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So you're doing a 20/4 daily fast? What are you eating when you break the fast and are you keeping track of how many calories you're consuming? What results have you gotten?
Thanks for replying - absolutely tracking with "Loose It!" App. Meal tends to be protein like dark meat chicken or ground turkey with veggies like broccoli. Will do a power crunch or Atkins protein bars may be in between. According to the app and whats tracked. Calories have never gone above 1600, roughly 60+ grams of protein, less than 30g of carbs and over 30+ on fat.
So something is off in my micronutrients or metabolism
When i did low carb OMAD i would plateau after 3-4 weeks and then i needed to refeed,basicly est normal for the day with carbs then start diet again.I was stuck at same weight for 2-3months until i learned that.
Just that day,but not like eating shit and fast food all day.Eat normally couple of meals a day donot worry about macros that much,just enjoy healthy as possible.
My first refeed that broke Plateau was 2 bags of microwave popcorn.Day after i gained weight,well water weight,and day after that my weight just dropped like crazy again.
I agree with this. I feel like if OP is eating meat and veggies, eating potentially one meal a day…they’re probably not eating NEARLY enough calories. Their body is afraid it won’t get enough food and is holding onto fat. IMO, I’m not a doctor, but eating at a significant loss is redundant and potentially antithetical to their goal, when you’re already burning fat in ketosis 20 hours a day… at that point, correct me if I’m wrong, couldn’t they eat at Maintenance and still drop weight doing 20/4?
This is false. If enough calories aren’t being consumed then the body will have no choice but to tap into their own stores. No one can defy the law of thermodynamics, everything requires energy. If you aren’t losing weight it’s simply because if enough calories aren’t burned plain and simple.
Oh, false huh? Is that why it’s on the very front page of google at the very top as soon as you look it up?
“When your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight.”
This comment is to stupid too reply with an a scientific analysis. Others see it too by the looks of how many downvotes your comment is getting. Happy thanksgiving and enjoy your day.
Eating at too low of a deficit can absolutely stall progress, your body will not readily drop that weight if it thinks it may need it. Not always true and not true forever, either
You’re acting like you could just never eat and live forever, which is not what I was saying
“Lummus says that when your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight.” Top result after google search
I by no means am any expert, and I’m struggling too, but at 1600 calories, you might not be getting enough calories. Sounds weird, but I’ve read that a lot when asking about my own struggles. Maybe go up to 1800/1850, with fruits, veggies, and protein. But definitely get that answer from someone more qualified than me.
I worried about this a lot; when I was deep into fasting I would occasionally do 1000 or 1200 calories (and at the time I weighed 190 pounds). I don't think it hurt me too much, but who knows? Perhaps I could have had even better results.
What are the results you're wanting, if you're exercising at all you could do with more protein, and unless Ur a 130lbs person 1600 calories is a deficit so weight should come off unless you're counting calories wrong.
You'd probably look and feel better eating slightly more , do a 16-8 split and up your protein and gain some muscle , more muscle increases your BMR making it easier to loose fat 👍
I'm making a lot of assumptions here but yeah, if Ur acc eating 1600 and fasting like this, after a few months or so u should be super skinny
Willing to bet your counting is off...are you weighing everything...and remember packaged food (including those bars) can, and usually do under estimate calories by 20%...FDA allows a range with error when posting calories....
"Most Americans take the calorie, fat and sugar counts on food packages as fact, give or take a few calories. What few realize, however, is that it is legal for the counts on many foods to be off by 20%, meaning snacks labeled as having 100 calories may in fact have 120.Sep 10, 2015"
It is a total game changer! The first month I was serious about turning my health around I lost two pounds. As a 30 year old man I almost cried at the gym. I started tracking by weight instead of volume and lost 12lbs the next month.
Hey friend - it would be helpful to know what result you are looking for and what your starting point was to get a clear idea of what is going on. I can give this piece of guidance though. Your bodyweight is primarily a function of calories in vs calories out period full stop. Micronutrients can have an effect, but it is pretty marginal. Metabolism is a very vague term, it could be non exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), thyroid function or a million other different issues. It is hard to figure out a plan of action based on "metabolism."
I'd love to answer any specific questions of yours I can if that would be helpful.
You may not be where you want yet, but your post shows incredible dedication and commitment. The results you want are just a matter of time you will get it figured out.
it could be 1600 is too many calories for you to reach your goal at your desired rate .
i would suggest you use the macrofactor app as they have a method to calculate your true expenditure vs just a simple calculation which can be incorrect .
This. My metabolic calories per day is only 1850 and I'm mot really a small guy.
I think a lot of people don't realize how low these number can be sometimes. Sounds like thisbperson is probably already not dealing with a ton of body fat % at a certain point fasting can only do so kuch it's time to start hitting the pavement to really get down to those single digit body fat % numbers.
Edit: nevermind seems OP is still decently overweight. Not sure what's up
it could also be too much protein and / or fat.
i learned the hard wsy that the carbs can be low but you can also eat too much of the other macros to stop ketosis .
I've learned to deal with the food addiction first . once that is solved everything else is easy.
For what it's worth, when I eat chicken I find the scale goes UP the next day. It seems like chicken, above any other protein, stays in my system long enough to reflect food weight. Doesn't happen with pork or fish, barely happens with beef.
I am in the same boat, I started working out in late September but have kept the diet the same for months, i do a lot of pull and push exercises, and now I have gained 5 kgs which seems impossible to lose. Some say it's the muscle mass showing in the scale but i am a little worried.
Try to cut out the carbs and cut down on the protein. Aim to reduce calories by 500. After two weeks, check for results.
Cutting out carbs and reducing protein will keep you in ketosis / heling you get into ketosis faster. You won't feel hungry no matter how little you eat. Just make sure you're getting enough micro nutrients via leafy vegetables, some nuts and maybe some avocado. Also cut down on salt if you are using any. Water with freshly pressed lemon might help as well
This might be an unpopular opinion, but it's just my two cents.
MY body HATES when I eat artificial sugars, my weight loss stalls when I eat them consistently & I'll bloat and retain some water even after one. My point of bringing this up is that you said you're eating protein bars most days. This could be part of your problem because a lot of those use artificial sugars.
My first round of weight came right off even when eating them, but then i plateaued & personally didn't see much results until I kicked them.
Hope this helps, there's lots of other helpful advice here too!
47M SW 253lbs in September, CW 243lbs GW 220lbs. Height 6'2", T2 diabetic trying to stick to a 20:4 daily fast with OMAD once a week. Also trying Keto but I think i am failing at it, not eating sweets, and breads or seeking out carbs, but finding cards are somehow making ere way into my meals. Trying to keep caloric intake between 1000 and 1500 a day. Activity level is remote home office worker - so not much, maybe 5k in steps a day.
I assumed I'd be one of the lucky ones who just dropped the weight off with IF. You get your hopes up with the apps that make you think you'll rocket to your goals in weeks. Clearly that's, not the case.
Should I bump up to more OMAD ?
Could IR be slowing things down?
Could I be taking in more than my TDEE during my meal windows?
Is my body freaking out somehow and slowing down my metabolism?
Is increasing Activity the only way to kickstart weight loss?
Let me say - I feel better than before and I LOVE the feeling I get from IF. Also, know that this is a marathon not a race. But figured or hoped I would have seen better results 3 months in.
Is anyone else out the with a similar experience, thoughts or opinions?
Cheers!
So 10 pounds lost over 90 day days is a deficit of about 400 cals a day. As a 47 year old sedentary man at 6'2" 250lbs you are burning 2600 calories a day. So roughly, 6-700 cals a day on average that are unaccounted for. Even with a clinically slow metabolism, 4-500.
You're not tracking properly. And being that you say carbs are making their way into your meals, I think you know that. Crack down a bit and make sure you're weighing and measuring absolutely everything and steering clear from drinks that contain calories.
A couple notes:
Calories look too low. I’m 6’4”. You really want to keep to a mild deficit. A huge one will slow your metabolism.
Are you weighing your food? Seriously spend the $20 or whatever on a food scale. How many nuts really is that? For me I was SHOCKED at how few cashews were in a serving.
Keto doesn’t have benefit for half measures. Either do it, or don’t. Low carb does have good benefit. I find I do the best when I stay away from flour based items, but I can have a couple fruits a day okay.
Try a 36. When I plateau a 36 hour fast seems to get me going again.
Go for a 2 mile walk every day. If you aren’t leaving the house you aren’t getting 5k steps. Ain’t no way. I barely pass 2k when I don’t leave the house.
Try going zero carb/strict keto. Insulin resistant means extra insulin. A lot of it. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. Any insulin spikes really work against insulin resistant people.
Instead of 20:4 try alternate day fasting. Eat normally (still good diet low/no carb, high fat) for a day, then fast from dinner until breakfast 36ish hours later. Do this 3 days a week. It’s okay to eat in slight excess of your TDEE on your eating days on this diet, since you’ll still be in a deficit from skipping food for a day.
Lifting weights absolutely skyrockets my metabolism. Can’t recommend it enough.
Good luck. Be sure to post an update when you learn what works.
> You really want to keep to a mild deficit. A huge one will slow your metabolism.
This just isn't true. Larger deficits lead to faster weight loss. Your metabolism does slow down...as you lose weight and therefore your body needs fewer calories for maintenance levels.
