The FastDay Forum

I sailed through the first few months of 5:2 on a wave of euphoria at my new healthier lifestyle. Even the somewhat intermittent weight loss didn't dampen my enthusiasm (10lbs in 4 months). However, even though I am looking better than I have in years, now the weight loss is really slowing down I am finding the WOE harder to manage. Fast days are feeling more burdensome (and long) and I am struggling to maintain a healthy and balanced diet on feast days, either continuing to eat nothing until I feel weak or stuffing my face with less than healthy food choices.

I had very unhealthy eating habits as a teen / 20's and don't want to repeat all that. I am starting to wonder about whether I can / should continue on a permanent basis.

Is anyone else finding difficulties creeping in as time goes on? Does anyone have any advice for me to get back to how I was feeling until a few weeks ago?

Youve been so good,keeping going even the weight loss has been slow
Dont let that hard work get spoilt!
I nnderstand how youre feeling,have felt like that many times while trying to lose weight..it can get very tedious,the whole caboodle of it all,and then its easy then to lose focus
Not sure what to suggest,
Maybe get back to square one,promise yrself you will do yr fast days but wont worry about the other five days for now.
browse all the forums,get some enthusiasm back from reading posts.
Sit and write a list of why you want to lose weight..what will you gain by losing?
Am sure you will get some good advice from longtimers here....hang on in,youve asked for help and it will come!

[carorees]

Hi hourglass

It sounds to me as if your body is saying it has had enough and you are getting a 'famine reaction' in which your body is trying hard to get you to put on weight. I presume (and hope) that you don't want to lose any more weight but to keep fasting in order to gain the health benefits. I say this because I see that your BMI is around 20 which is getting rather low, though, of course, without seeing you I could be completely wrong!

Anyway, I think that you should consider modifying your fasting in some way so that your body is not driving you to eat unhealthily on your feast days. You have several options:

Cut down to one fast day a week (6:1)
Shorten your fasts so that you return to normal eating earlier...say 24 hour fast rather than the 36 hour version that most of us are doing
Change to 16:8 (fast at least three days a week for 16 hours, while keeping your eating within an 8 hour 'window'...basically skip breakfast but eat normally between say 1pm and 9pm)
Take a month off and then return to 5:2

Really, fasting needs to fit around your life rather than you forcing your life into the 5:2 mould. If your body is complaining (as it seems from your post) then you need to re-evaluate.

See these articles also:
http://www.niashanks.com/2013/07/interm ... -it-wrong/
http://www.garvan.org.au/pdfs/miscellan ... ebPage.pdf

Hi Hourglass

Not sure I am the right person to advise you but I know how you feel.

My first few fasts were easy, weight loss was good. Then life started to interfere, my stress levels were going through the roof and my weight loss stopped. I was on a plateau most of August/September. Just managed to get off it and then I was back on it.

Last week I was unwell and only managed 1 fast and then I gained 3KG that week again. Hoping to have it off again this week.Believe you me I was ready to crack.

I started in June just like you and am at the 4 months stage myself. I don't have any real answers for you but I am sticking with it for another while.

I downloaded a couple of apps to help me keep track of what I eat and to see if this will put me back on track. My job can be very stressful as well and then like today I want to eat all around me. Customers have been horrible today, my boss is in a shite mood. I could

Are there any health issues that could slow things down for you or any other stresses?

I have several health issues, a stressful job and a disabled son with his own catalogue of stress.

Hopefully you will stick with it. Like me you say that you are feeling better than you have in a long time. That is worth a lot in its self.

Don't be too hard on yourself and see if you can pinpoint what is ruining it for you.

To be honest, it sounds like you don't need to lose any more weight.

Sorry to hijack this thread but I'd just like to thank Carorees from bringing "famine reaction" to my attention... I am exhibiting exactly those symptoms and I'd put it down to the change in the weather. I'm going to try changing up my eating habits for a few days to see what happens to my body. Thanks a million....

Thanks everyone! What sensible advice. I immediately googled Famine reaction too! V interesting and makes total sense. I've been thinking further and I wonder if some of what I am feeling is anxiety at being close to a sensible weight. This would mean switching from weight loss to maintenance. I have got to grips with weight loss, but maintenance is a whole new scary kettle of fish. I would really, really hate for the weight to creep back on (especially since I gave away a bunch of too big clothes last week).

I think starting to add in a few changes and to lighten up and allow the odd 6:1 is the way to go. Might take me a few weeks to work up to that though...

Once on maintenance your weight will bounce around a few lbs up or down but that doesn't matter. Keep an eye on your weight and how your clothes fit and you will be O . K. The thought is scarier that the actuality . Good luck. Try either 1 fast or 1 fast and a few 16/8 until you see how your weight goes.

Keep us posted Hourglass. I might be at maintenance by xmas, or early Jan, even though my tracker says the end of November !

I will be very interested to hear how you get on, good, bad, and brilliant

Good advice above, it's a bit worrying to see someone with BMI 20.8 being troubled by weight loss "slowing down", when you probably should aim for some weight gain or staying where you are. But you seem to have thought of that anyway, never mind.

Myself, I want lower body fat, and tries to get there without losing more weight. I need to weigh myself almost daily and adapt my eating quickly to what happens on that scale. It usually seems to mean to eat more.

If you're worried about the risk that "maintenance" might mean letting yourself go and losing control, perhaps you could create a new long term focus, like getting fit. It should work like an insurance policy against the risk of creeping weight gain. I suspect using the scales often are more important in maintenance then while losing.

There's some great advice there for you Hourglass. Michael's advice on "maintenance" is also great. Well, the kind of thing he suggested worked for me so far. Since I reached my first goal weight at the end of July I managed to keep it just by recording my daily weigh-ins onto Libra and by watching the trend. If it was up-ward I knew I had to cut out a bit on food. I didn't really fast throughout those months, but was skipping meals here and there to even the weight out. I also started a new exercise routine to keep me focused on my look and not the weight.

I'm back in the weight loss mode because I want to lose more fat. The break from fasting was definitely good for me for when I reached my first goal I was a bit burnt out. Now I can fast 24hr no problems.

Good luck to you!