Remember: This is a permanent lifestyle, not a prison sentence.

As someone who's been IF for close to 1 year now and who is closing in on 100 lbs lost, I'd like to share my insights and hope they help all of you stay motivated and motivate those who are just getting started. Any questions you have in general or about my specific routine and success, feel free to AMA in the comments. * First and foremost...you need to remember that IF is not a "diet", and it's not a "fad". It's a completely new way to live your life. It's a fundamental change in your relationship with food. Think of it like learning to walk or ride a bike when you were a kid. Both were fundamental, permanent changes in the way you interacted with the world. Once you started walking, you never again returned to crawling. So, too, once you begin IF, you never return to a non-fasting lifestyle. * You must view food, eating, and hunger through an entirely new lens. The idea that you "must" eat 3 meals per day and 3 snacks per day is a complete lie. You don't "have" to do that at all. Your body has been trained through years and years of "3 squares" to expect a certain amount of food at certain times every day. It doesn't "need" these amounts of food at these times...it's just conditioned to accept it. * Hunger is a natural phenomenon...and true hunger is, honestly, pretty rare. Boredom hunger, however, is quite common. When you think you're hungry, or you think you're getting hunger pangs...do something mentally engaging. A more active lifestyle is part-and-parcel of being IF. When you are not as bogged down with food, you'll find that you have way more energy. * Newbies, you need to ease into it. If you go from regular feeding to trying to do OMAD you will most likely fail. Instead, I recommend you begin with 12:12 for at least 3-5 days and then work your way up. * Have at least 2-3 different fasts and mix them up for best results. I do a mix of 16:8, 18:6, and OMAD. But I've also done a mix of 20:4. Keeps the body guessing. * \*\*BE CONSISTENT\*\*. I cannot emphasize this enough. You MUST be consistent in this lifestyle. You cannot take breaks. You can not have "cheat days". IMO, to see the best results, you need to be on a fasting schedule 7 days per week, 365 days per year. This goes back to my original point which I want to emphasize again: IF IS NOT A DIET. Don't treat it like one. * Don't deprive yourself. Depriving yourself of food is normie diet culture and it's why people fail. What happens as soon as you tell yourself that you're never going to have pizza again? We all know what happens....you think about pizza non-stop for the next 6 days until you binge. Don't do that. Instead, reevaluate your relationship with pizza and put it in its proper place. Have 2-3 slices and a salad and that's your meal. Same goes with any other "bad" food. * Limit snacking. This will probably be controversial but I don't snack in my feeding window. I generally have 2 defined meals that last 20-30 minutes each and that's it. I don't snack. I've found this works for me. YMMV. But I would encourage you to eat as little as possible in your feeding window. Don't graze. * Exercise is a great tool, don't neglect it. It increases your TDEE and helps you shed more weight. I exercise at least 3-5x per week for around 30 minutes per session. I always, always feel better after doing so. * TDEE. Speaking of TDEE...you need to calculate and know this number. It's very important as it will help you strategize your fasting and weight loss. I use this calculator: [link](https://tdeecalculator.net/) * You don't have to count calories, but you do need to have at least a general awareness of the calories you're consuming. If you eat a large pizza and ice cream sundae in your feeding window every single day, you're probably not going to lose weight. I don't strictly count calories, but if you were to ask me, I could probably tell you how many calories I consume in a given day +/- a few hundred. As a general rule, I aim to consume roughly 40-60% of my TDEE every day. For me, this is between 1200-1800 calories. * You will probably shed a lot of weight at the beginning, but this will slow over time. If you're very obese like I was, you'll probably lose weight at a good clip to start. But as you drop more weight and your activity level ramps up, you'll need to remember that your body won't need as much food to continue losing. You'll need to adjust food intake as you get smaller * Limit salt. Yes, I know salt is good. But too much of it is not good for your heart or blood pressure, and it makes you retain water...which leads to weight gain. As a general rule, I aim for around 2 grams per day (2,000mg). I sometimes have more and sometimes less. * Putting this in all caps because I see this question a lot on this sub and it annoys me: IF THE FOOD OR DRINK YOU'RE ABOUT TO CONSUME HAS CALORIES AND YOU CONSUME IT...YES, IT BREAKS YOUR FAST. Even 1 calorie will break your fast. Please internalize this. * I've had good results with both clean and dirty fasting. I know people claim that diet soda breaks your fast...but it has no calories, so I don't consider it to be fast-breaking. And I've had zero problems losing weight while drinking it in my fasting window. * Get good sleep. Aim for at least 6-8 hours per night. Poor sleep leads to insatiable hunger. I can attest to this. * Make your goals realistic and attainable. If you're a 5'9" guy on a stockier frame, no matter how much weight you lose you're never going to look like a 6'4" jock with washboard abs. So be realistic about your goals so that you don't get discouraged. * Break your goals into bite-sized chunks for easy digestion. When I first started, my overall goal was 100-110 lbs. But I broke that into smaller, more manageable 20-30 lbs blocks. And I focused on that. I've found that I've had way more success that way than feeling stressed out about having to lose 100+ lbs. And now I'm about 85 lbs down and it's honestly felt effortless. * Being in a group like this really helps you stay motivated. No man is an island. Seeing the successes of others and learning from them will in turn keep you motivated * Find your "why". Why are you doing this? Why are you committing to this new lifestyle? And try to be a bit more specific beyond "lose weight". I would encourage you to make a mental note of, or physically write down, at least 3 detailed reasons why you're making this lifestyle change. * And, lastly, the journey is its own reward. Honest to God Almighty, I cannot tell you how good it feels now to be able to go shopping and know...without any embarrassing or annoying dressing room scenarios...that the clothes I buy are actually going to fit. I can click on 2XL online and buy it without fear that I'll have return it for a bigger size. I can pull a pair of 42 jeans off the rack and buy them without trying them on. I cannot tell you how awesome it is to now be in size XL-2XL shirts, and size 40-42 pants when just 10 months ago I was in 3XL/4XL shirts and size 50 pants. There is literally no better feeling in the world. So, that's about all I can think of atm. If more comes to me, I will edit this post. Like I said, I hope this helps all of you. Feel free to ask me anything and everything in the comments. I'm an open book and I'm happy to help any of you in any way that I can!