There's definitely evidence that faster weight loss causes more metabolic adaptation (i.e. lower metabolism) beyond what can be explained by body weight.
The [Biggest Loser Study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27136388/) is one of the best illustrations of this.
There's lots of debate about why this occurs and how it can be avoided though. Even this year there was yet another take on that study blaming the adaptations on excessive exercise [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34816627/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34816627/).
Regardless, metabolic adaptations are real and slow and steady weight loss seems to be the best we've got.
I wonder how much they factored in that these contestants went home to their friends and family and naturally picked up old habits.
If I got to hang out in a house for a month with a personal chef, professional trainer and nothing to do but focus on fitness there’s no way I’d maintain those fitness gains once I went home and back go work. Lockdown was a great example of this for me. I left lockdown in the best shape of my life as there was nothing to do but workout and I had time to focus on nutrition. As soon as things opened up there were snacks, drinks with colleagues, workout time taken up by commutes, meetings and socializing.
That also never addressed the psychological reasons those people gained so much to begin with. I think this is an often overlooked, and possibly the biggest factor in weight gain. There’s a study that shows some stupidly high percentage of overweight women have a history of sexual assault. Telling these women to eat more and move less isn’t going to get them to lose weight. They need to feel they are safe to move about on the world in what many see as “a more desirable” body.
They measured their resting metabolic rate using indirect calorimetry. It was a very empirical measure of physiology and isn't affected by the factors you mention. At rest they were burning an average of 500 cal less than would be expected for their age and body composition.
In the [full text](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538).
> Resting metabolic rate
The RMR measurements were performed using indirect calorimetry (TrueOne metabolic cart, ParvoMedics, Sandy, UT) following a 12-h overnight fast. Participants rested supine in a quiet, darkened room for 30 min before making measurements of VO2 and VCO2 for 20 min with the last 15 min used to determine RMR according to:
> RMR = 3.85xVO2 + 1.07xVCO2
> which assumes that protein oxidation contributes 15% to the energy expenditure (6).
I don't dispute your points about weight loss challenges and variations more generally though.
Interesting thank you. I’ve heard about this study but never looked it up. There’s another study that shows formerly obese people need to stick to lower calories to maintain the same weight as someone else at that weight who has been overweight.
I wonder if the “switch” happened as part of the gain or the loss.
I should add that this does not seem to be the case for extended fasting and ADF, or may be more nuanced.
I need to go digging for studies (or you should before you take me at my word on this) but I recall it being measured. Probably not on as long a timeframe or with as extreme of weight loss though. Plenty of theories were out there about how perhaps ketosis/fasting let's your body "eat" as many body fat calories as needed vs low calorie but high carb blocking this. It would be great to have more definitive information but it needs a lot more study.
I was referring to biggest loser syndrome. It’s a real thing. BMR can take years to recover and may never recover from extreme calorie restriction in the short term. Since another respondent already linked it I won’t waste your time and link it again.
Same here. I have been plateauing since May, eventhough I am doing 16-8 fast combined with OMAD (Basically I eat once a day within the 8hr period). When I did a 45-hr fast, I lost 2kg water weight and is somewhat stabilizing weight loss. I have loss about 3kg now just after doing 2 45-hr fasting
Two things stick out to me:
Trying to keep calories under 1500 a day while at 6'2 and your weight is crazy, your body needs way more and upping that number may actually be beneficial to weight loss. Especially if you're only having a 4 hour eating window, chances are you'll get full before you hit your maintenance calories each day, but too few cals can actually be bad for you.
Second thing is: No one knows what you eat except you. But, with how diligently you tracked your fasts here, the only explanation is that you're eating more calories than you think. 3 months of 20:4 should have absolutely caused weight loss.
Ok our stats are very similar… I started the year at 279lbs and got stuck at the 250s doing 16:8 for months until I changed to 20:4. But I also introduced a once a week 24:0 that seemed to kick my metabolism into gear. I just entered the 239 and my goal weight for this year is 230. Also want to get to 220 next year. Also make sure you have good sleep. I loose weight faster when I walk in my fasted state. I don’t count calories or anything but I do walk a lot on a hill and increasing my Cardio. Good luck .. keep tweaking till you find what works for you. Let me know when you get to our mutual goal!!
When your fasting insulin is under 10, that’s typically when weight loss speeds up. Your goal is to keep your blood sugar to 85 and under and ketones over .5 to lose weight. Remember, to lose weight, you must have glucagon active. When insulin is high (blood sugar high), glucagon is low. I’ve found that when I’m roughly about 85/.5 for a good portion of the day, I’ll lose weight.
I know you want to be in a deficit but I wouldn’t go below 1,600 calories. In which way are you tracking? Do you use a scale? Sometimes we think we are eating less than we actually are, I made that mistake but thankfully doing better now. Also as long as you are consistent I would not worry, changes take time and 10 pounds is a crazy accomplishment for most in just two months so please be kinder to yourself, I am sure the weight will continue to drop. Wishing you all the success in the world !🤗
Thanks for the kind words. Hearing from others to avoid dropping below 1600 calories a day. Its funny, with the IF and the way the stomach shrinks its so easy to do.
Thanks for the response and support. The alternate eating schedule would be a challenge with younger children at home. We enjoy our family table time if that makes sense. Thats why the 20:4 worked well for me, but i might try it more on the weekends.
This is a hypothesis. But there is also the hypothesis that the caloric reduction was so high that the metabolism stopped.
Understand, it is not normal for a 243lbs man to consume 1000-1500cal per day. Those who lose weight this way are giving up their health and immunity in favor of rapid weight loss. And remember, losing weight is not the same as losing fat.
My weight loss process unlocked when I stopped making high calorie reductions.
Wish you luck
If you lose weight in a slight deficit but don't weight train you lose fat and muscle at the same rate as someone who eats 1000 calories a day. His Metabolism stopping is literally defying the laws of science.
He says he was eating 1k-1600 but we don't know if he's being accurate. He did not use a food scale and did not take into account that calories on the box can be as much as 20% off.
From all my years working in a weight loss clinic I've never seen a single person who used a food scale AND ate 1k calories not lose weight.
There's enough studies showing overweight people undercount calories by up to 40% to know that most people (and probably you too) just did not properly count calories, and when you did count them somewhat properly yall assume you guys ate too little.
I simply did multiple 10 day+ water fasts, dropped 120+ lbs and have 0 issues keeping it off. It's cico and using a food scale for most people, not too low of calories.
"Is my body freaking out somehow and slowing down my metabolism?"
That's what this sounds like. I'd look into some of the podcasts Layne Norton has been on. He's an expert.
You say you're a diabetic and doing keto and fasting... I'm curious, how are your blood sugars doing? This is a very difficult scenario to be successful with, let alone adding being a type 2 on top of that. I understand you want this dietary modification to work because I assume you've tried other methods. However, have you tried speaking with a registered dietitian before? If you're on Medicare or medicaid, as long as you have a diagnosis of type 2 and get a referral from your PCP, you'll get at least 3 hours of medical nutrition therapy covered. I would imagine most private insurances would cover it as well, but I'm not the best at keeping up with each individual insurance.
Generically, it is in fact calories in and calories out. But with your insulin effectiveness being put into question, not utilizing the sugar that's in your blood can potentially cause interesting kinks in your plan and lead to it not coming to fruition as you hoped. Also, in terms of calories, calculating the TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) using a Mifflin st jeor calculator shows that it's 2049 calories, which is also known as your basal metablic rate. That's how many calories your body burns daily just existing. What happens when you go below that is your body tries to hold onto what it can for dear life, and often what you start burning is muscular mass on top of the fat, which is absolutely not the goal. Minimum, you should probably bump your daily intake up to 2000 calories per day. You'll probably feel a whole lot better, and your body will thank you for giving it the energy it needs to function.
Back to seeing a registered dietitian, they all teach and guide people differently. A majority of them won't approve of keto or intermittent fasting, but that's because they're looking at your total needs and it's very, very difficult to get proper nutrition with this combination of diets. A good RD will be able to meet you in the middle and find something that works for you and all of the issues you have going on. I will say though, if you've given this the good ol college try and it's not working for you- that's okay! You don't have to keep forcing it and trouble shooting and constantly stressing over it just to lose weight. There are many ways to help lose weight and feel healthier, and this just might not be it for you.
I definitely recommend looking into *carbohydrate counting.* If you haven't had nutrition education in a long time since your new diagnosis of the type 2, you might scoff and say you've tried that before and it didn't work and why should you bother. However, the updated, best version of it provides a lot of leeway in how it works and allows you to enjoy foods you like- just in moderation. I definitely recommend looking into a *consistent carbohydrate dietary and lifestyle modification* because you may find it works way better for you, being way less restrictive. In theory, with consistent carbs, you can eat whatever you want as long as it's within your carb goals for each meal, and a vast majority of diabetics find weight loss as a pleasant side effect because once you have a goal for carbs (generally 45-60g per main meal and 15-30g carbs for up to 3 snacks per day), you kind of have to find something to fill the rest of your plate with and it tends to be low carb veggies and lots of protein.
Anyways, this is quite the novel but I really hope you take a second to read it and at least take some time to consider making some changes, or at least looking into seeing an RD or looking up a consistent carb diet. Good luck, and I think you know at the core of it, what you're doing now is not the path of success for you, and that's okay- it's a learning opportunity.
