8 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight On Intermittent Fasting
eating too much | portion sizes | importance of protein | not eating enough | attitude | accountability | sleep | hydration
Why am I NOT Losing weight on intermittent fasting? Losing weight can be difficult for people. Especially if you have specific eating habits that are non-negotiable and you love food. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy snacking while watching Netflix?
This is why people choose intermittent fasting, (click the link for our beginner’s guide). It makes losing weight more manageable because you restrict eating to a certain window.
However, what if the desired results are just not showing up? What if you’re not losing weight or hit a weight loss plateau during your fasting plan?
It can lead to questioning why you started in the first place. Many just give up at this point. But it is not the time to quit. It is just time to analyze your strategy. So fear not, we here at 21 Day Hero have 8 reasons that might just tell you why you are not losing weight on your fast.
8 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight On Intermittent Fasting
- Eating Too Much
- Watch your portions
- Not eating enough protein
- Not eating during your window
- The Wrong Attitude
- Stay Accountable
- Sleep
- Water
We will cover these all in detail below!!
We will take the most popular intermittent fasting method – 16/8 as the benchmark and break it down into 2 key parts. The first will look into what you may be doing wrong during your eating window. The second part will focus on possible culprits outside of your eating window.
If you are gaining weight or not losing weight during your intermittent fasting, you will likely find the answer below.
Not Losing Weight on Intermittent Fasting: During your Eating Window
#1: You Are Eating Too Much During Your Eating Window (main reason)
As far as not losing weight on intermittent fasting goes, this is pretty much the holy grail of reasons why it is not working for you. The basic science is simple – eat less than your maintenance, exercise regularly and you will lose weight.
However, during their eating window, people can go a little crazy. Not eating for 16 hours will make you hungry. That much is obvious. However, if you are not accountable for what and when you eat, then you are not going to shed any pounds. There are a few ways to make sure you don’t eat too much during your eating window:
- Plan: you don’t need to meal prep days in advance. However, being mindful of what you are planning to eat, understanding your caloric maintenance, and knowing how much protein to eat (we will get to that later) are key factors in successful fasting. If you wing it and eat unregulated during your window you open yourself up to not losing weight. You end up not knowing what exactly you are eating and what your calorie intake is on that food.
#2: Watch Your Portion Sizes
Well.. what a coincidence… the old saying ‘too much of a good thing is never a good thing’ comes to mind here. Let’s just say that for whatever reason you are not tracking your food.
Still, a basic understanding of what or how much to eat is vital in losing weight on intermittent fasting. You can eat the best food possible, but if you are not able to control portions, it can lead to not losing weight or even gaining body weight!
In my experience, there are 3 simple solutions to this problem:
- Buy smaller plates
- Get a good app to track your food intake.
- Buy a kitchen scales
Top Tip: if you do all 3, it’s foolproof! These will help prevent you from eating too much food.
#3: You are not eating enough protein
This may sound a little strange but it’s true. It also links in with the idea that you may not be eating the right kinds of food during your window.
For example, your maintenance might be 1800 calories. However, eating 1800 calories worth of sugary snacks vs eating 1800 calories of quality food will likely yield different results.
Protein is a very important factor in this, not just for muscle repair and maintenance. It also keeps you full for longer. On average, one breast of chicken contains 23-25g of protein and is 180 calories. This will likely leave you more fulfilled and full than a 200-calorie Mars Bar. This is why being mindful of your eating is so important.
Eat more of the good stuff that will benefit you in the long term and you will see results faster.
#4: You are not eating enough during your window
Okay, this might seem like it contradicts my earlier point but hear me out. There is a huge knock-on effect if you don’t give your body the energy it needs when you do eat.
For one, eating less than you should leave the body craving more nutrients. It makes you more likely to break the fast because you may still be hungry.
Secondly, when people are fasting, they tend to get caught up in micromanaging every meal and every calorie.
That can make people become obsessed with eating less than needed to seemingly quicken weight loss. All it will do is make the process more difficult.
Depriving the body of what it needs leaves you open to hunger during the fasting window. (see below regarding mood and how it can affect losing weight on your fast).
To fix this: be mindful of your number of calories and eat until you are full. You have a plan, stick to it!
Not Losing Weight (Weight Gain) on your Intermittent Fasting Plan: Outside your Eating Window
#5: You don’t have the right attitude toward your fast
Scientific studies have shown that intermittent fasting can have several benefits on your physical and mental well-being.
