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??

Stupid question maybe, but my awake/sleep pattern is weird. Is there any reason I can't do 4pm to midnight? Are 3 meals in this window ok?

To clarify, I will calorie count in that window. And I go to bed in the early hours.

I've been doing this for about 6 weeks after using MFP to drop two stone but finding it harder and beginning to not like how it made me feel about food.

I tried a few days and then settled into 16:8 really easily. I've lost about 7llb. I've moved to doing it every day unless I'm travelling because the next day is harder to manage. I've finally found my ideal breakfast and I'm changing to 17:7. I like how I can enjoy food more, it still makes me focus on eating healthy. I never thought I'd be one who could miss breakfast happily most days.

Still doing okay here as well after about 6 weeks, though some days off because of holidays away - settled to it now pretty well. I wake up hungry but distract myself with a cup of tea and I feel okay then. I do need some milk in that tea, though! I've tried black coffee but it just feels like punishment. The weight is slow to shift i suppose because I'm a fairly okay weight and very old, but I feel better for it generally without doubt. My GP told me this might reduce my cholesterol and I'm having it tested again soon, so we shall see...

This thread is inspiring! Day 1 for me today

Just stumbled across this thread as been considering starting this. I want to lose around a stone but being perimenopausal and an emotional eater has definitely hindered my progress. A couple of girls at work do 16.8 and say they definitely feel less bloated.
im going to start Monday.

Do you generally do it at weekends too or just weekdays? I don’t want to feel too restricted but need to do something to help focus me

@tobee as far as I'm aware there are no strict rules, if that window works for you then go for it!

@DisforDarkChocolate Not missing breakfast has come as a big surprise to me too! I do have the occasional bowl of cereal as a treat in the afternoon because I really like breakfast cereal 😅

Good luck @Fatat40 and @RM2013 ! To answer your question, I aim to keep my eating/fasting window the same every day but am also flexible so it doesn't feel like a chore. So if DH is making pancakes for breakfast at the weekend I'll have some, having this flexibility helps me stay motivated on the others days because I don't feel like I'm missing out on things. Others might be different, but that's what works for me!

Thank you @MerryHen !

16:8 has really worked for me. I stick to it religiously Monday to Friday ( eating 12ish-6ish) after which nothing passes my lips except water and the odd cup of tea. Saturday and Sunday I have toast or cereal if I fancy breakfast, alcohol and snacks and for lunch/ dinner I have what I feel like pretty much. Then Sunday from 5 ish I'm back on til the next weekend. I've lost nearly a stone and find it very easy to stick to 👍

Started today. Usually weigh in on Fridays but weighed in this morning as a start point. Very disappointed with myself that I’d gained 3lbs since Friday - just a bit more to lose. I want to lose around a stone but would be happy with 10lbs to get to “normal BMI”
i did have a cuppa and snack around 10pm last night but I didn’t have my usual morning cuppa. I had my first cuppa after 11am. Planned to have a protein yoghurt at 11 but was too busy at work so had to have it after my lunch instead.

No cravings and managed hunger well. Trying to make better food choices whilst in the eating window: planning not to eat after 7pm so
i can do a 16hr fast until 11am tomorrow.

wish me luck. I usually give up really easily as my willpower is shocking but we go away in 4 weeks and want to lose some at least before then

Good luck @RM2013 !

I don't know if you find this but I think my weight can be SUCH a bad measure of progress. It fluctuates so much on the scales, sometimes several pounds in the same day (!) and goes up and down with my cycle - I understand why Joe Wicks calls it "the sad step" and tells us all to get rid!

I know it's tempting because it's a number and it feels thrilling and like a reward when it goes down but I would say that how your clothes fit - and your measurements, particularly around your waist - are a much better way to measure progress. I notices inches lost off my waist with the 16:8 much earlier than I noticed lbs.

Another thing is that I've found it so much more effective for weight loss since I made a bigger effort to ditch the ultra-processed foods (like some flavoured protein yoghurts sadly!) for wholefoods (like full fat Greek yoghurt which is naturally high in protein). I listened to a podcast about UPVs and it was really sobering. I thought I was eating pretty healthily but actually was consuming far too many, especially things like wholemeal bread and bagels which we're told are "healthy" but actually are just a recipe for weight gain. For me switching those processed foods for things like sweet potato and eggs which are naturally filling and comforting and delicious has been a gamechanger. I'm still eating lots of nuts, cheese and avocado so don't feel deprived at all, just cutting the processed stuff.