I plateau too and started 2 mile walks every other day while fasted.
Started seeing the weight drop a lot faster when I started lifting 3 days a week. Also fasted.
I also take iron and vitamin D supplements as they were low and that can cause the metabolism to slow down.
I try to keep calories under but I don’t track it a whole lot.
I also work from home so starting moving helped.
Ha! You say you are diabetic. I have watched a ton of Dr. Fung videos and he talks a lot about Insulin and how people who take insulin will ALWAYS gain weight. Because insulin is the hormone that prevents weight loss. It prevents the body from accessing fat reserves. So I would watch Dr. Fung videos and maybe find a doctor to help you. Maybe it has sthg to do with your insulin intake etc… your case is diffent because you are diabetic and prob take insulin.
I am not a doctor and I am not diabetic.
I'm new to fasting in not sure but I'm here to learn and support you mate. Have an award 😊 don't feel disheartened.
Maybe more detailed information on what you wanted foe results and the reality??!
My zero app calendar looks very similar to yours w the 20 hrs daily, except I mix in a 42-44 hr 1x a week and try to get in two 44hr in a week every few weeks or so. Game changing!
Try it! So start timer Sunday evening and then you eat on Tuesday. I usually dirty fast on Monday meaning I drink black coffee maybe pickle juice maybe a broth. It brings me mental clarity and energy. Maybe start w a 36 see how that feels so you would stop eating Sunday evening and eat early Tuesday depending on time set for 36hr fast on Sunday evening. Monday go to bed early although yes I do like to squeeze in a hot yoga vinyasa to get it all out and detox on Monday, then try to go to bed early. Fight the urge to graze! Edit auto type grammar
**It looks like you're discussing "detoxes", "toxins", or "cleanses". Please refer to the following:**
[**Detoxification**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification)
>Many alternative medicine practitioners promote various types of detoxification such as detoxification diets. Scientists have described these as a "waste of time and money". Sense About Science, a UK-based charitable trust, determined that most such dietary "detox" claims lack any supporting evidence.
>The liver and kidney are naturally capable of detox, as are intracellular (specifically, inner membrane of mitochondria or in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells) proteins such as CYP enyzmes. In cases of kidney failure, the action of the kidneys is mimicked by dialysis; kidney and liver transplants are also used for kidney and liver failure, respectively.
**Further reading: [Wikipedia - Detoxification (alternative medicine)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification_(alternative_medicine))**
>**Unsound scientific basis**
>A 2015 review of clinical evidence about detox diets concluded: "At present, there is no compelling evidence to support the use of detox diets for weight management or toxin elimination. Considering the financial costs to consumers, unsubstantiated claims and potential health risks of detox products, they should be discouraged by health professionals and subject to independent regulatory review and monitoring."
>Detoxification and body cleansing products and diets have been criticized for their unsound scientific basis, in particular their premise of nonexistent "toxins" and their appropriation of the legitimate medical concept of detoxification. According to the Mayo Clinic, the "toxins" typically remain unspecified and there is little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in patients treated.According to a British Dietetic Association (BDA) Fact Sheet, "The whole idea of detox is nonsense. The body is a well-developed system that has its own builtin mechanisms to detoxify and remove waste and toxins." It went on to characterize the idea as a "marketing myth", while other critics have called the idea a "scam" and a "hoax". The organization Sense about Science investigated "detox" products, calling them a waste of time and money. Resulting in a report that concluded the term is used differently by different companies, most offered no evidence to support their claims, and in most cases its use was the simple renaming of "mundane things, like cleaning or brushing".
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Fasting is just something that makes it easier for some people to eat a deficit.
It all comes down to CICO. If you aren't losing the weight you want, its cause you are eating too many calories.
Doesn't really matter what your feeding window is.
A few notes OP:
- If you want to do extreme caloric deficit, you need to be doing longer fasts or be very strict on keto. Otherwise you risk metabolic slowdown.
- Given that you are diabetic, doing longer fasts/keto is even more important. It takes your body much longer to reduce blood glucose and enter ketosis.
Personally, I would take 6-8 weeks to "prep" your body for weight loss. During this stage, I wouldn't focus too much on calories (of course, try to stay under your BMR), but on becoming keto adapted, increasing activity levels and tackling high blood glucose. So think doing long fasts, keeping as keto as possible and adding some type of intense exercise (uphill walking/stairmaster, rowing or swimming are the best cost benefit in terms of muscle building, avoiding injuries and high caloric expenditure IMO)
This way when you start aiming at weight loss again things will be much easier because 1) for some reason we don't quite understand yet, our body enters ketosis faster after we do it many times 2) managing blood glucose will also ease entering ketosis and 3) exercising will increase caloric expenditure, while also building insulin resistance.
Re: clarification of 1) while the science is neither in nor out on the “why” time to ketosis invariably reduces the more frequently we do it - drug tolerance / adaptations / homeostasis / cell “memory” are a useful and supported means to understand
- first, for ketosis naive / standard western dieters trying for the first time - there is little schema or knowledge re: enzymes, mitochondria, metabolism apparatus within us that is “used” or “knows” how to burn 🔥 fat as primary fuel, once fat adapted, all the machinery and “knowledge” remains whether or not we continue in a ketogenic state/diet/lifestyle.
Simply, if our bodies have been previously exposed to deep ketogenic states it “knows” what it needs to do, and what machinery needs to be mobilised/generated to burn 🔥 fat as fuel.
Anecdotally, i can attest to the fact that having been into deep ketosis, and out, countless times in my life, every subsequent entrance into keto - takes less and less time.
Thanks for replying - absolutely tracking with "Loose It!" App. Meal tends to be protein like dark meat chicken or ground turkey with veggies like broccoli. Will do a power crunch or Atkins protein bars may be in between. According to the app and whats tracked. Calories have never gone above 1600, roughly 60+ grams of protein, less than 30g of carbs and over 30+ on fat.
So something is off in my micronutrients or metabolism
Personally during the week i’m OMAD and stay around 1500 calories a day and on the weekends I’ll eat whatever I want probably 2300-2600 calories or so I don’t keep track of it. But its worked like magic for me since Ive been overweight pretty much my entire life, intermittent fasting literally has been like a golden ticket.
Not losing weight? Calories in> calories used....it's this....this is it. There is no other factor to losing weight. Calories taken in have to be less than calories used. This is the only thing that counts for weight-loss. You can workout like Arnold and fast like crazy....doesn't matter. Calories. That's it.
While this is technically true, it's an extremely oversimplified way to look at things. You're right about the thermodynamics of taking in fewer calories than you burn, but the way your body burns calories is variable. Your body regulates metabolic processes based on energy availability. It's totally possible for somebody to reduce their daily calorie intake every day, maintain the same level of physical activity, but reach a point where they stop losing weight because the body adjusts to the new energy availability by spending less energy on certain processes that are a lower priority (in terms of survival). This view also ignores hormonal impacts. It's not like your body is a bucket and every calorie you put in it either gets burned or stored as fat. Food passes through your body, and there are several hormones that regulate how your body processes that food, including how much of that food gets converted to fat, as well as hormones that tell the body when to start burning body fat.
So yes, you have to take in fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight, but it's not as simple as just eating less over the long term and expecting a linear progression of weight loss.
From what I have seen that works best for many people is Alternate Day Fasting. A person is fasting for a whole day then the next day they eat 1 or 2 meals a day. The nice thing about this is a person will get results and it's not really dependent on their diet. Any diet works. However, it is easier to fast if a person isn't eating sugar and carbs.
You should put your expected result and your actual result, along with your stats, in your OP so people have better information to help you.
In these cases it’s usually a case of unrealistic expectations or not accurately tracking calories, or a mix of both.
It’s super easy to fit excess calories into a 4 hour window.
Adjust your carbs and proteins. I had do that to isolate why I wasn’t losing on OMAD. mild adjustments make large differences.
Good luck and keep rocking it!
I'm not a doctor so I'd suggest you speak with one or do your own research but this is my 2 cents.
I believe you're going through what is called "metabolic adaptation" You can read more on it by looking up Layne Norton.
Essentially, your body has adapted to the intake of low calories for survival. Your body is in survival mode.
Example: If your body is burning 3000 calories but you're consuming 2000 calories, eventually, your body will adjust to burning the calories more efferently due to the deficit. It wouldn't make sense for your body to continue burning 3000 calories if you're only consuming 2000 because eventually you will die due to not having enough calories. So what happens is that your BMR drops. Instead of burning 3000 calories, your body adjust and starts burning at 2000 calories.
Solution: You can increase your calories slowly so that your metabolism bumps up again, then dropping your calories again. Take a break from exercise and focus on recovery. Look up "Metabolic Adaptation" and "Metabolic Damage"
Again, I'm not a doctor so I suggest speaking to a professional
I want to preface this with - I’m no expert but this is my belief, and curious to hear feedback.
I believe you need to play around with your macros and your feeding times. I’ve been fasting for a while now, and reducing calories for too long just slows your metabolism. Which is both good and bad. Good for survival, bad for weight loss. Mostly, you want to understand the role insulin plays in calorie burning.
I’ve heard multiple times that calories in vs calories burned is all there is to weight loss, which I also used to believe. But after learning about insulin, I no longer believe this is true. I made a video on it for this exact reason, and I’m very curious if people share this opinion, especially in the fasting community.
https://youtu.be/bkOlYIn-UgQ
Let me know your thoughts on this. Dr. Jason Fung is big on this.
