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Mitch here!
I’m too fat for my clothes. At least I was two months ago. Getting fat was entirely my fault; I wrote a whole blog post on my love for frozen pizza, for example. Today, though, I’m here to talk about my journey and how, with the help of intermittent fasting, I lost 12 pounds in 60 days.
It all started when I realized I was down to zero pairs of pants that fit. And after limping around the house with unbuttoned bottoms for a few weeks, I bought a scale and discovered that I was overweight. That night, I went down an internet rabbit hole to find that most of my assumptions about weight loss were wrong. It turns out the only way to lose weight is to use more calories than you consume. But creating a calorie deficit by exercise–or calorie counting or portion control or whatever–is exceptionally tough given that our entire physiology is designed to stuff calories into our mouths all the time. As a result, most people’s efforts at weight loss result in total failure and frustration.
Intermittent fasting is a method of calorie reduction that limits the period of time in which food is consumed. My typical pandemic day involved eating, snacking or drinking calories for around 17 hours and fasting (sleeping) for about seven hours. By contrast, intermittent fasting experts recommend eating for only 8 hours and fasting for 16. What this means in practice is a morning with no calories (but lots of sparkling water and black coffee), a big lunch, an afternoon snack and a full dinner.
Honestly, it’s not even hard.
I should probably mention that I’m aware of just how taboo it is to talk about weight. Everyone’s situation is different and I’m not a medical professional. I personally decided to make a change and try this out because I’ve read about the health effects of being overweight such as heart disease and early death, and it terrified me. I really don’t care too much about what I look like; but I do care about watching my girls grow up and then watching their kids grow up. So why not start losing weight now?
(Additionally, please note that there’s debate about the efficacy of intermittent fasting, and it seems that the diet may not be the correct weight loss approach for all people. Simply put, your mileage very well could vary! Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.)
The intermittent fasting diet works (for me) because limiting periods of eating typically reduces calorie intake. And when the body experiences such a calorie deficit, it will begin to use other sources of energy, aka body fat, instead. There are a variety of fasting methods such as the 16:8 ratio mentioned above, or a more restrictive 20:4 ratio, or even alternating between fasting and feasting days. Research shows that intermittent fasting can result in significant weight loss and as a result, improved general health. The diet typically results in anywhere between 0.5 to 1.65 pounds lost per week, so my losing 12 pounds in 60 days is right on track.
Intermittent fasting isn’t a philosophy. It’s already a part of the average person’s day. It’s such a fundamental part of our schedule that we named breakfast after it. Maybe that’s why there aren’t any best-sellers, infomercials or Intermittent Fasting Studios popping up around the city. I guess the diet suffers from a bit of a branding problem. If I were to rename it I’d go with something like The Skip Breakfast and No Snacks After Dinner Diet. There’s really nothing else to sell here.
On my first day, I ate like normal and when I took the last bite of dinner, I pushed start on my phone and cut off calorie consumption for the next 16 hours. I use the Zero app to track eating/fasting periods and it works incredibly well. There’s something so official about hitting the little “Start Fast” button that I’ve never snuck even a single bite. In practice, I’ve found this diet to be incredibly easy. I’m not hungry in the morning and most of the time I eat lunch a few hours after the fasting timer goes off. The app texts you little encouraging messages for every extra hour you tack on to a fast and it’s fun to rack them up. The intermittent fasting community does say that if you’re miserable with hunger to just go ahead and eat, though that hasn’t happened to me yet.
Side note: If you’re looking for more information and success stories resulting from this diet look no further than the Intermittent Fasting Sub-Reddit. It’s incredible what intermittent fasting is doing for people.
By the time I eat lunch, I find that I truly enjoy my food. Even the most mundane lunches taste incredible! I started by eating HUGE lunches, but after a while I found that eating big meals made me feel all full and sluggish, so I’ve naturally cut back on that a bit. I usually eat something with the girls in the afternoon and then eat my typical gigantic dinner. After dinner, I start the fast timer in the app and, yes, for you Inspector Gadgets out there, this diet does cut out those late-night glasses of wine. This is a bummer but it certainly accelerates things in the terms of weight loss. We’ll accidentally have an early dinner some days which means an earlier lunch the next day… or if we get busy and go later on dinner, I can slide the next lunch back accordingly. Not too hard.
All this is a complicated way of saying that this diet works for me. Unlike all the other stuff I’ve tried, I can do intermittent fasting without even thinking about it. As it takes considerable effort to cook and eat and drink for all those extra hours in the day, intermittent fasting is actually an easier way to live life. And it works! I lost so much weight that I had to buy new underwear. It’s wild!
I should also mention that when I first noticed a drop in weight after a few weeks of fasting, I got really excited. Instead of plopping on the couch after putting the girls to bed, I started a little exercise routine. I bought a bunch of new clothes–okay, Kelly bought them for me but I do wear them!–and my new lighter stature has allowed me to sneak up and flex my muscles to intimidate my wife, children and dog.
It felt good. It felt new. It felt me.
But really, it just feels good knowing I’m doing something to better my chances of being here for my family for many, many years to come.
Mitch. OUT!
Damn girl! So rapid and the more manageable of the “diets” that I have heard of.
