularly (practically every day). my eating is anywhere from 6 hrs. eating and 18 hour fast, or 1 hr. eating with 23 hour fast. i been doing this since September of 2020 and it helped me lose about 20 lbs.

    but staying at a certain calorie intake too long is going to make you stall at some point. may i recommend you consume your maintaincene calories for a couple of weeks and then go back to a 500 cal or more deficit? it sounds like your body is just adapting to the calorie intake and you just hit a stall. bumping it back up and going back down may help. that's what happened to me and and I am doing what i just suggested (but i do 30% ) deficit. Its the MATADOR approach and I'm doing it with IF (I like a smaller eating window to consume my food i feel full longer) . I'll provide you a link if you wanna read more.

    also, don't be a slave to that scale. it doesn't tell you everything, its just a # for reference and doesn't give the whole picture.

    https://www.t-nation.com/the-matador-intermittent-diet/
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,470 Member
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    The Matador Approach? Would that be cutting and dodging and running from calories? If so, all that movement is the only way that method is going to help.

    I stayed steady for months and the only time I changed was to increase and increase again, til I cut back a bit at the start of lockdown, to see how that would affect my activity.

    You fill your car with gas. If your driving habits are pretty regular, your fuel consumption will be, too.

    Food is fuel for your body. Your body burns it. Simple as that.

    If you’re losing weight at the current rate of consumption, there’s no need to “trick” your body, or (and I know I’ll get oodles of disagrees) hassle with intermittent fasting.

    The only thing IF is going to potentially help you with is staying within your set calories, IF you find that fasting and eating in a certain period is going to help with your satiety and control. For example, I eat a nice lunch and breakfast, but the majority of my calories fall between roughly 2-9pm, including a large dinner and three large snacks. I like going to bed relatively full. It’s not “IF”, it’s simply a pattern that fits my habits well, and keeps me from fixating on food.

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