It is fine for you to post here … I should too. I just feel guilt when more than 4 or 5 of the posts on a page are from myself!
This topic contains 1,453 replies, has 174 voices, and was last updated by dykask 4 years, 9 months ago.
I’m not that far from 15% body fat, if I got to my goal weight of 75kg I would probably be around 12% body fat unless I start losing muscle mass again. When I was using calorie restriction I got to the point where I couldn’t maintain my lean body mass. However I was more than 10kg heavier then.
However as the body fat gets lower it actually seems to be harder to lose. Probably isn’t true, just that it is more noticeable.
At my peak weight of 106kg I was around 36% body fat.
When I had a DEXA scan done I was at 24.1% body fat.
Weight: 86.388kg (at the time, I’m now typically under 82kg same hydration level)
Lean: 62309g
Fat : 20850g
Bone: 3219g
Since then I’ve lost around 5kg of fat and put on a good amount of muscle, maybe 1.5kg. So around 19.5% body fat by estimation. I was a little lower 3 months ago with my low being in the 18% range. Those measurements are also reasonably consistent with skin folds and bio-impedance measurements. When I had the DEXA scan I upper body still had a good amount of fat under the skin, that is pretty much all gone now.
I’m 176cm tall and currently have a waist to height ratio of .48. (Over the belly button) Similar to yours. However my BMI is typically over 26. I’ve was told by the DEXA tech and my doctor that I probably won’t be about to achieve a BMI under 25, but I’m getting close.
My body type is close to Mesomorph leaning to Endomorph. If that helps. You have a very slim build by the sounds of it. However one of the strongest guys I ever saw had a slim build so looks aren’t everything when it comes to strength. While I was pretty out of shape 5 years ago, I’m off a ranch/farm background and I had done a lot of running, swimming and strength building over the years.
At this point my wife thinks I’ve lost enough. I’m just trying to get my abs to show. I have less than two handfuls of fat over them now. I had a lot more than that when the DEXA scan was done.
The main benefit of 5:2 is that I’ve been able to build muscles up again. I was losing lean body mass before I cut sugar back and started fasting.
Ha! Since I last posted here I haven’t seen my weight under 82kg! I’m at 83.9kg today ~20% body fat. I hope to get that closer to 17% in Aug. Not sure if it is possible for me to do in one month. While I have more muscle than I did a year ago when I did the DEXA scan, muscle only helps a small amount with burning fat.
Muscle is SO important! I’m glad to see people writing about building/maintaining muscle. Calorie restriction is necessary to this diet plan, but it must be protein-loaded calories. I blog about menus for Fast Days and I make sure that the meals have no less than 15 g protein at breakfast and 20-30 grams for dinner.
And then there is exercise to avoid sarcopenia, especially at my age. I’m around 15% body fat, according to the bathroom scale.
I’m not sure these vegan bodybuilders get that much protein, but who knows? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1f-fMN2v8Uk
Hey America,
First day for me here, hailing from the Moon Valley area of Phoenix AZ.
Quick question, I’ve read a bit about some of the health benefits that are attributed
incorporating fasting in your diet, right…
My question is if you’re, like me, happy with your weight but would like a routine diet
that infuses fasting in it, is this the right diet to choose?
I appreciate your time, and insights America 8)
jp
Jay P, your question is a good one and not so easy to answer. Dr. Mosley did gain some health benefits I.E. better blood test markers, lower blood pressure etc but it’s difficult to know if the very limited fasting of 5:2 was the cause. Losing fat without fasting could also cause the changes he measured.
However longer fasts do cause positive changes to the immune system and other organs that other methods do not. See the work of Valter Longo for some good info.
Hello! Checking in from California. I just started this week and I am hoping to have success-I am 48 years old and at the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Need to lose at least 60 lbs!
leggit-I have Ulcerative Colitis so I can relate to how that complicates things-not fun! How did last week go for you?
Sheryl.Joyce-I’m in NorCal-are you still fasting? How has it been going?
Wishing success to all of us-we got this!
Hello. I’m fasting in Oregon, I’ve tried it in the past with minimal success. I’ve decided it’s time to stop making excuses and just do this with more effort then before. Today is my first day and I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve had some Black coffee this morning, and now I’m working on a bit of herbal tea. I’m thinking Chicken Breast and veggies for Dinner.
