SUBREDDIT RULES

Hi everyone 🥹 New here. I guess I'm making this post for some encouragement, some tips you might be able to share with me, and anything else I should know!

A little bit about me:

• ✨️ 30F 5'4 who is moderately obese. I haven't checked the scales recently as I'm too scared, but I'm definitely back at my heaviest which is 90kg (198lbs), if not more. My job is sedentary.
• ✨️ Starting IF and calorie counting mostly for weight loss. My goal weight at the moment is 70kg (154lbs)
• ✨️ Suffer from mental health, BED, BD, and ADHD, so binge eating and then feeling guilty as hell is a huge problem for me. Late night binging mostly. Also eat too much greasy junk food, and lots of Pepsi and coffee. Hardly any water. They also suspect I have PCOS.
• ✨️ I want to do this to get my life back and to feel confident within myself. I have lots of inflammation, belly and face fat, my ankles and legs hurt a lot, I'm out of breath, and I'm depressed. My clothes that once fit don't fit anymore. I'm bloated, my tummy and bowels are super sensitive, and more.

I'm so scared to do this because I don't want to disappoint myself for the 100th time.

Game plan:

• ✨️ Fast 16:8
• ✨️ Break fast with Smoothie/banana and yoghurt/eggs/salad, etc.
• ✨️ Eat whatever is cooked for dinner
• ✨️ Try and drink at least 1ltr of water for now
• ✨️ Walk at least half an hour a day

Does this seem achievable? What foods do you eat to break your fast? I read you should eat things that are soft on your tummy. How quickly should I see a difference in my body?

I look forward to reading your replies ❤️ thank you so much

44(F) 5’8” SW(209) CW(194) GW (150)

PCOS (18 y.o diagnosed) Diabetes (36 y.o diagnosed & on metformin)

TLDR : I keep ballooning to 210s and have to work really hard and this time IF isn’t working despite a lot of effort.

1st weight loss - vegan, 26 years old. After puberty, I gained & gained and my heaviest was 250. After a year and half of veganism and constant swimming the slimmest I ever was, 154. Over a decade, lifestyle (career) and relocations, the weight steadily crept up as I had to forgo veganism and frankly I couldn’t keep up with the vegan lifestyle anymore. Meal prepping and active social life. Bam! Diagnosed with diabetes when I was 36.

2nd weight lost attempt- I tried IF in 2019 when I got to 210 and managed to get the weight down to 178.

3rd weight lost attempt Sept 2024 to now - 18:6, OMAD, ADF (dirty) The first month I did well on OMAD and ADF (lost 14 pounds) Oct to Now a mix of all three and I lost nothing. No changes in measurements too. I frequent this group a lot and have cut off most sugar, limiting my simple carbs. It really does feel like I’m fasting the most that I can and yet this month, I have nothing to show for.

It’s really so frustrating. I wish there was a blood test or machine that would just scan my body and print out exactly what my body needs to loose weight and I would follow it to the dot!

Right now it feels like I’m following Dr Fung advice, doing IF and yet after a month of waiting for the weight the shed only to find out that I’m still at the same weight.

Would love to know anyone who has the same medical issues as me had success? PCOS + Diabetes + perimenopause

Thanks a bunch!

Ps: I should mentioned I tried Ozempic in the summer for 3 months and I gained weight. Pss: I don’t touch alcohol at all.

• Type of fast (water, juice, smoking, etc.)
• Context of fast (start, end, day x of y, etc.)
• Length of fast (8 hours, 3 days, etc.)
• Why? What you hope to accomplish with your fast
• Notes How is it going so far? Any concerns? Insights to share?

Be sure to check back often as comments get posted throughout the day. Sort comments by "new" to be sure the newer comments get some love as well.

Iv lost 6.6 lbs in 1 week. I’m wondering how much of that is water weight? How do I know what am I using?

Thank you everyone again

EDIT: did not give birth. Just have a newborn

Thanks for all the great advice!

OP: Hello! First time posting in this sub. Been crushing IF for over a year. Helped with inflammation, digestion, and dropped about 20 pounds in the first 6 months. Then leveled off. Really enjoyed the thinner self.

Then … We had a baby MAZEL TOV! Yes and my IF shifted for a few months. Just couldn’t keep it up. So much new stress and no sleep and constantly rewarding myself with food for just getting through the day.

Now Im back in about a month, anywhere from 16-24 hours during the week with one day a week no fasting.

However I’m finding I’m not losing weight. Maybe even gaining? I think Im maybe over eating in my window maybe just used to the last few months of stress eating idk.

Need to jump start and get some results my IF and need a little motivation. Or some tips / tricks to dial it up.

Thank you!!!