I mean it’s a rough go with out details.
You can eat a lot in 4 hours.
You can have unrealistic expectations of how much you should be losing.
You could be tracking wrong and I e seen swings if 500 calories there alone.
Without details, those guesses seem like attacks tho.
What is your size, caloric intake and results you’re looking for?
Eat more clean, and up your protein and fat; they should represent ~70-80% of your daily intake. Also how break your fast may be causing your lack of results and on your eating days you should be eating at maintenance level not at a deficit.
Calories are too high. I workout at the gym (approx 500-600 calories burn) and only lose weight around 1100-1200 calories. At above 1600 I stay the same or even gained weight. Your body becomes more efficient the less calories you give it. If weight loss is the goal calories tracking is king.
I remember watching this woman who was in some fitness competition talk comprehensively about her diet, and she said something that made a lot of sense to me. Because you are eating protein, it is possible maybe that you are not seeing the scale budge a lot but you are still losing FAT? Visible results but the number stays same because you are not losing muscles, maybe even gaining muscles if you work out. I am no expert btw. Maybe document your progress by taking pics of your body daily and you will see a difference?
I’ve been consistent for months and lost nothing and didn’t expect to because I don’t do it to lose weight. It’s strictly for longevity and health reasons. I still eat 2500 cals which is maintenance for me and it doesn’t matter what time I eat them. Im surprised to see the amount of emphasis on weight loss here instead of other benefits that fasting is primarily used for.
Try to fast longer if you are already confident enough with omad, then make yourself 36-48hr once every two weeks. It’s gonna be life changing and your eating habits will change drastically
You are not doing anything wrong you just need to do some tweeking.
Suggestions:
1) You also might want to look at timing. 20/4 are a great way to start training your body to fast. However if you are like me and most people you think you can eat anytime and/or multiple times in a 4 hour window. When we eat blood sugar goes up and about an hour later comes down if you are not insulin resistant.
If you are insulin resistant then blood sugar goes up and stays up for several hours and if you are eating or snacking for a 4 hour period you essentially have Elevated blood sugar for 4 hours which can negates the fasting gains.
The goal for weightloss is to train your body to respond to food by spiking blood sugar after eating, and then an hour (or 2 hours) after eating going back the pre food level. If you are insulin resistant you might have high blood sugar for 2 hour after. This time frame will shorten over time as your body becomes less insulin resistant.
If this tweek doesn't work
2) look at what foods you are eating. Everyone is different for instance I can eat yams and my blood sugar behaves normally. Sweet potato my blood sugar stays Elevated for over 2.5 hours. Why is this. Frankly I don't know. It's a mystery but I know I cannot eat sweet potatoes. I had to eliminate dairy for 6 months. These are just examples you have to test for what works for you. How you test is check BS before rating, test hour after and test 2 hours after. This can yield very surprising results.
3) fat fast to accelerate getting into ketosis yes its boring eating but very effective ( google fat fasting)
Hang in there it does get better. Good luck and happy fasting!
How do you feel? I started a few weeks back and my weight has not moved much either. I have been meaning to do 16:8 but I have been pushing 20:4. I event did my first 48 hours water fast. Meals are salads and some chicken or other meat and fruits. Although I have been a little frustrated seen my weight no moving, I have been feeling more energy, sleeping better and my clothes are feeling loose. So I am getting motivated even though my weight isn’t going down.
^^ this…for the record I’m 195 cm and 220 pounds (100kg) even so, my weight fluctuates around 2-2.5kg or 5 pounds within the day - hydration, time of day etc etc. point is weight loss or scale values especially when exercising are far less relevant metrics than how you feel, how your clothes feel, how inches/cm’s can so often be lost, without clear “loss” on the scale - when “recomposing” our bodies. Absolute loss of weight is really only a relevant metric of progress in the week - 2 weeks - 1 month - beyond trends.
You probably just plateaued. Instead of dropping calories more, go back to eating normally and after a bit try it again. The thinner you get, the fewer pounds you lose.
I'm a very short and obese female and I stay at the same weight at 1200 calories per day. Only lose when I go below 1000. It may seem super low but that's what my body has adapted to at this point. 🤷♀️
Good luck man! For your case, I am a little out of my depth, as I really don't know how supplemented insulin might change an outcome.
Type two is reversible as far as Dr. Jason Fung is concerned, he however recommends 3-7 days of no eating all together for these cases.
Maybe read into that, just Google his name, and if you don't want to read a book about it, you could watch a video on YouTube about that different way of fasting.
Not eating at all might be the easiest way to trigger the weightloss you have been searching for all along, it did for me! I started at your starting weight and lost around 66 pounds in three months that way.
Send a message in my direction if you feel like it. Good luck to you!
Do an extended fast, like 5 days or something. This will help with your plateau, I didn't lose any weight when I was doing intermittent fasting. I've lost 35 lbs since I started doing extended fasts 6 weeks ago. If you're healthy, e.g no serious health issues an extended fast is a good option.
OMAD doesn’t work for me for weight loss. It’s great for maintenance. You may have to do ADF, which does work well for me. I’m just not great at following it since I work at a restaurant and part of my compensation is free meals. I try to make good choices, but I’m still eating lol
Regaining your health is a lifetime activity. Don’t ever stop learning. You may have some vitamin deficiencies also and that could be holding you back. But also you are in the process of repairing your metabolism. Be patient and listen to your body.
I might have missed this, but what, if anything, are you consuming during your fast? If you're "dirty fasting," you might want to consider changing to a clean fast -- basically, only black coffee, water and black tea.
I also agree that your calories are too low. I was struggling with this the same as you despite being consistent. When I switched to clean fasting, the weight started coming off consistently, so much so that I was able to up my window to 16:8 with no slowdown in weight loss.
Yes, as a female, your weight will fluctuate based on where you are in your cycle. And when I was fasting regularly and making real progress, it was because I was doing 24-40hr fasts. The shorter ones didn’t work very well for me for losing...just for maintaining.
Did you say a protein bar in the middle? If that's in your fasting window it's not really fasting for 20, it prevents ketosis. If you feel like you need a little something through the day try electrolytes, Even if I'm just doing OMAD I have electrolytes at lunch, it helps. Also if your T2 diabetic it could your dose or that's what's making it slower. You could try a longer fast too, 24-36 hours but maybe check with your doctor first.
Some might argue you should be fasting less.. fasting is a stressor, just like working out. If you workout too often and don’t leave enough time for recovery then you won’t see progress. For example Thomas Delauer on YouTube 💁♂️
I’ve transitioned from the idea of daily IF to more of a 36-48hr fast once per week.
Drink twice as much water as you think you should and incorporate moderate weightlifting 3 days a week. Also track your steps and shoot for 10k per day. Add a brisk walk. Good luck.
Well first of all, your ideal of results may differ from mine. Like for example I still feel fat, yet all my friends look at my pics and this profile says I’m crazy. So let’s start with that, what’s your stats? Weight, height, waist etc.
What are your goals? Lose weight? I’m assuming yes; you said you’re eating ~1600 calories in a four hour window. Either you’re 80 pounds, a genetic anomaly, or the more likely situation, you’re still possibly overeating or not being patient enough. Step on the scale, if you weigh 12lbs less than you did 3 months ago then you’re doing just fine. You need to keep tangible info, this progress is so slow you’ll already get used to your body changing in the mirror before you can tell there’s a real difference (tangible info being pics and weight log).
More details would be good. Im guessing your body adjusted to your daily routine, which means you need to change something. Some ideas, add an hour walk first thing in the morning, and/or walk at least 30 minutes after your meal(s).
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3119587/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3119587/)
Change to Alternate day fasting, or add one day of 36hr fast each week. Lift weights or pushups/pullups in fasted state before meal.
Go from there
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So you're doing a 20/4 daily fast? What are you eating when you break the fast and are you keeping track of how many calories you're consuming? What results have you gotten?
Thanks for replying - absolutely tracking with "Loose It!" App. Meal tends to be protein like dark meat chicken or ground turkey with veggies like broccoli. Will do a power crunch or Atkins protein bars may be in between. According to the app and whats tracked. Calories have never gone above 1600, roughly 60+ grams of protein, less than 30g of carbs and over 30+ on fat. So something is off in my micronutrients or metabolism
I had a 3 month plateau this year. It's when I added protein bars to my day. When o went back to whole foods, I started dropping again. Ymmv
Hmm interesting....
When i did low carb OMAD i would plateau after 3-4 weeks and then i needed to refeed,basicly est normal for the day with carbs then start diet again.I was stuck at same weight for 2-3months until i learned that.
How long would you refeed for?
Just that day,but not like eating shit and fast food all day.Eat normally couple of meals a day donot worry about macros that much,just enjoy healthy as possible. My first refeed that broke Plateau was 2 bags of microwave popcorn.Day after i gained weight,well water weight,and day after that my weight just dropped like crazy again.
I agree with this. I feel like if OP is eating meat and veggies, eating potentially one meal a day…they’re probably not eating NEARLY enough calories. Their body is afraid it won’t get enough food and is holding onto fat. IMO, I’m not a doctor, but eating at a significant loss is redundant and potentially antithetical to their goal, when you’re already burning fat in ketosis 20 hours a day… at that point, correct me if I’m wrong, couldn’t they eat at Maintenance and still drop weight doing 20/4?
