Only 2 kg from ideal weight – but been this way for a year! Ideas?!

This topic contains 18 replies, has 8 voices, and was last updated by Nika 10 years, 4 months ago.

Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)

Lydia

12:18 pm
17 Dec 13
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Hi,

I have been intermittent fasting for weight loss/maintenance for almost 3 years now and for me it is the easiest way to maintain my lower weight (for years before then I tried all other diets and this was the ONLY one that has worked for me).

I currently am on a 1:6 schedule however, I do not even fast every week, in fact now I probably only fast 2 days a month – therein lies my problem!

While I can easily maintain my weight nowadays despite not fasting every week, I find it hard to motivate myself to fast more (say 1 day per week, every week) because I am happy with my ‘looks’ generally, and I only want to lose an extra 2 kg or so more to ‘tone up’ (and I def don’t want to lose any more than 2 kg as would be underweight and I would lose my boobs!)

Basically I find it a massive struggle to fast frequently now (at the start it was much easier because I was far away from my ideal weight). It isn’t hunger as much as it is ‘desire to eat’ and really just lack of motivation.

Does anyone else have this experience after long term fasting and how can you motivate yourself to fast in order to lose the last pesky few kgs??!
It has been a year of effort and I am exactly the same weight as I was last Jan! Frustrating!

p.s – extra exercise is not an option for me.

TracyJ

3:24 pm
17 Dec 13
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Sorry to hear that you’re struggling with keeping the lifestyle up Lydia. I hope you find the motivation you need to keep maintaining & maybe lose that last little bit if you really feel you need to.

I’ve been doing 5:2 for about 17 months now and switched to the 16:8 eating model for every day (not just fast days) about 10 months ago I think. I feel like this is my lifestyle now and I hope to continue as I am doing forever. I’m currently losing very gradually and should come to a natural stop at about 10 stone – not my ‘ideal weight’ but I’m not going to be entering any Miss World contests anyway. I really hope that motivation doesn’t become an issue for me too as I approach the target.

I’m thinking that as significant weight loss wasn’t really the aim when I started out and the health benefits kept me going for the first couple of months, with weight loss as a surprise bonus, I should be motivated enough by that to continue on.

Good luck.

TidyChick

3:26 pm
17 Dec 13
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Hi Lydia,

The exact same thing has happened to me and have been struggling to figure out why. Honestly, I think with any diet or way of eating, you loose the inertia, because let’s face it, it’s a constant work in progress and it can get tiresome and old. That is why most diets fail, because while one may be able to loose weight and may even get to goal weight, keeping it off is whole nother story. I would be really interested in finding out if Michael and Mimi are going through this as well, at times, and how they handle it. Also, from others who may be experiencing this on this forum? I suspect this sort of set back may happen to everyone doing 5:2 at one time or another.

I can see why over eating happens on non fast days, and then eventually on fast days, until you just can’t stand the thought of fasting one more time (and in the beginning I loved it), and how it can even create an eating disorder for some, because this way of eating is so radically different than most of us have done for our entire lives.

I really don’t mean to be negative or a kill joy, but I think this might be a reality for a lot people that needs to be addressed, as 5:2 is still in it’s infancy and not much testing has been done.

etherial

4:10 pm
19 Dec 13
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Hi, I’m going to throw this one out there and see what happens: You treat it like a (dare I?) DIET, instead of a lifestyle. When you diet, there’s a goal you’re trying to reach and then…sadly, THE END. What to do next?

If you can sit quietly ask yourself why do you think this plan deprives you? When actuality, the things you want WILL STILL BE THERE TOMORROW & 4 more days after that! Ask yourself why you “deserve” that extra helping, that dessert, that drink. THOSE THINGS WILL STILL BE THERE TOMORROW, and if you still want them, well have them.

Two days out of a week is not a big deal, especially, if you stay busy. Exercise is approximately 15% of weight loss, but 85% is what and how much you put in your mouth.

With your other (or dominant hand), write how much you ARE aware change and how much you DO DESERVE whatever you want…forever, because this is the lifestyle that fits your style.

I hope you stop beating yourself up because you’ve managed to maintain your weight for quite a while; and that’s always a good thing. When you are ready, you’ll embrace it permanently. No motivation required.

Take care.

etherial

4:24 pm
19 Dec 13
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My post got a little discombobulated when what I was suggesting was a writing exercise I used to do years ago that helped. When you write things with your weaker hand, it looks like a child’s handwriting and we all love the kiddies (well, most of us do) and the writing looks so innocent.

Anyway, at least you’re acknowledging something’s amiss and if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have posted about it. You care and I wish you so much success. I’ve lost, as of this morning 14 lbs. and I’m ecstatic because I couldn’t even pull up my size 8 pants last month and now I just can’t snap or button them; but, their up!

I’m trying on clothes in my closet again! I’m so happy about this plan because my husband and I were feeling really hopeless about our weight and luckily, I discovered Dr. Mosely’s plan on the news. That says something about a plan when it’s made CBS’s World News.

Our vow is to retake a photo we took last year on the wine train and wear the same outfits in that photo and pair the photos side-by-side in comparison to our success. I hope I’m posting that pic because that’s one goal. The other is to wear ALL of the clothes in my closet and that means pulling off tags, too. Yes, I bought things in the hope I would one day reach my goal. The other thing is giving away everything that doesn’t fit anymore to Good will or friends.

My main (and I’ll stop in a minute) goal IS TO LOOK FABULOUS AND BE FIERCE AGAIN!!!! I miss being fierce!!!!

Hang in there!

Lindyw

8:36 pm
19 Dec 13
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You go girl!

There is no need for anyone to beat themselves up anymore.
95% of us are now living the IF lifestyle because of the choices we made in the past that were probably the wrong ones in the long term.

