The FastDay Forum

Although I still have 3lbs of my festive layer to lose before I am back to where I was, in the bigger picture this is such a small amount of the weight I lost, I will answer as if I am still at maintenance...

What keeps me going is pride in myself. Knowing that I look sleek when I wear my running gear with no lumps and bumps. Being able to slide into a pair of size EIGHT jeans!!! Feeling my hip bones. Knowing that my BP, cholesterol and blood sugar levels are excellent. Going into a charity shop and heading for the tiny clothing. Experimenting with low-cal, low-carb recipes.

I guess I have a renewed vigour for life.....

I haven't actually fasted since before Christmas since I didn't gain any weight and find my normal routine of no brekkie then 16:8 keeps me at maintenance whilst still hopefully getting the health benefits.
Staying slim for me is a no-brainer as I just feel so much better about myself. Knowing I can wear clothes without worrying about a spare tyre showing is a great incentive and also going to the gym and doing several classes a week means I can still eat well and probably over my TDEE on many days.
Gaining weight would make me miserable and cross with myself. I only have one body and one life so up it's up to me to make the most of them and look after myself!

Staying slim for me is a no-brainer as I just feel so much better about myself. Knowing I can wear clothes without worrying about a spare tyre showing is a great incentive

Oh how I envy you, not having to worry about a spare tyre, if I weighed 3 st I would just be a spare tyre on stilts! I am NEVER going to get rid of it........sigh.........oh well.......must be grateful for what I have..............a fat stomach is nothing to be grateful for.

Ballerina x

What is there that's positive and can keep us on the straight and narrow? What do you do to celebrate and motivate your maintenance?

I suppose we could work out how much weight we might otherwise be gaining and celebrate each chunk we don't put back on?

Yes, I am planning to do that each month, following the tip from PJ-K

Would it be helpful for me to work something into the tracker to congratulate maintainers?

Yes please! At the least, could you divide weight lost by weeks between start and maintenance, so that it stays a constant? I was never bothered about my slow rate of loss, but still find it strangely disappointing that when I enter another week of successful maintenance, the only response is to show me a slower rate of weight loss. If it also gave me a big "Congratulations! that's X weeks of maintaining! that's Y pounds you haven't put on!" that would be nice too.

But if the tracker stays as is, that and this forum is a huge part of my motivation to maintain, so thank you everyone and please keep it going! I admire the other maintainers who have posted who can find other rewards, but I think for me, with a lifetime of yo-yo diets behind me, maintenance needs external support. For now. I look forward to one day finding it automatic, but I don't count on that happening for years at least.

Thanks!

While losing weight and approaching my goal I really expected maintanance to be like a hard and fast cutover to a new behaviour but as it turns out it hasn't been the case. I continue to do 2 fast days a week and my weight is relatively stable now 169-174 lbs. My motivation, what keeps me going is simply the thought of keeping good health for life. The measurable gains have all been achieved now.

Today's results will definitely keep me going. Yesterday was my first fast in two weeks. Other life interfered with fasting and exercise so I put on 4 pounds over the 2 weeks. It's not a lot but as a percentage of my weight loss it's almost a third!

Today my morning weight was right back to my goal weight

The ease of keeping where I want to be will do it for me.

At the least, could you divide weight lost by weeks between start and maintenance, so that it stays a constant? I was never bothered about my slow rate of loss, but still find it strangely disappointing that when I enter another week of successful maintenance, the only response is to show me a slower rate of weight loss. If it also gave me a big "Congratulations! that's X weeks of maintaining! that's Y pounds you haven't put on!" that would be nice too.

I think this would help me too.

I have mentioned in other threads that I intend to fast at least one day a week for several reasons: maintaining (duh), health benefits, enjoying my food more the day after a fast (that feeling tends to last only one day), and to support my partner in his weight loss goals. The latter will probably be my most motivational factor this year, if only he would go on the scales and I could set up a profile for him on the progress tracker!