Really depends what you choose to eat as to whether you’ll be successful long term. Choose real foods that don’t come in a processed packet and your chances of success will be high. Cut out all sugary treats and processed grain based foods like bread, cakes, cookies, pasta, breakfast cereals etc and your chances of success will be high. Eat lots of veggies (no potatoes), legumes, beans, some fruit especially the berry type fruits, some lean meats, some real cheese, nuts like almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts and youll do OK. No fruit juice!! Its not healthy. No bread, its not healthy!
Some very good advice from bigbooty on what to eat. If you must have bread the sprouted grain variety is a great alternative. I usually have a slice toasted with my morning eggs. I’ve got to have something to mop up the yolks with! I eat quite a bit of healthy fat from grass fed butter, whole eggs, nuts,olive and coconut oils. I don’t eat a lot of meat but when I do it’s either wild game or grass fed organic. I also like fatty fish like sardines and wild caught salmon.
When your body becomes adapted to be less dependent on constant feeding of high glycemic carbs it becomes more efficient at burning your own fat for energy. It becomes easy to fast for a day with no jitters etc.
Hey everyone! Checking in from Massachusetts. 🙂
@jadecali8 – My first week was really hard. It’s like @diverdog said, I was so used to those carbs that I had pretty bad withdrawal on my fast days. But this week it is so much easier! I recognize I am hungry, but I am retaining a lot of energy anyways. I’m only on day 10, but I’ve already lost some pounds! As for my IBS-D – I notice for me that the day after a fast my stomach is particularly grumbly in a way that usually is not good for me. What I’ve taken to doing is eating something simple the morning after, like just a small serving of brown rice. It has helped a lot with my stomach upset and now I think I have a handle on that…. but we will see. I’m not even a month in but I already feel a lot better – my stomach is quieter. How has your week been going??
@woods_woman – What made this diet difficult for you the first time you tried?
I just got lazy the first time. I started having some depression issues that hit pretty hard last winter and this kinda triggered a stop to any type of trying. I’m getting some help with my depression now and I’m in a way better place mentally. It’s been about a year since I’ve done IF, but the first time I lost 10 lbs. Now I’d really like to do this long term and make it a way of life. I’m excited to make this work and hope to see a change in my relationship with food.
My first day on had some challenges in the afternoon between 1 and 4pm. I was feeling pretty hungry so I had 2 cups of soup. Then at 4 I had my dinner, I’m satisfied now and feel pretty good with how my day shaped up.
Hi everyone,
Just checking in. I’ve tried three 3.5-day fasts in the past two months
and am past the third day on my fourth, current fast. I do have two tablespoons
of MCT oil and 2 tablespoons of butter everymorning as well as magnesium, potassium, zinc,
and a probiotic.
As with the previous fasts I also did a couple of hour-long crossfit sessions
(resistance and high intensity interval training), on day 1 and day 3.
I measure blood glucose and blood ketones twice a day and see a rapid drop
in glucose to low-normal range (low 70s in American units, 3.9 in British). And I
reach nutritional ketosis in about 36 hours.
So this fasting works, at least for blood glucose, ketones.
I hope to lost 30 pounds at the age of 69.
The only issue is that on day four my blood glucose plunged to 53 = 2.9 which
scared me enough to stop the fast (normal range in the USA is 70-95).
I wondered if the crossfit sessions weren’t draining glycogen faster than my
liver could compensate by gluconeogenesis (in theory gluconeogenesis should
have kicked in after 24 hours, converting first protein to glucose, then, a
day later, glycerol from stored fat to glucose. Yes, when you burn fat, you
get free glucose.)
I found a research article reporting blood glucose of fasting patients that
reported a range of values at day 4 with lowest value 54 = 3 so, in that sample at least,
I’m low but not remarkably so. If I’m above 50 tomorrow morning, I’ll keep on fasting.
Anybody else monitor glucose? I know that it can go even lower when I’m fully
fat-adapted but that takes weeks. What would be the danger zone?
And in general: waves of hunger as expected but diminishing, very energetic,
feel very clear-headed mostly, but slightly light-headed during exercise.
I’ve lost a lot of weight but of course it is mostly water (225 –> 211 in three days).
L
@ Larry. If this extended fasting is something you only do spasmodically then I think you are asking a lot of your liver/pancreas. Why not incorporate 1 day of fasting each week instead? Id be putting 2.9 in the danger zone, definitely don’t want it to be that low. I regularly fast and monitor glucose and ketones and Ive never had glucose dip below 3.8. Having said that Ive never actually measured my ketones/glucose after an extended bike ride while in a fasted state. I should really do that.
