Hi everyone, I’m new to this site but have researched the subject of fasting for many months. I started ADF last week which, until today, has gone well. I weighed after my first fast and was delighted to see I had lost 3lbs. But today is day 8 (my 5th 36 hour fast). I made the mistake of jumping on the scales only to find I had REGAINED my lost weight! I promptly broke my fast with a salad, having only lasted 18 hours on this fast. I never seem able to stick with anything that doesn’t shows the results I feel are consistent with my efforts – perhaps I need to reassess my expectations. I only want to lose a stone and am happy fasting but still want to enjoy life. I’m 50, 5ft 8ins tall and weigh 11st 9lbs. Having calculated my calorie intake as 1670/420 it is clear why I gained this extra weight in the first place. I have been eating far more than that of late. Whilst I do feel that hormones play their part at this time of my life (perimenopausal and very erratic cycle), there are plenty of women out there who do not have a spare tyre like mine at this age therefore I would rather blame the spare tyre on overindulgence than hormones. Having said that, as a former diet and fitness instructor, I know only too well that trying to lose weight at this age takes so much longer – I spent years preaching to my members in the past. But one thing I thought I would share with all of you apple shapes who despair over your midriff and whether it will ever shrink; I concluded a long time ago that apple shapes need to keep their weight at the lower end of their acceptable range for their height. This is the only way to keep control over a large waistline. Even at my lowest weight of 10 stone, my waist was still 31.5 inches! I taught 13 classes a week (body con, aerobics, salsa, zumba etc). My members could not believe this until I measured myself in front of them. I knew ten years ago that my waist would always be my stubborn area and that is why I kick myself for gaining weight. I’m now sat here feeling bad about breaking my fast although I know tomorrow is another day and this is a long-term thing. It is great to see so many words of encouragement on this site and I’m very glad I found it as support is limited at home. It’s also wonderful to see others doing so well but I have to admit to being particularly envious of those who can still have “bad days” and lose weight! I have spent what feels like my whole life obsessing about every mouthful of food and every ounce on the scales. I really hope that fasting will give me some freedom from this constant obsession with every calorie. It is tedious and boring. Some encouragement would be much appreciated at my weakest point thus far.

Ladies – May I suggest that you stop focusing so much on what you are putting into your bodies and focus more on how much lighter, happier and energized you feel. And notice how this will only continue as you move forward.

I’ve been doing the 5-2 for a year and a half and it’s been a wonderful way to feel good, feel well and be happy.
Just my 2-cents.

hELLO Ladies
I’ve been absent for a few days. I am also on the thread of JoJo58.
Thank you, Femme for your reassuring words. Yes, I have virtually given up the FD for a few days, but trying to eat as little as possible. After nearly 4 months on the ADF, I am having my first problems.
I guess, Femme, as you live in France, you know about the bureaucracy. I spent 2 days this week filing in forms for the rest of my superannuation allowance. I could have torn my hair out, I could have shredded the OH. Instead I ate! sweets, bread etc etc.
I think that cyclonic weather was also a factor. We leave this week for NZ and this is also stressful. So I know now stress and ADF are not happy together. I will try to minimize the damage.
Femme, I am coming back to France in March. Do you think we could meet? I am quite mobile. How about you other France-based ladies-fancy meeting?
Jinkins, I love what you said. Yes happiness comes from the control of our bodies.
Helly Belly Jelly. Have you tried measuring your waist and hips. Even if the weight loss is not constant, these measurements can also give an indication of progress.
Why not write on this thread if you are frustrated rather than eat. You will always get reassurance here.
gguarino, I think we do express our happiness as well as our frustrations.But talking about food is also a joy because with control of our bodies, food becomes so enjoyable. You should hear the French. When they are eating they speak a lot about the things they have eaten recently. That is about pleasure, and French people in general have amazing control of their bodies(though this is changing now for some).
I will be away for a while as there is a lot of travelling coming up.
Keep on keeping on.
XX

Bonjour and welcome JellyBelly – Like you I’ve been a lifelong calorie counter/dieter, and after many years of trial and error have found a Way Of Eating (not another diet) that DOES WORK.
I’m 62, have hypothyroidism, and on the FD have so far lost 1st 2lbs (just over 7 kgs) over 4 months (another 2 stones to go). On previous ‘diets’ I would have been disappointed at the slow loss, but the FD does not deprive me of my favourite foods; it’s flexible to suit our individual lifestyles. Live the FD way and you will lose that stone. I do the 5:2 as I feel the 4:3 (ADF) would be too restrictive for me and more liable to set off a binge – the 5:2 just takes a little longer.

gguarino – it is easy to forget the FD is not just a way of losing weight, but a way of improving our health, and only be focused on the weight loss. After a few short months I definitely feel more positive and confident and have much more energy.