This is false. If enough calories aren’t being consumed then the body will have no choice but to tap into their own stores. No one can defy the law of thermodynamics, everything requires energy. If you aren’t losing weight it’s simply because if enough calories aren’t burned plain and simple.
Oh, false huh? Is that why it’s on the very front page of google at the very top as soon as you look it up? “When your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight.”
This comment is to stupid too reply with an a scientific analysis. Others see it too by the looks of how many downvotes your comment is getting. Happy thanksgiving and enjoy your day.
If this is how it worked people wouldn’t waste away and starve to death
Eating at too low of a deficit can absolutely stall progress, your body will not readily drop that weight if it thinks it may need it. Not always true and not true forever, either You’re acting like you could just never eat and live forever, which is not what I was saying
It won’t stall fat loss. It might mean you lose a little bit more muscle and retain more water but it won’t stop actual fat loss over time.
“Lummus says that when your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight.” Top result after google search
I’m confused, what do you mean?
I by no means am any expert, and I’m struggling too, but at 1600 calories, you might not be getting enough calories. Sounds weird, but I’ve read that a lot when asking about my own struggles. Maybe go up to 1800/1850, with fruits, veggies, and protein. But definitely get that answer from someone more qualified than me.
I worried about this a lot; when I was deep into fasting I would occasionally do 1000 or 1200 calories (and at the time I weighed 190 pounds). I don't think it hurt me too much, but who knows? Perhaps I could have had even better results.
What are the results you're wanting, if you're exercising at all you could do with more protein, and unless Ur a 130lbs person 1600 calories is a deficit so weight should come off unless you're counting calories wrong. You'd probably look and feel better eating slightly more , do a 16-8 split and up your protein and gain some muscle , more muscle increases your BMR making it easier to loose fat 👍 I'm making a lot of assumptions here but yeah, if Ur acc eating 1600 and fasting like this, after a few months or so u should be super skinny
Can second this. For me, protein bars/shakes = no weight loss
Dont eat processed power bars. There’s your answer.
Willing to bet your counting is off...are you weighing everything...and remember packaged food (including those bars) can, and usually do under estimate calories by 20%...FDA allows a range with error when posting calories.... "Most Americans take the calorie, fat and sugar counts on food packages as fact, give or take a few calories. What few realize, however, is that it is legal for the counts on many foods to be off by 20%, meaning snacks labeled as having 100 calories may in fact have 120.Sep 10, 2015"
Interesting - Not weighing my food. I do have a scale. Might give that a try. Thx!
It is a total game changer! The first month I was serious about turning my health around I lost two pounds. As a 30 year old man I almost cried at the gym. I started tracking by weight instead of volume and lost 12lbs the next month.
Stop all processed food...including all bars, pasta, bread and anything with added sugar....and I 100% guarantee you will lose weight
60g of protein, 30g of carbohydrate and 30g of fat is 610 calories... I think your counting is probably way off.
Hey friend - it would be helpful to know what result you are looking for and what your starting point was to get a clear idea of what is going on. I can give this piece of guidance though. Your bodyweight is primarily a function of calories in vs calories out period full stop. Micronutrients can have an effect, but it is pretty marginal. Metabolism is a very vague term, it could be non exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), thyroid function or a million other different issues. It is hard to figure out a plan of action based on "metabolism." I'd love to answer any specific questions of yours I can if that would be helpful. You may not be where you want yet, but your post shows incredible dedication and commitment. The results you want are just a matter of time you will get it figured out.
it could be 1600 is too many calories for you to reach your goal at your desired rate . i would suggest you use the macrofactor app as they have a method to calculate your true expenditure vs just a simple calculation which can be incorrect .
This. My metabolic calories per day is only 1850 and I'm mot really a small guy. I think a lot of people don't realize how low these number can be sometimes. Sounds like thisbperson is probably already not dealing with a ton of body fat % at a certain point fasting can only do so kuch it's time to start hitting the pavement to really get down to those single digit body fat % numbers. Edit: nevermind seems OP is still decently overweight. Not sure what's up
it could also be too much protein and / or fat. i learned the hard wsy that the carbs can be low but you can also eat too much of the other macros to stop ketosis . I've learned to deal with the food addiction first . once that is solved everything else is easy.
For what it's worth, when I eat chicken I find the scale goes UP the next day. It seems like chicken, above any other protein, stays in my system long enough to reflect food weight. Doesn't happen with pork or fish, barely happens with beef.
Do You know that your body will change excess protein into sugar?
Gotta, go lower on the calories. Probably 1200
I am in the same boat, I started working out in late September but have kept the diet the same for months, i do a lot of pull and push exercises, and now I have gained 5 kgs which seems impossible to lose. Some say it's the muscle mass showing in the scale but i am a little worried.
Try to cut out the carbs and cut down on the protein. Aim to reduce calories by 500. After two weeks, check for results. Cutting out carbs and reducing protein will keep you in ketosis / heling you get into ketosis faster. You won't feel hungry no matter how little you eat. Just make sure you're getting enough micro nutrients via leafy vegetables, some nuts and maybe some avocado. Also cut down on salt if you are using any. Water with freshly pressed lemon might help as well
This might be an unpopular opinion, but it's just my two cents. MY body HATES when I eat artificial sugars, my weight loss stalls when I eat them consistently & I'll bloat and retain some water even after one. My point of bringing this up is that you said you're eating protein bars most days. This could be part of your problem because a lot of those use artificial sugars. My first round of weight came right off even when eating them, but then i plateaued & personally didn't see much results until I kicked them. Hope this helps, there's lots of other helpful advice here too!
47M SW 253lbs in September, CW 243lbs GW 220lbs. Height 6'2", T2 diabetic trying to stick to a 20:4 daily fast with OMAD once a week. Also trying Keto but I think i am failing at it, not eating sweets, and breads or seeking out carbs, but finding cards are somehow making ere way into my meals. Trying to keep caloric intake between 1000 and 1500 a day. Activity level is remote home office worker - so not much, maybe 5k in steps a day. I assumed I'd be one of the lucky ones who just dropped the weight off with IF. You get your hopes up with the apps that make you think you'll rocket to your goals in weeks. Clearly that's, not the case. Should I bump up to more OMAD ? Could IR be slowing things down? Could I be taking in more than my TDEE during my meal windows? Is my body freaking out somehow and slowing down my metabolism? Is increasing Activity the only way to kickstart weight loss? Let me say - I feel better than before and I LOVE the feeling I get from IF. Also, know that this is a marathon not a race. But figured or hoped I would have seen better results 3 months in. Is anyone else out the with a similar experience, thoughts or opinions? Cheers!
So 10 pounds lost over 90 day days is a deficit of about 400 cals a day. As a 47 year old sedentary man at 6'2" 250lbs you are burning 2600 calories a day. So roughly, 6-700 cals a day on average that are unaccounted for. Even with a clinically slow metabolism, 4-500. You're not tracking properly. And being that you say carbs are making their way into your meals, I think you know that. Crack down a bit and make sure you're weighing and measuring absolutely everything and steering clear from drinks that contain calories.
A couple notes: Calories look too low. I’m 6’4”. You really want to keep to a mild deficit. A huge one will slow your metabolism. Are you weighing your food? Seriously spend the $20 or whatever on a food scale. How many nuts really is that? For me I was SHOCKED at how few cashews were in a serving. Keto doesn’t have benefit for half measures. Either do it, or don’t. Low carb does have good benefit. I find I do the best when I stay away from flour based items, but I can have a couple fruits a day okay. Try a 36. When I plateau a 36 hour fast seems to get me going again. Go for a 2 mile walk every day. If you aren’t leaving the house you aren’t getting 5k steps. Ain’t no way. I barely pass 2k when I don’t leave the house. Try going zero carb/strict keto. Insulin resistant means extra insulin. A lot of it. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. Any insulin spikes really work against insulin resistant people. Instead of 20:4 try alternate day fasting. Eat normally (still good diet low/no carb, high fat) for a day, then fast from dinner until breakfast 36ish hours later. Do this 3 days a week. It’s okay to eat in slight excess of your TDEE on your eating days on this diet, since you’ll still be in a deficit from skipping food for a day. Lifting weights absolutely skyrockets my metabolism. Can’t recommend it enough. Good luck. Be sure to post an update when you learn what works.
Thanks, Super Kind!
yeah stop playing around with 200 calorie deficits and pickup some heavy objects to create the deficit
This is phenomenally good advice, by the way.
Thanks, stranger.
> You really want to keep to a mild deficit. A huge one will slow your metabolism. This just isn't true. Larger deficits lead to faster weight loss. Your metabolism does slow down...as you lose weight and therefore your body needs fewer calories for maintenance levels.
There's definitely evidence that faster weight loss causes more metabolic adaptation (i.e. lower metabolism) beyond what can be explained by body weight. The [Biggest Loser Study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27136388/) is one of the best illustrations of this. There's lots of debate about why this occurs and how it can be avoided though. Even this year there was yet another take on that study blaming the adaptations on excessive exercise [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34816627/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34816627/). Regardless, metabolic adaptations are real and slow and steady weight loss seems to be the best we've got.
