The FastDay Forum

I had a really positive start to 5:2 when I began this WOE at the beginning of March. I decided to weigh only once a month because I've been disappointed in the past when I've been on a diet and done weekly weighing and not noticed much change. No startling weight loss but a steady 1lb per week or so that I felt was sustainable and my clothes started to feel a bit more comfortable (though nothing dramatic and I can't buy the next size down yet!).

Hubby (who started this the same time as me) is losing weight faster and looking fitter than I am, but I wasn't too worried as I know that 'women of a certain age' often find it a bit more difficult to shift obstinate pounds.

So we're going along nicely and then I have a week off for a holiday in Spain (in a villa where we're self catering so I didn't feel like I was over-eating even though we didn't do our normal 2 fast days). I deliberately didn't jump on the scales when we got back, but having now done 3 fast days since we returned, I made the mistake of standing on the scales this morning and I'm a pound heavier than when I went on holiday 3 weeks ago.

So I'm feeling glum and disheartened and thinking maybe I should try 4:3 instead of 5:2, or count calories on my normal days more carefully, but then I'm worried that it will just turn into living on a constant diet - obsessing about food and avoiding all the things I enjoy.

I don't eat meat at all (though I do eat fish) and we always have loads of veggies and/or salad. I try to avoid too many carbs and rarely eat takeaways though I do enjoy the odd meal out at weekends. I do a little swimming when I can, and most days I try and get out for a walk along the clifftop near where I work in my lunch break.

So - should I just throw my scales out of the window - continue on the 5:2 and hope that there will be more longer term benefits, or should I give it up and try SW or WW instead. Perhaps I should exercise more (though I've never enjoyed anything sporty, so I can't see this being a viable or long term option!).

Or maybe I should just accept that I'm always going to be the 'well padded' me rather than the slim svelte me that I'd love to become. Humph

Well, if your tracker is right you have still lost over 5 kilos, which is a lot! It doesn't matter if you put on a pound after your holiday, there will always be little blips here and there, what matters is that you are 5 kilos lighter than you were at the beginning of March!
It seems to me that this WOL is just that, a long-term way of eating where you do lose weight but not especially quickly, so you have to be in it for the long haul to get to the weight you want to be at.
In terms of shaking things up, have you looked at the NEAT posts? Also, how do you eat on a fast day? Maybe a change there would kick start weight loss?
Hang in there, I'm sure great results are just around the corner!

Hi Puzzledjo,I know exactly how you are feeling I was like that last week its probably fluid ,you will come through this, it will work for you and you are doing so well especially going on holiday, keep going

Hi Puzzledjo, have a look at the 5:2 + 16:8 thread and see if you fancy it. I felt like you and this is what started me off again. Good luck

Thanks everyone - this forum really does help!

Oh no - don't give up yet. My weight loss has been really slow, but it's been steady - and this WOL means that we can go on holiday (and yes we're likely to come back heavier than when we left) but then we get back to 5:2 and carry on - it's a WOL not a quick fix I reckon it takes me easily 3 months to shed a stone in weight - so your weight loss since March I'd be well pleased with. Remember what you've lost in total - keep that at the forefront of your mind. The whole joy of this is that we can fast on 2 days and then eat whatever we fancy (not how much we fancy) on other days - no need to feel deprived of those things that we really love eating as we CAN have them, just not on fast days. Please don't give up yet. Give it another 3 months and see where you are - you could have lost another 10kg and how good would that be

Hi
You only gained a pound, well done considering it was holidays. You will knock that off in no time being in control and back at home. Yes the guys shed faster but look at what you have achieved, so cheer up, dust yourself off and back onto 5:2 wagon any any of its variations.

It's a good way of life to stick with

The thing is, if you aren't weighing often, you can't tell if this was just a bad day or a bad week or something in those lines.
There are many things that can cause gaining a pound or two. Water retention, constipation, getting your period, not getting it...