Frustrated and Trying Hard

This topic contains 10 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by Merryme 9 years ago.

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clav

4:35 pm
11 Nov 15
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I started this 5:2 May 26th. I’ve lost about 20 lbs (which I am happy with) but that was between 5/26 and Sept 1. Then nothing. I have followed the 500 calories twice a week, read other forums and adjusted TDEE. I am active 5x a week (bootcamp style exercise) and eat fairly well. I have been dieting my whole life and I know what good nutrition is and what is not. After reading forums where everyone just suggests eating more, or eating less, or adjusting this or that… I’ve done it… and NOTHING budges. I eat between 1400- 1600 calories on non-fast days (5’3″). I even took a week off (on vacation- but didn’t go crazy) and now two weeks later, same weight. Why did I loose so consistently for 8 weeks, then nothing… I am frustrated and feel I am missing something. I’ve also read people say they hit a plateau… but for over two months?

Any suggestions, insights, etc. I still have about 45 lbs to loose and WANT TO GET IT DONE!

Thanks

milena

5:35 pm
11 Nov 15
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Well, you are making progress – you’re ticking off a list of what nots working! Always a bright side.

20lbs in 3 months is amazing – but it would have taken longer than 3 months to put it on and I reckons our bodies have a way of balancing things out – so a slow down might be good for you. I had a big loss early in my journey and now I can do 4 fast days in a week and not lose an ounce – then again early on I could gain half a stone within 4 or 5 days, last time I had a break – lots of eating – didn’t put on a pound.

So its not just me and its not just you – but after a slow period, I’m losing, though in fits and starts and not when you might expect.

We are the same height – are you reducing your TDEE as the weight goes down? I’m finding 1200 calories and 3 or 4 fasts shifts a pound or two – well below my current TDEE which is near 1600 cals.

I’ve tried different things – now I just relax about it all – used to weigh every day, now just when I feel like it – I’m down forty odd pounds, would like to lose another 40 – so looks like we are in the same boat.

If I can lose 80 lbs in two years I think it will wonderful, though for a long time I was hoping to do it in a year – I’m well into my eleventh month and it ain’t gonna happen in a year – but realistically my timescales are fine, its a marathon, not a sprint. Took a few years to put it on, makes sense it will take time to take it off and I think everyone underestimates the amazing thing is that we have all STOPPED THE INCREASE.

So my suggestion is patience – do calorie counting for two weeks and be strict, that will tell you a great deal. And if you know the exact numbers and haven’t lost anything in that two weeks – you may just need fewer calories.

Let me know how you get on – eat less than your body needs and you WILL lose – take the time to find out how much your body needs.

And… exhale

6:30 pm
11 Nov 15
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Totally agree with Milena, except for one thing: for some people, eating a lot less than their TDEE for non-Fast Days has the opposite effect and weight loss can grind to a halt. Part of the reason this way of eating works so well is due to the relatively modest calorie-deficit achieved each week. Radically reducing your total weekly cals by upping your FDs and cutting a quarter of your TDEE may upset this, although then again, as Milena says, everyone’s different and it might just do the trick.

You mention that you’re training five times a week – maybe your weight is static because you’re putting on muscle? Are you seeing a change in your measurements/total body fat?

Maybe a couple of weeks of eating exactly to your TDEE at ‘sedentary’ level, upping it to 4:3 and weighing and logging absolutely everything might help kick-start things?

Let us know how it goes!

simcoeluv

7:05 pm
11 Nov 15
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Hi clav and welcome:

If you have lost 20 pounds since 5/26, then you are losing slightly less than one pound a week. Given your height, that would be about normal. So congratulations on your success! You are right on track.

Going forward, you must understand that you have to eat less and less to continue losing weight because your TDEE falls as you lose weight. (And please do not get fixated on the TDEE number generated by a calculator. They are estimates. If you have not lost weight in months, you are currently eating to your TDEE regardless of what any calculator may say.) There are no magic foods that will cause you to lose weight, eating more calories will not cause you to lose weight, and eating at one time rather than another will not cause you to lose weight. Weight loss is not rocket science, it is simple – you have to eat less to lose weight, and if you eat more, you will not lose and may gain weight.

This thread will help you figure out what you may be ‘doing wrong’, if anything, and what you can do to get your weight loss going again: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/on-plateaus/. And please remember, at your height and TDEE level, weight loss on 5:2 will be slower than average. This will explain: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/tdee-for-the-curious-or-why-dont-i-lose-weight-faster/.