Not "free 7 day trial then $70 dollars".

not "free to download from the app store but you literally cant do anything with it until you sign up for a subscription"

I don't need an AI health coach, a nutrition tracker, a calorie counter, "premium pro features" or any of that other mess. I just need a timer to track my Eating/Fasting windows and my weight loss and send it to Apple Health. and I don't want to pay $70 for that.

Does such an app exist?

*Edit - looks like Fasty gives me everything I am asking for. Thanks u/PatFluke and Happy Cake Day

I've tried liquid iv a bunch and never had this happen. I bought ultima replenisher since its 0 cals and after only three gulps im feeling super tingly all over, similar to the feeling you get when you take pre workout. I can't find any info that this is normal. I googled tingly sensation after taking electrolytes and immediately was met with “FATAL" 😭 im a very anxious person, so now im freaking out a little. Can anyone please tell me if youve experienced this or what this might mean?

Hello, I’m on progestin/estrogen and I kept taking it in the morning as normal, assuming 16:8 wouldn’t affect it in any way, but I suddenly got my period a week early. Is this because of intermittent fasting or just a fluke? Should I move my BC to evening so I have food digesting? Does IF throw off your hormones, and if so, will they eventually adjust? I’m only on BC for the convenience and pain, so not worried about the protection aspect.

Today I’m going wine tasting for a birthday. We are taking a limo to the wineries where there will be mimosas for the ride up and then the tastings start around noon. I normally break my fast at 11/12 so I’d be breaking my fast around the same time anyway but I’m nervous about getting sick. I will probably skip the mimosas in the limo but still.

My last meal was yesterday at 3pm. Should I have bone broth before I go? We are eating lunch at the second winery which I’m guessing will be around 1-2.

What would you guys do? I understand people will probably say “I wouldn’t drink” but I am going to drink so please give advice that will help me not get sick.

Why?

I usually do a 36 hour fast from Thursday into Saturday and without fail, when I break it, BOOM!!! Gotta be near a bathroom.

Normally I’ll break it with something like a slice of whole grain avocado toast with eggs. Nothing big of course. That and a cup of coffee.

One good thing about it is that if I am ever constipated, I know how to fix that.

Hey, I’ve done fasting in the 16/8 way when I was 16 years old. Helped me to lose weight, but I got off track. Since I’m 17 I’m suffering from severe joint pain, constant bloating and a puffy face ( partially because my eating habits got worse when I moved out of my parents place for Uni).

Fast forward I’m now 20, wanna change my overall diet and consumption habits. I think fasting is a great way to do so! I’ve done mutiple fasts in past even though they were max 21 hours.

Do you have some tips for that? I hope( I will also change my overall habits) that my inflammation goes down and I can overall live a healthier lifestyle!

Cheers

Ps: until a long fasting period I don’t have any hunger. It appears around 20 hours into the fast.

I started my journey at 282lbs and honestly cutting calories. I've made it down to 217. I started learning about how important protein is along the way and are trying to make sure I get in as much as I can. I do 30 min treadmill incline walks and strength train alternating between push, back and legs. I'm not dealing with constipation at this point. I'm at a slight caloric deficit. It's hard to eat but so few calories and get my protein in at the same time.

The scale was just staying the same...and now it's gone slightly up. I have a Withings scale and it says my muscle and water are increasing. My body fat is currently at 21.7% (I've been as high as 24.5%). I have been avoiding processed foods and eating out to rule out sodium. I would consider myself an amateur lifter, but my biceps and back muscles are more pronounced as of late.

As many of you know we work hard to get our weight to go down. How should I feel about this weight gain? My goal was 210lbs. I feel like I have to make a decision here. Ride this wave and keep a close eye on my body composition to see if I'm literally putting on muscle now that I'm eating more protein or cut calories to get down to a lower weight.

This is one of those, I lost weight I never thought I'd lose. Now what? I think I struggle with trusting the accuracy of my scale and I want/need a way to verify the weight gain or stabilization is due to muscle.

I tried intermittent fasting. 10pm to 3pm. Didn't lose much weight and my metabolism slowed down drastically. What should I do.? What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions are appreciated. :)

• Type of fast (water, juice, smoking, etc.)
• Context of fast (start, end, day x of y, etc.)
• Length of fast (8 hours, 3 days, etc.)
• Why? What you hope to accomplish with your fast
• Notes How is it going so far? Any concerns? Insights to share?

Be sure to check back often as comments get posted throughout the day. Sort comments by "new" to be sure the newer comments get some love as well.

I’m really hungry. I’m trying to avoid a lot of food intolerances etc rn. Tryna lose wt and fast to clear my system.

I can’t do grains/diary/beans/soy/corn.

Anyone have some meal ideas?

I’m also wondering if I eat during the 8hour window does it matter how much/frequency?

Thanks !

Hey guys.

I am doing IF for the first time, and I'm just curious if I am doing things right. My goal is to recomp.

