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The important point is the last sentence. Ideal diet is one that you can stick with for life. In my books this is where Intermittent fasting scores very high. Atleast the 16:8 version can be followed for life without too many adjustments once you get used to the initial hunger pangs.
It is not too restrictive in the sense that you have a degree of freedom to still eat well during the 8 hour period as long as you don't go full ballistic with food.

If you also manage to just hold back on your carbs a bit, you can achieve very good and sustainable results.

So, after doing 16:8 IF close to 9 months, without any reduction in the last layer of belly fat, I was going to go back to my normal routine. But somehow the heavy breakfast or the morning milk coffee did not work for me. It made me too drowsy, especially when I ate breakfast.

So back to 16:8 :). But there is one update now. I have decided to include 2 24 hr fast days in a week. This was the first week. Fasted 24 hrs post lunch on Monday and Thursday. Had to club full day's intake in one single meal. Barring 3 hrs in the evening before sleep, when body was hoping to get some food, did not find OMAD very difficult to do. Let's see if this helps in any reduction in fat.

Please note, there is no silver bullet; No Miracle here.

16:8 helps reduce because, it kind of programs you to a mode, where you get sustained to a calorific deficit. In other words, if the food that you eat in your 8 hour window equals the calories that you had been used to prior to your IF routine, it may not help much.

So you should program your body to work on reduced intake. Again please take the prior statement with a caveat.

Today we live in a lifestyle, where we surely overeat (even with the regular 3 meals a day its an overdose). Its this over eating which IF will help reduce. But nonetheless, you still need to cut it out to see the benefit.
All the above theory in my opinion works for extra weight in the body.

Now if you are already down, and are just focusing on the last remaining belly fat, then yes diet may not help. Because it has already recovered ~80% of your excess weight. It is now left to the workout only.

From what I've read, if you're fasting too much/too often, your body will revolt by bringing down metabolism and in effect you will not lose weight.

I think 16:8 for 5 days or 18:6/20:4/OMAD for 3-4 days a week is good enough provided you don't load up with carbs on the days you aren't fasting (just keep carbs down and sugar close to zero, add more vegetables like leafy greens and eat till you feel satiated).

I think you can consider adding weight training and cardio along with IF. Just like too much fasting, over training also isn't good since the body loses fat during recovery and getting enough sleep is very important. Try to switch the training routine also and not stick to same routine for too long.

Guys I need help, I think I am losing it. I was 82 6 months ago, gave up boozing, went to gym followed strict diet and I was down to 71 until last week. I started to booze, eat junk again, stopped going to gym. What's happening? I lost it, I need a little kick in my back, I am 74 today. Please help

Like every one says; its not attaining the first position in class that's difficult, but maintaining that position for years which is more difficult!

The way to solve it is dont go in full spartan mode during your schedule. Allow yourselfes some delicacies. But with a resolve that next day you push it back. Small goals will always help. After every vacation which I take, I see my weight go up by 2-3 points. But what comforts is the fact that I know the way to get back.

Of course, apart from knowing the path, you need to walk that path too!

Spot on clap:

The more you deprive yourself of your favorite/comfort foods, the more likely you will crave and possibly binge at some point when you let go of that control/restraint.

So, do indulge in sweets/carbs, etc once in a while (eg. Some pizza/ice cream on a weekend). I've now gotten to a point where I just have small portions of such foods infrequently, one trick is to share the delicacy with someone in the family, instead of eating a full portion - sharing is caring :)

Maybe what you have in your meals is the main culprit?

You should ask what motivated you and then, what made you go careless? And you know what wrong you did or are doing, so just correcting that will bring you back on track.

It's been just a week as you said. That too it was the Christmas New Year week. So it's understandable. Don't beat yourself up! :)

As others here have said, it's a lifestyle. The important thing is to get back on track. I would suggest easing yourself back into the fitness lifestyle one step at a time. Start with watching what you eat at every meal and get back to healthy eating. Planning each meal in advance helps a lot. I am sure you know what to do since you were already doing it. Now it's just a matter of getting back to doing it again after the year end celebrations. Good luck and keep the thread updated! :thumbs up

What about Almond Flour? Is it ok to use in moderation?

100%. And why moderation? Its extremely healthy.

Thanks, I try to go slow with newer things. Will pick few packs from Costco, my wife baked some nice cookies and we also used to make Paranthas. It tastes delicious and not different from the regular flour.

You can buy almonds whole and make it at home too.

Its not difficult at all. This way, you will have better control over the almonds you source.

Almond flour is one of the most popular ingredients for keto recipes, lookup Keto recipes with almond flour - Dosa, bread, cake, pancake etc with Almond flour :)

I can't help with the diet bit because I have no idea about a good diet, but I can say something about the motivation to exercise from personal experience. I find that doing something as a group helps keep motivation levels up.

For the past 5 years I have been actively pursuing a sport. It started out as a fun hobby, but now it's a passion, bordering on obsession sometimes and I never miss a session except when injured! The two main motivators are the community and the group I practice with, and the fact that it happens outdoors.

Personally, I find gyms boring, but know that they are certainly convenient and much better than doing nothing!

See if you can find a couple of friends with similar goals to train with. Good luck, don't lose heart, there's no 'correct' approach and no matter how many times we go off track, all that matters is keeping at it!