Hey JIP welcome to the wrinklies! I think it’s a new club we’ve started 🙂
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Hi Maintenance Mates,
I found I kept revising my goal. Started at 85kg and wanted to get below 80. Did it so quickly, I revised to 75, then 70. Reached 65kg with relative ease on 5:2 and was thrilled. Mind you, cost a fortune in new clothes. (Make room in your wardrobe, JIP, throw out the big clothes you’ll never need again)
I then plateaued for ages. It took a very long time to reach my next goal..under 60. I did it in April (one year after starting 5:2). Today I am 59, but fluctuate happily between this and 62.
Like Fran, I think without the muscle tone it is hard to look good, when you are older, at the weight you were as a young woman. I used to be 54kg, but have no intention of stressing about dropping to there. I fit into off the shelf clothes and get compliments from people. If I can lose the paunch it would be good, but have to accept some ravages of time and childbearing!
Keep up the support Maintainers:)
PVE
PS the benefit of living in Aust is we are so multicultural we have ALL the different foods of the world to tempt us!!!!
Hi FranFit, I really enjoy reading your posts. You have a great breadth of knowledge about the physiology of bloods, hormones etc. You are obviously interested in the medical/health side of things and its generous of you to share the information with us. I take screen shots of some of the books you mention and I will be interested in reading some of them when I find the time. I think you are right about adjusting goal weights depending on how we feel when we reach goal. As we are all embarking on this to please ourselves, then we will know when we feel happy and healthy. I think most of us here can’t quite believe the success of the 5:2 regime in getting the weight off so successfully. It’s taken me 17 weeks to lose 21 lbs and 4 of them came off the first week, so I’ve continuously lost 1lb a week – there was only one week I didn’t lose and that was because I didn’t fast properly. I have cut out sugar and carbs, I know if I eat carbs, especially, bread and pasta I will not lose 1lb a week. What is interesting is that I have only lost fat – I have bio-analytical scales which read fat, muscle, water, bone and TDEE. My muscle and bone have increased and only my fat has decreased. The fat loss, as opposed to muscle loss, on a fasting regime is something that Dr Mosley noted in the book. It’s quite interesting because I haven’t been working out or anything, I do a bit of walking and always seem to be on my feet, I’ve just started using resistance bands to try and tone my arms and legs up a bit but I don’t have a routine I just pick them up and do a few sets now and again when I can be bothered! So, I’m actually really amazed and delighted that all 21 lbs of my lost weight has been fat! By the way FranFit, we also started our conversation over waist/hip ratio both noting large waists but not being apple shapes, well I saw a true classic apple-shaped body today and now I know I am definitely not apple shaped so I’m going to stop worrying about the waist/hip ratio, at least I’ve now got my waist down to 29ins I would like it to drop a bit more but it all wants to come off my hips which are now 35.5ins – I’m pulling the tape-measure really tight around my waist and leaving it baggy around my hips – yeah I know I’m not fooling anybody but myself LOL.
Well done Purple Veggie Eater going from 80 Kgs to 59 kgs. My theory is that it takes longer to lose weight in kilograms! My original goal was 59 kgs but now I’m there I want to get a bit more off, to use Augira’s lovely expression, I want a bit of “wiggle room”. So I’m thinking under 9st is about 56 kgs so another couple of kilos to go. I went dress shopping last week and was amazed how much choice I had, it’s usually a case of trying on what fits! The shop assistant (there’s not a lot of self-service in Greece) looked at me and said mmmm, small! Well that was a first LOL :-))
Elainefriend, that’s really interesting that you have proof it’s just been fat loss and not muscle. My scales are basic so it’s been a bit more subjective for me and I hadn’t really been sure my muscles weren’t wasting. However…. with my clothes all getting loose I’d remembered a pair of jeans I had from 10 years ago and which were snug then and have been unwearable since (OK, maybe I have hoarding tendencies, but they were nearly new, and I obviously knew 5:2 was just round the corner!). Anyway, I spent a month ransacking the house for them (and even accused my other half of theft!). I finally found them on Saturday and they look awful! The only place they’re still tight is mid thigh, and loose at upper thighs/hips/bum/waist. It’s so not a good look! Such a disappointment. But at least it seems to confirm leg muscle maintenance and fat loss only? Now if only I could lose some muscle and shrink them a bit….!
