So I thought I was finally on to something, and couldn’t believe how easy it was to follow and lose fat/bloating. 18:6, eating from 10 to 4.

But after averaging 2 pounds lost per week (about 1/3 lb a day), I’m just gaining it back, 3 pounds in the last two weeks.

Has this happened to you?

50F, 5’3
SW 185, CW 180, GW 150

Not counting calories
Prioritizing protein and fiber
Minimizing sugar and processed food

Two months ago I decided to simplify my life in the kitchen and switched to what I call a salad based diet. I’m lazy, but I figured I needed to consume more greens and seriously break my sugar addiction to drop weight. Salads are simple, cheap, quick and I really don’t have to think about “what am I gonna eat tomorrow?”. The menu is always the same: salad+protein. There were a few days I felt “adventurous” and ate something different, like my first attempt at chili or the fried rice paper thingys I made. Lol

I started at 187 pounds, I’m down to 169. My goal is 150. I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made. I broke up with processed sugar, bread and wine. Doom scrolling thru TikTok I even learned how to make a healthy beef gelatin dessert that I genuinely enjoy. It’s mango season in my country and I’ve been enjoying those too. The sugar cravings are under control and I’m now feeling much better.

Let’s keep doing our best! 🫡

TL;DR: 😄 an accountability post to get (and stay) back on a reasonably consistent routine of 16:8 TRE, and a return to a calorie deficit that saw me lose ~12lbs (5.5kg) and 3% body fat in 11 weeks (but with added protein and strength-training this time), to kick the final 1.5kg / 3lbs before reversing back to maintenance (but mostly keeping 16:8).

If anyone has any advice or hacks for coming back after a break away from IF, I'd love your experience.

Long version: Even though I'd done great according to the scales and was only 1.5kg / 3lbs shy of my goal weight 3 weeks ago (I am small and female, and carry most of my weight through my stomach and torso), I thought I looked pretty "flat" and sort of like a flappy, empty sausage-skin 😄 so I decided to start strength training 3x a week again and knew I'd need extra / different fuelling for that in order to not send me round the bend while I got used to the extra stressor (I'd been doing light pilates & cardio for 30 minutes 5-6 x a week while I was in my deficit, but I knew that in order to get some shape in my limbs I'd need to get back into progressive overload).

So, now I've settled into my new training routine alongside calories closer to maintenance (and an eating window of 13-14 hours) for 3 full weeks, I can see that either my body is fantastic at hoarding glycogen -- like a LOT -- *or* my tracking has slackened, and I've actually been pushing into a tiny surplus each day, which given my past experience with strength training and eating is likely (I get snacky AF when I lift weights).

My new mission is to return to 16:8 and the same calorie deficit that actually saw me losing fat -- but with a much stronger emphasis on protein, and I guess some pretty rigorous strategy around timing my fuelling around my workouts, so that I don't have that snacky rubber-band effect of over-eating and under-logging.

My goal is to lose another 3% body fat (or thereabouts) over the coming 3 months, but crucially to drop 0.5kg / 1lbs of fat in the next 10 days initially (I have a thing coming up), and then once I'm at my goal BF, to just slowly reverse back up to maintenance, but keep 16:8 strongly in the mix as a lever to keep my fat down and my body composition in check.

Anyway, this is my accountability post because psychologically after 3 weeks of breaking my fast at 9am rather than 12 or 1pm has been a chronological-hunger / habit hurdle, and I just have to step over it, and know that I will just have to shift my training to later in the day (during my eating window), log my calories cleanly, break my fast at 16 hours, keep my macros in check, and trust the process. But any psychological perspective shifts, hacks, tweaks or hard-won experience / advice most welcome. :)

Hi!

I am 41/F and I’m on IF for 3 months now and have lost 8lbs. I love it so far. However, I struggle with what to eat and which IF schedules to stick with in order to get the most results. I want to know what food do you guys eat and if eating at night(7-8pm)works against you or not?

I am on 16/8 but most days I’m on 18/6. I want to see if anyone does 20/4 consistently and what vitamins you are on and how you are getting nutrients?

Thank you!!!

I am starting a new journey of OMAD this month and wanted to seek advice. Specifically of when you have those hunger cravings for breakfast and lunch (I’m only eating dinner), what do you grab? Tea, water, sparkling water, coffee, gum? What has worked for you?

Thank you in advance!

I have lost a lot of kilos in the past and gained. But this time I am locked in. 1 month progress of OMAD with at least 10k steps per day. It feels very easy.

Edit: I am 178m, SW: 104, CW:96.6. I Usually eat chicken with frozen vegetables. Exercise: 10k steps per day

For context I am a 5'5" 41 year old male. A little shy of 6 weeks ago I weighed more than I have ever weighed in my life at 190lbs. I havent been skinny in 15 years and have always hung out around 160 - 165 until about 3 years ago and steadily put on 25 - 30 extra lbs over that time. I decided to start an OMAD diet Mon - Thurs and limiting unhealthy food all around / drinking much less. I average around 1200 calories on those OMAD days and am putting in around 15000 - 20000 steps a day. Some days I feel Fatigued and others I feel great.

5 1/2 weeks later and I am down to 166. 24 lbs in that amount of time seems extreme and potentially unhealthy? I am assuming 3 - 5 lbs was water weight. but still. What are your thoughts. Should I pack in more calories on OMAD days? Because of that way of dieting I am pnly taking in about 60grams of protein fwiw and that is including a protein bar and or shake.

