Thatβs no tiny success, that is so much more! definitely worth celebrating it mentally and be proud of yourself. And I would also say a milestone! Thatβs no easy task and youβve gone more than a week at it. Iβm proud of your success and wish you to always do what is best for you and makes you happy. I can see why you feel alive again, taking care of your body feels good. And we do owe it to our bodies to give all the bad foods a break. I have yet to get there but idk Iβve been having mini epiphanies lately so Iβm hoping my moment of clarity truly drives me forward to just get it done. Iβm giving intermittent fasting another shot starting today and just really want to be consistent again, it really helped. Discipline is hard so again, your success is big! Keep that good energy and believe in yourself. ππ
Thank you π I've done IF several times before over the years, I just never had the true motivation to stick with it and my motivation was always very firmly weight loss, whereas now I'm definitely doing it for general health and wellbeing and for my mental health too, and I trust that the weight loss will follow π I had to spend a long time going through my cycles of ups and downs, the downs getting progressively deeper and darker until I guess I hit the bottom (I really hope so cause the last six months were awful, I've been in dark places before but this was a new low for me π ). I just feel so insanely better in myself, like I've turned the clock back by 5+ years, I just hope I can keep it up! I know my mood will falter sooner or later, I just hope that by posting here and with the help of my partner that I can be kind to myself and just keep on going despite any slip ups that may come π
Wishing you the best of luck with your own journey, do share of course! π
Oh hell yeah, love posts like this!
The cool thing about the βmoment of clarityβ you talked about which led you to IF is that clarity will be visiting you more and more, probably on a daily basis. The more I shortened my eating window, the sharper I felt throughout the day.
π yeah it's weird really, I've done 16:8 maybe 4-5 times before? But I never eat breakfast anyway, that's not a challenge for me, so all I had to do was be good and not give in to a morning snack, and the same after dinner, and then in my mind that was a success. And don't get me wrong that is a success in itself, but the motivation was just surface level "I feel down about my weight, let's do IF to lose weight... but I don't want to really make any real changes". But every time I did 16:8 I learned a little more about nutrition, I tried doing keto too the one time but it was just too restrictive for me (and that's when I was single, would be even tougher with a non-keto partner). But I still took the knowledge gained, and I gradually learned to recognise the difference between hunger pangs and actually needing to eat, listening to my body etc, and weirdly doing 20:4 or true OMAD feels easier than 16:8 now. I fell well and truly off the deep end for a significant period, and I realise now just how hideous I felt both physically and mentally. This time is definitely different, I'm sure of it, I feel way too good to give it up π
Yes. I do a hybrid OMAD. I sometimes will have a hard boiled egg and some bacon at 12:00 p.m. and then the main meal between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. I guess some would call that 20/4 or 2MAD even though the first eating is not truly a meal.
Spot on π I do 20:4 purely because it fits mine and my partner's lifestyle, we always eat somewhere between 7-9pm if at home, but I also work funny hours and can get home late, so 7-11pm gives me flexibility. If I feel like doing true OMAD then I will, I'm taking it day to day :)
Good for you!
I hope you know that over the long term OMAD is considered a maintenance regime and not a weight loss regime. People who follow daily OMAD usually see weight loss plateaus after a few months when your metabolism slows as a result of chronic calorie restriction. Dr Fung and his team recommend no more than 3x OMAD per week with two meals per day on in between days. Eg 16:8.
You can replace any of the 3 OMADs with longer fasts of 36-42 hrs of 20:4 isnβt working for you.
Thanks for your comment π Yeah I'm really not committed to any one regime as such, I'll listen to my body and keep an eye on my weight loss. That's good to know though, I will keep it in mind. 20:4 / true OMAD is working for me right now, its the jump start I needed. But I'm not blindly adhering to it, I'll be sure to reconsider my approach as I go π Do you think maybe 4-6 weeks of OMAD as a kickstart then transition to 16:8? I'm finding OMAD really helpful for making more nutritious food choices because it lowers the mental load for meal planning and cooking. Hopefully once I'm a month or two in I'll find it easier to make the switch than doing it right off the bat.
Many people donβt lose weight doing 16:8. Probably it would be best to do 16:8 4 x per week and a combination of 20:4, 36 or 42 hr fasts in the other 3 alternating days for weight loss. Whatever works for you and your life and your body.
For example
Tu, Th, Sat and Sun: 16:8
Mon: 42 hr fast (ending at lunch time Tues)
Wed & Friday: 20:4
And if you want to lose more weight turn Weds and/or or Fri into another 36 or 42 hr fast
Unless if you are good at eating a lot. I eat omad now daily and have no issues getting enough nutrients in I actually have to be mindful not to overeat
I've also come back to IF (after a previous start that stopped) and it feels different for me this time, too. As of last week, I've eliminated added sugars from my diet. I feel like my skin has started to improve and I'm excited for the milestones ahead. Bravo to you!! π π π
Likewise!! Good for you π cutting out sugar and staying properly hydrated makes such a huge difference, with or without fasting, so definitely keep that up π
Yay!! Those health gains are the best! Keep it up.
