Intermittent Fasting - my results so far (2024)

So, with 2020 being a Covid year, the missus and I gained a few extra pounds throughout the year as we just weren't as active, and were homebound more than usual trying to stay safe and socially distanced.
A good friend of mine and his wife started this intermittent fasting diet last year, and when we got together recently we noticed that they had both lost a noticeable amount of weight. They told us about their intermittent fasting regimen.
My wife and I decided to give it a try. Now mind you, I did zero research, read no books or youtube testimonials, just regulated the time frame within which I was eating my meals.
I am not a Doctor, and of course YMMV, I am just listing what we are doing.
I did not change one iota what I am eating. We also have not added any exercise, just the intermittent eating schedule. I still have a hamburger + fries, pasta, rice, pizza, Chipotle, etc. My usual unhealthy diet of eating whatever I feel like. I am also NOT a vegetable or salad person.
We started with doing a 16 hour off, 8 hour on stretch. So we eat between 10am - 6pm each day, and only drink water, ice tea, black coffee, or fizzy bubbly within the 16 hour off stretch (anything with zero calories) It takes a few days to get used to this long of a stretch without eating. Your body does acclimate pretty quickly. I am actually doing an 18 hr off, 6 hour on stretch currently, without any hunger pangs. We also have found that when we do eat, we are less hungry. and eat smaller portions than previously. The science behind it has to do with insulin levels and your body burning fat during the fasting period for energy. ( there are many good sources out there regarding this, please research yourself). Our friends read a book from a Doctor who is a proponent of this "diet", but I don't recall the name off hand.
We are just about 8 weeks in, and we both have lost 17-18 pounds by only changing WHEN we eat, not what we eat.
Reminder - I am not a Doctor. do not recommend this for everybody, YMMV, just giving a synopsis of what we have done and what our current results are.

Cliff notes/ TLDR - eat whatever you want, just limit what hours you eat it .

Cliff notes part 2 - no flaming, cause I don't care, it is working for us as it doesn't feel like a "diet ". not counting calories, eating like a rabbit, or some weight loss food program.

Is it The Obesity Code? It was recommended to my mom with her diabetes, intermittent fasting is supposed to help control it as well as help weight loss. She wouldn't read it, but I did (most of it at least) so I could give her a summary. She didn't listen to that either

I don't think there's a right or wrong way to diet, if you can find something that is doable for you and it's working, no one else's opinion matters.

texted my friend for the book info since he was the one who researched this and gave me the cliff notes
"Why we get sick.......
by Benjamin Bikman.
also "the complete guide to fasting........: by Jason Fung

I think the above authors also have a lot of youtube videos up regarding this "diet"

Very interesting thanks for the info. I think the covid 19 got us all. Time to reverse it

Congrats! Glad you’re having good results.

I have been fasting too. My weight loss isn’t as much as yours but I do feel like I have better control over food now. I am so glad to leave that mindless snacking behind!

I was doing 20/4 but I’m adding early morning workouts now so I do 16/8 or 18/6 on weekdays and maybe one 20/4 on the weekends when I catch up on all the sleep I lost working out lol.

Started the intermittent fasting in April 2021 and lost 25 pounds quickly. Would like to lose another 10 which is not coming off as fast however, maintaining is much easier. Doing the 16/8 and once I got through the first couple days the realization set in on just how much mindless snacking I had been doing not to mention late night snacking.
Not sure whether coincidence or not but when I do eat now, I am more conscious of what I put in my mouth. Carbs have really fallen on my list as I used to eat a ton of bread / chips/ pasta but now, I feel bloated and uncomfortable eating after all those carbs.

Anyway the fasting not be for everyone but definitely works the best for me and I have been the route with WW, working out, no carb /low car, etc..

Congratulations @VegasBJ.

I have friends that started where you are. Same results. Then switched to Keto. Then to Carnivore diet. Lost over 40lbs. They were obsessed and miserable….I didn’t have the heart to tell them.

When they stopped for two weeks. They regained all the lost weight . Now they are back to the carnivore diet.

I like the idea of not eating between certain hours. It makes sense.

the easiest part for me on this plan is that I haven't changed what I am eating, just when. If I was having to watch my food intake according to some diet based plan, It wouldn't work for me.
We really didn't have too much to lose, I had gotten up to 189, which was my highest point ever, now down to 171. maybe get to 165, and then maintain. I haven't been 165 in maybe 30 years

You’re being realistic. I think that’s key.

We will never be twenty again…LOL.

Not that it matters, but I believe some in the fasting community are calling this approach more "time restricted eating" vs "intermittent fasting".

They were lumped together initially, but some people try to distinguish them.

I have used it and it has seemingly worked fine for me, but when I am doing it I am also exercising more and watching what I eat, so it is tough to give a direct attribution of results.

My biggest issues with this tend to be lifestyle centred. If you have to go in to the office you get nudged into eating before you go. Anything that comes up after work can push back dinner, as can dinner events with others. Not that one has to follow it religiously, it just makes the habit easier to stick to. And Im sure for many on vmb, cutting out the alcohol for the rest of the night after an early dinner would be quite the challenge.

I've been doing a variation of this diet for 7+ weeks now, down 25 lbs. OMAD diet, or "one meal a day", usually dinner for me and the wifey. No restrictions, but always try and eat healthy. I initially curbed my hunger during the day with 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil in a cup of coffee, but haven't needed to do this for several weeks now. Stomach has shrunk, no more tiredness, off the insulin swings. I feel GREAT! (My screwdriver toddy does not count.) Easiest and most effective diet I've ever done.

Congrats on the weight loss. One thing I feel the need to point out is it is nothing more than calories in < calories out. You probably find yourself eating less than normal in the compacted eating window you have which is a good thing. I like doing IF because I can eat a lot of the foods I love while still losing weight if that's what I'm doing. It's not a magic bullet though. A coworker of mine did IF for a while but was complaining she wasn't losing weight because she was still drinking a bottle or two of wine every night and those calories added up quickly. I love pizza as much as anyone and have some once or twice a week but be careful because if you're destroying a large meatlovers 4x per week you'll watch the pounds come right back.

A bottle or two per night, impressive!

No, if I have pizza it's 3 slices once every 2 weeks or so

I was stress eating when my mom was still alive. She had dementia and won't eat unless I eat right in front of her. She needed to see me wolf down a whole plate before she would eat her meal.

The result was I ballooned close to 200 lbs. When she passed away I tried this fasting method, along with some light weight training and working out on the elliptical.

My goal is also to reach 165. That was my weight when I was in the military back in the 80's. Right now I'm still at 180 or a bit under. Sometimes it's hard because I love food and would stray off the schedule at times.

Also my youngest daughter would bring home all these wonderful distractions (muffins, unhealthy snacks, cakes, pies, etc.)

Sigh. Excuses, excuses.....lol!

Ooops. Sorry. Duplicate post.

I have done IF on and off for the past few years, similar to you I can eat anything I want in the eating window and maintain or lose weight. Normally I try for OMAD (one meal per day) when I do it, generally a large lunch and I am done for the day. Once you adapt to this it's actually easy. Amazing how good I feel once the initial shock to the body wears off.

@VegasBJ Very interesting! Do you find yourself getting hungry outside your feeding times (haha) and if so, what do you do to curb/control it?

I don't know if you consider this "intermittent fasting" or not, but since the first of the year, when I got serious about losing this Covid weight, I will (among other things) often times skip lunch, as in totally, nothing, nothing packed from home, nothing from the machines in the lunch room, just water or a soda.

I psych myself into it by reminding myself that when I get home (usually mid afternoon) I'll be able to get something to eat again.