Dear Kayla,

I am overweight and am doing 16:8. How long before I see some weight loss?

Signed,

Angela Israel

Dear Angela,

Thanks for your question! The answer is a frustrating one: it depends. Your body, personality, and behaviors are unique. Some people have an easier and faster time with weight loss. For others, it’s more difficult and slower.

First, let’s talk about realistic expectations. If you are currently obese or on the high end of overweight according to the body mass index (click here for BMI calculator), then a loss of one pound per week on average is a reasonable goal. If you’re on the low end of overweight, ⅓ to ½ of a pound per week is more realistic.

A complication to this right off the bat is that weight naturally fluctuates, especially in women. An average person’s weight fluctuates in about a 10-pound range. Plus, water weight rises and falls depending on how many sugary and salty things you’re eating, and where you’re at in your monthly cycle. A month of daily weighing and tracking your 7-day average should help you understand what your normal is. Once you know this, you’ll be able to tell moving forward whether your weight is moving down or not.

Another frustrating reality: weight loss is not a straight line down. It looks more like a heartbeat (see graphic above.) A typical week’s worth of daily numbers might have a 5-pound spread, or even more for some people. The important thing is to average your numbers and watch what that number is doing over about 6 weeks of time. I’ve provided a copy of my weight tracking spreadsheet from 2016 (which you can download here), to show you what a successful weight loss journey looks like when it comes to daily numbers and 7-day average trends.

Now, let’s talk about seeing results with a 16:8. The biggest factor in when you will start seeing results is you. First, focus on consistency. If you’re being consistent with your eating and fasting windows, and 6 weeks have passed and your 7-day average is exactly the same, it means you’re eating too much in your eating window. To get the scale moving in a downward direction, you must work on eating less. There are many tactics you can use: you can try shortening your eating window, cutting out snacks, or implementing a no eating in front of screens rule, to name a few.

Write down a plan on paper that you’re committed to sticking to, and hold yourself accountable to it for the next 6 weeks. By the end, your 7-day average should be down at least 2-3 pounds. If it’s not, make a small tweak and try again for another 6 weeks. It takes trial and error to find the plan that will be sustainable for you and that gives you results, but it’s worth the effort.

Sincerely,

Kayla Cox

PS: A while back I made a video that gives you 5 tip for losing weight with a 16:8. You might find that useful as well.