nayla-That's awesome you're almost out of the 50s! I remember the 50s were such a stubborn decade for me.
Well my brother decided to go home early. He was just starting to act like his old self and then wanted to leave Really messed with my plans for the day as well. We did a small hike and then I was planning on hiking up the mountains but there's a storm so I can't. I guess I'll just go practice.
I had all these meals planned for my brother's special diet so I'm not sure what to do about dinner now. Maybe I'll make spring rolls again. Or I'll stick with the old plan and spiralize some sweet potato and make a red pepper tofu cream sauce....choices choices...
Well I do have some really good news though! I hit a new low weight today I'm starting to get really excited about goal...I think I will get really pumped once I lose another lb since then I'll only have 10lbs left. Its crazy, someone ask me in another thread to post pics of my highest weight and so I managed to find some old photos and I was like, "Who is that person?" its so trippy!
I think I actually might make my weight loss goal for August! Loving this WOE
Quick question: What are everyone's opinions on "set points"? Weights you body seems to want to be. Have you experienced any? I know some people believe they're body has a "happy weight" and that's what they should aim for and others think you can push past set points and of course some people don't believe in them at all. Just curious what you all thought
I've been weighing every day and it's interesting to see my body's pattern regarding weight loss. When I first told my husband that I was trying this new way of eating his response wasn't terribly positive: "So I'm going to have to suffer so you can lose weight? Does this mean you're not going to fix meals for me any more?" Don't be silly, I told him, of course I'll still fix meals for you; I just won't eat them with you! (It's really just one meal anyway, he never gets up until it's lunch time for me.)
I did make the vegetable soup from the Woman's Day article a couple weeks ago on IF. They called it "minestrone" but it's not like the soup that I think of when I hear that name, as it has no tomato in it, but instead has a base of chicken broth and includes parsnips and turnips. I like both, esp. parsnips, so I enjoyed it very much and should be making another batch today.
Dottington and ladynredd so happy for you two with your losses! That's great news!
I am back to my lowest weight, after a SEVEN POUND gain (of bloat) from last weekend. No loss at all this month. I'm thinking I will see a loss next week now that life is a bit back to routine, and then next month should be a big loss for me if my body follows its usual trend. I was going to take a maintenance break in September, but with how much I've overeaten the last few weekeneds I don't think I need it quite yet. I'll revisit in October.
I have lost a half inch from my waist and a half inch from my chest in the past month though! But of course nothing from the hips. I am afraid when I get to my goal weight I am going to be all hips!
Last edited by nonameslob; 08-22-2014 at 09:13 AM.
Hi ladies! It sounds like you're all doing great! Congrats!
Noname--great job losing the bloat! That can be so hard to stay motivated after a weekend like that. Lol at being all hips when you're done! I'm afraid I'm going to be all calves!
Ladyinred--awesome on the weight loss! And I've been making veg soup lately, too! It's a great filling snack or meal!
Dottington--I'm sorry your brother left early after all your planning. It sounds like you do a lot of cooking, and vegan/veg, yum!
Nayla--I did start out at 158 when I started IF back in late May. It was May 28, actually
So, my husband and I decided to do a 48 hr fast, more for spiritual reasons than weight loss. It was a really good experience, and one that I think we'll continue to do regularly, maybe once a month, or when we feel led to do so. So now I'm back to my eating window in theory, but today we had a get-together for lunch, so I did eat early, but luckily I mostly had raw fruits and vegetables.
Dottington--I'm not sure I believe in set points, but I would have to read up on the theory more. My personal experience is that I go up and down depending on general eating and workout (or not!) habits. When I want to lose I lose, and when I slack off (or take fertility drugs) I gain. I do find that I have stalls in weight loss, but sometimes I think that's when I'm cheating a little
So, you're so close to goal, congrats! The last 10 might be hard, but I figure even if it's slow it will come off, and then IF should help for maintenance. It sounds like 5:2 is working for you, I might try that soon if I can't get the scale to move more quickly!!
Last edited by lightenup2014; 08-24-2014 at 01:36 PM.
Lightenup - awesome about the 48 hr fast! I hope it was easy and happy that it went great for both of you.
Noname - yay for lowest! and even more yay to inches lost! Great job! I haven't measured at all since I started... I probably should.
Ladynredd - awesome!!!
