To give up on intermittent fasting?

[Askingfortroible]

I've been sticking religiously to it for a month, doing 16:8 and eating low/no UPF foods during my eating window. All I've achieved is constant hunger headaches, decreased sleep quality and hanger with no weight loss. Does anyone else think it's all a con or am I doing it wrong?

You could be doing it wrong depending what you're eating.
3 or 2 filling meals a day, mostly veg with protein, not too much sugar.
It works for me only if I also "fast" between meals.

I can only assume its still over eating to have not lost in a month? I'm on mounjaro and it's definitely forcing me into a 16:8, but in those 8 my calorie intake is definitely not high. The weight is falling off me in a way that it never has with any diet, I'm not snacking in between meals or anything like that

A lot of the research on IF was done on men and the benefits for women seem a lot more inconsistent and Stacey Sims, who is very articulate that "women are not small men", recommends that women avoid it. Either way it doesn't sound like it's working for you!

I think it gets much harder to do once you're post-menopause, too - which is another way in which it isn't the same for women and men.

This really resonates with me.

Anecdotally, the men I know always seem to be able to deal fine with long gaps between meals, and don’t seem to suffer badly when their blood sugar drops.

Tuis doesn’t seem to be the case with women - we seem to be “little and often” people

It really worked for me...I'm an all or nothing sort of eater so I actually found it easier to go for longer without eating than having breakfast which kind of set me off....but not all diets suit all people

Can we be "big and often" people? 😁

If you're getting headaches could that be because of the types of foods you're eating, I wonder? Your blood glucose could be dipping too low.

Try to avoid anything that's likely to raise your blood glucose too highly and cause a subsequent dip. Avoid cereals, bread, pastry, cakes, chocolate bars, ice-cream, biscuits, granola bars, crisps, potatoes, rice, bananas etc. Instead eat lots of protein and fibre and some fats, to fill you up and keep you going for longer.

If you're looking for some inspiration, The Dr's Kitchen 3-2-1 recipe book is good for ideas for meals.

Interesting! Perhaps DH and I are the exception to this. I can easily go without eating for several hours. Sometimes I forget to eat lunch if I'm busy doing something, as I just don't feel hungry.

DH is the opposite. He's often scratching around for food a couple of hours after eating, sometimes only half an hour afterwards. He never seems to stop eating!

My theory is that it's nothing to do with being male or female and nothing to do with how much you eat. It's what you eat that makes the difference. He eats a lot of crappy, sugary food whereas I do not. I'm convinced that it's the crap food that makes him want to keep eating more of it.

I did 18:6 for a month and lost nothing. I really don’t think IF works for everyone.

Quite simply it works really well for some people and not at all for others - advice given to me by a personal trainer with expertise in nutrition. Theres lots of different factors but fasting tends to work better for men.

You are better calorie counting but aiming for high protein, high veg, low carb and no refined sugar diet. Most women do better on this - I started 4 weeks ago and I’m down 5kg, don’t feel hungry, way more energy than ever. When I did IF I wanted to eat my own leg I was so hungry.

I agree with your anecdote as I've noticed the same. My husband usually eats a banana for breakfast about 10am or sometimes not at all and then doesn't eat anything until a big meal at tea time. I would have passed out way before then if I ate nothing

That's really interesting. I wonder why that might be? Evolutionary speaking I'd have guessed we'd be the same.

When I’m intermittent fasting I start with a 3 day fast (days 1&2 are hard, day 3 starts to get easier) then drop to 20:4, which I find much more effective. And I only eat one meal a day, as low carb as possible.
Not advice, just what works for me.

I can't do OMAD or 16:8 but find 36 hour fasts easy and do 2+ every week. I'm very much "all or nothing" and in no way a "little and often" type of person though - don't think that's a specifically female trait!

There’s nothing magical about it. The premise really is that if you have less time in the day to eat less food you eat less food.

If you eat the same amount of food as before it’s not going to work. I don’t eat breakfast anyway so I have been intermittently fasting my entire life yet I’ve been different sizes.

I lost two stone on it last year....I gave myself a smaller eating window...20/4 or 19/5. During that window I ate what I wanted but in smallish portions. I found it suited me best...but I am someone who really struggles to eat three meals a day spread out across the day.

I'm doing it along with calorie counting and eating carbs with a low glycaemic impact. My blood sugar is stable, I don't get hangry or headaches, and I'm losing a steady 1lb a week. Which is nothing short of miraculous.

Maybe change your eating window. I get hungrier in the morning but not bothered about eating in the evening. Dh struggles in the evening but can go until after lunch easily.
I also take a spoon of mct oil in my coffee in the morning. It doesn't break a fast and is a source of brain energy so keeps me going a bit longer.

You don't know hangry men?

Lucky you

It's still pretty easy to over eat on IF.

Other half has been doing it for about a year and had lost a lot of weight, when you analyse what she eats in a day though it really isn't tonnes of food. Most people will eat less as well as spread it out more. You can't just cram your pre IF calorie level in 8 hours.

Evolutionary wise it might be because hunter gatherer society - the men went on long hunts, with a large food reward at the end of it, but not during it.

Women gathered, prepared food and cared - enabling them to snack along the way - eating berries from the trees or as they prepared/cooked food.

Possibly?

Yes agree... it depends what suits you. I prefer my eating window to be in the evening....I don't mind being hungry during the day if I know I can eat in the evening but I hate going to bed feeling hungry...so I save my calories for later in the day.

Still getting hunger headaches after a month suggests you’re not adapted to it yet. Are you “clean” fasting? (I dislike the term but it’s what people use) Eg - only black coffee/tea or water outside eating windows. No sugar or milk in drinks, no fruit juice/flavourings, no gum? This makes a big difference to me. I go 16+ hours fasting every day just on black coffee and don’t get hungry or low energy at all.

No idea why people put themselves through the misery of fad diets. My Mum did it for years, all throughout my childhood she was on a crappy diet and miserable as a result.

I stay trim by running, it’s as simple as that. I wish people would just move around more rather than buying into crap diet plans.