Hello everybody! I had actually reached my goal weight and had maintained for a year. I made the fatal mistake of thinking that I could "relax" just for the holidays since I had been doing so good. Well, my cravings went out of control and I gained during the holidays and have continued gaining since. I am now back up to 147 lbs. from my previous maintained goal of 120 lbs. I would really like to get back to where I was. I need to get my focus back, and my cravings back under control.

As the last 10-20 lbs. are the hardest to lose, I've been contemplating doing a version of the Up Day, Down Day Diet that my friend told me about. I like the concept of this as you can cut more calories without having your metabolism drop, which really seems to be the key to getting through the last few pounds. I did something similar when I lost my weight the first time around. When I felt like my body was stuck, I would just fast for a day and that would get my body going again. I could do that again, but I want something more structured to help get my cravings under control again as well, which is why I'm leaning in this direction. Is any body else doing the UDDDD, or something similar to it?

I went to the UDDDD website and to me, it sounds really shady. I'm by no means an expert, but Molecular & Cellular Biology was my major and if I can tell you one thing that I learned, it's that you cannot pin down one gene and explain one entire process. Metabolism is such a complex thing, it involves far more than just one gene. Just because one gene gets "turned on," (SIRT-1) doesn't mean that you will magically get thinner. What about the other genes that help promote fat storage when you're eating fewer than enough calories? The people that make general claims like this generally have little knowledge about genetics, and the ones who really do know anything, would never come up with a whole diet revolving around one gene - or any one element of your body, for that matter.

Why this diet probably works for some people is that average amount of calories balances out over the week. Let's say you need 1500 calories a day to lose weight. If you eat 500 calories one day, you can eat 2500 calories the next day and you'll have averaged 1500 on both days. The claims about living longer? I really doubt that! I think the occasional day of fasting can be really healthy for you, but I think if you can find a pattern of eating that works for you - shooting for a weekly goal of calorie intake as opposed to a daily goal, for example, and definitely including more exercise - you will have greater success. And, you most likely won't get to the holidays and feel like you need to reward yourself! Regular healthy eating shouldn't feel like something that needs to be rewarded, it should just feel natural and the way you feel should be reward in and of itself. =)

That is exactly what happened to me. Just hang in there. You obviously have the skills and know-how to reach your goals. Now it's about hard work and patience - again. It sucks when I remember what I had accomplished, and that I now have to do it all over again. But at least now I know that it's not impossible. Good luck,

Alexah

Hi and welcome to 3FC.

I have no idea what the UDDDD diet even is, lol, I am a calorie counter. You can check out more on calorie counting and other diet plans at our Diet Central here - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/#diet-central

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

Thanks for the welcome all. Lizzie, I will be careful about how I diet. Thank you for your concern. I'm not following UDDDD, just wanting to try my own version of that type of diet where the calories are varied. I mentioned UDDDD because that's the one that my friend mentioned to me. I was wondering if anybody else was doing this type of dieting for support/encouragement/tips, etc.