The FastDay Forum

Susan - I think she thinks that her current weight will be as far as she wants to go - and even at that she needs a whole new wardrobe of clothes! We are on holiday next week, meals included, and it will be interesting to see what happens to both of our weights if we just eat sensibly rather than fasting. I am tempted to have a go at eating meat again after 25 years as a fish-eating veggie, especially as someone else will be cooking it, and see if that makes an improvement in the way I currently feel. I suspect I have overshot my ideal weight by 4 pounds, I think Deb would be OK with another 4 pounds off...

Sounds like you've made the right decision there Susan - Maintenance of 6:1 sounds a good plan from all of the above. Good luck, hope it goes well

@Pete, I hope you and your wife have a great holiday. Suchard007 I'll post on how the 6:1 maintenance goes - I hope it is enough to keep my weight stable!

That's the thing tho, weight gain/lost is a homeostatic process so you'll need to think in terms of a range with an upper & lower limit and adjust as and when necessary.

You're right BBT053, I'll keep an eye on things and revert to 5:2 as and when necessary. Something like minimum 56kgs max 60kgs.

Hi Susan,

I often think that height/weight comparisons can be very misleading. I am 5ft 5in and now weigh 8st 7lbs which is very comfortable for me and I look quite slim but, and this is a big but, (no pun intended) I only have size 4 feet and very slim arms and legs and wear a dress size 10 so someone of my height with, for instance, size 8 feet and heftier limbs but still the same dress size would obviously weigh more and have a higher BMI. It is such a complex issue and certainly not a one size fits all (yet again, no pun etc.) so go with however you feel and if you like how you look ignore the jealous naysayers. You sound too level headed to not be able to judge for yourself, trust yourself and good luck,

Ballerina x

Hi Ballerina
Yes, the skeleton size counts for a lot too - I think I have a small frame so don't look too gaunt. But at 47 my skin isn't as tight as it used to be so I need to work on toning up a little!

It's a difficult one isn't it! I'm still in two minds really - got a friend of the same height who is happiest at 9.5 stone, but I'm starting to think I'd look really gaunt and with my bones sticking out at that weight, and I realise that she's more of a straight up and down body shape whereas I'm more curvy. As I've always been slim round my waist and ribs I've not had a lot to lose from there, so my ribs are more visible and my hip bones are starting to stick out just a teensy little bit. But like you, I still feel like there's excess pounds to go from my thighs.

I'm thinking it's getting to the point for me though that it's going to be more about increasing my exercise and toning now. Cycling, running, continuing walking and hubby's now trying to rope me into joining him swimming (he's training for a triathlon with a view to an Ironman next year, but I won't be going that far!)

Keep us posted on how you get on x

Sounds like we are in the same boat, shrinkingrose;)
When your ribs and hipbones start sticking out it can be a little worrying. We'll have to compare notes! Having read another post on another thread, I might keep 2 fast days (just for the discipline) but increase the calorie allowance in the evening. I will be running more often now it is lighter in the mornings, and am going to start tummy and leg exercises too, so hopefully that will take care of the remaining 'wobbles'. But at my age (47) without any plastic surgery or liposuction I think it is best to be careful about how far you go with weight loss.
I look forward to hearing how you get on too!

Good to read your maintenance experiences...have also reached my goal which many people tell me is too gaunt looking. Nevertheless I have a lot of physical stamina and am swimming as well as ever. I want to continue 5:2 for the brain benefits and cell repair--surely need that at 57. I am concerned-- despite my wildly intense athletic activity-- that I have managed to lose muscle as a result of the dieting regime--something that was not supposed to happen. Am now supplementing workouts with hemp protein (since I'm vegan). Will see if that helps--I don't want to lose any more poundage at this point though I would like to see a little bit redistributed, haha.

Congratulations tompan on reaching your weight target, and welcome as a 'maintainer'! Maybe you have been over-ambitious about your waist target (at least as shown on your Progress Chart) - you are already well below the 0.5 waist:height ratio so no cause for concern there.

What makes you think you have lost muscle through 5:2? Based (I think) on the research of Dr Krista Varady we have tended to assume that ADF (and by extension 5:2) is pretty good at focusing the weight loss on fat, and if you have been maintaining a good exercise regime (unlike some of us ) that should be ever truer. Dr Mosley said that up to 90% of weight loss with 5:2 could be fat.

I guess, given your WHtR, that you may have already run out of fat around your middle (viscera) and be left with only subcutaneous fat (a natural 'pear'), and - if you are right about losing muscle - maybe your body is choosing to break down muscle rather than lose this fat. Strange though. Another reason could be shortage of vital amino acids in your diet - body then has to break down tissue to obtain them. I guess this is a risk on a vegan diet, though I am sure you must know more about it than me? Just ideas...

What makes you think you have lost muscle through 5:2?

Another reason could be shortage of vital amino acids in your diet - body then has to break down tissue to obtain them. I guess this is a risk on a vegan diet, though I am sure you must know more about it than me? Just ideas...

Thanks for your input and thoughts Dominic. Just appears (visually) that I am losing muscle mass...it may actually be fat I suppose. Hard to tell. In connection to amino acids, I am pretty careful to get a variety of high quality protein (hempseed protein for example is easily digestible and a source of all the amino acids).

My trainer at the gym has told me he thought I could get down to a BMI of 19 but from the way things are looking now, I think that would be too extreme for me. I wish I could get one of the MRIs to make sure all the visceral/organ fat was gone...the really dangerous variety that we saw on Mosley's video.

I wish I could get one of the MRIs to make sure all the visceral/organ fat was gone...the really dangerous variety that we saw on Mosley's video...........

Hi Tompan, funnily enough I was thinking just yesterday that I would also love to have one of those done as I'm sure I still have a bucketful of this stuff clinging to my middle like grim death, oh, that was perhaps not the best choice of words, but nevertheless, it is still sitting there laughing at all my efforts to dump it, it just seems to be so attached to me!

Ballerina x

Very interesting thread. I have been wondering and pondering the correct weight for different body types. eg the small/med/large frame. My question is, rather than guessing, how do we truly know what our frame is. I have hands like a couple of hams and largish/wide feet (sounding very attractive LOL) and I have always assumed I am large frame because of this. I know that if I get to 59kg as I did a few years back - I'm 5' 4" or 163cm - that my BMI will be around 22, however I was so scrawny on my chest area - bony - wouldn't want to lose anymore than that. I think that maybe we want to lose weight from the areas that we don't lose it from. So is there a way to measure or something to see what size frame you are?

There was a thread on this subject a little while ago GMH
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4557&hilit=body+frame&start=30