Starting 16:8 diet tomorrow... anyone fancy joining?

[Leopardpj]

I'm starting the 16:8 diet properly from tomorrow after trying it out a couple of days last week and finding it seemed to suit me OK. Would love it if anyone doing the same would like to share experiences??

My 'kitchen closed' at 6.15pm this evening so technically I think I can eat from 10.15 tomorrow but I'm going to see if I can last until midday and eat 12-8 on weekdays. I don't think I'll realistically be able to do it on weekends but am going to try to stick to the general principles of not snacking in the evening/ eating more 'mindfully'...

I have a stubborn half a stone to lose which I've never managed to shift since having my second dd (who is now 3).

I've always dismissed this diet before as I love breakfast/ brunch so much! But I'm now changing my mentality on it and saying I'm basically delaying my breakfast not ditching it. I'll have a big brunch style meal around 12 and then a decent dinner before 8.

I'm hoping it'll suit me as I am not someone who eats loads of sugar/ junk but I do love my food and hate diets - just the idea of being restricted makes me miserable but if I feel I'm just 'delaying' food I feel loads better. My big weaknesses are milky hot drinks (I'm probably going to allow myself a small splash of milk in tea in the morning that'll make it a lot more bearable for me!) also buttered toast, cheese, and snacking on the kids' tea leftovers at 5pm....

Be so lovely to have some company but if not I can always chat away to myself I guess!!

Also planning to listen to some Jason Fung podcasts which are supposedly v helpful!

Anyone else doing similar??

The bit I’m struggling the most with is evening snacking!! I had dinner with the children at 5pm and now I’m hungry/ wanting to eat something. Does anyone else find this?

I've been doing 16/8 for more than a year now and I did it for three reasons, 1 to curb eating crap between meals, 2 as a form of discipline and 3 for weight maintenance.

I am 5.5 and weigh 65 kilos, I did weigh about 78 kilos at the end of lockdown, as like many eating was a pastime! I have maintained the 65 kgs for the last six or so months and feel so much better.

For me, the trick is to have a protein filled breakfast at 11am, finish food at 7pm. Three eating sessions per day, they don't necessarily have to be full on conventional lunches and dinners either (for me), but anything healthy will do. I live alone so don't have to prepare food for others, which makes it a lot easier.

The high protein breakfast is either porridge and protein powder with the usual seeds and berries or a home made protein filled smoothie with all the bits and bobs. That fills me up so much!

Next is another food intake around 2.30pm which is often scrambled egg or omelette, tuna/salmon salad or something like that, maybe a full fat Greek yogurt aswell. I don't eat much meat at all

Last food intake around 6.30 -7pm well you can guess, protein foods again, veg etc. I am not fussy as long as it fills me up and I feel satisfied. Very few carbs apart from the porridge and the odd slice of home made brown soda bread and REAL butter yum.

When on holidays, or at a celebration/night out I don't fast, but watch what I eat without being too strict on myself. I don't drink alcohol so that helps!

It is second nature to me now, I don't think about it anymore I just know the timetable and stick to it apart as I said from holidays and outings. But you gotta live a little too! Good luck to you all.

I'm always hungry in the evenings, not in the morning.
I just want to lose a few kilos as it makes a noticeable difference to my energy levels.

@RosesInWater did you lose the weight from 16/8 or just maintained the weight loss that way? Sounds like you’ve got it nailed!

I was on low carb for a few months but was eating all over the place and it was not the best fit for me. I did lose a good bit over about 8 or so months but could not keep it off, the eating patterns I had hoodwinked me into thinking, ah well it's low carb it'll be fine but not so, and I could feel the old belly expanding again lol.

So I decided right, let's try the military method of 16/8. I will admit that it took a few weeks for me to get used to it, but once I realised that high protein filled me up and worked for me then it clicked into place. Now I don't have anything apart from tea/coffe/water in between what I call "chow time" and finish at 7pm. I am quite rigid about watching the clock around that time and often manage to squeeze in a creamy Greek yogurt at two minutes to 7, and then I am packed.

At the moment I do it for maintenance and it works for me. Some people like to graze, some like rules, I am a rules person and it does focus the mind and the belly too.

