This topic contains 58 replies, has 40 voices, and was last updated by fasting_me 5 months, 2 weeks ago.
6:1, with the 1 being a Monday, has worked well for me… takes away the feeling of guilt of eating ‘normally’ at the weekends, i.e. gin and tonic, fish and chip, a bacon buttie for brekkie etc etc
The rest of the week I just don’t snack, no restrictions on my actual meals (or gin and slims!)
Good Luck!
Lost nearly 20 lbs in 6 months, and have been in maintenance for 4 months. Alternating 5:2 and 6:1 is working so far.
Have also gradually cut back on carbs a lot compared to my old way of eating. At first, it was just because I couldn’t “afford” those foods on fast days, if I wanted to have a decent sized-dinner. But now I know that if I eat sweet things, bread or pasta, I’m just not going to stay full for long, and I’ll just want more.
If I want a something sweet, it’s usually chocolate, so I’ll have a chocolate covered fig with a few almonds. Highly caloric, but they’re too filling to get carried away.
I’m ready to start 6:1. I tried it once and it didn’t work. This time I’ve decided to go on 6:1, but on that second day that I used to fast and now I’m not, I’m going to stay away from heavy carbs, particularly pizza, pasta and sweets. I might have a whole grain bagel or toast, etc., but that’s it. I’ll report back to let everyone know how it goes. I’m pretty confident that it will work. Lately, since I am thrilled with my weight loss, I’ve been cheating by putting a few raisins and flax seeds in my oatmeal. LOL! I continued to lose weight, so those additional calories didn’t hurt me. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.
I changed my mind about switching to 6:1 for maintenance. I seem to overeat on the 5 days, so I need to stick to the 5:2. If I lose and lose, then I’ll consider it again. Right now as I’m approaching my 1-year anniversary on this diet, I’m keeping things the same. With my eating habits, it appears the 2 fasting days are required.
Whether you do 5:2 of 6:1 for maintenance does depend how much you go over your TDEE on the NFDs. I also think that if you have a high TDEE there’s probably less risk of this and you have a better chance of 6:1 working. My TDEE is 1400 and I’ve definitely had to stay with 5:2 to keep my weight stable in maintenance. I’ve been trying to keep discretionary foods (treat foods) out of my NFDs at least M-F, but I am still struggling with this. For now I definitely need 2 FDs per week.
I reread Michael Mosley’s book again recently because it had been a while. I paid more attention to his comments about maintenance this time. He said that in maintenance he switched to 6:1 but M-F he also skipped lunch unless it was a special occasion. That means he’s doing 6:1 and also giving up 4 lunches. This would equate to at least 5:2 in terms of calorie sacrifice.
Hi! I am not sure if this is the right place to introduce myself… I started FD sometime between March and April 2016. The day didn’t feel particularly important at the time. However, since then I have lost 55 kg, and started maintaining last October. I have tried several maintenance strategies quite successfully, but nothing has felt comfortable as a long time solution. So I am back-up at fasting, and it feels easy and familiar. I am think inglot I will do 6:1 when I weight under my goal weight on Monday morning, and 5:2 if I am over it. I feel so happy I have found this sit – I don’t know anyone else who follows this diet.
I lost 30 pounds effortlessly on one 36-hour water fast per week, though I was already eating healthy. I also stopped eating wheat (modern wheat is terrible for blood sugar).
At times, I’ve worried that my weight was getting too low, so I eat a little more on eating days. Sometimes my appetite has been high and my weight goes up all week until the next fast day. One easy way to tune your weight is carbs. Eat more carbs/grains on eating days to keep your weight up, fewer if you need to nudge it down a bit.
I’ve been maintaining my goal weight (which is 10 lbs under my initial target) for about a year now. My current weight isn’t much above my weight from high school & has been surprisingly easy to maintain – my weight has historically fluctuated in a 15-20 lb range. Took about 5 months to lose 25 lbs on 5/2 – now about 15 lbs below my previous “range”. Weight fluctuates +/- 2 lbs or so.
Major dietary changes, in addition to 6/1, are changing from beer/liquid bread to red wine (glass or 2, 4-5 nights/week). Cut back on bread – I.e. maybe 1 slice of toast for breakfast where previously I would have had 2 or more. Fewer “starchy” veg but still eat everything. Eat nuts more often. Have increased fat consumption/don’t avoid “fatty” foods such as whipped cream. Avoid “low fat” products. Activity levels pretty much the same.
Things I’ve been doing for years – avoid white flour products, sugary foods, processed meats, ready made foods, fast food. Eat home made deserts once a week, or so (typically with less sugar than recipes call for).
My husband and I have been Fasting for almost 5 years [anniversary in mid-April]. We still Fast 2 days/week to maintain our weight. Yes, weight goes up a few pounds during the week, but then aFast day fixes that. The other reason we still do 2 Fasts/week is that we like the food. There are menus that we eat only on Fast Days and they are delicious. We look forward to them! Our appetites have decreased in the past 5 years, but if we didn’t continue to Fast, our weight would go back on.
Jayney, good job reaching your target weight. When you listed the foods you gave up, I was stunned. We eat eggs on Fast Days for breakfast and I eat tons of dairy for the Calcium. The protein keeps us feeling full. But every body is different! What works for me doesn’t work for someone else. BTW, what is your protein source?
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