I do 16:8 every day. If I get invited out to eat or something comes up, I just do the best I can. Sometimes that means eating later than my usual 2pm breakfast (I do my very best not to eat earlier) or a bit earlier or later than my 8pm dinner, but I try to fit real life into this schedule the best I can.
And I make allowances where needed. For example, my folks invited me out to dinner at 6 PM (they always eat 5-6) but I wasn’t super hungry (plus there wasn’t a lot on the menu that fit my current diet) so I didn’t eat as much as usual. Since I was still at a significant calorie deficit for the day, and a bit hungry still, I ate some additional protein a little around 9pm or so (my usual window closes at 10pm). Was it perfect? No. Am I worried about it? Also no. 90% of the time I hit all my targets so an occasional modification is okay so I don’t lose my mind.
Been doing IF since May & have done it every single day since I started. For me, if I were to take like weekends off, that would be the last week for me. Lol. It keeps me accountable to my goal & honestly I enjoy it. Even after I get to my goal weight, I’ll do IF but I’m a more maintenance way. It’s helped me with my relationship with food. It’s just apart of my life now.
been doing if for 10m now and im quite strict with the schedule although i do violate it (reas ignore it) on weeks with conferences and group getaways. usually doesn’t affect weight that much.
but now its easy to follow the schedule.
but at the beginning it was hard. drink water a lot. do anything that requires a lot of focus on it and it will get easier after a month or so
It depends on what you mean by a cheat day. I definitely try to compensate earlier in the day if I know I’m going to be drinking wine later.
I try to either only eat the dinner, or eat very frugally (like soup) during the day if its more socially appropriate to be doing an 18:6 day.
Just try to exercise common sense. Then at least the entire day isn’t a wash out and you may still eat within your TDEE limits.
I’ve been doing 20/4 since April 2022. There’s been about 15% of the time where my windows were open more than 4hrs
I have not been 100% . I have successfully lost about 25lbs and maintaining this weight I need to lose about 25 more. As long as it’s not a weight gain I see my success as a win/win.
On the weekends I struggle a bit but I just end up working around my schedule of friends and family who want to eat. I never ever eat after 8pm except maybe once when I hadn’t eaten allDay and I came back home from being out with friends.
I would say don’t put stress on yourself. You should be able to enjoy life without constantly worrying about your eating. It’s a lifestyle change and you need to adapt to your schedule.
I do OMAD tues-fri … longer windows on weekends with less healthy foods (usually 16:8) and then no food/eating on Mondays to reset then resume eating OMaD on tues (which equals weekly 48hr fast)…I like to be human on the weekends & this helps me lower my insulin afterwards (and Mondays we usually have the worst meals cuz neither of us feel like cooking so I now grocery shop & clean on Monday nights to distract myself & it also means I don’t feel bad about not cleaning on the weekends lol)…I think you have to play around & see what works for u - lots of ppl can lose weight on 16:8 but I’ve never been one so u just gotta play around & see what’s sustainable
i do 20:4 most days, tho sometimes it ends up being 19:4 or 16:4 and then the next day is 23:4 etc etc. i try to keep my eating window to 4 hours and then shift the hours around it, trying to get at least 16 hours, but i don’t stress if i don’t. it works for me. i’m losing weight slower than some others but hey. slow and steady!
You’re doing an amazing job at 70% 16:8! That is FAR better than many others out there.
I’ve been 16:8 for the past \~20 years. Near 100%, with the occasional weekend brunch or vacation breaking my routine. But i stay the course as much as i possibly can. After 20 years, it’s just the norm for me at this point.
It’s ok to have a cheat day or not be perfect all the time - it’s like eating cake. You don’t want to eat it everyday for every meal, but every so often it’s fine.
When i exercise, if it’s been a tough day, or i’m tired, i tell myself even if i do a little, it’s still better than sitting on the couch.
70% should be celebrated - congrats and good luck on your journey!
I just commented on another post so I am more or less just copy pasting here (wall of text if you want to read)
TL;DR: 3.5 years consistently doing a “loose 20/4” has allowed me to maintain what I would consider a decent weight. Times when I eat healthier is better of course, and working out much better. I almost always fast, with the exception of special occasions and when I’m drinking. My fiance fasts as well though so it’s much easier to maintain. I consider my eating window loose because my time I break my fast can sometimes be around 4pm, sometimes 8pm (shift worker). I do try and keep it around a 4 hr eating window but sometimes it goes longer.
I’ve been doing IF in a various ways since late 2016, sometimes eating healthy and sometimes not. Started with 18/6 and working out heavily for just over a year, and lost around 30 lbs (160 to 130 lbs, fat loss and muscle gain.)
Went in and out of IF for about 1.5 years after that with low-moderate exercise and have been doing 20/4 fast solidly for the last 3.5ish years. My fasting window I would consider loose because I don’t stick to a specific time window. I do a fast 95% of the time though, occasionally breaking it early/going longer if I’m drinking or if it’s a special occasion. I find allowing myself leeway in window and diet has been key in maintaining this for the long fasts for 3.5 years.
Pre-fast days, I was typically around 160-175 lbs and it would be hard to keep weight off. If I was eating particularly bad, it was worse. I was active in sports but rarely if ever went to the gym.
As I said, when I started 18/6, I was going to the gym heavily with my boyfriend, and lost a lot of weight and put on muscle. I was doing my MSc so I was very busy with school which is why I stopped working out, and bad eating habits crept in. I definitely lost a lot of muscle and I had a hard time sticking with IF. Weight went up to around 165.
Not long before I got my career I have now, we started doing OMAD which morphed into 20/4. I lost weight again (went down to 150) but rarely worked out and my diet is sometimes healthy sometimes not.
Literally just started working out again this week and motivated to lose weight (vacation times coming!) So I’m hoping to get down to 140 but gain muscle.
Overall, I fully believe IF has allowed me to maintain the 150 lbs I’ve been around for the past 3.5 years. In that time I’ve sporadically ate healthy/worked out. I did a thing at work 2 weeks ago with a health coach and I had to say my weight, and I guess 155. When I got home I weighed myself and I was 149 so I was pretty shocked I was still under 150.
My fiance has had a very similar experience as me, fast wise, since we’ve always started/stopped at the same times. But he’s worked out a bit more than me the past couple of years, but arguably eats worse.
I still wear the same belt that I did in 2016. I went down 4 notches since then, and haven’t went back up despite the weight increase after that initial weight loss. I’m on the tightest option though, so I probably could have got a smaller size when I did lose all that weight.
I’m all over the map…but rare I don’t have some sort of fasting. Omad, multi day, 36hr, etc my only thing is minimizing evening meals…but social life still has that happen.
Personally, I like my leptin guessing
What’ matters more? Eating AGAIN with friends and family, or losing the weight for a while? You can still socialize, you just have to keep your mouth shut. You may also want to be full of food if possible before these events. Fridays nights come and go.