I F - 5:2 - 4:3 - Maintaining the healthy weight

[TalkinPeace2]

This thread is for those who have been doing IF for quite a while and are now at or nearing their target healthy weight.

How do we experience fasts and balance a stable food intake while having little or no weight to lose?

How to we ensure that this WOE does keep us at the healthy weight long term rather than revert to yoyo games?

I have now been at the same weight for a month. I'm happy with that. I'm also still enjoying the 24 hour fasts because of the clear mindedness I get during them.

How about you?

Yes you are all right.. ill go Shred.. (have busted fast today though,. )

Don't worry about the fast day, you can do one another day.

I'm shredded. It is finally started to get much easier. I had a sneaky peak at level 2 and it doesn't look too scary so I might go for it at the end of the week. (i can't believe I just said that!)

hmm yes.. I was thinking about level 2 also FF definitely will Sunday I think (Sundays are good days for me to fast and exercise).

Yeah its not been a great week for fasting (in fact havent managed one yet!and I now have ) but I might go with giraffes idea and have 500cals tomorrow and Thurs and then a lowish

i've just had fish and chips and am now on the ["not a fast day" emoticon].

I last had fish n chips years ago so this was a real treat - i love chips!

ooh cats I lurrve fish and chips.. I was going to ask how you were but I can see.. you're fine!

hey look at this What does 200 calories look like?

laska put the fast day fail behind you.

filly sorry to hear about your mum & I'll be thinking of you both.

ff I'm plateauing at the moment & have done since Christmas though its more bouncing than plateauing till I bounce down & then stay there for a few weeks & then bounce down again.

If anyone's up I need some motivation - just logged my calories today thinking I've gone over and I am on the cusp of 500, but it's only 3:30 here and I'm very mouth hungry....feeling like a fasting failure constantly at the mo

ATB don't beat yourself up about a mythical number - you may remember I started off on 1200 cals last year! And still lost weight. Have a look at my post on the other thread and just go to plan B!

Say after me, "I am not a failure!"

Good girl!

Yes ATB you could still keep it as low as pos but dont count it as a fail it will still be a vlcd! if there has been something you have been wanting to eat all day but not eating maybe just eat it and then thats it for food today? Anyway you did a cycle marathon at the weekend your body probably needs the calories.

laska yes worth a try, the new 2 day diet app reccommends pushing the low cal days together as the second day makes the most of fat burning state day 1 has got your body into. Or just have a 6:1 week that will be something different for your body and might be benficial for that very reason!

filly so sorry to hear your mums not been well, must have been incredibly difficult going through that and trying to carry on as normal for your daughters party.

Thanks B&W

Just feel rubbish because I'm badly overeating on non fast days. BUT I have pushed through and just had a huge bowl of lettuce, Carrot and mint which has filled the hole, total is coming in around 600cals and DH has said we'll shred tonight when he gets in....so just the evening munchies to ignore and I'm in the home straight

PS laska I am thinking of going more low carb on fast days like you have been so successful with.

well done ATB

was supposed to be how many cals in a gin hmmmm

BCL and FF - I had posted about setpoint. nedic.ca/knowthefacts/documents/Setpointwhatyourbodyistryingtotellyou.pdf. Essentially, when you lose around 10% of your weight, that becomes your new set point which you should maintain for 2 to 3 months before the body is willing to let go of another 10%. But the 10% lost does oodles for your health so hang in there! It makes it easier to deal with the plateau when you know it's your body defending its well-being in a time of scarcity, as it interprets it as.

Frenchfancy - a warning. I plateaued as you did and started cutting further thinking I was doing something wrong. Till I discovered that my body is digging its heels in (ha, ha - picture that!). But in the meanwhile, my digestion sort of threw up its hands so I get a stomach ache when I eat even a full-sized meal outside in the last month. So, don't get to that state.

ATB I ovcasionally go up to 700 calories on a fast day I still think its better than the 1600 that's my TDEE. It's usually when it's TOTM.

Any views on whether on my fast days I should reduce my calories to 400 or is it ok to stick to 500. I'm thinking health benefits & not weight loss.