And I do put milk in my tea and coffee and have sugar free cordial in my water in between meals. Hasn't done me any harm on the scales yet anyway. I think the important thing is to be as disciplined as possible in order to get used to it, then as I said you can go a bit mad on holidays etc. Life is for living, but when you lose fatty weight you feel great and it's so worth it. It is not restrictive and I honestly don't crave anything or feel mad hungry either. It's just habit now.

I've been doing this for about a year, but in a very relaxed way. I aim to stop eating by 6pm ish (we eat with the children) and then not snack in the evening. Around once a week I eat later, either because I am out or I really want a snack, and I let myself. This is different to routinely snacking every evening. I then aim to skip 'normal' breakfast. I often have a banana about 9am but some days don't eat until 11/12. So my fasting window averages 15/16 hours, but can be 12-20.

I have learnt about myself:

• I am just as hungry at 11am whether or not I had cereal at 7.30. Breakfast is pointless unless it is something like eggs.
• If I go to bed a bit hungry, I'll still be a bit hungry in the morning, but not ridiculously so
• If I get too hungry at about 3pm I get discomfort (not sure what causes it, but it's quite uncomfortable) but this doesn't happen in the morning
• My hunger is often linked to routine. I can feel really hungry at 7.30 when the family are eating breakfast, but less hungry later. This is less of an issue now.
• I'm more in tune with my appetite now. Some mornings I am particularly hungry, often due to eating a bit less the day before. So I have breakfast and that's ok!

I have lost a bit of weight but not loads, but my motivation was partly about being more intuitative with my eating. I am more in control of it. I will have periods where I eat too much sugar and maintain my weight (not gain) and then periods where I am more disciplined and lose some weight. (Currently on a good streak!) Overall my weight is slowly decreasing, when before it was slowly increasing, so I am happy with it. It's sustainable for me and I don't feel I'm depriving myself.

well done on your willpower @Porkscratching ! I really think it does get easier, a week in, my body is a lot less expectant of food in the morning already

@Anotheroverreaction I too struggle with evening snacking which is why I pushed my window to 11.15-7.15, for some reason eating a big meal at seven on the dot is so much better than eating before six in terms of curbing cravings. Could you give kids a mid afternoon/ after school or nursery snack, and push the kids tea slightly later (I don't know the ages of your kids and appreciate not always possible!) I have tried a few windows and to me 11-7ish does feel the most manageable.

@RosesInWater it's so great to hear your long-term experience of it working. It's so encouraging! Congrats on your weight loss which is amazing. I also have found that the whole thing has 'clicked' since I realised high-protein food was the key to it. For me it's important not to be too militant on rules though, like you I like that I can have ,my favourite carbs (also porridge and toast with real butter) sometimes. I couldn't stick religiously to something like Keto as it's way too strict for me (too many carbs in an onion... what?!) Also amazing to hear that you've found it to work even though you have milk in tea as I really rely on that in the mornings!! I also laughed at your bit about having a massive bowl of Greek yoghurt two mins before the end of the fasting window, I have been known to do the same!!!

Thanks so much for your experience @BendingSpoons I can identify with all the things you've listed especially being hungry at 7.30am and then it just passing as I get distracted/ busy in the day, which I'm amazed by!

I fell off the wagon a bit last night as I had a couple of glasses of red wine with friends after my fasting window should have closed but I'm not going to beat myself up as life is for living and these things are always going to happen sometimes! Been really good apart from that so hoping it won't make too much difference. Aiming to get back on it 11-7ish today.

I’ve had a wobbly week and given in to temptation a lot more than my first week but today I was 64kg on the dot so 0.6kg down this week which is better than nothing!
really loving their support thread for motivation!

@BendingSpoons those are good tips that you've learnt about yourself, I bet most of us are similar.

@RollingInTheCreek that's brilliant that you are still down on the scale even with eating a bit extra!

I was out this morning so extended my fast by 1.5h. I have been a big hungrier than the past few days today, but I think I've still eaten less than I usually would have done by this time. I'm going out for a meal and few drinks with friends tonight though so probably will eat more. I will still have finished eating within my hours, it will just be the drinks afterwards outside of the time window. I'll stick to lower calorie drinks and probably end up eating later tomorrow anyway.

Thank you for this thread. The info and links are really helpful. The podcast is so interesting and it now makes sense to me why calorie counting and frequent small meals haven't worked.

