The FastDay Forum

OK, here's the deal...

In February, my neighbour mentioned she was uncomfortable with her weight gain (70kg / 155 lbs) and had made an appointment with a dietician/sport nutritionist.

Here is an example of her typical food intake (translated from French), as recommended by the dietician:

Four months later, she is 11kg / 24 lbs lighter, and certainly a lot happier than I am after 10 months of fasting.

I just can't seem to get anywhere with this at the moment.
And then I see how she's doing, and how easily my OH has lost 15 kg / 33 lbs in just a few weeks (he simply stopped stuffing his face with cake, biscuits and chocolate! If only I had thought of starting eating those, I could have stopped too!)
And there I am, struggling at roughly the same weight for the last 6-8 weeks.
Up, down. Up, down. Up, down.
No change in weight. No change in waist.

I am really seriously p***ed off and I feel totally discouraged.

*off to kick something*

[Moogie]

Sounds like you need a hug sweetie, that's quite a plateau you've hit
Maybe it's time to change things a bit - how do you do your fasts? Have you adjusted the feed day intake to account for your lower needs since losing weight?

I know my weight is coming off slower because I've not reduced my feeds enough to be inline with my lower tdee. I'm doing some liquid fasts to get a kick start and reduce my appetite again, though at this time of the month it's not doing much

I'm actually feeling like it's time I got a bit more active again to bring my tdee back up and start shifting some weight again.

I hear you, but you've already lost 13 kilos, that's loads!!

And well just looking at your neighbour's food plan makes me not want to do it, first of all the precision, the exact weights and exact foods...no cake or chocolate...and 7 days a week for life...I hope she manages to stick to it but I know I couldn't!

[carorees]

Crikey! What a dull diet! Bet you she puts it all back on again within a year!

Moogie's right...you may need to mix things up a bit to start the weight loss again. Had you considered adding another fast (I presume you're doing 5:2)? Or half-fast? Or trying 16:8? Have you tried counting calories for a couple of weeks to see how many cals you're having? Sometimes eating more for a few days can trigger a change (not guaranteed!).

(Sorry if you've tried these already BTW).

I think Nicky hit the nail on the head. Can she live like that for the rest of her life? Because, if she can't, she will be right back where she started (or heavier) in a relatively short time.

I know that at my age (65) with my relatively sedentary lifestyle, I am not going to be shedding pounds as I did when I was younger. But, I am losing SLOWLY with long plateaus and tiny (1-2 pounds) ups and downs that I don't think are weight, just water retention/loss. Even when the scale doesn't change much--say 2 pounds down overall--I can button things I couldn't before. I look different. I feel different. I feel that I can keep on with this WOE/WOL indefinitely.

So, if there are some things about your friend's food choices that appeal to you, adopt them. Moogie's suggestion of tweaking things makes sense. Best of luck to you.

Agreed you have done so well 13 kg is lots, this woe is for life, and as another poster said, I bet it goes back on in a yr or so.
Slow but sure for a lifetime of slimness.

You have lost quite a lot of weight, and think of the other potential health benefits of fasting, as a low sugar/carb way of eater I would'nt even start that diet, yuk. Keep the faith girl and carry on, as Moogie says you may need to tweak a bit. Hug coming your way.
Chris x

I agree with the others. She will regain what shes lost and probably a bit more besides. Only the most determined dieter could stick with that plan long term! This way is sustainable. I have gone as long as 2mths like you just losing and gaining the same 2lbss and its rubbish, but if you trudge on it will eventually come unstuck. I panic every time but it always starts to drop again.

Are you eating the same menu on a regular basis? Maybe a rehash of your routine is needed to fool your body a bit.

Keihira, I feel for you and I won't tell you to go on doing something that makes you unhappy.
Yes, you lost 13 kilos which is a LOT of weight but you're doing this for almost a year, I understand you wanting to lose more after all these months.
After 10 weeks of 5:2 I am convinced that it is the BEST way to maintain weight but I am not yet convinced that it is made for all of us to lose weight while following it. That's way I am combining it with Dukan Attack twice a week and I finally saw some results, after being stuck for over a month.
So, if you are disappointed and discouraged, why don't you change things a bit? Try another diet for a month or so, do 4:3, use Zero noodles to cut your fast calories in half... stir things up a bit, till you are happy with the results. That's my twopence...

Yes, you lost 13 kilos which is a LOT of weight but you're doing this for almost a year, I understand you wanting to lose more after all these months.

It's all relative...
I need to lose twice as much (yes, twice as much) and although this has been a good start, I have been recycling the same 2-4 lbs for 6 weeks now, with no further loss.
I have done 4:3 before, am doing 16/8 now and I am coming to terms with the fact that after 10 months, this may well be the end of the road as far as fasting is concerned.

I want to use a lot of swear words right now.
I want to kick and I want to cry.
I just cannot make sense of this.
How much longer do I carry on with this failure?
No bread, no rice, no this, no that, stay in TDEE, have some chocolate, feel bad, pretend I'm happy for her when I'm filled with envy and dismay.
It's taken me almost a year to lose just a little bit more than she has lost in 4 months.
And she's had 3 meals a day 7 days a week!

Keihira - I am not convinced the 5:2 WOE has as great a success rate for weight-loss as it promises.

I appreciate that is has worked for some, but, as I have always maintained, if it did as it said it would in the book, there would be no disappointed people, whose weight-loss had stalled, plateaued etc.

It is never my intention to offend anyone on the forum, but seeing those who have very high BMIs continuing to eat sugary foods etc., I do worry that they may be jeopardising their general health.

Their weight loss will be much slower than if they reduced their carb intake. I posted yesterday that I eat thousands of calories (2500-3000) on non-fast days, and that, if I restrict my carbs, I will still lose weight.

... seeing those who have very high BMIs continuing to eat sugary foods etc...

But you see, that's the thing: I don't have - I have never had - a sweet tooth.
I might eat cakes or biscuits occasionally, say once or twice a month, but a pack of sweets or chocolates in the cupboard may well go past its best-before date long before I open it.

I have looked at low-carb diets and I know there's no way I could follow that long-term.
As it is, I used to make bread 2 or 3 times a week, but I have stopped making it altogether so I don't get tempted to eat it.

I don't buy ready-meals. Almost everything is made from raw ingredients, even yoghurt.
Yesterday's food was veggie soup for lunch, and for dinner, I had green lentils with carrots, leeks and feta cheese, followed by yoghurt with strawberry compote, and I had 1 square of 99% dark chocolate to follow (as discussed in another thread about French appetite suppressants).

Today, I am filled with rage and I'll have breakfast for the first time in weeks.
Porridge, banana, maple syrup, coconut oil, cottage cheese, strawberry compote... the lot!

I certainly know how you feel I've been on a massive plateu that followed me to 5:2 but I started recording my feast days using My fitness pal and it seems to have kicked me out of 'The slump'.

[carorees]

This study shows no difference between low carb and low fat diets in terms of weight loss provided the calorie intake was kept the same: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19 ... 82/related

[carorees]

This study shows that certain individuals do better on a high carb low fat diet.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21 ... ensitivity

So, not everyone benefits from a low carb diet, although many do.

My suggestion for Keihera then is to mix things up a bit and have some indulgent days where bread is allowed!