One of the hardest things for dieters to come to grips with is the fact the human body needs far fewer calories than the dieter can imagine to operate each day. After years of overeating (or they would not be gaining weight) it is very hard to eat so few calories. And that is just to maintain – to lose, you need to eat less!

Good Luck!

wannababfab

12:26 pm
13 Nov 15
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I’m similarly frustrated and annoyed with the diet. I have been doing this since August and despite ensuring I don’t go over my TDEE calories on non-fast days and stay within 500 calories on fast days (getting adequate fibre and vitamins in those calories), I have simply “lost” and “re-gained” the same 1-2lbs for the last three months. I have taken a calendar and written my weight down each day to keep track, measuring once a week and even if I compare my weight each Sunday (measurement day), or any other day for that matter, it shows the exact same fluctuation of 1-2lbs appearing and reappearing.

Indeed, I have checked my measurements and have tightened up a bit but not as much as other posts say they have and I would attribute this to body composition rather than the diet (but maybe I’m being cynical). In total, my waist has lost half an inch and bust/hips/lower hips/thigh/calf have remained largely the same – i.e. less than half an inch difference. Even my clothes reflect this minor change not being much looser than half an inch in the waist.
I have considered gaining muscle as a source of this but, again, other posts cite I should see either more inches off or more weight, neither of which is occurring. I started at 67.5kgs in August and if I have gained enough muscle to cover what should be 0.5lb-1lb (1/4-1/2 a kilo) a week, then by that math I have gained ~6kgs of muscle – something I don’t think is likely but perhaps I’m wrong.

Can someone advise me on this or at least tell me some useful advice I HAVEN’T addressed above?

For your consideration, I’m female, 168cm (5’6) and fluctuating between 66.6 and 67.5kgs (146.8-148.8lbs). I’m 26 and do four hours of intense dance training a week, a 1-1.5 hour walk on fast days (2x/week), and primarily bike (10km round trip) or walk (only one way as 5km by foot is time consuming) to work/dance class. Also, I don’t eat red meat or processed meat at all, but get protein from eggs, poultry, fish, and beans. I also eat a lot of salads (and yes, I watch how much homemade dressing goes on), homemade soups (squash, carrot, mixed vegetable), and fruit, and have mueseli with skim yoghurt and a banana everyday for breakfast.

I decided I would try this diet until January 1st, so I won’t just give up now, but keep in mind twelve weeks and a minuscule change is defeating 95% of the time, 5% of me still hopes I an lose the 5kgs (10lbs) I set out to lose.

Amazon

1:31 pm
13 Nov 15
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Hi

Looking at your statistics you aren’t overweight so probably don’t have very much to lose. I don’t know how or where you calculated your TDEE but I suggest you do it again using the how it works link and enter sedentary as your activity level and your goal weight. Try sticking to the TDEE it gives for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference.

Good luck

milena

1:32 pm
13 Nov 15
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Hi

I always eat under the TDEE of my weight less a stone or a stone and a half – as Sim says, we have to get to grips with what we need calorie wise – and according to my TDEE at target weight I will only need around 1350 calories – my TDEE is around 1500 at the moment. My target TDEE was a tad too daunting – so I always eat to around stone or a stone and a half less than my current weight – at the moment I am eating under 1400 – that means a if I lose another stone or so and say eating the same, the weight will stay the same. Might work if you give that a go.

Also, there does seem to be a bit in the theory that not all calories are equal – low carb, high protein might give you a push. I have been doing 3 or more fasts a week lately and standing still, I am getting used to not weight loss over a week, but it does come and fretting when won’t hurry it, but I am changing to low carb after next week to see if it has an effect on me.

The important thing to remember is, if you have stayed the same weight, you are not putting weight on – and that is the most under-rated achievement. Stopping weight gain is so important, and it hard to do. You have that part sorted – now for the losing part! It does work, you just need to work out how to make it work.

LaurenRuby

5:30 pm
16 Nov 15
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I find that stress likes to hold on to the extra weight. I know it sounds crazy, but if you take care of yourself (i.e. getting a massage, going to the sauna) it helps release those extra lbs.

Jenna Mishon

9:10 pm
26 Nov 15
Permalink

I pray that I be taken seriously. I wish to lose weight, help me! I have started with ‘fast walk’ and a diet. 20 minutes a day I ride the bicycle. I drink 2 – 3 liters of water a day, coffee and tea without sugar. Wine drinker.
I have a feeling that I am ‘constantly hungry,’ especially in the late afternoon and evening. When I am hungry, I try to avoid bread and pasta.

