The FastDay Forum

And so ends week 10.

Had an earlier weigh in this week, Saturday as opposed to Sunday as we were going away for the weekend. Generally another fairly successful week with little in terms of deviation.

Onto the results first. At the end of week 10, I am another 1.1kg down, bring the net total to 8.1kg loss (17.86lbs....sounds so much more impressive in pounds). I really need to update my tracker here, but haven't had time.

The weight loss is starting to become noticeable to me on my clothes. I have dropped two belt notches since beginning this 'diet'. My trousers, which were getting snug before, now look baggy. Shirts that were once well fitting are tending to be baggy, and old shirts beginning to fit. I have actually comfortably worn an old pair of trousers which were a size smaller with no problems, and they did not look too bad. So, this way if eating is working.

Observations for the week.

1) As it is getting colder, I am finding the tendency to want to snack greater. Was the first fast of week 11 yesterday. While at work and busy, I did not have any problems. However, after dinner and in a cold house, even after dinner, I had this constant urge to snack. Eventually gave up and succumbed to a handful of Shapes savoury crackers. Urge was satiated but felt a little guilty.

2) left alone for the week and have discovered it is not too difficult to eat even on fast days. My fast days usually consist of no food until dinner of fast night. Up till now, my wife has been our fast day meals to ensure we are eating well and wisely on fast days. Home alone for the week and have been subsisting on take always and tinned food. As I save my calories for one meal, I pretty much have 600 calories for dinner. This has allowed me to go out for take away. Had a burrito bowl on Friday, coming in at about 575 calories. The Heinz chunky soups also average at slightly over 500 calories. Probably not as ideal as home cooked, but keeps me on fast and is relatively filling

Dude, that's some impressive updates, well done!

I've really noticed the difference with salty intake days between fasts - even though I've only been doing this for about 10 days I've been weighing daily so I can smooth out the spikes and watch a trend, and the biggest jumps in weight midweek come from days where salt intake has been noticeably higher.

Stick with it though, it's great to hear how you're getting on with it and learning to make it work for you.

Andymcp,
Thanks for the words of encouragement. Water retention is a big issue with daily weigh ins. I tend to notice spikes in my weight after a feast day, and inevitably, this is water retention, as the moment I go back into fasting, the weight plummets. As I live a fairly sedentary existance, I can't see the weight loss being due to actual fat loss. I fast three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I weigh in officially on a Sunday, partly to ensure that I get a more realistic weight given it is done after a feast day.

Generally, on a Monday, after two feast days, my weight will be up a fair bit. But, after the first ast on Monday, it is bak on track. Coincidentally, Mondays sees my biggest loss of the week, suggesting that a lot of it is water after a non monitored weekend of eating.


And so ends week 11, and back to normality. Or what passes for auch in our household. The family is ask, and I am no longer on convinience food. hada bit of a splurge on the weekend and hopefully, the week to come will be better. Not as impressive a loss this weekend, with only a 0.3kg loss. But then again, given my week of tinned food and take away, plus a weekend of dining out, I cannot complain. Net loss to date, 8.4kg. Down to the last hole on my current belt as well

Hoping to get to my first mental milestone of 10kg lost. Why this milestone? It's a nice round figure. And up till now, I have never managed to ever lose 10kg on any diet. Most successful was probably Atkins. But even then,I really only managed about 6 to 7 kg. and I quickly tired of that after 3 or so months. While I still get the urge to snack, given the relatively non restrictive nature of 4:3, I am still not tiring of it yet.

My second milestone is a specific weight. A figure I was close to when I got married 10 years ago.

However, I can see some dark clouds ahead for my dieting. My folks are about to visit and stay for about 3 weeks. It is a great time as we do not see them often enough and the kids will get spoilt rotten. One wonders why all parents are stricter on their own kids than on their grand kids?

However, this visit is going to be detrimental to my dieting. On one hand, my mother will cook all the gone cooked stuff that I had whie growing up. And seeing as hw we do not see them often, the food will be specially rich, and fattening.

Secondly, I have not informed them of my 5:2 or 4:3 dieting. And, I suspect, if I did,there will be hell to pay. Before 5:2, I often skipped breakfast due to tie constraints and the occasional lunch due to work. When she found out, I never heard the end of it. Now, to see I am regularly skipping eas, I expect to get the lecture from hell. Even though I am showing positive results, I do not expect any mercy. So suspect for the month they ate up, I am going to just stop 5:2 and resurrect afterward. Or alternately, move from 4:3 as I am currently practising to maybe a form of 6:1. Have yet to cross that bridge and dreaming that date.

Good luck while your parents are visiting! Even if you have to put 5:2 aside for the duration of their visit you will find that you get back into it very quickly. Meanwhile, enjoy their company!

