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Hi – I’m struggling too. I’m 54 and peri menopausal. I stick to fast days rigidly and don’t really struggle, apart from getting to sleep sometimes if I’m feeling hungry. I love the ideas of this regime and know that by fasting I am improving my health. The thought that I could possibly lose weight too was a real bonus. After years of calorie counting I saw it as a way of not having to obsess daily about calorie intake as much as I always have. Unfortunately for me this was a mistake – the weight loss isn’t working. I started losing a bit then when it stopped I told myself I was ‘maintaining’ but now I’m actually putting a little on even though I believe I am eating healthily. I am within a healthy BMI and don’t need to lose much but I’m only 5’1 and the extra weight is going all around my middle which is so disheartening. Is this down to hormones making it so much more difficult for me or am I kidding myself? My husband has lost loads and can now maintain with just one fast day. My exercise classes have reduced to one day a week lately but I walk an average of 6000-8000 steps a day. I’m a bit gutted and need to have a rethink. Maybe I just have to up the exercise again and go back to rigidly counting calories EVERY day. Can we never stop?! Nice to be able to share thoughts with you here on the forum. Would also be good if Michael could offer advice for us ladies.
There is another whole thread on this issue (would post a link if I was on a desktop).
I am 53 and have been in menopause for about 10 years (it hits early in my family). That was when my weight really started piling on.
But the 5:2 worked….for a while. Then I switched to 4:3, then had to change again. I do believe we are fighting our bodies in a way.
What I have learned about MY body is that I can’t eat ANY carbs without gaining. Period. So I have gone totally carb free, except the little bit that is in the meat and fats that now make up my diet. Plus the one free day I have. And I average 6-9 lbs losses every month. I started at 179, and am 153 now.
I also follow a 16:8 fasting plan (fast 16 hours, every day, and eat in 8 hour window). This is the only thing that seems to work for me. I take a lot of supplements also. And yes, it is safe. It has been done for decades.
I learned about it first in “Good calories, Bad calories”, and then found the book “The 6 week cure for the middle-aged middle”. Which confirmed that I was on the right track. And occasionally, I will inadvertently eat too much of something and start gaining, and find out that the carb count was higher than I thought. So I have to focus on fish, poultry, and sometimes beef and pork. Eggs are a staple also.
Hope this helps !
Thanks so much Fitnfast – that’s given me lots to think about, especially the carb thing. I also think they add to my problem and have been considering cutting them out more often but worried about the effects of that. I’ll have a look for the article and book that you’ve mentioned so I can feel a bit more confident about it. Yes I think it’s a constant fight isn’t it :-/ but you are certainly winning yours – that’s really impressive willpower! What supplements do you take?
I take the following supplements (some of which I took before):
Fish oil – 3000 units a day
Calcium
Super B Complex
Vit. C
Magnesium
Potassium
Vit. D
Kt Mac, I tell you what (and I should take a pic of my calendar from March), I have always been a hard core cardio exerciser. I LOVE Zumba, step aerobics, runing….and I just wasn’t losing! Maybe 5 pounds here or there if I was REAL careful, but it would come right back.
Now, I only do 2 or 3 HIIT workouts a week, and weights (15 minutes) once or twice. Anyhting more and I gain…from water weight, inflammation of muscle, etc. I just don’t need it.Especially since I have had 2 back surgeries! I am a lot happier, because now I can workout because I feel like it, not because I have to!
Here is another series of blogs that you will find interesting, and was another life changer for me! Speciafically, check out the ones on exercise; besides that, start at “Calories 1”
https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/exercise-futility-exercise-iii/
Haha, you are so right about skinny people not understanding! But yeah, she would be considered remiss if she didn’t recommend therapy! If only it was that easy! In the one book I mentioned, when they review all the studies done on obesity in the past, at one point, it was thought to be a mental problem. But therapy never made a considerable difference. Big surprise there!
I actually DID have a secret bingeing problem. Or so I thought. When the family started baking a kind of cake that they knew I wouldn’t eat for my birthday, I knew I had to stop. And the only way I found is to eliminate carbs. It is, they say, like being an alcoholic. You just can’t drink. Once you taste it, you can’t stop. And it’s true. On my free eating days, I am still a bit out of control. Like I am a different person. Weird.
