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

Hi, can I join you guys here? I've come over from the main thread, used to be NotAsTired.

I've basically have been maintaining since beginning of Dec at a steady weight of 7st 10. I am really happy at this weight and even happier that I've maintained without trying too hard. Since beginning of Dec, I've only done a handful of fasts, due to Christmas and ill-health.

Today was my first successful fast in a while. Boy, was I hungry! But I got through it. I feel I am back in the zone.

I know some of you and your success stories, hope to get to know the rest of you.

Yay Bouncyfun I like the new name and welcome to the quiet corner

Welcome bouncyfun - and well done on re-gaining your FD mojo :)

Wish you better B&W ...loved the footage of Oscar!

I was up to 9.8 by last night, having started the week at 9.1 Bit weird, given I did manage some fasts in between the stuffing, but got back on my normal Monday wagon today and did a 30 LOF before stuffing myself with a mammoth shakshuka (3 tins of tomatoes/2 eggs/1 onion/half pepper, 0.5tspn harissa, tspn cumin, squeeze tom puree, garlic....eggs optional...I should write this up for the recipes thread, right?). Now too full to move!

southeastastra how about lunch at itsu sometime? I'm in the paternoster square branch at least twice a week

OK, time to wash up and finish work - it's been a long day....

Ahem. Morning
As of this morning I am at goal.

69kg, 152lbs, 10.12st. And a BMI just under 21.

Sooooo I am joining the maintainers thread too

This time last year I was 87kg.

Just didn't imagine I'd ever get back to myself.

I am as you can tell overly cheerful on this wet morning.

Any good tips? Other than no snacking evva innit.

Welcome MrsF and well done

Woohoo Mrs F you made it!!!!!

Welcome BouncyFun.

Breadandwine hope you get better soon.

I'm battling various illnesses so haven't been around the threads much this week. Truly this miserable weather is getting me down, which doesn't help my immune system. I'm desperate for Spring to arrive.

I'm still under target weight so I think this week will be another 6:1 one. I already fasted on Monday.

Bssh. I'm in your gang again

I hope you feel better soon. I'm still recovering from my bout of scarlet fever. Nasty.

Breadandwine. I hope you're taking the right antibiotics for the chest infection. I was given the wrong ones for scarlet fever last week and the result was having to see 9 doctors in 48hrs and 3 hospital visits.
Google it. I did in the end.
I do hope you recover really quickly.
As you're vegan, I don't expect you would try Manuka honey? Worked a charm when applied to my pus filled swollen scarlet fever skin.

Rain rain go away so we can all get better.

Welcome BF - and MrsF, look at you!!!!

I remember your initial reluctance to join in with 5:2ing - what was that, about 6 months ago?

So well done to you.

Thanks, Bssh - and thanks, Filly, we get a new one - sometimes two a day from the proud mum! I could post a new one every day.

Thanks also for the sympathy - until just an hour ago I was still feeling pretty chipper. Then, whilst I was cleaning my teeth, I felt my back go!

So, lots of walking (and paracetamol) is called for when this happens - I'm currently walking around the kitchen/dining room/lounge, and my back's gradually settling. I made the mistake of sitting down to type the beginning of this post - but my back just seized up even more!

So I'm standing up to type this.

The meds are fine, thanks, MrsF - I've had them before. But you went through it - glad you're coming through your awful experience!

I've always been a bit sceptical about the claims made for Manuka - until I read about the remarkable effect it has had on you. I don't feel the need for it myself, but I'll certainly keep it in mind if my family ever need it!

One thing I've noticed about you and all the other posters on the other thread who are having problems - you don't let it get you down for more than about 5 minutes (or you don't let it show!). The positivity is wonderful to behold!

Might make that point over there.

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

MrsF. I also remember your reluctance to do 5:2 . Well done on reaching goal. That's fantastic.

Bssh. Is it you who has trouble sleeping on a fd night? I've never had this problem before but last night I was still wide awake at 2am . Shattered but feeling surprisingly peppy for some reason.

mocnk sheepishly re-enters the room

sorry guys for dropping off the planet, and a big thanks to tip for pm'ing me, I tried to send a long and boring response from my phone and it failed and i gave up.

