16:8 and Menopausal - worth a try?

[SadlyACupOfTeaDoesNotSolveEverything]

After a summer of self loathing I have decided to try 16:8 intermittent fasting to see if I can finally start to improve my gut health, lose weight and embrace my impending 40’s.

Thanks to chronically early menopause (peri at 34 and menopausal at 36) I feel frumpy, sore, lethargic and know full well my weight isn’t exactly helping the situation.

On Sunday morning I weighed in at a frightening 228lbs and had a good cry in the bathroom. When I got myself together I opened up my fitness plan, put in the data and looked into IF. Since then I have aimed for 1500kcal a day consisting of two meals, one or two snacks and one oat milk flat white - all between 12noon and 8pm.

Has anyone else found success doing this or if you too feel the same so you fancy joining together to share recipes, tips and help motivate each other?

I currently do 16:8 (12-8pm) but I read somewhere the other day that 18:6 is most beneficial, so I'm going to do 17:7 this week (1-8pm) then 18:6 next week (2-8pm) and see how I get on.

Here’s a comparison meal :-

How’s everyone getting on?
I had a completely unintentional 500kcal or less day yesterday thanks to a particularly stressful situation (not exactly the aim).

Hi, I’m still here plugging away and another 3lbs off this week so somethings working.
I am finding weighing myself on a Sunday morning is definitely reining me in over the weekend and that’s is where I would usually think ‘fuck it’.

@Pinkshoes71 how are you getting on?

I've been sticking to it. Am HUNGRY today though and am counting down the minutes until 12, but unfortunately time has slowed down and every minute is now taking 10 minutes

Hope you have a nice full tummy now @LoveThisUsername. I’m definitely finding I’m not hungry in the mornings now compared to a fortnight ago.

@SadlyACupOfTeaDoesNotSolveEverything I had yoghurt, nuts, chia seeds and a bit of fruit, was delicious. My hunger was dropping off but then last week I started swimming every day and I'm hungry again, so need to wait for it to adjust again.

Can I ask how you do the 16 hours? I do 14 hours most days by just not eating until lunchtime but that feels like cheating as it’s not much of a bother.

I do it by only eating between 12 and 8. I'm trying to go to 18:6 so am waiting til at least 12.30 now, then when I've adjusted to that, I'll move to 1, then 1.30, then 2 until I'm used to it. You could could the same to get to 16:8 rather than 14:10 if that's what you want to do.

Like now, I can easily wait til 12 to eat, I've been really hungry by about 11ish a few days this week but that's because I've upped my exercise.

Thank you

Hey ladies, I'd like to join you please. By accident, I didn't eat until midday today then had dinner at 6pm. I have felt so much better as a result.

I'm almost 14 stone, 5 foot 3, in my 40s and peri menopausal. Every day is a huge battle in that once I have breakfast I could continue grazing all day. Ive zero energy, zero confidence etc.

Can I please ask, is it ok to drink herbal teas or coffee outside of the 16:8 window?

I've had an accidental fast day today, calories came in at 500/600. I had a 2 egg omelette with onion, tomato, ham, cheese and soup for dinner. And a tangerine after. Not hungry at all but might be tomorrow 😂

Just come across this thread on the day I decided to try IF. Have been sort of doing 12/12 by default due to having low energy and sleeping a lot. I have to a lot of weight to shift (again) and all your reviews seem to make IF sound promising. Looking forward to sharing progress.

Welcome welcome!

I am finding the key for me is preparation- I plan what I want to eat for the week meals wise and then plan each day the night before.

What sort of things are you guys eating?
My day today was
07.30 Water and vitamins
09.30 Black tea
11.30 Water (after yoga)
12.15 Oat milk flat white, Oat pancakes, Alpro ‘yogurt’, strawberries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds & honey
14.00 Water
16.30 Apple and peanut butter
19.00 Water, Cajun chicken and avocado salad with couscous

Do you only drink water three times a day @SadlyACupOfTeaDoesNotSolveEverything ?

The sorts of things I'm eating are:
Yoghurt, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, tinned fruit cocktail, which I'm going to stop.
Omelette
Soup
Salad with tuna or mackerel
A tangerine for dessert

@LoveThisUsername it was four today, and most days. The times are when I fill my water bottle and it holds 750ml - it forces me to drink more throughout the day but I pee constantly 🫣

That makes sense of course, Ignore me, I thought you were just having a glass at those times 🤪

No don’t be daft, I wasn’t clear.

I try to drink at least 3l a day. I try to do 10 squats every time I wee too so they mount up 😂

Aiming for yoghurt for breakfast and salad for dinner today.

Just reading through this thread as I'm 41 and have about half a stone to lose to be at my optimum weight but I'm very aware that I need to get on it now and stay stable before I hit full perimenopause.
I had gestational diabetes and learned so much about blood sugar, but have got quite lazy with carb control again.
IF is good, but I do think you probably need to have your biggest meal at lunchtime - is that what you have all found?
Seventies portion sizes is v interesting. Whenever I go to my parents' house, who would have been in their 20s in the 1970s, I'm always aware of how little we're served for lunch and I'm always starving afterwards.

I found my blood sugar did best if I did OMAD and ate between 11 and 12, but I'm working back up to that point.

I would like to be able to aim to fast in order to maximise the positive effects on my blood sugar levels and weight loss but I need to be realistic in that I have a long way to go and for this to be sustainable I need to fit in around family meal times etc. For that reason alone I find it easiest to fast from 8pm to 12noon - given that I’m up from 6am I am most definitely ready for my ‘breakfast’ by noon. I fear that I would be hungry if I ate earlier and fasted into the evening resulting in a bit of a blow out 😳.

Ahh see I find I can go without eating in the evening but I need to eat fairly early in the day. Lately I find I could skip dinner so long as I've eaten at lunchtime.

@LoveThisUsername i would love to be the same. Nighttime is definitely my downfall /when I comfort eat if it’s all gone wrong etc. This is day 20 for me and I am amazed how easy I am finding IF - just another 5st to go!

I was the same, when I was eating junk I could eat all day though, constantly, it was obsene and disgusting. Think croissant or pastry, for breakfast, a bacon sandwich mid morning, cake or crisps or chocolate, then lunch, which 9 times outof 10 wasn't a salad, more like a meal deal with sandwich, crisps, drink, more cake/crisps/chocolate, then dinner, which could easily be takeaway then more crisps and junk after dinner. And still be hungry.

I find the stabilisation of blood sugar and going cold turkey on the sugar has helped me massively, and as I eat better, I need less.