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

[TalkinPeace]

This thread is for those of us who have been practicing IF (Intermittent Fasting) for quite a while ( it being nearly 2 years since the Michael Mosely TV programme aired ) 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 mix fasts and 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?

More and more 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 four maintenance threads and all the main 5:2 threads for posters practising IF to lose weight here Fasting / 5:2 on the diet forum. We're currently on thread no. 46, 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 even more to the fore, as part of our general health and to help weight loss. BigChocFrenzys thread is here

Congratulations on 3 years IFing, B&W

IF has obviously made a significant and permanent difference for you.
Are you going to post on Inspirations - it's so encouraging for everyone to hear how sustainable and enjoyable this WOL is longterm.

Whoops, let my own thread drop off my list.

Holding steady at 9st
would like to be 8:10 by end of term but will see

DH has decided he likes fasting while working
and then we have lovely suppers

such a fab WOE

Hi all,

I'm OK but pure laziness and a recent infatuation with toasted crumpets with butter has meant that some weight's creeped on a little since I last posted three weeks ago. But I took control today by fasting, walking, and a gym session. I'll have my usual indulgent Sunday brunch tomorrow and won't eat again until around 7pm. I've also got the revised Fast Diet book to read to help with motivation.

Anglaise My apologies for the delay replying to your question last month. I'd like to move to Leeds or Manchester but so far I'm finding there being so few jobs out of London that I can realistically apply for.

Congrats on another milestone achievement, B&W

Thanks, SED

What's the new book like? I'd like to think there some new research involved - but it could be just a rehash of old info with new recipes.

How're the studies going - are you back at school yet?

Meant to say I've just had two cheese and tomato toasties and a (small) glass of wine.

Because I can!

I've just discovered a melty vegan cheese that's actually quite tasty.

Oh, and I've also had two peppermint creams - now off to brush my teeth and retire for the night!

Slob out Sunday here. Went to a fossil show this morning, then huge lunch, then a chunk of ebay stuff this afternoon, now planning work for the coming month.
And drinking cider.
Its a hard life

Congratulations on your 3 years of fasting B&W you must be one of the original fasters.
SE I'm glad I'm not living in the UK as hot cross buns are a weakness of mine and I'd be eating them with butter too...can't get them in France so no worries there.
TIP well done on holding steady.
Apart from the odd 16:8 missing breakfast I haven't been fasting, mainly because of the marathon training (M day in Rome in 2 weeks) and running around 50 miles a week. I also lost a little weight because of HM and other 10k races and being really ill after with the runners trots and weight currently between 58 - 59kgs which is about right.

I fell off all the threads again...

Mmm, hot cross buns. My solution to this is to train like a nutter and then I can really eat as many as I want (which is far fewer than it used to be). I found chocolate chip HCBs in the co op the other day. Yes, basically brioche and they were glorious.

I am slowly but surely converting others to approximations of 5:2 and they are realising that gaps between eating leads to fewer calories in and therefore burning off fat. I've been busy setting up a new kids free taekwondo club with my instructor and it's a truly wonderful thing - they are an amazing bunch and it fills my heart with joy and wellbeing. I also just got my next belt so pretty much half way to blackbelt now...

I'm not 5:2ing really but I do some 16:8 and my good/balanced eating habits are just ingrained now.

All in all, feeling in a good place. :)

Anglaise Question for you - my DH just did a half marathon but didn't train for it specifically with much running, though he does plenty of other sport activities (lots of rowing and now taekwondo too!) and is pretty damn fit these days. He aced the run without much problem but did feel that if he'd trained with more actual running he wouldn't have ached so much the next few days. What's your take on that theory, considering how much running you do?

Hi Betsy thanks for dropping in and I'm so pleased that you are enjoying your instructing so much. It must be very rewarding! Congrats to your OH on his HM, what time did he do? Big Choc can probably answer your question better than I can, but if he didn't train with any intervals or speedwork then that might be a cause of the aches the next day. Interval training helps train your heart and body eliminate the lactic acid which builds up in your muscles and causes them to ache and the body to fatigue.
That would be my guess, but maybe it is as simple as the fact that he was using different muscles to those he uses for rowing and Taekwondo!

B&W The bulk of the new book is similar, but Mosely refers to more recent science and includes these references at the back of the book.

Anyone not on the main threads: I added a new section to the OP:
Scientific Evidence for Fasting in the new 52Thread51

< waves to Betsy >

Your DH has DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, which often occurs 1-3 days after a long race.

It is thought to be caused by muscle fibres overstretching following exertion of greater duration & intensity than they are used to.
Your DH probably ran 2 hours, so those muscles need recovery.time. He may also feel tired, because his CV system was stressed more / differently.

After a race 20k or longer, all runners should allow 2 weeks of rest and only gentle low intensity exercise, with nutritious food, to let their body recover.

