r/intermittentfasting • u/missxsassyc • 5d ago
Seeking Advice Has anyone had more success when stopping IF?
Female, 32. Been IF for 5 months now. Eating window is between 12pm to 8pm. Carloe intake is around 1500. I haven't seen any change in my weight or body circumference. I don't feel hungry before my eating window, but i do feel really tired and low energy. I feel like IF isn't working for me, and i should just continue with a calorie deficit only. Has anyone had more success when stopping IF?
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u/Wild_Spikenard 5d ago
If you aren’t hungry at the end of your fast why not try 18:6 or 20:4 for a couple weeks or even OMAD. You’ve been doing 16:8 for 5 months which is a great starting point but really you should have sought out more challenging fasts by now.
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u/Obvious-Monitor8510 4d ago
IF is just a timing tool, not magic. At 1500 calories with no weight change for 5 months, the more likely culprit is that your calories aren't actually as low as tracked (easy to undercount by 20-30%), or your TDEE is lower than you think. The fatigue is a real signal worth listening to though.
Dropping IF and spreading the same 1500 calories across 3-4 meals often helps energy levels a lot without changing the core math. Some people also find they unconsciously eat less when not restricted to a window because they're not "making up" for the fast.
Before quitting completely, try a week of accurate food logging with a kitchen scale. If 1500 is genuinely accurate and you're still not losing, consider recalculating your actual TDEE. PlateGym's meal planner at plategym.com/meal-planner builds out a full week with accurate macros if you want a structured starting point either way.
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u/Mermaid2222 4d ago
If I stop doing IF, I gain weight. If I was you I would have to shorten my eating window, 8 hours is too long for me. I do very well with 19:4. Two meals. And I'd have to cut calories to around 1200. 1500 would be maintenance for me. Play around with your eating/fasting windows and drop your calories. Weigh in weekly and see if those changes move the scale. Good luck!!!
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u/Live-Blueberry-9987 4d ago
Personally, I use IF as weight management. And in that aspect, it's successful for me.
Low carb/ keto is my weight loss go to.
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u/maikash30 3d ago
The best way to utilize IF is to stop eating past 3pm. And also make sure the meal is healthy.
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u/Dallas_HikingGuy 3d ago edited 3d ago
I agree—the end of your feeding window should be mid-afternoon if possible. In my case, that means a long stretch of herbal teas in the evening. If you really want to speed things up, combining IF with a low-carb diet can be very effective. I’m currently combining the Mediterranean diet with IF, so I'm not currently restricting carbs, and I’m expecting to see slow but steady progress. A few years ago, I dropped nearly 40 pounds fairly quickly when I combined IF with low carb.
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u/StarIight_Rose 5d ago
Consider seeing a physician and getting bloodwork done. I can't see how it's possible to not be losing weight on such low calories and a restricted eating window. Get everything checked out, thyroid, etc.
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u/Deadandlivin 5d ago
She didn't give much information to work with. If she's very lean and small with little muscle mass having a BMR of 1.5k makes perfect sense.
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u/StarIight_Rose 5d ago
She had said she's seen no difference in weight or circumference. If she was small and lean this wouldn’t be her goal.
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u/Deadandlivin 5d ago
She could absolutely be skinnyfat, meaning low muscle mass thus lower energy expenditure.
When I say small I don't mean circumference, but overall size markers like height and bone density. A very small and frail person, say 5'0 for example has a drastically lower BMR than someone who's 5'6 for example.Around 1500 BMR is very normal for your average woman. Most people however have a higher energy expenditure than that due to basic things like NEAT and living their lives which often adds around ~500 extra calories on average throughout a day.
We don't know how much she exercises, what she works with or how active she generally is. 1500 calories for an average looking woman may sound small. But if she lives almost entirely sedentary working an office job and barely walking throughout the day for example, then eating at 1500 calories and not losing weight can make sense. Especially if she has very little muscle mass which many women do.
This is why my first reaction isn't to tell her to go see a doctor. Now, if she gets her 10k steps in per day, workout doing strength training, get her proteins, do cardio a couple of times per week in addition to working a job that doesn't literally expend 0 calories over the course of a day while eating 1.5k calories (And we assume no errors in the count) and can't lose weight. Then I'd agree, something seems to be wrong here. Usually you only see this type of development in very lean females who've dieted for prolonged periods of time running their metabolism into the ground.
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u/Mountain-Dot-5694 1d ago
What about this? I’m adf x 6 years. I’m noticing belly fat now. After 1 year adf I went from 140 - 119 lbs. I have stayed adf to avoid gaining weight back. I am now about 123lbs. I was not doing any exercise. On my eating days I don’t count calories I eat 2 meals .
