I just finished listening to a lecture of Jason Fung’s and he addressed how calorie restriction diets will cause basal metabolic rates to slow. So if you have always been a dieter I can see you may have done some damage to your BMR over time. Unfortunately the damage can take years to reverse but they are reversible. I agree 1500 calories is very low. I’m only 5’3” 44F and I like to reach between 1500-1800 to keep my body burning energy. I’ve played around with my fasting windows and 16/8 didn’t seem to produce weightloss. Then i switched to 20/4 but the problem is I was never hungry enough and ate way too little…so it felt like my body didn’t want to let go of the weight. 18hrs seems like the sweet spot so I have enough time to eat, become hungry again and eat a little more (getting in enough protein etc) although it’s hard at times I at least try to get in my protein. Sometimes it feels like I’m forcing it but overall my body seems to respond better and let go of the weight better. So can fasting backfire? Possibly if you’re restricting too much. But since you’ve dieted so much of your life it’s also possible you need to keep your window wider to show your body you’re not starving and once in a while throw in a longer fast 24hr-36h to get the most benefit of growth hormone increases as well as norepinephrine bumps so you can keep muscle mass and increase BMR. I also do re-feeding days (high calorie days) to also rev up my metabolism once a week or so. There are many different tools to try until you find what works well for you.Good luck and don’t give up. Fasting provides so many other health benefits than just weightloss. My skin is amazing, I sleep better, my body composition is constantly changing even if the scale doesn’t show weightloss.
omad guy!
It’s not so much what and how much, but when.
The fewer times you spike insulin, the more you win the game.
Higher calories raises BMR, lower calories lowers BMR, so going down to 1500 and less will stall weightloss 100%, your body adapts quick, within 24 hours even.
The answer: one decent meal, what you want, how much you want, but only once a day, this keeps insulin down, calories and BMR up, it’s beautiful.
You’re not denying yourself either calories or types of food, you do have to apply a little discipline though.
16 hours is good, but it’s not quite enough to start carving off weight.
I think you have a higher risk of slowing your metabolism with 16:8 combined with cico calorie counting. 16:8 is basically a normal day of normal eating for lots of people who don’t consider themselves to be fasting. Since you’ve done a lot of dieting, your metabolism is probably already slow. I’m guessing 1500 is considered a calorie deficit for your height/weight since the dr wanted you to eat more, so the fact that you aren’t losing weight at 1500 and 16:8 means that your metabolism has adjusted down to that level and you have to cut calories (and carbs) or extend your fasting window even more to lose more weight. How low in calories are you willing to go? I got myself down to 900 calories a day on low carb and stopped losing weight. And then I started gaining when I couldn’t maintain that kind of diet long term. And even though I gained weight, my metabolism did not climb back up at the same rate, making it extremely difficult to lose again. Don’t do what I did.
I think a better method is to do longer fasts (at least 36 hours or longer) and forget about calorie counting. Cico is bullshit anyway. You cannot accurately determine calories in food no matter how precisely you measure it, and your bmr calculations are guesstimates anyway. You can get your bmr professionally measured by one of those breath tests, but your bmr is not static. Even eating a huge meal is going to temporarily change your bmr because your body will heat up to help burn off some of the calories. If you ate a 70000 calories in one day, I guarantee that you would not gain 20 pounds of fat. You cannot reduce a complex system of metabolism and digestion into a stupid grade school level formula without losing accuracy and nuance. Instead, fast longer and focus on eating nutrients to fuel your body, especially veggies and protein. Bonus points if you can do keto (but you don’t have to if you hate it). Eat a lot but don’t stuff yourself for no good reason. Longer fasts are more forgiving too, so you can eat fun things when you want. I love eating as much pasta as I want while still losing fat. Also, you don’t have to do extended fasts all the time. You can do OMAD or shorter fasts in between if you want. Mix it up and experiment.
I believe that science has proven that when it comes to strictly weight loss, being at a caloric deficit should be enough to lose weight.
How ever, based on my personal experiences with IF, I do believe there are some more important things to consider.
I believe that Yes, what you eat is very important. When you give your body the nutrients it needs, your body can function better, and do more beneficial things more efficiently.
For example, someone who eats beets, pineapples, sweet potato, quinoa, mixed berries, spinach, greens, lean meats, mushrooms etc etc. , generally will be healthier than someone who eats McDonald’s and soda on a daily basis..
Of course this is very vague and a person who eats healthy can be unhealthy for other reasons..
What I’m trying to say is that, the way I think of it, we have cells in our bodies, waiting for specific nutrients so that they can perform specific tasks. If we give those cells the nutrients they need to function properly, we will be healthier. At least that’s what I tell myself.
If you can do 16:8 just fine but your not seeing results, I’d recommend extending your fasting window.
Maybe 17:7, 18:6, 20:4, I don’t know; what ever works for you. Or maybe throw in a 24 hour once every week or once every 2 weeks.
I also recommend maybe adding some high intensity work outs and some strength training. Especially during fasting.
I hope that helps ! I know I was kinda vague lol.