The focus for me will be on toning this year. Harder to measure but I hope that my bodyfat percentage will continue to drop. Not an easy one to measure regularly so that will have to be a 3-6 month goal. Also, the moment I see anything above 69.9kg on the scale on Thursday morning, my 'old' second fast of the week day, I'll do another fast day as it's Progress Tracker entry day on Friday. That tracker will hopefully keep me on the straight and narrow.

What is there that's positive and can keep us on the straight and narrow? What do you do to celebrate and motivate your maintenance?

I suppose we could work out how much weight we might otherwise be gaining and celebrate each chunk we don't put back on?

Yes, I am planning to do that each month, following the tip from PJ-K

Would it be helpful for me to work something into the tracker to congratulate maintainers?

Yes please! At the least, could you divide weight lost by weeks between start and maintenance, so that it stays a constant? I was never bothered about my slow rate of loss, but still find it strangely disappointing that when I enter another week of successful maintenance, the only response is to show me a slower rate of weight loss. If it also gave me a big "Congratulations! that's X weeks of maintaining! that's Y pounds you haven't put on!" that would be nice too.

But if the tracker stays as is, that and this forum is a huge part of my motivation to maintain, so thank you everyone and please keep it going! I admire the other maintainers who have posted who can find other rewards, but I think for me, with a lifetime of yo-yo diets behind me, maintenance needs external support. For now. I look forward to one day finding it automatic, but I don't count on that happening for years at least.

Thanks!

I must confess, @Moogie, that I find some of these ideas, like Kentishlass's and P-JK's, really hard to wrap my brain around. "that's Y pounds you haven't put on" just doesn't seem to make sense for all of us. I haven't been steadily gaining weight for decades, I've just been 10 to 15 pounds over my ideal weight for decades (and 20 pounds over my ideal weight in the recent past). If I stopped maintaining (not a chance!!), I wouldn't just start gaining .5 - .6 pound/week and continue endlessly.

I understand that we're all different, of course.

The tracker does tell me how many calories to consume to continue losing, even though it knows I'm maintaining. So obviously if you could change that, it would be great. It would be fun if it said "Congratulations, that's x weeks of maintaining." Perhaps we could input the weight range we consider acceptable. So in my case if my inputted weight was anywhere in a 4 pound spread - 2 below to 2 above my target (and current) weight, it would congratulate me. If I was more than 2 pounds over, no congratulations are in order.. If I was more than 2 pounds under, you could probably knock me over with a feather

Thanks for all that you do, Moogie, and for whatever you do to improve the tracker, which is already a very useful tool. Remember that I'm also the annoying one lobbying for an option to use the "New BMI Calculator" in the tracker, which is only going to be positive for the tall people - using it will make getting to an "ideal" weight harder for the short folk. But to me it just feels a bit more honest. My "standard" BMI is now 20.6, and my "new" BMI is now 21.9, so not a huge, but a significant, difference. If incorporating this change is impossible or simply too much work to be worth it, I quite understand.

This forum keeps me going!

I did lose a lot of weight 3-4 years ago and then put it all on again so that is something I really want to avoid this time.

I've been naughty and treated myself to quite a few new clothes and managed to find quite a few clothes "from last time I was slim" that I can now wear. I can't really afford to replace them all if I were to put the weight on again (all the larger sizes have gone to the charity shop). Some days though I do reach for a loose fit item rather than the closer fitting stuff I have been getting (to show off a bit! )as I sometimes do have a bit of spare tyre still.

I'm still doing 4:3 but eating more calories on the fast days. I measure my waist almost daily too so that I know if I need to cut back a bit.

I feel so much healthier since following this way of eating and it is easy for me to stick to so that's how I manage to maintain.

I reached my goal just before Christmas, even am a little low so have to gain a tiny bit but the work is far from done. Now I have to tone that up, help my skin to repair itself and that will take another year, at least... I am not for celebrating as I want the maintenance to be natural as I plan to do it for the rest of my life.