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Holy moly!

I agree with majority of your points. Been doing OMAD for 4.5 years. Lost my weight (50 lbs) in 6 months. And have maintained with OMAD.

The thing I’ll add to others is this isn’t punishment. It’s the opposite. It’s freedom. I eat a delicious heathy meal every day. It’s exactly what I want. That’s all the sustenance I want or need that day.

I never get hungry eating this way. I get full daily.

I have a lot of energy. Yesterday I took my pup for an 8.5 mile walk. Never stopped walking except when he had to go to the bathroom. Pretty good pace. Never got tired. Could have easily gone longer. He tuckers out about 10 miles and sleeps for hours. I don’t want to take him to exhaustion so cut it off at 8-9 miles. We go weekly + daily shorter walks. He totally loves it and loves me for it. We’ve bonded like I’ve never bonded with a pet! He’s so joyful!!

The fasted body is amazing. I eat my dinner in the evening and tend to relax after. Sleep great with full belly. Then wake up fasted. I’m fasted all day long. I call it my Goldilocks zone. Not hungry. Not sleepy. Active or mentally focused - I’m very effective. Pre this lifestyle, I remember being sleepy a lot. Sometimes struggling to keep my eyes open. I once dozed off for a second commuting home. Adrenaline ripped through me when I jolted back to consciousness. This never happens. Never sleepy. I feel great and everything just works better!

The longer I’ve continued to do IF, the more I’ve learned. It changed me in positive ways. My interests change. I became more curious. What i liked to do changed. More open to new ideas and experiences. I’ve strength trained. I’ve run. I’ve swam. I’ve hiked. I’ve cycled. Did a triathlon sprint, 5ks and 10ks. I’ve meditated. Learned to cook (and enjoy my cooking more than most restaurants). Always open to new flavors. Adopted Buteyko breathing. I share this lifestyle with my wife and it works great for us.

I’m spontaneous. I got up yesterday and watched the sun come up while listening to a Buddhist meditation YouTube. ROFL. (I had read a news story recently about Buddhism and was curious). My dog was so happy but had no idea WTF was up. The sunrise was magnificent! Don’t know why I did it. Just felt like it.

My biological age has dropped 20 years! I’m a nearing retirement IT nerd turned PM. But that no longer defines me. There is nothing I can’t do.

