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!

Laska I know what you mean about the 'tummy', me too. One of the striking things about this WOE is the effect it has on your body shape (at least in my case) far in above the effect on weight. Having slipped for a month a few weeks back again and barely doing a Fast a week and still eating on my 'up' days as if I were Fasting 3 days a week, I had started to put some weight back on. My diet though is mainly healthy carbs, toast, oats, soups, veg etc so the weight gain wasn't that great. However the belt strap was definitely and quickly moving in the wrong direction. Went out for a cycle today though, first time I pushed it on a Fast day for a while (3rd of the week) and did 36 miles and a lot of gradients. Hoping this will help kick start the fat burning process that happened so quickly last year.............and surely you wouldn't have to worry about putting on weight eating on a quid a day for 5 days sis

MOCNKs yeah one thing more than most this WOE has made clear to me is the huge impact that my internal mental dialogue has over my actions and decisions. It's so easy to talk yourself into breaking a Fast or whatever it is we're challenging ourselves with . As someone who's had their issues with alcohol over the years, and had to pack it up for health reasons, the games my mind played with me were quite familiar. In general rather than try and tough it out with will power (ie focus on denying myself what I can't have) I try and focus on the positives ie if I don't break the Fast until later then how great I will feel and how much healthier in the long term I'll be etc . All of us on this Thread afterall are aware of the huge benefits of this WOE and how great 'The morning after' feels

B&Ws tip from a few months back is also good 'tell myself I'll have it in half an hour.....and then in half an hour see if I still really want it'

Have a great day all,

And Balletismynemis one thing you'll definitely find about this Way of Eating is that your blood pressure will drop further. Something to factor into how you play things

Hmm, I'll have to make sure I keep an eye on my blood pressure then. I'm going to have a look at the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Diet and see how similar to the 5:2 WOE it is.

Ballet
I too have low blood pressure (the lowest measurement I've had was 80:50) and I'm fine doing swimming yoga and bodypump during fasts.

I manage swimming, yoga and Shred on fasts but am not fasting on cycling days as my rides are now averaging a minimum of 60miles, though I'm finding I'm not hungry on the lunch breaks so generally have energy gels while riding (having had a protein heavy breakfast) then sushi really hits the spot after.

I failed a fast yesterday so mini fast today (800kcal) and proper one tomorrow before the weekend...and another 60mile ride!

Thats good to know Talk, thanks.

Morning all. A mini fast for me today. I have to eat gluten every day (equivalent if 4 slices if bread) before my biopsy, which, as you can imagine makes a 500 cal fast a bit tricky!
I managed 750 on Monday then did a 1000 mini fast on weds, which ill probably repeat today, then an enjoyable weekend!

Hood luck to today's fasters.

Good morning all. I reached my target weight this morning. 65 lbs lost since last year (19 lbs of that doing 5:2). So now I am thinking about my maintenance strategy. I think it will be 6:1 - with the fasting day being a zero calorie 36 hour fast as I've completed two of these now and have found them a breeze. I will throw in mini fasts as and when required.

My plan:
Mondays - mini fast (to atone for the weekends)
Thursdays - 36 hour, 0 calorie fast

I feel like I've graduated by joining you all here .

Bssh, great stuff!

Bssh is just one of a growing band of IFers who are finding a 36 hour complete fast much easier than a

well I'm back to 9 stone - but will probably aim for 8:7 by the end of term - just because I prefer to be slimmer . It suits my frame.

BsshBossh Well done on hitting target.

B&W
I do not fancy 36 hour fasts because I enjoy family suppers : and reconnecting eating with pleasant meal times is the real long term way to maintain a healthy weight.

Hello there. I was wondering if I might join you?

I am coming to the end of a weight loss effort (57 pounds since sept 2012 with 3 pounds to go) and I am petrified about maintaining.

I mean panicky sicky feeling petrified....

It has been so hard and so horrible and I think it will be the end for me if I start to pile on weight again.

How do I find my balance point without risking a bounce that might switch me off completely? Will I get an enormous water salt bounce anyway as soon as I stop?

ICBINEG welcome to the club. I too have those exact feelings, everything was good whilst losing but now that I'm just a few lbs off target my head is panicking so you're not alone.
I think that for me, I will go a couple of lbs just under target so's I have a bit of leeway. Then I intend to do 5:2 (am currently doing 4:3) and eat only a dinner in the evening but not count the calories, this way I should hopefully gain the health benefits and hold my weight steady.
Then after a while I shall re-assess the situation and if I have put on any lbs I will go back to 2 x 500 days and see if that works.
There are some on here who are maintaining well who will offer you good advise. Good luck and well done on your loss.

ICBINEG well done on your loss. I've just today moved into maintenance mode and I admit it is a little bit scary. I never want the weight I lost to return so I have resolved to be vigilant.

For me, vigilance means 1. continuing with weekly weigh ins (I never used to weigh at all, which was why the weight crept up on me in the first place) and 2. continuing with fasting because a) it's an excellent weight loss tool and b) the health benefits are appealing.