I think i'm at rock bottom weight wise have totally regained all the weight i lost 1.5 years ago through this WOE, not managed many fasts at all, been a bit low about lots of things, work/kids/where to live/relationship blah blah.

really didn't want to bore anyone with it all, and continued feeling of failure at fasting on top of it all was just one thing too many.

but am attempting restarting fasting today, back to the original tues and thurs fast days, it worked before, it will work again.

relationship back on a better footing (i ended things, he then took a massive step forward in commitment terms, and i think we are back on better track than before.)

work continuing, that's about the best i can say about that.

but I guess i have totally proved to myself that I need rules for weight maintenance, and that when I go off track, i do it pretty badly and then find it more than doubly hard to get back onto it. So future plan has to be ongoing fasting, 2 times per week minimum.

my lovely brother still doing brilliantly, he's taken up HIT as well as still fasting (now twice a week rather than three times) he's now skinnier than me, bottom end of his healthy bmi and gaining muscle and riding a spinning bike, so very inspirational!

OH started HIT yesterday and restarted fasting after scaring himself with doing that waist versus height calculation, so that has helped me decide to restart.

i've skim read the last 9 pages or so that i've missed, but will try and catch up properly later.

FrenchFancy wanted to say that your post about your DD is very familiar, my dd is also age 7, and has been between the 91st and 99th centile for weight since she was 1 years old, but she was born on the 14th, her first year of life she just jumped through the centiles on breast milk alone, and even in her second year just kept guzzling milk...not much food, and so have spent years worrying about her size..she is also in 9-10 or even some 10-11 clothes, so difficult to buy nice things for her, but after a concerted effort at reducing portion sizes, reducing snacks to only whole fruits, she has now just moved out of obese and is in the lowe half of bmi for overweight, now 91st centile again, it's so hard to alwasy say no to snacks or biscuits etc when she sees other children being offered them a lot, and her little brother is skinny and can eat anything, and I have to try and give him snacks secretively as he can't eat large portions. I think part of her problem is ADHD and she gets bored very easily and looks to food as a way of distracting herself, often not real hunger, and I think i tend to eat food too as a distraction, or offer it as a treat, tough habits to break, but we are slowly getting there, she is very active, loves to ride her bike and can spend hours out in teh garden/on the beach/walking on the hill, but she is not speedy, she's asthmatic and prefers to be creative or talkative to running and jumping!

the trampoline helps, she loves it, but loves it more when I get on with her!

anyway, I just wanted to let you know you are not alone, but am pretty convinced both our girls will continue to grow up wards and hopefully not outwards and by the time they are 12 we'll be wondering why we spent so much time worrying!

feeling surprisingly peppy for some reason.

Obviously living up to your name, BF!

welcome to all the newbies....please ignore me, I shouldn't be here as definitely no longer a maintainer, but the main boards move too fast and the old timers feel like family, so I'll be around and hopefully back to maintaining soon...12 weeks if it goes as well as the first time!

at BaW

((((( MOCNK ))))) Welcome back : please use us as your quiet ranting corner - that is one of the real beauties of forums over face to face friends who can individually ignore you but on here there are lots of us.
Good that you and DH are working something out, and if you and he do HIIT and fasting together as the days eventually warm up, it will help all round. Honest.

MrsFlorrick WEll done you on hitting target. Has your useless DH started to appreciate how bloody lucky he is yet

and
I bough some 15+ manuka honey for DS yesterday - its miracle stuff --- the persistent spot on his nose looks better after just a few hours of him wingeing tat it felt odd

B&W On the jar it says that Manuka makes agreat honey and lemon with bucket loads of antibacterial properties ... just a thought.

Anyway, better go do the shopping. Off to drive DD to see Taylor Swift this evening.

I swear by Manuka honey - for colds best taken in a hot toddy with my homemade chilli vodka - bugs don't stand a chance

Welcome Bouncy and MrsF to less the maintainers corner and more the slow fasted place! Most of us bounce around the same 4lbs ish now, congrats on gettin here!

Oh yay MOCNK there you are, you've been missed. Don't go away again, god knows the number of times almost every one of us has gone through a period of feeling like we're failing at fasting and putting on a bit of weight and even if that's not the case we've definately all used this quiet corner of MN to rant and share our problems so stay with us (((((((((unMNhugs))))))))))

Thanks everyone (takes bow)

Bouncy.
Yes I was too wimpy to do proper 5:2. Wasn't sure I could hack it.
Turns out its really easy. Who'd have thunk it eh.

TIP. Sadly DH is abroad, then in Scotland to see PILs and abroad again so we now won't see him for at least 10 days.