Dear HappyNow I like that story because I’ve been beating myself up about getting rid of clothes I thought I’d never again get into, so perhaps they too would have looked rotten on me anyhow! Yes I bought these new scales from Amazon, they only cost £17 on a special offer, it was a bit of a faff bringing them in my suitcase from the UK tho, because they are large, heavy and made of glass and they took up precious Bisto and tea bag room…
Yes Elainefriend, I LOVE it when shop assistants have to tell me to try a smaller size!
I was 85kg to start. Not 80 :}
I agree, 56kg would be better (would loose the last of the tum) but I am not stressing. I still fast twice a week and don’t go overboard on other days so it might happen. If it doesn’t, I don’t care as I am well within healthy levels.
If you throw out the bigger clothes, you have a massive incentive to stay; small;)
Cheers PVE
Hi PVE. I agree that getting rid of the large clothes ought to be an incentive to stay small. I found it was possible to keep squeezing myself into too small a size for quite some time though without needing to buy a bigger size. With hindsight I may have looked like an overstuffed sausage…! I never dreamed I’d shrink back into them, and they’d end up too big. If I wasn’t the same height I might think I was in Wonderland (was eat me or drink me?).
I’ve been using the forum for a while now, just a late contributor, and have read your posts on other threads. I suspect you will have inspired a lot of people here. Congratulations on your success.
Morning Elainefriend.
Whilst I’d quite like some better scales, I’d also like to stop weighing myself obsessively. I’m hoping that as I get used to the new weight, and trust my maintenance routine, I won’t need the constant reassurance. Now if only I had a nice pair of jeans to use as my benchmark instead…..!
Tell me please, does the tea taste the same? We took Yorkshire tea to a friend in Canada, but I didn’t think it tasted right with their water?
Well this week I’ve maintained 61.2 again with 16:8 only so far. But it is now in my head that I should join the 60 minus club, if only to see what it’s like. Thanks for that!! Stopping by here this morning has given me the resolve to fast today.
GEE Thanks HappyNow
Have just almost finished my Thursday fast day…the sun is sinking as I write …should be rising in the UK in a couple of hours… It has been tough, but I will make it. I usually weaken at this time…that’s why I’m on the computer.
59 doesn’t look a lot different to 60, but it IS a huge psychological barrier. I am never securely below it, but this morning I was. Whoo!
I don’t see frequent weighing as obsessive, I see it as an insurance policy. If I go up, I am more vigilant. If I am below 60, I can relax and know I’m on the right track. I think part of the reason I put on so much weight over the years (despite the obvious sign that I had to buy bigger and bigger clothes!) was that I didn’t weigh myself….I had never had to.. so was HORRIFIED when I realised what had happened. Never again!
Good luck with your fast today.
Keep up the good work, Maintenance Mates
Cheers PVE
Morning HappyNow
I think at 5.6 and 61 Kgs, you sound perfect. I’ve been looking at weight/height charts and it appears that for each 1 inch taller one is, our weight shd be approximately 3 lbs more – you are 2 inches talker than most of us 5.4ers, so conversely you can be another 6 lbs heavier – just under 3 kilograms. So if we all weigh 59 kilos, you can afford to be 62 kilos and still be of the same slimness!
It appears from reading this link, that a lot of the women who have gone onto maintaince, lose an extra bit of weight without even intending to, until they find just the right method of maintaince. Having followed the 5:2 for months, it must be difficult to just stop, but I’m looking forward to it!
