My 16/8 / 18/6 fasting 80 pounds to lose journey

[TarasChoc]

I've just started this Woe last Monday and I'm very happy with how much more naturally this comes to me than anything else I've tried. I fell into it accidentally after starting The fast 800 a few weeks ago. I had a few things on and found the low carb and calories aspect hard to stick to but realised I was still in a decent deficit, eating less sugar and doing a 16/8 without finding it all too hard. I've now fallen into 18/6.
I am tracking calories, I'm only eating two meals and the occasional snack so I don't find calorie tracking hard.

I'm looking at losing 70 pounds so I'll be in this for the long haul. I'm currently doing a lot of research listening to Gin Stephen's podcast and reading Delay, don't Deny , The Obesity Code and Fast, Feast Repeat.
I've been weighing everyday to track the trends but my official weighin day will be Monday.

Morning.

@TarasChoc welcome back! Hope you had a wonderful time celebrating overall and you aren't finding it too challenging to get back into it. It might take you a few days to get back to the metabolic switch.
I'm so glad you are finding the microbiome stuff interesting. I think we will be hearing more and more about it on the years to come.

@mumlikeaboss how's the lower carb going? Do you find it easier in this hot weather?

Still managing the vegetarian challenge. We have been eating things like veggie chilli, dahl, quiche, potato curry etc. Still having quick dinners like bean burgers with sweet potato fries or fresh pasta and sauce. Not ideal but that's life!
I'm eating nuts, seeds and dairy daily and regularly eating eggs and legumes like chickpeas so think my protein is okay. Not willing to count macros though as it's a diet brain trap for me. Have found a lovely sliced seeded sourdough bread from Aldi that seems quite high in protein too. (I only looked at the label this morning to answer your question - I picked the bread as it seems less processed than others.)

I'm finding it easier to eat healthily in this heat. Trying (again) to reduce the volume of chocolate/biscuits and have swapped that for some unsalted nuts and fresh cherries after dinner. Very tasty.

We go on holiday in a month so that's keeping me motivated. I'm really enjoying my new kettlebell routine and can see a slight difference after doing it for a month. Hoping for more before we go!

@neeko did really well during the week and felt a lot better for it, but found the weekend rather harder!! Had some impromptu meals out at friends' homes and just wasn't strong enough in the face of delicious home-cooked food and desserts 🙈🙈

So I'm feeling a little over-sugared and dehydrated this morning, and don't think I'll find it difficult to jump back into LC. Looking forward to a good fast with LOTS of water 🥵 and then a salmon salad with dill dressing for lunch 🤤

Your meals sound delicious 😍 might have to make some dahl soon!!

Incidentally this is the Waitrose paper I picked up on Friday! Gut health is definitely a hot topic right now 😁

@TarasChoc loving that we were (very slightly) ahead of the gut health curve! Your weekend sounded lovely. Enjoy the water! 😊

Oops. Clearly I meant that for @mumlikeaboss. Can I blame the heat? 🤣

You've got me drooling here with that food @Neeko. I got that bread too in aldi last week, it must be new cause any time I've looked for sour dough products I never found them before. It was lovely, I had it with smashed avocado and lemon juice.
This week I'm trying to reduce carbs a bit @mumlikeaboss just highly processed ones really so I'm still having potatoes and whatever veg I fancy but trying to reduce snacks. I don't really eat pasta very often and I'm having cauliflower rice instead of normal rice. Having salads for lunch has helped reduce my carb intake too.
I'm trying to mix things up a bit by listening to podcasts by different people, drinking green tea and having slices of fresh lemon and apple cider vinegar in my water.

I've found getting back for me is a case of head down, lots of water and at times go to bed hungry, powering through basically. I find a few days of this gets me back to been satiated for longer than if I started off with shorter fasts to ease me in. Not going to lie it takes grit and determination but I feel its worth it because the longer it takes me to get to the whole not hungry phase the more likely it is I'll run out of willpower and procrastinate.

One good thing about this heat and also been away on a holiday where we walked a lot is its been a good reminder how over weight I still am. Its been easy to get complacent the last while after the novelty of fitting into my clothes better or buying a smaller size and feeling happier with my appearance but the reality is I'm still many stones higher than I should be and these days I feel every bit of it!
I've two weddings and at least one more holiday before Christmas and I'm determined to feel and look better for them as well as reaping the benefits in my everyday life.

How is everyone?

