IF, 4:3, 5:2 - Maintaining a healthy weight - Chapter 2

[Breadandwine]

This thread is for those who have been practicing IF (Intermittent Fasting) for quite a while and are now at or nearing their target healthy weight. It's also for anyone who is doing it for the health benefits alone.

How do we experience fasts and balance a stable food intake while having little or no weight to lose?

How do we ensure that this WOL keeps us at the healthy weight long term rather than revert to yoyo games?

Several of us have been stable at our goal weight for a few months, now, and others are joining all the time. Obviously, the more the merrier!

Here is the current main thread for posters practicing IF to lose weight.

There are two other associated threads:
This one, which is an absolute goldmine of Tips and Links on how to practice IF, and the research behind it.

And here is a treasure trove of 5:2 recipes, mostly low calorie for fasting days, but there are also recipes for when you want to treat yourself. And, now we're maintaining, we'll need more of these!

Thanks, BCL, socca's good stuff, eh?

I find that it gets 'harder' the longer it is cooked. When I make a pancake with it, it seems to take longer to cook than a normal pancake, so I try and get a spatula underneath the edge before it is ready. Then, when I can finally lift one side over a filling, for example, to make an 'omelette' type dish, it's approximately the texture of a proper omelette. Left to cook even longer, it gradually hardens and becomes biscuit-like.

However, if it's done thicker and baked in the oven - a la farinata - it can then be cut into 'chips' or chunks which can be used in a chilli non carne, for instance.

About biscuits using gram flour, check out this link:

www.veganbaking.net/egg-replacers/748-chickpea-flour-the-underrated-egg-replacer#.UZ_id-B8vwx

It recommends gram flour as an egg-replacer instead of flaxseeds. Will have to try it myself as I'm not keen on flaxseeds for that purpose.

Cyclist there's a whole group of posters on the main thread going down the NoS route, which might be useful for you. It has inspired me to declare that, since I find it so easy to slip into the 'zone' when I'm fasting, but so difficult when I'm not, each evening, after my dinner, which may include a sweet, should be a 'fasting zone'.

So, apart from an evening of cards with some friends, or similar, there will be no snacking after the evening meal. So far (only 1.75 days into this) so good!

Like the idea of an annual meet-up!

Here's another HUG from me, LG. One can't have too many of those, IMO! Nice to see you back!

Have a great bank holiday, folks! I'm guessing this is one Monday when no-one will be fasting!

Cheers, B&W

Morning all

I seem to have got the hang of this maintaining lark she said optimistically - still doing 5:2 with 500 cals each fast day and eating to TDEE on other days or going over if I want to eg ate out Thursday, Indian takeaway last night. My weekly deficit has come down from about 5000 to 3000 and I've steadied at about 1-3lbs under my original goal weight, so I guess that will do. It's early days, but I started off trying 6:1 with a zero fast and that led to me losing more than I wanted.

happy bank hol/half term everyone!

My current maintenance regime: 6:1 (500 cal dinner) & NoS (except I am having a small dessert after NFD dinners). No snacking has been the biggest revelation - my IBS has completely disappeared on NFDs.

Hmmm, probably should not have had that much cider with dinner last night.
And the fact that my garden is full of the noise from a pub two miles away having and "all day party" does not help

Good god I have overdone it this week on carbs and sugar, but I'm in the new house, did my final training ride before waving farewell to my bike as she gets shipped to San Francisco, now just $49 off my fundraising target and heading into my third week of single parenting!

A week of good clean healthy eating beckons...

I'm not a regular poster so excuse me for butting in, but I just found this thread and am interested to know how 6:1 is working for everyone? I find I need to skip a couple of other meals as well as having my usual Monday fast in order to keep my weight stable. But maybe I just overdo things on the other days (like chocolate!)

Anglaise
I've stayed with 5:2 - partly because DH still has weight to loose and partly because the weekday discipline leaves more freedom at the weekend.

Hi Talkinpeace, thanks for your reply. Are you maintaining with 5:2 or still losing a little weight? Or is the more freedom at weekends meaning you aren't losing now?

I hung the washing out earlier, taking advantage of the sun and wind... and as I kept reaching up to the washing line my trousers fell down Think it is maybe time I retired them! Pity though, I rather liked them and was hoping I could carry on wearing them based on the size the label said they were. Maybe I should find a belt... (And in case anyone was wondering why I hadn't noticed before, they're cropped and they've been in a cupboard all winter waiting for the sun!)

Sarah : belts are great .... use lots of them now as too mean to buy more trousers

Anglaise
My BMI us under 21 - I need to tone a LOT before I lose any more weight, and I LOVE food and booze so 5:2 keeps me slim and happy. Result.

TiP: might have to go belt shopping then! I do have a couple of pairs of summer trousers I kept from years ago and will probably fit into again now so not totally desperate. All I need now is the nice weather to continue so I can wear them!

I love food and wine too - I also love my BMI of 19 and want to keep it like that so I think occasional weeks of 5:2 will be worth the pain;)

it was a great weekend.. lots of yum food and meals out but .. dare I get on the scales tomorrow?
But Anglaise that's why I love 5:2 , and just like like TiP and others maintaining here ,I still fast during the week so I can really enjoy my weekends if they turn out to be 'social' ones .. ill fast tomorrow and Thursday (and if its looking more on the scales than I'd like, I'll do 4:3 this week and add in Wednesday as well!)