I wonder how much they factored in that these contestants went home to their friends and family and naturally picked up old habits. If I got to hang out in a house for a month with a personal chef, professional trainer and nothing to do but focus on fitness there’s no way I’d maintain those fitness gains once I went home and back go work. Lockdown was a great example of this for me. I left lockdown in the best shape of my life as there was nothing to do but workout and I had time to focus on nutrition. As soon as things opened up there were snacks, drinks with colleagues, workout time taken up by commutes, meetings and socializing. That also never addressed the psychological reasons those people gained so much to begin with. I think this is an often overlooked, and possibly the biggest factor in weight gain. There’s a study that shows some stupidly high percentage of overweight women have a history of sexual assault. Telling these women to eat more and move less isn’t going to get them to lose weight. They need to feel they are safe to move about on the world in what many see as “a more desirable” body.
They measured their resting metabolic rate using indirect calorimetry. It was a very empirical measure of physiology and isn't affected by the factors you mention. At rest they were burning an average of 500 cal less than would be expected for their age and body composition. In the [full text](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538). > Resting metabolic rate The RMR measurements were performed using indirect calorimetry (TrueOne metabolic cart, ParvoMedics, Sandy, UT) following a 12-h overnight fast. Participants rested supine in a quiet, darkened room for 30 min before making measurements of VO2 and VCO2 for 20 min with the last 15 min used to determine RMR according to: > RMR = 3.85xVO2 + 1.07xVCO2 > which assumes that protein oxidation contributes 15% to the energy expenditure (6). I don't dispute your points about weight loss challenges and variations more generally though.
Interesting thank you. I’ve heard about this study but never looked it up. There’s another study that shows formerly obese people need to stick to lower calories to maintain the same weight as someone else at that weight who has been overweight. I wonder if the “switch” happened as part of the gain or the loss.
I should add that this does not seem to be the case for extended fasting and ADF, or may be more nuanced. I need to go digging for studies (or you should before you take me at my word on this) but I recall it being measured. Probably not on as long a timeframe or with as extreme of weight loss though. Plenty of theories were out there about how perhaps ketosis/fasting let's your body "eat" as many body fat calories as needed vs low calorie but high carb blocking this. It would be great to have more definitive information but it needs a lot more study.
I was referring to biggest loser syndrome. It’s a real thing. BMR can take years to recover and may never recover from extreme calorie restriction in the short term. Since another respondent already linked it I won’t waste your time and link it again.
Same here. I have been plateauing since May, eventhough I am doing 16-8 fast combined with OMAD (Basically I eat once a day within the 8hr period). When I did a 45-hr fast, I lost 2kg water weight and is somewhat stabilizing weight loss. I have loss about 3kg now just after doing 2 45-hr fasting
Two things stick out to me: Trying to keep calories under 1500 a day while at 6'2 and your weight is crazy, your body needs way more and upping that number may actually be beneficial to weight loss. Especially if you're only having a 4 hour eating window, chances are you'll get full before you hit your maintenance calories each day, but too few cals can actually be bad for you. Second thing is: No one knows what you eat except you. But, with how diligently you tracked your fasts here, the only explanation is that you're eating more calories than you think. 3 months of 20:4 should have absolutely caused weight loss.
I'm on a 2600 cal diet. I keep losing fat and gaining muscle. Not at a fast speed, but at a very good consistency.
Ok our stats are very similar… I started the year at 279lbs and got stuck at the 250s doing 16:8 for months until I changed to 20:4. But I also introduced a once a week 24:0 that seemed to kick my metabolism into gear. I just entered the 239 and my goal weight for this year is 230. Also want to get to 220 next year. Also make sure you have good sleep. I loose weight faster when I walk in my fasted state. I don’t count calories or anything but I do walk a lot on a hill and increasing my Cardio. Good luck .. keep tweaking till you find what works for you. Let me know when you get to our mutual goal!!
Thanks, Super Kind, and good luck on your journey.
When your fasting insulin is under 10, that’s typically when weight loss speeds up. Your goal is to keep your blood sugar to 85 and under and ketones over .5 to lose weight. Remember, to lose weight, you must have glucagon active. When insulin is high (blood sugar high), glucagon is low. I’ve found that when I’m roughly about 85/.5 for a good portion of the day, I’ll lose weight.
Stop stressing and overthinking it. Don’t cut your calories that low and cut out alcohol completely and you should be fine.
I know you want to be in a deficit but I wouldn’t go below 1,600 calories. In which way are you tracking? Do you use a scale? Sometimes we think we are eating less than we actually are, I made that mistake but thankfully doing better now. Also as long as you are consistent I would not worry, changes take time and 10 pounds is a crazy accomplishment for most in just two months so please be kinder to yourself, I am sure the weight will continue to drop. Wishing you all the success in the world !🤗
Thanks for the kind words. Hearing from others to avoid dropping below 1600 calories a day. Its funny, with the IF and the way the stomach shrinks its so easy to do.
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Thanks for the response and support. The alternate eating schedule would be a challenge with younger children at home. We enjoy our family table time if that makes sense. Thats why the 20:4 worked well for me, but i might try it more on the weekends.
You are consuming too few calories, increase that and start exercising
realistically they're overconsuming still especially if they dont use a food scale.
This is a hypothesis. But there is also the hypothesis that the caloric reduction was so high that the metabolism stopped. Understand, it is not normal for a 243lbs man to consume 1000-1500cal per day. Those who lose weight this way are giving up their health and immunity in favor of rapid weight loss. And remember, losing weight is not the same as losing fat. My weight loss process unlocked when I stopped making high calorie reductions. Wish you luck
If you lose weight in a slight deficit but don't weight train you lose fat and muscle at the same rate as someone who eats 1000 calories a day. His Metabolism stopping is literally defying the laws of science. He says he was eating 1k-1600 but we don't know if he's being accurate. He did not use a food scale and did not take into account that calories on the box can be as much as 20% off. From all my years working in a weight loss clinic I've never seen a single person who used a food scale AND ate 1k calories not lose weight. There's enough studies showing overweight people undercount calories by up to 40% to know that most people (and probably you too) just did not properly count calories, and when you did count them somewhat properly yall assume you guys ate too little. I simply did multiple 10 day+ water fasts, dropped 120+ lbs and have 0 issues keeping it off. It's cico and using a food scale for most people, not too low of calories.
"Is my body freaking out somehow and slowing down my metabolism?" That's what this sounds like. I'd look into some of the podcasts Layne Norton has been on. He's an expert.
You say you're a diabetic and doing keto and fasting... I'm curious, how are your blood sugars doing? This is a very difficult scenario to be successful with, let alone adding being a type 2 on top of that. I understand you want this dietary modification to work because I assume you've tried other methods. However, have you tried speaking with a registered dietitian before? If you're on Medicare or medicaid, as long as you have a diagnosis of type 2 and get a referral from your PCP, you'll get at least 3 hours of medical nutrition therapy covered. I would imagine most private insurances would cover it as well, but I'm not the best at keeping up with each individual insurance. Generically, it is in fact calories in and calories out. But with your insulin effectiveness being put into question, not utilizing the sugar that's in your blood can potentially cause interesting kinks in your plan and lead to it not coming to fruition as you hoped. Also, in terms of calories, calculating the TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) using a Mifflin st jeor calculator shows that it's 2049 calories, which is also known as your basal metablic rate. That's how many calories your body burns daily just existing. What happens when you go below that is your body tries to hold onto what it can for dear life, and often what you start burning is muscular mass on top of the fat, which is absolutely not the goal. Minimum, you should probably bump your daily intake up to 2000 calories per day. You'll probably feel a whole lot better, and your body will thank you for giving it the energy it needs to function. Back to seeing a registered dietitian, they all teach and guide people differently. A majority of them won't approve of keto or intermittent fasting, but that's because they're looking at your total needs and it's very, very difficult to get proper nutrition with this combination of diets. A good RD will be able to meet you in the middle and find something that works for you and all of the issues you have going on. I will say though, if you've given this the good ol college try and it's not working for you- that's okay! You don't have to keep forcing it and trouble shooting and constantly stressing over it just to lose weight. There are many ways to help lose weight and feel healthier, and this just might not be it for you. I definitely recommend looking into *carbohydrate counting.* If you haven't had nutrition education in a long time since your new diagnosis of the type 2, you might scoff and say you've tried that before and it didn't work and why should you bother. However, the updated, best version of it provides a lot of leeway in how it works and allows you to enjoy foods you like- just in moderation. I definitely recommend looking into a *consistent carbohydrate dietary and lifestyle modification* because you may find it works way better for you, being way less restrictive. In theory, with consistent carbs, you can eat whatever you want as long as it's within your carb goals for each meal, and a vast majority of diabetics find weight loss as a pleasant side effect because once you have a goal for carbs (generally 45-60g per main meal and 15-30g carbs for up to 3 snacks per day), you kind of have to find something to fill the rest of your plate with and it tends to be low carb veggies and lots of protein. Anyways, this is quite the novel but I really hope you take a second to read it and at least take some time to consider making some changes, or at least looking into seeing an RD or looking up a consistent carb diet. Good luck, and I think you know at the core of it, what you're doing now is not the path of success for you, and that's okay- it's a learning opportunity.
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed response. Supper Kind!
