The FastDay Forum

Welcome to maintenance and good luck to you both

As you will see in the maintenance section, people are tackling maintenance in many different ways and you will need to experiment to find out what works for you. I found the first few weeks of maintenance quite strange as I had no goal to aim for. It did get easier but whatever you do I would recommend weighing yourself every day and taking action if your weight starts to creep up.

I would second winsinger123's advice to weigh yourself regularly. I reached my target weight in early July and maintained, within my 2lb buffer weight, until early October - when life got in the way and I stopped weighing (and fasting) until November. I am now back to 5: 2 in order to lose the extra nine pounds that I put on! I have managed to get rid of all but three and a half pounds of that, so am on track to be back to my target weight before Christmas.

I just thought that I would share this to remind those on maintenance that it's important not to take your eye of the scales or to forget why you put weight on in the first place! In my case - sheer greed and overeating! I'm sure that this WOE will allow me to stop being the yo-yo dieter which I have been for years but I need to play my part too by monitoring how I am doing!
Good luck to all those on maintenance and those still heading towards that goal!

Daily weighing is definitely part of my plan (even though I tend to get numbers obsessed), but it's good to be reminded of how important it is.

Perhaps predictably, a BIG weekend has sent me well out of my target region. That's what I get for being excited about seeing the magic number once and thinking it meant something. I really should know better by now (well, I do, but I can't help getting excited). I suspect I'll be doing 4:3 until Xmas. I'm not stressed, though… I'm trying to be a bit more logical about it…

[edit to add: I have been having this problem lately: whenever I eat a big meal--not an unreasonable meal, just a big meal--I get intense stomach cramps that can last (intermittently) for several days, often accompanied by nausea. It's pretty extreme. I should probably see a doctor. Saturday night, though, I was being so careful. We ate at my favorite Thai place, where I just cannot resist the tom kha soup, so I went for a really light main dish. All was well. Later in the evening, after lots (but not too much) wine, I got the serious munchies and had silly amounts of cheese and guacamole and chips! The reason I'm writing this, though, is that the most surprising thing is that I didn't get a tummy ache. I guess the next most surprising thing is that it happened at all because I haven't really had an overeating melt down like that in a very long time.]

Hi Mary Ann. Congratulations on reaching maintenance. I'm there and I'm still not sure what my procedure will be going forward. I arrived at my goal and then passed it without knowing because I didn't have access to my scale for about 2 and 1/2 months while we were living in our RV and rehabbing our house. I just figured I'd carry on as I had before until the scale resurfaced. The last 2 weeks as we finished and moved back in were intense and involved at least 1 meal per day of takeout (fish& chips, burgers & fries, Mexican, Pizza, Chinese). I just hoped for the best and, as usual, gave my ravenous husband half of my meals as one large portion didn't cut it for him.
When I was able to weigh myself, I found I had passed up my goal by 4 lbs. That number has stayed there through Thanksgiving and everything even though I haven't been fasting. So, I'm figuring I'd better take that as my new goal/maintenance weight and see what works to keep it there. It's a nice problem to have.
I think my plan will be to do 5.5/1.5 and see how that works along with just eating clean and somewhat lo carb which seems to suit me anyway.

It must have been nice to have a break from the scales (though sounds like a hectic time!). And your plan sounds like a good one. Good luck! The great thing is that we can always do an extra fast or two whenever we need it! I'm totally loving this WOE

Well, I'm failing at maintenance so far, but that's what I get for hitting goal on Dec. 17. Instead of panicking and beating myself up about it, I'm trying to relax, do a week or two of 4:3 to get back to where I want to be, then put my maintenance plan into action.

Also, it's a good time to reassess where I am, besides a number on a scale. My big concern right now is body fat %. Even though my w:h ratio is good, I'd like to get that number down. I have a lot of loose skin after losing so much and not having youthful, bounce-back-into-place skin. Plus, strength training is recommended for runners, so there's three good reasons to start a weight program at the gym. I have a friend, a PhD student here, who is qualified as a personal trainer who is going to help me, since I've literally no idea what I'm doing (the internet has SO much information, it's left me exhausted and confused). I'm insisting on paying her.

Another goal that I had when I started IF last March was to reduce processed food, and to generally eat healthier. Between March and about August, this was going very well. First mostly because I was overbuying for fast days, so eating a lot of that really good food (mostly fresh produce) on non-fast days. Then it became a bit of a habit. Then I made a trip to Switzerland and the UK, and ate way too much not-so-healthy food. At least it wasn't processed junk, but it was too much rich food every day. I haven't really gotten completely back to my healthy ways since then. I'd really like to get a handle on that because I think it will be the key to maintenance.

The main processed food I have left in my life is Coke Zero/Diet Coke. I had cut it down to one a day, which was a miracle for me, but since August, I've been slipping. So I want to work on getting it back to one a day or quitting altogether. I don't think I'm drinking as much plain water as when I started IF, so whenever I think of getting a coke, I get plain water instead.

Anyway… sorry for the long, boring update. I felt I needed to write some of that down.