I started 16:8 at the beginning of March after feeling a bit desperate at 13st 8 - (my heaviest ever and 3 stone over my happy weight) and am now down to 12st 10. I've lost a lot of fat around my stomach and hips which I'm feeling so much better for. Clothes are starting to fit again.

It really has been far easier and more effective than any low calorie thing I've done in the past. I've lost consistently for the first time in ages. I've also been low sugar and the combination has really regulated my appetite. I feel hunger in my stomach but not the shakes nor panic for food there was previously.

It also saves me time in the morning as I make the following day's breakfast while doing dinner. I eat it whatever I'm doing at work. (They're getting used to that!)

I'm really excited to see where my weight will settle back. If I can get back down to a bmi of 22 I'll be delighted.

How’s everyone got on over the weekend?!

I’m finding the fasting easier and easier, I’ve really got used to it now and rarely feel like I want anything more than two meals… whereas at the start I think I was packing three in panicking I was hungry or might be when there was really no need!

I do find it harder to keep disciplined on the weekend with other stuff going on though! Only ended my eating window at 9pm today as took ages to get kids to bed. However it was still only 8 hours because I lasted so long today before wanting lunch!

I am planning a weigh -in tomorrow as it’ll be a week in, trying not to get my hopes up though as I’ve not been able to exercise due to an injury! Hoping to get back to that next week a bit.

welcome @whirlyswirly and congrats on your amazing loss, thanks for sharing your story! It’s so good to hear how well it’s worked for you! Please do share any tips you think might be helpful!!

for those who have done this before … Can I ask how soon you started losing weight? Did it take a few weeks or was it quicker? I’m feeling like my stomach is a bit flatter but hoping not to get too discouraged if I don’t see quick results on the scales!

I fell off the band wagon badly over the weekend- ate before my fast was finished and had a lot of booze and unhealthy food BUT instead of beating myself up and feeling bad I feel quietly thankful I can get back to it tomorrow and hopefully get any extra weight back off quickly! Shall I weigh myself tomorrow and see the damage this weekend or ignore for a week? Good luck @Leopardpj sounds like you’re doing great!

Would love to give IF a go again. I follow slimming world and have just slipped out of the top of my target but used IF to give me a boost back to target a couple of years ago.

My husband does 1 meal and day (which I definitely couldn't manage) but I think I could do 16:8 again with 12 to 8 being my eating window. I'm a bugger for snacking on an evening so I'm hoping it'll help with that.

How's anyone who's not doing a clean fast getting on? I feel like a cuppa might help me to keep going through the morning but I'd need to have milk in it.

Never mind @RollingInTheCreek it sounds like a fun weekend!! And absolutely agree the main thing is just to get back on it when you can , absolutely no point beating yourself up as sometimes other life stuff just has to take priority! It would be weird if it didn’t!

tricky one @RollingInTheCreek … I’m a believer in only weighing yourself occasionally and not when you think it might demoralise you!! I am also quite tempted not to weigh for another week as I sort of feel that in this first week, I haven’t moved or reduced my food intake enough to actually lose weight although I do feel I’ve achieved a lot in terms of bedding in the basic habit.

I think this week I’m going to feel a lot more empowered to stick to two meals and not go overboard in my eating window. Also planning to attempt some exercise. So I may well wait another week! unless I get too curious….!

Also it sounds like an excuse but I feel like I really hold onto water weight on the lead up to my period and always look/ feel heavier!!

out of interest are others being strict about calories? If so how many? Is anyone doing Keto? I’ve always thought Keto is too strict for me but I’ve really gone off carbs this past week so I’ve ordered the cookbook just to see what it’s like.

I've been doing a version of this, starting on Monday, inspired by this thread. Only difference is I've been drinking what I want (hadn't read about the fast being clean), so I've had almond/oat milk in drinks and have had some alcohol in the evenings (but way less than normal). I've been doing 11-7 as I can't get to 12. So I have a breakfast of kefir/low sugar granola at 11, a smaller lunch between 12-2, a snack at 4, dinner around 6, bit of chocolate just before 7.

I was shocked to find I was at 13 stone at the beginning of the week. I have weighed myself since and am definitely a little lighter but how much of that is due to time of day I'm not sure. I think it will work though as previously most of my snacking was between 9-midnight. If I can cut out wine most evenings, even better.

