You're not eating enough
If you've hit a weight loss plateau after losing a few pounds, says Melanie Boehmer, R.D. of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, you may be eating too few calories. That's because our bodies adjust to whatever we throw at them, she says.
After the first week of intermittent fasting, you'll probably notice less bloating and a tighter, slimmer look and feel to your midsection. Some people will enjoy some weight loss by week two, but don't be discouraged if your weight scale hasn't budged. Continue for another 4-6 weeks, and you should see changes.
YOU'RE EATING TOO MUCH DURING YOUR WINDOW
You've got to eat what your body needs in calories, not overeat just because you know you won't be eating for another 16 hours (if you follow the 16:8 plan as I do). Instead, eat clean. If you do that, you'll have no issues.
You might begin to first notice a difference in your body about 10 days after you begin intermittent fasting. It could take between 2-10 weeks for you to lose significant weight. You might lose up to a pound each week.
You can repeat this cycle as frequently as you'd like — from just once or twice per week to every day, depending on your preference. The popularity of this fasting method has grown widely among those looking to lose weight and burn fat.
If you don't eat for 10–16 hours, your body will go to its fat stores for energy, and fatty acids called ketones will be released into the bloodstream. This has been shown to protect memory and learning functionality, says Mattson, as well as slow disease processes in the brain.
“Yes, it is possible to lose calories, fat and weight from this popular diet,” the nationwide clinic wrote. “However, it is also possible to quickly gain the weight back, develop low energy stores which can result in a depressed mood, have problems sleeping and even develop organ damage if the fasting is extreme.”
“[Intermittent fasting] is working if there is a reduction in abdominal fat — waist size, an increase in insulin sensitivity as indicated by reduced fasting glucose and insulin levels, reduced resting heart rate and blood pressure.”
How often should you do 16:8 intermittent fasting? You can do anywhere from one day of intermittent 16:8 fasting to seven days a week, because, unlike other intermittent fasting diets, each day of the 16:8 works independently to the rest.
Simply allocate a 16-hour window in the day that you will abstain from calories completely. Many choose their window to be from around 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. the following day, but it's just as possible to eat earlier in the day and stop eating earlier.
The 16/8 Diet
The window they choose to eat is entirely up to them, meaning they can eat from 10am-6pm or 12pm-8pm, or any other variation! This is probably the most popular form of intermittent fasting because it's one of the easiest forms of fasting to adhere to and make a habit.
You're eating too much
If you're in ketosis but not losing weight, it could be that you're eating more than your body can burn. Fat has twice the number of calories per gram than protein or carbs do.
Try intermittent fasting
Another consists of fasting every day for 16 hours and eating all your food within an 8-hour period. In a review of studies on intermittent fasting and alternate-day fasting, people experienced a 4–7% decrease in abdominal fat within 6–24 weeks (70).
To sum it up, if you're experiencing weight gain with Intermittent Fasting, it's likely not the fast itself that's causing you to gain weight. Rather it's what you're eating (or not eating, in the case of protein) that can lead to weight gain.
Put simply, when people practice intermittent fasting without exercising, they are losing weight, but much of it often comes from the muscle in the lean mass.
Fat burning typically begins after approximately 12 hours of fasting and escalates between 16 and 24 hours of fasting.
For many people, somewhere between 14 and 18 hours of fasting per day is the ideal range, providing more significant weight loss benefits than a 12-hour fast, while still being attainable, says functional practitioner B.J. Hardick, D.C.
The short answer is yes, you can drink coffee while intermittent fasting. But, this answer comes with a big caveat: You can drink black coffee while intermittent fasting, but coffee drinks with cream, sugar, or other forms of calories technically break your fast.
Losing weight and being physically active help lower your risk of obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes, sleep apnea and some types of cancer. For these diseases, intermittent fasting seems to be about as beneficial as any other type of diet that reduces overall calories.
Intermittent fasting is a convenient way to lose weight without counting calories. Many studies show that it can help you lose weight and belly fat.