Your crossfit sessions may in fact be taxing your system too much. Your glycogen stores should be as topped up as they will be during a fast first thing in the morning. Your system will be busy overnight topping up glycogen and just before waking up you will get a glucose boost as well. (Dawn effect). So maybe do your cross fit in the morning.
Hi all!
I am so mad at myself at this morning.
Yesterday was the 2nd fast day of my first week-I had planned on just coffee and water most of the day and then dinner would be grilled chicken and vegetables. Did fine all day until I came home from work and there was major chaos; my younger child was crying because of a mix-up and my mom didn’t pick him up from school, my older child was crying-had just sprained his ankle playing basketball, didn’t realize that my phone had stopped working so no one was able to reach me-it was a big mess and instead of just dealing with it and eating my healthy dinner, I ate pasta and had a BIG glass of wine.
Hoping to put this behind me and have a good day.
How is everyone else doing?
I started the intermitten fasting in mid September and lost 20lbs lost nothing for two weeks, went off for a wk and 1/2 eating normal and my weight drop back to my weight I was at after losing the 20lbs.
I Type 2 I have stopped all med related to being Diabetic except insulin.
I going to try the 5-2 to see if it lowers my number and to keep losing.
Larry & Big B, I’m experimenting with mimicking Valter Longo’s “fasting mimicking diet” I’m eating <500 calories a day at about 60% fat and 40% carbs from veggies for 5 days. I’m not measuring glucose but I will get some test strips for the next go around. My blood ketones after day one 0.4 day two 0.6, day three 2.1. I’m using keto mojo to measure. I was not keto adapted at the start. I’m going to add protein back in on Saturday but limit carbs and try to stay above 1.0. No real hunger issues after day one.
Longo advised no exercise and I’m not going to the gym for my usual weight and hiit workouts. Just walking the dog a couple of times a day. I did go dancing for 2 hours last night and I think it helped with the big jump in ketones.
Next week I will do 1 36 hour water fast and measure glucose and ketones at the start and finish.
BTW I’m 66 YO 5’10” and started the week at 176 LBS
Thanks, diverdog and Big B!
I finished up the four day fast with glucose still in the reasonable range.
I also skipped crossfit on the last day.
Still I’d recommend not doing what I did and instead what Big B suggests!
I should mention that a 23:1 IF fast is my default pattern when I’m not
doing a prolonged fast and that I no longer lose weight with IF alone. But then
I’m already 70 pounds down from my peak so it is reasonable that my body
resists further loss. I hope prolonged fasting changes that.
I probably did push it too far with the previous fasts but I now seem to be able to
tolerate a four day fast with slightly reduced activity. By the third day I think I had exhausted
glycogen stores so I did a crossfit session with no glycogen. I felt fine, even a little
more energized than usual. I measured ketones over 4 yesterday
and today, right in the middle of the therapeutic range. So all is well.
In a few weeks I’ll try again. Meanwhile back to 23:1 IF.
Jason Fung and Jimmy Moore suggest continuing exercise (although they likely didn’t have
crossfit in mind). I’m not noticing any problems with intense exercise.
The most unexpected side effect of previous fasts was how good I felt two days after the
fast. Looking forward to this Sunday.
L
I really enjoyed my Thanksgiving meal and of course I overdid it with lots of carbs and sugars. I ate at 4:00 PM and decided it was time for a 35 hour water fast. I measured ketones at 9:00 PM and they were below the range of my meter. At 9:00 AM K= 0.4 weight was 172.0 BF 20.1. I did a 20 min HIIT workout on the bike with no issues. At 7:40 PM K=0.4. Next morning K=0.5 weight 169.8lbs BF=19.4.
Lessons learned: 35 hours is not enough time to get into a really strong fat burning mode with a water fast. At least after a 1800 calorie meal loaded with carbs, alcohol and sugars! I did however burn some fat and it was not hard to complete the fast.
I’ll be doing another fast in a couple of days and I’ll be eating a low carb diet before I start it. I hope I’ll get better results and I may extend it to 48 hours.
Hi all, Southern California here!
Just curious, does anyone do two consecutive days fasting? I was reading from Dr. Harvie (2 Day Diet book), that consecutive days could have more of an impact on your health, and renowned fasting researcher Dr. Valter Longo agrees. What do you guys do?
Also anyone following the Mediterranean style of eating? I’m committing to that, feel it’s healthiest. I don’t like the way I’ve been eating! Thanks.
Hi Ella and welcome:
I guess it depends on what you mean by ‘fasting’. If you mean eating 5 to 800 calories each of the two days, research does not show you will enjoy any material additional benefits. From a weight loss standpoint you will actually not eat for more hours if you do two non-consecutive days.
