obseity code - IF and low carb is really working for me

[Anonymous]

I only have about 15-20 lbs to lose, but they are stubborn. I'm 47 year old female. In three weeks I've lost 10 lbs on this protocol of low carb and IF, and it's so easy! I drink lots of water. I eat for an 8 hour window each day (so I'm fasting 16 hours), and I am avoiding carbs without obsessing or counting them. I try to eat healthy most of the time, salads and protein, with a bit of healthy fats, but I have the occasional cupcake or glass of wine. I hardly have to think about this diet, and the pounds are just falling off! For motivation I'm reading the book, on various facebook groups and listening to that busy weightloss for physicians app. Can't wait for bathing suit season.

[Anonymous]

What is your 8 hr window?

Can you give an example day?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Glad you found something that works for you. How long have you been on this plan?

[Anonymous]

My window varies, but typically it's 12-8. For some reason I really don't get hungry in the mornings though, so I find it more natural to do 2-10pm, but I also know it's not a great idea to eat before bed.
My typical day:

7am - 12pm
coffee w/cream (technically this breaks the fast, but I only use a tiny bit)
lot of herbal teas
chicken broth if I'm hungry

12pm - 2pm
leftovers for lunch: usually a bunch of arugula w/olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt plus something yummy like pan seared salmon, roast chicken or steamed shrimp. I tend to buy pre-cooked meals from the grocery store for ease.

2-4 - is my hardest time
some kind of snacks that is low in carbs. I don't like the processed fake snacks, so I tend to stick with the following:
cheese sticks
macadamia nuts
olives
protein shake w/greens and almond butter
full fat greek yogurt w/berries

5-8
dinner is usually similar to lunch, although I add an extra veggie.
salad + protein + roasted vegetable

Other dinners include:
rotisserie chicken
hearty soups like chicken tortilla
frittata or crustless quiche w/veggies
ground meat w/spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash
sashimi & miso soup
grilled flank steak
Tonight I'm doing a low carb version of stuffed green peppers w/turkey, and I plan on making 10 so I can freeze a bunch.

I'm not a huge fan of cooking, so I go for easy and quick, or something I can double and freeze.

Dessert:
dark chocolate,
ricotta w/good cocoa powder + a bit of fake sweetener mixed in (kinda gross)
whipped cream and berries

I love a glass of wine in the evenings and used to have 1-2 after dinner. I cut that out, and only occasionally have a glass now with dinner. I drink red wine because that's supposed to be the lowest in sugar (1gram per 5 oz.) although champagne is lower at .5grams per 5 oz.

Would love more ideas for dinner or dessert if anyone has some!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glad you found something that works for you. How long have you been on this plan?

2 weeks, though I got a head start since the week before I started I had the flu and basically fasted for 4 days.

[Anonymous]

If you only have 20 pounds to lose, you’re not obese.

[Anonymous]

We seriously need a new forum about this. There’s a post similar to this every day.

you are eating fewer calories so you are losing weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you only have 20 pounds to lose, you’re not obese.

That’s just the name of Fung’s book.

Glad you’re feeling good, OP, though I always think at least a year is needed to test whether a plan is truly working to get pounds off and keep them off. Hope this stays easy for you!

[Anonymous]

I lost 40# the same way years ago and kept it off. Keep it up OP!

[Anonymous]

Congrats, OP!

I am not obese but have a metabolic issue, and have found that low carbs and IF is the only thing that works for me too.

Keep going, everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We seriously need a new forum about this. There’s a post similar to this every day.

you are eating fewer calories so you are losing weight.

+1

it is not the eating window that matters. Or even the composition of foods. it is the calories you consume. Of course if you cut carbs which typically make up 30-50% of more diets you will lose weight.

The reason you weren't losing weight before wasn't because your body is special or because you are 47 or because you have slow metabolism or because you were eating in a 12 hr window. It was because you were simply consuming too many calories. period.

I am glad you have found a way of eating that works for you. I hope you can stick to it for the rest of your life. But let/s just be honest with the real reason you are losing weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We seriously need a new forum about this. There’s a post similar to this every day.

you are eating fewer calories so you are losing weight.

+1

it is not the eating window that matters. Or even the composition of foods. it is the calories you consume. Of course if you cut carbs which typically make up 30-50% of more diets you will lose weight.

The reason you weren't losing weight before wasn't because your body is special or because you are 47 or because you have slow metabolism or because you were eating in a 12 hr window. It was because you were simply consuming too many calories. period.

I am glad you have found a way of eating that works for you. I hope you can stick to it for the rest of your life. But let/s just be honest with the real reason you are losing weight.

but it is precisely the eating schedule that makes it possible to eat fewer calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We seriously need a new forum about this. There’s a post similar to this every day.

you are eating fewer calories so you are losing weight.

+1

it is not the eating window that matters. Or even the composition of foods. it is the calories you consume. Of course if you cut carbs which typically make up 30-50% of more diets you will lose weight.

The reason you weren't losing weight before wasn't because your body is special or because you are 47 or because you have slow metabolism or because you were eating in a 12 hr window. It was because you were simply consuming too many calories. period.

I am glad you have found a way of eating that works for you. I hope you can stick to it for the rest of your life. But let/s just be honest with the real reason you are losing weight.

I do not care what you do in your eating but I suspect you are not actually a weight loss researcher. From everything I have read over the years, which is extensive and goes across many diets but I am not a doctor, weight loss is multi-factorial. Yes, people can lose weight with calories restriction and yes, eating massive quantities of calories will almost always result in weight gain. But the body is more complex than a calculator. Insulin is a factor in eating and weight gain. For example, type-I diabetics cannot gain weight to literally save their lives without taking insulin no matter how many calories they eat. What and how often you eat does impact insulin resistance and that impacts metabolic disorders. My husband has "cured" himself of type-II diabetes by following an IF plan and has lost and kept off some weight as well, but in the neighborhood of 15 pounds total. For context, he never looked obese, is athletic and we were completely surprised by the diabetic diagnosis when it happened.

Eat however you want for your own health and even share your knowledge with others about what "might" work for them, but do not declare yourself all knowing about why something works for another person with another body make-up than your own.

That is all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We seriously need a new forum about this. There’s a post similar to this every day.

you are eating fewer calories so you are losing weight.

+1

it is not the eating window that matters. Or even the composition of foods. it is the calories you consume. Of course if you cut carbs which typically make up 30-50% of more diets you will lose weight.

The reason you weren't losing weight before wasn't because your body is special or because you are 47 or because you have slow metabolism or because you were eating in a 12 hr window. It was because you were simply consuming too many calories. period.

I am glad you have found a way of eating that works for you. I hope you can stick to it for the rest of your life. But let/s just be honest with the real reason you are losing weight.

It's a body hack. It's not meant to be sustainable or a diet for the rest of someone's life.

[Anonymous]

Come back with an update 2 years from now after doing keto.