Jinkins – my weight too has fluctuated even though I stick rigidly (well almost) to the 5:2 – I’m still trying to wean myself off the daily weigh-in to avoid the ups/downs.

Kiwi – I hope this week’s move back to New Zealand goes smoothly. You mention the french bureaucracy – as I am nowhere near fluent I am fortunate to have had my daughter to help me, otherwise I would feel totally lost. Also we have discovered that the french bureaucrats have a very ‘brusque’ manner, and if you are brusque in return you get things done, although it still takes a long time.
Burgundy missed the cyclonic weather and yesterday particularly was superb – I went to the last book club of the year (lots of the group return to the UK for the winter months) in a small village called Vaux, quite near Cluny, and as I was not driving I was able to enjoy the delights of the countryside.
Like you Kiwi, I love food, both cooking, entertaining and eating – wherever I travel my souvenirs are always food/delicacies local to the area. Food is high up on my list of life’s pleasures and the FD allows me to indulge (and lose weight!)
Your suggestion to meet on your return to France in March is a lovely idea; I am also mobile although the trains here are excellent; and by then we will both be at our target weights!!

Slimmersylv – I recall you are also in France, and well done on losing 2lbs.

ginandtonic2 – another French resident if I remember right – how’s the FD going for you?

Carolinejane – I hope you are managing to work the FD around your shifts. Enjoy London, and especially the poppies at the Tower of London which look so poignant, and what an amazing sight. And I see that you are also taking a trip to the Yorkshire Dales – I am quite envious as I lived just outside Skipton and used to walk all over the Dales, enjoying a pub lunch on the way. Whereabouts are you visiting? I’m also very fond of the Lake District and try to get back each year.

Have a lovely weekend everybody,
A bientot
Femme

Hi Keirra

Poor you – you’ve got so much on your plate already and the menopause on top of it all now. No wonder you feel down occasionally. I went through the menopause years ago ( at 39 – I’m now 64) and I was actually unaware I was going through it! But obviously that was unusual. Now all my friends have been or are going through it now and one thing I do know is that everybody reacts differently to the hormone fluctuations. Some people seem to be OK – manage it with homeopathic remedies (and alcohol!). Others have automatically gone on HRT and seem to be continuing as normal although whether that’s sustainable is arguable. Then there are a large group who are really suffering mood swings and flushes and find life very hard. It also seems to be a time of life when awful things happen – parental care and death; illness; child problems- and it is really hard to cope. A lot of this group end up at the doctors and are often prescribed anti-depressants – short term relief but what happens when they stop?
So whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up – you’re doing fine. You’re also lucky to have an OH who tries to help and understands. You’re very sensible to start on the FD now – the menopause definitely makes it harder to lose/maintain weight and that carries on through the rest of your life so making such a positive change now is a great move. It gives you a new WOL which will keep your weight under control.
Keep at it – you’re doing a great job!

Jinkins

Hi

This is my second day on the 5:2 diet and I am very optimistic. I will be 67 years old in a couple of weeks, have 1 knee replacement and osteoarthritis is the other knee. My blood pressure is controlled by medication. I became very unfit during a long recovery from the knee surgery but have been exercising at the gym three times a week for the past year. My diet was out of control (I eat healthy meals but snack a lot)so I lost no weight,though I have got stronger and much fitter. I now realize that I have been a bit lazy at the gym and that I must do high intensity exercise to get results (eating crisps, cheese, and chocolate regularly was not helping weight loss or health!)I plan to fast twice each week, to raise my heartbeat to 85%-90% of maximum three times a week through interval training on non-fast days;and to ditch the junk snacks that I add to an otherwise healthy diet. Starting weight 82 kg, height 5ft.3.5 inches. My primary motivation for the Fast Diet is improved indicators of health and I hope to follow the plan indefinitely – any aesthetic improvements in my shape will be a bonus.

Hi Jinkins.

Congratulations on your results so far.

I enjoy homemade soup too – butternut squash, carrot and onion in chicken stock with a clove of garlic and some grated nutmeg is delicious. Blitzed in the food processor.Tonight I will be having lentil soup and maybe a mixed salad.

