Hi everyone,

I decided to have a more structured approach to my weight loss goals, so here I am. Posting here to document my progress more easily, and also for support and accountability.

Weight loss goals: about 10 Kg, give or take. I’ll see how I feel if/when I get there. I use Hacker’s Diet to track my daily weigh-ins as I prefer to go by the overall trend.

I have done a bit of intermittent fasting about five years ago, to get out of plateauing, and it worked out well then. Unfortunately, I have found out that weight tends to creep in when I am not paying attention, so I’ll have to be more careful and proactive about maintenance in the future. Probably switching to a 6:1 then but we’ll see.

I do some exercise already: I alternate a bunch of home workouts, combined with strength training and HIIT. I either walk or ride my bike to work (but it’s less than 4Km each way, so not much of an exercise). I want to get back into running, but I decided to lose some weight before that, to spare my joints.

My relationship to food… it’s complicated. 🙂 I have been a pescetarian for more than four years now, and my diet is generally healthy. My main issues are with portions, calories estimates and mindless snacking. So there’s room for improvement.

My first “fast” day was on Saturday. I finished my dinner around 9 PM on Friday and I didn’t eat anything until 9-ish PM on Saturday, when I had a <500 cal meal. Having done IF before, I knew I could handle 20-24 hrs without any food at all, and I find it’s the best approach for me. I survived on plenty of water and green tea. I even managed to do a workout in the morning. The hunger pangs were worse around 5 PM… A few hours after my meal, which I ate slowly, I felt the pangs again, but I managed to get through a good night of sleep. The interesting thing was noticing that I was relaxed about food on Sunday. My eating was more mindful, and my portions were more reasonable.

That’s it for now. 🙂 My second fast day will probably be on Wednesday. Keeping my schedule flexible, as long as I “fast” twice a week on non-consecutive days.

Good luck with your goals, Eluminadia!

This red zone weight tip is a good one. When weight creeps in it happens because I am not paying attention or weighing myself regularly. So when I finally do it, I have a lot more to lose than I’d like!

It’s great that you are incorporating running as well. I think I’ll want to wait a month or so (or lose about 4Kg) before I hit the trails. Sticking to low impact for now.

Anedoctally, my previous experience with IF was through a suggestion of a doctor when I complained that, despite all the running I did (I was doing half marathons and training for a marathon then), I wasn’t able to lose any serious weight (ok, I certainly lost fat and gained muscle but the numbers didn’t budge much downwards). This was because running increased my appetite a lot, obviously, so I would scarf down bowls of pasta or whatever after a long run. This doctor suggested then I tried eating very little twice a week (a bowl or two of soup or something like that), which is a lot like this 5:2 plan.

One of the main struggles I am hoping to get through this time around is to discard exercise (and calories consumed in workouts) in this weight loss process. Exercising to get fit/maintain and calories restriction for weight loss. I have lost 10+ Kg two or three times since my teens without trying (I wasn’t paying attention), and I wasn’t exercising then.

Everyone who is fasting today: hang in there! 🙂

Another successful fast day on Wednesday. However I felt pretty tired and sluggish on Thursday. It also happened the day after my second fast on the first week. I don’t know yet if it’s related to my workouts or if what I eat for breakfast after a fast day makes a difference… Protein vs cereals.

Fasting again today. It will make 3 fasts this week (Sunday, Wednesday, Friday) but there was no way I could fit in 2 fast days next week, due to social commitments and a long weekend trip.

The scale isn’t budging much yet. According to the Hacker’s Diet spreadsheet I’m losing weight at a rate of 0.3 Kg per week. However, it’s true that my body is changing its shape. Let’s see where I will be after a month of this…

I also am trying on a specific pair of jeans once a week. It’s great for motivation! 🙂

Dunno if this will help in your case: as you know, I only eat at dinnertime during fast days, which allows me to cook a “normal” meal I can share with my partner AND a glass of red wine as well! 😉 I have used some of the recipes in the book (just doubling them) and looked around online and in recipe books for delicious meals with servings under 400 calories. I cook those type of meals on most non-fast days as well. I cut a LOT on bread and pasta, and I think it helps too.

So, what happens is that breakfast is usually around 300 calories tops, and lunch and dinner are rarely more than 500 Kcal each. Those are my main meals. I have something for tea but it is never more than 300 calories. And whenever I snack (which isn’t as often as it used to be!), it’ll be a tangerine or a Carr’s cracker. The calculators give me a 1775 TDEE for a sedentary lifestyle and a 2293 TDEE for a moderately active lifestyle (exercise 3-5 times a week, which is my case).

So, I guess that, by aiming at below 2000 cal on non-fast days and keeping my two 500 cal “fast” days, I’ll be doing fine in the long run.

Maybe try something like that, taking into account your own TDEE?

Fasting today after the long Easter weekend out of town. I was worried I would get carried away with the daily dinners at awesome restaurants, but it was fine. We walked a lot and I managed to fit in two workouts as well.

Weighed myself again today and the number was at its lowest since I started this. My partner says that the changes in my body are pretty noticeable and thinks that I lost 5Kg already. Not really (at least, not on the scale), but it’s hard to tell since I have been doing strength training as well.

I choose not to worry too much about numbers and use other guidelines besides the scale, such as the way my clothes fit and the mirror. I also took a few pics of myself a week ago, I will do that again in three or four weeks and compare.

Anyway, I am happy because I think I am on the right track. 🙂

I am sure you didn’t actually gain 2kg of fat, Eluminadia! That would be 14 000 extra calories… Some of it must be water retention.

But yes, getting back on track after overindulging is a good idea. Two steps forward, one step back. What matters is that you keep going. 🙂

Have a good fast day today!

Last week was a bit of a bust 5:2wise. I don’t know if it was due to that time of the month, a hectic social schedule and some stress. Maybe all of it. I tried fasting one day last week, and while I did last until dinnertime without eating, I went over 500 calories (no junk food, but still).

On the other hand, I didn’t quite fall all the way off the wagon. I did all my scheduled workouts and I ate sensibly for the most part, and I kept my weigh-ins. I am still losing weight above the 0.5 Kg/week rate. I met a friend whom I hadn’t seen in two months, and he complimented me, asking if I had been working out. 😉

Only about 5Kg to lose to reach my first goal. Should take two or three months, taking into account some plateauing.

I’ll be fasting today (and again, either on Wednesday or Friday); I really want to get back on track!