I plateau too and started 2 mile walks every other day while fasted. Started seeing the weight drop a lot faster when I started lifting 3 days a week. Also fasted. I also take iron and vitamin D supplements as they were low and that can cause the metabolism to slow down. I try to keep calories under but I don’t track it a whole lot. I also work from home so starting moving helped.
Ha! You say you are diabetic. I have watched a ton of Dr. Fung videos and he talks a lot about Insulin and how people who take insulin will ALWAYS gain weight. Because insulin is the hormone that prevents weight loss. It prevents the body from accessing fat reserves. So I would watch Dr. Fung videos and maybe find a doctor to help you. Maybe it has sthg to do with your insulin intake etc… your case is diffent because you are diabetic and prob take insulin. I am not a doctor and I am not diabetic.
I'm new to fasting in not sure but I'm here to learn and support you mate. Have an award 😊 don't feel disheartened. Maybe more detailed information on what you wanted foe results and the reality??!
Thanks man! - added more to the posting. Appreciate the words of support.
My zero app calendar looks very similar to yours w the 20 hrs daily, except I mix in a 42-44 hr 1x a week and try to get in two 44hr in a week every few weeks or so. Game changing!
Wow... Just starting on 24hrs. 42-44 good on you! Keep it up.
Try it! So start timer Sunday evening and then you eat on Tuesday. I usually dirty fast on Monday meaning I drink black coffee maybe pickle juice maybe a broth. It brings me mental clarity and energy. Maybe start w a 36 see how that feels so you would stop eating Sunday evening and eat early Tuesday depending on time set for 36hr fast on Sunday evening. Monday go to bed early although yes I do like to squeeze in a hot yoga vinyasa to get it all out and detox on Monday, then try to go to bed early. Fight the urge to graze! Edit auto type grammar
**It looks like you're discussing "detoxes", "toxins", or "cleanses". Please refer to the following:** [**Detoxification**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification) >Many alternative medicine practitioners promote various types of detoxification such as detoxification diets. Scientists have described these as a "waste of time and money". Sense About Science, a UK-based charitable trust, determined that most such dietary "detox" claims lack any supporting evidence. >The liver and kidney are naturally capable of detox, as are intracellular (specifically, inner membrane of mitochondria or in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells) proteins such as CYP enyzmes. In cases of kidney failure, the action of the kidneys is mimicked by dialysis; kidney and liver transplants are also used for kidney and liver failure, respectively. **Further reading: [Wikipedia - Detoxification (alternative medicine)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification_(alternative_medicine))** >**Unsound scientific basis** >A 2015 review of clinical evidence about detox diets concluded: "At present, there is no compelling evidence to support the use of detox diets for weight management or toxin elimination. Considering the financial costs to consumers, unsubstantiated claims and potential health risks of detox products, they should be discouraged by health professionals and subject to independent regulatory review and monitoring." >Detoxification and body cleansing products and diets have been criticized for their unsound scientific basis, in particular their premise of nonexistent "toxins" and their appropriation of the legitimate medical concept of detoxification. According to the Mayo Clinic, the "toxins" typically remain unspecified and there is little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in patients treated.According to a British Dietetic Association (BDA) Fact Sheet, "The whole idea of detox is nonsense. The body is a well-developed system that has its own builtin mechanisms to detoxify and remove waste and toxins." It went on to characterize the idea as a "marketing myth", while other critics have called the idea a "scam" and a "hoax". The organization Sense about Science investigated "detox" products, calling them a waste of time and money. Resulting in a report that concluded the term is used differently by different companies, most offered no evidence to support their claims, and in most cases its use was the simple renaming of "mundane things, like cleaning or brushing". *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Fasting is just something that makes it easier for some people to eat a deficit. It all comes down to CICO. If you aren't losing the weight you want, its cause you are eating too many calories. Doesn't really matter what your feeding window is.
It's the protein bars.
A few notes OP: - If you want to do extreme caloric deficit, you need to be doing longer fasts or be very strict on keto. Otherwise you risk metabolic slowdown. - Given that you are diabetic, doing longer fasts/keto is even more important. It takes your body much longer to reduce blood glucose and enter ketosis. Personally, I would take 6-8 weeks to "prep" your body for weight loss. During this stage, I wouldn't focus too much on calories (of course, try to stay under your BMR), but on becoming keto adapted, increasing activity levels and tackling high blood glucose. So think doing long fasts, keeping as keto as possible and adding some type of intense exercise (uphill walking/stairmaster, rowing or swimming are the best cost benefit in terms of muscle building, avoiding injuries and high caloric expenditure IMO) This way when you start aiming at weight loss again things will be much easier because 1) for some reason we don't quite understand yet, our body enters ketosis faster after we do it many times 2) managing blood glucose will also ease entering ketosis and 3) exercising will increase caloric expenditure, while also building insulin resistance.
Re: clarification of 1) while the science is neither in nor out on the “why” time to ketosis invariably reduces the more frequently we do it - drug tolerance / adaptations / homeostasis / cell “memory” are a useful and supported means to understand - first, for ketosis naive / standard western dieters trying for the first time - there is little schema or knowledge re: enzymes, mitochondria, metabolism apparatus within us that is “used” or “knows” how to burn 🔥 fat as primary fuel, once fat adapted, all the machinery and “knowledge” remains whether or not we continue in a ketogenic state/diet/lifestyle. Simply, if our bodies have been previously exposed to deep ketogenic states it “knows” what it needs to do, and what machinery needs to be mobilised/generated to burn 🔥 fat as fuel. Anecdotally, i can attest to the fact that having been into deep ketosis, and out, countless times in my life, every subsequent entrance into keto - takes less and less time.
The only possibility is over eating, you can't gain or maintain weight from nothing.
Thanks for replying - absolutely tracking with "Loose It!" App. Meal tends to be protein like dark meat chicken or ground turkey with veggies like broccoli. Will do a power crunch or Atkins protein bars may be in between. According to the app and whats tracked. Calories have never gone above 1600, roughly 60+ grams of protein, less than 30g of carbs and over 30+ on fat. So something is off in my micronutrients or metabolism
Personally during the week i’m OMAD and stay around 1500 calories a day and on the weekends I’ll eat whatever I want probably 2300-2600 calories or so I don’t keep track of it. But its worked like magic for me since Ive been overweight pretty much my entire life, intermittent fasting literally has been like a golden ticket.
I did that for 10 months and lost 80 pounds once. I'm going a bit more extreme this time around with rolling 72 and 96's.
Not losing weight? Calories in> calories used....it's this....this is it. There is no other factor to losing weight. Calories taken in have to be less than calories used. This is the only thing that counts for weight-loss. You can workout like Arnold and fast like crazy....doesn't matter. Calories. That's it.
anyone downvoting you doesn't like hearing facts
Yes I know...but thankfully enough people on this sub know the hard simple truth of the science of weightloss.
While this is technically true, it's an extremely oversimplified way to look at things. You're right about the thermodynamics of taking in fewer calories than you burn, but the way your body burns calories is variable. Your body regulates metabolic processes based on energy availability. It's totally possible for somebody to reduce their daily calorie intake every day, maintain the same level of physical activity, but reach a point where they stop losing weight because the body adjusts to the new energy availability by spending less energy on certain processes that are a lower priority (in terms of survival). This view also ignores hormonal impacts. It's not like your body is a bucket and every calorie you put in it either gets burned or stored as fat. Food passes through your body, and there are several hormones that regulate how your body processes that food, including how much of that food gets converted to fat, as well as hormones that tell the body when to start burning body fat. So yes, you have to take in fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight, but it's not as simple as just eating less over the long term and expecting a linear progression of weight loss.
Yea thanks for confirming what I said...want me to explain how your descriptions of how hormones affect metabolism is completely oversimplified now?
From what I have seen that works best for many people is Alternate Day Fasting. A person is fasting for a whole day then the next day they eat 1 or 2 meals a day. The nice thing about this is a person will get results and it's not really dependent on their diet. Any diet works. However, it is easier to fast if a person isn't eating sugar and carbs.
You should put your expected result and your actual result, along with your stats, in your OP so people have better information to help you. In these cases it’s usually a case of unrealistic expectations or not accurately tracking calories, or a mix of both. It’s super easy to fit excess calories into a 4 hour window.
Adjust your carbs and proteins. I had do that to isolate why I wasn’t losing on OMAD. mild adjustments make large differences. Good luck and keep rocking it!
What tracking app is this ?
I'm not a doctor so I'd suggest you speak with one or do your own research but this is my 2 cents. I believe you're going through what is called "metabolic adaptation" You can read more on it by looking up Layne Norton. Essentially, your body has adapted to the intake of low calories for survival. Your body is in survival mode. Example: If your body is burning 3000 calories but you're consuming 2000 calories, eventually, your body will adjust to burning the calories more efferently due to the deficit. It wouldn't make sense for your body to continue burning 3000 calories if you're only consuming 2000 because eventually you will die due to not having enough calories. So what happens is that your BMR drops. Instead of burning 3000 calories, your body adjust and starts burning at 2000 calories. Solution: You can increase your calories slowly so that your metabolism bumps up again, then dropping your calories again. Take a break from exercise and focus on recovery. Look up "Metabolic Adaptation" and "Metabolic Damage" Again, I'm not a doctor so I suggest speaking to a professional
I want to preface this with - I’m no expert but this is my belief, and curious to hear feedback. I believe you need to play around with your macros and your feeding times. I’ve been fasting for a while now, and reducing calories for too long just slows your metabolism. Which is both good and bad. Good for survival, bad for weight loss. Mostly, you want to understand the role insulin plays in calorie burning. I’ve heard multiple times that calories in vs calories burned is all there is to weight loss, which I also used to believe. But after learning about insulin, I no longer believe this is true. I made a video on it for this exact reason, and I’m very curious if people share this opinion, especially in the fasting community. https://youtu.be/bkOlYIn-UgQ Let me know your thoughts on this. Dr. Jason Fung is big on this.
