Should I maintain (how?) or should I lose a bit more

[W989]

I'm 5ft8, currently fitting into a size 10. Not weighed myself since starting IF in May, but I was a 14 then. Any tips for maintenance? I'm used to skipping breakfast and eating 1-9. Or should I slim to a 8?

I wouldn't go by clothes sizes to make any decisions as they are so variable. For health I still think BMI is a good guide, and also waist to height ratio, if you are within the healthy bands on both and you feel good in yourself I would start to move to maintenance. Are you doing 5:2 or 16:8 currently? Are you calorie counting alongside or just fasting?

I found I still needed to calorie count on maintenance, I had a failed attempt moving from strict 5:2 to 6:1 without any calorie counting and put a bit of weight back on, so now I do one 500 (ish!) cal fast day a week, I stick to 16:8, eating within my TDEE and no alcohol or junk food on weekdays and relax a bit and have some treats at weekends and on holidays. Some people would probably find that too restrictive but it seems to work for me and I'm stable at a healthy weight now. I think the key is to find what works for you so if eating 1-9 is working I'd keep that, if you find you are dropping too much weight then maybe add in some extra cals to your meals (in a healthy way of course!) rather than changing what's working?

Im weighing in at 10st 7.

Well you are comfortably within the healthy BMI bracket then so unless you are carrying a lot of visceral fat /waist fat I wouldn't be actively trying to lose any more weight. But you don't have to abandon 16:8, a lot of people use it for maintenance and if it works for you it's a healthy way to eat and to make sure you don't put the weight back on.

I'd stick to your eating window, maybe add in a few extra healthy calories such as an extra portion of fruit or similar, and keep an eye on your weight. If it creeps back up go back to what you were doing before, if you keep losing then add in a little extra. You don't have to calorie count or anything but it might be worth plugging a typical days food for you into a calorie counter just to check you are eating the right amount for your TDEE?

@maxelly

Well you are comfortably within the healthy BMI bracket then so unless you are carrying a lot of visceral fat /waist fat I wouldn't be actively trying to lose any more weight. But you don't have to abandon 16:8, a lot of people use it for maintenance and if it works for you it's a healthy way to eat and to make sure you don't put the weight back on.

I'd stick to your eating window, maybe add in a few extra healthy calories such as an extra portion of fruit or similar, and keep an eye on your weight. If it creeps back up go back to what you were doing before, if you keep losing then add in a little extra. You don't have to calorie count or anything but it might be worth plugging a typical days food for you into a calorie counter just to check you are eating the right amount for your TDEE?

Yes I'm a healthy weight. I will write down what I eat on a daily basis and see where I'm at calorie wise. I want to eat more, but afraid if I do, that I'll start piling the weight back on. I know it's all about balance (calories in and calories out through exercise etc).

I'm in the same boat. Also 5'8'' and fit into 8/10 size depending on the designer. Shall continue, though, but eating a bit more during my window. Never calorie counted as hate it, the reason OMAD suits me to the T is that during my eating window, I can eat what I want. The appetite decreases naturally as the 'stomach shrinks' due to less food consumed so never worried about over-eating.

@praepondero do you drink tea or coffee with milk outside of your OMAD or strictly fasting?

I drink weak black coffee, herbal teas, and gallons of water, no milk.