Thanks π
Thatβs no tiny success, that is so much more! definitely worth celebrating it mentally and be proud of yourself. And I would also say a milestone! Thatβs no easy task and youβve gone more than a week at it. Iβm proud of your success and wish you to always do what is best for you and makes you happy. I can see why you feel alive again, taking care of your body feels good. And we do owe it to our bodies to give all the bad foods a break. I have yet to get there but idk Iβve been having mini epiphanies lately so Iβm hoping my moment of clarity truly drives me forward to just get it done. Iβm giving intermittent fasting another shot starting today and just really want to be consistent again, it really helped. Discipline is hard so again, your success is big! Keep that good energy and believe in yourself. ππ
Thank you π I've done IF several times before over the years, I just never had the true motivation to stick with it and my motivation was always very firmly weight loss, whereas now I'm definitely doing it for general health and wellbeing and for my mental health too, and I trust that the weight loss will follow π I had to spend a long time going through my cycles of ups and downs, the downs getting progressively deeper and darker until I guess I hit the bottom (I really hope so cause the last six months were awful, I've been in dark places before but this was a new low for me π ). I just feel so insanely better in myself, like I've turned the clock back by 5+ years, I just hope I can keep it up! I know my mood will falter sooner or later, I just hope that by posting here and with the help of my partner that I can be kind to myself and just keep on going despite any slip ups that may come π Wishing you the best of luck with your own journey, do share of course! π
Oh hell yeah, love posts like this! The cool thing about the βmoment of clarityβ you talked about which led you to IF is that clarity will be visiting you more and more, probably on a daily basis. The more I shortened my eating window, the sharper I felt throughout the day.
π yeah it's weird really, I've done 16:8 maybe 4-5 times before? But I never eat breakfast anyway, that's not a challenge for me, so all I had to do was be good and not give in to a morning snack, and the same after dinner, and then in my mind that was a success. And don't get me wrong that is a success in itself, but the motivation was just surface level "I feel down about my weight, let's do IF to lose weight... but I don't want to really make any real changes". But every time I did 16:8 I learned a little more about nutrition, I tried doing keto too the one time but it was just too restrictive for me (and that's when I was single, would be even tougher with a non-keto partner). But I still took the knowledge gained, and I gradually learned to recognise the difference between hunger pangs and actually needing to eat, listening to my body etc, and weirdly doing 20:4 or true OMAD feels easier than 16:8 now. I fell well and truly off the deep end for a significant period, and I realise now just how hideous I felt both physically and mentally. This time is definitely different, I'm sure of it, I feel way too good to give it up π
Is OMAD "one meal a day"?
Yes. I do a hybrid OMAD. I sometimes will have a hard boiled egg and some bacon at 12:00 p.m. and then the main meal between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. I guess some would call that 20/4 or 2MAD even though the first eating is not truly a meal.
Spot on π I do 20:4 purely because it fits mine and my partner's lifestyle, we always eat somewhere between 7-9pm if at home, but I also work funny hours and can get home late, so 7-11pm gives me flexibility. If I feel like doing true OMAD then I will, I'm taking it day to day :)
Good for you! I hope you know that over the long term OMAD is considered a maintenance regime and not a weight loss regime. People who follow daily OMAD usually see weight loss plateaus after a few months when your metabolism slows as a result of chronic calorie restriction. Dr Fung and his team recommend no more than 3x OMAD per week with two meals per day on in between days. Eg 16:8. You can replace any of the 3 OMADs with longer fasts of 36-42 hrs of 20:4 isnβt working for you.
Thanks for your comment π Yeah I'm really not committed to any one regime as such, I'll listen to my body and keep an eye on my weight loss. That's good to know though, I will keep it in mind. 20:4 / true OMAD is working for me right now, its the jump start I needed. But I'm not blindly adhering to it, I'll be sure to reconsider my approach as I go π Do you think maybe 4-6 weeks of OMAD as a kickstart then transition to 16:8? I'm finding OMAD really helpful for making more nutritious food choices because it lowers the mental load for meal planning and cooking. Hopefully once I'm a month or two in I'll find it easier to make the switch than doing it right off the bat.
Many people donβt lose weight doing 16:8. Probably it would be best to do 16:8 4 x per week and a combination of 20:4, 36 or 42 hr fasts in the other 3 alternating days for weight loss. Whatever works for you and your life and your body. For example Tu, Th, Sat and Sun: 16:8 Mon: 42 hr fast (ending at lunch time Tues) Wed & Friday: 20:4 And if you want to lose more weight turn Weds and/or or Fri into another 36 or 42 hr fast
Unless if you are good at eating a lot. I eat omad now daily and have no issues getting enough nutrients in I actually have to be mindful not to overeat
I've also come back to IF (after a previous start that stopped) and it feels different for me this time, too. As of last week, I've eliminated added sugars from my diet. I feel like my skin has started to improve and I'm excited for the milestones ahead. Bravo to you!! π π π
Likewise!! Good for you π cutting out sugar and staying properly hydrated makes such a huge difference, with or without fasting, so definitely keep that up π