Hi all, just a quick thought..planning on writing some better responses to everyone at lunch time..

BUT remember when we all started we kept reminding ourselves that we were experimenting?..

It looks like some of us are struggling here either because we are not seeing the fast weight loss now we are so close to our target weight?
or we are failing to fast when we've managed it so well before? .

I think we should just remind ourselves that we are still experimenting here , but this time with maintenance! (i think we can say even those last few pounds off is in the maintenance phase). and isn't that great compared to where we were?

FrenchFancy (and others) reminded me yesterday to remember how far I'd come in so many ways .. and i'm feeling much more positive today..

so yes we are only here on this 'maintainer' thread because we've come so far.. perhaps our bodies just need to catch up with our heads a bit!

Right I am fasting today and tomorrow now , but it will be 2 days of just veggies I think.. I'm still the same weight as before the weekend (a nudge over 10st) so that's great considering the wine i've drank.. but I feel I need a couple of days of pure veg to feel healthy again..

Hi all
just posted on the main thread but wondering if I should join you all here?
Am not maintaining or experienced at this and would appreciate some support but only have approx 7lbs to lose, am interested in health benefits as well as weight loss. Am happy to ask my questions elsewhere if this one not for me. Saw the Horizon programme on a flight to hols (gained a few lbs while away!) & skim read the book last night. Would like to give it a go, inspiring posts.

Yes I agree with Laska we should remember where we were when we started - myself, unhealthy, 12 st 2, size 14. Now healthy and full of energy, 10 st 4, size 10.

I've also had a blip this week on Monday (non-fast day) after normal lunch started to feel strange and then later had to make two very quick trips to the loo (I know, TMI) and therefore didn't eat anymore that day. But Tuesday was my plannned fast so I started that ok until my evening meal when I was so very hungry and went way over my 500. My tummy was now fine but I had a slight headache and was very tired so went to bed early (unheard of for me) and slept the whole night through.
I did feel disappointed in myself last night as this was the first time I had seriously mucked up a fast, but this morning I've read all your posts and now feel differently about it. I suppose we must not beat ourselves up about these small anomalies and just look at the bigger picture, after all we must have been successful in our experiment to have gotten here to the 'maintaining' threads

ThinkICan, thanks for the link. I need to re read that.
Giraffes, re the 2 fasting days together, was there any scientific evidence for this? The reason I ask is because I saw some research last year that indicated that good effects on something ( I think cholesterol) are reversed again after about 30 hours of fasting; makes me wonder if there are now 2 camps developing: those who watched the programme or know about its content and have health benefits in mind as well as weightloss and those who have come to it just as a weightloss diet? I am guessing that there must be a massive amount of new research going on in this field at the moment so perhaps optimum length of fast will get clarified. Presumably Varady et al are all busy with it.

By the way I did not mean to imply that there are 2 camps on here as everyone on this thread is well informed , but out in the world in general following the success of The Fast Diet etc

Border im definately in it for the health benefits .! but thrilled with the weigt loss ..but yes of course we do need tokeep up with the science also

When we have a new thread on here i think we should definately link to the tips and links .. ( sorry nor meant to assume that it will be me doing the new thread.. of course it may not be!!

greenfig Hi ,if you are very new to this you might find some of your concerns about fasting in the first few weeks addressed more onthe other thread, but of course you are welcome to post here also.. Have you read thehints and tips thread (linked on the OP of thread 13? ).which has a lot of the science . also the TDEE stuff?..(but please do ask questions on that on the other thread if thats ok..we are on there also) Good luck with it

Thanks Laska, you're right - in the end last night I went to bed with a widge of home made Beetroot cake and no Shred with pains in my lower tummy. I've been a bit of a bitch the last 24hours too so now actually wondering if TOTM is due, which would explain the overeating!

Fasting today as planned and have the food lined up so I know exactly what I'm eating and feeling more positive. And trying to remember the health benefits too!

I've bought DH a juicer for an early birthday present, thinking of going on a 3-10 day juice fast to cleanse the system through. Anyone any experience they'd like to impart?

Thanks Laska