The FastDay Forum

I have been doing 4:3 for just over six months and am getting close to my goal weight of 63 kg (not quite 140 pounds). I feel I need to have a maintenance plan for two reasons. 1. I’ve lost a lot of weight in the past only to quickly regain it, well within the first year after the diet. I definitely need a maintenance plan that I will stick to! 2. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’m a little worried I have gotten addicted to losing weight. For that reason, I want to commit to sticking to my initial goal wait for a while and to set an absolute lower limit for myself of 54 kg (about 120 pounds). I know that’s a long way away but I feel like I needed to say that out loud, so to speak. For now, my plan is to get to 63kg and maintain it for at least three months before I change my goal.

After hitting 63 kg my plan is to gradually switch to 6:1. I like Julieathome’s every third day eating plan. My plan is to do the every third day eating plan (perhaps with 5:2 mixed in, if social occasions make it necessary) for a month, keeping an eye on my weight. If I am maintaining, I will stick to this plan. If I am losing, I will switch to 6:1. If I have gained, I will go back to 4:3.

Once I switch to 6:1, I will keep a close eye on my weight. Given other people’s maintenance experience, I have a feeling that I’ll start gaining on 6:1. If that happens I have a vague plan to start throwing other things into the mix, like low-carb, half fasts, or eating windows.

Of course, I love running so I will keep doing that. Also I’ve been thinking of doing some light weight training in order to tone up some flab.

I am curious what people think about this, but also I just wanted to have it down in writing.

I won’t start thinking about what to do next until I have maintained 63 kg per three months. With any luck, my mom will see me at that weight at Christmas time. Her reaction will be a good gauge.

You could have written this post for me. I am nearing my initial goal weight of 95kgs, but that still leaves me in the overweight range in BMI. I am a muscled fellow, so I believe that 95 will be fine for me. This obsessiveness in losing weight will be a challenge to break, and I am considering a three to 4 week program of 1/6 to see if I can maintain. I have really stopped counting calories, as after 10 months I am rather into it.

My target weight is 91.8 just in healthy BMI range. I will try and get there by Xmas.

I will be very interested to hear how you go MaryAnn. We started around the same time and my goal weight is also 63 kg and although I'm only about 3 kg away, I'm not expecting to reach that for another couple of months, factoring in the increased number of food-related celebrations in the lead-up to Christmas. I am hoping that keeping my Monday 36-hour no-calorie fast will be enough for me to maintain but we'll see.

Congratulations on your achievement and the best of success for the future!

Hi:

I am a long way from worrying about maintenance, but given my recent experience I would think about skipping meals when appropriate. Because you now know about 'fasting', you know about skipping meals and feeling hungry once in awhile. Skipping meals, without snacking, cuts quite a few calories out of your day without too much pain. Skip them when you do not need to eat - I have found I do not need to eat quite often!

Good Luck!

Hi Mary Ann, you could have written that post for me too! I have just, today, hit my target weight of 9st 13lbs - which is around 63.5kg and I'm also terrified of transferring onto maintenance as I have spent years yo-yoing with my weight over the years. However, THIS year I changed things radically... I started running for the first time in my 50 years (which I love) and I totally overhauled my food intake. I've been low-carb for about 4 months now - just wish I could lose the sweet tooth!

Switching to maintenance is more scary to me than losing the 45lbs in the first place! Good luck to you.... keep us informed of how you get on???

Hi MaryAnn- yep, I'll be watching too!
I started around the same time as AiriR and yourself, my weight loss is a bit slower but I'm getting there.
I want to lose another 4kg which will still put me just in overweight BMI I think but I've always been a big boned gal.
I relate very much to the "fear" of maintenance having lost 20kg years ago with WW and ( gradually) put it all back on.
I won't be confident with maintenance until I've been at goal for quite a few months!
It's just great to be able to share this with so many other members and know we are all in this together.
Thanks for the thread.

It seems like there are a lot of us in the same boat. Maybe we should start maintenance club to cheer each other on. In any case, good luck to everyone!

Fear not MaryAnn, 6:1 with the occasional 16:8 chucked in for good measure, should keep you in line. I've been 2 months on that now & am thrilled to report 100% success

As with many people I weight daily & that dictates whether I pop in an extra 16:8, or transform a fast into a 16:8.

