The FastDay Forum

[carorees]

For the record, my endocrinologist isn't a huge fan of very low carb diets and he says people just can't stay with them long term. He is currently pushing meditation to reduce cortisol, saying that until you reduce cortisol and stress, no diet will work. He likes people to target around 100 or 150 grams of carbs per day, depending on activity levels.

I agree re very low carb diets but not simple low carb diets and the 100-150g target is very achievable, I also wholeheartedly agree that without addressing cortisol you'll forever struggle. I like your endocrinologist!

I'm still around, sometimes this topic disappears off the front page and needs a boost, so here 'tis! Have seen a few new U.S. members around, welcome! Hoping that 5:2 gets more popular here, we need to spread the word that 5:2 is a great way to control one's weight without paying through the nose or giving up one's fave foods! Here's a pdf I put together for my friend...

5-2 et al.pdf

(313.71 KiB) Downloaded 60 times

HELP - I'm appealing to you, my local crowd (that being NY to WA!) for help. My scale which is decades old is driving me crazy. I'm thankfully in maintenance (intended to be 6:1 in my case) but I'd like to keep track of my weight closer than within a 3 pound range. And that range, which the scale reports within a 5 minute period when I (true confessions here) sometimes weigh myself a dozen times to try to get to the truth. It's especially annoying because that 3 pound, 5 minute range spans from doing fine to need an extra fast day this week.

Conclusion - new scale needed. Any advice welcome, because I've heard that all cheap scales are inaccurate. Is a mechanical scale more accurate? They are a little more expensive. Somehow I doubt spending $20 or $30 on a new scale is going to get me anything better than what I already have.

Advice from other parts of the world also welcome. I figure that you don't have access to the same products that we do, tho.

Oh and I'm not interested in extra gimmicks. The body fat measuring scales aren't supposed to be accurate either, and I can do without keeping track of an extra number. And a BMI calculator right on your scale! Why waste extra motion going to your computer to figure that out.

Amazon has a balance beam doctor's scale for $148, marked down from $837. Do I even believe that? In any case it does seem like overkill for my situation.

Thanks, folks.

If Trump is our next president, I'm moving to England. Just sayin'.

Very happy to help you land

I have some bog standard battery ones that seem pretty accurate. The make is Hanson, but as I am in the UK that may not be very helpful. I only weigh myself once though!!!!

@Tracieknits - I like the sound of cortisol-reducing meds - I'm sure my levels are frequently too high which might explain my battle with the lbs!

Just a quick post as I came home from my holiday to no Internet. Posting from my phone is a bit tedious.

Had a wonderful trip to Seattle and down the Oregon Coast. Fabulous!

Was great to meet ferretgal too! Thanks for making the trip in the rain to have dinner with us!

Came home with great memories and 5 lbs more than I left with. I'm hoping it goes quickly. Jet lag is killing me right now, so waiting until tomorrow to resume boot camp. Today will be bad enough just getting back to work. The pile I have to go thru will be epic.

Be back soon.

I bought a doctor scale off of craigslist.. it even has a high measuring tool so I can see how much the kids are growing. I'm on 5-2 today. Last week I decided to give up all breakfasts most days except for Sunday. We will see if this helps. I'm also trying not to eat till Supper time while on a 5-2 days. I will just keep tweaking things till I find what works for me.

Tracieknits,

I hope your endo can get your thyroid sorted out!

100 g a day of carbs is still low enough to produce health benefits and is more sustainable long term than lower levels. I've maintained at lower levels for years at a time, but it was very tough and I don't think I could do it again.

At 150 g a day of carbs you have to be really careful, as you can't eat the high fat foods that work with the lower carb intakes, as fat plus 150g/day cause some really ugly deterioration in BP, lipids, etc. This came out in long term follow up to large low carb studies. 100-110 g works very well and is what many longbterm LC dieters who got to goal recommended on the LC forums years ago when I followed them.

@wendyjane, here's a link to the one I got on amazon, working just fine:
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Bathroom-Capacity-Technology/dp/B001KXZ808/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443488541&sr=8-1&keywords=eatsmart+scale

checking in still hanging in there. How is everyone? We are in full fall season- in the 50's.. but a strage 80* day is coming for Sunday.

It's in the mid 60s here, but the foliage has only started to turn color. Usually this would be Peak Color. But everything is running a few weeks late.

Even so I'm feeling cold. Spending most of the past week n FL didn't help me acclimatize. Up a couple pounds that didn't go away, too. Perhaps my ever-helpful body is storing some more fat to keep me warm this coming winter!

For the supposed Rain Capital of the US (it isn't really), Seattle had a weirdly warm (even hot!) and dry summer...weather has since reverted to more normal chilly 60ish temps, but last weekend was very nice, sunny and dry. Supposed to rain this weekend, no skating outdoors...

Well it's been over a year for me on 5-2 and I'm almost the same as when I started... except I'm not gaining. I think I could have easily gained 10 pounds this last year instead I stayed the same. I did loose 6 pounds last year the first 3 months of 5-2 but gained most back around the holidays. It's taking me a while to figure out what works best for me but I'll get there. I feel better than I did before starting 5-2 and I know I lost inches and kept them off as I'm still down a pant size. But I can do this the rest of my life and plan to, so slow and study it will have to be.

@canoegal. I think the fact that you have maintained you should put down as a success. Well done! We are still having a brutally hot summer in California, but we are hopeful of rain at the weekend finally. Meanwhile my area is suffering from a "quake swarm" today. We are now up to 24 shocks in 24 hours and they keep coming. Makes for an interesting day at the office!