The FastDay Forum

[Betsysgr8]

I have always been a once a week weigher, however I can see that the thought if gaving to weigh tomorrow may stop me eating that cake...maybe

I think that whenever you weigh, every hour, everyday, once a week or monthly, it's important to make it consistant and make a note, if everyday then an app such as Libra is very useful or at least note it on the calendar so weights can be compared from week to week. Otherwise, you can kid yourself ie: oh, that's right I had such-n-such last night or of course! it's that TOTM or I haven't "gone" yet today and you easily lose sight of your reference point and the weight creeps up. It has happended to me.

On page 26 of this book, when using a person as an example, she says that 5:2 didn't work. I felt it rather implied that 5:2 didn't work in general, as it was written on a separate line underneath a paragraph...quite deliberately written like that.
'But 5:2 didn't work'.
I don't think that Dr M. M. has ever tried to imply that her methods don't work....rather mean of her I thought. It would have been nicer if she had acknowledged what he had done bringing this type of diet to the fore in the public eye. But I gather she feels that he pre-empted her with his book!
Her methods probably do work very well... if you can stick to it, but I don't think that it's much fun if you have to diet long term. I bet the supermarkets she mentions love her too.

Er, oh dear! I just started on my new daily weighing regime and, er, ooh can I share this? Oh go on then...12 stone! I was 11:13 when I started in October

Strangely enough I don't feel too downhearted because if it wasn't for fasting I would no doubt be back up to 13 stone (my heaviest weight) and be thoroughly miserable. No, I'm just going to put my head down and try every other day fasts...wish me luck!

Bean

PS I will get to 9st 7...won't I?!

On another Varady thread I mentioned weighing daily for a time and so glad I did. That’s how I discovered that the low fat yoghurts, recommended by the consultant, meant I was eating three tsp extra sugar a day. These days I weigh when I feel like it - just keeping an eye on things.

Surprisingly I’ve been thinking a fair bit about the posts on the various threads. University funded research has to follow various guidelines, protocols and so on. Over ten years she’s written various papers that have been peer reviewed and some of the conclusions have exasperated her (see Dr M’s book). Two groups of people, both following the same ADF programme with a significant variable between them (low fat, high fat) and the high fat group lose more weight. Also, ADF is proven to work, yet doesn’t make the headlines.

On the other hand, a TV programme maker looks into life extension, produces an hour of good quality TV and the world changes in a way that is almost breathtaking in its effect. On the way to the final edit, they investigate (and reject) all sorts of theories, starting with a four day fast. The final conclusion is based on something that one guy adapted to suit his life style.

I find that quite amazing and makes me chuckle. And that from someone who spent a good deal of his life ensuring that professional practice was based on well researched theoretical models.

Funny old world, innit.

Er, oh dear! I just started on my new daily weighing regime and, er, ooh can I share this? Oh go on then...12 stone! I was 11:13 when I started in October

Strangely enough I don't feel too downhearted because if it wasn't for fasting I would no doubt be back up to 13 stone (my heaviest weight) and be thoroughly miserable. No, I'm just going to put my head down and try every other day fasts...wish me luck!

Bean

PS I will get to 9st 7...won't I?!

It is a strange world. I'm 12 stone 1, have been for ages, can't quite there but hey, I'm not just south of 15 stone like I was a year ago. I feel super-dooper thin because my set point is about 14 stone, I think...

It's all relative. Try to assess all the other areas where you have improved and think what the sliding door scenario would have been.

Well I was 13 stone this time last year so it's not all bad I guess!!

Bean

[carorees]

On another Varady thread I mentioned weighing daily for a time and so glad I did. That’s how I discovered that the low fat yoghurts, recommended by the consultant, meant I was eating three tsp extra sugar a day. These days I weigh when I feel like it - just keeping an eye on things.

Surprisingly I’ve been thinking a fair bit about the posts on the various threads. University funded research has to follow various guidelines, protocols and so on. Over ten years she’s written various papers that have been peer reviewed and some of the conclusions have exasperated her (see Dr M’s book). Two groups of people, both following the same ADF programme with a significant variable between them (low fat, high fat) and the high fat group lose more weight. Also, ADF is proven to work, yet doesn’t make the headlines.

On the other hand, a TV programme maker looks into life extension, produces an hour of good quality TV and the world changes in a way that is almost breathtaking in its effect. On the way to the final edit, they investigate (and reject) all sorts of theories, starting with a four day fast. The final conclusion is based on something that one guy adapted to suit his life style.

I find that quite amazing and makes me chuckle. And that from someone who spent a good deal of his life ensuring that professional practice was based on well researched theoretical models.

Funny old world, innit.

I know what you mean but I think it shows that for a diet to be successful it needs to be seen by the potential 'user' as being doable and the fact that Dr M personally tried the different ideas before coming up with a good compromise is what attracts people. Once you've been hooked by the fasting idea you can then work out your own formula that works for you, so the most important bit is getting people to climb on the wagon in the first place!

@GMh lovely to see your avatar popping up again! that's it I will purchase this book. Think the point of not eating any food might be food for thought and be an answer to my conundrum as I liquid fast and seem to be just marking time on my journey. Chilled about it but would love to knock off my reticent belly fat. So this book might fuel my way to where I am aiming to be aka heathy BMI

Thanks

MaryAnn re the recipes, I think they are awful, unless u want to replicate a healthy version of mediocre food. Personally being a bit of a foodie, I think u can make better food from recipes here, th o I rarely use recipes. Also I think this thread is focusing too much on the daily weigh, I know I'll get red with that and go back to weekly, it's more about what she has found works in 10 years of research. It's not a competition between her and Mosley, it's about how WE can lose and maintain (most important for me) our excess weight. BTW 5:2 didn't work for me, I just maintained on it. This could be that I have a slower metabolism after all the years of dieting?