It is not good for health or for longterm performance in running or other sports to skip this recovery phase

but many folk wrongly think this doesn't apply to them

It is not just the legs: research suggests long races may also cause microscopic damage to the heart muscle, which needs repair time.

Detail in RunnersWorld

There you go Bets nothing to do with insufficient training at all!
BigChoc do you really think all that rest is required after a HM if you are used to running long distances and often (50+ miles a week)? I did a HM a couple of weeks ago as part of marathon training and felt fine to run again 2 days after, and three days later did a long outing of 20kms with half of them at 12kpm (marathon race pace). !no aches at all. My main problem was yet again intestinal
Apologies everyone, this should probably be on Big Chocs exercise thread.

Very interesting - thanks BC and Anglaise :) As it happens he's resting up from rowing this weekend, it naturally seemed the right thing to do. His legs are fine now. For the record he ran it in a very respectable 1hr50m and felt he had plenty more to give. Basically he found it pretty easy jammy bugger

Anglaise When I was researching after your questions last year, I originally expected to read a couple of days rest was enough.
However, all the "professional" running sites recommend 2 easy weeks to recover after any long race.

2 main reasons:

1. Longterm performance
   Improvement is maximised with sufficient rest.
   You may feel fine on less, but are actually not improving as much per year as you could.

2. Health
   Any run (not jog) longer than 90 mins weakens your immune system for up to 3 days. With insufficient recovery periods, the damage is cumulative and may leave you vulnerable to more serious diseases.

Also, long runs 20k+ are thought to cause micro-tears to the heart muscle in at least some runners, which really should be allowed to repair.

There is the "J- or S-curve" effect showing that after a certain point, more exercise worsens health, e.g. MayoClinic , RiceUni , JMed

The maximum amount for health is highly dependent on the individual, with elite athletes (among other talents) having an immune system that copes with extra loading.
However, optimising health and optimising athletic performance are different goals, even for the elite.

Thanks for your response BigChoc that is very interesting reading. I didn't realise there was an impact on the heart or the immune system. I'll definitely be taking a week off after the marathon next weekend.
Betsy your OH must be really pleased with his time. He must be super fit from rowing in any case (another endurance sport). I used to row and it certainly beats running for all over body fitness.
Carb loading next week, no fasting, not even 16:8.

Thanks, Anglaise and BC!

Interesting conversation, folks!

Just made a batch of hot cross buns - first this year - and ate three of them before they were cooled! [embarrassed]

of yoru hot cross buns B&W we don't have them here in France. I could use them to help with carb loading this week.

Here's my recipe, Anglaise.

Dead easy. And cheap!

Relevant for us older ones, b&w:

A study on folk aged 60-80 showed a brisk walk 3 days per week reduces the risk of brain shrinkage and Dementia
< Crikey, in 16 months that'll be MY age group >
Stretching exercises has much less effect.

I wonder how much is due to increased blood flow and new blood vessels - does the navigation part of walking also play a role ?
Strength exercise may have different kinds of benefits, such as maintaining independence and reducing the risk of falls, but also improves CV system.

The study found that walking increases the size of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, the 2 brain regions linked to planning and memory, so this offset the brain shrinkage expected for this age group.

B&W thankyou for the link to the HCB I will definitely give them a try. They must be a lot better than shop bought ones.
BigChoc my parents are both around 80 and I'm sure their daily dog walks of an hour each have helped their health, both mentally and physically.

Hello everyone! Congrats on 3 years B&W, good luck with the training Anglaise

Talk of hot cross buns is making me envious, but I imagine my mum will have frozen some to bring over in April.

I have massively fallen off the fasting wagon. Weighed in for the first time in months today and it was a slight shock - 137lbs when I'm normally 131-133, but I know I've been overdoing it BUT since Christmas I've massively rediscovered yoga, going 3-4 x a week and the difference is amazing

But I miss fasting and want to bring 1-2days a week back into my life. First step, refinding my maintainers, even though I need to lose the 4lbs of flab first.

Off on a 12 day trip next weds so aiming to do 2 Fd before then

Thanks, BC - interesting that it doesn't take much exercise to get some benefit.

Lovely to hear from you, Betsy!

I've been busy setting up a new kids free taekwondo club with my instructor and it's a truly wonderful thing - they are an amazing bunch and it fills my heart with joy and wellbeing.

And that does my little heart good, also!

Hi ATB - missed you there!

Won't take you long to lose the excess, I'm sure.

But, waiting till April for the chance of a HCB?? Get your ingredients in and get cracking!

To be honest I'll have to check out your recipe because I'm almost all the way there not eating dairy (no meat at all anymore, only pasture raised eggs but still on fish and seafood) so it's unlikely I'd be able to indulge in M&S finest anyway

So what's on everyone's FD menus these days?