Good luck and I hope you see some progress soon!

@Leopardpj thanks for the tips. Today has started well although I did miss my before work cuppa. Not a fan of fruit teas so need to find an alternative that could work.
that’s interesting about the processed foods. My diet isn’t perfect but I do want to make better choices. I have been buying the protein yoghurts to try and bump up protein levels so will have a look how the Greek full fat yoghurts compare. I’m not consciously trying to cut calories but to snack less and eat more nutritious foods.
definitely agree about the scales. Clothes are a much better measure but I guess I want something I can quantify such as numbers on the scale reducing.
looking forward to seeing how this progresses today hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be

@RM2013 and @Leopardpj talking about weight fluctuating, I tested it the other day.
I was 12 stone 8 when I woke up. After lunch, drinks and a party snack tea (pizzas and stuff), I was 13 stone 8. I then went for a wee and was 13 stone 3. By bedtime after another couple of wees I was 12 stone 10. Back to 12 stone 8 by the next morning.
Shows how silly it all is!

Yes, I always weigh myself in the morning after I have been for a walk, so before breakfast too. Even so, it can't be completely reliable as our hormones also mess with us. I also find that I weigh a lot more after having eaten salty food the day before as I am then storing lots of water in my body, so it can be quite a big jump from morning after salty food to morning after regular food.

Hi @Porkscratching that's exactly like my experience! For what it's worth I think your early morning weight after you've had a wee but before you've ad anything to drink is the most accurate. And if you think about it, it's always going to be the lowest weight which is your "true weight" - if it's fluctuating higher then going down again, that's just water. It sounds to me like you're 12 st 8 !! Even so, it's a terrible measure and can be so unnecessarily demoralising!

I am trying to hold onto the more tangible things like suddenly feeling like I fit comfortably into my usually too-tight to wear jeans!

@RM2013 I can't drink only fruit tea either, it's too depressing! I do drink some herbal tea, but I have milk in my cuppa in the morning while fasting. That's a non negotiable for me. It hasn't made a difference to my progress. I have started having black filter which is much nicer to drink than a black americano, I've found. But equally I don't think a dash of milk in coffee is going to break your fast. A latte yes but not a little dash!

Also if you're hungry while fasting, I really recommend a tsp of marmite in hot water- gamechanger! And doesn't break your fast.

On diet.. have a listen to Chris Van Tulleken on ultra-processed foods and how they contribute to obesity, cancers, heart disase etc. It's really helpful on what to avoid. The main ones (apart from the obvious fast foods/ cakes / biscuits/ sugary stuff) are cereal, supermarket mass produced bread and bread products, flavoured yoghurts, and "diet"/ "low fat products like low fat mayonnaise, low-fat spreads etc. Basically just eat things as close to the real, whole, unprocessed food as you can. If it's wrapped in plastic and has one or more ingredients you don't recognise it's ultra-processed. Thinks like cheese and natural yoghurt are processed but not ultra-processed so they are fine. He says that natural fats in things like eggs, nuts, cheese, natural yoghurt and avocado are essential for the body and are not going to make you fat if you eat a healthy diet.

In addition, lots of the doctors who advocate intermittent fasting (Like Dr Jason Fung) suggest that you can hugely ramp up the health benefits and weight loss if you combine fasting with a broadly ketogenic diet, which is very low carb, high vegetable and high fat and moderately high protein. So your meals are mainly veg and high quality protein (eggs, shellfish, meat or fish) with some fats (like nuts and nut butters, yoghurt, cheese, avocado , grass fed butter, healthy oils).

I find the full keto thing too extreme - I can't be bothered to spend my time counting grams of carbs in everything I eat - but I have switched to getting my carbs from things like sweet potato and beans, and I now avoid bread and baked products, and try to concentrate on protein, veg and healthy fats, and it's making a big difference. Because of the fats you don't feel deprived. I always have either feta of grilled halloumi with my eggs and avocado when I break my fast, usually lots of veg too. I have a good portion of fish or steak for dinner and after dinner, for pudding I eat a big bowl every day of full fat yoghurt with berries and this amazing Keto granola
Keto Hana Coconut & Almond Granola 300g | Holland & Barrett (hollandandbarrett.com)

It's definitely enough food and even though I used to be a massive bread-lover, I now feel so much better having broken out of the cycle of craving that eating carbs like bread creates.

