IF / ADF / 4:3 / 5:2 / 6:1 / 16:8 ~ Maintaining at a healthy weight ~ Chapter 4

[TalkinPeace]

This thread is for those of us 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?
How do we ensure that we keep ourselves looking great rather than just thin?

Many of us have been maintaining at our original goal weight for many months, and others are joining all the time.
Obviously, the more the merrier!
It is also worth considering whether a second, leaner target might be achievable.

You'll find the first three maintenance threads and all the main 5:2 threads for posters practicing IF to lose weight here Fasting / 5:2 on the diet forum. We're currently on thread no. 35, but there is a new main thread every 2-3 weeks.

There are three 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!

Since I started the last Maintainers thread the importance of exercise has come to the fore, as part of our general health and to help weight loss. BigChocFrenzys thread is here

Feel better soon Laska

ATB I am soooo in awe of your self-control. No alcohol on your birthday because it might be harder not to drink the rest of the week??? Wow! I could barely step away from the remaining half of a monster choc chip cookie yesterday, once I noticed I was eating it I think I need you on speed dial

I was 9.5 this morning and the penny has just dropped on what's going wrong for me at the moment maintenance-wise. My 'happy zone' is 9.2-9.5 (I've never yet made it below 9.2 and don't feel the need - I'm 5'8" and 32E so anything below that starts to look a bit wrong) - but much happier around 9.3. But I'll get back to 9.5, think 'phew' and then mentally take the brakes off because I'm ok again. Except I'm only just on the safe side (I start to panic at 9.7) of my ok-zone, so I really need stay mindful. Yes, I know there's not much wiggle room there, but those are my critical 4 or 5lbs where I really show the difference around my middle.

Anyway, I managed to convince myself to ignore the fresh, hot egg butties laid out on arrival this morning. NFD and started stupidly early (6am) but trying to hold off until 10 when I'm going to grab some skimmed milk porridge from the work canteen (which will hopefully stop me investing too heavily in danish pastries at 11....)

Ugh don't filly....totally failed FD yesterday and overate to distraction in the eve. Thank god I'm also not drinking. To be honest I'm finding it easy not to drink atm, just not feeling it I suppose so not having to actually work at it IYSWIM

I'm 5'9" and I get the panic on the buffer zone - I want to be 130lbs (9.4) but tend to hover at 133 (9.7) and panic at 135 (9.9)....I finally got back to 133 on Saturday after a good months at 136 and that has obviously put a mental kibosh on myself - hence overeating last night!

Stupid brain

Hi all. I'm really struggling with the lack of exercise. I swam 50 lengths this morning but all my ab muscles have gone blaaahhhh. Getting motivated to do yoga after finishing reports at 9pm is a wipeout.

Had home made curry last night : added more spice so did not eat too much.
DH is in charge of the kitchen today so I've no idea.

Am eating carrots for lunch to keep the calories down - kind of 22:2 IYSWIM !

Can you do it in the morning Tip? (yeah.. and I'm a fine one to talk.... being Mrs Totalexerciseavoider)

Well lunch out was onion soup ( didnt eat the crouton) and sausage and mash (but only ate half of that ..) was just not that hungry .. .. ..but throat is feeling better this evening and I have just had some spicy veggie stir fry/soup and some grapes out of the fridge (not the same as though.. ..

So what are the calories in Tyrozets , eh? I fasted sunday and yesterday and have put 2lbs back on!! Its probably only water i know (unless it is paracetamol and tyrozets) ., but ah, the perils of everyday weighing..

ATB and filly... ,even though that is probably not very empathetic im 4-5 " shorter and over a stone heavier.(oh and about 25 years older than you, ATB) . But ill be estatic if i can get back to 140.. of course im not criticising I do understand totally how one needs to feel at the right weight (idont right now) ..but i bet you both look great even if you dont feel like it now..

Laska
I'm currently out the door by 7.30 am and am NOT a morning person! THat and I go to my classes at the gym ....

DH cooked a yumy sweet and sour pork - with 3 times as much veg as pork. No idea of the calories but the portions were not huge.

ATB
Do not forget that you are thin boned - in that your shoulders are narrow front to back - so that the amount of weight you can carry while feeling happy is reduced.

looking at people at the gym, the front to back measurement scapula to collar bone is hard to measure but a great predictor of frame size

eee ..... hoping Im THICK boned!!

