The FastDay Forum

I really need advice .
I have been doing this for 6 weeks now but didnt weigh until about ten days ago,only to find I had lost nothing
So for the next week and a bit I have weighed every day,I have really watched what I ate,fasted three time ,tried 16.8 and low carb
By Friday I had lost 3 pounds
But then.... On Friday night I had a good dinner.nothng unhealthy just lots of chicken ,veg ,bit of dark choc and on Saturday I had gained 2 pounds so over the weekend I had a good nonfast day and fasted on Sunday .lost one pound
Result : in 6 weeks I have lost 2 pounds and am going crazy
I weigh twice a day and keep going over in.MY head what I am doing wrong
Should I do 4-3 16-8 low carbs ,give up
I try to count calories but often wonder if I fool myself.I seem to eat so little
On a nonfast day,I skip breakfast ,have 2 eggs for lunch,homemade veg soup no oil,for afternoon snack,a small helping of chicken or fish and roast veg for dinner,no oil
Low fat yogurt ,2squates choc for a snack
Shouldn't I be loosing?
I am sorry this is such a long post but I feel like giving up
I try so hard and now my weight is going up again
I am quite active
Help!

Hi Sara,
Firstly, I'm not an expert!
If it were me I'd try going back to the basics of 5:2 with 2 days of 5oo cal fasting and eating well (but not blowing out) on the other 5 days.
I don't know any of your stats, but it looks like you aren't overeating and I know for me that sticking strictly to the fast day regime and eating well the other days is working.
At least if that doesn't work you are still enjoying the 5 days of eating!

Thanks Gigi
I think you are right .i am over thinking this

Hi Sarah,

I was about to post a similar questions myself. I started the 5:2 on the 2nd May which is a little over 7 weeks.

I've lost about 2.5 kilo. My husband and brother are losing way more and they look remarkably different. I feel better, my clothes don't hug me as much. I no longer get that bloated feeling, my skin has improved also. But I kind of would like a greater weight loss result also - I think over a couple of weeks I slightly went up on the scales so I just stopped weighing myself. We women "may" have to counter in our hormonal times?

This morning I weighed myself after 2 weeks and nothing has changed. My eating habits on my 5 days are the same, which weren't bad really, althouhg I may have to look at some areas eg. I use Olive Oil which is pretty high in calories for all salad dressings etc.

I'm going to stay the course. I hope knowing that you're not alone helps - I'll just plod along with it and who knows by the end of the year I may have dropped 6 kg's by doing "not much". That's how I'll look at it in any case.

Cheers,

Try weighing weekly, same time, early morning, after loo, b4 drinking/eating anything. Try 4:3 and eat without going completely crazy on feed days - but have what u want, just not 5 of them :>). Good luck!

Many of us seem to hit a plateau 6-8 weeks into the WoE. We show great losses at first and feel fantastic in our clothes and we get the zeal of the converted. Then when the plateau sets in we lose faith and try ANYTHING to nudge out of it - 16:8, 4:3, low carb, lots of exercise, restricting calories on feed days to <1300, liquid fasts, analysing every mouthful, guilt, etc.

I'm in that phase myself, a little further along than you. I've had temper tantrums on the forum (yours is rather restrained compared to the anguish I've shared!) and people have chipped in with all sorts of advice - don't eat so much, don't eat so little, don't eat so many carbs, don't exercise so much, exercise more, etc. I moved into 16:8 on non-fast days to try to shake things up, and after almost 2 weeks I have yet to see any result. But I'm going to give it at least another month.

To be perfectly honest, there is nothing I can see in what you're doing that looks "wrong". It may be the case that all you really need right now is assurance that if you continue doing what you're doing the weight will ultimately come off. It has to, if you're eating fewer calories than you burn off. It may take a little more time than you would like, and you may get some hiccups and upward ticks along the way. It is hard to get out of the mindset we've all had with other diets where we generally "bank" the losses we've already had and continue on a downward trajectory until we get to our goal, then we revert back to the way we've been eating before. This is different - there is no intention ever to go back to the way we've been eating before. So there will inevitably be ups and downs along the way to goal as we break old habits.

So unfortunately I can't tell you anything really positive, but I can tell you that you are not alone, and there is a great community here to support you. Good luck.

Thanks mummy bunny for the support
You are righti just need to keep going.i didn't weigh myself at the start of this but had a fair idea and if I really think about it I have lost close to 2kilos over the 6 weeks and tht is really good as I don't have much to lose.so now I need to just stick with it.and not get despondent , give up and put it all back on.
Thanks all

Thanks izzy
Good luck to you too.
I just had a yummy dinner of chicken and veg and then a few squares of dark choc.
I am going to take one day at a time,like you

[carorees]

Have you read the topic about why the scales lie? #whyscalesincrease

Thanks carorees
Just re,read it.i think I did sort of know all that and my waist measurements are down by by more than 5 cm and jeans are loose.but I still want that scale to go down!

My weight and weighing regime go like this.
The morning after a fast day I weigh myself stark naked, after using the toilet and before having a shower. This will give a slightly 'artificial weight, as you will be dehydrated with a minimal amount of food sitting in your gut. Over a week I note these weights and only pay attention to the lowest one.

If I weigh myself 2 days after a fast i will have put on a pound, by the third day after a fast I will have put on 2lbs, if I eat any bread I will have put on 4lbs.

Now on the weekly weigh in, if I haven't lost any weight I look at my ankles, if they are puffy and swollen I know I am carrying at least 2lb of water if not more, so i am happy. If they are slim I then worry. But I also take other factors into account.

Your monthly cycle will cause water retention and bloating at different times, any new or increased exercise regime will cause a slight plateau as your body retains fluids to heal and protect strained or damaged muscles.

Lastly your may just have hit a point where it needs to adjust, a set point. There is a theory that the body can lose a certain amount of weight before it rebels. Your body is happy at the weight you were at, it knew how to function, how much the blood pressure had to be, how much the glands were supposed to pump out for that amount of flesh. But now its all wrong, you weigh too little, you must go back up to where the bodyis comfortable. So there you sit, at a plateau fighting your own body. Then suddenly the body resets to a new lower set point and away you go. Till the next time.

Thanks
I am feeling a bit better since writing this
I have lost a few pounds.i am weighing every day now and really watching what I eat on nonfast days
I don't actually count calories but try to eat healthy food with a few treats
Lets see what tomorrow brings as I have been so hungry today ,that I ate quite a lot