The FastDay Forum

I have just completed my 5th week and fast ona Wednesday and a Saturday as it fits in with my routine or working Mon fo Friday and relaxing on Saturday and Sunday. I dont usually eat much on the weekend anyway. The story so far

Week 1 loss of 2 lbs
Week 2 stayed the same
Week 3 loss of 1.5lbs
Week 4 gain of 1lb
Week 5 gain of 1lb

My TDEE is 1760 per day, I have an office job even though I move about a lot and dont do much exercise as I am not motivated. So fairly sedentary.

The first 2 weeks i ate about 1550 cals per day on feast days and 450-500 on fast days.
I read on here that you should really stay close to your TDEE, therefore increased the feast day cals to 1750 ish.

Have I undone the goodness of the first 3 weeks or should I go back to the lower calories?

I am 5"7.5 in height and currently 12 stone, I want to get back down to 10 stone 10. I have been going through the menopause for 7 years and its hell. You really cannot lose weight when gou are fighting the elements of Mother Hormonus........

At the moment I am frustrated, deflated and confused. I dont know what to do to get fhe losing back on track. The last couple of fast days were really hard compared to the first few.

Answers on a postcard please

Thanks for reading and maybe some of you are having the same battle

It can be hard when you don't see results matching with your efforts.

Could you go back to what you wrote doing at the start?

I am the same height as you, although older (64), also sedentary and weighed 12 stone, 2 and a half pounds at the end of January, when I started this 5:2 WOE. My maintenance TDEE worked out at 1500, which is what you were doing at first. Maybe your TDEE of 1760 is a little high, so perhaps you could check it on a different website? I think I would try going back to what you were doing at the start as it was working for you.

Many people on this forum have reported being plateaued with their weigh loss but, as long as they persisted and didn't give up, they have gone on to lose more weight. Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

Madlou,
It's tough out there! Try not to be disheartened... you were doing so well and things will come round again..this woe has so may advantages over diets..low calorie, low carb, dukan, atkins, weightwatchers, rosemary conlon etc, come on been there, done that, they don't work, this does. Work it out, 2 days fasting, 5 days eating, NOT 5 days pigging out, but treats and nice things certainly, when fasting remember that the delicious whatever with cream, butter, pasta, potato, chips etc. you can eat tomorrow without destroying your "diet" because the whole beauty of this WOE really is you can do that and still be on course to lose weight, not rapidly but a bit at a time, try to see the bigger picture! I am from Glasgow and I can honestly say that I really do think that we have a lot of negative eating patterns to overcome...not talking about deep fried mars bars exactly but we do have that Scottish love of chips, fry ups ande pies (well I do!)and a drink or two or five doesn't go amiss either! I agree completely the menopause is not easy but we as they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! Keep going, do your best and before you know it you'll turn the corner!

I agree with what everyone else has said Madlou, don't give up! See my post here, the weight loss is probably continuing it's just masked by other effects. Also my experience is that keeping away from 'simple carbs' helps in general and especially on fast days.

Hi everyone, thanks for all the advice. I think we have all felt frustrations with all the diets. Although i hate that word, i have been so callec dieting for over 20 years.

It went well even after having my two children I lost the weight very quickly. Age is a curse sometimes as everything gets slower and more difficult to manoeuvre lol.

I will reduce my cals back again to being lower then my recommended TDEE, just to see if I can jump start my internal metabolism

Dhana, its a small world, I am also from Glasgow. I do miss the fish n chips and do my own tattie scones for a good old Glesga Breakfast......I left Scotland 5 years ago, but still have the foods I miss brought to me

[Betsysgr8]

Madlou, you haven't mentioned if anything besides your weight has changed. Is it possible that you are actually replacing fat with lean muscle? Have you checked your measurements? You may just be in a 'building' phase.

Just a thought, I've only been on this WOE for a week and don't have very much experience with it and the various phases, while I haven't lost much weight I do see some change in my body (slight change but still .. lol).

Good luck to you and keep it going for jjust a bit longer.

Hi Madlou. Your story is almost a replica of mine, same height and same weight give or take a few kilos. I too am disheartened with the slow progress I am making. I am 65 but don't see this as a particular setback to losing the weight as I have done it in the recent past. It is disappointing when you see other people losing a lot of weight in a short space of time though. I will stick with it though doing my two fast days, always Monday, sometimes Wednesday or Thursday and eating/drinking what I fancy within moderation on the feast days. I do feel a difference in my clothes, so something is happening it's just not apparent on the scales. Scales are the enemy I am beginning to think. I wish I had measured at the start and maybe I would be seeing a difference now. Stic with it!!

In answer to your question Betsysgr8. My measurements are just the same as they were at the beginnjng.

I took them again this morning just to make sure, although my muscle increased slightly as I walked for 4 hours yesterday. I also dont feel much difference in my clothes.

On the positive side, my brain fog has reduced tremendously. I am really sharp now at work, my mood has lifted and after fast days I have loads of energy.

Dominic I dont really eat simple carbs, not a favourite on my eating list. I love veg and some fruits, I dont eat white bread, pasta or a lot of white rice. I also use MFP to track my foods, it really helps.

I am not giving up just yet, I am too stubborn to give up at the first hurdle. The initial elation of moving the weight in the right direction has gone a little flat. Just need to get it back......

Thanks again everyone, its good to read others opinions and experiences.

Hi Madlou

Its annoying when the loss seems to be going too slowly - I've had plateaus on this way of eating but at least the weight stays off and gradually goes down.

I was interested to read that you felt better - I really feel more energetic on the whole and I thought my brain was working better (but wondered if it sounded a bit mad to say that!). It does seem easier to think and come up with ideas at work which is fantastic so would be worth doing for that (although I really do need to lose more weight!).

Keep us posted and don't give up!