Do you have some drops, capsules or tea against appetite? One month I would take anything, only to lose the constant feeling of hunger, and will drink liquids rather but it does not help.

I have 46 years, on the job (8.5 hours) I sit constantly. Cooking, cleaning, ironing, usually all of the women in the four-member family work. For myself I have little time. I eat when I’m sad and frustrated … I have found a lot advices on websites like http://healthyfitnatural.com/ but it simply won’t work on me as on those people who reccommended it to me. Many people try hard, I know… I am one of them but that weight simply won’t go. Like those pounds are stuck to me and are my best friend. 😀

Merryme

12:55 pm
27 Nov 15
Permalink

Hi,
Congratulations on stopping the weight gain, which is not a small feat. Also may I commend you for hanging in there, not giving up. That is something special because there are a lot of people who will give up things quickly, but you guys are still here, and working through things to find out why you’re not losing.

I’m 65, female, 5’6″ (169cms) with a chronic illness that makes me sedentary by necessity. I have lost 16kgs in 13 1/2 months, and now 67kgs. My TDEE is 1500 cals/day. I have plateaud a couple of times. I have had to work through a few things myself to work out how best to lose weight. I have to rely totally on diet alone to lose weight. May I make some suggestions about things that have helped me, and remember that everyone is an individual. We have generalities, but we also have individual responses to foods.

1. Record everything you eat and drink for a week or 2. It’s tedious, yes, but worth it to work out how to get you started. Make sure you add in things like a spoonful of oil in frying etc.

2. Underestimate your fitness level. Put your fitness level at the level below the one you think you are. It’s very common for people to over estimate their fitness level. Do the TDEE rating using the table on The Fast Diet Tracker.

3. FD calories are given as 500 for females, 600 for males OR a 1/4 of your TDEE. Eg 1/4 of my TDEE is 375cals. Stick to 1/4 TDEE on FDs instead of 500cals.

4. There appear to be a group of people who report that they cannot lose weight if they eat grain foods and starchy carbs e.g, potato, pumpkin, white sweet potato. For me, I lost weight for awhile including some starchy carbs. After about 3 months I plateaud. Not unusual except that the plateau kept going past what it should. The grain/starchy carb idea was suggested to me. I have tested this myself 3 times using both normal grains and starchy carbs and gluten free substitutes. When I take these out I will continue to lose weight. With them in I will plateau and sometimes yoyo a bit. I’ve proved to my satisfaction that I’m one of these people who do not lose weight when eating any of these foods. The calories can be the same on the grains and off them. I don!t know why it does this.

5. Check your FD is from after dinner time say, 8pm on a Sunday, FD on the Monday, and the FD finishes when you eat on Tuesday. If that’s 8am, then your FD is 36hrs long. I wait till 12 noon before I eat on the Tuesday, lengthening the fast to 40hrs.

6. On nonFDs you don’t have to eat right up to your TDEE. I can eat up to it but often I’m just not that hungry and will come in 100-300cals lower. If you went 100cals lower each nonFD that’s 500cals less over the week.

7. On FDs I started out eating 3 small meals, then 2. I discovered that I got used to the feel of not eating and it didn’t bother me much UNTIL I ate something. After that I was much hungrier and more likelt to be looking for something to eat and not feeling satsfied. There are plenty of people on the forum who call that ‘waking the hunger dragon’. Now I don’t eat on a FD till 6pm. It works much better.

8. I maximise my weight loss if I eat in a 5-8hr window on a nonFD. I have done 5hr windows, but much prefer 8hrs, asI find it more comfortable and so easier. On nonFDs I don’t eat till after 12noon and finish at 8pm – an hr 8 window that means I go 16hrs without food or caloried liquids out of each 24. It’s called 16:8 and is not uncommon on here. Again I don’t know why this works, it just does, for me.

9. I choose only foods that are the lowest glycaemic index and lowest cal on FDs. Eg, protein, seafood -calamari (not breaded and fried’, prawns, basa fillets are all under 100cals/serve. Vegies – broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, onion (not fried), most mushrooms, cabbage, brussell sprouts, zucchini, tomatocelery, and the salad vegetables. In protein my next choice is boiled egg, kangaroo meatballs or steak from Coles, about 100cals/100, lean chicken breast, lean pork e.g leg steak cut off a boned pork leg, fat cut off. Portion sizes are approx 125gm. Fruit – the combination of fruit with the lowest glycaemic index (GI) and lowest cal are – strawberries, rockmelon, apple, pear, orange, blueberries. If you use tofu brands vary in calories quite a bit, so find the lowest in cals/100gm. Lowest in nuts are pistachios then peanuts. Eat sparingly. Use stock for soups e.g. Clear soups not creamy ones. Get a gadget that turns zucchini into fake pasta, can’t remember the name. You get the picture -constantly check the cals/100gms on the cans, packets etc. if it’s in kjs divide by 4.2 to get cals. Don’t drink calories – drink water, tea, peppermint tea is a common favourite on FDs, sparkling water or soda water with dinner. Sluces of lemon or lime in the water.