I don’t know if you’ve ever been on holiday to Greece, you just can’t find decent tea bags, so after trying the local brand, any English brand taste divine:-)
As for the weighing scales, I’m an obsessive weigher, always have been. I’ve weighed myself everyday for the past 40 years! Saying that, my slimmest friend never weighs herself, says she knows from the fit of her clothes when it’s time to cut back a bit. I’m too much of a self-deluder to trust this method, even when I can see from the scales I’ve put on weight, I still believe the washing-machine has shrunk my clothes! Saying all that I only ever take Fridays weight as my true weekly recordable weight, so wish me luck for tomorrow I’m hoping I will be another 1 lb down taking me to 9st 2lbs. Have a happy day working HappyNow:-)
Dear Maintainers – love the energy and enthusiasm here, and thank you for your kind words. Isn’t it great that this truly is international now? Sometimes I pinch myself when I discover just how far the fasting message has travelled – due in great part to committed people like you who are helping to spread the word. Thank you from Michael and me for being such great ambassadors. Roll on summer!
Good morning all,
I am not happy today ;););););.
I need to cry on your shoulders. I fasted yesterday I had two boild eggs and a two egg mushroom and ham omelette and salad, one orange one apple a diet coke, I had 4 pints of water and black tea. I put on 1.3/4 lbs this cannot be right. I spoke too soon about having this under control ;(;(;(;(;(;( JIP
A friend of mine, who has lost 20 kilos, told me about the 5:2 diet, stressing the health benefits. I downloaded Dr Mosley’s book and on reading that Dr Mosley did his medical training at the Royal Free Hospital, where I worked for donkeys years as a Medical Secretary, I had complete faith in everything he said.
The 5:2 regime is one of the best things that’s happened to me in years, I really feel its transformed my life, not only am I slim again but I’m confident I will keep the weight off, I also feel happier, calmer and less anxious and I don’t think it’s just the weight loss, I really believe this diet rejuvenates one!
So another big thank you to Dr Mosley and to Mimi. It’s doubly appreciated that Mimi has taken time out to contribute to our maintaince thread :-))
PVE, all. All clothes are size 12 and even the odd size 10’s. I got rid of all big sizes along the way to goal being absolutely certain I was not going to put any of the fat back on after losing 56 lb. it’s 3 years now and I think some of the clothes can go to the local charity shop.
I love looking at the profile of us on here but there are some user who have not filed, it only as age if you want to give it, which country we live in and a bit our dieting life. It is nice to know, or am I being to nosey? You only have put you finger on the person/thread you are reading and it will take you to the profile.
Dear JIOWGP, I’ve weighed myself everyday for the past 40 years, believe me weight really does fluctuate day by day by as much as 4lbs, only go by a set weekly day’s weight – most people seem to choose Friday to give time for the weekend’s excess to disperse. Just because a food is low in calories, ie vegetables, fruit etc, they actually weigh quite a lot and contain a lot of water so one can weigh heavier immediately after or, even the next day, so it doesn’t denote fat gained 🙂
Thanks Elainefriend maintenance people.
I usually weighed almost every day but if I have what I call a BAD day I do not weigh but I get back to eating properly the next day and I have done this all my adult life.
I have been on these thread for since April so some of you on here may have heard this story before.
My sister wanted it buy a pair of jeans to go on a weekend coach holiday, She picked up a size 16 and just so I could see them on her I took a size 14 we both tried them on and they were too big, I gave her my size 14 and I asked the assistant in higher than usual voice if she possibly had a size 12′s in these jeans please, we giggled like teenagers both of us had never bought a pair of jeans in our lives, Barbara is 9 years older than me, me only a mere 66/67 at the time. Now I have a 4 pairs, 1 black,1 brown and 1 White, one is even a size 10 that I will try on again.
For the 5-2’ers who have read it I am sorry, last time honest.. JIP
Good morning, maintainers and Mimi!
JIP, it’s water. I’m reading a book called ‘The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living’ written by two researchers, Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney, and they say that the body can gain or lose up to two pounds of water in a totally random fashion on any given day. The body just has a wide range within which it maintains water balance. I did not really know this before, if I didn’t know of a reason why I would be retaining water I would always worry, even when I knew I hadn’t done anything that could remotely cause me to gain two pounds of fat overnight. This is also why we suddenly drop like, three pounds sometimes, and then bounce around/get stuck around that number for a couple of weeks — we dropped some fat and some water at coincidentally the same time, so it takes a while for things to kind of even out and additional fat loss to show up through the water fluctuations.
