The FastDay Forum

Hello! New here and a tiny bit nervous! I live in Virginia, USA. I am a wife and mother and just turned 50 in October. I currently weigh 161 lbs at 5'6". I am mildly hypothyroid (non-Hashimoto's), peri-menopausal, and pre-diabetic. I need to drop about 15-20 lbs, losing mainly belly fat. I hope to stick to a fasting program for at least 2 months to see if it works for me. I have already enjoyed the info that I've read thus far, and I look forward to giving this an honest try. I fasted on Friday and today (Monday). So far, so good because I planned those 500-calorie meals. But I'm not sure how often I should weigh myself-- what does anyone else suggest?

Hello and welcome!

How often - or even whether - to weigh is a personal choice.

Have you read this link? https://www.fastday.com/fasting/getting ... t-fasting/

That may help.

Best wishes and good luck!

Good luck @WildGoose

The feel of your clothes can give you a really good idea of how you are going - and take some measurements now so you can see how you go.
I found that after about 6 weeks I noticed changes in my clothes fitting, and enjoyed trying on a shirt etc that had been tight, to find it was feeling looser. That always gave me a boost to keep going and keep on track.
5:2 is slow and steady....so a little patience and it will happen. I did especially see good changes on my belly, getting some shape at the waist again.

All the best,

Thanks for the welcomes, shared links and good tips I will try to be patient as I am done with "quick fixes."

Hallo @WildGoose and welcome to this lovely forum.
I weigh every morning and keep a record but only pay attention to the weekly differences. So last Thursday I was a pound heavier than this morning (hurrah)!
Lots to read here and it's all good, so enjoy your fasting and rediscover the good tastes of real food.
:0)

I weigh nearly every day but that's to make sure my weight isn't slowly creeping up. There are some days when you know you had many carbs the day before, salty food, alcohol, not enough water, etc so that explains any gain. Don't despair when you're not losing the first few weeks (or the third and fourth, after you lost earlier ones) as many factors are in play. Measure your waist and realise the tracker is your best friend. Good luck!

Tomorrow it will be 4 years since my first fast day. Since joining this site in the following January I log my weight on the tracker every Monday ( except when I am away from home) whether the news is good or bad. Monday tends to be my highest weight of the week as I fast on Mondays and Wednesdays. I make my tracker public which means I have to acknowledge what is going on. I also weigh daily and log my weight on Libra ( free app on android) This gives me a trend weight which smooths out the ups and downs associated with fasting . I find it very reassuring when I have a spurious high reading and stops me being overconfident when I get a particularly low one. I have still not quite archieved my target weight of 10 1/2 stone but looking back I can see how far I have come and to reach my target would just be the cherry on top. I know that some people feel the scales are their enemy but each reading on it's own is not as significant as the trend and you need to stick at it a while before you can see that. Good luck, I hope this works as well for you as it has for me.