(no ive measured ... definately medium framed.. )

tip .. having seen you , i know you are narrow boned also ..

laska I am indeed narrow framed. You are not. It makes a huge difference about what people's happy weight is (around half a stone IMHO)

ATB If you are training as much as you are, then some of your weight will be muscle. Filly I'm 5"8 too but a B cup at most, so 9 stone is right for me, as I'm narrow framed too as well as having no tts or are. With one fast day I was back to 9 stone this week, no time to eat or drink much. I love your leggings - my on off B/F hates my skinny jeans (I don't) but I'd never dare wear them in rural France.
TIP where is your scapula??
Laska have you ever considered getting a Fitbit? Even if you don't exercise they are quite motivational in getting you to take a certain number of steps a day. 10000 is the ideal (but a lot for most people with sedentary jobs).

Anglaise Its your shoulder blade.
So if you are photographed directly from the side, how "deep" are your shoulders front to back.

If you look at dumpy people, their shoulder blades slope slightly outwards (even athletic ones like Serena Williams)
Most models have shoulder blades that slope in
Mine are roughly straight down
it affects how much space there is for muscles and ligaments and fat within your frame

the reconstruction people use those tiny angles as their guide to working out what people looked like ... the size of the end joints of bones vary too (affecting the size of your calves for instance)

I have an ideal waist measurement and monitor that weekly, rather than worrying about weight. I also note jeans fit.
If you become more musclular, that is healthy, but may increase weight, because muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat - and increases your TDEE.

I've a LOT of muscle, broad shoulders, plus medium-large frame size (wrist measurement is a good guide for that)

I mean I know my ideal waist , not that I always have it !

Thanks for that TIP. Mine slope inwards, and my collar bone sticks out a lot on my shoulders. Not sure if there are any shoulder exercises to get muscle to cover up the sticky out bones!
Bigchoc I agree, waist measurement is more accurate than weight because that flutuates so much, especially when you do a lot of exercies (with the muscles retaining water to repair etc.)

Anglaise To cover your bony bits with lovely muscle and to build good shoulders, do press-ups
The exercise thread shows how to build up to Big Girls (full pressups), which are the type that actually make a difference to your bod.
Even the buildup training really improves your shape.

hi all, so I have been doing my usual head in the sand trick when things don't go to plan, and avoiding you lovely lot!

welcome mimi and a very belated happy birthday atb congrats laska on regaining control and weightloss - when you listed all the others who had succeeded in maintenance you forgot that I am most definitely one of the struggling ones, as maybe cyclistist is too....where are you mate?

like laska I am so in awe of all you people in teh 8 and 9 stone zones - especially when you are 5'8" (atb filly anglaise tip b&w)! even after my 12 pound loss i was still 10.7 and happy with that, now just be happy to get the bloody scales under 11, but it will happen, and I kbow this WOE works for me better than anything else, at least i have learned that i cannot under any circumstances just stop fasting without weight gain occurring, and know that for me 5:2 works for maintenance, I just have to increase the fasting or exercise in order to actually lose!

Good news is that it's not weight gain at least, just have utterly failed to do one single shred or run since teh dc's came back from easter hols, also only managing 5:2 and not 4:3 since they came back, but i am successfully doing that, and hardly any weekday boozing, and this week i started tracking calories on nfd's again, attempting 3 meals a day, no snacking, so porridge for breakfast with brazil nuts and raisins, open sandwich for lunch, veg and pork stir fry for dinner etc.

personal life a bit blaahhh, shocking news was that my ex and his gf are expecting a child, they had convinced me that they definitely weren't planning this, so has come as a bit of a shock, too early for dc's to know yet, but I'm very worried for them and how it will affect them. but also selfishly a bit gutted for me too, i had alwasy thought it would be me that would meet someone and have another child, but at 41.5 suspect that is now off the cards. certainly made me realise that the bf I am with is not the right guy, he is still very part time, and his dd is still and will continue to be very messed up and the impact of this is not good on me or my dc's so i'm getting cross with myself that I can't bring myself to end it when i know that it's not right. i guess having moved North and still feeling very lonely and missing all my london peeps, I can't bear to cut another bit of our stability away. think I need to gear myself up to be brave otherwise I'll still be here years later and regret not freeing myself to have a chance at happier!

where is the sodding heatwave too? I know Londoners have got it, but here up north I've still had to put the heating on for a couple of hours in teh evening...gggrrrr!

MOCNK
Regret what you have done, not what you have not.
Be brave.
If the right thing (deep down) is to end that one and start fresh, that is the best thing.
And it will let you think forwards about how to move back to Lunnun again as that is clearly where your heart lies.

Thanks for the welcome MOCNK. I hope life gets better for you soon. TiP is right (as usual), listen to your heart, try to forget about the past and think forward.