You've been fasting since September 2012 - that's amazing. You are a long-termer and you know the variety of fasting strategies to keep your weight stable. Our weight will always be bouncing up and down - it's normal - but you (and I and all of us on this thread) know that you can do 6:1, 5:2 and any variety of mini fasts to get back in track.

So don't worry. Just take it day by day. And stay on this thread (I plan to).

ICBINEG
I started version 1 of this thread exactly for the reason you mention.
I hit "target" in December.
My weight has fluctuated by a couple of pounds up (never down, funny that) depending on holidays and weather and stuff. But I've been able to drag back onto the straight and narrow and shift back.
I'll be a VERY happy TiP if I can stay within three pounds of 9st for the rest of my life.
I'd be mad to try to stay exactly on it - IYSWIM

Actually I feel a bit of a fraud as I have not done the fasting thing at all...but having looked at the options it looks good as a maintenance method...

I have been doing around 1200 kcals a day for the last 8 months and I really can't face going to be bed hungry every day any longer. I know that can't work as a strategy for me to maintain hence looking into IF.

So please do supply hints and tips for a beginner faster!

have a read through the hints and tips thread - somewhere on the board - and welcome to the land of manhattan and sourdough as a starter before pizza and red wine on a Friday night - while staying slim

ICBINEG whoops, disregard part of my post then, didn't realise you'd not fasted. If I were you I'd start a few posts on the main number 18 5:2 thread as there are alot of new IF starters there - you'll be in it together - but as you're maintaining you can pop in and out here too. I'm a relative IF newbie compared to most on this thread (been IFing since last week of January only) so I still plan on hovering around the main thread too.

Ahh okay - found it. Recipes! cool.

Hi All...hope I can join in too...lost 20 pounds since Sept 2012 and been maintaining from Feb 2013.....I mainly do 5:2..and like many posters here feel great whilst fasting and find it easier than actually eating minimal calorie meals after a fast as that means the"seal" is broken and I just want to eat more!!! I generally do fasts back to back to get them out of the way but am now thinking it may be easier on me to do Monday and Thursday. Like Tip I am and expect to fluctuate around the 9 stone mark......as many have said weight fluctuates on this "woe" and we need to accept that after a fast we will be lighter....yep I am a frequent scaler jumper!!!! as I feel it keeps me on the straight and narrow as I never ever want to have to loose them same 20 pounds again......am happy after my weekends to accept I will be heavier but still dont like the reading... how do others feel on weigh ins after the weekends? I hope by not lurking on here and actually posting I am confirming that I am hopefully always gonna maintain and never be loosing more than 3 or 4 pounds :-)

I never weigh on a Monday morning, I fast on Monday and weigh on Tuesday.

Hi shiney, I also never weigh after a weekend. I enjoy socialising and indulging at the weekend (my weekend begins Friday evening) and always go over my TDEE. Weighing right after that would be a little demoralising for me. So I weigh after my second fast on Thursday - much more motivating.

Well done bshh, getting to target!!! Yay!!!

I weighed in this morning and have maintained for the fourth week, it obviously works! I wish I had the guts to go cold turkey on calorie counting and MFP, but I'm such a control freak!

I'm now contemplating a 36 hour fast on Mondays (eek). Those of you that have done it have seemed to find it okay(ish)??

I have to 'gluten load' at the moment, so I hope 1 day off will be ok (my poor tummy could do with a break!).

I'm going to go back over a couple of threads and read your strategies!!

Have a lovely weekend everybody (fingers crossed for sunshine).

This wonderful WOE hasn't combined that well with drinking for me so I'm trying to suss out a way of getting best of both worlds. Admittedly, as I get older, or perhaps as I've got thinner, or a combination of the two, my ability to drink has diminished dramatically. I'm not saying I want to go out on massive benders - those days are long gone for me, but I do want to be able to have a civilised grown up evening without getting a headache after drinking one measly glass of wine.

This week, I've only had one proper fast on Monday (plus 2 failed attempts - I was ill with a fever last week and barely ate so think I may have genuinely been too hungry for much fasting) and last night was able to drink 3 whole glasses of red without suffering any ill effects.

I'm kind of on maintenance mode now - yes there's weight still to be lost but I like how I look right now, I'm thinner than I was in my mid twenties (according to the massive clothing clear out I just did - no point hoarding clothes that are too big!) and healthier & fitter too. So maybe I'll try out doing one proper fast each Monday and a mini fast later in the week. I'm still working up to skipping lunch on work days but I think I'm getting there. Hopefully this will combine ok with being able to have a pleasant drink or two at the weekend!

ellen if you can manage a zero calorie 24 hours then 36 hours should be fine. I found my first 36 hour fast difficult but only because I'd become accustomed to eating my 500 cal dinner at the end of 24 hours. The second 36er was much easier because I was completely geared up mentally to not eating at all. For me it's all in the head. My next 36er is on Thursday (normal fast on Monday).

Right then, I'm going to try 36 hours on Monday! Will keep you updated, I followed the link in b&w's last post, onto the 5:2 forum and read the thread which helped me make up my mind Bring it on!