The FastDay Forum

[Debs]

Yes, so am I!
I shall ask @sassy1 what her secret to success is as she has managed to get her BMI low.
I am certainly cutting down my meals and not having too many carbs. I am looking forward to getting the ketosis sticks.
We're going to the Aztec exhibition at the Melbourne museum tomorrow which should be good.

Hi @Debs Yes I'm doing OK
Unlike you I've enjoyed this plan of attack probably due to a years worth of fasting fatigue if you know what I mean plus a great point to come out of this is I've been sugar free for nearly 4 days now OK can't say I'm enjoying my tea + coffees but most of them are getting finished which is a surprise to me I must have my determined hat on with this one, as I said I've learned that my sugar and fruit have probably buggered my past weeks regarding low carbing.

I've actually done 4 full days the Eat Stop Eat window thingy
But sugar in drinks ruined day one Fri so I popped in Tues
Yesterday was 18:6 and today will be 18:6 also
I'm out Thursday night but will choose something sensible.
Feeling Very good and I want to keep it that way and will weigh-in Friday morning for the tracker and Caroline's figures fingers crossed but extremely hopeful must go and measure because it does feel GOOD. ♣

[Debs]

That's good, you sound really optimistic, I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you. You tend to know whether you think there has been a difference, I can tell if there's going to be a drop.

Perhaps I should try it again but limit what I eat to a small window so I don't overload on chicken legs

I am exercising caution whilst in Melbourne although that may be out of the window on Monday in the face of cake!!!

[carorees]

@Debs It occurred to me that if you were eating heaps of protein then that can impair going into ketosis because protein can be converted to glucose by the body (gluconeogenesis). If you get the ketostix and decide to have another go at low carbing (which given what you have said about your family history seems a good idea as you may have inherited poor glucose tolerance ), then try to focus on fats and low carb veg but keep the protein to 0.8g/kg body weight if you can and see what the ketostix say.

Once you get ketones in your urine, you can try re-introducing carbs in the form of more carbiferous veg and nuts to start with and see at what point you lose the ketones.

Measure the ketones just before you break your fast so as to maximise the chances of detecting them.

Also, as barbarita says, if you join the Fast-5 facebook group, Bert Herring (author of the Fast-5 book) is very generous with giving his advice. He might have some ideas for those whose bodies are particularly resistant to losing the fat!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

[Debs]

Thanks carorees, I shall try that when I get back next Wed. Good fat and carb appeals to me a bit more. I suspect you are right about the carbs in my family and I cringe now when I think what I ate when I grew up.
I shall download the book and have a read and do some planning to make sure I pick the right protein, carb and fat.
I am really tearing my hair out as to what to do, I just can't believe it is so hard for me

Hi @Debs (and anyone else reading this)

I really don't know why this WOL has worked so well for me. I have just followed the basic 5:2 strategy most of the time, and got the results.

I think the real issue for discussion is the one you are raising - why some who follow all the "rules" and utilize all the tips and strategies seem to have less success with this WOL re weight loss.

I have wondered whether I have some personal "attributes" that have helped, for example:
- I have not dieted much as an adult, so haven't had lots of wide variations in weight
- I am not much of a cook/baker and we eat very plainly with lots of veggies
- we rarely eat out or have takeaway, and I don't eat a lot of processed food
- now I am not in paid work, I have a lot less stress in my life and can also find time for regular (but not very intensive) exercise
- I had a trouble free menopause and never suffered from PMT
- I am fortunate to have a comfortable life and be in a stable relationship with children who are now young adults and relatively independent (tho still living at home).

Many of those things we don't have a lot of control over, so are not much help to others apart from giving a possible explanation for differences in response to this WOL.

Will be good to discuss this further in person next week.

All the best, and looking forward to meeting.

[Debs]

I was wondering @carorees, whether the milk I am having in my tea might be having an effect? I sincerely hope not as my life would be a disaster if I had to give that up for a while!

I think the lactose in milk might keep you out of ketosis in high enough amounts.

[Debs]

Thank you MaryAnn, I have a splash, not a huge amount.

@Sue.Q I lost 7lbs when I gave up sugar in drink- but that was 50 years ago -I think it took a couple of weeks to start enjoying drinks without, but now I can't drink sweetened tea coffee etc so stick with it if you can it will be worth it in the end

[Debs]

You are right izzy, some of us are glued to the spot whilst others achieve it effortlessly. I am still trying to find out what my trigger is and I am not there yet.
A while ago I lost quite a bit of weight on a really strict regime for 12 weeks, but it isn't something I could sustain for life and I want this to be something that I can.
I know that I have a lot of underlying stress from work even if I don't manifest it outwardly so maybe that is part of the problem, but overcoming that isn't easy. Clearly a protein fest didn't work for me either. I am also peri menopausal which may also be hindering things at the moment. Regardless of that, my weight is stable and it isn't going up which had to be a plus.

I shall keep going until I work it out. There isn't an alternative!

@Debs, I'm sorry to see you struggling so. Probably someone has already asked, but have you had a thyroid panel done?

I hope you break through this plateau soon. No one should have to try so hard for so long!

Re: my own struggles. I have convinced myself that I was overeating on non-fast days. I'm really impressed how 16:8 has fixed that fairly effortlessly. Yesterday, I felt like I had a blow out day. I had a sweet treat in the afternoon (those rum balls will be the end of me, and they've upped the portion size!) and half a bottle of wine (so much for no alcohol until after the half-marathon) at dinner AND I split a dessert with my friend (Japanese size dessert, though, and only half, so this wasn't a huge splurge). I tallied it all up and it came to a bit under my TDEE! Or at least my predicted TDEE. I'm still suspicious that my actual one is a bit lower than predicted. I didn't tally it up until today though (silly me). Last night I was feeling like I blew it, and got into that "well, I may as well have another treat" mindset. I talked myself down, though, mostly because I was so darn full.

I'm not very strict about 16:8. I eat lunch and dinner. Nothing before nothing after. Yesterday I probably went over an 8 hour window a bit because dinner came a bit late.

Having said all that, I'm still not back down to goal weight (63). 63.9 is as close as I've gotten. As I said in the maintenance thread, I'm not going try not to worry about it too much. After the half marathon, I'm going to take a bit of a fasting break (from ADF, not from 16:8) and see if I can maintain whatever weight I'm at just doing 16:8 mindfully. I keep calling it fasting fatigue, though I'm not really bothered by the fasts so much as how it interferes with life. I'm tired of trying to explain it to everyone. I managed to keep it quiet while I was losing weight (or at least if I was asked about it, people got it because I was trying to lose), but now everyone just thinks I'm crazy! I have one friend who lost a lot of weight at one time in her life who gets how difficult maintenance is. She is a big help.

Anyway… I've rambled long enough...

[Debs]

Thank you for thinking of that @MaryAnn, my thyroid is fine, I am just an awkward customer!!!
I'm sure I will figure it out at some point, it just isn't as easy as I had hoped

@Debs you may have to try cutting out various foods one by one for a few days each to see if the weight drops then you will know what you are allergic to. Can't do any harm.