He has managed to stage this just over half term so its me with DCs from tonight and all over half term.
Guess it was lucky I was ill last week eh

FILs cancer has been staged today. It's a 1! So more good news. He will need removal and resection and a colostomy but no chemo or radiotherapy.

Breadandwine. NHS use Manuka soaked bandages to cure MRSA which is resistant to all antibiotics. They even put it into MRsA and strep wounds as deep open ones. It's the last bastion for antibiotic resistant bacteria.

But as a vegan I won't wash with you as its an animal product. Shame.

I didn't know until last week either. All new to me.

Good news about your FIL MrsF.

MrsF could you put your DC into a half term programme? My DD has been doing singing and drama workshops most half terms since she was 3 and loves them. You don't need to put them in for a whole week either. It will give you some respite and your DC should have a lot of fun.

Lots of activity over the past 24 hours!

mumof Nothing at all to feel about. We can help you get back on track . You wouldn't be boring us - these threads are all about support after all.

Very well done MrsF and glad to see FIL's condition isn't quite as serious as you initially feared. I hope DH will be looking after his parents up there when he's back from his latest trip whilst you're here with the kids.

Be back later after I've eaten - soup and sardines (FD). Boy am I looking forward to my Lindt tomorrow!

Hi mocnk! Nice to see you again - and you'll be back in the zone in no time!

Tks, TiP, but honey's a no-no for me. Unless it was life and death, then I'd have no qualms!

[Warning: Self-pitying moan coming up]

I have to say I'm fed up of standing! I know it's good for you, but a sit-down would be very welcome! I've discovered that 1 hour in an easy chair is worth 5 minutes on the kitchen stool - in that in both cases it takes about 20 circuits of the dining room table to reset my back.

I'm in the kitchen at the moment - with an alarm set for 1 minute. Then I stand up for a while.

I wanted something sweet after a dinner, so opted for my daily Lindt's chilli choc. One square, broken into 9 pieces, taken one piece at a time with a minute's pause in between. Delicious!

Good to see you MOCNK and thanks for sharing about your DD. It is good to know I'm not alone.

I think we are getting somewhere, I've reduced her portion sizes and she is asking whether her choices are good.

She often isn't hungry in the mornings, and I have always insisted she had something to eat before school (because that's what good mums do). Well this morning she didn't want to eat anything and I thought - so what. I'm not going to force her to eat when I'm trying to reduce how much she eats. I let her take a small piece of fruit cake (homemade by DH - delicious) in as a snack. Much smaller than her normal breakfast. I still don't know if it was the right thing, but everything we have learned about breakfast whilst fasting seems to point this way.

On the other side my DD1 (14) has decided she is jealous of her sister (DD2 - nearly 13) as she is soooo much thinner and better looking and more popular and cleverer...... than she is. We've had years of DD2 being the difficult one and DD1 playing the perfect Peter role that it is difficult to know what to say. I hate the fact she is lacking in self confidence. I think it is a boy thing, all her class mates are getting boyfriends and she isn't. (She's got a great figure but I think she might intimidate boys a bit)

Why did I have 3 daughters????

poor B+W. Did you see that horizon program on Space travel last night? Perhaps they will lend you their horizontal jogging thing (sorry that just sounds so wrong!)

Welcome Bouncy and I too love your new name!

filly I'd love to lunch with you at itsu! Am broke at the moment until I get paid later in the month (bought a new MacBook) so lunches at the moment are either watered down soup or a sarnie from the subsidised canteen but yes, lunch there with a glamorous companion would be lovely in the near future .

poor B+W. Did you see that horizon program on Space travel last night? Perhaps they will lend you their horizontal jogging thing (sorry that just sounds so wrong!)

Now that would do my back in!

No pity for me, please, guys - there are a lot worse off than me!

As my son is about to find out. He's been put on standby for flood protection (he's in the RAF) - which might jeopardise this weekend which he's supposed to be spending with us, along with our grandson. If he does get called up, we'll go and collect GS1.

New MacBook, eh. SED?

I'm hanging on to my 5-year-old MB, ATM, by the skin of my teeth! The battery is buggered - the only way I can charge it sometimes is by putting it on its side and jiggling with the connector. If it goes I'll be looking at a refurbished one.

What model have you got?

BTW, save your lunch money and take half a pizza instead - cost you 35p!