If by fasting you mean water fasting, research shows you might get a small benefit from the exercise. If you go from, say, 7 pm Sunday to 7 am Wednesday you will have had about a 60 hour water fast. That puts most people right on the edge of getting some fasting benefits. Longo is solid in his belief that you need at least 4 to 5 day water fasts to achieve substantial benefits from fasting. In his recent book, The Longevity Diet, he states 5 day fasts are required to gain the benefits he outlines in the book. The two days mentioned in his 2014 groundbreaking paper on cell rejuvenation were for mice, who have a different metabolic make-up than humans.
I have long advocated and posted on this site the thought that people interested in the ‘other health benefits’ of fasting should work first toward doing two non-consecutive 36 hour water fasts each week, followed by doing two day 60 hour fasts on their way to being able to periodically water fast for four or five days. Most newbies have trouble getting their minds around eating just 500-800 cal. in 36 hours, much less nothing, much less nothing for 60 hours, much less nothing for five days. But it can be done. I’ve done several, and am now on day two of my monthly five day fast.
Even if they can think about doing five day water fasts, most people can’t fit them into their schedules – and Longo suggests medical supervision, to boot! But if you are retired, and/or have a serious medical problem that can be improved by fasting (like Type 2 diabetes, MS, RA or Alzheimer’s), it would seem to be a good idea anyway.
Good Luck!
Hi, Ella! Glad to find some Americans on board. This diet is not as popular in the U.S. as it is in the U.K. I live in New York City and Baltimore, MD. I have begun to add the Mediterranean diet to my fasting regime. That is a diet that has gotten a lot of publicity in the U.S. and sounds very healthy to me. I only recently started it but it is already making me feel so much better. I think it will make a good addition to my plan to make this is a way of life. I don’t have a lot of weight to lose but I have read about the health benefits of intermittent fasting and I think it is worth a try. My first two weeks were easy and I was never hungry. Now I have some problems with being cold on fast days (which I understand is normal) but I am becoming ravenous on fast days and am having trouble controlling my appetite on non fasting days. It is a work in progress! Good luck! 🙂
Simcoeluv, thank you so very much for all that information on fasting. Right now I think 800 cals per fasting day is about all I can handle! But you gave me a lot of good information, and I appreciate it. Some things to think about for the future.
Coco, I lived in Brooklyn, NY for a good chunk of my life. I have my memories.
I agree about 5:2 not catching on here. We have relatives in the U.K., and it’s a household word there! I heard it’s the same all over Europe.
I am very happy about my decision to eat Mediterranean. I can thank Dr. Mosley for that one, after reading his 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet. I mean of course I’d read about it before, and wow, there are a lot of different versions, but now I realize it’s really more a style of eating, and it really sunk in after reading his book. Good luck to you too! We can do this!
Yes, Ella! There are a lot of versions of the Mediterranean diet! I do measure my food very carefully, though! It is a pity that such healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, and avocado are so fattening but delicious! My family has been in NYC since colonial times. My English great, etc. grandfather had a farm in Brooklyn. After the Civil War, he gave up farming and opened up a printer’s shop. Later, at the ripe old age of 66, he and my grandmother opened one of the very first bakeries. Before that bakeries were a cottage industry and goods were sold on the street. Eventually, they moved to Queens. My father came here from England and grew up in Manhattan. I have a niece and her husband who live in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is quite the up and coming part of New York…and it has gotten so expensive to live there! Anyway, I exercise, too, by the way. Two days of yoga and 5 days of personal training. The weekends I neither exercise nor fast. I hope this all works out. All of the sudden I am struggling with being too hungry too soon. Before I never was hungry. I will perservere! Good luck!
Hi everyone:
If you have not run into this link yet, it contains quite a bit of useful information on 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Simcoeluv, thank you for that link!
Ccco, my grandfather came to Ellis Island Island during the Russian Revolution, I think circa 1917. He made a life, career and family in Brooklyn, starting with nothing. I lived in Bensonhurst Brooklyn for the first 27 years of my life. I haven’t been back in over 35 years. I have no family left, and I’ve heard my neighborhood has changed so drastically, I want to remember it the way it was. I can’t believe Brooklyn is now “the place” to live, although I don’t think Bensonhurst is included in that equation!
Thank you for sharing about your family. You really do have deep NY history and roots. I love hearing stories like yours!
Anyway, what really helped me on my Fast day today was plenty of fluids and protein. I can’t believe how full I felt. We’ll see how the next one goes!