XX Angelica
https://eraenvogue.com
I couldn’t agree more! It’s really not that hard. I’m all about routines and intermittent fasting works perfectly with my schedule. Also this was a Mitch post haha. Kelly eats everything in site all the time lol
I recently started IF too, Mitch! I’ve been overweight the majority of my life and my husband and I plan to start TTC in the coming months. So glad it’s working for you, and your post was right on time for me!
I’m so glad to hear it! How is it going so far? I fell off the wagon while we were on a recent trip but I’m back at it and feeling great!
I am so glad to see a post on intermittent fasting! I just started it this week, and I am loving the concept so far! It is great to read Mitch’s experience, and it is encouraging me to stick with it for at least 60 days.
Yes! Sounds like we are both on the same wavelength. How are you feeling? The first week is the hardest!
Thanks for sharing this information and encouragement. Wishing you continued success and good health!
Thank you very much :)
We have started IF, but are doing the 5:2 plan because I just could not move to black coffee. So we eat normal 5 days a week and limit ourselves to just 500 calories on our 2 fasting days.
It’s only been a couple weeks, by so far so good!
Hope we have good results.
5:2 is an intriguing option. Maybe I should try that next week? I hear you about the coffee. Honestly, the black coffee might be the hardest part of this while thing :(
Shameless plug for my profession—a registered dietitian can help those interested in trying intermittent fasting for weight loss (and other health goals).
Congrats on your weight loss—I’m glad you found something that works for you!
Not shameless at all! It’s a great idea for people to speak to a professional like yourself when undergoing significant changes to their diet. Thanks for the comment!
You tackled this really sensitively and well done. I also did this because I went into lockdown with a few pounds on and then it spiralled because all I was doing was cooking and eating and the gym closed! I did 5:2 for three months till I got to my goal weight and now I do 6:1 to keep it off, and that for life if I want to maintain. I’m used to it now and basically have one 24 hour fast each Monday and 500cals that evening and that’s it. It means I can relax the whole rest of the week and eat what I like. Each week just before my fast day I’m two pounds up then it comes off with the fast day. It doesn’t budge from within this range.
Thanks Dee! I appreciate your perspective and advice on the more long term use of this diet after I’ve met my goal weight. 6:1 seems like an excellent weight maintenance strategy. Congrats on all your success!
Hi! I have been doing IF since 10/19 and I absolutely love it too! I read a book by Gin ??? and she said only black or green tea; no fruity teas. I was wondering about Organic Ginger Tea; it has no calories but organic ginger rhizome. I believe this is part of the ginger root.. I dont want to break my fast, but not fond of black tea. What do you think??
Congrats on the fasting Mattie! As far as I understand it, any non-caloric tea should be fine so you should be good! Best of luck :)
Hi Mitch, I just came upon your blog while searching intermittent fasting on the internet. I was wondering if you could give us an detailed example of what your typical fasting day looks like? For example, wake up time, the time of day you usually eat lunch and then dinner. I have been playing with this for about a week now and have seen some results, but not mind blowing results. Part of my limited results might be because I can’t let go of my morning coffee (not black), which from what I understand, breaks my fast and so I may be sabotaging my results. ??? I have been trying to stick to my eating window from 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Sometimes I have to adjust this a little due to our schedule. I usually get up and have the morning coffee (with cream and sugar) and then eat a snack at about 2:00 PM, dinner before 7:00 PM and that’s it. I have never been a morning eater. However, some days I wake up hungry and it’s hard to wait until 2:00 PM to eat anything. With my work schedule it is hard to eat dinner before 7:00, so it’s usually crammed in real quick at the end of my fast. Does this sound like it should work? How do I wean myself away from my comfort morning coffee? I appreciate any advice!
Hi Amy! Welcome to the site and thanks for your question. I typically wake up around 7:15 and break my fast around noon or 1. I eat a big salad for lunch and try to have a larger meal for dinner around 6:30 pm.
I mention this in the post, but IF is an effort at reducing calorie intake as are most of the popular diets these days (Keto, Atkins etc). From what I understand it’s better to consider this a permanent change to eating habits than a diet. So my guess is that you’ll see more significant weight loss after you stick with IF for a longer period of time.
I hear you about morning coffee. I found that drinking Americano instead of drip coffee helped to get me off the cream and sugar in the morning. It does seem like you are fasting for much of the day and I bet you’ll have success. Just keep it up!
I wanted to try intermittent fasting for a while now after reading about it here, https://www.ez.insure/landing/2020/02/intermittent-fasting-101/ . How do you feel about it? Do you feel more focused? sluggish? Do the advantages outweigh being hungry? I mean I love to snack so I think it is going to be hard for me.
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Hi Mitch,
Great blog entry! I also started IF recently, and I think the biggest mistake is to eat too little during the eating period, which can result in getting so hungry that you cannot last the whole fasting period. So far, it’s going really well, I tried different fasting times to see which one works best with my schedule and found that 16/8 works best. As you stated, I also usually am not hungry in the morning and go directly over to eating lunch and a snack in between. When I get home, I eat dinner and that’s it. To be honest, I also thought it was going to be harder, but I only had good experiences so far! Has anyone else experienced any risks so far? I am curious to know learn more about it. I’m not using the App Zero, but Yazio! It has a nice fasting feature with a timer and meal plans as well. I also track my calories and nutritions with the app (https://www.yazio.com/en). I really like it so far, I think it is a helpful tool to get started with IF when you’re new to this :) It reduces the risk of eating too little or the wrong kind of food.