Welcome and good on ya for making the start. My 2 cents worth of advice is that you concentrate on getting used to your chosen regime, in your case 18:6, instead of trying to restrict your food types. Once that is down you can take a closer look at what, and how much, you’re eating. After about a week you might look at reducing, or even cutting out, processed food, especially processed carbs. But again, that is a matter of preference and if you’re losing weight already you might just stick with what you’re doing.
I’m doing it alone too, but I am just that way. I’ve never found a good reason to go to a room full of sweaty people, throw a bunch of heavy stuff around, and then go home. I prefer long hikes in the woods and several rounds of golf a week. That’s my exercise diet.
Good luck and enjoy.
Welcome to the community! I haven’t been here long myself. Don’t talk about IF to your family or friends, at least not yet. People will always tell you they see no changes or that’s wrong or this or that, and that will ultimately discourage you. I’m in the same situation as yours. I have no one to talk to about my goals and progress because they just laugh at me or tell me I still look the same. I tried explaining IF to them but they have “better” ideas. That’s why I joined this sub. I get inspiration from all the posts, but I try to discover my way of doing IF. That way, I won’t hate the process. I hope you find your inspiration, and this time, stick to it, not for anybody else but for yourself. :-)
Welcome! If you want to set yourself up for success, track how many carbs you’re eating each day, and cut that number in half, if not by two thirds. Replace them with protein and healthy fat. It will do wonders for you
I stick to it just because it feels great doing IF. In the beginning I needed some motivation to force myself to do it. Just for a while, but when the habit formed my body seemed to adjust to our new schedule. Now I don’t eat in the morning and stop eating hours before sleep.
I also have insomnia and the sleep quality with IF has been better.
Welcome! I started off a little heavier than you, same height, with a similar goal weight! I found the best strategy was to adapt to my life schedule. I find it easier to do OMAD (one meal a day) and set my eating window in the evening when I get home from work. I’m busy enough during the day I barely notice skipping lunch and just do black coffee and plenty of water. I work out in the morning before work (I have a peloton and cycle with high intensely workouts and strength training stacks). For meals, I try to stay low carb-ish and a good amount of protein and fats. I don’t count calories or anything like that because that’s just too much like work lol, but I estimate I stay between a 500-1000 calorie deficit.
Play to your own schedule, keep it up, and don’t get discouraged if you don’t see any immediate changes (it look me almost a month and a half before I really started to notice the difference). Also don’t stress too much about it if you dip out of your schedule - enjoy the occasional cheat day and weekend brunch! Good luck and enjoy the journey!!
We have nearly identical stats right now! (5’4 F 170lbs, 130lb goal) I’m back to lose the postpartum baby weight, but I can honestly say IF has worked better for me than any other “diet” in the past.
If you don’t eat much during the day anyways, hopefully 18:6 is an easy regimen to get used to!
If you find it “easy” you can start playing with variables. Throwing in the occasional 20:4, experimenting with a few keto meals at the start/end of your eating window to keep your fasted state/low glucose levels slightly extended.
Solo IFer, and exerciser as well. I dunno, the one thing I love about doing this is that I can do it on my own, and how low effort it is. Despite how much I don’t really like working out, I exercise at home by doing yoga & very beginner calisthenics. I do OMAD, so there goes being in the kitchen multiple times a day. I also hate when I’m not consistent with something, so that’s part of my motivation to keep going (maybe get a tracking app, I don’t count calories or macros, just hours of fasting).
I come from a group of friends that are either in or associated with the food and beverage/restaurant industry, so trust me, I’ve heard all the disbelief, doubt, etc - and after seeing my transformation, they know not to offer me anything, or say anything to me regarding health ever loll. u/an_der_kander’s plan is spot on, I fully lost weight over the first few lockdowns without changing what I eat, but knowing when to call it off, being consistent with it, and exercising. Over time I started introducing healthier foods that hadn’t been in my diet previously.
Another great thing about IF is that it’s made me waaaaay more conscious about what foods make me feel good AFTER consuming them, that’s a good enough deterrent to keep me away from certain things. Since I started fasting every bite of food feels like it counts, so why make room for something that’ll make me feel like garbage? After a while of doing it, you’ll realize how much of getting healthy really is just a mental game. Been fasting since mid Dec 2019, and after maybe 6 months I knew I’d rather feel good than lean on old, bad habits.
And finally, if you’re having sleep problems, I noticed fasting helped mine. I get up super early these days, and get tired when I’m supposed to, no more naps.
Hello! I’m also brand new, been fasting 16:8 for less than a week. I really like it, and also have no external motivation. It’s easier than you think!
Please make sure to find home workouts you enjoy doing. Whether it is yoga, zumba, spin, or calisthenics. If you enjoy it, it’s easier to stick with it. YouTube has hundreds of workout videos for all types and fitness levels, all for free.
Once you start moving towards your goals it will be much easier to stick with them.