The FastDay Forum

I've done 5 fasts in the past two weeks and my weight has not shifted downwards. I've been careful not to go over my TDEE on my feast days, ending up with a deficit of about 1600 calories per week ... by my estimation, the scales should be showing a slight drop, I thought about a pound but would have been happy with half a pound but no such luck
I can't remember what happened the first time around other than the scales showing a n immediate drop after a fast day and a slow overall loss ... I'm not seeing the immediate drop after a day's fasting.

I'm staying hydrated, eating the same kinds of foods

I'm not giving up yet, but I'm curious to hear other people's stories who've had a break of about 6 months and are coming back to it second time around.
Thanks!

I have heard people say that it's harder the second time round. Have you done your maths right as 1600 cal deficit won't give you a pound loss. The basic way of 5:2 is two fast days of 500 cals giving you a 3000 cal deficit per week which should equal a pound of fat.

Stick with it and maybe try to cut the carbs if you can.

Good luck!

Hi, @Jeninboston, I started fasting after Horizon programme in 2012 and lost 15lb by Christmas. After Christmas I gave up due to cold and re-started around June 2013 after re-gaining about 7lbs. I lost the 7lbs by autumn and gave up again to re-start in June of this year having gained about 7lbs once more. I reached my goal weight in September and I am determined not to give up this time. To lose the weight I did 4:3 because my TDEE is quite low (between 1300-1400) depending on activity level and I didn't think 1700kcal deficit a week was enough to compensate for the occational over eating on feed days which can happen quite easily on 1400kcals/day.

For some reason this time I found it harder, but t this was probably more psychological (here we go again) and because my TDEE is so low. It has made me determined to not give up and have an upper limit (red line) which will prompt me to fast again. The last 3lbs were the hardest but I reduced carbs for a week or two and I finally reached my goal weight.

During the winter and spring months I had gained 7lbs every year which means that I must have over eaten by about 4000kcals per month, 1000kcals per week or 150kcals per day. At my TDEE I ate only about 1500kcal/day. Such small miscalculations can happen quite easily. Therefore, in order to lose weight I had to have a larger deficit and factor in my self deception believing that I ate to TDEE. It is just what I worked for out for myself and of course everyone is different.

I don't know how much you have to lose and what your TDEE is, but I suspect it is not all that much. Does that help?






I wonder how much you have to lose (how close you are to your goal weight).

I'd give it a few more weeks if I were you. However there are a few of us who have stopped losing and even gaining. Some of us hang around the site, but many just go away. It's important that we continue to learn the impact of fasting so please keep posting. Everyone's reasons are different, but I think you need to give it a little longer before you know if you are one of the unlucky ones.

I have recently started up again after a break of about 6 months. In my first experience, I lost about 20 lbs relatively quickly, then got stalled at one of my traditional 'set-points'. I've lost and gained a lot of weight over the years so I've found there are certain points on the scale where my body just wants to hang out. I took a break and switched to a high intensity work out program for a few months, then came back to try 5-2 again. This time, I lost a few lbs over the first few weeks, but it does seem slower than the first go round. However, I can definitely see many non-scale benefits. I feel much better than I do when I'm not fasting (I have fewer aches and pains, my mind functions better mind, I sleep well on non-fast days, no acid reflux). I think it taking the break was helpful because it helps me compare how I feel when I fast and when I don't. The other thing I've found is that I am definitely losing inches, even if the scale isn't moving that much. I just bought several pairs of new pants in a smaller size and they are already getting too big for me, even if the scale isn't moving. The last time I was this weight, the pants would have been snug. I recommend checking for the non-scale changes and see if there is anything positive happening for you there.

I've done 5 fasts in the past two weeks and my weight has not shifted downwards. I've been careful not to go over my TDEE on my feast days, ending up with a deficit of about 1600 calories per week ... by my estimation, the scales should be showing a slight drop...
I'm curious to hear other people's stories who've had a break of about 6 months and are coming back to it second time around.

Just to agree with those who've said that 2 weeks is too early to tell and that it's possible that water fluctuations etc. may be masking any fat loss, particularly when your numbers mean that losses are gradual (as they are with a 1600kcal deficit per week). I'd also second the suggestions to monitor your body composition through measurements or pieces of clothing because sometimes scale weight doesn't approximate to telling the whole story of what's happening.

I've been fasting since 2011 and seen a fair number of people return to IF after a prolonged absence - and they've succeeded in attaining their goal with these subsequent attempts.

FWIW - during weight loss, I had a pattern of lengthy plateaus during which I'd bounce the same 2 lbs followed by 5-10 days during which I'd drop every day before reaching another plateau. My plateaus could last 16 weeks or so. I rarely showed a predictable drop after a FD. However, I still got there, no matter how demoralising and infuriating the route.

Thanks all for the encouragement and support. I really shouldn't have stopped in the first place but I had health issues, a horrid diagnosis followed by surgery/treatment to contend with and now I'm going through "surgical" menopause and I'm paranoid that the weight gain is due to the abrupt hormone changes. I hear so many women say they gain weight that they can't shift and I want to stop that in its tracks

I'm determined to stick to it this time round; if nothing else I feel much better for controlling my eating on the fast days and more in tune with what my body wants to eat. I think the body is really clever at adapting and whilst it must be disheartening for many who've continued 5:2 who are now not only not losing but gaining weight, I can only hope that health wise you are all feeling much better.
As for the question about my maths - my TDEE is 1350, I eat 400 calories on my fast days which gives me a deficit of around 1800 per week which just over half a pound which over two weeks is one pound loss. I have 6 to lose so my goal is to lose 3 by Christmas and another 3 by the end of February. And the suggestion to try low carbs is an excellent one @rawkaren; I don't eat excessive amounts of carbs, somewhere between 80-100 a day , but this is a lot compared to the 30/50g low carb diets recommend
Let's see how this plays out

Right sorry, I misunderstood. Thought you were aiming for a 1lb loss per week. Thing is you don't have much to lose and your TDEE is pretty low. People on here have often said the last few pounds is the most difficult to shed. I don't think there's any reason why you won't get there, but you may just have to be patient. Good luck, keep at it and keep coming on here.

I think this does work. Your 'margins' are pretty narrow and your BMI essentially within normal limits so it is likely to be slow. I think the reason fasting may not appear to work the second time ( although I have no experience as I am still on my first time) is that leading up to stopping people may cut themselves a little slack and when they go back to fasting they may resume as they left off - just a theory.
When I first started fasting I lost very little weight in the first few weeks while all around me were posting big losses but slowly the weight did start to drop off and eventually it builds up. So, keep going and good luck.

@jeninboston,

Weight loss is MUCH harder after menopause, probably because insulin resistance goes up for most of us, but it is definitely doable. I have been maintaining almost a 20% weight loss achieved in my mid-50s for more than 10 years now. And I lost that weight twice, too, since I regained it all the first time I lost it at age 50. It took longer the second time to lose, but I lost it in a way that was much more maintainable. And I can't exercise much of the time due to health issues.

So it really is pretty much about calories, though it does seem that for me there is a lower bound I can't break through. Since that bound is well below the top of the normal range, that's fine.

[carorees]

Only spotted this just now!

Just popped in to say that all my 40kg weight loss was done after the menopause. I don't think I am particularly insulin resistant though as I have always had a good waist:hip ratio. And I didn't set my target weight ridiculously low: just a comfortable distance into the healthy BMI. But once I reached that healthy BMI the weight loss did slow right down, so expecting 1lb a week as you near goal is unrealistic. I was down to 1lb a month towards the end.