[Tracieknits]

I do see some wisdom in allowing people with horrible eating habits to just make one change at a time (i.e. fasting) rather than change everything all at once (fasting and avoiding unhealthy food). Let's get some weight off them first, then ease them into eating better.

I have started weighing myself nearly every day since getting the fitbit scale that automatically links to my computer via wifi. I do think that it encourages me to be that much more mindful during the day of what I am eating. If my weight is up, I actually do try to eat a little bit better. If my weight is down, I don't see that as reason to pig out. Now over a few weeks at Christmas, I didn't weigh very consistently and I did put on a few very temporary pounds >.<

For the "official" weight, what I am doing is averaging my 7 weights to be the "official" weight for the week. I'm going to track the weekly and monthly averages to look for trends and positive downward motion. So far, since I got off of my thyroid suppressing medicines, it's been hopeful

On another Varady thread I mentioned weighing daily for a time and so glad I did. That’s how I discovered that the low fat yoghurts, recommended by the consultant, meant I was eating three tsp extra sugar a day. These days I weigh when I feel like it - just keeping an eye on things.

Surprisingly I’ve been thinking a fair bit about the posts on the various threads. University funded research has to follow various guidelines, protocols and so on. Over ten years she’s written various papers that have been peer reviewed and some of the conclusions have exasperated her (see Dr M’s book). Two groups of people, both following the same ADF programme with a significant variable between them (low fat, high fat) and the high fat group lose more weight. Also, ADF is proven to work, yet doesn’t make the headlines.

On the other hand, a TV programme maker looks into life extension, produces an hour of good quality TV and the world changes in a way that is almost breathtaking in its effect. On the way to the final edit, they investigate (and reject) all sorts of theories, starting with a four day fast. The final conclusion is based on something that one guy adapted to suit his life style.

I find that quite amazing and makes me chuckle. And that from someone who spent a good deal of his life ensuring that professional practice was based on well researched theoretical models.

Funny old world, innit.

it sure is @dennispc! Great post.

As a scientist, I get that this is the way the world works. Scientists aren't great at popularizing their work. It's a real gift to be able to do that, and MM (and Brian Cox, etc.) have that gift. I don't get really annoyed about it until people accuse her of jumping on a bandwagon. The wagon belongs to her! She did the research! At the same time though, I've defended people who use her work over on her Facebook site. Once she publishes it, it is there for everyone to use as long as they reference it. (Her problem with MM isn't that he referenced her work; it is that she feels he overstated the results by applying it to 5:2.)

I really liked that in the book when she talked about how surprising some of the results were to her. As scientists, we're meant to go into experiments open-minded, but of course we always have theories about outcomes. As long as you change your theories to fit the evidence, that is fine. I'm glad she has a book out there. I hope it does well. 5:2 isn't working for everyone, and the more stringent ADF protocol will undoubtedly help some of those people. And, as a scientist, especially a female scientist, I love to see one of us doing well with the public!

Thank you MaryAnn, it took me a long time to come up with a form of words that would’ve added to the flames of negativity to one that made me chuckle! The more I’ve discovered about her, the more I’ve been impressed - fronting a multi-million research programme over ten years is no easy task. Perhaps someone in this country will apply for similar funding based on saving taxpayers money that’s given to Weight Watchers as well as the NHS across the board.

so the most important bit is getting people to climb on the wagon in the first place!

He certainly did that carorees - a one hour programme and boom! The power of television, eh?

Just checking - I’ve only read the bits inside Dr M’s book (and Varady’s) that Amazon allows you to ‘look inside’, he did the four day fast, did he try the other methods such as only eating the skin of fresh fruit and ADF?

I'm pretty sure he only tried the 4 day fast @dennispc which led him to do the 5:2 just to make it more sustainable.

Well I weighed myself again this morning and in one day I have lost a pound. I think I'm going to like daily weighing!!

Thinking about it, EOD fasting is probably better for me because not only can I not exercise but I can do very little of anything on a typical day, so maybe more frequent fasting will give me a super boost. I live in hope

Bean

Thank you MaryAnn, it took me a long time to come up with a form of words that would’ve added to the flames of negativity to one that made me chuckle! The more I’ve discovered about her, the more I’ve been impressed - fronting a multi-million research programme over ten years is no easy task. Perhaps someone in this country will apply for similar funding based on saving taxpayers money that’s given to Weight Watchers as well as the NHS across the board.

so the most important bit is getting people to climb on the wagon in the first place!

He certainly did that carorees - a one hour programme and boom! The power of television, eh?

Just checking - I’ve only read the bits inside Dr M’s book (and Varady’s) that Amazon allows you to ‘look inside’, he did the four day fast, did he try the other methods such as only eating the skin of fresh fruit and ADF?

Watch the original programme, if you haven't, it's very interesting. He interviewed calorie restrictors, as well as lots of other people. It's not about 5:2, more general.

Just checking - I’ve only read the bits inside Dr M’s book (and Varady’s) that Amazon allows you to ‘look inside’, he did the four day fast, did he try the other methods such as only eating the skin of fresh fruit and ADF?

Good morning Dennis,

If my old memory serves me right Dr. M. Interviewed the man who only ate the skin of fruit but I don't remember him trying that particular woe. In his book he says that he found the 4 day fast "completely unsustainable". He then tried Alternate Day Fasting and "after a short while, however, I realised that it was just too tough, physically, socially and psychologically." He then goes on to say "after experimenting with different versions of fasting, I found the 5:2 approach is the most effective and workable way for me". I hope this snippet helped. I have to say that it can be no surprise that he lost weight after all that.

Ballerina x