The FastDay Forum

Dear fellow Faster

I am delighted beyond belief, encouraged, relieved and hopeful

I've shared some of my daily challenges with you all since I started 5:2 at the end of Nov 2013, but I wanted to put it all in one place, so I can come back to it should I falter and lose my way somewhere along the way

I had lost the best part of 20 pounds with CC over a 6 month period, I had reached a comfortable target of 133 and whilst my BMI was showing me still in the overweight category, I felt good in my self and settled on figuring out how to maintain this weight now that I had reached it

Coincidentally, I stumbled across 5:2 and thought this is it, this is the way to maintain

My "maintenance" journey has been fraught with more ups (as in weight gains) than maintenance or weight loss

I started 5:2, eating 500 calories on my fast days and sticking to my TDEE (1360) on my normal (feast) days. Within a few weeks I had lost a few more pounds and reached 128, my BMI was in the normal range and I thought this is the weight I really should maintain. I really don't want to lose any more

I did well over the Christmas holiday and didn't gain, if anything, I lost a bit more. Then New Years came, and I gained a few pounds which I really wasn't able to lose before a business trip followed by surgery.

I tried to maintain 5:2 and sticking with my TDEE leading up to my surgery them stopped for a couple of weeks as I was recovering and the upside was I had no appetite anyway, so I didn't have to CC or fast, I was simply eating very little (and moving very little!) but throughout this, my weight was up and down like a yo-yo, those 3 pounds kept coming on and being lost

Then I'd read somewhere about going above my TDEE on purpose on a couple of normal (feast) days a week so your body doesn't think it's in starvation mode. I thought I'd give that a try

Psychologically that was hard. It's scary to go over your daily calories on purpose when you've spent the better part of a year watching and counting everything that goes into your mouth; but I thought I had nothing to lose, I knew I could lose the pounds if I stuck to 5:2. And since I was hovering above my maintenance weight, I began to relax my counting a bit, going over my TDEE by 200- 300 calories a couple of days (sometimes as much as 700, making bringing calorie intake up yo 2000) and surprisingly, I found the more I did this, the easier it was for me to stay around my target of 128.

For the first time since I started 5:2, I'm actually below my target which is incredible. For me maintenance is +/- 2 pounds around my target weight (so anywhere from 126-130) and finally having gone below 128 makes me feel like what I'm doing is working

It's taken the best part of 3 months to find and fine tune this woe for me; it is early days yet but I'm encouraged that even with the challenges that day to day life threw at me, this woe seems to be working for me

Funnily enough, my appetite has been reduced - I know, everyone says this will happen but I was a skeptic! But here I am and I have a reduced appetite. What's more, I have days when I think to myself I could eat anything I wanted to, what is it I fancy yet I don't find myself going for the pack of pringles or some sticky cake; though chewy and moist chocolate chip cookies are still my absolute downfall. Broccoli and hummus are my new friends

That's great! Thanks for sharing!!

Hi @jeninboston Well done that took some doing for you because I've tried the "refeeding" where you go above your TDEE it's so hard mentally I could only manage
4 days before packing up it seemed to work for me but this weeks scale tale will let me know. Sue

Well done @Jeninboston. It's very encouraging that you have found a way of maintaining that works through all the ups and downs of life.

The refeeding is scary isnt it but you took that leap of faith!
Thanks for sharing,it helps the rest of us so much x

Thank you all for your words of encouragement - it's early days yet and I'm not naive enough to think this is going to be plain sailing; I am counting on myself not to sabotage my weight loss and end up gaining it all back again.

And I'm so thankful to have this forum (and daily weighing) to help guide me through the ups and downs and keep me pointing in the right direction.

Thank you all soooo much!!

Well done @Jeninboston. It's very encouraging that you have found a way of maintaining that works through all the ups and downs of life.

Your maintenance chart looks pretty wonderful! I must read around and see what you're doing to hold it so steady - well done!

So pleased you've finally find your own unique WOE that keeps you on track and in control Jen and hope for continued success!

[carieoates]

Thanks a lot. Jen, will bars this all on mind when I get to maintenance, well done.

Whoop, whoop!

How absolutely wonderful Jen. I'm just thrilled for you.
Xxx