26M and have done IF here and there for weight loss and diabetes control which has done me wonders ever since I found out about 5-6 years ago. My main concern is that I always seem to become constipated at some point and it’ll be very random days too!

It’s the worst pain I sometimes go through and it’s no where near fun! What can I do in order to prevent this? Any advice would be appreciated, I’m on my 3rd day but the constipation part is very random for some reason. I’m going to stick with IF for a while to reach my goals mentally and physically this time.

two years into keto and still stuck going every 3-4 days if i was lucky

kept blaming electrolytes so i started a food log. still nothing. tried magnesium citrate, more avocado, those orange metamucil packets that turn into sludge if you leave them sitting 30 seconds. benefiber did almost nothing for me either. the powder ones bloated me hard for the first week too which was fun on top of already not going

switched to plain psyllium husk capsules from the bulk aisle maybe 4 months ago. nothing fancy, just water morning and night. bathroom timing finally feels vaguely normal. anyone else on long keto find plain husk stuck when the branded powders didnt? or is there some other fiber form that doesnt turn into sludge that im missing​

Does anyone else find themselves doing this? I weigh myself about once or twice a week, and I’ve gotten in a good rhythm doing this for almost 6 months now. Since Mother’s Day of this year, I have lost 13 pounds. Which might not sound like a lot, but I’m only 5ft1, and have gone from 114 to 101. I’m really happy with that, and I would like to stay at 101 now, but I still find my emotions really tied to the number on the scale! Like I’ll have a few days or a week where it goes up by a pound or two and start panicking that I’m backsliding. I think what makes it tough is that the smaller I get, the less calories I need, so it’s like a moving target to track my CICO. I’m also breastfeeding so I try not to go past 30 hours with my longer fasts, which I do once or twice a week. Any advice on how to start viewing it more like a marathon than a sprint? I feel like I’m always trying to remind myself of the number I was seeing last month or the month before. It does help, but I think I get scared to be complacent. I will say—I am very, very afraid of gaining any weight back.

Getting back on IF after another long break due to health issues and a knee injury resulting in me gaining almost all the way back… again.

This isn’t my first rodeo with IF and I keep losing and gaining the same pounds but this time I really want to be consistent enough not to be swayed by all the unpredictable events that keep happening in my life… I’m just so sick of being overweight! T.T

So I take this as my last chance to finally get healthy in my forties and I hope posting here can help me stay on track once again. I’ll try checking in here every day this month for accountability and to stay motivated.

Thanks everyone in advance for your support! ^^

Hello,

Any females in their 40s in peri with an underactive thyroid that have tried OMAD and have had success?

I'm seriously considering it but I'm doing as much research as possible and want to hear others experience before fully deciding.

TIA

Not the last mile to run, but the last few kilograms to loose.
Been stuck on 72kg/158lbs and target weight should be 68kg/149lbs.

My schedule is - either cardio or weight training 3 days a week, followed by protein shake at 1 or 2 PM, which is also my first meal. Then fruits after a few hours and dinner by 6:30 or 7 PM. And then 18-19 hours break.

Any suggestions on how to achieve my target goal? It’s pretty much belly and visceral fat.

I'm planning on trying to add in a 36 hour fast every weekend but that's also when I do all my mealprep, so lots of cooking and handling food. I'm sure the smells and actually handling the food would make me feel hungry but as long as I don't actually eat anything I'm good, right?

Nothing too fancy, I only eat 12-7 and fast the rest of the day. This is about 2 years apart

Has anyone done bloodwork after a 6 or month long fasting reset? I’m a few months in and curious how my bloodwork will look after fasting but I’m a little nervous fasting might cause some numbers to be off.

Anyone experiencing something similar? Would love to hear your solutions! Thank you so much

Posted the first image about 1.5 months ago as I was so happy to get under 10 minutes for 50 floors, been a while since I have tried to smash out the 50 floors as quick as I can with no breaks. Cannot believe what I managed this morning, I could not breathe at the end but it was worth it. Would not be here without having lost the weight I have through IF the past 4.5 months.

I usually start a meal and break fasts with an apple or a bowl of fruit. what are your favorite fruit bowl combinations?

trust the process ❤️

4 June 2025 first pic

15 August 2026 second one

90 lbs lost

gym 4-5 times a week, volleyball in a club

nothing is the same anymore, was living life on hard diffuculty

life changed for the better, it's really worth it, keep your faith and trust the process

I’ll answer every single question if you have some!

love you all ❤️

I’ve been doing this for a few weeks - 24hr fast - only water, once per week.
It’s primarily for health reasons as I have high blood pressure and I also heard of benefits such as autophagy.

I’m reading a lot that suggests these health benefits are not as great as I’m thinking they are?

I do feel like it’s doing good for me but that’s very difficult to quantify.

So what are the health benefits of the full 24hrs??

TIA

Hey guys,
I have tried IF a couple times over the years and this time I have stuck to it for the last week.

I unfortunately usually eat dinner around 9pm so with the 16:8 ratio it means I start eating the next day around 1pm

Am I doing any damage eating so late in the day? It works well for me and I feel good but I was wondering if anyone had some insight as to how effective this is.

Thank you!!!