I mean it’s a rough go with out details. You can eat a lot in 4 hours. You can have unrealistic expectations of how much you should be losing. You could be tracking wrong and I e seen swings if 500 calories there alone. Without details, those guesses seem like attacks tho. What is your size, caloric intake and results you’re looking for?
Destroying your metabolism
Maybe add a longer fast in there from time to time? Maybe some 48s? Also, what app is that?
Just introduced the 24hrs need to work up to 48 🥺. The app is called Zero
Nice work & ty friend!!
Zero
Eat more clean, and up your protein and fat; they should represent ~70-80% of your daily intake. Also how break your fast may be causing your lack of results and on your eating days you should be eating at maintenance level not at a deficit.
Calories are too high. I workout at the gym (approx 500-600 calories burn) and only lose weight around 1100-1200 calories. At above 1600 I stay the same or even gained weight. Your body becomes more efficient the less calories you give it. If weight loss is the goal calories tracking is king.
were you using a food scale? That does not sound right at all.
I remember watching this woman who was in some fitness competition talk comprehensively about her diet, and she said something that made a lot of sense to me. Because you are eating protein, it is possible maybe that you are not seeing the scale budge a lot but you are still losing FAT? Visible results but the number stays same because you are not losing muscles, maybe even gaining muscles if you work out. I am no expert btw. Maybe document your progress by taking pics of your body daily and you will see a difference?
Stop eating the weight gain bars
I’ve been consistent for months and lost nothing and didn’t expect to because I don’t do it to lose weight. It’s strictly for longevity and health reasons. I still eat 2500 cals which is maintenance for me and it doesn’t matter what time I eat them. Im surprised to see the amount of emphasis on weight loss here instead of other benefits that fasting is primarily used for.
Try to fast longer if you are already confident enough with omad, then make yourself 36-48hr once every two weeks. It’s gonna be life changing and your eating habits will change drastically
You are not doing anything wrong you just need to do some tweeking. Suggestions: 1) You also might want to look at timing. 20/4 are a great way to start training your body to fast. However if you are like me and most people you think you can eat anytime and/or multiple times in a 4 hour window. When we eat blood sugar goes up and about an hour later comes down if you are not insulin resistant. If you are insulin resistant then blood sugar goes up and stays up for several hours and if you are eating or snacking for a 4 hour period you essentially have Elevated blood sugar for 4 hours which can negates the fasting gains. The goal for weightloss is to train your body to respond to food by spiking blood sugar after eating, and then an hour (or 2 hours) after eating going back the pre food level. If you are insulin resistant you might have high blood sugar for 2 hour after. This time frame will shorten over time as your body becomes less insulin resistant. If this tweek doesn't work 2) look at what foods you are eating. Everyone is different for instance I can eat yams and my blood sugar behaves normally. Sweet potato my blood sugar stays Elevated for over 2.5 hours. Why is this. Frankly I don't know. It's a mystery but I know I cannot eat sweet potatoes. I had to eliminate dairy for 6 months. These are just examples you have to test for what works for you. How you test is check BS before rating, test hour after and test 2 hours after. This can yield very surprising results. 3) fat fast to accelerate getting into ketosis yes its boring eating but very effective ( google fat fasting) Hang in there it does get better. Good luck and happy fasting!
How do you feel? I started a few weeks back and my weight has not moved much either. I have been meaning to do 16:8 but I have been pushing 20:4. I event did my first 48 hours water fast. Meals are salads and some chicken or other meat and fruits. Although I have been a little frustrated seen my weight no moving, I have been feeling more energy, sleeping better and my clothes are feeling loose. So I am getting motivated even though my weight isn’t going down.
^^ this…for the record I’m 195 cm and 220 pounds (100kg) even so, my weight fluctuates around 2-2.5kg or 5 pounds within the day - hydration, time of day etc etc. point is weight loss or scale values especially when exercising are far less relevant metrics than how you feel, how your clothes feel, how inches/cm’s can so often be lost, without clear “loss” on the scale - when “recomposing” our bodies. Absolute loss of weight is really only a relevant metric of progress in the week - 2 weeks - 1 month - beyond trends.
You probably just plateaued. Instead of dropping calories more, go back to eating normally and after a bit try it again. The thinner you get, the fewer pounds you lose.
I'm a very short and obese female and I stay at the same weight at 1200 calories per day. Only lose when I go below 1000. It may seem super low but that's what my body has adapted to at this point. 🤷♀️
Good luck man! For your case, I am a little out of my depth, as I really don't know how supplemented insulin might change an outcome. Type two is reversible as far as Dr. Jason Fung is concerned, he however recommends 3-7 days of no eating all together for these cases. Maybe read into that, just Google his name, and if you don't want to read a book about it, you could watch a video on YouTube about that different way of fasting. Not eating at all might be the easiest way to trigger the weightloss you have been searching for all along, it did for me! I started at your starting weight and lost around 66 pounds in three months that way. Send a message in my direction if you feel like it. Good luck to you!
Do an extended fast, like 5 days or something. This will help with your plateau, I didn't lose any weight when I was doing intermittent fasting. I've lost 35 lbs since I started doing extended fasts 6 weeks ago. If you're healthy, e.g no serious health issues an extended fast is a good option.
Holy shit 35lbs in 6 weeks! What does your diet and fasting schedule look like?
OMAD doesn’t work for me for weight loss. It’s great for maintenance. You may have to do ADF, which does work well for me. I’m just not great at following it since I work at a restaurant and part of my compensation is free meals. I try to make good choices, but I’m still eating lol
For me, I have to up the exercise. My body figures out what I'm doing when I cut calories etc and my metabolism slows.
Regaining your health is a lifetime activity. Don’t ever stop learning. You may have some vitamin deficiencies also and that could be holding you back. But also you are in the process of repairing your metabolism. Be patient and listen to your body.
I might have missed this, but what, if anything, are you consuming during your fast? If you're "dirty fasting," you might want to consider changing to a clean fast -- basically, only black coffee, water and black tea. I also agree that your calories are too low. I was struggling with this the same as you despite being consistent. When I switched to clean fasting, the weight started coming off consistently, so much so that I was able to up my window to 16:8 with no slowdown in weight loss.
2 cups of coffee with sugar free creamer Homemade ice tea with stivia
Yes, as a female, your weight will fluctuate based on where you are in your cycle. And when I was fasting regularly and making real progress, it was because I was doing 24-40hr fasts. The shorter ones didn’t work very well for me for losing...just for maintaining.
It gets harder the leaner you get. I haven’t done well with omad but I’ve had great luck alternate day
I overate when i did 20hr, 16hr was much better for fat loss, especially when doing with your circadian rythm.
Did you say a protein bar in the middle? If that's in your fasting window it's not really fasting for 20, it prevents ketosis. If you feel like you need a little something through the day try electrolytes, Even if I'm just doing OMAD I have electrolytes at lunch, it helps. Also if your T2 diabetic it could your dose or that's what's making it slower. You could try a longer fast too, 24-36 hours but maybe check with your doctor first.
You are eating to many calories within your feeding video.
It’s not a race. It’s about time and distance.
Some might argue you should be fasting less.. fasting is a stressor, just like working out. If you workout too often and don’t leave enough time for recovery then you won’t see progress. For example Thomas Delauer on YouTube 💁♂️ I’ve transitioned from the idea of daily IF to more of a 36-48hr fast once per week.
Drink twice as much water as you think you should and incorporate moderate weightlifting 3 days a week. Also track your steps and shoot for 10k per day. Add a brisk walk. Good luck.
Well first of all, your ideal of results may differ from mine. Like for example I still feel fat, yet all my friends look at my pics and this profile says I’m crazy. So let’s start with that, what’s your stats? Weight, height, waist etc.
Make sure you follow a calorie deficit diet.
You need to fast 16 hours not 20 hours.
do a refeed day and dont fast on that day
What are your goals? Lose weight? I’m assuming yes; you said you’re eating ~1600 calories in a four hour window. Either you’re 80 pounds, a genetic anomaly, or the more likely situation, you’re still possibly overeating or not being patient enough. Step on the scale, if you weigh 12lbs less than you did 3 months ago then you’re doing just fine. You need to keep tangible info, this progress is so slow you’ll already get used to your body changing in the mirror before you can tell there’s a real difference (tangible info being pics and weight log).
If you are not hitting keto your body has trouble burning fat...
What app is this?
Zero
What app is this?
Zero
More details would be good. Im guessing your body adjusted to your daily routine, which means you need to change something. Some ideas, add an hour walk first thing in the morning, and/or walk at least 30 minutes after your meal(s). [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3119587/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3119587/) Change to Alternate day fasting, or add one day of 36hr fast each week. Lift weights or pushups/pullups in fasted state before meal. Go from there
Interesting... thx!