I lost weight doing IF with an 8 hour window, but I still crammed my 3 meals and snacks in there - the big difference for me was just eating healthier meals and snacks. I guess it helped me maintain what must have been a sufficient calorie deficit since I lost 40 pounds in 7 or 8 months (didn't track calories). I've probably missed like 5 meals in my 51 years lol.

No weight gain occurred when I started eating well outside that 8 hour window - that's why I'm always surprised when I see people say they have been doing IF on a 4 or 6 hour window for years on end. I would have wasted away!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to eat in the AM to get things moving, if you know what I mean.

Is there such thing as just skipping lunch?

This is what I have found as well. I did IF for years and it caused chronic constipation and stomach problems. It's like my whole digestive system just completely stopped when I was fasting no matter how much fiber I ate when I did eat. I still try to eat dinner before 6 and then fast until breakfast, but I found if I don't eat breakfast that is when the digestive problems start again.

That's strange. Whenever I do IF it makes me more regular.

A black coffee first thing in the AM is helpful in this area

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to eat in the AM to get things moving, if you know what I mean.

Is there such thing as just skipping lunch?

This is what I have found as well. I did IF for years and it caused chronic constipation and stomach problems. It's like my whole digestive system just completely stopped when I was fasting no matter how much fiber I ate when I did eat. I still try to eat dinner before 6 and then fast until breakfast, but I found if I don't eat breakfast that is when the digestive problems start again.

That's strange. Whenever I do IF it makes me more regular.

I am confused by your statement that you did not make any dietary changes.
You skip a meal, you eat less and don't snack, and you say that you might be even eating less of calories in the two meals that you do eat.
I call that a huge dietary change.

Anonymous wrote:I need to eat in the AM to get things moving, if you know what I mean.

Is there such thing as just skipping lunch?

This is what I have found as well. I did IF for years and it caused chronic constipation and stomach problems. It's like my whole digestive system just completely stopped when I was fasting no matter how much fiber I ate when I did eat. I still try to eat dinner before 6 and then fast until breakfast, but I found if I don't eat breakfast that is when the digestive problems start again.

When I first started IF a few years ago, it worked amazing at first. Besides not drinking alcohol, I didn't restrict any foods and ate lots of snacks and carbs during my window. I lost 15 lbs in 10 weeks. Then after about a year it started losing its efficacy. Or at least I stopped being able to deal with the hunger and its started backfiring and found myself borderline bingeing during my window.

I just restarted IF recently and have been much better about not bingeing and eating sensibly/staying within macros. Its definitely helped with cravings and my digestive system but the weight has been slower to come off. I don't have much to lose, so that may be why. But it feels like a heathier approach this time around than just eating whatever during my window.

I had a similar experience to OP, I really like IF. It seems to reduce my cravings and it's a lot less mental effort than trying to count macros or whatever. I am down around 15lbs. I think it's sustainable for me, as I'm not super strict about it - more of an 80/20 where I make exceptions for nights out, weekend brunches, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've done IF for years and am fat. Never lost a pound that way.

You still need to reduce caloric consumption. IF makes that easier to do.

Actually for some people IF increases their blood sugar based on the liver dumping sugar into the bloodstream from starvation signals. So for some, it actually makes it harder to lose weight.

This is the problem with how we talk about weight loss. Everyone gains for different reasons and retains for different reasons.

IF helped me lose 40 pounds, it changed my life. I don't think its a silver bullet for everyone but if we all spent time exchanging notes about why we think we gained instead of trying to poke holes in other people's success method then maybe we could actually help each other. We're all just stumbling around in the dark trying every method until we find one that happens to work.

I avoided IF for years because of people saying it was an eating disorder blah blah blah. But I have PCOS and my weight gain was insulin related. If we had a system that tried to evaluate why people gained and give them a recommendation based on that we could help so many people. Instead everyone who tried something that works tries to push it down the throats of everyone else and everyone who tried something that didn't work goes around casting as much doubt and suspicion on it as possible.

I did IF for 9 months. Along with IF, I stopped eating most carbs and only allowed sugar on the weekends. Lost 10 pounds quickly (5'4", 135 --> 125). It was great! But once I loosened up a bit (i.e., started allowing some carbs back), I gained all the weight back. I went back to IF without all the carb restrictions and haven't lost any weight. So for me, it was really about all the intense restrictions along with IF. Not just IF itself.

I have come to the sad conclusion that the only way to lose weight is to have almost no carbs and almost no sugar. Sad reality for my 50-year-old self.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've done IF for years and am fat. Never lost a pound that way.

You still need to reduce caloric consumption. IF makes that easier to do.

Actually for some people IF increases their blood sugar based on the liver dumping sugar into the bloodstream from starvation signals. So for some, it actually makes it harder to lose weight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to eat in the AM to get things moving, if you know what I mean.

Is there such thing as just skipping lunch?

Drink warm lemon water first thing. That does the trick.

Thank you

Anonymous wrote:I've done IF for years and am fat. Never lost a pound that way.

You still need to reduce caloric consumption. IF makes that easier to do.

Anonymous wrote:I need to eat in the AM to get things moving, if you know what I mean.

Is there such thing as just skipping lunch?

Drink warm lemon water first thing. That does the trick.

Anonymous wrote:I've done IF for years and am fat. Never lost a pound that way.

Yep, that’s why my (OP here) post says “I’m sharing what worked *for me* and I am not claiming this will work for everyone.”

Anonymous wrote:
What was your starting weight?

I started at 173. I definitely have a little more to go but am willing to continue the turtle pace because it seems to be working for me. But even at this stage, the difference feels like night and day.