However, some people enter fast and underestimate how difficult it can be mentally. They believe that all that has to be done is not eat and then they will suppress cancer cell growth, reduce the risk of diseases, or will instantly lose weight. When people don’t feel like this is happening, they begin to resent the fast.
There will always be bumps in the road, but not taking your fast seriously from the start is a recipe for failure.
You have to always remember your ‘why’ and understand that there are days when you will be cranky or tired during the eating window. Maintaining self-control and discipline both with food and mentally will reduce the likelihood of breaking your fast and improve your chances to lose weight.
#6: You are struggling to stay accountable
Intermittent fasting can be lonely if you are doing it on your own. Having the support and guidance of other like-minded individuals can be pivotal in helping to find motivation and keep you accountable.
We can suggest a 21-day Intermittent Fasting Challenge to start fasting with a community of supportive people. The challenge includes a meal plan to help navigate the diet and a useful Q&A to answer any questions you might have on fasting.
Finding people to fast along with you can be a way to revive your commitment to intermittent fasting and can help lose weight. You don’t have to do it alone!
Also avoid bad foods, such as fast food, processed foods, junk food, etc. Eat fewer calories that contain these foods and eliminate them if possible.
#7: You are not getting enough sleep
There have been many studies done on the correlation between intermittent fasting and sleep. As a whole, intermittent fasting does provide a general increase in sleep quality.
However, if you are not getting enough sleep, it can be a prevailing factor in why you are not losing weight during the intermittent fast.
There are 2 reasons for this:
- Lack of discipline: lack of proper sleep affects a chemical called Leptin going to your brain. It tells your brain when you are full. Lack of sleep also increases the production of Ghrelin, a chemical that stimulates appetite. This chemical imbalance will by its very nature affect how you eat. A lack of discipline caused by this imbalance is a surefire way to sabotage your intermittent fasting progress.
- Mood: Comfort eating is no joke! Our mood has a huge impact on our eating habits and lack of sleep can make us quick-tempered, anxious, and emotional. Characteristics that do not pair well with weight loss.
#8: You are not drinking enough water
A key tool for helping you to lose weight while fasting is water. It does not break a fast and heralds a host of benefits.
Water itself makes up 60% of our bodies and plays a variety of key roles like digestion, regulation of body temperature, and circulation. It is quite common for people to feel like their fast is not working only to find out that they are not drinking much, if any water.
You can do many things right in your fast. However, drinking enough water can be the glue that keeps all of those things together. Even being 2% dehydrated can affect your mood and reduce motor skills!
Furthermore, it can increase blood pressure. This is crucial when you are not in your eating window. If your mood becomes affected, you are more likely to give in to cravings and break your fast.
Another thing, YES you can drink black coffee while fasting, but be sure to drink water over coffee if that’s an option.
Bottom Line – Why I’m Not Losing Weight Intermittent Fasting?
Remember, intermittent fasting can have amazing benefits! Always maintain physical activity, weight training (strength training) to maintain muscle mass, consume healthy fats, and stick to your eating schedule. You will begin to see results!
You may want to reach out to a registered dietitian to ensure you are eating the right foods. There is a lot of new research showing its anti-aging, weight loss, lower body fat, gut health, and other amazing transformations and health benefits can happen. Be sure to check your insulin levels, if you are diabetic.
I recommend starting here to learn more about these types of fasting which are the MOST popular, starting with 16/8 Fasting, click on these guides below to learn more:
16/8 Fasting Guide, 14/10 Fasting Guide, 18/6 Fasting Guide, One Meal a Day Guide.
To lose weight you want to eat at a calorie deficit, so watch your calorie intake, and avoid those snacks which can pack on extra calories. Eat small meals if that helps you keep calories low in calorie restriction.
There are many different ways to intermittent fasting, and you will see some short-term benefits. You may also do this along with a ketogenic diet, calorie-restricted diet, carnivore diet, and more!
Also, need help fasting? Check out the Best Intermittent Fasting Mobile Apps we recommend to help you on your journey.
A great program to follow that will help you lose weight and be more accountable on your intermittent fasting journey is the 21-day Intermittent Fasting Challenge.
Members get access to a community of like-minded fasters, helping them to stick to their goals. Additionally, you receive a meal plan and challenge guide, along with fasting tips and FAQs. It starts every Monday for new members and is the best place to begin your fasting journey. Come join us!
