Hey @Sundayslump ,
I'm 45 now, and a dress size 6.
Most of my late teens and 20's i was probably a size 10. And then I spent most of my 30's and early 40's as a size 16 , ballooning up to a size 20 at periods during and after my 2 pregnancies during my mid to late 30's.
During the 14 weeks in the lead up to my 44th birthday I dropped from a size 14/16 (M&S, Hobbs, Whistles) to a size 6 (Zara/Mango/Reiss).
During those 14 weeks I dropped down to a single meal a day. I was very fortunate at the time to be working somewhere with a heavily subsidised lunch. So I ate at work, the meals had a generous portion of carbs, veg, and protein, really well balanced. I didn't eat anything else all day. I ate this meal in the late afternoon/ early evening. The only liquid I consumed each day was either water or a herbal tea, I didn't limit my liquid intake.
I decided to embark on this extreme form of intermittent fasting (i.e 1 meal a day for 14 weeks) for many reasons. I knew that I didn't want to have any more children, so I didn't need to be concerned about: trying to conceive, future pregnancy weight gain either during or in the aftermath, or about trying to nourish a baby via breastfeeding. Additionally I wanted to be in really good shape for my forthcoming summer holiday , which was 10 months away at the time. I knew I was going to be attending multiple beach and villa parties and I wanted to look a particular way and wear certain outfits. I knew that my desk job meant that I only needed to consume a sufficient amount of energy (calories) to ensure that I could safely commute to and from work (30 minute walk each way), sit down and competently perform my desk job, and be able to maintain good relationships with my children and husband. During these 14 weeks I didn't socialise in person with friends, and I only caught up with my mum and siblings in person a handful of times. I ensured that I didn't 'waste' the precious energy that I was consuming. I was only eating a little, and so I knew that I had to conserve my energy in order to successfully complete essential tasks during this period.
I chose 14 weeks as I knew that I wanted to join a gym in the January, I.e during the promotional period when there were lots of cheap joining offers. Additionally, I knew that one meal a day would be insufficient to make any gains in the gym. I didn't want to eat into lean muscle mass. Additionally, although I found it reasonably straightforward to just consume 1x meal a day, i didn't want it to become a life-long habit, I wanted to be able to participate in and enjoy meals with friends and families. I wanted my world to be bigger than just work and home. On just 1x meal a day I couldn't really attempt to fit more into my life.
Since my 44th birthday I've been attending the gym 5 or 6 days a week. I do power lifting (i.e completing 4 or 5 sets of lifting the heaviest weight I can, for a maximum 4-6 reps in each set), I alternate between upper, and lower body compound exercises each day (eg, Bench Press, Conventional Deadlift, Military Press, Back Squat, et etc etcc). I also practise pilates 5 to 6 days a week and attend yoga and spin classes 2 to 3 times a week and swim for 45-60mins 2x a week. Since starting this gym routine I now eat 2.5 to 3 decent size protein and nutrient dense meals a day, I generally consume everything within a 4-6 hour window. As well as water and herbal tea, I may occasionally have a small glass (200ml) of Alpro's 50g protein soya milk, usually the chocolate one (maybe 3 or 4x times per week, depends where I am in my menstrual cycle). I also now will occasionally eat a bag of crisps or have a slice of chocolate cake (2x per week) . I also eat a lot of peanuts each day.
I have no idea how much I weigh or how many calories I consume each day. The only metric I track is 'how do my my clothes fit?'. I'm still a size 6, however, the difference between being 44 when i was just eating 1 meal a day (during those 14 weeks) and 45, eating multiple meals per day and exercising multiple times per week is that I now look athletic, rather than slight.
Now that I'm squarely in my mid 40's I'm going to up my Power Training. So alongside my Power Lifting, I'll also introduce Plyometric and Sprint Interval Training (SIT) into my routine - as per guidance by Dr Stacy Sims - I know that I'll likely start to experience peri-menopause symptoms sooner rather than later, and that intermittent fasting and my current exercise regime isn't going to be sufficient to maintain my size 6 figure.
Have you started to experience any peri-menopause symptoms? If you're struggling to lose belly fat that could be why - if so, you should look at Dr Stacy Sims research, advice and guidance - her interview with Steve Bartlett explains it all beautifully.
Diary of a CEO (DOAC) - Nutrition and exercise through perimenopause and menopause
https://open.spotify.com/episode/37HUAmld0cYeKak4NOCBVW?si=ID61LkgvQ9qVNCowTEY5RQW
I had my desire to be desirable, I didn't want to be the fat, funny friend anymore 😬 fueling my ability to successfully fast intermittently - i.e. pure vanity, do you have any powerful motivators which can sustain you in making wholesale changes to your diet and exercise regimen?
Now that I'm happy with my size and physique - my children tell me that I look strong 💪- I've now moved on to anti-aging i started using tretinion in January, I was told by a nurse that's known me over the past 15 years that I look like a 25 year old - 🙌 😆 - I think the combination of intermittent fasting, pilates and tretinoin is working wonders.
I think if you can successfully practice intermittent fasting and Power Training, you won't need to take any pills.