Fitnfast thanks for this link – I haven’t got time to read it all at the mo (am at my desk in work!) but have found some of it hysterical already. I have a lot of reading to do as the Good Calories Bad Calories will arrive at home today, and also Gary Taubes Why we get fat and what to do about it. Completely get what you say about carb addiction! Think my worst enemy is crisps (potato chips) and Kt Mac – Galaxy is my favourite chocolate! Good to chat to you ladies.
For the book “Good Calories, Bad Calories”, you can go right to the 3rd section (unless you are interested in the cholesterol/heart disease thing).
I was never a huge potato chip fan, but chocolate…look out! Several months ago, before I found fasting, I belonged to Cathe Friedrich’s web site/forum, and someone had a recipe for chocolate protein oatmeal balls, said how healthy they are. So, what did I do? I ate them all day long! So good! But they have peanut butter, honey, cocoa powder…so many calories and carbs! I just can’t win! So I’m eating this “healthy” stuff, and getting fatter?! Definitely not fair!
I’m 54 and until I turned about 45 never had a weight problem. I’ve just started to be Peri-menopausal so the doctor has informed me. What I would like to know is if anyone has had any changes or if they know if the fasting diet has helped. Since getting to Peri-menopausal stage of my life the weight won’t budge. I’ve gone from 55kg to 85kgs in a matter of 4-5 years. I’ve been on a calorie controlled diet and the weight came off, as soon as I stopped I put it all back on again and a bit more. I’ve always been quite fit until now as the joint pains from Peri-menopausal and lack of sleep keeps me from wanting to exercise. I still walk 3kms every day and finding this isn’t enough. Can anyone help with these questions. Does the 5:2 diet help? Does exercise help? I only have to eat a piece of bread and I bloat like I’ve eaten a loaf. Is this just symptoms of menopause and will they subside when I’ve gone thru it completely? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
Hi All,
I have recently started the FD and very interested in the comments on menopause. I had been a regular exerciser and size 10-12 up until menopause, no significant cellulite problems. Over 8 years, from the onset of menopause, I experienced a weight gain of 30 kilos (68kilos to 99kilos) accompanied by lots of cellulite. On reflection, as the weight started to creep on, it became increasingly difficult and uncomfortable to exercise, reduced exercise inevitably lead to more weight gain, bigger appetite and an unhealthy mid-life-style change characterised by dining out for leisure rather than exercising for leisure…it took less effort. So it wasn’t just menopause, but that is what started the weight gain. As my menopause passed two years ago, the weight finally plateaued at 99 kilos size 18-20. Bloating with carbs was also a notable menopausal change that has persisted. Humbug.
My main motivations for weight loss are multiple health problems developing due to overweight, and the big 60. To be honest, I think anyone would struggle to take a flattering photo of my form at the moment.
My current multi-strategy approach, which is making me feel better already, but is too recent to show reliable weight loss results as yet, is do the minimum HIT recommendations from the Fast Exercise book, (although it seems quite easy sometimes to fit in two or three of these very brief HIT sessions a day) plus hand weights for 10 minutes/day. In addition, the gp has reinforced the need for two litres of water/day, not around meals, and suggested supplements for general wellbeing – Vit D, Vit K2, Fish oil, Calcium, Magnesium, Lecithin, and Apple Cider Vinegar 1tspn with 1tspn honey in a glass (100 mls plus) 30 mins before eating to aid fat metabolism. Lifestyle changes include meditation as there is evidence to suggest that stress causes the metabolism to slow down and it seems to help with managing hunger, plus psyching up daily with some helpful positive psychology reads on weight loss.
The dietician I consulted who seemed by old school, was dead against the 5:2, based on lack of evidence. There seems to be plenty of evidence to support 5:2, perhaps it just isnt old enough.
To sum up my approach, I am undoing the unhealthy lifestyle changes that came with menopause and embracing new lifestyle changes and not even attempting things that currently would deter me from reaching my weight loss goal, like counting calories or committing to large amounts of exercise. I guess it would be fair to say that I am not relying on the 5:2 to do all the work. Keep u posted. Keep calm and carry on searching for that light at the end of the tunnel.
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