I would like to seek advice. I've been doing IF for 5 years now. It helped me lose 10-15 kg (22-33 lbs) at some point in my life. It has become pretty much my lifestyle. I mostly go with 20/4 fast or OMAD.
Two years ago I had an appendectomy. I didn't eat much for about a week after the surgery and I had to stick to easy-to-digest foods (steamed veggies, steamed fish, oatmeal) for two weeks after it. I immediately felt very "fat" after this surgery, but I was informed that "I can be bloated due to anesthesia" and that this should pass on its own after I recover.
Turns out it wasn't just that. I gained about 20 kilos (44 lbs). I stuck to IF nevertheless for some time. I started working out three times a week. Then I started going to a dietician and they said that I shouldn't be doing IF and that I should be eating 5 times a day instead. I lost maybe 2 kilos (4.5 lbs) in 3 months or something like that?
Then I had other things in my life, so I had to stop going to the gym and the dietician and I ate out a lot. Now things are more stable so I went to another dietician and they pretty much said that "*20/4 or OMAD is* ***starving****, not fasting*" and had given me another menu for 3 meals a day "for a start" (the default being 5 meals a day). I felt that this dietician attacked me and pretty much disregarded her advice, because she disregarded IF as a valid dieting programme on all accounts and she did not want to listen to me.
Since my surgery, I gained 10 kg (22 lbs) more. I now weigh about 80 kg (176 lbs), whereas in previous years I was able to have a stable weight of 53-55 kg (116-121 lbs). I'm honestly not sure what to do.
Honestly, IF is very important to me and fits my lifestyle very well. I struggle with eating multiple times a day, but IF seems to be not working for me anymore? I went back to IF and my weight hasn't moved for two months. How long until I start actually losing weight?
Disclaimer: I am not seeking medical advice. I plan to check my blood/liver/hormones in the near future, because that sudden weightgain is honestly my biggest concern.
I will be grateful for your input.
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Gaining weight quickly right after surgery happened to me from my emergency c section. I gained some 30 pounds water weight and got spondylitis edema in my lower legs. I had to be put on medication for diuretics.
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In my limited experience, dieticians don’t tend to like IF and seem to think it’s a starvation diet.
You know IF worked for you in the past. So it can work again. Instead of OMAD, ease into it - 14:10, then 16:8, then 18:6, then maybe OMAD (or not! Maybe your body will prefer one of the other variants). Remember that you didn’t gain weight overnight and sadly you won’t lose it overnight. I’ve managed to lose about 44 lbs since November 2021 but my progress has slowed, but there’s still progress.
When doing IF for weight loss, you should also consider cutting your calorie intake. An app like LoseIt! can be very helpful for logging your food. You’d be surprised how many calories we actually eat - the app can help you figure out how much to cut to lose weight.
Exercise is always good, of course, and combined with calorie restriction and IF you should see some weight loss. Unless there’s an underlying medical condition, which you’re going to look into.
Best of luck! You’ve got this :)
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I would tweak your eating plan. Stick with the IF or OMAD and focus on reducing simple carbs versus counting and reducing calories. Start keeping track of your carb count and try cutting them out when you can.
I do IF and OMAD and personally like the Mediterranean diet, so I eat a lot of fish, olive oil, feta cheese etc. My first meal is lunch. I don’t really try to limit protein or fat but my body naturally gauges how much I need and I am usually not hungry for dinner. I may have some nuts or olives and a few squares of dark chocolate at 5 or 6 pm and then I’m done eating until the next day at noon.