Lydia you say you are only 2kgs from your ideal weight and are on 6:1 maintenance but probably only fast 2 days per month in reality. As you said – there lies your problem! Pull yourself up to your full height – enjoy Christmas then for the whole of January do 5:2 else I will set Etherial on ya!

Well I’m scared of her! :p

etherial

12:23 am
20 Dec 13
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Awww, don’t be scarred. I’m cool.

Nika

2:54 am
20 Dec 13
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Scarred and scared are two very different things… although one can lead to the other, I agree on that.

Lydia, what the others have already said I agree with completely. But also – who has decided that your ideal weight is 2kg away? Why is the weight you’re at now not your ideal weight? I think the only one who can decide that is you, and you have to listen to what your body is telling you. I understand your frustration, but maybe look at it from that angle as well! ^^

etherial

3:08 am
20 Dec 13
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Ha! Sorry, it’s a “slang thang”. I am in the US and we say things a little different, when joking. It’s pronounced “scarred”, but is meant to reflect “scared”. It was from an Eddie Murphy movie, “Life”. No worries.

Nika, if she’s not happy with her present weight, then let her decide where she wants to be. If you saw me, you’d say, “hey, wait a minute, you just pulled on a pair of size 8 dress pants, even though you can’t button ’em, you pulled them up! You’d be surprised if you saw me at my present physique and then looked at my present weight; they don’t match. Scale weight, I know, sucks, but there’s some truth in it. I was 190 lbs. in March when I started, but as of today, I am 176 lbs. My goal weight is 135 lbs. I am 5’6.

I’ve worked out most of my life and have tried to eat healthy, but with age, gravity, and some overeating, I’ve managed to gained weight. Thank God for this program. This will be my lifestyle because it’s easy. I seriously don’t want to be “fluffy” as most women my age are. I am 57 years old and will be 58 in March ’14, but people still confuse me with my grown kids and I kinda like it, but most times it can be annoying.

I say, everyone should be at a weight they are most most happiest with and even though the ideal for myself is a fabulously slim figure with a glass of good wine in my hand, I am willing to sacrifice that wine 2x a week so I CAN FINALLY BE THAT SLIM-GOODY.

You know what I mean?

Lydia

3:11 am
21 Dec 13
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Hi thanks everyone 🙂

I think that I agree mostly with @TidyChic – fasting has lost its “fun” and sometimes I just would rather eat low calorie rather than fast, I no longer have the inertia to fast more than 2 days/month (by the way this is going on my data on my habits, I obviously do TRY to do it once a week, but in reality I am only doing it approx. once/fortnight)

I think I just need to change it up a bit – may try that 5 hour window thing or maybe try to introduce a new ‘reward’ for fasting because the ‘satisfaction of fasting’ achievement doesn’t cut it anymore…
@Erethral is right – despite whether it is fun or not it shouldn’t be an excuse, I need to suck it up and just do what is necessary!!

Yes I know 2kg doesn’t sound like a lot, but I am only 163 cm tall so it actually makes a decent difference to how I look and feel.

Thanks again guys I am new to this forum and appreciate ur time to help me 🙂

etherial

11:00 am
21 Dec 13
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You are very welcome.

Nika

2:39 am
23 Dec 13
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I was just trying to make her look at it from all angles, seeing how I’ve seen a very good friend of mine almost starve herself to death because of “those last few pounds”. I’m not saying that’s what’s going on here (I’m sure it’s not) but I think people should look at it from all sides. Maybe right now, 17kg from my goal, I may think a certain weight is good for me – but when I get close to it I may decide to change it a bit depending on how I feel and look. I’m just saying keep it flexible and don’t get too hung up on a certain number on the scale when your body is telling you it’s fine right now.

Lydia

3:10 am
23 Dec 13
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Yeah I knew what u were saying and that is a good point 🙂 numbers shouldn’t run our lives

etherial

5:58 pm
23 Dec 13
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What is 16:8? Does that mean you fast for 8 days and eat normally for 16? I get confused because there are so many combos. Thanks.

annette52

7:08 pm
23 Dec 13
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It means eat within an 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours.

etherial

9:39 pm
23 Dec 13
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OMG! I’d be a dead baby weezel.

annette52

11:01 pm
23 Dec 13
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I eat at 7pm the day before a fast day.On the morning of the fast day I miss breakfast and then eat lunch at 12.30=17.5 hours. So not hard to do as you might think when I will sleep for 9 ish of those hours.

Stef.

4:20 am
24 Dec 13
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Etherial, I agree with Annette: if you eat dinner at 6pm then breakfast can be at 10am the next morning.
Give it a try and see how it goes?
Stef.

Nika

7:19 am
24 Dec 13
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Haha etherial, isn’t that what most people say about 5:2 or 4:3 in general? 😛 16:9 can certainly help. I do more like… 22:2 myself at the moment, because I work long days I only have a 2 hour eating window before going to bed. Sounds gruelling, but to be honest I’m coping quite well.
Yesterday I didn’t eat at all, which means I had my last food on Sunday evening. So yeah, I’m going to be eating when I get home today, which is about 48 hours later. I am feeling some hunger, but mostly a tightness in my chest, that’s it really. I did have to train my body a bit to be able to do this. The first week (as I recall, was a long time ago) I did this form of IF and only ate between 16:00 and 22:00 it made my stomach hurt and cramp (also because I was so hungry I immediately scoffed my face at 16:00). Now I can just not eat for 20+ hours, not be really hungry and then eat a big bowl / plate of food. I’ll get full, yeah, but if I just stop when I’m full I feel just fine.

Disclaimer: I’m a crazy git who loves trying out extremes, so I’ll never say doing what I do is the best thing to do for you 😛 It was mainly to illustrate that the human body can go a long while without food, if you’re just willing to give it a go.