The FastDay Forum

after loosing half a stone i've reached that dreaded stage that seems to be known as "the plateau" what do you guys and gals have to say about powering through this phase? do I have to work a little harder to rev up the weight loss again or shall I stay as I am and my body'll start up again eventually?

Have you thought of joining us in the ADF tent?! Couldn't do it any other way...might be worth a go...

Bean

Maybe have a week or more of feed days to reassure your body that there's no famine
.....just eat nourishing good food,no over eating or eating rubbish and no calorie counting or fasting.
In this way,your body gets the message all is ok,and then you can return to IF.
The body machinery is all about survival..if it thinks you arent getting enough calories,i.e., that you're in"starvation" or " famine" mode,it will hold on to the fat in an effort to ensure you can exist in what it sees as a crisis.
Once it understands that the nourishment is once again coming in at regular intervals,it switches off the starvation mode switch,and you can fast and will lose again..assuming you still have excess fat to shed of course!

@nursebean i have seen that tent, but what is ADF? also, liking the avi!

@candiceMarie I might give that a go, but I thought ya body went into panic mode at the start of the diet and then went away when it realized ya weren't not eating?! Still go plenty to shed, not reached my 12 stone goal yet!

As you've only been on this for a few weeks, it may be your body catching up with what you have been doing to it . I would stick with 5:2, checking that you are still within your TDEE limits, with a couple of whey hey days thrown in for another couple of weeks before thinking of making changes. You will be getting any health benefits and it is relatively early days on this wol for you. And don't forget to measure - you may be getting smaller without getting lighter.

@DragonsHeart I don't think your tags to @CandiceMarie and @nursebean worked. You need to click on Full Editor under the box and then tag at the top right of the box typing in the tagged's name in the middle.

ADF = Alternate Day Fasting so 500 cals every other day and TDEE in between. There's a tent set up somewhere in the Fastonbury section and it's often on the home page as it's quite an active thread.

Have you read Simcoeluv's informative (tongue in cheek) thread I've had it 5:2 is a ..... (Can't remember rest of the title and I can't do a link at the moment.

@@AnnieW i'm forever getting the tags wrong! lol, i do like the term "whey hey" days, will incorporate that into my fasting terms! true it is early days for me, done well so far, gonna keep up the 5:2ing, i bet i am getting smaller without getting lighter!

Did have a quick scout about for the ADF tent, but i think i was looking in the wrong bit! lol, don't think i could fast every other day though, with me i'd prob end up stuffing my face on the non fast days!! lol,

no I haven't read that, think i'll go look it up this afternoon,

How long has your plateau been? Mine was about 4 weeks and I broke it by having a liquid only fast on one of my fast days and doing this youtube workout which is kind of short burst, interval training. It's only 20 min, but I suppose it's an easier version of HIIT. Of course this might have had nothing to do with it and I might have broken plateau anyway.

Do you exercise at all? Maybe try a bit of toned down HIIT or some weights.

@egregious been plateau for about 10 days now, so not a long period of time, maybe i just need to do some HIIT for a week or so as well as my normal fast to push me back into dropping!

Ten days? That all? I don't think you need to worry just yet. I tend to lose on a two week cycle anyway, so I wouldn't be concerned. But a bit of HIIT or something similar can't hurt

With the wisdom of hindsight it might be too early to say and I would not ramp it up until you are sure you are eating less on fast days. I would make sure you do have feast days. Have enough water on fast days. Some people seem to do well with ADF, some people are just slow losers.

Just chill and keep at it all the best

Just keep going. Although frustrating 10 days is nothing on the scheme of things - just got to keep strong!

I agree with Lil. Just carry on. You've only just begun the journey. Plateaux are part of the trip. Enjoy the view; look down over the edge and see where you've come from. I have been on plateaux that lasted for months, last winter. I didn't do anything except fast 2 days a week because I don't want to 'go on a diet' and I see doing more than 2 days as being 'a diet'. But 5:2 is what I can do. Eventually the weight started to fall off. I didn't have any alternative and I just kept the faith and it worked.

@sallyo@Lil@gillymary@egregious I'm now thinking that just because I didn't loose any this weigh in I was disappointed and thought I was plateauing, might just be my body saying "sod off, i'm keeping a hold of this for now!"

Going to keep up my fast days as is (lots of water/tea and veggies) keep up the exercise, and not worry so much! Got to actually remember I won't always loose every time I weigh myself!

Yeah, it is annoying, because you expect the initial trend to continue as it was when you first started, but it generally drops off. I'm used to seeing a change every two weeks or so now. It still averages out at 1lb per week, but I don't always lose the same every week.