The FastDay Forum

Hello. Please forgive me if I've posted in the wrong section, I'm on my phone and I've been trying to search this site for weeks on possible reasons why I'm just getting thicker and thicker each week.

I'm looking to loose about 10kgs. 15 would be fab but I'm not too hung up on numbers. I've been doing either 5:2 or 4:3 for months, fast days consist mainly of green tea or tea with a splash of milk, so I know in never over my 500 there.
My numbers were between 1700 and 2350 and without fail I hover between 1700 to 1950 each feed day.
I exercise daily, zumba or similar other class, a bit of weight training nothing dramatic and an early morning walk 5 out of 7 days. I'm not feeling like I'm pushing my self to stressful exercise anymore, im actually enjoying my chosen classes for this year.
I feel fantastic. I'm 51 and take no medication at all, feel the best I have in years BUT I'm getting bigger. My clothes are bulging, and gaping I feel like I'm looking like a bullfrog. What on earth am I doing wrong. I don't have TOM anymore so can't be that... Any ideas, I'm not buying any bigger clothes.. Just threw them all away after loosing 70kgs on calorie controlled diet a couple of years back.
I've been persevering at this for months, what am I not doing right?
Please help.

Reset your tracker to sedentary and see what your TDEE comes out at even though you are active. Mine is just 1300 and if I go over on feed days I gain. I also need to do 3 fasts a week to lose.

A little difficult to comment without being intrusive. Might I ask what your 'realistic' target was from following: https://www.fastday.com/fasting/what-sh ... al-weight/

Are you currently menopausal or post-menopausal (do ignore if this feels intrusive)?

My goal weight is 77 to 72 kgs which I think it's pretty good for someone small to medium framed. Last time I got my body fat tested I was still 40% body fat so I know I've got some stored up to loose!
I've no clue if I'm post peri or full blown madness menopause as I had a surgical ablation 8 years ago and not had a period since. I don't get any symptoms so I've no clue where I'm at with that..
I know I should be grateful that I'm well n healthy but im frightened I will undo all my hard work of years.
I might try dropping again down to 1300 but with the amount of exercise I do I'm not thinking that's a healthy option...

Hi Jaq. I am very sorry you are at a loss. It is difficult to comment without knowing a little more. Are you eating healthy and if possible unprocessed food on your eating days? I am convinced that we are not just machines processing calories in v calories out. Please see the link below talking about calories in nuts, especially almonds.

http://news.nationalpost.com/health/whe ... ederated=1

Losing and maintaining weight in menopause is difficult for many. My heart goes out to you and I hope you won't Give up. Take care.

Thanks for all your responses. I jshould have said earlier I only eat real food. No processed canned or manufactured food as best I can.
Thanks again for your thoughts.

Sounds like the dreaded menopause hormone seesaw, mine added a cushion to my tummy almost overnight as the retreating oestrogen left a faint echo in that abdominal fat that my body craved.
Fasting and reducing carbs to 80g a day has helped, it's an ongoing way of eating that has led me reading round the web for the last 2 years.
Keep seeking that balance honey, you've got the spirit and good health to live forever, enjoy yourself :0)

Last time I got my body fat tested I was still 40% body fat so I know I've got some stored up to loose!
I've no clue if I'm post peri or full blown madness menopause as I had a surgical ablation 8 years ago and not had a period since.
...im frightened I will undo all my hard work of years.
I might try dropping again down to 1300 but with the amount of exercise I do I'm not thinking that's a healthy option...

Are you having HRT? Is that complicating the picture or is it just that you had cessation following ablation?

Emphatically, it does not strike me as at all appropriate for you to drop to 1300calories on a sustained basis.

What works for one person doesn't necessarily for another. That said, I've shifted from 42% body fat at 127lbs/58kgs to 30.1% at 119lbs/54kgs and (in March 2015) 20.1% at 102lbs/46kgs (body composition analysis by DXA scans). That was done post-menopausally albeit mine was biological rather than surgery-related (tho' it doesn't seem clear what stage you're at - oh the delights of this period of life).

I useda 4:3 fasting pattern and altho' I'm not low carb, I would characterise my WOE as lower carb - and those carbs are mostly vegetables, they're very rarely higher-impact carbs (loosely associated with glycemic index or glycemic load). I've no idea if this already resembles the way in which you're eating? It wasn't at all straightforward for me to shed the weight I wanted to reach the initial 127lbs - but it seems that after I reduced my body fat to 30% it became progressively more straightforward to reduce the fat level without compromising my lean body mass. I don't know, but I assume that the reduction in hormones released by the body fat itself made it easier to lose the fat than it had been previously.

Could you bear to give us some more information about the overall WOE you follow?

[carieoates]

Hi thought I'd stick my two penneth in.
What's your height? clothes size and BMI?

Check out my cog, look at my progress tracker,
This is me....Medium build, 5ft 7. Exercise 6 days a week, 46, 12 stone 5. Fat 35%. BMI 27
Diligent calorie counting on both fast and non fast days 1300 and up to 600 usually gets me a good loss. It's difficult to do this every day I know that all too well. If you can skip breakfast or lunch then it makes life and counting easier. In fact a holiday can often shock our systems back into weight loss.

So it sounds like your diet is superb your exercise regime like mine. Often hard exercise will make you gain weight from water in the muscle tissue. Just a thought.
Are you stressed, sleeping ok, sleeping enough?

What do you think about your body, is it gaining everywhere or just a particular spot?

Lots of questions sorry.

What about changing your exercise pattern. Your body might need a shake up. If you do the same exercise maybe your body is used to it. What about adding some yoga to stretch your muscles out rather than bulk them? Just a thought as yoga is supposed to be great for toning xx

Hi @JAQ - this makes no sense to me unless you have an underlying medical issue or a really lousy metabolism. Have you dieted a lot in the past? I am the same age, but fortunately only had around 7 kilos i wanted to lose, and through 5:2 lost it slowly, with calorie counting only on fast days. (Having said that I'm doing the DODO challenge for a month to see if I can knock off a bit of left over belly fat that built up for while I was overseas and couldn't fast. )

I really feel for you that you are so committed to a healthy way of eating and this isn't working - I wonder if Bean is right and something different like yoga or tai chi or dance would help with any mindset issues that could be going on. I'd also be checking out my thyroid if was me. Good luck - I think you are amazing to stick with this in the circumstances.

@JAQ, well personally I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Probably hormones, I'd get your thyroid tested asap, a Dr I went to said she has dozens of women through every week who are hypothyroid. I am and put on 15kg in 3 months once, when off meds. Good luck in finding a solution.

I've been doing either 5:2 or 4:3 for months, fast days consist mainly of green tea or tea with a splash of milk, so I know in never over my 500 there.

I've been persevering at this for months, what am I not doing right?
Please help.

Am I right in reading this as you not eating on your fast days? If so, then that can be a problem. For the Alternate Day FAst Diet where every other day is a fast day, research shows that having zero calories on the fast day, resulted in lost muscle mass with no more lost body fat than those eating 500 cal/day. If your weight is remaining the same and you are still putting on inches, then that would be my guess.

If it's not that, then, yeah, it's probably the hormones.

Thanks Dell.

I'll give it a go!! Wish me luck.

Thanks again