Dude - Thanks for sharing your journey! I have found inspiration in reading it. I had to go off the 5:2 for a 30 day vacation and was very worried. I only gained 4 pounds back! So there is hope! Although my walking was intense and compensated for the increased calories. Best of luck and thanks for sharing.

Okay, I have been a little delinquent with my updates lately, so catch up time. This will be a double update to cover the two weeks I have missed. As stated in my original post, this thread is partially to track the progress if a 5:2 skeptic, and partly to keep me honest.

I have already stated that my parents are coming for a visit. And while my mother is adamant that I lose weight, while cooking a tonne if great and rich food. However, prior to their arrival came the massive spring cleaning, which is my excuse for the lack of updates.

So, first up, the weight teacher for the week ending 14th July. A simple 400g loss. The large drops seen earlier seem to be a distant memory. A 400g loss seems to be more in line with the reported 1lb loss per week. But, a loss is a loss.

I have mentioned in other threads, while Sundays are the official weigh in day, I do monitor my weight daily. I know many on here do not advocate this, given the effect of daily variation, I find it is of some benefit. I try to maintain sone degree of standardisation by weighing at roughly the same time each day. What I am seeing is post fast days, I am still getting similar weight decreases as I did initially. But three months on, what is changing is the weight gain on the days after a fast. Earlier on, there were some large drops after a fast, followed by a mild gain the following day. I suspect this to be altering fluid levels. More recently, the weight lush after a dash has tapered off slightly, but not significantly, but the gains post fast has been if a greater magnitude. I suspect I may be over indulging on feast days. While I have not changed my feast days habits, perhaps as my body adapts to the feast/famine cycle, it is storing more on feast days?

As a result if this, I am seeing a pattern if greater see sawing of my weight on feast and fast days, with the net effect if a slower or less nett weight loss.

The weigh in for the 21st July came in at a miserly 100g loss. But before I make too much of it, my parents arrived midweek and fasting has been impossible and in anything the days have been above average feasting. To add to the problem, both kids have birthdays this weekend just past, with lashings of birthday cake! As a slight incentive, I actually hit my first milestone of 10kg loss since the start based on my daily weigh ins, but as it was not an official weigh in day, I have not counted it as claimed yet.

So, I am not holding my breath about my results the next couple of weigh ins. Already, with my daily weigh ins. I am seeing a greater degree of variation on the upward side on my daily weigh ins. Fingers crossed I can minimise the effects

Weigh in day week 14.

My parents have now been up for a week and a half now. This means a week and a half of non strict 5:2 plus indulgent old school home cooking. A bad combination for weight loss.

I normally keep a 4:3 cycle with my fast days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This past week, Monday was an absolutely bad day, with lunch out. Managed a semi fast on Wednesday, skipping breakfast and lunch but an unrestricted dinner. Friday was an absolute mess. Succumbed to a 24hr virus with gastro symptoms. This resulted in an enforced fast and minimal dinner.

Good news is a net loss of 300g from the previous week, which is a bonus given my concerns. This results in a total loss of 9.2kg since day 1. Another week of parents and I should be back on the diet.

Good luck with your journey, you seem to be managing the visit very well. It won't be too hard to get back into 5:2 or 4:3 properly once they've gone home, you're enjoying the visit and you've still managed to lose a bit. Well done

Loulou
Thanks for the well wishes

This visit with my parents has been a bit of an eye opener as to life once I eventually make goal. (Although, I have yet settled on what my goal weight is yet. BMI has a goal range, but based on my build and history, I am uncertain that range would be suitable for me. But, since my time on this WOE, my goal is probably lower than my initial expectations).

I initially started this WOE as I saw potential in its fit with my schedule and lifestyle. I know many on here are doing it fir the health benefits. Aside from the weight loss, I have yet to see any differences. I do not look forward to, or dread fasts. I do not feel energised or lethargic on fast days. Perhaps I have not lost enough weight as of yet? But my skepticism about the other reported health benefits are still there.

However, I now know once I hit whatever goal I a comfortable with eventually, I should be able to maintain it, either with a reduced number if fast days per week. Or by keeping the 5:2 or 4:3 pattern but ignoring the 500 calorie restriction. I know a lot of new members stress about the exact number of calories taken in during a fast day. My experience this past fortnight shows that the exact number of calories are not as important as long as there is a caloric restriction. Currently, I am skipping two meals a day and eating unrestricted at dinner. While I am not getting stellar results, I am still averaging 300-400 g weight loss a week. I assume the stricter my caloric restriction regime, the better the loss.

But I am currently in an acceptable place. I get what I want to eat and as much as I feel like (without over indulging - comfortably full would be a good description), and still lose. When my parents go home, I will return to a strict 4:3 as I still have more weight to lose.