The FastDay Forum

Today's weight: 132 (60 kilos), BMI 20.1

I started 5:2 in early March, and so far have lost 11 pounds. I was very impressed, considering the weight I was at was my absolute minimum weight since college (~10 years). My BMI was 21.7, so not bad. I was happy with my weight, just not how I looked in photos. My arms still are not coming out quite right in photos...

I'm a medical student and my busy routine during the year really helped this. Twice a week, I would eat one meal around 4pm and did pretty well with that. All of the other days I basically went to town, so people just starting out--do not beat yourselves up, the weight loss is just incredibly incremental. It will take me a month usually to see that oh yeah the scale actually has gone down 2-4 lbs.

Now I am working in Europe for the summer where there are carbs everywhere, and I don't have the flexibility with my schedule to run at the time I prefer (morning). So I've gotten really bad. However, 5:2 has still been working its magic and I have lost 2 pounds in the 5 weeks since I arrived in Europe--that had kind of been my rate of loss anyway. I even took last week to do a 5 hour fasting window every day to see if that would help, which basically amounted to an entire week off of fasting because the window thing drove me nuts . So I am happy to have maintained the 2 lb weight loss.

I feel puffy and out of shape though, and would like to lose 5-7 more pounds before a wedding in mid-August. I am going to keep fasting 2-3 times per week, and more importantly, run every off day and lift weights a couple of times a week. At the very least, I will improve my puffiness .

Well done er222! That's fabulous!!!

Ok it took a while but now I've dropped to 59 kilos (130 pounds). 5 pounds to go!

It only took two weeks to lose that kilo! Some people would kill to lose that much in two weeks, so close to target, and with a BMI like yours! Well done, especially considering that you are out of your regular routine! Good luck with the remaining five pounds!

Thanks!
I think it helped that I went jogging AND walked up a mountain on Sunday. Although on Monday I ate chocolate krantz cake from that new Jerusalem cookbook (yummm) and then went out for beer and pizza. This is definitely a sustainable lifestyle for me.

Ohh, I have that cookbook too, haven't made the chocolate krantz cake yet but must try it soon.

We've got very similar current weight and goal weight although I must be a bit shorter than you. Good luck with it! Climbing a mountain sounds fun.

Ok, I am back from my summer abroad. By the time I weighed myself on my scale at home, I was 132-133 lbs (and this was my "light weight" part of my cycle). I do think I put on a little at the end of the summer because I started dating someone and we would cook and drink wine every feast day. But, still, a net loss for the summer (1-2 lbs) and my family commented on how "gaunt" I look.

Now, after 2 weeks back in medical school, I am down to 129, where I was briefly in July. Med school is just a very different life than working in the summer, so it's easier to not over-eat. I am about to get my period, so I think I will continue the downward trend or at least stay here for a bit.

I'm really only 13 pounds lighter than I was when I started, but a lot of things are different for me. Things I never really experienced other times when I lost a comparable amount of weight, because I always would bottom out at 142, and still looked a bit saggy. People are nicer to me. When people would see me running when I weighed say 142+ they would comment on how great it was that I was starting to work out (in reality I had to run constantly and eat salad all day just to stay under 150). Now people just take a look at me and assume I am really in shape, or am "naturally thin." It's like people think the only ones who have to watch what they eat are ones that are overweight, the rest of us are just really athletic or genetically blessed.

I also never think about food anymore and it is so freeing. If I want a taco, or a pizza, I can go for it. I never am even like "ok I will have pizza but I won't eat the whole one." But probably after 6 months of fasting I just don't have to--I start feeling ill after 2 slices. But if I overeat, I don't beat myself up and neither do the scales.

I'm 4 pounds from my goal weight and I do want to continue to try and get there. I am running and lifting, but it's hard to be so good about it that my flab is gone (and my flab is a lot bigger than the small parts of me, so it is a distraction). So getting down to 125 would help. Also, I need to get a bunch of my clothes tailored and am just holding off until I get to my goal weight to do that.

Well Done on the dropped weight at the end of summer for you
Good Luck with your next goal. Sue

Isn't wonderful to not be consumed by food! Food to live not live for food. Good luck on your upcoming year.

I never thought this day would come, I have actually reached my goal weight! I am actually a pound below but will try and keep it here.

I've lost about 10 pounds in 2 months, which kind of alarmed my parents (they saw me for the first time in 2 months last weekend) but I think there's a reason. Since the summer I've returned to my stressful med school lifestyle and I also got sick for 3 weeks during which I had no appetite and was coughing constantly. Thanks to fasting, I did not regain the weight I lost while sick . I did lose 2 pounds this week though and am not sick and did not do anything special to do so, so I may need to go to fasting one day per week to stop losing. I am not sure how I am still losing after barely budging all summer! I continue to totally pig out on feed days, especially this week, for anyone who is curious .

Anyway it feels really good to be here, I can finally invest in some clothes!! And having a goal weight is good because I will never be happy with my arms or stomach so it was good to have a number where I could say "stop."

Good luck to everyone still pressing away!

I thought I would write here because today is my "fastiversary"

I've learned and accepted a lot since I started this thread. I have basically bottomed out at 130. I was a lot lower in the fall because I had a whooping cough like illness and after a few months I realize just how much of my extra weight loss was due to that.

But here's the sum of my year:
-Down to ~130-132 from an absolute low of 142 (but I was usually 150-160 except in the summer when I ran a lot).
-Running 1 hour on most non-fast days helps keep me feeling skinnier. I get flabbier and more bloated feeling if I'm not running, but generally am the same size and a similar weight no matter what.
-Fast days are still really hard, and I usually go over 500 calories. On non-fast days I pig out A LOT. So I am not the model citizen, but this system works pretty well for me. I'm not too strict at either end.
-Finally feel secure that I can commit to a pants/dress size after a year of doing this . I kept wondering if I would gain or lose, but I've been pretty stable since before Christmas. And was stable before my illness.

Good luck to everyone!