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

WAVES Hi all, I've just gone back to the main thread!! yes I do know ive been back before and made lots of big promises and resolutions, but I really feel that i'll stay with it this time

so Yes... I have been burying my head in the sand big time and am now stupidly pretty much back to what I was before I even started 5:2 .

What a total idiot! .. But I made my big confession over there, ( not doing it again here) and have had a week back of fasting..

Anyway, thought I'd just say pop in and hello.. Good to see you all here doing well..

drags sunburnt, jetlagged and jellyfish stung self back into thread
fresh fruit, fish and beer for a week has done me a world of good
but
my three months of ultra full time work starts monday so I'll need to be extra extra strict on fasting till early july
boring, but lucrative

< waves greetimgs to the returning sunburned prodigal >
You'll be fighting fit again by next weekend

Happy Birthday for tomorrow TIP it's a very special one. I'm sure you won't be fasting! 1965 was indeed a vintage year

Went for a swim this evening after work - feeling very flabby but that is the way of it.
The problem is that at this time of year I work all day and then write up the day's work in the evening before heading out to the following day's booking, so evening gym visits are not normally feasible.
BUT
I've got Monday and Friday mornings off next week to get to Yoga
and will be going for a swim tomorrow morning before heading out for lunch.

2 carrots for lunch most days does leave more leeway for suppers!

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Happy 50th Birthday tip and enjoy the champagne

It took you 50 years to look this good !

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Happy birthday, Tip

Oh blimey.
Three meals with booze in a day and I'm wiped out!
Interesting as my intake has been nowhere near extreme, but because its way outside my "normal" its a heck of a shock.

Lunch : 4 courses with wine matched to each
Champagne in the afternoon
Burger and cider for supper ( barely touched the chips)

Interestingly for my party next week I'm planning lots of high protein, healthy nibbly food as well as a shed load of booze

Hello can I join the maintainers thread?
I have only been doing 5:2 for the past 6 or 7 weeks. I had lost weight through calorie counting and exercise since the start of the year and have lost a further 4 pounds on 5:2 despite a good few blowouts on weekends. I have continued to slowly lose weight despite now being nearly half a stone lighter than my original target weight (I've never been this light probably since I was a pre teen! ) I hope to keep up this WOE well... forever.

I was obsessed with logging every morsel that passed my lips on mfp but have stopped this week and hope to maintain without obsessing over food.
Can I ask whether other maintainers manage fine without calorie counting?
I've generally been ok at maintaining my weight in the past so I'm guessing that when I take the deficit from fast days into account it's going to work out fine but I'm very nervous about putting weight back on.

mrswhiskers
Welcome to our quiet little corner.

To the best of my knowledge, none of us use MFP any more.
The joy of 5:2 is that rather than controlling a meal, you just throw in a spare fast when feeling a tad lardy, or skip one if other engagements interfere.

I'm so in the habit of working when a tad hungry that it seems normal.
And I suspect what the normal was for 99% of the world until the last 70 years
so entirely natural !

Welcome, MrsW You have the tools to maintain.
Keep the "No snacking, no grazing" motto for maintenance too.
Most of us still fast, for health benefits and so we can eat more the other days.
Whenever clothes start to get a bit tight, or you gain 5 lb, just return to TDEE on NFDs

Hi MrsW

Welcome to the thread. No, there's very little calorie counting on here - except that I set myself a challenge every now and again to find the lowest calorie meal possible on my FDs.

I'm another one who kept changing my weight goals, since, when I began I didn't think I had any weight to lose. Eventually I lost 24lbs!

As TiP says, The joy of 5:2 is that rather than controlling a meal, you just throw in a spare fast when feeling a tad lardy, or skip one if other engagements interfere.

And, once you're used to fasting, it's often more convenient to miss meals and catch up later. In the past, I've taught all day from half ten in the morning to 8 in the evening - and only then had something to eat.

If I'm travelling, it's easier to miss lunch, for example, than to have to organise sandwiches, etc - which is what I used to think I had to do.

I hope to keep up this WOE well... forever.

And so say all of us!

Thanks for your welcome B&W tip
I've never been one to eat 3 meals a day and my usual routine would be to go all day with nothing until my evening meal. I found that calorie counting left me hungry constantly and I became used to eating 'little and often' and clock watching constantly.
5:2 has got me back into what I feel is my natural eating routine and I can go for long periods without food easily and without feeling deprived.
It really is a WOE that suits me

Thanks for the advice bc I will continue to weigh weekly for now as that was my downfall before when I let my weight slide.

Rather odd week for me this week.

In that I did my usual 24hr LOF finishing at 6pm on Wednesday; Thursday I was at my U3A philosophy class in the morning and had a dr's appointment at 2.10, so I stayed in Taunton for that - meaning no breakfast or lunch and I ate again at 6 in the evening.

And tomorrow I'm off to see my son and g/kids in Bedfordshire - train leaves at 10am, getting there in the afternoon, so again I won't eat until dinner in the evening.

Being able to miss a meal or two certainly makes life a lot easier!

Is feeling a tad fragile today : grazing party food and drinking for 13 hours is fun but tiring :-)

Sugar and T2
A recent Study found that substituting just one serving a day of water or unsweetened tea or coffee for one serving of a sugar-sweetened soft drink or dairy beverage can significantly reduce the incidence of Type 2 diabetes

Poverty, Wealth, Obesity
An interesting statistic on adult obesity in Europe:
the lowest rates (approx. 8%) are seen in Switzerland (Europe's richest country) and in Romania (one of the poorest).
What is happening in those two countries that is different to most others ?

Maybe because the Swiss in rural areas have to climb a lot of mountains? The city of Zurich has the highest obesity rate in the country, maybe there is less physical activity there than in the mountainous countryside.
Likewise in Romania 40% of the population live in rural areas without access to fast food. Apparently most people eat 'fresh' food too. Details in this blog by the UK ambassador to Romania.

Sounds plausible, Anglaise

Ever more motivation to get insulin levels under control, especially from middle age onwards:
Many recent studies linking Alzheimer's with diabetes. This study AD T2D summarises the evidence and assesses diabetes drugs and their potential for treating AD.

Following on from my last post:

After I left my son and his family on the Monday, I went to the Citizens UK pre-election gathering (2200 delegates!) where we hold all the party leaders to account - except that Cameron, despite his earlier promise, didn't attend. (No surprise there, then!)

It was uplifting, exhilarating and inspiring! Politics as it should be!

Afterwards, with a couple of friends, I caught the 6.33 back to Taunton.

So once again, no breakfast or lunch - and I ate at around 9.30 in the evening when I got home. So that was my fast for the week - I can relax and eat what I like (mindfully, of course!) for the next 6 days.

Well done, B&W I'm sure you spoke your mind (for some reason, I'm remembering Walter Wolfgang's arrest at the 2005 Labour confereence)

Scary Future
Anyone read this report in the Guardian ?
89% of Irish men, 85% of women expected to be overweight in 15 years
The UK is not much better.

Also, nhs alert :
Most liver transplants by 2020 exoected to be linked to over-eating, not alcohol.

I meant to fast today, but got cold and hungry so went to the shop to find some food

M&S food : HUGE portions and lots of odd additives
Independent shops : HUGE portions and crisps with all sandwiches
Waitrose : I finally found a half a sandwich reduced to 90p

ALL the deals included crisps and sugary drinks

finding a short notice healthy size meal for a reasonable price was a real struggle

You're not that far off, BC! I didn't get thrown out, but I did get surrounded by stewards at one point.