Now what keeps me going ? I never was a big eater however it's even worse now. If I take the example of Sunday's lunch, the raclette we had (melted cheese, delicatessen and potatoes)I love it but can't stand it anymore. I didn't eat a lot of it but felt like crap the rest of the day. The fasts are not to lose weight anymore but to keep a balance, for me.

One of the big reward for me was to be able to wear my famous leather jacket plus some clothes I didn't wear for sometimes 25 years... Oh and a nighty that nobody would have believed I could wear it someday. When I put it next to the one I wore 1 year ago, the contrast is astonishing, 4 sizes down.......

For now here are my weeks
1 "real" fast
1 1000 cal fast
2 normal days with breakfast, lunch, dinner
2 18:6 days
and as far as Sunday is concerned, it depends of what I had for lunch

I've been maintaining since March 2013 and have never gone more than 2kgs over my ideal weight - 9 stone. If I have then I do 5:2 for a few weeks to get down. Usually I do 6:1 with another half fast chucked in. But I'm more aware of what I can and can't eat to keep my weight under control so if I don't fast one week it isn't the end of the world.
I weigh myself every day to keep an eye on things.
My aim now is to stay very fit, complete a 10km in under 45 mins (my PB so far is 46)plus do a good time (under 1 hour 45mins) in a half marathon and in order to do that I need to keep the weight off.
I have a fitbit one which has been very helpful in keeping me active.
As well as keeping fit, other motivations are:-
I can't afford to buy new clothes
I love being slim (size 8 - 10)
I want to be a good example to my children (12 & 6)and be young and fit enough to enjoy them even though I'm 48
It isn't cool to be an overweight woman in France!(I've never been overweight but was a BMI of 23 which was too high for my narrow build ).
See you here soon Moogie!

At the least, could you divide weight lost by weeks between start and maintenance, so that it stays a constant? I was never bothered about my slow rate of loss, but still find it strangely disappointing that when I enter another week of successful maintenance, the only response is to show me a slower rate of weight loss. Thanks!

I agree with @kentishlass and @Wmr309 that I, too, have found this aspect of the tracker disappointing, although it is not the reason for my regaining quite a few pound since October!

I don't, however, need to have information on how much I haven't gained, though some method of showing successful maintenance might be helpful?

I am still to work out how to maintain, having done quite well between July and October and then piled weight back on until three weeks ago, so I'm probably not the best person to make suggestions!

I'm sure that whatever you do @Moogiewill be brilliant and I'm also sure that both you and @caroreeswhile be shining examples to us when your become 'maintaineers'! (I don't know who first used that term but I think it's brilliant !)

Ooh I've not been on here for ages! The place has grown so much! Well done Moogie!
I've been maintaining but then really went astray over December and gained about 6lb. But I've lost it again and got my 5:2 mojo back.
For me personally weighing weekly to keep an eye on myself is very important as I'm guilty of sticking my head in the sand if I've had a bad week. This is the third time I've got to target then gained a few lbs and I now realise that 6:1 doesn't work for me maintanece wise. I need to stick to 5:2 if I want to maintain so that's what I'm going to do.
I've also decided to lower my target to give me a few pounds grace, I feel good @133lbs, I don't feel god even 2lbs heavier so I'm aiming for 130lbs now and my motivation will be to see the scales somewhere between these two figures.
You may also find that as you've been doing this for a year or more, you actually feel the need to fast,Just as you do when trying to lose. I always look forward to Monday fasts but the second one of the week has proved harder on maintenance.

Good luck Moogie, sorry you having a crap time of it x

I've been maintaining since July 2013, after losing 22 lb in 4 months. I've been maintaining at around 129 lbs, BMI 20.8, which is about 3 lbs above my lowest weight during my actively 5:2ing. I weigh myself every morning (which is key for me) and if I'm getting too close to 130 lbs., I do a reduced calorie day (or 2), but it really hasn't been often. I think that is because while on the diet I learned to deal with hunger pangs and get over bad snacking habits and I figured out what my natural TDEE is (I have no idea what the actual number is, but I know when I've over-done it). I kept a daily food log with calorie counting while on the diet and I still occasionally review my day and add things up, just to remind myself of the calorie cost of my favorite foods. It also helps to have had menus planned out for various calorie ranges to go back too. I think that those of you who have been practicing this regimen so much longer than I did won't have a problem maintaining because you have disciplined yourselves so well. I come back to the forum only occasionally, but I do it to remind myself that there are so many people out there dealing with the fasting regimen (and many are enjoying it), and if you guys can keep doing it, I can sacrifice a few hundred calories now and again, too. I do plan to re-challenge myself in the Spring with 6:1 or 5:2 for a few weeks to get a bigger buffer and because I liked the challenge and the discipline.