Dorothy - yay for lowest! so awesome and I bet feels amazing! I can't wait to be at that point! I would love to see photos as well! I don't have any set points, but I do believe I look great at 130 and feel great too. We'll see when I get there
I'm fasting today. Although I stayed within my windows, I didn't eat the healthiest of foods. Game day for the kids on Saturday and also had ice cream and a glass of wine, which always does it for me... bah! Went on a great run today though!
Nayla-I'm fasting today as well! I might post another mini goal post soon and put pics there. Glad your run went well!
ladynredd-Congrats on the loss!
lightenup-That's wonderful you and your husband were able to complete that fast together. Sounds like it was really beneficial I LOVE to cook. Also I have to cook if I want to eat lol Since I'm vegetarian, lactose/gluten intolerant I really have to make everything from scratch. Yeah for set points I think for me there are weights my body really really likes and its very hard to break past them. What I've noticed is that I'll reach a weight and to break past it I will need to put in drastically more effort than I was before. So for me 140 was so hard to fully break past bc my body loved that weight and the measures its taken to break past it have been difficult. Also its meant I have to be hungry a lot of the time. Its like my body wants to be that weight. I guess that's what I mean by set points.
noname-I knew your weight would come back down Don't worry about your hips! It will come off eventually. I know I was getting depressed for a while bc I was only losing from my bust, but you will lose from all around with time. I wish we could pick where we lost from though! haha lately I keep losing from my rib cage(so random right?!) and its like....this is already the smallest place can we please lose some from the lower stomach now! haha I know you're going to have a big loss for Sept!
Fasting today and enjoying it Was much better this weekend and although Sunday could have been better, I didn't binge which is what's important. Sat went exactly as planned and Friday I had my mini fast.
I made my weight loss goal for August and for starting school! I'm really determined to get to goal by my birthday in early Dec. 10lbs in 3 months is totally doable!
With school starting I have to stop with all the exercise which always depresses me a bit I've had a great summer of hiking though and I'm really really going to try and hike at least once per week if my schedule allows. Also I'm taking a fitness class so at least I'll have something. I'm a little worried about plateauing so I might do mini fasts on Friday's to keep the weight loss going.
lightenup2014 Wow I can only imagine how wonderful of an experience the two day fast was. I used to question how people of faith could fast as part of their spiritual journey, but now I get it (even if that is obviously not my reason for fasting). It's a unique experience.
nayla sounds like you're finding a good balance between enjoying life (and food!) and fasting. That's what's great about IF. You can have it all, to an extent!
Dottington Look at you only 10 pounds from goal! AWESOME! Curious when your birthday is. Mine is December 6th.
Heading to the doc in a bit about the lightheadedness. I'm excited to step on that scale and not have it be over 200!!! Though I'm more excited to hopefully figure out what is going on with my body. I really hope I can be honest with her without having to tell her about IF or 5:2. Crossing my fingers for a simple, easily recognizable fix.
It was kind of pointless. She gave me no feedback, just a script for lab work. What a waste of time! Should have just called to see if she would write it over the phone. Going to try to get that done Wednesday. Then we wait. Thank you for asking though!!!
nishita--You can download a free e-book about Fast 5 (http://www.fast-5.org/content/e-book-pdf) which is one method of IF. There is also the Fast Diet, otherwise known here as 5:2, and other methods such as Eat Stop Eat, Warrior Diet, etc. If I were you I would google those terms and read online articles--that's mostly what I did! Welcome!!
noname--What a pain! I hope your labwork at least steers you in the right direction.
Dottington--I realized that I'm 10 lbs from my goal as well, although I don't feel very close to it, at the rate I'm going! Good luck with your goal of losing it by your birthday--I'm sure it's doable!!
I'm feeling like maybe I need some sort of dieting break, either a break from watching calories, or maybe more importantly, a break from the 6 hr eating window. I think I'm burned out with it for right now, but maybe after 10-14 days off I'll be able to get back into it with gusto. Noname--Can you tell me again what you do for your maintenance breaks? Do you watch calories very closely? Do you do any type of eating window? I feel like I should at least do 16/8, but maybe I just need to not focus on when to eat at all during a break. Or just do 5:2 instead of Fast 5 everyday? I've been reading about diet breaks, and it sounds like they really work to get you back on track, as long as it's planned and there is an end point. I know when I went on vacation back in late June/early July, when we got back it was great to get back to IF, and I started losing weight with a vengeance! Then I hit this stall I'm in. Not taking the vitamins seemed to help initially, but now I'm back to having difficulty staying within my window or my calories. Noname--any advice? Did you gain very much over a planned break? I seem to remember it wasn't much, but you were doing a lot of exercise? Also, did you use the scale over the break? Sorry, lots of questions, I know!