Hi Mary Ann - being new to maintenance myself, I'm reading your progress with interest.

I'm thinking you're doing really well! Getting through Christmas/new year with some gain sounds pretty reasonable, and your ability to reflect and see exactly the areas you want to tweak to stay on track shows how much control you have over where you are. Failure in maintenance, for me in the past, has always occurred with a slippery slope and my head in the sand.

Like you, I enjoy a coke zero a day - I'm also filling a huge water jug each morning to give me a visual reminder to keep the water going in.

Good luck with the resistance work, I'm sure it will enhance your enjoyment of running and help with the toning your hoping for. Just feeling stronger in yourself is a real boost.

Hi Mary Ann. Another case of 'me too'. I thought I'd entered maintenance phase before Christmas but added a kilogram during that week so changed my project tracker again to 'aiming to lose weight'. However, yesterday I changed it back again as I am back to 69kg. Bit of yoyo but all within a small range. I am weighing everyday and add data to progress tracker each Friday (and on Tuesday after my Monday fast if another low has been reached). I drink lots of water and herbal tea, and avoid refined carbs on most days, so that should be sustainable. I have a personal training session once a week and do another two gym sessions (based on HIIT principles) myself. I'm hoping to be able to stick with 6:1 but keep Thursday in mind if weight goes up too much. Good luck!

Great to hear how you are getting on @Maryann.

It was unfortunate that you hit target just before Christmas but your positive attitude to dealing with the result of the festive season is the right way to go. You may have seen my monthly update post - I too gained weight and am back to fasting for a while.

Good luck to all of us in maintenance who are now trying to shift the seasonal gains

Well, I'm failing at maintenance so far, but that's what I get for hitting goal on Dec. 17...

Anyway… sorry for the long, boring update. I felt I needed to write some of that down.

I don't think you are failing at all. You have a plan, and it will cope with Christmas every year, and all the other little bumps in the road. Not boring either - lots of good ideas.

I've taken up diet coke in the pub as an alternative to cider. Apart from cutting out those calories, I think at least it helps to have another alcoholic free day. I'm not sure I subscribe to the "artificial sweetener = poison" school of thought, but I guess in principle it is better to keep to natural foods. I sometimes instead have soda water with the merest dash of blackcurrent cordial (I ask for the bottle to dispense it myself, otherwise they put in a huge amount and make it far too sweet). Or soda water with a slice of lime if I'm really on form!

Mary Ann, I too could have written your posts, except I am still to find the right exercise for me! Last time I posted on this thread, I was trying to get back down to my target weight and, following the over-indulgences of Christmas, am still trying to do so!

As kentishlass said, you are not failing and for all of us, particularly those who are yo-yo dieters, this maintenance thing is a learning curve but with many twists and turns.

Good luck to you! I shall follow your future posts with great interest as you settle into your new phase in this WOL.

I've not even started to implement my carefully laid out plan and I'm already thinking of changing it. Part of it might be fasting fatigue: I've missed out on some social events since I got back from holiday because of this 3 day a week fasting. Part of it is reading around about what other people are doing and looking at a lot of weight training sites where they're doing 16:8.

I wonder if easing myself off 4:3 is the right answer. Maybe I should shock my body instead! I've never tried 16:8. I am a breakfast eater, usually, but I am happy with something really small for breakfast (like a soft-boiled egg). What tends to happen though, is that I get breakfast on the run or at work, and it tends to be sweet, which is just a bad start to the day. Skipping breakfast for a later feeding window would put an end to that. Then there is the Varady approach, of having the same number of fast days, but upping the calories. It seems that a few people here came to this method independently. This would allow for unexpected social events on "fast" days, which would be nice.

I already knew it would take some experimenting. I guess I'm just trying to figure out which experiment to do first.

edit to add: I have a couple of half-marathons coming up, and I am exercising a lot. I'm experimenting on the exercise front as well, throwing in some strength training (recommended for runners) and HIIT (lower impact than running, and possibly also good training to improve run times). On top of half-marathon training, I'm really trying to exchange some fat for muscle. I'm a little worried that I'll have trouble adding muscle if I do strength training on fast days (unless I time my meals better).

[carorees]

@MaryAnn if you're thinking of trying 16:8, google "leangains", there is a lot of info about weight training and fasting this way.

Mary Ann
Good luck with getting back on track! I put on a couple of kilos but 2 weeks back on 5:2 has sorted that out. Weighing every day is essential for me to keep track of everything.
I have a question - why do you say HIT is lower impact than running?
I do a lot of running, 10ks mostly and train seriously 4 times a week. For me a job at 10kms per hour isn't high interval at all. Interval training, however, is! Which is what you need to do to increase your speed and endurance.
I've just invested in a skipping rope too, for HIT training on days I don't run. It is very hard work but excellent for the heart!
Good luck with your half marathons.

I would guess that MaryAnn might be doing her HIT on a bicycle/crosstrainer-type apparatus, and that the impact would be less on her joints (but still considerable on her muscles). Certainly that his the path I am thinking of taking to save the wear on my hips... Skipping sounds like a cheap alternative, I find it really hard work!