When to stop?

This topic contains 3 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by Stef. 10 years ago.

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StraR

11:02 am
8 May 14
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Do you think the body finds its own ideal weight? I started in January with the goal of half a stone to lose, to get back to 9 stone which I settled at in my late 20s/early 30s and found fairly sustainable.
I reached that goal very easily after a few weeks, but, feeling that I didn’t really look very different (which was a little disappointing tbh – I think I was expecting to look 27 again, lol) and stuck between two clothes sizes, where everything seems to be a bit too big or a bit too small, I decided to keep going to see if I could lose another half stone. I got to 8 st 11 but since then it has been creeping back on. I haven’t been doing anything differently, and I know the weight loss does slow down as you get smaller, but now I’m wondering whether anything less than 9 stone is just unsustainable. I would have to eat virtually nothing and forego all my treats.
Also I am now worried about going onto ‘maintenance’ mode – if I am failing to lose weight/gaining weight on 5:2, what will happen if I go to 6:1?
I know it’s only a few lbs, but a few lbs makes a big difference on a small frame (especially when it’s all on your belly!)

TracyJ

2:20 pm
8 May 14
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Hiya StraR, I expect it does yes. Have you checked to see what the TDEE calculator has to say about your ‘ideal’ weight? I’m assuming from what you’ve said that your ‘late 20s/ early 30s’ were a while ago? Your ‘ideal’ weight will have changed and maybe the weight you found easily manageable at 27 is just not achievable long-term anymore. Maybe if it’s a specific part of your body that you’re concerned by (belly) then it’s time to start thinking about exercise that will target those areas alongside the 5:2.

JIPWGP

5:11 pm
8 May 14
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Hi StraR I would have agreed because I could not back to my WW goal only by 6 or 7 lbs but with this 5-2 it is moving downwards, I still go to my WW meeting every week. JIP

Stef.

7:39 pm
8 May 14
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Stalling weightloss is normal and it does not mean you are necessarily at your ideal weight, if such a thing does indeed exist.

I lost the first six kilos very easily in a couple of weeks. The next two though took me around 4 months.

At some point I started to include serious exercise, on top of my daily one hour brisk walk. This shifted the weight again.

I am now 700 grams shy of my goal weight of 56kg. Over the duration of the last six months I have adapted the 5:2 way of life very much to my own needs. At some point I did ADF for two weeks, then just calorie watching.

At the moment I am upping my calories as I want to build some muscle. I use myfitnesspal to rigorously log all of my food. I now eat most of my exercise calories back as losing weight and building muscle do not very well together. I do pretty much exactly know how many calories I burn as I am wearing a heart rate monitor strap during my exercises.

The eating back of calories makes my life much easier as it allows me to eat more, including my treats. Not only did it stop my plateauing but I have lost more weight since following this path.

I think you need to play around with what works for you. If you are rightly saying that you feel deprived as your TDEE is now very low, do exercises that build muscles! If you build muscles your metabolic rate goes up as even after your workout, the body keeps burning calories.

Anyhow, hope you will find a way that suits you!
Best of luck
Stef.