My loss didn't really kick in until I cut out the wine and oat milk in coffee. It took a lot less time than I'd expected to get used to that. I am quite into pukka mint tea too. The loss becomes well worth the sacrifice.

I'm sure I'll have to do that as well @whirlyswirly but right now I'm so overweight I think just cutting out the evening/morning snacking is making a big difference.

Actually I do mostly have black coffee - but I allow myself one frothy oaty milk cappuccino a day, which I have in the afternoon. No sugar almond milk has barely anything in it anyway, so not so worried about that. Have also bought in more rooibos and Earl Grey as I forgot how much I like them too. More options should mean I'm having less regular tea as a matter of course.

Wine, on the other hand... bit harder.

I started this rather by accident last Wednesday. I have been trying to lose weight since the start of the year, rejoined slimming world but it hasn't worked for me this time. Due to my work I tend to eat breakfast when I'm.not hungry just to have something in my stomach as I won't be able to eat again until lunch, so one day I decided go just go through and see how I felt. It's been quite interesting that that when I eat breakfast I need ro keep eating small amounts or I feel really hungry and sick/faint/low energy where as if I eat nothing, I feel fine.

It's quite frustrating that I haven't lost any weight this week, I naturally don't eat a lot as I'm only small (4ft 10 but somehow im over 10 st) so cutting calories is hard and doesn"t seem to make much of a difference, I'm at a loss of what will work now but I'm going to carry on with this for another week as my digestion feels better (less loud embarrassing tummy rumbles after eating) So hopefully it's doing some good inside.

I ended up eating quite late yesterday (yesterday's fast was almost 20h rather than the 16), so I ate later in the evening. That means I can't break my fast until 13:30 today, but I'm actually doing really well with it. I felt a bit hungry about 9.30/10am but it passed and I'm fine again now. I just distracted myself for a bit until the hunger had gone.
I think the hardest part is making breakfast for the children as it makes me think about food.

@Coldblackcat I'm exactly the same with feeling hungrier after having breakfast.

It's day 1 for me today, and I've actually found it easier than I thought I would. I've had more water than I ever have and have actually managed to have a clean fast, which I didn't really think would be possible.

Joining in... weirdly I started last night

@Porkscratching I get what you mean about sorting kids food out. My kids had breakfast and about 50million snacks before I was at the time when I could have something.

I didn't find breakfast too bad but I realised I've got into the habit of having an apple when I get them a piece of fruit so not automatically doing that took some thinking about.

I laughed out loud at this @Porkscratching . do we have the same kids?! Breakfast and 50 million snacks by the time I can eat sounds about right!!

Found it really easy to stick to two healthy meals today and only eat in a 7 hour window, don't even feel particularly hungry in the fasting window now, it's weird how your body gets used to these things. YogiTea is my new best friend, I find it really tasty and I don't know if it's actually that good for you but drinking it certainly gives me a feeling of smugness if nothing else 😂

I did feel a bit of a misery guts at lunch though as went to an amazing pizza restaurant with a friend and ordered fish and vegetables while everyone else had pizza. But I genuinely feel like the whole thing gets derailed if you eat carbs as you then crave another carb fix mid afternoon! I did have a small slice of my friend's, though, obviously, I'm not THAT obsessed....

I actually forgot to weight myself today but also read a thing which said to always weigh yourself midweek, first thing in the morning, to avoid water/ weekend fluctuations, so that's my plan on Wednesday.

Amazing self control @LeopardPJS ! I don't think I could have resisted the pizza.

My fast was supposed to start at 8 tonight but we finished tea around half 6 and then I went to the gym just after half 7 so accidentally started an hour and a half early. I'm not sure if that'll make it harder to last out until 12 tomorrow. Anyone done similar before? How have you found it has affected you?

@Pebbleinthesand I have done this before when we ate early a family on Sunday... I actually find it really difficult if I eat early, but mainly in the evening (avoiding snacks with TV). You could always do 11-7 tomorrow and slowly adjust it back to 12-8 if that's the window that works best for you. I find I'm fluctuating a bit between those two depending on what's going on. If I'm really hungry I allow myself to eat on the dot of 11 but am then strict about being done by 7 whereas if I'm not starving I try to extend until 12 or 12.30... then either have dinner by 7 anyway and feel smug about it (!) or give myself a bit more leeway in the evening. Let us know how you get on!