The FastDay Forum

End of the month, so time for an update. Only one fast after X-mas. Weight is nicely in the middle of maintenance range and as times are rather busy with work, I decided that 'in the middle' would be fine without fasting

This week I hovered just above my goal of 135 lbs with a high of 136 and a low of 135.5. And I haven't done a fast since Jan. 2!! I'm planning one for Monday, though, to prevent creep-up and to keep in practice.

Hope other maintainers are also doing well

Fasted today to make sure the upper limit of my maintenance range is not reached. First after single fast beginning of this year. Waiting to see the effects for the next days

Well, the results of the fast three weeks ago were there, but weight was creeping up and I saw some numbers on the scales that were actually above my upper range (though not on an official weighting day ). So needed a fast today and we are back on track. Intend to have a fast every week for a couple of weeks to get back to the lower section of the range (might need that after Easter ).

Another month gone and five weeks with one fast each. Fasts were needed to stay within the maintenance range. Again saw some numbers on the scale this weekend that I don't want to see. Regaining some muscles after training seems to keep a lot of water in my body. This weekend 66 kg, Tuesday after losing a lot of water on a fast day: 64 kg. Scales jumping up and down a lot. No need to worry though. In case of sustainable weight gain there will always be the original 5:2 plan

One more month on 6:1, fasting one day in traditional style (3 small meals a day). Finally the results are showing on the scales. With hindsight the wintermonths with a lack of exercise must have resulted in a few kg loss in muscles (and about the same amount of gain in fat). After resuming normal exercise levels the regain of muscles became visable on the scales. Two months of 6:1 must have taken care of the additional fat (after muscle weight has stabilised after a couple of months regular cycling and some running). Still keeping to 6:1 for a couple of weeks to get some summer holiday buffer

That's great @p-jk very well done. I have been a pound or two or three over my target for ages so this week I low carbed and 16:8'd for 3 days. Lost 1lb and am now bang on target. Am having a wey hey weekend so I expect to bounce up agin by Monday. No matter, I will do it all again next week. So much easier now that salad days are here again. I am also hoping for a summer holiday buffer.

Moving towards the end of the month again. Third consecutive month on 6:1 with good results. Official weight 62.5, so near to the bottom of the maintenance range. Let the real summer begin

I have been fasting now for a month twice a week but with a higher calorie intake--600 vs 435 calories a day, with all solid food eaten at dinner. My weight is not rising any more, but this last week I once again found myself eating too much on non-fast days. I had the munchies all day yesterday and found that very disturbing.

No easy solution here, alas. I don't want to get into a fast/binge cycle again, which is what happened before I took my 2 month break from fasting.

I am not sure what to try next. <sigh>

Hi @peebles, not easy to give some sensible ideas, as my main lesson is that things work (or not) in very different ways. One of the main things is that you need to feel comfortable with what you do in order for it to be sustainble. If 'fasting' at 600 cals or a bit more is part of that, you could try that for some extended time. In my experience eating 'what your body needs' on nonfast days is also really needed for sustainability. If that means you stabilize on a level higher than you would prefer, perhaps that might be something that becomes a 'fact of life'. I am aware that I say this in a position of someone lucky enough not to be in such a position, but can not think of something different right now.
Just keep on trying and all the best

P-JK,

Some of what I'm dealing with probably has to do with metabolic changes that occur as we age. When I was in my 30s and 40s it was so easy to lose weight that I used to wonder why anyone had trouble doing it. I could maintain a very reasonable weight eating just about anything I wanted and then once a year or so I'd go on a diet for a month where I stopped eating bread, potatoes and dessert.

Fast forward 30-40 years and it is like having an entirely different body. Compared to what I used to eat in my 30s I am eating almost nothing, but it is so much harder even to maintain. It's like every cell of my body has decided I need to be fat. <sigh> If I listened to my body, I'd be a whale.

There is zero research into dieting for older women. For that matter, there is almost no research into dieting for women, period. They are now included in research unlike the case a few decades ago, but their results are rarely broken out an analyzed separately. Mostly they are just averaged in with men.

Interesting studies (which I have read in the past but don't have at hand) have found that exercise has very little or no metabolic effect for most post-menopausal women. This was brought home to me when I recently read a book about a 67 year old woman who walked the entire 2100 mile Appalachian trail three times, and later walked the Oregon trail. She was far from thin and yet she didn't eat all that much, even on her treks.

I'm not sure what to make of it all. For me right now the point of fasting is my blood pressure control. Pills don't control it, eating this way does. So I'm kinda stuck, but not entirely happy about it.

And I'm really not happy about the enhanced eating on non-fast days which never happened when I was eating low carb for prolonged periods of time. But LC didn't control my blood pressure. <sigh>

No easy answers here!

Only one fast in July, as bottom of the range and holiday were approaching at the same time After a lot of cycling back to 62 kg, so no fast after holiday as well Blood values will be measured later this month,
Maintenance status:

No fasts this month (August) and still on 62 kg. Blood values are the same as last year, so maintaining weight with fasting (and some times even without) brings stable improvements in blood pressure, LDL chloresterole, tryglicerides and cholesterole ratio.

Well done, @P-JK, you are an example to us all!

Thanks @StowgateResident. Well there are those who manage to maintain in a steady straight line without too much effort and those who do it with some ups and downs and really have to work for it but do succeed! They are perhaps even better examples for they have to work harder to get the same result