10. A 3rd FD mostly only achieves 100 gms. It can be more frustating and lead to feelings of deprivation, while others do it happily. While losing weight you are also setting into place patterns of eating that are sustainable long term after the weight is off. The science isn’t all in yet so we are all our own guinea pigs. Be patient. Keep records and work through strategies seeing what works. Don’t fool yourself e.g. I fast till midday ( I only have a boiled egg at 8am). Nuh, it’s a fast till 8am. I only have a boiled agg in the morning ( I have green veg or 1/2 sluce of toast with it) . Nope, you have a boiled egg with veg/toast. Don’t underestimate the weight or calories of food portions – weigh and count.

Time for bed, must go,
Cheers,
Merry

Merryme

11:56 pm
27 Nov 15
Permalink

Good morning and following on,

11. Another strategy I have heard of as successful, but not used, is to calculate your TDEE and 1/4 TDEE using your long term goal weight, and use those calorie totals as your present cals even though you’re not there yet. This, of course, does 2 things. It will drop the calories per day over 7 days which will add up to a reasonable drop in the week. It also gets you used to work out long term strategies for how to eat after you’ve reaced goal weight.

12. An observation of seeing how people go at this over the year+ I’ve been doing this is that people not getting the results they want – either plateauing a long time or not losing as fast as they want to – is to really put themselves into deprivation they really find very difficult. Even if they continue this deprivation through dogged determination, they are suffering emotionally. May I suggest that this is not the way to go. The mind is a powerful thing, and it does affect the body. To try to lose weight this way is, in my opinion, a recipe for failure long term. 5:2 is not just a way to make us healthier it has the side benefit of weight loss leading to weight normalisation. To then sustain that weight normalisation we need to have lost the weight in a way that is emotionally and psychologicaly comfortable. This is a Way Of Eating or Way of Life. (WOE orWOL). As you lose weight you are discovering what your body responds well to, and it also will retrain you WOE or WOL if you let it. When your weight is normal, or at your long term goal, if you go back to eating the way you did before you will simply put the weight back on.

If you systemmatically eat or drink extra every day it is inevitable. Things that are 1 offs are different. E.g. Special celebrations, whatever they for you. We have at this time of year Diwali, Christmas, New Year, Hogmanny, Hannukah, etc may I suggest that for these things you limit when you eat the special celebratory things. Eg. Christmas – eat them on Christmas Day. Commercially, in the Western World, we get these foods and drinks pushed at us for a couple of months. That doesn’t mean we have to eat and drink those things for weeks before and after Christmas. Christmas day (or Christmas Eve if that’s your cultural heritage ) is enough. A food binge over a longer period will lead to permanent weight gain, and is really just gluttony, and giving in to commercial advertising. One day won’t. It also makes it feel more special.

13. If you’re hungry but not the time to eat, have glass of water, or clean your teeth, or hot pepoermint tea are all tried and true answers. You will find a favourite in there. I use all 3 at different times. Sonetimes you have to trick your mind into thinking you’ve eaten. Cleaning their teeth does that for some people.

14. Spice up the food you eat. A lot of peopke swear by adding some chilli or strong spices to foods. I find this helps also. E.g. On a FD if I eat bland food I will still feel unsatisfied. If it’s stronger tasting I’m not. The stronger tasting food is much more satisfying. Again, it’s tricking your mind into thinking it’s had more.

15. Last strategy is planning. Many peopke plan their FD food in advance. They have portions of things in the freezer ready to go, either already made up or divided up ready to cook. The peopke who do this often plan and prepare a month’s food ahead of time. They find the planning and prepping makes it easier for them to follow their FD menu.

Jenna, hi, I and a number of other people find peppermint tea helps on FDs and other days. Go back and reread point 7. You may be someone for whom Waking-The-Hunger-Dragon is a challenge. Try starting to eat later on in the day. Many people also find soups with some lean protein and low cal, lowGI vegies helps. Making up a batch of these then weight out portions that you know the calories of e.g. 150 or 200cals, then freezing them helps. They can heat up a portion as needed or required to suit their calories for the day.

Bye for now,
Cheers,
Lucy