16:8 2022 thread

[Piglet89]

Just continuing from

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/4124232-16-8-2021-thread

Hi, I’d like to give this a go. I hate calorie/point/syn/whatever else counting so seems like a more relaxed way to get a bit healthier.
Just a question though-do you adopt the 8 hour eating window every day (7 days a week) or do you do a set amount of days per week?

Good luck to everyone else-going to go and have a read of the previous thread now.

Can anybody give me some tips on how to get started?

Welcome @Sunshineandflipflops !

I am trying to stick to the 8 hour eating window every day as I imagine this will lead to quicker weight loss. I have roughly a stone to lose and I want to go back to eating normally ASAP, but I don’t think you have to do it every day!

Place marking 🎉

I'm also wanting to start fasting as I need to lose some weight , can't decide between 5:2 and 16:8 anyone have any tips on how to decide? Does anyone ever do a mixture , do 5:2 one week 16:8 another?(or is that crazy?)

I did 5:2 about 5 years ago for about 2 years with great success (lost weight and felt great). And then it stopped working for me - I think it coincided with peri menopause. I found that on my non-fasting days I was so hungry that I was literally getting into that fast/feast pattern which was counter productive.

At the start of Covid I was having really bad peri symptoms and abandoned any weight management and focussed on eating a healthy peri diet (basically mediteranean) as all I cared about was feeling better. I did feel better but put on a stone. At the start of 2021 I went back on IF but this time did 16:8. I treated it as a lifestyle rather than a diet and I lost that stone in about 6 months (not absolutely sure as I never weighed myself).

Like anything, it's about creating a new habit. The hardest thing for me was not having milk in my coffee in the morning, but after a while of having black coffee in the morning I got used to it and now even if I take a day off, I find a milky coffee first thing too rich.

I have since gone further with IF. I have quite a big appetite so in order to not have to monitor what I eat (at all) I now do 18:6. My eating window is 1pm - 7pm. I do this religiously Mon - Friday (I find the 80:20 rule works for me) and will relax a bit on the weekend and do 14 - 16 hours of fasting - depends on what I'm doing.

I use a fasting tracker app by Leap Fitness which cracked it for me. It tells you what your body is doing at various stages of the fast, which at tough points really keeps you going.

I work variable shifts, including nights so can't stick to a set window. With this I never mind breaking my fast a bit early and resetting the timer so that I can sleep through some of it which is key. No one wants to be awake through an entire 16 hour fast

Top tip, if exercising, try and do it towards the end of a fast - 14hrs+. Your body will burn the fat stores rather than food you've recently eaten.

@Just2MoreSeasons I just found 5:2 far too restrictive on the fast days. I was absolutely starving hungry and couldn’t concentrate at work.

16:8 is more about restrictive food intake to an eight hour window. Say you do 1200-2000, it’s basically about skipping breakfast rather than crazily restricting calories 2 days a week to under 500.

So 16:8 is much more manageable for me, day-to-day.

Thanks, yes I'm thinking that 16:8 might be more realistic, thankyou

Happy New Year, all! Will hop on the scale tomorrow morning and log weight here tomorrow so can keep a track and the thread can keep me accountable as I (I hope) make progress over the first 12 weeks of 2022. 😀

Hi, can I join? I really think 16:8 could work for me. Do people still calorie count in their eating window? Also any websites you recommend reading? Good luck everyone!!

@twinkydink no generally you don’t calorie count during the 8 hour eating window. For example, my eating window is 1200-2000. So I skip breakfast. In missing out the, say, 500 cals that would have been in my breakfast, I’m at a daily calorie deficit of 500 cals. So I should be at a weekly deficit of 3500 if I do it every day. That’s just over a pound of fat I should lose every week. I would hope to lose 12lb by end of March.

HOWEVER I am also going to ditch the booze and sweet stuff (desserts and chocolates) for as many of the days in the next three months as possible. So, I’ll be “watching” the calories in that way. But I won’t be counting calories at all.

I weighed myself this morning and am 9st 13.75lb.

My goal weight is 9 stone.

I’ve decided to do my 8 hour window between 10am-6pm so will still be eating 3 meals a day. Not sure how well it will work but I start work at 7.30am and am always starving when I wake up so don’t think 12-8pm would work for me.
I guess I should lose a bit of weight just by cutting out the snacking after dinner though.

That's what I was thinking Sunshineand flipflops -I do most of my snacking once the children are in bed so I'll be fasting in my danger time.
I've started today doing 16:8 from 11am -7 pm. I love having two sugary milky weetabix for breakfast which I know I'll miss so I've decided I'll sometimes have that for lunch instead.
And I'm going to brush my teeth for the night at 7pm to remind me not to absent mindedly start snack or drinking.

And to make myself accountable here are my stats
5 foot 6
84.8 kg (13.3 stone)
Dress size 16

I'd like to get down a dress size to a 14 but I'd be even happier if I could get to a size 12. No idea how much I'd have to lose for that.
I don't have a deadline in mind but it would be lovely to wear summer clothes without feeling embarrassed, hopefully by starting now I'll have a good run at it.

I know hypnosis works for me, does anyone know of any good hypnosis sessions I can buy that deal with mindful eating/weight loss?

Piglet89 good idea re the booze. Perhaps I'll do dry January too

My husband made this Jamie Oliver cheese and steak and Guinness pie for New Years’ day lunch today. First pie he’s ever baked. Frankly, it was AMAZING and I wasn’t gonna say no to it (plus mustard mash and peas) but had that at 1300 or so. Then crumble and custard for dessert just before 2000. Not healthiest day but it is New Year’s Day!

No booze, though! I have suffered some mental health problems throughout the pandemic, so ingesting a depressant wasn’t doing me any favours.

Wow, Piglet89 that looks amazing. Mash is a big favourite of mine too.
I've just bought for £7 the Paul McKenna thin-weight loss app. I'll let you all know how it goes!

@piglet89 thanks for the info. I've got through the first day so I'm taking that as a success! I think this is my first day without cheese or chocolate in years!

That is 💯 % a success @twinkydink! Well done!!!

Hi there, I’d love to join this thread, I’ll be starting 16:8 on Tuesday for the first time. I’m 40, 5’3” and 9st9lb. I’d love to lose a stone by May.

I’ve tried 5:2 in the past and it definitely worked but by the time I got home I was ravenous and found it so hard not to snack to tide me over until tea.

I sit down at work for most of the day so also want to make sure I am more active. Planning to ensure I do 10,000 steps a day and possibly some home workouts too.

Good luck everyone!

I think I'm going to have to rethink my eating window. I can't abide by black coffee so my milk breaks the fast. I only managed 11 hours fast last night.

Welcome @Squaffle !

I managed day 1 (eating window of 10am-6pm) but went for my run this morning after 15 hours fasting and I just had nothing in me-found it really hard work. Hoping I will get used to it but this is why I don’t do 5:2 as I need my energy to run.
Will persevere and see how it goes going forward!

Hi there, I'd love to join you guys.

I've been doing 16:8 for the past 3 weeks but have been a bit confused about how it works

Am fasting from 8pm to 12pm which is fine although I have had a milky coffee in the mornings 😬. Have I wrecked it?

Will try and move to black or just have one at midday.

Not seeing a huge change on the scales so need to be a bit more vigilant in what I actually eat I think.