Hi, everyone! I haven’t posted in quite a while, but would like to report that I have so far lost 30 pounds in 30 weeks on the Fast Diet plus increasing my activity by walking several miles a week. I also recently joined a Zumba fitness class that is fun and doesn’t make me feel bad when I can’t keep up, but encourages me to just do what I can.

I do find it very hard to lose weight with the diet alone. (I am a 57 year old woman with multiple medical problems.) Without the walking, the weight loss seems so slow that it’s discouraging. That is why I was glad when my car started dying, that forced me to get out there and walk even in the cold winter we’ve been having in Philly this year.

I also got fed up with trying to come up with good (mostly) vegetarian 300-calorie dinners that also easily convert to meals that the rest of my family enjoys. And I don’t function well without breakfast. So I decided to try 600-calorie fast days instead of 500-calorie ones, since 500 calories is already more than 1/4 of my daily energy requirement. And, you know what? For me, at least, it’s still working, at least for weight loss.

When I feel bored and want a change I get a new cookbook and look for new recipes (for fast days or non-fast days) or a new pan (like a non-stick skillet that can go from the stove top to under the broiler, for an easy-to-cook frittata).

I listened to my physical medicine & rehabilitation doctor, who says that weight loss seems to plateau about every 10 pounds, and to just keep doing what I’m supposed to do and it will re-start again, and that has worked out for me. As long as I keep walking a lot, at least.

I also found that it works better for me to think of the 5 non-fasting days as practice for maintenance (even though I do plan to continue with 6:1). Once I’ve lost 50 pounds, what my body will need for maintenance every day will be much less than it was when I was 50 pounds heavier, and exercise will compensate for only some of that. I find that it’s good for me to be aware of how calorific certain foods can be (potatoes, pasta, rice, cheese, etc.) and to weigh or measure out my portions from time to time so that I don’t start experiencing portion creep. I also discovered that my biggest overeating problem is going back for seconds at dinner because I enjoy what we cook so much! So I serve myself slightly smaller portions so I can go back for seconds.

Now I find that some people like to tell me that I should stop losing weight even though I’m still 20 pounds heavier than my adult baseline weight. It’s really none of their business, but, I’ve talked to my doctor, and it’s apparent that that weight is not muscle, or bone, or organs, or blood, but fat, and there’s no good reason for my joints to have to haul it around, so as long as the weight comes off sensibly, he says there’s no reason not to aim to return to baseline, or close to it, even though it is at the very low end of the normal weight range according to the BMI charts. So I’m going to keep on keeping on 🙂

I’m very happy that I learned about modified intermittent fasting because it has made it possible for me to lose weight after being stuck for many years. Regular portion-control methods worked very, very slowly for me while leaving me hungry most of the time. I don’t mind putting up with feeling hungry, but feeling hungry most of the time gets very tiresome after a while. It required constant attention and I don’t want to think about my weight and food all the time — that just doesn’t feel like a healthy way to live.

Thank you, Lindyw 🙂 I actually like the way my figure looks at this weight, at least in clothes, but my face still looks fat to me, I don’t feel quite like myself yet, and my arthritic joints don’t appreciate the extra 20 pounds. I think it’s funny how people like to tell other people what they should weigh. I actually had to tell one friend that she was just jealous because I was getting skinnier than her, it was the only way to get her to stop!