The FastDay Forum

I don't think six months or even a year is long enough to say it's sustainable. I did WW many years ago, lost 3.5 stone in 7 months or so - very sustainable for that period. The weight then crept back on over the next few years, so not sustainable.

But that was because I went back to the same old bad habits, and stopped weighing myself.

I hope this will be sustainable - for me the most important thing is going to be to not hide from the scales and adjust my fasting accordingly.

I don't yet know what I will do for maintenance - as little as possible, hopefully! I know, of course, about the claimed health benefits but I am doing this for weight loss, and will continue whatever I need to do for maintenance, but that's it.

16:8 seems to be working for many, but I like breakfast and hate every day restrictions. So I'll just have to see what will work - I'm just very determined to make it work, and I think 5:2 and versions of has more of a chance than conventional diets.

I'm almost 6 months in of 5:2 and am just about at Maintenence. For me, I will be extremely happy if I am in the same place a year from now.

I wonder if the people who haven't hung around are people who weren't losing in the first place. I get that feeling from some of the threads sometimes. I guess it is too early to tell whether people will maintain once they reach their goal weight. Ballerina, I am glad we have at least one example of someone who has maintained for six months.

In answer to the comment about how many people have maintained but dropped off the forum, I would guess there are also a lot of Yanks like me who also lurk on this forum but don't post much. This is partly because it is just so British with weight in Kg (or worse, stones) and it is culturally different when you talk about foods you buy/eat, etc. No offense, just the way it is. I also think your weight tracker is overly complicated so I don't bother with it. I have been doing 5:2 and sometimes 4:3 since May. I have lost 12 pounds and my BMI is at 23. I hope to lose a couple of more pounds and see this as entirely sustainable. I actually enjoy doing a couple of fast days a week. I feel so great when I wake up the morning after a fast day. I also enjoy not having to stress about what I am eating or drinking on non-fast days. This is a great way to eat/live!

There are lots of Aussies here and we don't use stones OR pounds and we get along ok?

When I think of sustainable, my first reaction is can I continue to do this, if I need to go back to ground zero can I without difficulty, and can I make this work in my every day life. I know that can't be the definition though. For me, the first few fasts were entirely a mental issue. I was in full panic mode planning, which is just silly. Now that I know better, and have had to modify my fast days and went on holiday and went right back to fasting without trouble, then I know I can make this work.

Hi MaryAnne,

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been maintaining for 6 months but as time moves on it will e nice to see more and more long term maintenance plans being implemented

Ballerina x

We really should resist the temptation to call 5:2 a sustainable solution for weight control.

With other diets maintenance is strict control of how much 'nice' stuff you can re-introduce back into the diet without starting to put on weight. As 5:2 er's have been eating what they like anyway there isn't the need for any strict control, just having one fast day instead of two and thats maintenance.

There is an indirect strict control for intermittent fasters, and that is the weight loss. A lack of the typical weight loss indicates that the dieter is overeating, so this person has to count calories to identify the source of the surplus calories.

Once the goal weight is reached the weight loss motivation is gone, and intermittant fasting has done its duty. 5:2 is over!

6:1 means a weekly calorie deficit of 10%; if that is necessary to maintain weight it follows that the dieter is overeating 10%. But 5:2 doesn't mean overeating, it means that a dieter with a stabilized weight creates a significant calorie deficit.

Maintaining the weight after a weight loss is in my opinion an entirely different problem.

There will be those who can maintain their weight more or less intuitively, perhaps thanks to the learning curve during the journey and/or strict discipline. Only for these dietes 5:2 is a sustainable diet.

And there will be others who have to count calories and consult the scales on a daily basis.

There will also be 5:2 dieters who lack an efficient weight control method and who will gain weight again. But they should not blame 5:2, which is neither a new lifestyle nor a miracle that prevents all future weight gain.

So far as fasting is concerned the interesting question will be what kind of fasting is best suited for maximum medical benefit and minimal nuisance. All options are on the table.

Hi Spring,
I disagree that once the goal weight is reached, intermittent fasting has done its duty. Some on here have never had a goal weight and 5:2 won't have done its duty until we're 105 and don't have any forms of metabolic syndrome and are at a reduce risk for a host of other illnesses.
I agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence though.

[carorees]

It might be worth revisiting this thread to review how changes in our bodies during the weightloss process conspire to encourage weight regain and which we hope fasting may counteract.

Hi Wineoclock! I agree with Aly..
" Sustainable way of life" isnt just about weight loss and maintaining it...its about using 5:2 as a way of life to lower cholesterol,reduce the growth hormone that leads to ageing,and improve our chances of avoiding heart attack,strokes and diabetes.

So,along with exercise and healthy eating, 5:2 is a long haul ..its for life..hopefully becoming 6:1 in the long term or even less..perhaps monthly semifasts rather than weekly,somewhere down the line?

What makes this plan different from other regimes is besides the longtem health benefits,we are never more than hours from our comfort foods should we choose to eat them...no food is " out of bounds" ( which of course makes us crave them all the more and have that horrid deprived feeling )
we dont need iron willpower...and this what keeps me cheerful and feeling like this is " doable" in the longterm! xx

We really should resist the temptation to call 5:2 a sustainable solution for weight control.

I don't really understand your reasoning. If you're saying the protocol should work for 100 % of everyone claiming they're "trying" it, without exceptions, of course it can never be called sustainable. I would be extremely surprised if there would ever be any method living up to such standards.

From what I understand, you're supposed to lose the weight, begin maintenance mode with some form of continued IF, and not overeat to the edge of insanity the other days. I have a hard time seeing it would require much self control for the average person.

Of course there are people who will continue to overeat compulsively, who will cling to self destructive habits, why would this make it wrong to call 5:2 sustainable?

Anyway, after this short time, it's absolutely sustainable for me. I enjoy my fast days, and I enjoy my eating days.

Perhaps we will have to think less in terms of "when" we can call 5:2 sustainable, and rather in terms of for whom.

Most people become overweight slowly, adding 1-5 kg every year simply by eating as they please, developing bad habits and not being careful enough, all of a sudden they realize they're fat. Normal people. With some time we will probably be able to say 5:2/IF is a sustainable solution for them. We are doing these people a disservice if we decide not to be tempted to call this sustainable. After all, if it's not sustainable, it's pointless. Why try it?

Others have problems with substance abuse, eat enourmous amounts when depressed, are obsessive about food, have other health problems and can typically gain lots of weight in a short time. They have other problems. 5:2 might help, but is unlikely to be a sustainable solution by itself.