The FastDay Forum

Good start on 4:3 first 2 wks lost 6lbs (v happy) 3rd week, no loss, this dented my willpower so much so by 4th week due to fact on tue (pancake day...ate my weight in pancakes) then thur (valentines day...m&s dine in for 2 meal) thn sunday (fry up) ended up not doing any fast and hv put on 4lbs of the 6lb i had lost.

Starting fast again today and feeling like a failure and worried i cant pull it back..i want it to work so much! I have 4stone to lose.

No failures please, this is the flexible diet so you can simply reset and start a fast day again. It is soul destroying when you don't lose isn't it, but not the end of the world.

Why don't you do 5:2? might be easier in the long term. I count 2000calories ish on normal days otherwise I get mad! If one day I eat 2200 then the day after I eat 1800cal, easy. I'm gonna weigh myself in April because those scales let me down. You are not a failure! Pleasure is part of life. I just tell myself Quality is better than Quantity...and it tastes better. Good luck Victoria X

I think that weighing can really undermine confidence. I weigh once a week on Sunday two days after a Friday fast day. I do step on the scales after a fast day but find my weight does go back up after eating days. I wish my weight would drop more quickly particularly with going on holiday in three weeks but this WOE is long term for me. 5:2 doesn't work like other diets because it has health benefits as well as the useful side effect of losing weight. I have crisis days when I eat too much or find a fast day more difficult but I enjoy eating & cannot long term count the calories of every morsel that passes my lips & goes on my hips!
Life is a series of choices we can make. What would you prefer to do?

Victoriac - Try not to weigh yourself, then you won't be rail-roaded again. I did exactly the same as you after my first week of fasting, so now haven't bothered weighing myself for the past 3 weeks (and have no intention of doing so - yet), but I know I am losing weight as my clothes are looser and I fit into clothes I haven't been able to for years.

Also perhaps try to focus on the health benefits, not just the weight loss (easier said than done, I know).

This is a flexible way of living, so don't beat yourself up. We're all experimenting with what works best for us as individuals and we're not going to get it right all the time, especially when we start.

So dust yourself off, and have another go. Good luck.

Victoriac sorry I also meant to add please stick with it & you will see results
Good luck for your next week

Hi Victoriac
Well, it's a shame you have regained 4lbs, but... you are still 2 lbs down, and there won't be another week with 2 major eating opportunities for ages, and we are all finding ups and downs with this WOL, so don't beat yourself up. It is not like all those other "diets" where a slight slip seems like the end of the world, it is a very new idea and we are pioneers, so do stick with it, it does work. However, I would say, hide the scales, they are not your friend!
Good Luck
Pat

Think how long it took you to put weight on...

Cultivating a long-term, more calm approach to natural fluctuations will make life a lot easier. You want to use the Progress Tracker and see the graph as it heads downwards over time. Losing so slowly as this WoE is good at encouraging means that significant weightloss can only be seen over the weeks, even months.

I echo everyone else; this diet is flexible, so that you have other options. Try to put your disappointment behind you and perhaps change to 5:2 from 4:3 at least for a while and then when you get back into the swing you could always go back to 4:3 if you feel that you want to. You have done well and have lost weight so try not to be too despondent..easy for me to say I know....

Thank you all for your comments....its exactly what I needed!

I previously did lighter life lite and lost 3stone in 15weeks - i have never been able to lose weight in a healthy way or gradually...i am all or nothing but I hope this WOL will help me get back to being myself and not feeling guilty about hving a treat. I dont want to give my life up so i am determined to make this work!

Taking all of your points on board..i think 5:2 will be better for me just now until i get my confidence back.

Now...time for my cuppa soup for lunch!

Also, just a quick question, are you all having high protein on fast days and cutting out carbs?

Thanks again,

Victoria x

Between September and December I lost a stone.
In one week over Christmas I put back on half a stone - but by golly it was fun.
In three weeks in January I shifted the lot again.

For your own sanity, weigh yourself once a week at most.
Agree with those above : try 5:2

Go veggie low carb on those days (HUGE amounts of vegetable soup and stew - so you are too stuffed to want to snack)
and it starts to get easy.

[carorees]

Re high protein low carbs. I think yes-ish. Not too high protein as it uses up too many calories. Aim for around 45g protein on a fast day, that gives you a reasonable sized portion of meat (e.g. 100g chicken breast has around 30g protein; 200 cals) plus the protein in veggies. You get a huge plate of food for under 500 cals that way.

You really have no reason to feel guilty - as other's have said there was a quick succession of days recently where I'm sure I few of us feasted on the feast days. But put that behind you - you're sill 2lb down and SO much better off for having found 5:2 that the future can only hold success for you. Enjoy the feast days and keep to the fast days - slow but steady decline in weight will be your reward - and looser clothing and so many other benefits besides - Good luck

Again I cannot thank you all enough for your encouraging words!

I managed my fast on Tue without any problems and came in under 500cals. Another fast today, hoping it will go just as well!

I really enjoy reading all your posts and really makes a difference when everyone is so supportive - keeps my chin up and determination alive!

Thanks again, and keep up the good work re positive messages to all!

Happy feast/fast day!!

Victoria

I'm fasting today and sort of hoping that at the weigh-in tomorrow I'll get back to where I was on the 5th December last year! It'll be OK - I see this as a long-term lifestyle change - not a 'diet' where you can slip, fail, crash or any of that negative stuff.

Cheers

Rob