Last edited by lightenup2014; 08-26-2014 at 01:03 AM.
I took my break end of June over vacation and the week following (two weeks). I didn't really gain any weight, but I was very very active on vacation. I weighed myself after vacation and then once more at the end of the break, that was it. I didn't count calories at all (I never do). I ate whatever I wanted on vacation, and when I came back I kind of did 16:8 without 5:2 the following week (for me, that basically ended up being at maintenance calories I think). If you're doing 5:2 and Fast Five right now, a good break might be to only do one of those.
Mentally, it was fantastic. I REALLY needed it. It gave me something to look forward to, and once it was over I was so ready to get back to it. Physiologically, it was supposed to help "reset" the metabolism and make it easier to lose weight after. I had an excellent loss in July (5 pounds, I average more like 3-4), but August hasn't been as great. I think that's more been to do with other factors in my life, so I think I can still say the break was totally worth it and helped jump start my system.
The article I read on it also said that the closer you are to your goal weight, the more often you should take breaks. That of course can get frustrating because all you want to do is get to goal, BUT it sounds like you're stalled anyway so maybe it is what you need? They also suggest a full two weeks. It feels like FOREVER, but I recommend giving it a shot.
I need to schedule another one myself, but I think I am going to hold off until October. This month was a wash.
Dottington also did a maintenance break. Do you have any other feedback?
Thanks noname, that helps a lot! Ha, that's the same article I read! I'm glad to hear it worked for you, and I'm thinking that's what worked for me after my vacation. I had planned to stay on plan as much as possible, but I didn't watch what I ate too closely, we had cocktails every evening, and towards the end we ate out twice and I ate plenty. I was shocked when we got back and I hadn't really gained but maybe a pound. And that was after two days of riding in the car, with little exercise. Anyway, we are going to the beach for this upcoming Labor Day weekend, and then the following weekend we're going to a wedding out of town and then my mom and grandma will be visiting us for 4 days. I think I'm going to just plan my break for those two weeks and see how it goes. I'm sure I'll skip breakfast, but might eat more like 14/10 or 16/8 most days. I'm not doing 5:2 yet, and now that I think about it, that wouldn't count as taking a break for me, as I'd still have to really watch calories those two days.
Dottington--I guess I forgot you also did a maintenance break. How did that go for you again?
For anyone else reading these posts, I don't want to make it sound like I'm thinking Fast 5 or IF in general is not maintainable. On the contrary, I really do plan to continue doing this as a lifestyle, but maybe with some breaks thrown in every once in a while. Those will happen naturally for me anyways sometimes, as we take about 3 10-day trips out of state per year to visit family. But right now while trying to lose (and getting closer to goal), maybe I need a few more planned breaks. For anyone interested in this, I also recommend the article posted by Noname above, as a great read about taking diet breaks.
I also realized, duh, when I first started Fast 5 in late May, my kids were out of school. They went back 3 weeks ago (beginning-ish of this stall), which results in less sleep, more stress, and less time to workout due to homework and preparing for the next school day (My kids go to a fairly challenging school--my third grader is learning Latin. As it turns out, I am too!). So anyway, I think all of that has contributed to this stall I'm in, and general funk. So I think a break is just what I need, and it will be planned, 14 days, and then back to the work of losing!!
I love this quote I read somewhere on here: "Being overweight is hard, losing is hard, maintaining is hard. Choose your hard."
I am so glad you pointed out that the desire for a maintenance break does not at all reflect poorly upon IF! Also, I really like that quote
I know when I took my first maintenance break, a user on 3FC said something along the lines of "Well, if you're looking forward to it so much, then 5:2 must not be as easy as you say it is!" 5:2 is easy, compared to other ways of dieting that I've experienced, but you're right...weight loss and maintenance and being overweight are all difficult!!! And wanting to take a break is not at all a negative reflection on IF...breaks are good for the mind and body.
I need the opposite of a break right now. I need to work my butt off!
Really messed with my plans for the day as well. We did a small hike and then I was planning on hiking up the mountains but there's a storm so I can't. I guess I'll just go practice. 
I'm starting to get really excited about goal...I think I will get really pumped once I lose another lb since then I'll only have 10lbs left. Its crazy, someone ask me in another thread to post pics of my highest weight and so I managed to find some old photos and I was like, "Who is that person?" its so trippy! 