I am very familiar with Bensonbhurst! It would seem that all of Brooklyn has gotten quite high end but the apartments and condos have gotten so small! My son lived in Williamsburg for awhile! Young people want to be in Brooklyn more than Manhattan. When I was young, young people wanted to be in Manhattan. Good luck with your fast day. Today was mine too, but I think I failed miserably. I am going to fast again tomorrow to make up for it.
Hi all!
If from Wisconsin, am 30 and would like to lose 60lbs long term.
I’ve dieted in the past successfully but with holidays or parties or work luncheons, I haven’t been able to stick to the plan. I am hopeful that this way of life will work for me.
Yesterday was my first day, an FD. It actually went really well. I had black coffee for breakfast, 250 calories at lunch, and 240 at dinner. I went to bed without feeling hungry. I feel so good about yesterday that I’m making much more conscious decisions today so as to not undo the hard work. I really hope this is the answer for me. I feel like this is something I can do for the rest of my life, I’ve never been able to say that about any other diet I’ve tried.
H, Angdilla! Way to go! I am fairly new myself. I am in my third week. I also hope to make this a way of life. I have 10 pounds to lose. I thought that if I am going to do this for the rest of my life, I need not to think about it all the time. I want to endeavor simply to make this automatic, just something I do. I wish you the best. You should try the February challenge. Lots of people on there.
Hi fasting_me! Good question! I completely forgot about this post! I’ve been on the June challenge where there are some other Americans as well. I’ve seen you over there, too! Hope you are doing well! Yes, the 4th of July can be a total feast! Well, it only comes once in the year! I don’t know what I will be doing yet! Barbecues are great!
We like Bison Burgers in slider buns [burgers are full 4 0z, only the buns are smaller] with coleslaw and potato salad. Ok, the potato salad is a binge, but so is the Flag Cake for dessert!
Also around July 4 we enjoy grilled salmon with boiled potatoes and new peas. Yummy!
Nice to hear your voice, coco. Are you in Maryland now for the summer?
Hi, fasting_me! We are in Maryland for part of the Summer and the rest of the time in NYC. I am a native New Yorker! Where are you? I am just having a quiet NFD today keeping to my TDEE. I did have ice cream because it is hot but it was a low calorie kind! LOL Your barbecue sounds like quite a feast!
Am in NH, but later in the summer we go to PEI, Canada.
Fasting today: Camembert Baked Eggs with Strawberries for breakfast. Salad with feta, tuna, white beans, tomatoes for dinner.
Enjoying a beautiful summer day. Went for a walk with the ODH after breakfast, work in the apple trees after that. One of the last cool, clear days before the heat-waves begin.
Happy Fasting.
Happy 4th of July, all you American Fasters!
Angdilla, how has the Fasting been going these past 6 months?
coco, how hot is it where you are? Today is a little cooler [86], with much lower humidity [49%] so it is more bearable. Beach time for you?
EllaD, must be hot in Brooklyn. Easier to eat less when the air is too hot and the humidity is high. Anyone agree?
Happy 4th of July to everyone who is celebrating! 🇺🇸 And you don’t have to live within our borders to celebrate along with us!
Fasting_me, I definitely think it’s easier to eat less when the weather is hot and/or humid, or in the summer in general. In the winter when it’s cold I feel more like hunkering down and eating.
Despite the daily high temps, my current weight is higher than I’d like and has been staying there. It is actually at the weight I used to want to be, but now prefer a lower weight by a little bit. Oh well, I’ll get there. Will cut out snacks on Slow Days.
Fasting today: Kippered Eggs with cherries for breakfast — new recipe for us. SO savory!! Dinner will be left-over lamb with summer vegetables.
What are the rest of you eating?
How are all you Americans as we move into Fall?
Greetings from Prince Edward Island, Canada where we are now, but returning to USA in 10 days.
Weight is down where we want it now, thank goodness. Eating lots of great seafood helps us with that. Plus daily walks of 2 miles along the coast. [I know: walking doesn’t lose weight, it builds stamina. But when we walk, we are not home in the cookie jar, so in a way it helps us to lose/maintain our weight!]
Closing down the cottage means using up food in ‘fridge, especially fresh veg. Ate the last of the green beans last night. All that’s left are fresh carrots and some lettuce. Have canned pickled beets… this might be a problem!
Hope Autumn is progressing well for each of you and that you are maintaining your weight at Target.
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We pay tribute to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Mosley. Michael was an integral part of our lives, […]
Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
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27 Jul 17