My health improved. Normal BP. Normal bloodwork. No antibiotics. Never get sick. Cuts and bruises heal like I was a kid. My oral health dramatically improved. Dentist couldn’t explain it. Thought I’d finally focused on my oral health (I changed nothing). This is the fountain of youth!

The best kept secret is this is life enhancing. People I tell feel sorry for me. They offer to share their lunch when they learn I only eat once a day. Always appreciative, but I’m always feeling bad for them. They’ll never know the lifestyle I’ve come to love! People don’t like it when I say this so i keep it to myself and just politely decline. Fasting is the most significant thing I’ve ever done. The weight loss is awesome - but only a part of the benefit .

Happy for your success. Enjoy the lifestyle. Best of luck!

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>Don’t deprive yourself. Depriving yourself of food is normie diet culture and it’s why people fail. What happens as soon as you tell yourself that you’re never going to have pizza again? We all know what happens…

In psychology class back in school we learned that the human mind has evolved to be this amazing prediction engine that is designed to seek pleasure and avoid pain.

If you view “not having pizza” as loss, you brain experiences pain it begins to problem solve the pain away. Just one piece won’t hurt, you deserve it, have a cheat day, etc. until literally NOT having pizza is truly too hard.

If you view having pizza and remaining the size/shape you are today as more painful then your mind will create all the supporting evidence it needs to avoid it. The amount of times around the block to burn off each slice, the random chemicals and preservatives in the psuedo meats, the sawdust they coat each piece of cheese with, etc.

Until you shift which is actually more painful, your mind will betray your good intentions.

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>You will probably shed a lot of weight at the beginning, but this will slow over time. If you’re very obese like I was, you’ll probably lose weight at a good clip to start. But as you drop more weight and your activity level ramps up, you’ll need to remember that your body won’t need as much food to continue losing. You’ll need to adjust food intake as you get smaller

A corollary to this is related to exercise…
As you lose weight, it requires less energy to perform the same exercise and you have to increase the intensity to burn the same number of calories.

Walking around the block at an 18 minute mile burns more calories at 250lbs than 200lbs simply b/c you’re body is resisting less gravity. At each major gain you need to up the distance or the speed to net the same returns.

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It’s a lot to take on, but I will admit what you have written has merit. Wise words coming from personal experience. Thank you for sharing!

I would like to clarify the 40-60% TDEE -> 1200 -1800kcal. Could you write your SW, CW, GW, your height, and gender? Your TDEE as well. I assume you are a male judging by you mentioning clothes size.

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I started 3 weeks ago and this is really good advice. I’m already seeing benefits on my sleep and my weight (7kg down and old clothes that fits ok again). It is indeed a change in my relationship with food as it forced me to realize how much I overate for actually no reason.

It is extremely motivating to see everyone’s progress on this sub and their capacity to maintain even after long periods of time.

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It all started with IF for me 10 years ago. Waxed and waned but last 2-3 years it really solidified into a lifestyle.

Through that i finally quit all sweets then focused on quality consistent sleep every night of the week 365 days a year. I’m in bed by 9pm even on new years eve.

Exercise daily.

I agree wholeheartedly that you don’t do cheat days. You don’t graze. 1-2 meals and a snack and that’s it. You just have to make sure whatever you’re eating you are truly enjoying otherwise it won’t last and you will revert back to your old ways.

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Thank you for writing this - I immediately “saved” what you wrote, because all of your advice is so inspirational - I really appreciate it! Congratulations on your weight loss, and giving such great info!

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I would say that IF is like the training wheels on bike…

You say not to deprive yourself….which is fine…but if you are interested in real health, eventually you won’t be depriving yourself, because you won’t want to eat processed foods…

Will power is required for IF at first, just like will power is required to avoid processed food…will power is hard and takes effort….when your inner warrior takes over, you will no longer need will power, you won’t want to eat processed foods, including diet drinks….

You will be in this reality:

“I don’t want to eat that”

Instead of:

“I shouldn’t eat that”

I use IF as a tool for life to keep me keenly aware of calories coming in, and keep me truly hungry for nourishment ever time I break fast so that I gravitate to whole foods…prefer them…so no will power is needed…

Once will power is no longer needed is when you are truly free🙂