Unpredictable progress - feeling discouraged

[fiddletree]

I donated plasma the other day and noticed that my weight had crept up when they weighed me. I don't have a lot to lose - but I have been comfort eating due to a stressful job, and I would like to get back to my ideal weight. I've done Fast 800 and 5:2 before with great success, but let the habits slip. So, I thought I'd jump back on the wagon. I've tried to do this before and got discouraged

I've been trying to do basically Fast 800 to kickstart things. It went beautifully for the first week, in spite of having a few days when obviously over 800 (ie a cocktail with friends). Weight was tracking down and I felt fab that I'd made the choice. I lost 2 kg in the first week. Since I only have 6kg to lose to get to my goal weight, I was feeling confident.

In second week, my loss has slowed and today when I weighed myself it had gone back up by a whole kg+.

I know these things fluctuate, but this is what I keep getting stuck on. I am feeling really hungry in the evenings, and increasingly like 800 cal is pretty unsustainable for me, and then I track upwards? Can this really just be water retention or normal fluctuation?

I know I've got to be patient, but I can't help feeling my metabolism is screwed up. If I'm really carefully cutting back and can't even maintain...what's going to happen when I return to TDE for non fast days.

I'm going to try to do some more exercise today. I do need to measure my milk for drinks more, as I reckon that will have been a factor. And dinner is harder to keep under. But I'm religious with tracking cals at lunch, so I feel very confident that the calories would be between 800-1000 at max, so it still seems as if I should be losing - just more slowly.

Sorry for the rant - I seem to get up in my head with weightloss quite a bit, which is why (since my first major success which went great) I've started the 5:2 thing a few times, and then given up when it doesn't seem to be working.

I’m on here for IF rather than Fast 800 so I don’t know the details of the plan but….

• yes weight definitely does fluctuate! Remember a litre of water weighs a kilo (or a pint and pound, roughly) so you really don’t need to have huge changes in your hydration/ water retention level for it to show up on the scales.
• yes 800 calories a day seems very low to me. The important thing is you saying it feels unsustainable - if it feels unsustainable to you, I can’t believe you are likely to sustain it.

If the ‘head’ side of diets/ food etc is an issue for you, have you tried reading the Last Diet? I have found it really helpful (I’ve been dipping in and out for a year or so now). It isn’t a quick fix but the exercises have really made me stop and think.

Thanks @OneDayIWillLearn (great user name - highly relevant for me!). I have downloaded The Last Diet and will have a read. I think the mental side of dieting is a big thing for me. I often start well and then end up feeling quite grumpy and resentful and/or quickly discouraged when weight doesn't come off as I think it should. On the other hand, and luckily, I am not a hugely emotional eater - I don't binge really. So, even when I feel resentful I'm not likely to sabotage myself with a huge amount of junk food or anything. Instead I'll come off a plan and return to what I think of as 'sensible' approach. And not achieve what I set out to, and just feel a bit shit about it all. I feel extra stupid because I'm not actually overweight by most measures - just heavier than my goal weight, and not fitting into my favourite clothes or feeling that good about how I look.

I think I have to come to terms with the fact that I do put on weight easily. More so now than when I last lost a bit. Also, that it has been going on steadily over the past 6 months not cos of huge overeating, but just steady 'a-little-bit-too-much' eating. Because it's not a huge amount it probably means it will be a bit slower and my body will try to hold on to it.

I'm going to try to be more mindful about the approach. The Fast 800 is used to kickstart weightloss and is time limited, before going into 5:2, I think. I think as you noted, it's not super unsustainable for me at the moment. I think I'll transition into 5:2 and see if I can maintain that instead, but be more careful with logging cals on the two fast days. I think I've been playing a bit fast and loose with my milk for tea, also thinking I can have a glass of wine and it doesn't really 'count' if I've been good all day. It's kind of crazy how much cognitive dissonance I can have around eating or not eating.

Also, making a commitment to exercise at least twice a week. I just went on a 5k run and I feel much better about things. So, goals:

2 x proper vigilant fast days a week
2 x 5k runs (at least) a week
3 or 4 non alcohol days (at least) a week (not that I drink much other days, but do enjoy a small glass of wine when I'm cooking).

Will keep weighing every day (I find this is necessary to keep me on track) but will try to look for the long-term trends, rather than daily fluctuations.

I thought that the criticism of calorie restriction is that it does damage metabolism? I’m no expert and still learning myself but I believe that’s the take of Drs Fung and Ramos.