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!

www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/SID-58205A10-0DE66998/www_lidl_uk/hs.xsl/our-offers-2491.htm?action=showDetail&id=3288

And another week holding steady weight wise! That late night slice of cheese must have evaporated.
And more and more people are giving it a go.

Body analyser scales . hmmmm. I had a full body scan as part of a medical study and the numbers were miles away from what one of those machines read ....

I'd be interested in finding out my boy at percentage, and have finally bought a measuring tape so I suppose ought to check my vital stats (argh terrifying thought!)

Managed a coffee and water fast all day so really enjoyed my full on curry dinner last night with plenty of but for the first time ever also listened to my tummy not my taste buds and paid attention to my sated feelings and did not have seconds, go me!

I have Tanita all singing all dancing scales (water, bones, muscle fat), but the body fat varies from 19 to 23 depending on the time of day weighed so I'm not sure how accurate they are! The weight finction is correct, good, but I'm not convinced about the other functions.

Re. Body analyser scales: I had a dexa scan too TiP - very different result indeed.

Have a great ho;iday Laska and no more beating yourself up please.

Another week of maintaining pretty steadily at 5:1.5....still tweaking with the maintenance thing, but 6:1 doesn't quite cut it, especially when I have several big corporate entertaining-y type things (as this week).

Would love to get down another few lbs (good love Bssch ) but haven't actually been 9.3-9.5 consistently for many years - and when I did it pre-dcs it was always a massive struggle - so I'm fairly happy to sit tight at this point and just enjoy everything fitting properly. Delighted I never ditched my skinny wardrobe now.... :)

Have a great weekend everyone - I'm dealing with dc3's 3rd birthday so likely to be offline and panicking for most of the weekend! Off to ice the dinosaur cake and wrap presents for now....

I think it is a good job I ditched the skinny wardrobe, given that the last time I was this small was when I was 22, and I'm nearly 42 now I'm not sure any of it would be suitable.

Only managed 1.5 fasts this week - the very week I decided to return to proper 5:2 fasting to reduce a few more lbs. Annoyed with myself (as I like to meet all the goals I set for myself each week) but in the grand scheme of things (still at goal weight) it's no biggie. But must try harder next week as I want to lose something.

Have a great weekend all!

I think the scales will just give an initial marker - and then you can track which way things are moving measured against that.

But our old scales were pretty useless, anyway.

ATB I doubt you've much to worry about with your v.s. - if you can cycle 600 miles plus, you must be in some sort of shape!

tonight we're hoping for party central as the Supreme Court should be making their decision on marriage equality so coffe and water fasting til tonight!

That's very tantalising, ATB! Would you like to elaborate - or at least tell us what decision was made, please!

Filly have a great birthday party tomorrow - the dinosaur cake sounds yummy! Our middle GC's birthday party (10th) is coming soon - I'm hoping to contribute by helping her and her friends make some pain au chocolat as one of the activities.

I'm presently feeling no pain, even though I've fallen short of my very high standards for the first time in three weeks. I recently instituted a NES (No Evening Snacking, after the evening meal), and, for 3 weeks, I've stuck to it solidly - until tonight.

About a couple of hours ago I realised that I was coming down with a cold. As a great believer in 'Starve a fever, feed a cold', I felt I deserved a bit of supper. The question was then - sweet or savoury? Since my son had vaguely hinted he might be staying overnight, and, if he had (sadly, he didn't) we'd have gone down the pub, I thought I'd have a beer while I thought about it.

By the time I'd come to the end of the pint, I knew what I wanted to eat - a socca pancake filled with some lentil curry which I conveniently had on the stove. So I had that with a glass of wine - which I've been topping up ever since! Hence my 'Feeling no pain' comment earlier.

A year or more ago I would have felt guilty about this hedonistic lapse - but you know what? Nowadays, I couldn't give a toss care less!

About my cold. I had a threatened cold a couple of months ago, but it never developed. I wondered idly if this was because of IF and my super healthy cells. Well, I'll find out over the next couple of days and I'll report back.