SarahWAFOT a great comic moment . i've 're-bought' quite a few of my favourite things on ebay in smaller sizes and sold on the larger ones so cant put the weight back on now ..

everyone have a good bank Hol? (those here in the UK that is) .. I did some cycling, and lots of gardening and even got the legs out again,, ( did you have to put on your sunglasses TIP ? ) [we need a sunglasses smiley MNHQ pretty pleaase]

I've been reading back through the early threads, mainly because as i felt that I wanted to refocus on how I was doing when I started this last August and to give myself a kick up the rear to focus back on 4:3 for the last 3 weeks before my holiday (just so I can go totally gulit free while I'm away)

Anyway Ellenbrody I came across this gluten free pizza recipe that someone posted way back then .. and thought you might be interested .

Quiet around here..everyone lappingup the sun? (its tipping it down here , back to winter and i have sunburn! under me woollies ..)

I enjoyed re-reading the old threads it made me remember lots of people who dont seem to be still here , but also , some of the excitement of discovering this WOE.. But also where ive let a few things slide .

And although I am pretty happy maintaining at around 10st ( a tad over after the weekend )i've realised there are some very good reasons why I stopped losing any more weight. and i certainly have taken my foot off the pedal regarding TDEE ,especially .. so its Back to Basics for me this week..

Anyone jopining me in recomitting to BTB?

Hi laska Me !

Got on the scales at 9.8 this morning - oops! Carbs and are to blame. Have already had toast and butter for breakfast but can do a proper fast tomorrow as travelling for work.

Morning Laska, yep my 'adherence' is certainly slipping, although at least I'm still doing 2 Fasts a week.

Fasting today, but woke up with a starving hole in my stomach. Tbf probably down to the late night eating of biscuits and chocolate that were doing the rounds here last night. So not being able to get out on the bike for a couple of hours to take my mind off it, the mind games have already started . However, trying to focus on how great I'll feel tomorrow rather than what I'm not able to have today, to keep myself on track.

Have a great day all

yeah me too fo rthe carbs and Cats too much yummy breadmaking went on n our house this last weekend. The Danish Rugbrod was really nice..

But I do recommend re-reading the threads where you were new and where you were really losing.. its a great remotivator..

So far today ive managed on coffee , but just about to have my eggs for lunch . Then this evening ill be having just a bowl of h/m vegetable hot n sour soup ,i think i stil have some of those zero cal noodles left also ..

Come on cyclistist you're not scared of getting out on your bike in the rain surely? .though i know what you mean , im planning on either running or Evil Jillian this evening unless this wind and rain lets up . I dont so mind running in the wet, but somehow cycling isnt quite so enjoyable.

hey all, congrats on moving americas I've been packing with my mum for the past 4 days, and it's been biscuits, bread and all the way. not going anywhere near the scales!

I've packed 50 boxes, but still about 50 to go. bf arrives tonight so rather than full on fasting this week, i'm doing 3 days of half fasting, no food daytime and then a normal overindulgent evening meal.

I'm kind of with you laska but going to delay being with you til after the move.

cyclist i'm up for a meet, but as I'll be coming back to london from up north, would prefer a fri/sat/sun meet. Also be good to delay til ssept when americas is back?

have a good week all

Hi maintenance ladies,

I wish I was joining you, I have lost a stone already but still have a stone to go.

I have hit a plateau the last 4 weeks and bounced around the same weight.

I am after some tips/inspiration/reassurance on how to get things moving again? Many thanks in advance.

monster don't know if this will help but when I had a long plateau I moved to 4:3 which then started the weight loss again. Another time I found that I wasn't eating enough and stalled again so I just indulged a little more and lost again.
Some people up their exercise or change their fasting days and find this helps too.
There is another theory which is that after a significant weight loss (which a stone is) the body has to re-adjust and stops loosing for a while before letting go of the weight again and that this is quite natural.
So if you like you could try some of the above or just wait until your body is ready to lose again.
Good luck

Thanks virgin really didn't think of it like that at all. Your right it is a fairly substantial amount.

I have done 4:3 the last couple of weeks and still no joy. I might reside to 5:2 again see if my body will begin loosing again. As I think I may have been guilty of eating too little in frustration.

Fresh approach this week, thank you!

Hello all. Busy, fun, food-filled Bank Holiday weekend. This half term week we're at my MIL's which = more food. So no fasting this week (though will try to skip breakfast and not snack between meals).

monster when I had my mega long (four month!) plateau last year I still had 2.5 stones to goal weight but for some reason I just continued doing what I was doing and I eventually lost 2 lbs (ha!) and over Christmas no less. No idea what happened to shift the weight as my diet was the same. And it didn't stress me out a) because I only weighed monthly then and b) I had already lost loads of weight and was very contented being the weight I had stalled at. Then I had a three week stall just before I reached goal weight and again I just did nothing - kept doing 5:2, nothing different and in the fourth week I started losing again.

Sorry not to be much help but in my experience patience and consistency has been key.

monster I've just read virgin's response and it's obvious in my case that by waiting it out I was giving my body a chance to get used to its new size/a re-adjustment period.