So please feel better! You are doing great!
More later, all 🙂
Oh JIP, you sound SO upset. I answered you on LOACA.
I would like to add my personal thanks to Mimi for popping in too. My husband and I will be forever indebted to you and Michael for giving us the tools to change our lives. We have lost a combined 56kg and I am now living with a gorgeous sexy man who doesn’t have to inject insulin any more. Don’t brag too much about summer, though. As you said, FD is quite international and we in Australia are rushing headlong into winter. I know, not like a Scottish winter, but I have had to cover the pool and turn on the heater!
Cheers all,
PVE 🙂
Mimi, thank you for your books and for your lovely compliments about our thread 🙂 I was stuck around 150-160 pounds for years because I was always hungry whenever I tried daily calorie restriction, could sustain it for at most a few months, and lost only about a pound a month. Intermittent fasting has set me free!
This is definitely international. I’m in Atlanta, GA and started the beginning of May. Since then my wife, son, ex-wife, and a friend have also started. I joined a Facebook group that’s dedicated to people in the US on 5:2 (I’m actually doing 4:3 for now) and there are new members added literally every day. I have a feeling this is going to catch on big in America the remainder of 2014 and into 2015, I see more and more articles about IF in the press. This is the latest with Dr. Varady that I’ve seen from a few days ago (Dr. Mercola is a big believer in IF though his preference is 16:8) http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/08/alternate-day-fasting.aspx
Dave
Auriga, I agree. I know Dr. Varady has some issues with Dr. Mosely because of the books and such but she wasn’t too critical of 5:2 in the interview if you watched it. She just made the point that all her studies have been on ADF and she couldn’t verify any claims about 5:2. Also she made the same statement about 16:8 but seemed very interested in the results that Dr. Mercola was describing. Everyone here knows that 5:2 works and I’m very glad she’s continuing her research on fasting because we’ll all benefit from it.
Congrats on the hubby’s weight loss, that’s very impressive. New clothes shopping can be expensive but it sure is more fun to buy clothes because you’re shrinking rather than growing…
Thanks. I have noticed that the 5:2 or ADF forums that I’ve found are very stacked with women but that’s cool. I think women really benefit from the constant support and encouragement. Men do too of course but I think women even more so, plus women are in general more open to share details of this than men are.
But hey, get us on a sports forum and we’ll go to town! 🙂
Almost time for my one meal of the day—
Dave
What a busy, happy thread we have here! 🙂
I had a good day today, first physical therapy visit, it took him a few minutes, but then he ‘got’ what I was there for, to get a home exercise program that I can do to get more fit without injuring myself in any of my vulnerable spots, and we got off to a good start with that. He even expressed an interest in intermittent fasting, I think he’ll actually do some reading up on it 🙂
The scales said 115.0 pounds this AM — perfect! I am starting to feel a little less weird about eating a bit more 🙂
I had fun after my appointment doing a bit of shopping at an outlet store, got a very cute white denim jeans jacket — it’s both stretchy and soft, and I plan to add some embroidery. Nice to finally be at goal weight and buying things that I plan on keeping! All my too-big clothing has been given away except the outerwear, I’ll give that away as I’m able to replace it, and yoga pants and T-shirts that are only one size too large, which have been converted to pajamas. Today I wore something I’ve never worn in my entire life before — a bright orange and white striped top — it could be hideous, I know, but I wore it with very dark jeans and bright blue flats, and with my navy and gray striped bag it actually looked tres chic! I’ve always been self-conscious about striped tops because of my large bust, but I thought, oh well, might as well give it a try, and the stripes worked, they didn’t sag and droop! Now I don’t have to automatically avoid stripes any more 🙂
So good night, and happy fasting to anyone fasting tomorrow 🙂
I forgot to say (have a memory like a sieve!) thank you, Elainefriend and Auriga for your compliments about my long posts, I sometimes wonder if I go on about things too much! When I learn something new I like to share, and writing about it helps me to remember it, too.
