Intermittent fasting and calorie restriction… effective?
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anyusernamewilldo89
Posts: 4 Member
Hello everyone,
Forgive me if this topic has already been covered, I am new and not sure how to navigate these boards.
I am looking to lose 50 pounds and have chosen intermittent fasting (16/8) and calorie restricting (1,600) as my method of choice. Is this an effective weight loss plan or is there something else I should be considering?
Thank you!
Forgive me if this topic has already been covered, I am new and not sure how to navigate these boards.
I am looking to lose 50 pounds and have chosen intermittent fasting (16/8) and calorie restricting (1,600) as my method of choice. Is this an effective weight loss plan or is there something else I should be considering?
Thank you!
1
Replies
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Is 1600 calories less than your TDEE? If so, it should be an effective weight loss plan if you can adhere to the 1600 calories. If intermittent fasting helps you adhere to the 1600, that's good. If not, you can ditch the IF part.3
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What is TDEE? I just plugged in that I wanted to lose 1 lb a week in MFP and that is what it told me to do… sorry, newbie question I’m sure.lynn_glenmont wrote: »Is 1600 calories less than your TDEE? If so, it should be an effective weight loss plan if you can adhere to the 1600 calories. If intermittent fasting helps you adhere to the 1600, that's good. If not, you can ditch the IF part.
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I found a TDEE calculator that said my maintenance calories would be 2,012… I’m assuming that because 1,600 is less than that that I am ok?1
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anyusernamewilldo89 wrote: »
What is TDEE? I just plugged in that I wanted to lose 1 lb a week in MFP and that is what it told me to do… sorry, newbie question I’m sure.lynn_glenmont wrote: »Is 1600 calories less than your TDEE? If so, it should be an effective weight loss plan if you can adhere to the 1600 calories. If intermittent fasting helps you adhere to the 1600, that's good. If not, you can ditch the IF part.
Sorry. TDEE = total daily energy expenditure. All the energy (measured in kcal in this case) that you use in a day for everything from cellular repair to keeping your heart beating, digesting your food, walking around the house/office/etc., and doing workouts. If you use more energy than you take in from food and drink, your body has to get it from somewhere, which will be a mix of stored glucose, fat, and protein. Smaller calorie deficits (the amount by which your intake is below your expenditure) tend to favor less use of protein for energy, which is a good thing.4 -
anyusernamewilldo89 wrote: »I found a TDEE calculator that said my maintenance calories would be 2,012… I’m assuming that because 1,600 is less than that that I am ok?
Yes, so if your guesstimated TDEE is 2012, then 1600 would be close to a pound per week calorie deficit. Generally 3500 calories is considered to be equal to the amount needed to gain or lose a pound, so you would be at about 2900 calories in deficit. (412 X 7 days = 2884.)
Thing is - there are a lot of variables to that hard number.
Whether that is in fact your actual TDEE will have to be established by you over time. The online calculators are meant to get you in the general ballpark of your TDEE but they often are way off so you'll need to run the experiment we all had to run.
Your experiment will have variables too. How accurately you log your food (or control your intake) is one variable. Your daily regular activity is another. Your exercise and your intensity when you exercise is another. To some degree your food choices can affect results. Your sleep, stress level, hydration, sodium intake, hormones, travel, hot weather can also affect your weight in the short term.
Just run the experiment. Give it 4-6 weeks of logging food at that level then if your results don't match up, you can make changes. You need a good 4-6 weeks to get your baseline, so stick to 1600 for that amount of time before you change your calories again.4 -
It sounds like a good plan. All you need is the calorie deficit. I just started 14 hr IF. It does help me decrease calorie intake because I stop snacking after dinner. Good luck. You can always try it and adjust if you are losing fast or slow.0
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anyusernamewilldo89 wrote: »Hello everyone,
Forgive me if this topic has already been covered, I am new and not sure how to navigate these boards.
I am looking to lose 50 pounds and have chosen intermittent fasting (16/8) and calorie restricting (1,600) as my method of choice. Is this an effective weight loss plan or is there something else I should be considering?
Thank you!
Intermittent fasting can be an effective method of calorie restriction...2 -
anyusernamewilldo89 wrote: »Hello everyone,
Forgive me if this topic has already been covered, I am new and not sure how to navigate these boards.
