This feels extraordinary. I can just choose the weight I want to be for the first time in my life and it is easy!

[loveyouradvice]

This for me feels utterly revolutionary. That I have a way of eating that I enjoy, that's healthy and enables me to lose weight when/if I want to.

I'm just bowled over by it really.

I've been a yoyo dieter all my life, and worked so darn hard so many times to lose huge chunks of weight (which I've then put back on).

And now in my early 60s, I've discovered the secret: Intermittent Fasting really works for me and is SO enjoyable.

My weight is the lightest it has been for over 20 years, probably longer. And when my GP suggested that another 7lbs could help reduce my cholesterol, I thought - yes, why not try it? And she very firmly told me three times: "you are NOT overweight, you do not need to lose weight, it is just an option."

No one has EVER told me that I am not overweight! Music to my ears.

That's great to read!

Could you tell us what you eat on fast and non fast days?

And how you manage hunger .

Thanks for the encouragement loveyouradvice. I did IF so well for three years and then started to let things slide. I'm now getting back in with small goals:

1. Just black tea or coffee from waking up until about 11 am
2. Try to only have one snack between lunch and dinner
3. Stop eating by 6 pm

As long as I do two out of three, I feel like I'm accomplishing something. Hopefully I can get back in the fasting groove and get most of my clothes to fit again! It would only take about five kilos so I'm determined to make it happen. So glad you've been able to get into the IF lifestyle! I need to remind myself that I feel so much better when I'm sticking to it and that I have the strength and determination to ignore cravings.

Apologies for not being back earlier ... I promise I will come back and reply

@SilverScales such interesting observations

@MyCatNamedCookingFat How are you getting on?

What kind of fasting are you doing? What length of fast. Pleased to hear it's working so well!

That's amazing. I started IF 3 weeks ago. Haven't weighed myself yet. I am having just black coffee until lunch. Tea between 6 and 7.

I, in desperation did my first 24 hours fast in the months before my wedding. I must say fasting is incredible. No need to make any choices. Just don't eat that meal. Worried about being hungry, well just wait a bit and it GOES AWAY!

The advice about eating small regular meals might work for some people but for a broad swathe of the population it makes things worse. Eating triggers hunger and cravings. By delaying the eating you are delaying the hunger.

It's amazing what your body can adjust too.

Food taste bloody AMAZING now too.

@loveyouradvice how do you arrange your fasting pattern?

I lost 2 stone quite easily in 2019 doing 600 cals Monday-Thursday, then eating/drinking whatever I wanted Friday-Sunday.

Then COVID hit and it all went to pot, and I put it back on again.

I'm now retired and am finding that it feels impossible to do when I'm not chasing my tail and having no time to eat during the day! I've also started the gym 3x a week with weights to strengthen my peri bones!

I know it works for me though, I just need to find a way to fit it into my new life..,

Any tips?

Intermittent fasting is what has worked for me. I'm down 38kg and have about 15 more to lose.
I spend five mornings a week at the gym.
I drink black coffee in the morning, lunch at around 1pm, a snack about 5pm and dinner at 6.30 to 7pm.

I want to know too @loveyouradvice please come back to let us know

I started the original 5:2 (the one where they near enough encouraged you to eat junk on non fast days) when it first came out and it was the first diet I've ever felt I could stick to. Until then I described myself as hypoglycaemic, I would get a cold sweat and feel faint if I went more than 2 hours without food.

I did the first few fasts by eating 100 cal 6 times a day but soon realised that eating one meal was much easier. Once your blood sugar stops going up and down due to food you are no longer hungry.

These days I have a small low carb high fat lunch, whatever main meal we're having as a family and whatever treats I want for dessert and that's it.

When I'm trying to lose weight I find one meal a day works better but it's still a 3 course meal of at least 1500cals, more like 2000.

I love fasting and the benefits go WAY beyond your weight, reducing diabetes, cancer and dementia risks too.

@MyCatNamedCookingFat Hunger.....

I only occasionally get hungry now

When I started IF, I did 12 weeks of 18-20 hour fasts while following Michael Mosley's Fast 800, so low calorie while fasting, and lost 22lbs.

I was hungry for the first 6 days or so, but kept telling myself being hungry is not a big deal, don't make it one.

And now it is so much easier. Having lost over 4 stone, I'm now at goal weight. If my body says it's hungry I break my fast (typically between 9 and 11) and eat a very generous breakfast (berries, kefir, yogurt, muesli, nuts, dark chocolate). I feel full and satisfied until my second meal which is usually a good chunk of protein (fish or chicken or eggs) with mountains of veggies, a spoonful of pulses or chickpeas - and then more berries, dark chocolate and nuts. If it's not a sociable day, I typically eat in a 5-8 hour window.

I'm definitely a "volume" eater which is why I love IF. If I have two big meals in a day, I am then satisfied for the rest of it. I do roughly add the calories up and it's somewhere around 1200-1600.

On sociable days, I try to start later, but more often have 3 meals in an 8 hour window. And then the next day I'll eat in a 1-4 hour window, to rebalance

So yes, I feel full and content.

I've found that telling myself Delay Dont Deny and that I have power over food, eating consciously for pleasure and for health very helpful.

But I do still fall off the wagon a fair bit (less than before, but still quite a lot)... I can binge chocolate, or just over indulge if someone puts a delicious pud in front of me. The difference is that it's just one day now, rather than several in a row and that I know if I go back to fairly low calorie, short eating windows focussed on protein, berries and relatively low carb, it'll come off fast.

I guess I've tried all kinds of fasts.

