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?

Mind if I join you? I've been doing 16:8 since the start of July but I'm finding myself lapsing a bit so being accountable to and inspired and motivated by others would definitely help!

I'm 63 so well past the menopause, and didn't have much hope of anything working well at this age but 16:8 definitely does, if a bit slower. I lost 7lbs over July, but only 3 so far in August. Partly due to an injury so I can't swim as I normally would, and also due to same injury couldn't really prep food so have been living out of the freezer. No excuse for buying a 6-pack of crisps yesterday and wolfing the lot before 8 p.m. though!

In general though, I've not calorie-counted but have noted that I've lost quicker when eating salads as my main meal. Even with a bowl of pasta I still lose, just a little less.

General changes I've made are more water, less meat, smaller portions, the occasional treat, and forgiving myself for the odd lapse rather than giving up because I've ruined the diet.

Now trying to go to 17:7 as some days I've not even noticed my 8-hour eating window is open until about 12.30 or later.

Favourite landmark was seeing my BMI drop below 30, next target is being able to look down and see my pants without having to haul my midriff aside - almost there!

The more the merrier @AuntiesWoodenLeg . I’m on day 21, will weigh in tomorrow morning and report back.

2lbs off this week. It’s so nice to finally be seeing a difference on the scales after feeling stuck in a rut for so long. If I could get 2.5lbs off next week that would be the 1st stone gone.

How about everyone else?

14st 1lb 4oz last sunday, 13st 12lb 2oz this morning. Very happy with that 😀

I've noticed I only have a loss the day after I haven't done any exercise. Which I've noticed in the past - exercise seems to stop me losing weight.

I've had a mixed approach this week, I've been doing 16:8, one day was a fast day at 500 calories and one day (yesterday, which saw the highest loss) was a high fat day at just under 1200 calories. Which is a bugger because I've planned to have salad for lunch and soup for dinner this week and the very low calore approach doesn't seem to do much for me. Maybe I'll see how I go with that this week and re-assess in time for my next shopping delivery.

Fantastic @LoveThisUsername , getting down to a new St bracket is always a nice feeling.

It is! And still there this morning, 13st 12lb 0oz today.

13st 11lb 8oz for me today, so still going in the right direction 🙂

How is everyone else doing?

Hi! Am hanging my head in shame as I haven’t actually started yet. We are away on holiday so haven’t stuck to any kind of plan at all. Am home on Friday and am going to get my act together. Have been really impressed with all of your successes and looking forward to joining you.

I combine 18/6 with the Jenkinson plan ( see the Why We Eat Too Much threads)

I've lost four stones over two years. Menopausal symptoms almost entirely gone. The minute I lapse, they come back.

The sense of well-being is fantastic, and brain fog has completely gone. I highly
recommend the Fastic app. Just the free option is great for keeping you on track and motivated.

Jenkinson advocates a lower carb, cooking from scratch plan, with greatly reduced wheat, sugar and vegetable oil. I cook in butter and olive oil. Plenty of fresh veg, and good quality protein and full fat dairy. Nothing processed and I rarely drink alcohol either as I can't metabolise it well anymore.

I live alone so can eat according to my body clock. So I have my main meal about five, no breakfast, and lunch between 11 and 12. I drink gallons of black coffee and about 2 litres of water as well, sometimes much less.

Great to hear so many doing well. I’m still plodding along and definitely not as hungry as I would have been before.

@Words I have never heard of this, will have a look. I am dairy free and try to eat just good quality food and very little processed. I use olive oil or flora plant butter, oat milk and Alpro plain as a yogurt substitute.

We're in weight loss chat @SadlyACupOfTeaDoesNotSolveEverything - very friendly bunch. Come and say hi!

13st 10lb 6oz today, I started at 14st 10lb 6oz on Monday 7th August. So I've lost a stone exactly, today 👏

@ShrinkingSusan that’s amazing, well done!

@ShrinkingSusan
That’s fantastic! Have you been sticking to a certain number of cals / low carb etc or purely eating within a time frame?

I've been doing 16:8, low carb and low calorie, no more than 1200, at most, per day.

@ShrinkingSusan
Thats going to be my plan too. I think 1200 is reasonable plus the low carb leaves me feeling full. Heading home from hols tomorrow with a plan and feeling inspired by this thread!

Recently since i've been seeing the scales moving properly i've been very low calorie, about 700 for the last 3 days, not much more than that for the few days before that.

@ShrinkingSusan
and have you not felt hungry?

A little bit, the last couple of days, but nothing a cup of tea doesn't fix really.
I've been hungrier in the mornings though and ate my breakfast before 12 yesterday and the day before. Today I had a cup of tea at 11 and could wait til 12.

@ShrinkingSusan
Ok, am going to start at 1200 cal per day and try 2 days per week at 800

I've been eating proper amounts, Just low calorie things. The salad in the green bowl has feta, the other two are mackerel, the omelette had a slice of cheese & ham. The soup has chicken and veg. The two salads on the plate are on big dinner plates, the omelette is on a side plate.

Lurker here, well done everyone. After you do exercise, your muscles will hold more carbohydrates, to prepare for if you want to use that muscle again soon. It does this by holding the carbs in water. So essentially you have a bit extra water weight for a day or two after exercise.

That all looks so tasty @ShrinkingSusan

If anyone wants to connect on MFP, mine is ShrinkingSusanLoL

Thanks, it was!