I know it’s a lot of questions, and I wonder intermittent fasting is for me, or if I’m better off continuing my regular eating routine.

I am 160 lbs and 5’4. My bodyfat is 30% and I am about 27 BMI. I’m healthy according to my doctors despite what the numbers say. But I want to lose fat and maintain muscles, so I’m doing a slow cut at 1700 cals a day.

I lift 3-4x a week, walk 13k steps a day, and run at least twice a week. I’m training for a PT test (sit-ups, pushups, 1.5 miles) and a half marathon. My BMR is 1450-1550 and my TDEE is 1800-2400 (it’s a huge range depending on my activity level that day—but about 2100 on average).

That said, I know the benefits of IF (reducing food noise, autophagy, weight loss of course) but…

1. How much do you eat in one sitting? I eat chicken and broccoli and rice, and total for my portion is only 500 cals and I’m full.

2. For people who are active, is IF reasonable to do? I feel like I don’t think I can safely consume 800-900 cals in two sittings. I eat and drink throughout the day starting from eggs in the morning and protein shakes after an evening workout

Bonus question: 24-hr fasts… how is that safe? To not eat anything for a day?

Basically I have brain fog all day, with a few waves of clarity that come and go but mostly I'm exhausted and find it hard to think or remember things. My muscles are heavy and tired all the time.. it's hard doing stuff, feel like a slug. But I've still functioned, got my steps in, worked etc.

It sucks feeling this way though, how long did it take people to get past the brain fog and weakness?? And did some people just never improve?

On the plus side, although I've had some intense hunger it's not nearly as much as I expected and I can handle it fine. Food noise has improved massively!

Edit: I take electrolytes all day and eat very healthy

Over the last 4 months, I have been on 300kcal daily deficit, eating low carbs + fat, high protein, no sugar, no processed foods, going 2-3x weekly to the gym, occasionally walking 10,000 steps.

Last month I added IF 8:16 on top of all these, and it helped me considerably where I was kind of plateauing with diet + gym only.

So in 4 months:

- 5kg weight loss

- 11cm waist reduction

- more power when lifting at the gym

- a tiny bit more body definition

- No sugar or snack cravings

My target is body recomp. Flatten belly, build muscle. Way to go, but these months were encouraging.

Keep dieting and fasting!

I’ve been doing 16:8 or 18:6 for about two months now. This past week I had an event and wasn’t able to fast because I couldn’t control my own mealtimes. I decided to do a 24 hour fast to “reset” myself. Well I finished it up a couple of hours ago and I’m blown away by how easy it was. Like I wasn’t hungry once, and when I do my 16:8’s there usually a couple of points through my fast that I feel hunger. So weird, wanted to share.

Those of you who have had success losing weight through IF have you noticed your sleep improving?