The FastDay Forum

I originally started on the 5:2 Jan 2013 (user name was Roo but have since changed email and forgotten password so created a new profile !!) I had a goal to lose 2 stone for a holiday to Florida to celebrate my 40th birthday I didn't want to be fat at 40. So my journey was fairly smooth did 4:3 as didn't have much time found it quite easy once I got into it, couldn't imagine why I wouldn't carry on eating this way for Life !! On my 40th birthday in June 2013 I had reached my goal and was the lightest I had ever been in my adult life !! Then I don't really know what happened ? I guess I had reached my goal and had nowhere to go, I started doing 1fast day a week for to maintain my weight but I guess it was easy to not bother and once I got out of the habit that's where it all started going wrong. I put a little back on but stayed at that weight for the next year by doing a fast day every now and then. Then we decided to move house which was a very stressful 6 months I just ate what I wanted. We moved into our new house 3 days before Christmas 2014 and I had put back on most of the weight, thoughts of a new year and new start to 5:2 quickly disappeared when my Mum was diagnosed with mouth cancer, having already lost my Dad to pancreatic Cancer a few years ago it was obviously quite a stressful time with Me doing all the caring and hospital appointments as well as looking after my Children and working. So as you can probably guess all the weight is now back on and here I am ready to start again. So What have I learnt from my experience ? Keep focussed, I guess it was very easy to let things slide when I didn't do a fast day it was easy to think oh well I do it next week instead and then that became the week after and so on. You have to be in the right mind set to do the fasts I have tried a few times to go back to it but each time failed however this time Im feeling determined I know it works, My life is now settling down Mum has made a good recovery, the house is beginning to feel more like home and less like box city !! So here's to the future and hopefully my next 5:2 success

Welcome back, @roo1. You have been through an awful lot. I wish you the same success as you had the first time round.

You did it once. You can do it again. No problem. Welcome back to the community!

Like you I am back too. I have never learned how to maintain and do not know if I ever will. I do know though that I am so tired of the constant round of gaining and losing. This is my second week back and the weight is coming off but I am scared it will all be back again once goal is achieved.

So glad your Mum is ok now Roo x
Very well done on yr initial success and even more so from your " what did i learn ' comment..
All is not lost if we learn from any experience

Ive lost and gained,lost and gained on IF...am now on third attempt of fasting combined with Slimming World and have lost 16 1/2 pounds so far
Onwards and downwards! X

[Tracieknits]

Welcome back!! I'm glad to hear your mum is better and that things are calming down for you

Hey Roo! Glad your mom is better and that you are are back. Don't feel bad about not being perfect--we are all just doing the best we can! I haven't exactly shone on maintenance, either. I've stayed within a few lbs., but dealing with it has been kind of hit and miss. My staying in the ballpark probably has more to do with 5:2 having changed my non-fast default rather than having stellar fast days. But, I think I'll just keep plugging away at it.
A while back I read about Dr. Longo's study at USC about fasting once a month for 4 days or once every 2 months for 4 days and the health benefits. I think he recommends about 700 - 500 calories distributed between certain nutrients. It sounds intriguing. I don't know if it would be doable for me or not or whether it would be effective. I might give it a try at some point.
At any rate, welcome back!

Welcome back, @Roo1. You and I started at about the same time in January, 2013 and I remember you from then. My first year went quite well but the end of 2013 found me having regained some weight (nearly a stone!) but still lighter than my 'usual' January weight! I got straight back on 5:2 and was back to target by March 2014.
Since then I have had ups and (fortunately) downs in my weight so I have managed to stay around my target (by about half a stone) since then. I just throw in a fast when my weight has gone up by more than a couple of pounds and allow no excuses for not fasting twice a week until it is back to where it should be. This is the only WOL where I have avoided regaining all my lost weight on a yearly cycle and if I can do it then you, @Bobshouse and many others stand a very good chance of learning how to maintain, too! Good luck!

Welcome back! I'm right there with you. I had been doing 5:2 with fairly good success. Hadn't lost nearly as much as I wanted to, but it was progressing. Then...I don't even know what happened. A vacation or some other reason for a missed week led to two weeks and soon enough I was no longer fasting. Then when the pants got tight, I was on to something else and it only recently occurred to me that I had once enjoyed 5:2. Good luck the 2nd time around

So sorry for your loss.

Welcome back !

Roo,
Thank you so much for posting this! I could've posted something similar! I haven't been on the forum in a long time, and seeing your post made me feel inspired. I started 5:2 2 years ago, also loved it and lost weight easily. I was down 25lbs, which was good for me but I never made it to my goal of a normal BMI, which would've needed another 15lb loss. I continued fasting and maintained that loss, without ever making it to goal, for over a year. Then I was on some antibiotics and couldn't fast and slowly the weight came back and now I'm shocked to see the scale! I would think about fasting, but would always end up snacking and making excuses mid day. So today I'm back in! We can do it!

Roo, thank you for posting. You have been through a lot, but hopefully things will be better for you from now on.
I too started in Jan 13 and did really well, but got lost somewhere - I honestly can't remember what happened. It has taken me months to get to the point where I feel ready to start again, but reading your post has helped me get to that point, so a really big THANKS!

Hi @Roo1 - I have lost (although not attained target - long way to go!) and gained and am pleased to say losing again now.
Life just gets in the way sometimes doesn't it. I think the valuable lesson is to try to copy people like @Stowgateresident, who I am in awe of and keep a check on things so they don't get out of hand, whether you are still on the losing journey or at target.
Good luck

Thank you, @Madcatlady, for your kind words! I have never had anyone 'in awe of' me before! I think that 5:2 has worked for me in the long term because I haven't had to change the things that I eat; I just eat slightly less of them - most of the time. At other times I can eat for England but, as long as I get back to fasting and keep visiting this forum, the weight is kept under control.
It seems that all of you who are returning fasters know how to lose weight but, like me, found it very easy to let life get in the way and lost the plot for a while. However, there is hope for us all and I am so thankful to have found a WOL which allows me to eat and enjoy my food without constantly thinking ' I shouldn't really be eating this!'.
Good luck to us all in our continuing journey to a healthy and contented body and mind!

Isn't it good to able to have the nowandthen slice of chocolate cake (gluten free with visiting family yesterday) and still be 200g down the next day :0)
Fasting Mondays and Thursdays is a doable pattern I've found as long as we're strict about fast day calories below 500 all shall be well.