Intermittent Fasting for weight loss

[Anonymous]

I have done intermittent fasting on and off for a while and it seems to help with weight loss but only if I stick to Keto/low carb eating as well during my eating hours. I typically do 16:8 but sometimes it ends up being more like 18:6. I am done with dinner by 6pm many days and then don’t eat the next day until 12pm. I do have black coffee in the AM (no milk/sugar).

Anyway, would love to hear from those who have success with IF what your eating schedule is and whether you are restricting what you eat or just eating what you normally eat during the window. Any tips for how to accelerate weight loss?

I need to lose 10-15 lbs and it’s just really stubborn belly fat.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been doing IF for about 5 months. Most days I only eat between 1pm and 7pm. I eat normally between those hours, but I did need to rein in the snacks because I was overdoing it at first. I’ve lost about 20 lbs.

I still allow myself some snacks and treats within reason, and loosen up the restrictions on holidays and weekends when we might have a big breakfast or late dinner, snacks with a nighttime movie, etc., but I’m ok with a slower weight loss. As for accelerating the weight loss, what works best for me is avoiding any eating (minus AM coffee) aside from a moderate lunch and dinner. I did that at one point and it gave me a good weight loss boost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have done intermittent fasting on and off for a while and it seems to help with weight loss but only if I stick to Keto/low carb eating as well during my eating hours. I typically do 16:8 but sometimes it ends up being more like 18:6. I am done with dinner by 6pm many days and then don’t eat the next day until 12pm. I do have black coffee in the AM (no milk/sugar).

Anyway, would love to hear from those who have success with IF what your eating schedule is and whether you are restricting what you eat or just eating what you normally eat during the window. Any tips for how to accelerate weight loss?

I need to lose 10-15 lbs and it’s just really stubborn belly fat.

The point of IF is restricting in terms of cutting one meal a day. If you skip breakfast but make up for the calories at lunch and dinner then you didn't really accomplish anything. If you eat enough calories to prevent you from losing weight it does not matter if that happens in an 8 hr window, a 12 hr window or a 24 hr window.

The reason IF works for you when you eat keto/low carb is because by removing an entire food group you typically also reduce calories. You will also initially see a drop in water weight when you cut carbs.

[Anonymous]

Lost a lot of weight on IF. But once I stopped, I gained 90% of the weight back. I started again but it never had the same impact.

[Anonymous]

I lost 14 pounds from February 1- May 15. I did 500 calories a day 2x a week. I ate normally the other days but with an eye on portions. I didn’t do any exercising (I’m working on that now). I haven’t gained anything back but that’s likely because I’m more aware of carb intake and portions (never knew what 4oz of meat looked like until I bought a scale in February).