My rough plan is to fast on a Monday & Thursday is 16:8 if necessary, but I've been known to downgrade both of those as my weight was too low to require (the same as you, I don't want to go too low, it's not attractive)

This forum will help you through any sticky periods should you need it.

Just sit back, relax & enjoy

Several helpful comments, particularly from simoncoeluv. For a few years before I started 5:2 doctors recommended several small meals a day to regulate my blood glucose levels. Since I started 5:2 in April, the main difference in my eating patterns is that there is no pattern at all! I eat when I am hungry and leave food on the plate when I feel full. If is is a regular mealtime MOH eats his meal alone - I just tell him I don't feel hungry. For some reaosn I have never liked eating or drinking late in the evening and we usually eat between 7-8pm.
My weight hasn't changed in the last two months and the only exercise I do is walking to the supermarket and the fortnightly 2-3 mile walk to Lidl. I have been maintaining since June and still fast two days a week and if I overindulge one day, I cut back the next.

Your thoughts about maintenance seems reasonable enough to me, just some thoughts about the weight exercise.

The idea of "toning" at the gym is popular, but it's basically a myth. A muscle can get bigger or smaller, you can add or remove fat around it. There are no other options.

You can't make it harder or longer, and you can't choose where to get rid of the fat.

"Toning" usually means lifting many repetitions, low intensity with almost no stress to the muscle, stopping before the muscle can't perform the movement anymore. The muscle won't get much bigger or stronger, but you'll burn tiny amount of calories.

If you want to get lean some cardio is a better use of time, energy and money if you can't get used to the idea of lifting heavy things until you can't lift them anymore.

3-4 sets 8-12 repetitions until you can't do the 13th one is what works for most people, and there's no risk a woman would get too bulky from it. Most men have to work really hard to build muscles of any size, and women would have to work a lot harder.

On the other hand, just getting to the gym at all is half the battle, and it's better to do something than nothing.

There's no rush, and settling for light weights and not stressing yourself out is good for building a habit and getting used to the movements, creating a ritual and letting go of a frantic search for quick results. It's what I'm doing right now. There's always a better way to exercise, so by all means, don't let these potentially depressing facts stop you.

This article probably says it better, http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/you-hate-exercise-this-will-change-your-mind.html

I've been losing on maintenance the last 3 days and not sure why (3 lbs disappeared over the weekend - after my official weigh-in!), especially since I have been eating normally those days! I have taken ballerina's approach (8:16 on 3 days) - but I have yet to figure out the balance so I don't lose more.

I'm pretty much on maintenance now really as I'm not losing actually weight but leaning out instead.

I am getting very much fitter and muscling up as I do crossfit and Olympic lifting. The lifting is usually 3-5 sets of varying amounts of my one-rep max, depending on the programming. This stuff is really better coached as with Olympic lifting, technique is key. There is a whole debate about whether heavy lifting or light lifting is more efficacious. Regardless, some resistance work is excellent for women as it helps with bone density.

Given I'm one-generation ex-farmer, I have a propensity to bulk up though. The other girls are just getting toned! However, they are all gaining weight as muscle is denser than fat. Recognising that body composition is more important than scale weight can be an issue and measuring is helpful here.

Well, it's taken awhile, and I'm not at 63 yet but I'm in the 63s. I think I'm more or less ready to put this into action. I'm kinda fed up--not so much with fasting (though I've been doing 4:3 quite awhile) but with being numbers obsessed. As I've said elsewhere, 63 was more or less a random number. I'm at a healthy BMI, and I'm happy with how I look and feel. Now I want to focus more on exercise and toning up. So. 2:1 for awhile.

I have to start maintaining now too and your plan seem like a good one Mary Ann.. For me I have to figure out to how not gaining again. Like you I have done that before after loosing a certain amount of weight. But not this time

I have been thinking about doing 16:8 together with 6:1... Also maybe to skip meals if I have big parties..to skip the meals during the day .. But I am not sure yet what to do.. Maybe doing 16:8 all weekdays and relax a bit in the weekends

So I am very interested in reading what all you people on maintenance are planing/doing-- .

Pia

I imagine it will take some experimenting to find what works long term. It is so nice knowing, though, that if the numbers start creeping up, just have a few fast days and all will be well. I think I'm especially nervous coming off 4:3 because for a lot of weeks, I wasn't losing with that!