I am looking to lose 50 pounds and have chosen intermittent fasting (16/8) and calorie restricting (1,600) as my method of choice. Is this an effective weight loss plan or is there something else I should be considering?
Thank you!
Your calorie deficit determines your weight loss. IF is irrelevant other than it can be an effective way to restrict calories given a specific eating window...but in and of itself IF doesn't default to weight loss. I've done IF on and off over the years and I have lost weight, maintained weight, and gained weight...it ultimately comes down to your calorie deficit.9 -
Hi,
May I offer you a more considered and empathic response? The tendency to wave the flag of "Calorie Deficit" as the only relevant piece of information just seems to be to be as simplistic as it is indifferent to the challenges many of us have with weight management. Academically Mr. Cwolfman13 is correct because some people fool themselves into thinking that they can cut corners and find the "magic bullet" instead of being careful with exceeding the number of calories one requires for energy. This is obvious and probably doesn't need to be emphasised over and over. Intermittent fasting is just a structured way of reducing the feeding time and thereby helping keep calories below the critical point. I am currently utilising IF and am finding the process easy and successful. I am still careful with what I eat (between 12 pm and 8 pm) but not in any obsessive way. I follow (loosely) a Keto type nutritional program in that I have eliminated almost all sugars and really reduced breads, pastas, potatoes, and processed foods. I am loving most vegetables, meats, eggs, fish ...you get the idea. I don't count calories but I am mindful of selecting healthy foods that are surprisingly lovey and yummy. Although it may not be easy, I find time to walk 3 to 6 km every day or two and my goodness that has helped my mental health. Find something you love doing and get your body moving. It feels great. And once you start seeing results, it just gets better and better. Don't get me wrong. I am a slow walker. I just make cool playlists with Spotify and have fun with nice music.
You can do this so please stay focused on your goal(s) and do whatever it takes.
Good luck
Shel
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That's what worked for me. The IF made the calorie deficit much easier to achieve (I don't like eating breakfast anyway) and has made maintenance completely sustainable. Good luck.2
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The big benefit of “fasting” IMO is the ability to cut calories without having to count them…2
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goal06082021 wrote: »
My point is, people who IF generally fall into the category of someone who wants to eat less but does not want to track. Not all, but generally speaking...2 -
I did IF a few weeks ago as a way to shock my body past a plateau. Then I'm doing it again this week for the same reason. It seems to work. I lost about 3-4 in each of the weeks I did it after being stuck for a few weeks at the plateaus. If you are also tracking cals and are mindful, I've actually sometimes found it difficult to even get 1200 kcal eaten in the alloted time.
As far as people just saying cal-in < cal-out...that is true I guess but they leave off a lot of stuff about HOW the body does the cal-out. They skip over talking about metabolic issues and how the body uses energy differently when fasting or limiting carbs, or exercising etc
Just went back and reread the initial question. O would suggest throwing some walking or something exercisy in the mix. I would bet you'd see the weight practically fall off.0 -
This looks like a sensible plan, as long as you know what to expect. The only way to lose fat (other than liposuction) is to create a calorie deficit. This can be done in many ways. Pick a way that feels relatively easy for you. You chose IF. By reducing your feeding window, you can make it easier, in theory, to lose weight while feeling satisfied with the quantity and types of food you're eating. That's not a bad plan. If, however, you find it hard to adhere to a feeding window and get very hungry and lightheaded (beyond the first couple of adjustment weeks), then IF is probably not for you. Take it for a test drive for a couple of weeks and see.
Expect to lose a little less than a pound a week (average) if your activity stays the same and if you're counting your calories accurately. Some factors can affect weight on the scale, like starting a new exercise program or ramping up existing exercise, water retention caused by other factors like hormones, inflammation, salt intake...etc. You may see your weight go up sometimes. Don't let that discourage you. Look at your progress over a couple of months and you'll see these were just blips and what's important is your progress over time.
The easier you make it for yourself the longer you'll be able to keep this up. Good luck!3 -
Basically your just not eating breakfast with 16/8. Your feeding window could be 12 noon to 8 in the evening for example. Easy peasy. Good luck.1
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