Yup, this is essentially what I do! I don’t count calories or restrict macros. I do OMAD and focus on being mindful of how my body feels and what my mind is doing.
I have found IF to be a fantastic opportunity to learn more about how my body signals true hunger, vs. a desire to eat for emotional comfort. The fasting period encourages me to sit with the hungry feeling for long enough to understand it. I can and will break the fast if my body truly needs it, but I don’t want to do it just on a whim. So I check in with myself fairly often, which helps me learn. (It turns out… it’s almost never true hunger during my fasting period.)
I have also found IF to be a fantastic opportunity to learn how different food choices make me feel physically. I can really make the connection between how I feel on a given day and what I ate for OMAD dinner the previous evening. Protein, vegetables, and healthy fats make me feel more energized; lots of starch, sugar, or alcohol makes me feel draggy.
I find that not counting calories lets me refocus on caring for myself, rather than trying to hit a number at all costs. I recognize that calorie-counting is a useful tool for many people, and that’s great. For me, it always turns into a stick to beat myself up with. So I do IF without calorie-counting — and the only way I judge what I eat is by how it makes me feel the next day while I’m fasting. It turns out, that metric leads me to make choices that are also effective for weight loss.
Yes, this is what I do. I’m seeing a slow but steady decline in weight without any of the obsessive thoughts and behaviours I got from calorie counting. Worth mentioning that I do not keep sugar or white carbs in the house (but will occasionally treat myself when out). Is this your first baby? I don’t know how recent the birth was or if you are breastfeeding, but I did find hormonal factors made me hold onto the baby weight like no other weight. Then it came off all at once about a year out.