The FastDay Forum

I was up a pound today! Since January, I've only lost about 6 pounds. (I was down almost 8 but went up last week (TOM) and this week.)

I recently changed my WI day to Saturday, since I figured after the weekend wasn't good. I normally don't go out on Friday night, because I work on Sat. morning. But, my cousins took me out for a belated birthday dinner. I kept my calories low during the day and I didn't go too crazy at dinner. I split an appetizer with my cousin, had half a cheeseburger, some sweet potato fries and 3 of us split a small dessert.

I know this WOE is slow and I'm fine with that, but this is getting ridiculous. I can't even get below 170! I'm fasting 2 days a week. My TDEE is about 1700 calories, so I eat about 1500 on my weekday non-fast days, so that I can splurge a bit on the weekend. And I've been doing C25K 3X a week!

It would be one thing if I stayed the same this morning, but to have gained??

I thought I would wait and weigh myself again tomorrow, but I'm going out again tonight and will probably have a drink or two as well. Maybe I'll see what it says Monday.

Just needed to vent! Thanks!

[carieoates]

Perhaps you and I could set up a frustrated tent. It's a bummer I know but I'm learning so much about myself, my attitude towards food and that patience is a requirement.

My body is also retaliating and trying to tell me who's boss.

You've already demonstrated that you are making better choices with regards to food and indeed exercise. Exercising alone can make you hold onto more water as the cells need to repair.
Keep up the good work and do what I do " keep plugging away"

[Debs]

Excellent, a completely peed off tent, I'm in there! I think Sue.Q may want to join in as well. It's a bit beyond scenic isn't it?! We all seem to be stuck around the same sort of area.
My scales glare at me from the corner every morning!

Aah it IS very frustrating and a bit worrying too..
I can't complain as for me, its been stalemate all year,have eaten too much on fast days
..now getting back under control
But yeh you guys need a Tent..i wonder whats going on?

Small conciliation @cblasz But @Debs right I'm completely ppddd off 3 months of my body rebelling @carieoates
But one way or another I'm winning this battle deffo,
so just stick with it keep doing the same things because
it has worked well for all of us and will do again.

Can I join you guys in "the tent"? I started 20th jan and whilst I've lost 7lbs, I'm up and down. My body fat % is coming down but I feel pretty fed up with all the effort and no change on scales. I get envious when people are losing quickly.
I'm hoping I'm just a slow responder and my body will suddenly catch up?? Is this possible? I am also doing couch to 5k training 3x a week and swimming 2/3 times a week (40 lengths) x

[carieoates]

Just take a look at our average weight loss 4kgs if that. Perhaps we are missing something fundamental. Maybe not everyone is meant to have a BMI of 22-24
Personally I blame the cavemen.

My advice, for what it's worth: stop weighing yourself so often.
I truly believe that the weighing scales are an addiction we could quite well do without and they are the devil incarnate.

Surely it makes sense that if you are doing what you said you are doing, the weight is going to come off sooner or later. Maybe it's just a temporary blip for whatever reason, but stop punishing yourself by obsessing over a couple of pounds. Try to relax more & just enjoy the journey

I used to work with someome who was doing the couch to 25k thingy and she said it took ages to see a drop in scales weight. Maybe it's the type of exercise. 'They' are now saying that steady, lengthy exercise is ineffective at weight loss. Have you tried some HIIT or maybe weights? Having said that I started some kettlebell exercises this week and have put on 1/2 lb.

The scales are so fickle though. Last week I had a suprisingly low drop in weight. I couldn't quite believe it so weighed again after I'd had a shower and somehow I'd put most of it back on again??? Had my skin absorbed 4 lbs of water or were my scales playing silly buggers? Hmmm. This week I decided to weigh before and after a shower. This time the shower must have melted some fat, because the scales showed a 1/2 lb drop. Scales: they lie, lie and then lie.

Tape measures however, only speak the truth.

Caroline I'd love my BMI to be 29 right now!!!
@AQuariuS My scales have been banished to the garage for one month now but I try on a particular top on each week with no joyous feelings whatsoever plus the tape measure isn't budging at all.
Frustration is bound to set in after so many weeks and for me its almost 4months a very long time considering I've got another 50lbs to drop!!
Scales I don't need them to be honest I couldn't care less what they say its only numbers but for all the hard work put in each week if my clothing showed some little tiny weeny decrease that would be fine with me, I know I'm gaining the health benefits so at least some good to come out of this stalemate situation and i can't complain to much considering how much I've lost and quite quickly I think so maybe that's the reason my body must be in shock time to come out again this time last year I hadn't even heard of 5:2
I just want some indication that I'm back on track.

