16:8 does not feel like another shitty diet!. I managed to lose fat, have more energy and feel positive about life.

[sbh1991]

Hey,
I want to share my experience, I tried several diets in the past with little luck, I found them boring and I usually ended up caving in, binging on food and ending up back at square one.

However, I finally found the 16:8 fast really worked for me in losing weight.
I enjoy my food and more importantly I enjoy life without having to restrict myself anymore. Life is too short as they say!.

Weight loss can fill like a constant uphill battle, I know that feeling first hand. So, I would like to help where I can, let me know your struggles with the diet or what problems you have?. Happy to give tips or inspiration to others from my experience.

It is the little steps every day that add up to big results over time 😀. Let's all help and support one another!.

Regarding feasting days, personally I think a feast is fine. Where things have gone horribly wrong is that every bloody day is a feast. Loads and loads of fatty, sugary snacks available.

This way of eating like other success stories is down to good organisation imo. If only I ate, due to hunger and not MH issues.

Ah I’m really glad Moo

Try and log your food in something like MFP. I do it really lightly. Then you can see what calories your taking on over a 24 hour period plus the nutrients. This helps me as sometimes I feel quite gluttonous and yet I put the amounts into MFP and I’ve only eaten 800 cals overall!!!

We have these ideas that certain foods are good and certain foods are bad and assign guilt to the bad ones causing us to binge on them with the resolve not to have them ever again. That’s just not helpful as they become forbidden and we crave them. I have a bit of chocolate every day. Normally dark chocolate and it’s slways after my savoury and I don’t eat it for the sake of it or overeat it because I think it’s the last time I’ll touch it. I have a few squares of dark choc and I’m happy. Then have some more the next day.

I see it as having a sort of dance with myself. Directly I feel like a martyr it won’t work long term. Directly I decide I’ll never eat X again it won’t work. Directly I think ‘argh I’ve ruined everything blah blah ‘ it won’t work. You have to treat yourself like a child and be kind.

I also don’t agree with feast days. I’ve done it myself in the past and it’s a negative thing for me. I end up bingeing then hating myself. Often the binge lasts all day and I feel terrible during and after.

I now just let myself eat the food, everyday if I want. Just not all day long. Clean eating is an insta fad and those people often aren’t eating clean away from the camera. They are paid to portray an image. You need to decide what the food is that you always crave and want to full face first into and incorporate it into your eating window.

Started a week ago, weighed myself this morning and I’ve lost a pound. Not a lot, but since giving birth a year ago, getting any weight off at all has been like pulling teeth, so even a tiny amount is progress!

I’m glad I found this thread it’s confirmed everything I know about this way of eating & reminded me to stick to the fasting time.
I find it easy not to eat early in the day so waiting until 10-11am to have breakfast works for me. I lost weight for a family wedding 3 years ago with this diet & I have successfully kept it off ever since by loosely following the rules. After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting it has been a revelation.

Also, like justanotherneighinparadise I eat whatever I want in the 8 hour time frame, no calorie counting or any other restrictions.

I’m having tea and coffee during fasting hours (dash of milk and sweetener) and I’m still losing. My body certainly doesn’t seem to mistake it for “food” since it doesn’t increase my hunger like food would; a hot drink quells the twinges if i feel peckish.

Same mumps. If I am tempted in the morning a coffee does the trick. Have earl grey tea two coffees all with semi skimmed Milk then healthy normal salad based lunch at 12 ish then have m dinner 6 or 7 ish sometimes late afternoon snack nothing after dinner. Do this in the week it’s fine. Lost the weight and it’s staying off but doesn’t feel like a “diet”

Managed to stretch out the overnight fast to the full 16 hours this morning. Bit tricky as I was hungry when I woke up (hadn’t eaten since just after 6pm yesterday) but herbal tea really helped, as did telling myself I could have whatever I wanted if I could wait until 10am. As it turned out I didn’t need much, a very small portion of natural yoghurt, a few berries and honey and I was quite satisfied. I hope I can keep this up. The overnight fast is definitely making me feel better, even if I don’t know if I’m losing weight yet.

This really sounds promising - started yesterday and did snack a fair bit mid-afternoon. I think maybe the trick is to make a proper savoury/healthy snack eg oatcakes and cheese or Greek yoghurt and berries at about 4.30/5 rather than try to soldier through from lunch to dinner and accidentally eat sugary snacks while waiting for dinner to cook. Maybe in a few days/weeks I won't need the snacks at all!

