The FastDay Forum

If you weren't overweight to begin with and the weight lost is purely vainity pounds, do you still need to fast via 6:1 to maintain your weight loss? I fast three days a week right now, and to begin with I was already considered quite thin. If I were to subtract a day of fasting every week after I reached my goal until I was back to my regular diet (with a bit of extra exercise), will I be fine keeping it off, or do you need to keep with fasting in some way if you use this method to lose weight?

I wanted to lose 12 lbs, which I did in 8 weeks, fasting 2 days a week. For maintenance I've been doing a combination of things, depending on the flexibility of my schedule and how much exercise or eating out I've done. I try to stay under my TDEE on most days, I've tried going down to around 1000 Cal. 2 days a week, or I've done a regular fast day just because I felt like doing it and wanted to keep up the practice of ignoring hunger pangs. The result has been that I've lost another 5.5 pounds in about 6 weeks. I think this is because I hadn't realized I'd been eating over my TDEE before I started 5:2 and now my appetite and my snacking are both reduced. So I'd say to play it by ear and try to stay within your TDEE on a weekly basis and you might find that you want to add in a fast day now and again anyway.

For me, this was a two pronged attack, I wanted to lose weight but I also wanted to reap, if they exist, the long term health benifits. My maintenance programme involves no breakfast and no late evening nibbles so that I get at least 18 hours every day without food as it is the fasting that should provide the benifits. I do what is called 16/8, 16hours food free and an 8 hour window of opportunity where you can eat almost to your hearts desire. This will not suit everyone, but it is perfect for me. Hope this helps, and good luck,

Ballerina x

Thank you for the quick responses - I'd rather not stick to an eating window or something I'd have to focus on conciously. Earlier this year I started to eat healthier and pre-fasting was dropping weight, albiet slowly at around two pounds a month, so naturally I've been eating lower than my TDEE. If after the fasting I go back to the way of eating I had before, exercising regularly and eating at my TDEE is it likely I'll gain anything back or need to apply much thought to staying at my new weight?

I think that if fasting has retrained your appetite and made you more mindful of the cost of each thing you eat, as it has for me, then you can probably go with what feels right and not put a lot of thought into it. I did go on a 9 day vacation with no fasting, no scales and every meal out--I went up 2 lbs. over those 9 days (and I thought it would have been more), but one week of 5:2 got me right back. I get uncomfortably full now with a lot less food than before, so overeating is no fun. I still keep a food diary and weigh myself daily to be sure I am on track, but I'm sure I could stop doing that because I know now how much to eat and when to say no. Check in on the scales now and again and then, if you've gotten off track you know how to get back on.

I think it's worth fasting for one day each week after you've reached your goal for the health benefits, most of us start this WOE to lose weight but many of us notice that we have more energy or better skin condition and some have improvements in blood pressure etc. You can always eat a few extra calories on non fast days to stop yourself becoming underweight.

I lost my weight by doing alternate day IF (3-4 fasting days a week). Transitioned into maintenance a few months ago and really needed to take a break from the low calorie days-major burn out! Decided to go with 8:16 IF as my maintenance plan and it was going great, until it wasn't anymore. For the past few weeks the scale has been creeping up, even though I haven't changed anything. Finally, after seeing a two pound gain not fluctuate for a while I have to admit to myself that 8:16 IF by itself just isn't cutting it for me, for maintenance. So here I am, getting back into fasting days I need to lose the two pound gain and also have decided to lose a few more vanity pounds while I'm at it. After that I'm going to see how 6:1 goes for maintenance, or maybe 6:1 one week and 5:2 the next week?

Figuring out maintenance is a pain!

Its advice sounds counterproductive,but i always suggest meal-skipping clients which add a meal, lose a pound and it,s usually works… but is there more to the story.There is a multitude of evidence,which anecdotal and research-based,must be suggests skipping meals adds up to big problems on the weight maintenance front.A better suggest you skip breakfast and lunch,overeat at dinner and into the night,and there go any calorie savings from foregoing meals earlier in the day.