I do a window of 11 am to 8 pm. I don’t count carbs or calories. I did look over my diet andtried to make healthy choices. I did cut back on pasta/bread/cheese/alchohol because I could see these were problem areas for me. It’s been a year and I lost and kept off 25 pounds. I had been unable to lose that weight before despite diet/excercise changes.
I started the 5:2 intermittent fast three weeks ago. Basically, you eat normally (but not binging) on any 5 days of the week and then fast on the other 2 days. On the fast days, you should have water, green tea, herbal tea, black tea, black coffee etc and up to 500 calories for women and up to 600 calories for men, i.e. 25% of your normal calorie intake. There’s a formula for how many calories you can have on your non-fasting days, but mine is quite high (due to my level of activity) and I rarely eat that many.
I continue to do my brisk 4-mile walk almost daily, and I’m down over 7 pounds in three weeks.
I am so proud of myself for sticking with this for 4 days! Isn’t that a little sad? My eating window is 10-6. If I go to the gym it’s usually around 7 and then I am not hungry so it works out. One thing I noticed is after eating at 5;30 yesterday I felt hungry again around 6:30. I powered through by drinking extra water 
@Hoggirl I have about 5 - 10 pound to lose too. Hope to have it done by graduation season 6 weeks from now!
Reporting back with my bloodwork results! Background: Had my bloodwork done March 2018 for the first time in several years. My A1C came in at 5.8, which I was not happy about (doctor said she wasn’t concerned, but I was!) I was already 9 months into a slow (by design) weight loss journey, down 10 pounds with exercise and change in diet. I committed to doubling down and lowering that A1C number, as well as my elevated cholesterol number. My problem time is the winter, when I want to go into hibernation and sticking with exercise and clean eating is much harder for me. I started 16:8 IF right after Thanksgiving and have been 95% faithful to the schedule since then. Had my bloodwork done last week, so A1C number reflects January through March. I dropped from 5.8 to 5.4 - which my doctor said today was an “excellent” number! While exercise and food choices are a major contributor, I credit IF for completely eliminating my nighttime snacking, reducing my daily caloric intake, and helping me be in tune with my need for nourishment versus my desire to eat. All of those things translated to better health indicators! (cholesterol numbers were down, too.) To date I have lost 24 pounds in 22 months and dropped from size 12 to size 6. Best of all, I feel great!
@Embracethemess - that’s wonderful!!! I am happy that your dedication paid off so well for you!
@threebeans - I am on day four as well! I am interested to see if I have any weight loss at all. I’m actually kind of bummed because I gave up all alcohol/wine for Lent. I thought I would see the scale move a little because of that, but it has not at all. 
@Hoggirl I joined a gym in October and haven’t seen many results either! I usually only do treadmill but added weights about 6 weeks ago. Not a lot of weights though. I’m sticking with the idea that abs are made in the kitchen and thats where I should focus.
I’m a naturally thin person (with good eating & exercise habits but still I had nature on my side) but at about the age of 50, I began to gain weight…and the more I gained, the more I gained…that is, I think the body gives up on itself really quickly. Then I began IF and its really made a mindset difference for me…basically, food isn’t the boss of me.
And I do it very simply…i get up in the morning and I don’t eat until 1. I do have one cup of plain old coffee (no sugar…i had never added sugar…and 1/2 teaspoon of half & half) at about 9…and that one cup of coffee is truly amazing.
@threebeans - yes, I am a regular exerciser alternating running with light weight circuit training (just use DVDs at home). I agree that abs are made in the kitchen, but I eat pretty dang healthy. I definitely watch sugar. I should probably watch my carbs a bit more, but what I get is from real food - fruit, not chips. I am also gf. I think it’s just hard to conquer the age factor.
I tried IF for several months and found that I just got too hungry and would frequently overeat when the fasting window was over. I have, however, managed to get back to my high school weight doing keto! At 48 years, I am quite pleased with this feat! Been on it for over a year.
I’m late to the party here, but I have dropped around 20# so far doing alternate day fasting. (Not sure of the exact number, as I refused to go near the scale until I was more than a month in, lol.)
In the past, I lost quite a bit of weight and kept it off for years (not permanently, obviously, but sigh life happens) with a more traditional low carb plan. But since menopause? Golly. Even on low carb, I seem to be able to maintain my weight on a stupidly small amount of food. Losing anything at all requires a degree of austerity that incites constant inner negotiation and puts food at the forefront of my thinking rather than making it less important, as I want it to be. I decided that alternating fast days had to be better than this joyless spiral… and indeed, this new regime has been much better. Even the fast days (with 500-calorie allotment of protein snacks) are more pleasant than a “regular” day was before. And on the “eating” days, I really don’t find myself wanting anything excessive or unhealthy - I’m thrilled just to have an actual healthy meal, and it doesn’t take that much to feel full.
That said, the weight loss is still annoyingly slow, for as significant a change as I’ve made. But at least it’s moving in the right direction, and I feel 100x better. I’m pretty clear that when (if?) I’m ready for a “maintenance” lifestyle, it is still going to have to include fast days - I think I’ll be lucky if a 5:2 plan works for maintenance. But this is livable, and hopefully my metabolism will pick up a little as I get past some of the joint issues that were making exercise even more difficult than normal. (I can dream.)
Just checking in. Today was my first day to run during my fast. I started off kind of sluggish but was able to run my usual 3.1 miles around my normal pace!
This is my fifth day, and I think my body is starting to adjust because I am not feeling hungry when I awaken in the morning.
I am sleeping a LOT, though! Last night I slept nine hours! Anyone else experience this? I mean, it’s nice, but I don’t always have that luxury.
I didn’t have a change in sleeping, but I’m finding I’m not hungry in the mornings the way I used to be. I started a PT job last week, and bring my breakfast smoothie. I find it so busy now I almost forget to drink it at 10. I really like this lifestyle change.
Re: the sleeping. Are you the poster that gave up alcohol for Lent? Alcohol interferes with deep sleep stages. Do you think your body is making up for some lost (quality) sleep?
@Midwest67 - yes, I am the poster who gave up alcohol for Lent. I don’t know?? I would have thought being over five weeks into Lent, any catch up from the dropping alcohol would have already happened???
OP here. I am down 62 pounds since July 8. As I said not eating before noon is just my natural eating pattern. I have no idea if rejecting the myth that one needs to eat breakfast aided in my loss which is fueled mostly by simple old fashioned calorie counting. No carb counting. No elimination of any type of food. All I know is that this works for me. And calorie counting Made simpler by a My fitness pal app…it takes me less that 3 minutes a day to record my calories and I always have my phone with me.