5lb Challenge #356
 

Hello all,
Welcome to the 5lb challenge. Post your weight at the start of the challenge or on joining the thread. The first to lose 5lbs wins.
Prizes to be had: the sweet taste of victory and the honour of starting the new thread :)

Good luck everyone!
Sw: 169
Gw: 164

Congrats MrsMcsMuffins! :cheer:

SW: 217.6
GW: 212.6

mrsmcs :carrot::carrot: congrats!!!

SW 186.2
GW 181.2

Thanks ladies. Think it's someone else's turn to win this time though. I'm actually considering a 48 hour fast some time soon to increase autophagy and prevent loose skin so I know that will help but I won't be doing that in the next day or two. Feeling a bit bad for winning two challenges in a row!!

I'm in!

SW: 310
GW: 305

Welcome MaMaLarkey :wave: Fingers crossed for us all.

mrsmcsmuffins I think it would be awesome for you to win back to back challenges. I LOVE the competition portion, it keeps me on point! Can you please tell me more about how the fast helps prevent lose skin and autophagy (I have no idea what that means). I have done a couple 24 hour water fasts and man, they were hard!! If you want some company during yours I would give it a shot with you :)

SW 186.2
CW 184.8 (-1.4)
GW 181.2

Thanks kfunk, I do like a challenge to keep me going :) Love to buddy up and support each other during fasts. Thinking of starting my first 48 hour fast on Tuesday 12th September - scary!
LONG POST ALERT!!
As for autophagy, well that's the biochem nerd in me coming out - sorry. So autophagy literally means "self eating" and it's what our bodies do automatically after a certain period without protein coming in through diet. Less scary than it sounds I promise...
After some time without food your body starts looking for rubbish (old damaged cells for example) that it can break down into amino acids and use. That rubbish needs to be protein based, hence unused loose, flabby skin is a prime target. Your body then breaks this down to sustain itself through the fast. Autophagy is not a bad thing - it is a normal mechanism that has been shown to protect against cancer. Think about it - your body is breaking down the rubbish cells before they become harmful... You can google a Dr. called Jason Fung. He's actually a kidney specialist but became interested in weight loss through the many diabetics he treated. He prescribes intermittent fasting alongside a ketogenic diet and says he's NEVER once referred a patient for skin removal post weight loss. I don't know if that means a 300lb patient who goes to 150 could expect super supple skin but I think he says the body can deal with skin well enough through autophagy for it to be livable and avoid surgery, which in my opinion is good enough.
The bad thing about autophagy is that no-one really knows how long you have to fast before it starts. Jason Fung personally says he fasts for 24 hours, most people agree that you need to fast over 18 hours at least. The research I've seen on mice equates to about 36-48 hours in humans but it's all a guess and it's very individual. If you're eating a ketogenic diet you will start autophagy faster than if you're eating carbs. I personally believe from my research that fasting for 48-72 hours will give my body the best chance of "eating" any loose skin but that is my opinion and I'm not giving anyone medical advice here.
Finally, one thing that is universally agreed upon is that even tiny amounts of protein (less than 3 grams!) will stop autophagy in its tracks. So you have to fast properly - no splashs of milk in your coffee to get you through it. Tough but for a day or two, doable. I thought about posting this on the loose skin thread as it seems something so many of us worry about but as I say, I'm not giving medical advice and I don't have a tonne of loose skin to use myself as a guinea pig and claim it works. I believe it works though. Everything I've ever learned in biochemistry supports this theory so I'm willing to give it a try. I already fast for between 14-17 hours each day so I'm prepared to go that bit further.

I'm in!
 

Hello all! Need all the help I can get have gained almost 60 lbs this year. Lots of life changes... stress, etc. ready to reclaim myself! Excited to be a part of this.

SW 202
GW 197

Welcome kristirn :)

Thanks for posting that mrsmcsmuffins. I've read about autophagy with fasting and find it interesting. I incorporate intermittent fasting with keto right now. I may try it at some point. Please share your experience if you don't mind and I'll do the same if I do. Thanks and have a good night!

Hello kristirn :wave:
You're welcome boopchick.
I have made the call - I am starting my 48 hour fast after dinner tonight!! I'm in work tomorrow and the day after and I always find intermittent fasting so much easier in work....can't just walk over to the kitchen for a look around :)
Kfunk and anyone else who wants to join me is very welcome. As I say I'm lucky not to have a tonne of loose skin but I do have a little bit of a saggy mommy pouch from carrying two very big babies so I'm hoping a 48 hour fast every 2 weeks or so will fix that (maybe drop it down to once a month depending on how I look and feel). My stretch marks aren't obvious anymore but I've also heard good things about scar tissue being used up through autophagy so fingers crossed... I will definitely report back with the results!

mrsmcsmuffins Thank you for taking the time to explain that!! That is super interesting to me! I am going to join you, so dinner tonight will be my last meal :) Do we eat dinner at the same time on Wednesday night, or will breakfast on Thursday morning be our first meal back? Should we start a separate thread or just chat on this one about it?

Welcome kristirn!!!

Congrats

SW 231
GW 226

Welcome Matilda :wave:
Kfunk yay! I have a fasting buddy :D Well eating dinner on Wednesday would take us the full 48 hours and I'd be happy with that.. But secretly I would like to see if I can last until Thursday breakfast. I'm not putting pressure on myself (or you!) to do that though. If I last until Wednesday dinner I will be a happy bunny. I'm planning to photograph my mummy pouch before and after - I can't believe I've just said that, it's my most hated body part... We can start a new fasting thread tonight if you like so we don't bore everyone here :D
Probably best in weight loss support - I did say challenge forum originally but I don't want to encourage people to compete with each other to fast, that could end badly...

SW: 217.6
CW: 219
GW: 212.6

So the only thing I've changed is that I started going to the gym a week ago. I've been going every day and have read that it's normal to gain a bit of water weight in the beginning due to inflammation so I'm trying not to sweat the numbers!