I'm feeling like I've properly got into the swing of fasting for the first time in ages. Drinking lots of water and reducing processed carbs really helps control hunger so much. I've fasted 21/3 so far this week. I was tempted to try a longer fast but I reckon its too much too soon.
I'm listening to various podcasts on my drive to work, I know a lot of the information but learn a few more gems everytime I listen. I find its a form of solidifying in my mind just why I'm doing this.

Well done @TarasChoc I’ve been reading but not commenting much but you’ve been inspiring me with your progress 😊 I’m sat here waiting for the train listening to Gin Stephens intermittent fasting podcast. That helps keep me on track. Has anyone noticed much less heartburn (if you suffered before) now your fasting? I’m also low carbing so think it’s mostly that but I’m loving not taking heartburn tablets all the live long day!! That’s a win for me

Great to hear this @TarasChoc. It's so good when you feel like everything is clicking.
I'm fine. My weight is pretty static without feeling deprived, so I'm very happy with that. I do suspect my weight training might be increasing my muscle to account for the lack of change as my shape is more defined and I'm not wanting to be overly focused on the scale number.
I've become a little addicted to Vinted 😳and have refreshed my wardrobe. It's amazing how much better you feel wearing clothes that properly fit and I've been able to make several new "looks" without spending a fortune. I've also sold some bigger stuff which feels like a belief in myself. I've more or less been this size for 6 months so I feel like I can allow myself to believe this is long term. That's massive for me as a perpetual yo-yo-er!
The lovely weather also makes me feel so much more optimistic about everything.

@itsmeagainagain how are you finding low carb, are you very strict with it? That's interesting about the heartburn and a beneficial side effect. I had meant to mention in my earlier post that my stomach feels normal. I hadn't realised until today that it had been feeling very tender, not painful but I was aware of it if that makes sense.

@Neeko your progress is inspiring, you sound in a great place, not hung up on the scales and able to see your progress. I would love to get back to weigh lifting, had to stop due to a long term condition which is now under control. I feel like I should be able to start properly in the next few months but for now I've to make for with cardio and a few minutes of weights. How are work DOMS? I'm not looking forward to those!
Enjoy your new clothes, I'm delighted to hear your reaping the rewards of your efforts.

Thanks so much @TarasChoc although I certainly don't feel inspiring! Not had too much trouble with DOMS after the initial couple of times. Trying a new workout tomorrow so ask me again on Sunday. I'm certainly enjoying it much more than I thought I would.

Hope everyone has had a good week.

Apologies @itsmeagainagain. I'm on the app and somehow missed your post. That's great news about the heartburn. I also listen to that podcast often. I love her laugh and how she can tie anything a guest says to something that has happened to her. 😊

@itsmeagainagain I love Gin's podcast too 🤩 was just listening to one yesterday. It's so interesting hearing different people's experiences with IF.

I was especially heartened to hear one of the recent guests who had really not had any weight loss from doing it but still felt so good and was so convinced by the health benefits that she wanted to continue fasting anyway. I love that!

@TarasChoc so glad you're finding your fasting feet again... 21:3 is brilliant 👏🏻 and agree that if you're doing that comfortably there's probably no sense in pushing yourself further in case you overdo it!

I'm still way overdoing the carbs on the weekends, so it feels like I mostly undo all the hard work from during the week 🙈 Need to find a balance. Have been bingeing less though so hopefully even intermittent low-carbing is somehow helping to normalise blood sugars and appetite, etc!

@TarasChoc I do really well on low carb but the minute I stop I find it hard to get back on track!!! it's so annoying my body love loves loves carbs!!! I am relaxing a bit at weekends but find that getting back to the low carb on a Monday isn't always easy.... As long as I'm doing 16/8 I try not to beat myself up about it but to lose any weight I really need to keep my carbs low.
hey @Neeko and @mumlikeaboss Gin is the best! I started listening to her in lockdown and now I listen every week. She has a great way with her - I've been tempted to join her online community but I'm so rubbish at remember who says what even on here!

@itsmeagainagain I've been thinking of joining too but never quite make that final step.

hey @TarasChoc I've missed your posts are you doing ok?

Hi @itsmeagainagain aw thank you that's a nice thing to say☺️
I'm doing OK, losses are slow but its going in the right direction, I need to go into my app and count it up properly. I've not wanted to check since my holiday gain but hopefully I've made a fair dent in that.
I'm very similar to you at the moment, trying to low carb, doing okay during the week but weekends are not great. I really need to focus on them more realistically that's what's holding me back now from higher losses.

How are you doing now and everyone else of course?

