The FastDay Forum

I'm still 1kg above where I want to be and even doing 5:2 I'm not losing:-( My BMI has gone up to 19.6 but I think it is because I'm doing so much running, 40kms a week including interval training. My clothes still fit well and my waist hasn't increased so I think the extra weight is muscle (at least I hope so!)

@Franglaise - at 40kms of running per week I wouldn't be surprised it you were building some lovely muscle, especially if you're not noticing a change around the waist.

I used to run - not any more though. I was a higher weight than I am now when I was running and I've only just fit back into the pants that I was wearing then.

I've just finishing my second fast day of the week and was pondering my maintenance journey so far as I headed home from work today .... a potential downfall area for me moving forward is the evenings of my non- fast days. Way too much eating before and after dinner. Does anyone else find this a danger zone for them? Wine, crackers, cookies, chocolate, ice cream. How do I "close the kitchen" and keep it shut? It's frustrating - all other times I'm completely fine, and then all the good work is undone in a matter of a few hours - it's so mindless, I know that, but yet I still do it... I do get through my fast days just fine, so I know I can do it. I just don't like any feeling of denial when I'm not on a fast day.

Sorry for the download, it's just so frustrating! I'd love to hear if anyone's found a good way to manage this kind of self-sabotage

Hi @Otter

I am suffering from very similar issues to you. Fast days generally ok now (after a bit of a glitch last month). On non-fast days I can relatively easily manage not eating until early afternoon, when I have a large tuna/salmon salad, fruit and a small piece of cake or similar, then generally nothing again until dinner, when I will have meat or fish and lots of veg, and some more fruit. Lots of cups of black tea plus some coffee as well.

I then roughly calculate the calories I have consumed and work out what else I can have up to my TDEE - generally some nuts and dried fruit, or cheese and biscuits for a "treat"' and almost always some chocolate... And then, like you, I find I often cannot stop going back for some more of similar, and so exceed my TDEE by 100s of cals...

I am still fasting 2 days a week, and so seem to be more or less maintaining (still early days...), but like you I would love to be able to control this over-indulging WITHOUT having to give up the chocs, cheese, biscuits etc.

I am trying to savour these foods when I have them, so as to hopefully feel more satisfied and thus not crave any more. But when I watch TV or read in the evening, it is so easy to fall back into the bad habits of pre-5:2... And I know that once one starts on the salty or sugary foods, the body/mind seems to want more (for those biological/chemical reasons that others explain so well).

Keeping one's hands busy can help - so typing this post is keeping me from eating (tho it is a fast day, so my resolve is better??).

Time to stop - a MM doco has just come on so I must watch.

Will return to this later!

My appetite has completely suppressed through fasting so I don't (so far) have the problem of over-eating as I physically cannot stomach it. In fact, I was moaning to my husband this morning about it as I'd love to over-indulge sometimes (as I am a greedy foodie). It will be interesting to see if my appetite returns as my fasting days reduce...

I'm on a very active 5:2 thread on Mumsnet and there's a mantra amongst posters there: "The kitchen is now closed!" which is used to impose a strict rule against snacking after dinner. Another rule many posters there follow is "Absolutely no snacking in between meals!" which again obliterates pre- and post-dinner grazing. Would these "rules" help you both?

Well, I weighed in this morning - my first week maintaining - and I'm still under goal weight so I decided not to fast today. So this week has been 6:1 (I fasted 24 hours on Monday).

Still maintaineering (no change - doing 4.5 : 2.5) - though I am vaguely wanting to get down another couple of pounds so that my +/- 2lbs variations all fall below 110lbs (rather than 112lbs). Not sure whether to officially come off maintenance and back to weight-loss to lend more clout to my feeble efforts.

All the best to you maintaineers - think I might need to rope-up with some of you good folk, if you're willing, to get through this month without sliding down that slippery slope... FatDog

@Otter My downfall in the evenings on non fast days are unsalted almonds and chocolate. And if I have a glass of wine then all willpower goes out of the window! I agree @Sassy keeping your hands busy helps...when I have all my gite ironing I don't have time to snack. You could take up knitting maybe??
I think that you are right, I have built up muscle - when I run I do a lot of interval training it isn't a slow jog, and I skip on non running days which has built up other muscles. I can still see my ribs so there isn't too much fat.
I just can't face 2 fast days a week anymore as I get much hungrier than I did when I originally did 5:2 last year when I wasn't doing as much exercise.
Can I ask why you stopped running?

Thank you all. Some great comments here.

@Sassy1 - a treat "allowance" sounds like a good idea, even for a.short time until I can get this under control.

