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!.

@DianneWhatcock Tbf I think my late night tv snacks are entirely responsible for it lockdown weight gain 😁 I went through two packs of Camembert last weekend.. hence why I'm here.

12-8pm for me. Have never done breakfast really so the mornings are too much of a chore. It's the 8pm closure of the kitchen which will make the difference for me.

@DianneWhatcock it's called 'zero'

Im really loving this way of eating, i can't believe i still haven't eaten anything!! Im still fasting and my next fast is at 8pm

This is not me atall-i used to eat around 4000+ cals a day. Its like magic..so far!

Im tanked up on black coffee though and have been busy today so no time to eat-although my tummy is just starting to rumble so i will eat something before 8 pm 👌🏼

@MissFitton oh god I love Camembert

I've stocked up on ice poles for tv snacks .

@RubyRedz thank you I will download it

In terms of skipping breakfast I'm definitely not doing that I had burger in a bowl at 12:10 I had a bowl of carrot soup at 3. 15 and I've just had a turkey sandwich at 5:30 and at 7 I've got pork steaks with left over Bombay potatoes. So I'm still eating at least three meals it's just that my 3 meals are in an 8-hour window between 12 and 8.

Personally I do skip breakfast as I find it easier to not overeat my calories if I stick to two meals but you definitely don’t have to.

I had macaroni and cheese for tea today - in the past that would have been the diet blown (or I’d have spent ages using random ingredients to make a diet-approved version that was nowhere near as satisfying). But I had it and I enjoyed it, and then the kitchen closed at 8 and I’ve not smacked at all. I know that normally I’d be thinking about evening snacks, for the sake of it really, but somehow having a deadline just makes it so much easier for me to not start snacking. Perhaps because it is no longer ‘shouldn’t’ and is now ‘can’t’. Shouldn’t is negotiable! I can convince myself that an evening snack won’t impact my diet whereas with this, the whole point of the diet is not eating outside the times so I just don’t consider it.

Can I advice people to take ‘before’ photos. I’ve found with this diet that whilst I’m losing pounds, the changes in my body in photos seem to be much greater than the pounds lost and that’s satisfying to look at.

To clarify, I’m not saying I’ll be having macaroni cheese every day, and I’m making the effort to make healthy choices etc but that fact that I can do, and it’s not a total failure, it’s a game changer. I don’t feel panicky or craving food I can’t have - that denial isn’t there that makes you crave it. Cause I can have it, I just have to wait.

I’ve only been doing 16:8 for three weeks, but in that time I’ve had my period and I hardly had any PMT, when usually I am a horrible bitch. I also didn’t get the usual pre-menstrual bloat. Will be watching with interest to see if it’s the same next month.

Morning all
Had a big BBQ yesterday and out of interest decided to weigh in (on day 12, usual weigh day is Monday), and I’m down another 2lbs! That’s 3lbs in 12 days which I’m pleased about as although I was hungry yesterday morning and I haven’t felt deprived or miserable (which I usually do on the hundreds of diets I’ve been on!).
Hope everyone’s doing okay!

Good Morning everyone. I mentioned joining you a while back but I've mostly been reading and taking things in.

I'm on my third fast now and seem to end up doing 18hrs rather than16 as we are having our tea slightly earlier atm and then I don't eat until lunch the next day. I am having a coffee with milk when I get up though.

Yesterday I did not feel good, today I feel pretty great actually. Hope this continues. Off out for a walk with youngest DD shortly before it gets too hot!

It took my body 2 weeks to adapt to 16/8. I think it was the fact I was having meals at different times. After 2 weeks there was no stopping me and I felt great. I'm certain I'll do it for the rest of my life. I feel so good on it. I've done it for a few years and have never felt better.

RUOK, that's really interesting that you have noticed a drop in PMT symptoms like I have. No cravings and my mood has been drastically different. How weird!
I'm doing well here, just really enjoying it. I'm trying to cut down on the booze but will have a few this weekend. Wine really is my downfall 😬

Yesterday was interesting.

So it was DCs bday so I’d pretty much decided to sack the day off in terms of dieting.

Now normally I’d have inhaled cake all day.
I did have a piece in place of “breakfast” but not until probably 11ish. I then actually kept forgetting to eat. This is unheard of. I kept walking past the cake and thinking “I’ll have another bit in a minute” and then just ... not.