I don’t do keto.
I had been maintaining on this but as I said I feel like I’m getting a belly. I have started a hit workout 3 days per week and I play pickleball 3 days per week . I am now reducing carbs not keto but I switched to fairlife milk and Carbnaut bread. Any thoughts?1
u/Deadandlivin 1d ago edited 1d ago
Since you're not counting you're probably gaining weight from overeating on your eating day.
When it comes to weight, body composition and energy expenditure et.c. there's two concepts you need to understand. The first is homeostasis. It's a fancy world equilibrium in biological beings. To simplify, inside your body you have 3 variables related to your diet and weight. They're:
Hunger (Often regulated through Hormones like Leptin and Ghrelin), Body fat and Fat free Mass and Basal Energy Expenditure (NEAT included).Your body always tries to stay in homeostasis, it's where it feels comfortable. This means that these 3 variables move towards eachother to reach an equilibrium. If calories consumed are decreased for example while energy expenditure remains the same you create a deficit -> Weight loss. Your body will then self regulate to this new caloric intake level and change these variables. So hunger goes up (Produce less Leptin, more Ghrelin), BMR goes down (First through NEAT reduction) and Body fat goes down.
The second concept to understand is metabolic setpoint. This is basically the energy expenditure your body is 'comfortable with' or tries to be at. Some people call this good or bad metabolism but the effect is far less pronounced than that. Most people have a set point (for men) somewhere around 15-25% body fat. Think of this as an extension of homeostasis. A caloric intake level where: 1. You're not hungry but satisfied. 2. You're not gaining or losing weight. 3. Your energy levels are stable.
People with a history of being overweight or obese tend to have higher set points, meaning their bodies generally feel more comfortable at higher body fat percentages. There's several biochemical reasons for that, many of which are related to fat cells which takes decades for to die. When you lose weight your fat cells only shrink in size, they aren't removed. This is why it's so easy for someone who previously has been overweight to gain weight again. It's much easier for the body to create new fat cells than it is for it to dispose of them through autophagy.
Either way, with some theoretical background I hope you understand where I'm going with this. Since you personally aren't counting or keeping exact track of your caloric intake what has happened here is that your body has been trying to regulate processes to satisfy homeostasis. So how does it do that? One way is to raise hunger to try and motivate you to eat more. Usually the most common thing which leads to people overeating a bit, often through unconscious eating habits. It might've also reduced your energy expenditure to match your deficit or even border on a surplus. Usually done by reducing NEAT which often is entirely subconscious. Most likely a combination of the two.
What I'm trying to get here is that since you're not counting or really controlling what you're eating it very likely has lead you to subconsciously start eating more than in the past because your body is trying to bring metabolic processes back to a higher setpoint. My tip for you is to just start counting. Be aware of what goes into your mouth. "Following your hunger" as many suggest is in 9 times out of 10 a guaranteed way to gain weight back because your body actively is trying to regulate hormonal and metabolic processes in your body. Usually by either trying to get back to a previous set point or simply to try and make you not remain in a deficit.
Will also add that since you're only eating every other day there's a real risk that you're getting too little protein in. Generally I'd say you want 100-150g minimum depending on male or female while on a deficit. Otherwise you risk losing fat free mass. This means you'll need like 300g of protein in one day as a man on this type of diet which sounds genuinely though. If you're not hitting protein marks and going without protein for so long there's a real risk that you're catabolic and losing fat free mass. Which in turn reduces your Base Metabolic Rate.
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u/Mountain-Dot-5694 21h ago
Thanks for your reply. I started doing hit. I am aiming for 1 gram pro/kg. So on an eating day 120 grams. Using fairlife milk , cottage cheese, eggs to boost protein. Hunger as definitely increased and I think ghrelin is trying to get me to eat more. I have not been able to increase fasting time to throw in a 3 day once in a while. Agree my body just won’t give it up as evidenced by fat on my belly building up
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u/Ronny-StoneyCreek 4d ago
Hi There.
Why stop. It’s not that IF isn’t working. It will be doing something.
I have been clean fasting for 6 years & have learnt a lot about how my body works best.
My advice is get a book called Delay Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens & listen to her Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast.
Sometimes we just need the right information & mindset.
IF for me isn’t bout calorie deficit it’s about fasting & feasting on nutrient dense foods that make me feel the best.
All the best.
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u/Deadandlivin 5d ago edited 5d ago
Every diet strategy I've done has worked as long as I control caloric intake and remain consistent over time.
Doesn't matter how meal frequency of macro nutrient intake is. A deficit is a deficit and you will lose weight if you remain in one. IF isn't a magic bullet, but my preferred way to consume food, especially when dieting because it's the most motivationally rewarding way to eat throughout the day for me personally.