When I was actively losing weight, I would quite often do a 24h or 36h fast - aiming for two a week, but not always. And then alongside that I'd aim to eat in a 6-8 hour window, with the occasional 10-11 hour window if with friends.

Now I've settled into a 6-8 hour window as above, with an occasional day with 0.5-2 hour eating window when I'd eat 500-900 calories: one substantial meal with zero pasta, seafood, peas, salad/olive oil, berries/choc/nuts.

What I love is its flexibility. If I'm not particularly hungry, I eat in a shorter window and eat less - if I am, I eat more.

My weight does still go up very fast if I indulge, so I do weigh myself daily and scale back for a few days if I need to

I don't know how relevant it is, but after the first 4 months or so, I started eating for gut health and found that very inspiring - loving that dark chocolate (85 or 90% for me) and small amounts of cheese were good for me!

I suspect this may be supporting my weight loss.

And I know that the worst binges of my previous life were fuelled by UPF - mountains of chocolate, icecream, salty snacks - which kept me hungry and feeling awful.

It’s great isn’t it! After trying everything on the entire internet for years, IF is it. Lost 5 stone a few years ago and fully believe I won’t go back.

I also love how it simplifies life and saves money.

I'm doing 18:6, 7 days a week if I can but allow the odd slippage if there's a change to routine. My hard rule though is - no bread.

When I get up I have a spoon of MCT oil, a small glass of kombucha with my vitamins and a black coffee with collagen powder. Then more coffee/decaff during morning.

I don't have any hunger or cravings till about 1pm. Lunchtime is soup (with Parmesan sprinkled in) or a high protein salad and a dollop of mayo. Dinner is usually carb free but some nights I will have rice or potato. I am eating alot of meat.

I don't have a sweet tooth at all so never crave chocolate, cakes etc, but wine is my downfall. So cutting back there. That is the hardest part.

@OriginalUsername2 I so agree - I love its simplicity, and yes, the money it saves.

It's not easy all the time for me - but I feel as if I am getting there.

My goal this year is to have power over food - I realised how much I ate unconsciously, just hoovering up food if I was sad, or happy, with friends, or just faced with deliciousness.

So I've adopted the slogan I have power over food, eating consciously for pleasure and for health and while it is true a lot of the time, it feels like something I am moving towards rather than there yet.

I have discovered I can enjoy having tiny portions of pudding, and lingering over them, rather than large portions as in the past. So I definitely still eat for pleasure and adore food, but am becoming more discerning - and focussing on the eating consciously, rather than unconsciously.

I have fasted for at least 16 hours every day for years. It’s really easy for me as I’m not a breakfast person.

It has never helped me lose weight (I’ve recently used mounjaro to lose my blubber), but I think the health benefits are really valuable.

It's great to read so many inspiring stories on here @SilverScales @ChangingHistory @Cerialkiller @Mathsbabe - Huge congrats!! I love that IF gives us all so much power.

@SevenKingsMustDie It sounds like there's lots of adjustment in your life - and congrats on building great bone health in the gym! I definitely can't do the "diet 4 days, relax 3 days" approach as I put on weight.. this might be because we are older? What happens if you eat more every/most days, rather than those crucifying 600 calories? And find a new rhythm??

I've definitely found with IF that its a question of experimenting to find what works for me, and when... and I love the flexibility and knowing that I can have days of eating lots alongside more restrained days

I agree that its miraculous. I'm 60 and had gradually put on weight since pregnancy 25 years ago. I tried IF after reading Gin Stephens and having done the month's gradual start I was quickly so convinced that I bought the book (Fast, Feast, Repeat) for several friends. What really works for me is the way the fasting turns off appetite, and the realisation that the hunger goes away if you wait. I find that having a clear sense that eating will stop for the day makes me much more aware of nutrition and disinclined to eat UPFs. I started in June and lost two stone at a pretty steady rate of 1.5 lbs a week.

However in the winter an extended period of being away from home as a carer during close family illness then death knocked me off. Now the funeral is over I am refocussing. For me, the key has always been health. I'm a widow with one child and I'm determined to get as healthy as possible for the next decades. So in the last two weeks I have got back on track. I have set up a fasting journal where I record my daily weight, my weekly average weights and my eating window. Although many people do not advise daily weighing, I know that without it I will not pay attention to what I'm eating. I aim to lose another 2 stone which will get me to the middle of a healthy weight for my height.

My diet is very similar to yours, OP. Lots of greek yoghurt, berries and nuts, fish, eggs, pulses, vegetables, fruit. Pretty much no sugar. Unfortunately I can't allow myself chocolate as it is the one food where I have absolutely no stop. I do best with limited carbs - mainly oats - and really notice the difference both weight and appetite-wise if I eat bread or pasta. I drink masses of black coffee and herb tea. I was drinking lots of decaf green tea in the evenings but it has started to upset my digestion so I'm experimenting with herb teas to see which ones are sufficiently bitter to not break the fast. I don't think about calories or portion size. I usually have two meals a day - a late breakfast between 11 and 1 and an early dinner. If I'm really hungry I'll have a snack in between - an apple with a piece of cheese, or something with eggs. My eating window is usually 6 hours.

If it’s not working for anyone, try having more fat than carbs and protein. Use the Cronometer app.

I also think if your calories are too low your body will be clinging onto the fat on your body as it assumes it’s being starved.

@loveyouradvice thanks for the suggestions! It's definitely harder now I'm not working but am working out!

Bizarrely I never found the 600 cal days tricky, but guess it was because I was so busy and just didn't have time to eat anyway 😂

I might try eating every day but in a 6-8 hour window...like you said, it's all experimentation!