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I've been IFing for 2 weeks and have not really seen any significant positive changes, so I was wondering if anyone who knows more about it than me could maybe help my identify my problem area. I know 2 weeks isn't that long, but I'm hearing about all these other people that are losing like 5 to 8 lbs in the first week so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. I'm trying to recomp.
This is a list of things that I think may be the problem:
1. I'm not carb cycling. I've heard that IF should be combined with some other diet strategy, and I chose to limit calories instead. Currently my maintainence calories are at 2100, so to lose fat I've been eating 1600 calories per day, with a 16 hour fast and 8 hour eating window. Is this ok or do I HAVE to start carb cycling if I want progress? I was under the impression that the act of fasting would burn more fat regardless of carb cycling due to the release of catecholamines. Am I wrong?
2. My fast hours are not always the same time. My work schedule varies, so sometimes I need to fast from 7pm to 11am, and on other days I do a 10pm to 2pm fast. Would this screw things up or is this ok?
3. My sleep schedule varies. Some nights I get 8 hours but twice a week or so I only get 6. I realize more would be better but I honestly hope this is not the main cause of my problems because I'm not sure I can fix this one anytime soon.
4. I don't pay that much attention to macros. I really only count calories and protein. 1600 calories and 150 grams of protein per day. Outside of that I eat pretty much whatever I want, and no, that doesn't mean oreos and ice cream, it's mostly healthy, chicken and salads and such, but I do eat pizza or a burger maybe twice a week or so as long as it fits in my calorie limit.
and I know your reaction might be "All of those are problems, idiot, why don't you follow the rules more closely" So I guess what I'm really asking is which one is the biggest problem? I seem to have more success when I take baby steps, so I'd like to only change one thing at a time so I don't get frustrated and give up entirely.
edit: Duh, I should've mentioned I lift 3 times per week but don't do any cardio
This is a list of things that I think may be the problem:
1. I'm not carb cycling. I've heard that IF should be combined with some other diet strategy, and I chose to limit calories instead. Currently my maintainence calories are at 2100, so to lose fat I've been eating 1600 calories per day, with a 16 hour fast and 8 hour eating window. Is this ok or do I HAVE to start carb cycling if I want progress? I was under the impression that the act of fasting would burn more fat regardless of carb cycling due to the release of catecholamines. Am I wrong?
2. My fast hours are not always the same time. My work schedule varies, so sometimes I need to fast from 7pm to 11am, and on other days I do a 10pm to 2pm fast. Would this screw things up or is this ok?
3. My sleep schedule varies. Some nights I get 8 hours but twice a week or so I only get 6. I realize more would be better but I honestly hope this is not the main cause of my problems because I'm not sure I can fix this one anytime soon.
4. I don't pay that much attention to macros. I really only count calories and protein. 1600 calories and 150 grams of protein per day. Outside of that I eat pretty much whatever I want, and no, that doesn't mean oreos and ice cream, it's mostly healthy, chicken and salads and such, but I do eat pizza or a burger maybe twice a week or so as long as it fits in my calorie limit.
and I know your reaction might be "All of those are problems, idiot, why don't you follow the rules more closely" So I guess what I'm really asking is which one is the biggest problem? I seem to have more success when I take baby steps, so I'd like to only change one thing at a time so I don't get frustrated and give up entirely.
edit: Duh, I should've mentioned I lift 3 times per week but don't do any cardio