@TarasChoc good to hear you're keeping going well done! I'm doing ok thanks have been doing a minimum of 16 hour fasts but the carbs have crept back in and so I feel like I'm not moving in the right direction but I don't want to be too strict and then fall majorly off the wagon. I want fasting to just be part of my daily life ...but I also want a mahoosive weight loss really quickly 😂Im going to try a bit of alternate day fasting a couple of days and see if that moves things along a bit

@TarasChoc how much weight have you lost in total now since beginning IF?

I had a lovely non scales victory yesterday, a dress that didn't look right on me sits beautifully now.
I also made the most delicious crustless quiche, it was perfect, not anyway soggy and lots of flavour.
After playing around with fasting hours since my change of hours at work I'm back fasting between 21 and 23 hours.
I had decreased fasting hours to 17 or 18 hours as I was starving when I finished work in the afternoon. interestingly I found that eating on my break didn't make any difference I was still starving when I finished work!
That's why I decided to try and lower my carbs to help get over that period. It's early days but it's starting to help.
I'm headachy and my mouth tastes unpleasant which probably means I'm heading into ketosis which I hadn't really intended but for now I'm going to continue on eating the same foods I have as I'm enjoying them so I'll probably stay in ketosis for a while.

What I'm really pleased with is that it's coming up to my one year anniversary of fasting. Although there's been blips along the way with been unwell and struggling to get/keep momentum going with that and holidays I feel very very positive that this is the way of eating which will get me to a healthy weight.
I've a loose idea of what I've lost so far but I'm going to wait until my year anniversary to add it all up. I'll be honest it will be short of what I had hoped when I started this thread. I had probably dreamed that I would be neatly at my goal weight by now but I've realised that was unrealistic as you can't plan for the unexpected.
All I know is what I have lost has already made a huge difference to how I feel, look and my health. Fasting is a miracle worker for me.

Morning @TarasChoc , I haven't completely read the whole thread, as I'm doing 3 things at once this morning but well done on your progress.
I'm the same as you regarding 16 : 8, fasting in general. I actually fell into by accident and found that it works for me because it's what I do naturally.
I need to get back on it though so thank you for your posts, they're really encouraging and inspirational ❤️
I find when I do 16 : 8, low carb, the weight comes off but I can feel a bit sick, so best for me is ;
10.30am - yes, that sourdough bread from aldi, avocado, eggs, rocket, kale, love it all.
2pm - if hungry, a snack ( sometimes it's a kit kat!)
4.30pm - tea, a kind of 'from scratch' tea, as per slimming world. Not low carb but I try to have more veg / salad.
I'm not a snacker so then I stop and it honestly doesn't bother me.
On a great day, 2 or 3 litres of water.
On a bad day, wine 😩
I've only a stone to lose - preferably for holiday, 2 months away. I know I can do it.
Anyway, thanks for the thread.
I really am going to get back on it.

18:6 IF since middle of may I have lost a stone but now all standing still. Thinking of changing something again. I eat twice per day lunch around 12 -1pm and dinner before 6 pm. Sometimes I feel too full so my next step is portion control.

Thank you @Amdone123 and well done to you. Your holiday is a great goal to aim for:)
@Bumbblehumble well done on your loss. I eat in a fairly short window and sometimes found too if I ate a very filling meal at first then I struggled to eat properly for my next meal meaning I was hungry before bed time.
I find planning my meals ahead helps, and making sure my second meal is really tasty so I'll want to eat it.
I'm still eating fairly low carb, more to break bad habits than anything and because during summer it feels much easier thanks to lovely salads.
Thanks to everyone who reads along. It's almost one year since I fell into fasting and while it's not always been a straightforward process for me it's definitely changed my life and made me feel in control of my body again.

Hello from my sun lounger! I told myself I wasn't fasting on holiday but after a couple of days of 3 meals and snacks (and drinks), I decided to listen to my body and have gone back to a "breakfast" of coffee and water. I certainly feel better for it.
I'm having a longer window of about 9 hours and eating (far too much) plenty in that window but it is a holiday after all!
I know I'll have gained when I get back but feel completely fine about it and will try to get stuck back in. It seems after almost a year of fasting my body doesn't want to do the eating-all-day thing. That's a relief! 🤣
Will catch up on the thread properly when I'm back.

I just want to add an interesting observation here. My work hours changed a while back which meant I am up at 6am. My break at work is around 10:30 and I get home around 2:30.
I was quiet hungry getting home so I decided to extend my fast time from 10:30 until 4:30.
I usually had something like beans on sour dough bread or tuna sandwich. I found I was still as hungry when I got home if not even more so. That's when I decided to eat a bit lower carb and return to eating in a shorter window. The low carb means I'm rarely ever really hungry and I'm using my break to adjust to drinking black coffee ☕️ 🙃