No sympathy, please! If it is a cold I shall just retire to my bed and pamper myself (I've got loads of chocolate - work-related - in the cupboard!).

Goodnight, folks!

ATB
did they decide : I cannot see it yet on the Washington Post list ....

Nope, next possible day is Monday

Hiya :) Am definitely still around, just lurking a bit more and posting a bit less than I used to. I hope some newer people don't take this the wrong way, but I feel like sometimes I answer a new poster's question or give advice (always noting that we all do it differently etc but that this is how many of us have been successful) and I just get negativity in return because that's not how they want this WOE to work. It's been in the press a lot, and now I see it's flooding the fashion mags as the bikini diet of the season, so our traffic is definitely up.

I love seeing all the new posters sticking with it and posting more, themselves. It's a great WOE and it's nice to see other people discovering it.

I'm around, alive and still fasting at least 2x a week. I'm off on Tuesday for Glasto (whee!) and a long weekend in Germany after that for DH's school reunion, but shall be back properly after that. I might just stick to this thread and the 'big' thread for a while, I think.

greeneggs
and that delightful person on their own thread who wanted to eat 2500 calories on "feast days" was a corker

Hello, this is my first post and I'm still really a newbie to fasting (week 7 I think). My DP has joined me, which is great.

I've delurked after reading greeneggs last post to say how very useful I've found this and the main thread, so thank you all! I've taken the advice and the 'this is how it worked for me' posts on board, and we've lost a stone each. But we absolutely did have to learn what a 'normal' day's food was for each of us, and we now use MFP. Without learning that andsticking to it, it wouldn't have worked. Oh, and cutting the snacking out!

I'm now at the maintaining stage so any advice very much appreciated! P DP has a long way to go yet so I will be sticking to 5:2 to support him but also because it's doing me the world of good. My mind is so much clearer, it's wonderful

Just wanted to post this to say some of us do listen and learn.

Hello, I have been doing this since Feb and have lost a stone in total (9:12-8:12). Now 57kg. I am planning on maintaining by 6:1 alternatively with 5:2 and see how it goes. BMI now 20.5 ideally would like to be 56kg (BMI 20). But happy enough here.

Oh and couldn't have got here without you all especially TIP.

Welcome aboard awkward I'm in the same boat : DH has more to lose, I don't.

Oh and in response to others I work 2 12hour shifts its per week. Those are my fast days, so the dcs don't see me eating differently.

my kids know I fast and that they do not. Its cool.
Not fasting tomorrow as going for lunch with a friend so will fast on Tuesday and Thursday ....

Welcome Awkward, Wishi and welcome back Green.

Thanks, TIP and Bssh. I'm at BMI 20 now. I'm planning on eating just a bit more, weigh weekly and see how I go. I'd be happy if it turns out I can eat more than just a bit more to maintain Also got plans to up the exercise. I walk a lot but need to improve flexilbity and strength.

I'm a newbie on here, but have been fasting since Jan and maintaining since March. Currently a BMI of 18.8 which is difficult to maintain (although when I had 'emotional' problems with my PITA BF it was all too easy to maintain and lose!) Good luck Awkward and Wishi with your maintenance. I just do whatever is necessary - 6:1 and skipping other meals if required or even 5:2 if I have put on a kilo or more in a week. I run 5kms every morning but am still surprised how little food I need to maintain . This thread and the posters on here have been brilliant in helping with both my maintenance and man problems.

tip greeneggs just read that thread. Wow, just wow. A lovely example of someone who would never bother to read greeneggs' lovely OP let alone go through the main threads. Each to their own I guess...

5 km every day? Blimey, Anglaise , hats off!

Have gained nearly 2 kg! Arrrgghhh! did 16:8 last week, ate well under TDEE, but over by about 300kcal yesterday. I really don't want to be over 57kg, ideally 55-56kg, for a bit of leeway, so have decided to go back to 5:2. I will eat with DCs in the evening on FDs,just something within my kcal limit!

Hoping it's just fluid retention, just don't understand how I've gained so much!