I'm probably somewhere around the 11 stone 7 mark or more but I don't want to weigh myself! At 5'2" that's well above a healthy BMI and my first goal is to get my waist measurement down to 30 inches (currently 31.5).

Thanks to this thread I've just started this today. I am going to try 11am-7pm as we usually eat dinner around 6.30pm. Today I had some granary toast and peanut butter at 11, salad with anchovies for lunch, just had some rice cakes and cream cheese, then dinner is meatballs later. I like the idea of no calorie counting or weighing out food or studying labels (can you tell I have done a lot of diets!) Strangely I haven't fancied any sweet crap today, I think its because I usually have biscuits etc mid morning whereas today I had something sensible. I wasn't really hungry until then, just had my 2 cups of tea.
I'm excited to see how this goes, I need to lose at least 2 stone and cannot face yet another diet.

HorsesDoovers - same with me. I think the 8 hour window is making me eat more mindfully, as I feel the need to fuel myself (with nutritious filling food) through the fast period, so I have also made healthy choices today although I did not/do not intend to restrict myself.

@Moo678 what do you mean when you say you "clean fasted"?

After a really stressful and busy weekend I was feeling a bit down as although I'd stuck to the fasting times I ate a fair bit of crap. But I weighed myself this morning and while I'm not down any, I've not put any on either so I'm pleased with that! Back to properly watching what I'm eating though, I still have 10 pounds I'd like to lose and I'd like to be able to wear shorts this summer!

@lifeinahamsterwheel (love your name)

I mean I only had black coffee, black tea and water. The book I read (Delay, don’t deny) makes the distinction between clean and ‘dirty’ fasting and says that you may have an insulin response even to artificial sweeteners or a tiny bit of milk. Not sure I believe it but since I drink my coffee and tea black anyway it’s not much of a sacrifice to go ‘clean’. I would like some squash or Diet Coke but I’m going to try without and see how it goes. Lots of people here are not so strict with fasting and still losing though so maybe I’m just being taken in by the pseudo science!

It’s been a week now! I can’t quite tell if I’ve had a loss (analogue scales with a dial so tiny I can’t see individual pounds, I prefer to use the ones in Boots!) maybe a lb? I feel much less bloated though, my stomach is noticeably flatter.

Got on the scales this morning, really not good at all. But I feel motivated and determined to stick at this and give it a really good try. I don't care if it takes a long time, I am 45 so the weight always seems to come off slowly, I am more interested in finding a sustainable way of eating. I am not working right now which actually really helps as I can pretty much suit myself and still eat with the family. Went to bed just a tiny bit hungry, strangely I feel fine this morning but expect I'll have the tummy rumbles by 11am!

I’m aiming to not eat til 11 this morning which will have been an 18 hour fast. Feeling fine at the moment.

I weighed myself this morning after doing this for a week and have lost 2 pounds. Below 10 stone for the first time in years. I have stuck to 16/8 apart from one morning. I only have water before 11. I have cut down a lot on biscuits/chocolate as well but I havent missed them. Really pleased with it so far, it seems achievable in the long run.

Well done @Tallace 👏👏👏

Lost another pound this morning so 6lbs down in as many days. Fasting really is a VERY effective weight loss tool.

Wow I'm really interested in this

Gonna try it definitely as I'm not a breakfast person anyway

I've already had a coffee with milk and one sugar...is it still worth starting today?

I have done this with tweaks and it is very successful generally. I have to drink a coffee in the morning so have milk in that but otherwise stick to the 16:8 window. I think though if you want to lose significant amounts you do need to watch portion sizes and choices of food for lunch and dinner. It isn't a free pass to eat what you want! I've been doing this and sticking to about 1000 cals most days.I think maybe the good side of it is that it is more sustainable than many plans and that if you do eat too much one day; it isn't a big problem so you don't then feel that you have 'failed'. Once I have lost the weight I need to, I intend to carry on with this, but just increase the calories to more generous levels.

@cansu

Thank you will still definitely try it today then

Normally I'd be fine with just a black coffee first thing so will do that tomorrow

Yes it's prob not a free pass to eat everything in sight I think a good thing about it is is that eating a normal amount but in 8 hours will probably feel like loads

I have been doing this now for five days. I have lost some weight. I found the first days easy but today the last hours feel long.

Thanks @Moo678 I must look up that book.

@Mrsemcgregor and evereyone else who's just started - I usually don't see a loss until a couple of weeks have passed and then there's a big drop so stick with it. You'll certainly feel less bloated and your body will be adapting to the fasting regime so it's all good.