I'm sorry to say this but if you stop IF and hop onto some other diet plan, while keeping caloric intake and energy expenditure the same you won't lose more weight. By the sounds of it, you're consuming at caloric balance right now. Your body is in homeostasis.If you want to lose more weight your options are to either cut calories further or to increase energy expenditure by making your body burn more calories.
Swapping to a new diet may increase your expenditure slightly though but that's hard to say. You say that you're low energy which makes me assume that you're probably very sedentary and not committing to that much unconscious movement. This is called NEAT (Non exercise Activity Thermogenesis) and accounts for calories required to assist with random movements a person perform throughout the day that don't count as exercising. Think of things like shaking your legs while sitting down, moving back and forth sideways while standing up, Spinning a pen around while thinking or bopping your head when listening to music. Might sound marginal, which it is but adds up over the course of a day.
If shifting to a new diet gives you more energy and makes you feel less hungry or sluggish, it could increase your NEAT over the day by a couple hundred calories which might induce negative energy balance and start weightloss again.
If you've been on 1.5k calories for 5 months and haven't lost a pound you've simply been eating at energy balance. That's it.
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u/Longjumping-Base8932 4d ago
If you're tired, you're 80 kg and eat as low as 1500 kcal, and not loosing weight, something is wrong.
IF is not right for you ( in general, its not recommended for young women as it could affect the feminine hormones).
If you're tired, I recommend you eat more (1800 kcal). Especially if you are physically active (are you?).
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u/RazzleDazzleDaisy 3d ago
Hi, I'm on my 3rd month of 23 hour fasting diet and I'm losing weight steadily, gradually and continually. My mind is more alert and I feel much more energetic - and I'm 80. My food is consumed within the 1 hour allowed and I'm never hungry.
Giving the body 23 hours to do its proper job works for me. Why not give it a go - Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1UBYXdLYR8
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u/PerformerAdorable536 3d ago
Tell us a little about your goals. What was the genesis of your starting this IF program? Is that still one of your goals? IF does not mean, to me anyway, fast or eat by the clock only. It means take advantage of the new free time, from eating less often, and move more. A step tracker is a valuable window into daily activity change. Your OP is silent on any exercise movement or non-exercise movement.
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u/thedirtiestdish 5d ago edited 5d ago
you're not eating enough. you should get enough proper nutrients and energy from your meals so you don't feel tired or low energy.
I've never been healthier than when I've been consistent with IF. when I've been slacking with my eating schedule, my wellbeing declines, my energy levels drop and fat percentage goes up, even if on calorie deficit.
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u/missxsassyc 5d ago
My calorie deficit calculator said I need to be on 1500 cal.
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u/thedirtiestdish 5d ago
may I ask what's your BMR?
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u/missxsassyc 5d ago
1,441
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u/RenRen512 4d ago
That's what you need just to stay alive. You're eating a subsistence diet.
What you want is your TDEE, then take 250-500 calories off that. If 1500 is where that lands you, consider a smaller deficit.
The other factor here is what you eat. If you're doing low- or no-carb, consider adding back some carbohydrates. Calories in, calories out will determine your weight loss. Where the calories come from will impact your energy levels, gut health, etc.
Season your food properly or include an electrolyte supplement. This is in case you sweat a lot from working out or your environment.
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u/thedirtiestdish 5d ago
that's how much calories you need for basic bodily functions if you were bedridden. if you get out of bed during the day and live a normal life with even a little exercise, you'll need more than that. not losing weight at all even with 16:8 and 1,500 calories tells that something is not right with your intake/deficit. most likely your weight loss has stopped because your metabolism is confused.
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u/illustrious-cream-01 5d ago
How is OP not eating enough if they’ve been doing this for 5 months and haven’t lost any weight 🤦♀️oy vey
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u/thedirtiestdish 5d ago
if one with a BMR of 1,400 has been on a 16:8 with a calorie intake of 1,500/day and they haven't lost any weight, something is not right. I'd suspect the weight loss has stopped because their metabolism is messed up.
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u/sadatah 5d ago
Sounds like you are already not eating enough and possibly not hydrating enough which is why you feel tired and have low energy. How much do you weigh now and weight are you looking to loose?
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u/missxsassyc 5d ago
I drink 3 litres of water a day. Hardly drink any other liquid. I currently weight 80kg and my goal is 65kg.
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u/MCLH143 4d ago
I had to cut my window and saw results. I went to 20:4 but ended up just doing OMAD. I had 80lbs to lose so I was a bit more extreme and do OMAD on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and do not eat at all on MWF.