Bit of brown toast and butter mid afternoon as that’s what I fancied and then a Chinese in the evening which i enjoyed but didn’t stuff myself to bursting with, and then another bit of cake for pud.

So far too much food but not as much as I’d usually have had on a “cheat day”.

I was punished for my gluttony by waking up at 3.30 feeling really sick. I might have enjoyed all that food but my body didn’t 😳

So I’m back being healthier today which I’m happy about. There’s cake left but I don’t want it. I know it tastes good but that’s irrelevant. Having no a happy tum isn’t the same as having a full one.

• having a happy tum isn’t the same as having a full one.

Great to hear all the positive stories about 16:8 this morning!
This morning I didn’t really want my cup of tea (but DH had already brought me one and I was too lazy to get up and switch it for a herbal one) so I might try herbal tomorrow. Ditching the milk would be a bonus but that’s not really why I didn’t want it, I just felt slightly nauseated at the thought of drinking it. Weird as I normally look forward to it. I read some articles by Dr Jason Fung last night - about the physiology of insulin/weight gain/fasting etc - and it was fascinating.

MumpsimusMaximus It is interesting isn’t it? That’s how I felt when I declined the cheesecake.

@Lovelymonkeyninetynine - just wanted to comment on your dizziness. I got some great advice about dizziness when losing weight on here. If you don't have a blood sugar disorder, it's more likely to be caused by lack of salt than low blood sugar. Are you drinking a lot of water or herb tea etc to fill you up during the fasting time? In hot weather that can easily mess with your electrolytes. Next time you feel dizzy, try adding a tiny bit of salt to the water, or drink a sugar-free electrolyte drink and see if that helps. I wasn't doing 16:8, so I'd just eat some salted popcorn or a ryvita with marmite and it worked wonders.

Can I ask how many calories you're all eating within your 8 hour window? I'm trying to eat around 1500, maybe less. I started yesterday and so far so good, though waiting for my 10am coffee is keeping me going because I'm so excited haha

Gallacia I’m not much help to you as I am not counting cals (yet), I’m on Day 4 and it’s going well so I’m going to see if I’m losing weight after a week and if I am then I won’t stress too much about cals. I have a stone to lose. Will be interesting to hear what calories people are eating who have been doing this for longer and have lost weight.

Really good to read all the positive posts. Day 4 for me, stepped on the scales out of interest and already down 3lb! I know this is mostly water (been weeing for Britain!) but very encouraging to see the numbers go down.

Having a few tummy rumbles this morning but somehow its not stressing me out as it has on other diets. I'm just looking forward to eating something at 11am but not stressing about it. Very hopeful that this will be the thing that finally ends my dreadful relationship with food.

wrt dizziness, a cup of hot water with a little stock powder or marmite or bovril can help restore electrolytes.

beachdreaming I'm not counting calories either, as I said upthread I know this will trigger 'diet head' for me and I do not want to go there!

It makes sense about the PMT as fasting has a very stabilising effect on hormones.

Do we know if it has any effect on peri-menopausal symptoms? So far I've not been too bad although the hot flushes are irritating.
I've lost one lb since Monday which is a start. Although I'm not calorie counting I'm going to resist buying any more nice cheese!

Morning ladies

Well good and bad news from me somehow I've lost 2lbs - that's after only 2 days of doing it (I know it could mostly be water - I am weeing loads sorry for tmi!)

I ate my food between about 12 and 8 both days, had 1700 cals first day and 1900 yesterday

On the down side I barely slept last night and this morning I feel terrible, really weak and crap. I feel really low too (but that could be Cos I've got a few worries at the moment money / work related and had words with dh late last night)

Anyway I'm gonna persevere although it's one of my dc birthday today so cake will be involved so may not count calories. Will stick between the 8 hour window though

@Gallacia

Can I ask how many calories you're all eating within your 8 hour window? I'm trying to eat around 1500, maybe less. I started yesterday and so far so good, though waiting for my 10am coffee is keeping me going because I'm so excited haha

I’m eating just over 1500. When I’m down to my goal weight I’ll up it to around 1800. If you want to calorie count and aren’t sure where to start, try using the “if it fits your macros” or the James Smith Academy calorie calculator. You put in your weight, height, age and activity levels and it calculate the right amount of cals for you to lose weight.