The FastDay Forum

Well as I said in my 1st post I was in this for the long haul and I was just as interested in the health benefits as the weight loss even though I'm in the red section of obese.

As I reported I lost 3lb in the first week which I was pleased about but knew I would not lose that each week. I didn't weigh myself after the second week (fast 4) as many people seem to say don't weigh yourself each week. So this morning after fast 6 I jumped on the jolly old scales to find I had put a pound back on, I'll say it again, a pound back on. So in three weeks I have a net loss of 2lbs.

Now lets face it, you can't beat the first law of thermo-dynamics so obviously on my feed days I must have feasted. The real hope for me on this plan was that I wouldn't have to suffer all the things that send me packing and returning back to the sugary, high carb, fast food world that follows every failed diet. I hate being on a diet, I feel like I'm on the outside of society and counting calories makes me lose the will to breath so obviously I had great hopes for this plan.

So what now ? Well I have no intention of counting calories for 7 days. I don't mind at all counting the 600 Kcal on the fast days and I stick to it easily but I will keep more mindful of what is going down my neck on the feed days but without obsession.

At the weekend I met a family member I hadn't seen for years who proudly announced he had lost 15lb on this new diet. It turned out to be the 5:2 plan. We waxed lyrical for the next hour. This was of course all before my shock witnessed by the scales.

As mentioned I find keeping to the 600 Kcal easy in terms of will power. How hard can that be as you know the next day you can return to the world of normal people but for me it isn't without side effects, some people say they feel great but I don't. My mental capacity to do the most basic of maths (adding up my 600Kcal) is impaired by the evening and even the next day I can be a bit shaky and yes I have been checked for diabetes. However yesterday and today after fast 6 I don't feel as bad as before so maybe I'm adjusting to it.

So I'll plod on in hope, dreading the next time I weigh myself. I just hope I'm getting the other health benefits Dr Mosely speaks of.

I think it's a matter of hitting a happy medium on feed days. I have a lot of weight to lose like you. I have a lifetime's worth of calorie counting experience in my head. So on feed days I try to be sensible and hit around 2000 calories.
I do very little weighing and measuring apart from my porridge in the morning because I want it to be the right consistency! Apart from that I just use my vast bank of calorie knowledge and estimate my calories.
I've just been out with a monthly lunch group. I choose what I want and then run my eyes around the plate totting up the cals. Breakfast this morning was about 350 and lunch with pud about a 1000. That leaves me roughly 600 for tea tonight. I'll probably have a sandwich and some fruit. Like you I don't want to feel that I'm on a diet for the rest of my life, but with what I've had to eat today it doesn't feel like that. It just requires a bit of gentle monitoring. As you say at the end of the day it really is just a matter of cals in over cals out.
Don't get despondent you are doing the right thing by being here and getting support. Just keep plugging away at it. I'm sure this diet is the way to go long term!

[carorees]

Oh dear!

Could you bear to count calories on feed days for a week? You don't have to weigh stuff if you use my fitness pal or fat secret as they have calories for the average sized apple, date, almond etc and for cups of say milk etc so you can guesstimate. If your estimations come well above your TDEE, you know where you stand! Consider that you need to cut 3500 cals to lose a pound and a quick calculation will let you know whether you have been near this.

Unfortunately, exercise is the next thing that can speed up weight loss..could you add some walking to your day?

Last option is to add another fast or half fast (skip breakfast and lunch one day).

Good luck!