NSV today - I ventured out of the house in a pair of jeggings I bought last year, but haven't had the courage to wear! DH kept telling me I looked good in them, but it was a confidence thing I had to overcome.

Mimi welcome aboard - please forgive my total politeness fail!

My shoulders are on the sloping forward side TiP - I never knew about that, only about wrists (mine are tiny) but it is definitely why I feel flobby at the same weight as my sister looks incredibly svelte - she's buillt completely differently and has just trekked all the way to Everest base camp from Kathmandu and is clearly several zillion times fitter than I could ever hope to be, even with EJ in my life

MOCNK First of all, you're totally amazing Second, that was fantastic advice form the beautiful and very wise Tip over there... Stand up tall, take no shit and do what's right for you. I'm happy to be your very own cheerleading squad, providing support from the side-lines, if that helps

MOCNK So sorry to hear what you are going through.
You have had rotten luck with the chaps, but you are obviously a strong, capable woman and you will overcome.
It sounds like the past and current blokes in your life each deserve a full-power kick in the goolies with your favourite stiletto and it would also stop them having more DCs

welcome mimi!

oh MOCNK that must have been a quite shock to hear from your ex, do you think the DC will be ok? Are you ok? Can totally understand how your current bf isn't the right fit but still hard to end, but throughout the last (gulp) nearly two years of doing this WOE with you, I've found you inspirational with dealing with the move, the split, single parenting DC with some additional needs and keeping your pecker up for the most part. Put yourself first and do what you need to do lovely.

BigChoc I don't have a waist measurement in mind, but think I probably should, but do have a pair of shorts that I fit into comfortably last summer and that's what I try to check myself by - but I know I am def those 3/4lbs fatter than I want to be, I know exactly where they're sitting too! And yes I am small framed, which I only found out when kicking off this WOE! And explains why I don't look super skinny at 133lbs whereas I know other girls my height who weigh substantially more than me but look the same.

Does anyone have any good arm exercises by the way? Tried the bridesmaid dress on and it fits perfectly but I need to lose weight from and tone up my arms...I have about 5/6weeks to do it in!

NFD today but sticking to 18:6

Good NSV. Go for it Mimi !

ATB Sadly, one cannot "spot reduce" fat by diet or exercise. Fat distribution / loss is genetic and hormonal, so you can only reduce total body fat %.

To "tone" - which means to build muscle, btw - the best exercises for upper arms are pressups (the yummy BEST upper body exercise) and tricep dips on a low step, with legs extended if you can. For each exercise, build up to 3 sets of 10.
Both exercises will also strengthen the lower arms.

(((MOCNK))) I'm so sorry for all you are going through with your ex and current B/F. It must be devastating to know your ex is going to have another baby, but as long as he continues to be a good dad to your children, don't worry. I've been the g/f who got pregnant and I'll never forget how the ex wife of my then partner (the mother of his two sons) was so gracious and welcoming to my daughter when she was born...I don't know if I would have been, but it was impressive.
I think it must be worse because you know you are not with 'the one' at the moment. Agree with TIP that maybe you would be happier back in London - if/when you go back don't consider it a failure, you tried, it didn't work, move on, no regrets.
You are a strong, formidable woman to have done what you did and move as a single mum, and you will make the right decision of what to do and where to go with your life.
Big Choc when I first did 5:2 and got down to 56kgs my body fat was around 20, since I've been running seriously it is down to around 12% at 57kgs. It feels a lot healthier to be toned and slim and not just lighter on the scales.
Do you know any exercises to tone up the shoulders to cover up sticky out collar bone?
mimi you are lucky having an other half who likes you in jeggings. Mine can't support my skinny jeans and I know I don't look that bad in them!

got back onto Shred this day - are you with me Laska and MOCNK??

hi all

still maintaining at a few lbs above my ideal (9.7 rather than my goal 9.4 or the 9.2 I actually reached at one point!) but still not going back up - despite some rather huge blow outs on work away days

Still think it's amazing to have found a WOE that allows me to have guilt free blow outs . A bit desk bound at work ATM so not getting out and about as much so finding it harder to fit in the proper fast days that I know work - but I've been doing a lot of 18:6 to try and at least get some health benefits.

Nice to see everyone still here and hello new maintainers [waves]

cats I was just thinking the same thing. I've found my way for life here I hope . I had an extra round with every meal today (almond croissant with brekkie, some sweets with lunch and some wine now) and it doesn't matter. Friday is my blowout night. And I've had nights far worse than this and survived though it doesn't feel like it the morning after