@Leopardpj thank you so much that’s so helpful. My colleague gave me a peppermint and liquorice herbal tea to try this morning and it was ok but my goodness how good did a proper brew taste when I broke my fast!!

feeling pretty good, the bloating has eased and I don’t feel massively hungry or irritable which I usually do when dieting.
trying to up my protein and limit carbs as I know they make me feel bloated. I have tried a keto diet in the past - it works but I found it too restrictive. I need something I can stick at and I think I’ve found that with 16:8.

@RM2013 im exactly the same - I’ve NEVER been able to stick to a diet! Whereas this I am sticking to because I now prefer to eat like this. Some days stuff happens and I end up eating late or having a few drinks, but even if that happens I’ve still fasted 14 hours or so and I just start again the next day.

When we were away for the bank hol weekend I told myself I would have some days off and I ate breakfast with the family but I actually didn’t feel as good, felt way more sluggish, so by the end of the weekend I was looking forward to being back in my routine!

I think what gets the weight loss going is throwing in a few longer fasts though if maybe 18 or 20 hours. It’s better to do this at the start of your cycle so I’m aiming to do one or two of those next week.

In fast like a girl she says if you do even just one 36 hour fast, your body learns to ‘metabolically switch’ into fat burning mode so all the 16:8 fasting you do after that is more effective. I feel like someone on this thread tried to kick-start their weight loss by doing this at the start … was it you @SoCunningYouCanStickATailOnItAndCallItAFox ? I’m curious as to whether anyone’s tried a long fast like that and whether it made a difference! I’m ok with how it’s going at the minute but I wouldn’t mind the weight coming off a TOUCH quicker!!!

Oh one final thing, I like others have always found black coffee a bit gross to drink in its own, but my local coffee shop man advised me to try filter coffee rather than a black americano if I was drinking it black. And it’s way nicer! Maybe that’s really obvious but I didn’t know there is a difference, and the black filter my coffee shop do is actually pretty nice! (Not as good as my weird marmite drink for staving off cravings though!)

@Leopardpj thats brilliant advice been reading a lot about longer fasts and how the body reacts. Sadly I don’t like coffee in any form and black tea isn’t the same as I love a Yorkshire tea with semi skimmed and a couple of sweetners. A couple of my colleagues are doing IF so have suggested I try some herbal teas but to me they still taste a little bitter. Need to try a few more to see if I can get used to them.
just hoping the first hurdle of the weekend will be ok. May only be able to partially do IF

Can I ask if people calorie count during the eating phase?

@Borris yes I calorie count. Use my fitnesspal
to track them. I only started following the plan last week but I know if I over consume calories during the window I will still gain weight

Thanks @RM2013 What is your calorie limit? Do you "bank" calories for the weekend?

@Borris I personally don't calorie count in the window, and have lost half a stone so far, although it's taken me about six weeks, which is slower than some people on here!

I have, however, ditched processed foods and processed carbs, massively cut down on bread/pasta/rice etc, and am eating hardly any sugar. Instead I am eating loads of protein, healthy fats and veg (along the lines of keto although I'm not that strict.) And drinking a lot more water. Between all that and fasting, I feel a lot better. Good luck!

@Borris i think mine is set at 1400 and I try and eat as close to that each day and I don’t bank calories at the weekend. I did have a day not being as strict yesterday though as we always have a family games night once a week with snacks and a few drinks so did eat later than usual but back on it today.

like @Leopardpj ive tried to make healthier choices and I’m drinking a lot more water, eating more protein, fruit and veg and trying to avoid too much processed food and starchy carbs such as bread.

ive only been doing this a week but already feel less bloated

Hi all,

I've had a brief read of some of this thread. Could someone clarify what the calorie count should be for 16:8?
I understand that with the 5:2 diet you have 2 very low calorie days (500 cal).
With the 16:8 diet is there a calorie restriction?
thanks

Hi @MotherOfTheGruffalo
im not an expert as only started 16:8 a week ago as some of my colleagues had been doing it a while and recommended it to me.

Any weight loss programme will only work if you are in a calorie deficit so if you consume more calories than your body uses then you will gain weight.

personally I think it’s about finding the right balance for you. For example I know that if I didn’t calorie count I would still gain weight on the 16:8 because I would eat too much of the wrong things.

therefore I use my fitness pal to track all my meals and calories - it’s just what works for me. That was based on my weight, activity level and how much I want to lose but it’s still a guesstimation.

some of the girls I work with don’t calorie count but they have a tendency to naturally make healthier food choices and therefore they are less likely to consume too many calories.

I know my willpower isn’t great so logging everything on MFP keeps me accountable!!