I completed my second fast day yesterday, early evening, and am not at all hungry this morning. So I’m having a leisurely lemon and ginger tea and then off to the gym for some high intensity short-burst training.(I quickly raise my heartbeat to maximum with brisk walking, so mercifully don’t have to attempt to run). I’m very pleased with what the scales are telling me, having only started this regime on Sunday, and I’m enjoying feeling less bloated around my midriff.Looking forward to soon getting into a couple of pairs of unworn trousers that have been in my wardrobe for the past year.

Stick with it ladies! It’s not all about weight loss – we are all going to be a lot healthier and hopefully live for a long time.I’m almost 67 and want to see my one-year old granddaughter reach adulthood.

Hi HellyJB
That must make things hard if you are craving carbs all the time. Have you tried Chromium Picolinate? That is supposed to take the edge off things.
I am gutted! My scales say I have gained the two pounds I lost last week! I admit I haven’t been perfect. Have had visitors all week, (and have weighed a day early this week (following a fast day)), but have been sticking quite rigidly to my alternate day fast days, though more than likely eating more than my required calories on eating days. But all the same. Two pounds? On?
Oh well, my visitors leave tomorrow evening, so Friday, back on it good and proper and hope to lose something next week. That wedding is forever looming!

Bonjour from Burgundy – just a brief post to say I am off to visit my grandson in the Uk for the next week, so doubt I’ll get the opportunity to post. I shall give myself a break from the 5:2, and definitely won’t weigh myself until I get back!

Have a good FD week and I look forward to catching up with you all on my return.

A bientot
Femme

Morning all

There are lots of us who seem to fluctuate all the time due to water retention/loss and it can be soooo depressing! I seem to have put ON a lb of my 4lbs loss now despite sticking to my FD’s and TDEE and I keep telling myself it will right itself in the longer term but it’s difficult. Mind you I seem to thinking my jeans are looser so who knows! And on the subject of water, DON’T GO TO SEE THE MOVIE TURNER if you’re having a day when you pee a lot. I did and it’s nearly three hours long! Towards the end I was squirming in my seat and screaming (silently of course) ‘DIE TURNER DIE!’ so that I could go to the loo……….
Have a good weekend everyone – it’s still warm and sunny here.

Jinkins

Hi all , new to this site and this type of eating plan (decided not to call it a diet) although my aim is to loose 1.1/2st. I use to be able to control my weight but since turning 59 I just cant seem to loose the weight I have gained over the last year, my daughter suggested that I do the 5:2 fast , so here goes I am going to start tomorrow morning after doing a bit of research today, so wish me luck , and I will keep in touch.

It’s 7.50 a.m. Monday morning. Third fast day ended this morning and I don’t feel especially hungry. I found yesterday very easy. Ate a largish portion of M&S fish pie at 6.30 p.m. on Saturday and then nothing other that lemon and ginger tea or water until 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, when I ate 100g of steamed chicken and a large salad with 1 tspn olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. (20 hour fast). Had an apple at around 6.30 pm. and nothing since then (11 hour fast). I slept badly – managed to get through a paperback during the night (The Rosie Project – recommend) but I can have a nap today if I feel like it. I’m very pleased with the first week of the fast and am more focused on health benefits than on weight loss, so won’t be too disappointed if I lose slowly. Generally, I’m feeling much more alert, and happier.

I exercise aerobically by interval training on the treadmill three times a week (non-fast days, raising my heartbeat to 85-90% of the maximum for my age (calculate maximum as 220 minus your age – 220-67 in my case).

Speedy – I agree with your comments about not eating too frequently during a fast day – the idea, as explained by Dr. Mosely, is to give the pancreas a rest. It also seems important to stay within the TDEE on non-fast days.

Hi girls, just back from four days in the Yorkshire Dales which was lovely. Did a fair bit of walking and fasted 16 hours each day, just eating a meal each evening. I did set myself an initial target to lose weight by this Saturday, 8th November as I have a houseful for a bonfire party and wanted to at least look as though I had shed a few pounds since the last time they all saw me. Sadly, despite repeated fasting and long periods of feeling quite hungry, not an ounce seems to have budged. My cycle has completely disappeared and I am growing increasingly concerned that intermittent fasting, far from being good for my health, may be having the opposite effect. Just thought, if you haven’t done much research on the subject of fasting, you might like to read this http://paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/ – I’d be interested to hear your views ladies.