@Bssh - you're doing great! Yes, a few rules are exactly what I need. I'm eating despite feelings of discomfort from being overfull! It's just madness
Comfort eating perhaps... procrastination .... eating instead of doing chores perhaps or some strange way of rewarding myself for a long day at work.... I've been putting in very long hours at work. I think at the heart of any mindless eating is probably an emotional response of some kind.

@Fatdog - yes please, do rope up, it'll help keep me at the summit too

@Franglaise - yes, I think some activity in the evening, like knitting, would be very helpful. Also, I think cutting out wine during weekdays would be another good technique for me - as much as enjoy a glass (or two) at the end of the day, it does nothing for my willpower.
I gave away running for a few reasons - fatigued (running actually gave me energy, I was in fact 'hooked' on it) - it was more that it was the same thing for so long that I finally tired of it, also Iife got very very complicated for awhile and all my energy was going into caring for sick parents and my marriage breakdown. That all got me out of the routine of running and so I stopped altogether. Maybe I'll go back to it one day. For now I am a walker and hiker (my favourite pastime and what got me into running in the first place - I ran to train to do very tough hikes).

So, looking like I need to:
Cut weekday alcohol
Get busy
Work out a treat "allowance" and stick to it
Rope up to @FatDog
Have a strict time for 'closing the kitchen' (I read somewhere that if you clean your teeth when you 'close the kitchen' your far less likely to 'reopen' it!

Thanks again lovely Mainteneers for all that good advice!

<snip> My downfall in the evenings on non fast days are unsalted almonds and chocolate. And if I have a glass of wine then all willpower goes out of the window! <snip>

Me. Exactly. Except my almonds are salted. And dry roasted peanuts are another danger zone.

Not sure that knitting, nuts and chocolate would mix very well, and I know which would win out if I had to make a choice between them (and it wouldn't be the knitting)

I find that if I *log everything on the computer at the time of consumption*, rather than just in a note book (and I certainly don't trust simply making "mental notes"), I'm far better at restraining myself. I've many a further woeful cogitation on this topic in my recent log...

If anyone finds even a half-decent way of foiling the non-repair day splurges, I'd be affy grateful if you'd enlighten me!

Cheers, FatDog

Ed. FatDog goes to look out the crampons and icepicks for the maintaineering team - if we're all roped up we can make sure *nobody* falls xxx

I did a second fast yesterday, even though the scales showed 68.3kg. I think I am now hooked to see my weight below 69kg. I did a 4k run, seven-minute HIT exercise and some extra weights and drank my usual 3 litres of water. The scales are up this morning! Not a lot, 300 gram compared to yesterday, 600 gram compared to a week ago, but maddening anyway (as @FatDog's signature so aptly puts it). Still, it's Friday. In a moment I'll have my yoghurt with mango, blueberries and a spoonful of toasted muesli, large coffee and all will be right.

@FatDog - crampions and icepicks! That seems quite suited to the image that @P-JK posted in the January maintenance thread - all of us on the summit of Mt Fastonbury drinking schnapps and gluhwein to stay warm. (it's no wonder I am having trouble with my willpower)

The ropes I had in mind were more like ribbons - attached to a maypole - attached to us. My spring vision of the summit of Mt Fastonbury

Now I'll speak sternly here Mainteneers - I don't want to hear even one mention of pole dancing

Whenever I increase the intensity of my exercise routine I gain upwards of 5 lbs that week. It's definitely water retention in my muscles (which they need for repairing and strengthening). I betcha that's what's happening with some of you too.

The ropes I had in mind were more like ribbons - attached to a maypole - attached to us.
Now I'll speak sternly here Mainteneers - I don't want to hear even one mention of pole dancing

Nice picture. As to the pole dancing: you do seem to burn an awful lot of calories doing that

@Bssh
5lbs is a lot! I hope that is what's happening with me. I'm so hungry now, too. Never was before. Because I run/exercise every other day at least maybe my muscles are just permanently in a repair state!

Hi everyone, I'll be joining you I did ADF/5:2/16:8 for weight loss and have been in maintenance since last fall (58lbs lost yay!). I got away from IF and the weight has started creeping on-up about 2.5lbs of actual weight gain right now (not fluctuations). I've decided to go back to IF, not only to lose the bounce, but also for long term maintenance. Glad to see other maintainers here!

@kencc, those relatives sound hard to manage! I too have some relatives that equate my rejection of their food as a rejection of their love!

I've weighed in with a half-kilo loss this week, so that makes it a 6:1 for me. No fast today which, admittedly, I'm quite enjoying.

Getting a little more control on my evening munch-attacks. I think cutting out the weekday tipple is a big part of the change there. A glass of wine = no self discipline for me.

Hope all my fellow mainteneers are going well this month.