The FastDay Forum

I gained 4 stone whilst pregnant (4 stone!) I lost 2 stone easily after birth. My baby is now 6 weeks old and not only have I stopped losing, but I've started gaining! I really need to do something as my body is making me pretty miserable. I want to lose 3 st in total as I gained a bit before getting pregnant.
I'm not breastfeeding so I don't see any reason why I can't fast? Although I'm a bit worried about the tiredness aspect.

I do plan to exercise too but as I had a c section I need to go slowly. I think it will be a while before I can do any decent fat-burning cardio.

Anyone else lost the baby weight with 5:2? How did you you find it?

Congrats on the new addition and welcome to the group!

Nothing requires that you must commit fully to 2-3 fasting days each week in order to do intermittent fasting. Try one day and see how it goes. If it works satisfactorily (eg: weight gain stabilizes), try two days. Also consider the amount of carbohydrates you might be consuming. As you're quite busy as a new mother with frequent interruptions, it's very easy to nibble throughout the day rather than fix more suitable meals.

As fars as relative tiredness is concerned, it usually takes 2-3 weeks to transition to a fasting routine such that pre-fasting energy levels return (and often increase!). This is because it takes the body some time to convert its processes into being able to easily burn fat again as an energy source. One mitigating solution for tiredness (including possible lightheadedness when standing) is to drink 1 to 2 cups of stock cube (bouillon cube) each day to counter the loss of salt that comes with fasting.

Welcome @Lak and congratulations on your bundle of joy!
I think ADFNFuel as always has offered great advice,so i will just add,don't beat yrself up too much,and enjoy yr baby...these days pass very swiftly and before you know it,yr little one will be up and running!
Good luck if you start on IF,take it slowly,and be gentle and kind to yrself xx

Thanks for the support and advice. I'm doing my first fastday today. I will just see how things go. At the moment my baby isn't too bad a sleeper but I know from experience that can change at any time and I feel too sleep deprived I don't think fasting would be the best thing for me.

You're right that I've been eating too many carbs though - particularly sugar. So that's something I need to address.