I am aware of the 16:8 rule, but I have been following this current IF routine for the past few days:

• I stop eating at roughly 10PM the night before
• I only drink water and black coffee during the day
• At roughly 4:45-5:00 PM (18-19 hours of fasting) the next day, I eat a can of tuna and ingest a protein shake.
• I eat my first high amount of carbs for the day at roughly 7:00 PM (21 hours later).

My question is centred around the meal I'm eating at 4:45-5:00PM.

From what I do know, carbs will spike my insulin and kick me out of mild ketosis by this point (if I am even in it by 18-19 hours) but protein is also capable of spiking an insulin response but apparently not as high if it was the same amount of carbohydrates?

There is about 45g of protein in that meal, and 4g of carbs. I am worried that I'm ingesting too much protein and even though it isn't carbs, I'm completely diminishing any effects I could get further.

Would ingesting this much protein (despite it not being carbs), trigger a high insulin response and kick me out of mild ketosis?

Any advice would be appreciated on whether or not my thinking is correct, how I can adjust this meal, how I can adjust to eat something smaller/different, etc.

Thank you!

Do people count calories while doing IF? I do, just ass way of making sure I’m making healthy choices and keeping my fats under control. But I’m not really losing and I’m wondering if I could be eating too few calories. Do people have trouble with the same?

Been fasting consistently and getting very close to my goal weight. However, since my fast have gone from 18-24 hour fast I get very tired after my first meal. I even had broth today and got very tired. Additionally have been getting in my electrolytes. Any tips? This definitely becomes more of a problem when I eat before my late lecture.

i try but it's sooo hard😭😫 my fret feel like ice.. it's only been 16hr and i'm already looking at food pictures on pinterest n insta😭😫 HOW?!

Quick question: Will intermittent fasting mess up doctor appointments and labs?

I know some labs/procedures require you to fast beforehand, but I worry about the day of an appointment when the doctor takes my BP or does his physical examination that it'll throw things off because my body won't be at my baseline. I also have an MRI coming up, but it's of my brain so I don't think that's a concern

I originally posted this over on a running subreddit but got down voted to oblivion...

I have been running for 5 weeks and experimenting with intermittent fasting. I'm fasting about 18-20 hours a day, and running about 5 times a week.

I've completed 3 half marathons in the 5 weeks since I've started running. I am fasting for every single run. According to popular belief (Reddit echo chamber) I should be burning out and getting severely injured. I feel fine during and afterwards.

Can anybody weigh in on what is happening here? I'm eating less than 30g of carbohydrates a day so I'm guessing my muscle to glycogen stores are very low. I'm not losing weight either (I eat a lot in the afternoon/evening)

Thanks

Hey! Almost a month into IF 16:8 or 17:7 most days. I suppose i am doing a “dirty” fast as my eating window is 12-7, but I add the TINIEST splash of skim milk and drop of honey to my coffee to make it palatable in the morning hours. For some reason I need to start my first cup or two of coffee this way, than by 9-10 AM I’m ok to switch to black coffee. No idea why this works. Anyhow, does anyone know if a podcast episode exists that goes into the details and comparison of a dirty fast vs clean fast, and how it impacts IF? I’d love to listen to it if so. Thank you so much!

Whenever I do a fast (24 hrs) I feel cold, and tired. Anyone else have same?

Hello everyone and sorry for the English (Reddit does the translation)

I've done a lot of 16 and 18 hour fasts and I've been doing OMAD for a while. I want to increase it to 48h and then to 72h. What do I need to do during this time is to take electrolytes? I bought pink salt, would this be enough?

Thank you very much!

I am three weeks into IF and it’s been great. The first week, I had so much energy it was difficult to fall asleep. It wasn’t hunger keeping me up.

My schedule changed the past week and a half and my eating window shifted. I am still doing between 16:8 and 18:6, but my last meal is now usually 3 hours before bed as opposed to the previous 5 or 6.

The past week of having my last meal between 2 and 3 hours before bed…I slept like a LOG. Last night I had my last meal 6 hours before bed and I had the same energy that made it difficult to fall asleep during my first week a la “What can I do tomorrow? What am I gonna put on my to do list? Should I just make it now? Maybe I can get up and start this project. I can’t wait for X to start. I’m excited about this random thing. I wonder how Y is doing.” and on and on.

Again, not hunger, not even anxiety. Just energy.

So I woke up this morning and wondered why, and had the realization that the only thing that changed was my eating window.

I’m gonna put my theory to the test tonight and eat closer to bed but I’m positive this is what it was.

If so, it seems I sleep worse eating more than 3 hours before bed, as well as too close to bed.

The energy was great for when I was still awake, at work, doing normal things, but was not welcome as I tried to sleep, and drove me nuts at the beginning as to WHY!

Hope this helps someone!