Surprised by Silly Season weight loss!

This topic contains 8 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by Nika 10 years, 11 months ago.

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

Mandarin

9:33 am
30 Dec 13
Permalink

I fell off the 5:2 wagon quite often over the last few months, but about 3 weeks ago I began ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) to see if it would help me get through birthday & Christmas celebrations. I wasn’t expecting to lose weight, but hoped it would prevent me from gaining weight. I’m very happy to report that in spite of all of my non-Fast-Day indulgences, and there were many, I have lost 2.3kg! Once I’d set my mind to it, it was relatively easy, which surprised me. It hasn’t lessened my sweet cravings, unfortunately, but I do sleep better on Fast Days.

Lindyw

2:56 pm
30 Dec 13
Permalink

Well done!
Have you gone back to 5:2 now or do you intend to continue ADF?
You can have smaller portions of the sweet things you crave on your normal days and I have read that some people with a sweet tooth lose the need for sweet things every day. Its this flexibility that keeps the 5:2 way of life so achievable for most of us. 🙂

Mandarin

8:09 am
31 Dec 13
Permalink

I’ll continue with ADF for the time being, but I’m almost halfway through “Grain Brain” by Dr David Perlmutter. Apparently he mentions intermittent fasting later in the book and he has already referred to the benefits of overall calorie restriction. We are all sugar & grain ‘addicts’ in our household, so we’re going to follow his regime/guidelines together. Prob start that in the next couple of weeks, but I might also follow 5:2 regime at the same time. I’ll have a better idea of what to do when I’ve finished the book, but in the meantime it’s ADF for me 🙂 And I think you make a good point, Lindy, about having smaller portions of sweeties on my normal days. Hope you are also having success with the fasting!

barbarita

1:16 pm
31 Dec 13
Permalink

Hi Mandarin

I am reading “Grain Brain” too and will incorporate the advice into my WOE. I see Dr Mosley’s book/TV programme as a breakthrough in giving us ‘permission’ to fast and reap the benefits but not as the be all and end all of what we do for ourselves health wise. Do you find that the experience of fasting has loosened addictions to foods so that it is easier to step back and nudge yourself towards a better diet? I could never have gone straight from my ‘normal eating’ to an Atkins type diet but I am finding it easy to cut down a lot on carbs especially starchy ones.

On to the chapter “Not a fruitful union”.

Happy fasting!

Pea Jay

10:40 pm
1 Jan 14
Permalink

Mandarin… I am impressed that you fell off the wagon and still lost lbs. I have been on 5:2 since mid Aug 2013. I believe I fell into the perfect eating plan. I, like some others very much like the fast days. I look forward to them because we have foods in the house that work for fasting. I don’t have to think beyond making out the menu with corresponding calories. Also my body feels great on fast days.

I have lost 13 lbs since beginning. Although I gained 1 lb over 2 wks around Christmas and didn’t miss the 4 fast days in that 2 wks. Perhaps because I am 68 and female the weight loss is slower than some others. I have shrunk two sizes however and nicely surprised by that. Diets have been part of my life for 50 yrs. I am loosing fat more than I have before. And I especially like the idea that I am only restricted for one day. The next day is fine for getting something I can’t have today. I can see this as a life style definitely. No more “diets”. I also find I am not obsessed by foods as was case in regular dieting. Yea for 5:2!

Nika

1:09 am
2 Jan 14
Permalink

Heya Mandarin! I too am combining IF with carb restriction. Two types of IF even, daily and weekly!

Congrats on losing a bit over Christmas, not many here can echo you on that 😉

Mandarin

7:33 am
2 Jan 14
Permalink

BARBARITA, unfortunately my addiction to unhealthy foods has not decreased one iota!..LOL.!.. if I hadn’t adhered to ADF through Xmas and the weeks preceding it, I hate to think how much weight I’d have gained 🙂 PEA JAY, congratulations on your weight loss! I’m 52 and agree that being older (ie menopause / post menopause) does seem to make it harder to lose fat, particularly around the belly & midriff. I think that 5:2 and ADF are definitely routines one can maintain for life. NIA, how’s it going with combining IF & carb restriction? If I do end up combining both, I will revert to the 5:2 routine, rather than ADF because I think that cutting out sugar & many grains will have a marked effect, therefore fasting 2 days a week, or even just one (every week) should be enough to improve both my brain and body health. I enjoy the fasting days and look forward to them. HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR to all of us 🙂

Mandarin

7:41 am
2 Jan 14
Permalink

Now all I need to do is start an exercise routine.. something I say every New Year! I have constant back pain from a back injury 10 years ago and I am yet to find any form of exercise that doesn’t strain my back further. However, I am considering Yoga again (it’s been about 15-20 years since my last yoga class) with a teacher who has students with back injuries. Walking at a moderate pace for a short distance is not too bad, but if I increase my speed it strains my back, possibly because walking is a weight-bearing exercise, but cycling is also painful, as is aquaerobics. But I am determined to find something that works!

Nika

7:54 am
2 Jan 14
Permalink

Combining IF and carb restriction isn’t that hard. At first I tended to feel a bit lightheaded at times, but now I feel just fine! For a few weeks I also did heavy HIIT whilst keeping up my 5:2, 22:2 and carb restriction. So yeah.

Lately it’s been difficult to keep up the healthy eating. The exercise I stopped because I noticed I almost cried when I thought about it. Now I’m planning on picking it up in New Zealand again, when I start at the university there (free gym membership, yeah!). I do try to eat healthy as much as I can but something has crept in my mind that just breaks me. Some days I just feel all my willpower leave and I honestly don’t even mind eating unhealthy – like really, normally I’d feel guilty, but nothing like that either! I wish the guilt would come back so it’d be easier to eat healthy!

So yes, also an addict here! 😉