I Lost 60 Pounds With Intermittent Fasting — Here’s What It Taught Me About Weight Loss

As a health journalist, I’ve tried just about every diet under the sun. It turns out, the best diet for my weight loss was not a traditional diet at all — it was intermittent fasting, which involves limiting eating to certain times or days of the week.

Believe it or not, I lost 60 pounds with relative ease. Even better, I finally found something sustainable. I started fasting for weight loss, but now I’m sticking with it for the other health benefits I’ve experienced.

I started my weight loss journey weighing 210 pounds and wearing clothing sizes 14 to 16. My fasting glucose levels weren’t quite in the prediabetes range, but I was pretty close. I had high cholesterol, random chest pains, and flare-ups of rosacea. I got winded going up the stairs and my digestion was out of whack. I struggled with depression, anxiety, and bouts of insomnia. As an athletic person for much of my life before gaining weight, I just didn’t feel like “me.”

My journey took about a year or so. I wasn’t super strict with it. The great thing about intermittent fasting is you don’t need to be a control freak. You can fast when you need a boost or a reset, and then enjoy life when you want to. It’s all about balance.

“Most people will lose weight more quickly in the beginning, though this isn't all fat mass, says Jonathan Bonnett, MD, a board-certified family, sports, obesity, and lifestyle medicine physician in Palo Alto, California, and a clinical associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Early weight loss is actually a combination of water, salt, and carbohydrates. “In general, most people won't lose more than a few pounds per week of actual fat.” That’s why doctors pay attention to the percentage of body fat lost, not just pounds. You can measure your fat percentage with a smart scale or by going to the gym for a body scan.

My favorite analogy for intermittent fasting is a sports car. If you’re driving a classic muscle car and you already have a full tank, there’s no need to go to the gas station every two hours and top it off. In fact, you’d need extra canisters to store the fuel, which would weigh down your car and tax the engine.

The same could be said for the human body, research suggests.

Unless you’re well below a safe body mass index (BMI), your body will have fuel to burn. “Even lean individuals have tens of thousands of calories of energy available to them, if needed,” says Dr. Bonnet. “We still need adequate nutrition — protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals — though we would preferentially want to be using the body’s fat stored energy in order to lose weight.”

That said, before changing how frequently you eat, it’s important to check with your doctor if you have a health condition or suspect you may have one, says Aalia Al-Barwani, MD, a board-certified obesity medicine physician in Houston. “Discernment and caution needs to be used for someone with chronic disease such type 1 diabetes, labile or ‘brittle’ diabetes, or kidney failure.”

While everyone's journey will be different — and relationships with food are deeply personal — here's a look at what worked for me. Before fasting, I ate around the clock from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed, giving my body about nine hours of total fasting time (while sleeping).

I started with the 12:12 method. This refers to 12 hours of eating and 12 hours of fasting. Keep in mind, I was asleep for eight of those fasting hours. I bumped back breakfast by two hours and moved up dinner by two hours. My body got used to the new routine in about a week.

Then I graduated to the 16:8 method. Swayed by the insane before and after photos on the intermittent fasting Reddit thread, I shortened my eating window. This meant 16 hours of fasting and eight hours of eating. I chose to eat later in the day so I didn’t go to sleep hungry.

I dared to try OMAD. This is “one meal a day” or fasting for 23 hours. I didn’t get hungry, but it was a bit too hardcore for me, as I couldn’t eat all of my calories in one sitting. Plus, I prefer to work out earlier in the day, so it was tough to wait until the end of the day to refuel. Even so, there’s a whole group on Reddit who swear by OMAD.

I tried prolonged fasting. I first read about longer fasts in the New Testament. The idea freaked me out, so I got curious about the scientific literature to support it. Turns out, there’s a lot. So far, I’ve done half a dozen of them. I started with 24 hours and worked up to nine days with just salt water (for electrolytes). Each time, it banished my sugar cravings and hunger cues disappeared. After a few days, I felt normal, even when people around me were eating. At the end, I eased back into food with soups and smoothies. I’m always shocked at how amazing “boring” ingredients taste. It’s as if my tastebuds have reset.

“[Autophagy] has significant health benefits, however, it is difficult to measure and likely requires prolonged fasting (24 to 48 hours) to achieve and reap substantial benefits,” says Bonnet. “The potential benefits must be weighed against the risks that extended fasts can have, such as a loss of lean muscle mass.”

Prolonged fasting longer than 24 hours may pose other health risks, says Al-Barwani. “It is not sustainable and has a high risk for lots of medical complications. I would not recommend this without medical supervision, especially in elderly and people with chronic conditions such as heart or kidney disease,” she adds.

Finally, I returned to 16:8. Of all the methods of intermittent fasting, my favorite one is 16:8, as it’s the simplest way to drain my glycogen stores every day. My typical eating window is 12 to 8 p.m. I naturally get hungry around noon, but I still need a reminder to stop grazing at night. For that, I use an alarm on my phone.

My cravings also changed. I gravitated toward a Mediterranean Diet and the principles outlined by Jessie Inchauspé in her bestselling book Glucose Revolution. Salad bars became a staple. I noticed that high-fat items — avocados, olive oil, nuts — kept me fuller for longer. And many sugary snacks, which I previously loved, became too sweet for me.

Now, 80 percent of the time, I focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs, lean meats, and plenty of olive oil.

The other 20 percent of the time, I eat all my favorite foods. I don’t believe in restricting myself. I still adore pasta, ice cream, chips, beer, wine, and pizza, but I opt for a few slices instead of the whole pie. I’ll mix treats into my regular fare or pick a day to eat whatever I want. I cherish a little chocolate every day, though now I prefer low-sugar options like Lilly’s or Hu.

Although I don’t count calories or weigh my food, I do think about how to hit the right macronutrients with each meal. “It’s important to plan your meals when you are in the eating window so that you aren't just binging because you skipped a meal,” says Dr. Al-Barwani.

Never forget that you’re an animal. Find different ways to move. After the first 30 pounds came off, I took up light forms of cardio like walking or 12-3-30, a treadmill workout created by influencer Lauren Giraldo where you walk at an incline of 12 at a speed of 3 for 30 minutes. However, I have a spinal injury (slipped L5), so I need to use a gentler incline, around level 8.

Now that I’m 60 pounds down, my goal is to be strong and look lethal. I lift weights three to five times at Planet Fitness per week with an upper body–lower body split. I do circuit training and incorporate compound movements, which are exercises that target the most muscle groups at once. Think squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and push-ups. It helps to set a specific goal and train around it. For example, I’m trying to master a controlled handstand, so I’m incorporating yoga movements and calisthenics (using my own body weight) to strengthen my core.

Al-Barwani says it’s relatively safe to work out during a fasted state. “I would recommend doing it earlier in the day. Make sure to stay hydrated and listen to your body. Some studies recommend avoiding high intensity workouts during fasting, however I would say that it depends on your goals.”

My body got used to intermittent fasting in about a week. At first, I got hungry first thing in the morning. It was uncomfortable, but I kept busy with work and errands. My sleep schedule was a little off for a few nights and I had strange dreams. But after a few days, I only felt hunger cues in the afternoon and my sleep returned to normal. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. I was shocked at how quickly the weight came off.