I'm hoping to reach maintenance sometime this year (though I'm in no hurry to shift the last of this weight, I could probably do so more quickly if I really wanted to!), I was thinking about this prospect and wondering what helps everyone keep going, not just with fasting but maintaining weight in general?

When we're losing weight we have all our mini goals to celebrate - that kilo that came off, that half stone or stone, reaching a 'new' number on the scales, finding you fit a smaller size in clothes - so many things to spur us on and keep us motivated to lose the weight. These are all really positive things and make us feel good.

When it comes to maintenance it's all to easy to let things slide and end up putting on again - I'd like to think that we're all firm enough believers in fasting to find a method which fits our lives and keeps us in the right weight bracket, but without all our little achievements to encourage us, what positives are there to keep us going?

Perhaps it's just because I'm having a bit of a tough time in life at the moment (delays with the house move, very poorly cat who I love dearly and can't imagine losing but am facing that prospect every day, husband's job on the line...) I'm struggling to think of what positives there will be to look forward to when maintaining, besides the obvious things like still being able to fit smaller clothes, still seeing the same number on the scales.

Surely what keeps us going then are the potential negatives - fear of the numbers going up, not wanting to be bulging out of those lovely new clothes, not wanting to appear to be a failure.

What is there that's positive and can keep us on the straight and narrow? What do you do to celebrate and motivate your maintenance?

I suppose we could work out how much weight we might otherwise be gaining and celebrate each chunk we don't put back on? Regular rewards for ourselves ("I didn't gain anything this month so I'll treat myself to some jewellery" or maybe "I didn't gain anything, so I'll put some money in the pot towards something I'm saving for")? Accountability to our friends here to help us feel we've continued to be successful? It's nice to still feel like there's a 'goal' of sorts in mind, something to work towards.

Would it be helpful for me to work something into the tracker to congratulate maintainers? (yes, this could be tricky to set up, but I like challenge) - and what sort of things would make you feel good in this respect?

This is all stuff I hadn't given much thought to before, but as maintenance becomes ever nearer for me I realise just how many are now in the same boat and may need encouragement/motivation to keep going. I'm sure your suggestions can help motivate other maintainers too!

Thanks all

I've discovered maintenance is more challenging than weight loss- there's definitely a loss of motivation after you stop seeing the scale move down and you're no longer buying smaller clothes, getting compliments etc.

I did get a bit lazy after I made the transition and got away from IF-thought I could just do straight calorie counting and be good. Didn't factor in how tedious that method is So here I am, back at IF for maintenance and loving it!

One thing I've read (several times), is that successful maintainers are always working towards new goals-just not weight ones anymore. We need to get out of the mindset that we were on a diet and it has an end date. Instead, we should look at it as weight loss was just one part of the big picture, and now it's time to move on and focus on something else that will have a positive impact on us (and help us in maintenance). Examples are focusing on exercise, picking up a sport or new hobby that's diet/fitness orientated etc.

For me-I'm focusing on strength training right now (as well as coming back to IF and incorporating repair days into my week). I'm also planning on riding my bike this summer, (first time in years!), and would like to start taking my kid's bike riding on the big trail system by our house twice a week (making full days out of it). I've also decided for next winter I'm going to walk the trails with snow shoes (have already requested them for my birthday, in September ). Cross country skiing is on my 'to do' list as well.

Having goals that keep us focused, as well as doing something to keep calories in check (IF), is going to go a long way in helping us succeed at this!