[carieoates]

What you say Sue makes perfect sense to me. You've done amazingly well, but you want some more, I can understand that.

I'm just so damn pleased about my physique and physical being at the moment that weight loss often falls to the back of my mind, even though I try new things, I don't really like my scales at the moment.

I did have a massive light bulb moment the other day......
When I started 5.2 I would drink gallons to stop myself feeling hungry. But now I don't need too. So I've set myself a mini goal of drinking more liquid, plus eating most of my fast day cals after evening exercise class.
Simcoeluv, would have come along right now and say, you have to be doing something wrong, figure that out and you'll get back on track. Wish it was that simple. Hu ?

I have plateaued for a long time too. But if it hadn't been for 5:2 and this forums I wouldn't have walked out of the hospital (on crutches) only 36 hours after major surgery. I have never had a post op recovery that went so well. I put it down to the health benefits of 5:2 and the exercise I was able to start doing whilst fasting. I still have 100lbs to go, but after a recuperation period I feel well able to get stuck in again.

Thanks everyone for sharing your struggles too!

I thought about my week and on Monday I tried to skip breakfast and save all my calories for at night, like many of you do, but it didn't work. I got really hungry and had to have a snack. So, I did go over my calories a bit on my fast day. (not by much, but still)

Then Wednesday, there were unexpected Oreos at work, so I went over my 1500 by 300 calories. And of course last night, while I didn't go crazy, I'm sure I was over my 1500. I do think that I should've burned enough calories doing C25K to make up for that, but still I wasn't perfect.

So, my plan for this week is to make sure to stay within my calorie ranges on weekdays (fast and feed days.) I also realized that I haven't been drinking as much green tea lately. They say it is good for your metabolism. I don't know for sure if that's true, but it certainly can't hurt. So, I'm going to try to drink one cup of green tea every day.

We'll see how it goes! (I'm probably also going to weigh myself again on Monday morning to see if it was just water retention from too much sodium!)

But, again thank you all for your responses!

Oh yes I drink green tea because it's meant to boost the metabolism. There is a really strong green tea you can get where you just need one drink a day. Here's the link if you're interested...


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tea-Pigs-Organi ... =green+tea

I know slow weight loss is frustrating. I've bean there. The thing I discovered was that 5:2 didn't suit me...maybe because of my under active thyroid, I don't know. Anyway, I tried fasting every other day...and haven't looked back. I've bean fasting this way since 10 Feb and I'm just about at my first stone off...only another two to go!

Try not to get disheartened, just see if another way of fasting would suit you better.

Good luck xx

Bean

You've got a great start going; don't give in to the short-term thinking that got you in a tough spot to start with.

Things I've learned:
Get plenty of sleep; lack of sleep shuts down your metabolism.
Look at the way your clothes fit. Is it changing even if the scale doesn't change?
Drink lots of green tea, water, coffee--whatever that isn't sweetened.
Eat clean--beware of sauces with hidden salts and sugar that make you retain water.
Be careful with carbs; make them healthy with an occasional treat of something that you truly love. Don't waste those calories on junk. Pump up the veggies and throw in a little bit of fresh fruit.
Don't be afraid to move your fast days around to fit your changing schedule. Make it work for you.
Maybe 1500 calories is a tad high on non-fast days? Or maybe it's fine. Change some of the other stuff first.
On fast days, eat on the schedule that you feel best doing. I usually eat a little in the morning--maybe just nuts. For lunch, homemade broth-type soup or salad. For dinner, fish or chicken or beef (rarely) along with non-starch veggie or salad. Sometimes, I finish up with a 1/2" square of dark chile chocolate. Mmm.

Weigh on a schedule that fits with you. If you can handle the variation without freaking out or have an app like Libra that shows trend, weigh everyday. If not, weigh weekly or whatever suits. Just be aware that if you are a female, your weight will probably be affected by hormones and water retention. A gain (or loss can be totally temporary and due to those factors.

Whatever you do, don't get down on yourself. Just look upon it as a problem-solving exercise--one that may keep changing, but one that is in your control.