Post menopausal here, 54 years old. Weight loss is very hard, I was menopausal 46. I find the best thing is low carb, exercise, sleep. Not too much fruit, cheese, keep alcohol to a minimum. Atkins and Dietdoctor.com are good diet outlines to follow. Good Luck This would be a great topic for Dr Mosley to do.

Hi TW! nice to have you back.
14 kilos in 4 months! that’s brilliant! Can you tell me exactly what you do and I will copy it.
I lost the plot for a week or so, and since going back to it have not lost any more. I’m hoping this week will show a loss. I’ve made a load of veg soup and have that on fast days now, so keeping easily within 500 cals.
I do need to lose this weight asap and would give my right arm to lose as much as you ( actually if I gave my right leg, I might! ha ha).
( not much) Slimmersylv XxX

Bonjour from Burgundy – just a quick post to let everyone know I’m still around – been a very busy couple of weeks but will post again soon with an update.

Femme

Hi all. Just wanted to post that I am pretty happy today. This week I have lost 1.2kgs and considering I went to a 21st and drank a fair bit, I am extra happy. I have lost 3.2kg in 7 weeks now. I know its not much (works out about .4kg per week), but if I can keep doing that, eventually my weight will be where I will be comfortable. The last two weeks I have been trying to stick to my TDEE on non fast days and it seems to be working as I have lost each week. The two weeks beforehand I had been putting on, even though I thought I hadn’t been eating much and had had good fast days. Anyway I seem to be back on track now with a plan that seems to be working. Its a fast day for me today and I am now full of confidence.

Jinkins. I would also like to try the simple cabbage soup you sent. It seems like it would be delicious. Thank you for sending it.

I truly am enjoying 5:2. I think I have reached my goal after 12 months. Lost another pound which was a surprise after being stable for 3 months. I will continue with 5:2 unless I loose more than 3 more. Then I might consider 6:1 a couple times a month.

I enjoy vegetables and eat mild red radishes if I get hungry before dinner. I might say I enjoy having two days a week when I know what we will have for meals. Don’t vary that a lot. My husband is fine with it. On the five I can vary things up a bit. Pea Jay

Are you still there, Femme and Slimmersylv?

I am on ADF, Slimmersyl. That helpd for losing weight, though I am not losing very fast at present.

I am on the Join JoJo thread. That is more active than this thread.
XX TW

Mmm, had a look at Join Jo Jo, but it’s so well established, seems to be more people keeping in touch than actual info about losing 2 pounds per week.
I’m going to just be more strict with myself on my ADF and hopefully that will work (no loss last week – but had one quite OTT and one VERY OTT day, so serves me right!)
Not very much slimmerSylv

Hi slimmerSylv. I used to post regularly on this thread but things went downhill a bit and now, even though I usually read, I rarely post.

TW’s right about encouragement and support on Jojo’s thread. Certainly it contains lots of chat but so did this one until a few months ago. We also report our ups and downs and cheer each other on.

Best wishes, Nicky.

hi Puckertoe
well at least you seem to be aware of all the positives for you and that’s great!
I’m Thinking I might have to do meal replacement to lose the weight and then hopefully 5:2 to keep it off as the AdF just isn’t working fast enough for me. Weigh day tomorrow and been good this week so will see.
Slimmersylv

Hi ladies!! Well I started the 5;2 last Feb. I am 53 now, and I found it impossible to loose weight on any other diet. The 5;2 did work , but if I was using the scales I would have given up in the first month. I relied on the measuring tape which showed a downward trend every week!!! I started with a 37 inch waist which is now 29 inches. I am 5 ft 4ins by the way! My hips went from 43 ins to 36 ins. So please please THROW AWAY THE SCALES!! When I was doing the 5;2 for a few months I decided to start weighing in. In total I lost about 2 stone, but the scales always lagged behind the measuring tape. When we are post 50, the scales are sluggish. Dont just focus on your waist either, measure several points around your body. Thats my bit of advice, I hope it helps a little. GOOD LUCK!!!

Hi Slimmersylv
Just a suggestion. ..I got my OH off the need for sugar on fast days (and now most of the time) by serving him a tiny ramekin full of blueberries, a teaspoon of full fat natural yoghurt, a dusting of cinnamon and a sprinkle of almond flakes with a black coffee. He feels he’s had a dessert and doesn’t then crave a sugar hit as it satiates. Try it! 🙂 PVE