BigDave, good of you to join us 🙂
Now I really must get some sleep, got to work tomorrow.
Hi Fran, Auriga, JIP, Dave and all
I enjoy the international nature of our site. It IS good to have a nice male too.
I fasted so successfully yesterday, I spoilt myself with 2 corn fritters, a glass of wine and an apple danish for lunch. Sitting in our winter sun was fabulous. I thought of it as eating out at home!
Fran, keep some of the big clothes. It is amazing how thin you can look wearing overlarge clothes that slip off the shoulders (especially in summer) just like the young things wear. It is the bottom halves that really need to fit. The smaller they are the thinner you look. Stretch jeans are ideal. If you’ve lost it, might as well flaunt it!
🙂 PVE
Well all me lovely maintaining friends, looks like its going to be a few more weeks until I can join you all in the inner sanctum cos I didn’t lose my hoped for 1lb this week 🙁 but, I didn’t gain either 🙂 I’d actually calculated that I hadn’t achieved the 3,500 calorie deficit needed to lose 1lb so I’ve only myself to blame. I had been warned that with only 4lbs left to lose, things would slow down a bit, and this being the first week in 17 that I haven’t lost, I’m really not too disappointed because I know this regime works so am confident that things will move downwards for me next week. So, for the time being, I’m still on the outside looking in LOL. Wishing everybody a wonderful weekend from sunny Greece
Good Grief! How many posts since I was last able to stop by?! I can’t keep up with you all….
Hi PVE. I agree off the shoulder can be good, but have to admit I tend towards something a bit more figure hugging. I have a waist again (26in down from 32) so intend to enjoy it until it thickens up (which the media seem to delight in saying is the inevitable effect of middle age for women).
Franfit. I agree about your posts. You do seem very well informed and knowledgeable. I’m sure I’ve read that horizontal stripes are actually more flattering than vertical, so wear that top with pride! (oops, unless the stripes are vertical, in which case ignore me…!)
Elainefriend. It’s interesting what you say about weight and height, and how actually we’re probably all of a similar slimness. It’s easy to only compare weight and forget about height and frame size.
So, back to weight maintenance.. I did do a low cal fast yesterday, so 6:1 and 16:8 this week. This morning I’m 60.5 (down 0.7). Which seems to confirm that I can’t do both and maintain, unless I consciously eat more (or more calorific) food on non-fast days. I guess it gives me more flexibility over how I maintain though?
Hi Maintenance Mates
I bought The Fast Beach Book and have been reading it this afternoon. I think it is good for maintenance people as it covers all sorts of different ways of doing this. I guess it is a bit like collecting together all the ideas on this forum and collating them.
Weekend has started here in Aust. Off to Friday night dinner. Isn’t it fabulous, as a maintainer, knowing you can go an enjoy yourself just a long as you are strict on fast days?
Enjoy the w/e.
PVE 🙂
Good morning, maintaining buddies 🙂
I forgot to weigh myself before breakfast this morning — I must be starting to get a bit of confidence!
No, Auriga, there doesn’t seem to be all that much out there on maintenance. It looks like we’ll be writing the book on it, so to speak.
Thanks for the suggestions, PVE, unfortunately my too-large tops do not look stylish, they just look baggy! I even stopped wearing them to exercise class, but they do make great pajamas. Did buy a pair of pale grey and white tie-dye print jeans leggings yesterday in a size 2, wearing them today, courageous me!
Off to work now — happy fasting to anyone fasting today.
JIP I read the article in the Huffington Post today about Phillip Scoffield. I don’t know anything about him because I’m not from the UK (apparently he’s some type of celebrity there?) but he seems like a kook. I don’t put any stock in his criticisms of 5:2. The article right out of the gate casts 5:2 as an “extreme” diet which it is anything but, so that showed me the author had an agenda to push. I seriously doubt that fasting 2 days a week can cause one’s stomach to shrink so much that they can’t eat enough to maintain weight. To use a British term…rubbish!
Dave
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