The FastDay Forum

in week 8 now, put 1ib on wk 4 then stayed the same for 3 weeks Grr, so finally lost 2lb this week, making it 12lb total since 15th Jan. sooo pleased as I was about to quit if I hadn't lost this week!

So stick with it if you've hit a plateau, it will move again.

[Moogie]

Well done Chocobunny, that's great news! I think it's so easy to get downhearted when you hit a plateau but knowing that others have got through one will make it easier for us all

x

That's great.
I think we have all found weeks where the scales haven't moved.
The trick I've discovered is not to weigh too often, and just keep with it.
You and I started at the same sort of time and have lost just about the same.
In fact you have lost slightly more than me.
As long as we are losing 1 lb a week on average I think we're doing well, and losing weight in a healthy way.

Thanks, the forums are really helpful and supportive when we are feeling down aren't they.

Should be thankful for any loss really as I'm not very good on eating days...and only feel like I'm dieting 2 days out of 7.

Will be pleased when I break the stone marker as the most I've ever lost before is 13lb. Got another 2stone to lose so I'm sticking with it!

[Tracieknits]

congrats! It's worth hanging in there. Sometimes our bodies are making changes the scales don't register, but it's all good

Hi Chocobunny, there's hope for me yet then? Started around the same time as you and lost about 6lb over the first 4 weeks - then big fat zero over the next 3 weeks. I'm sticking with the programme as I believe in it's long term sustainability - so here's hoping for some movement (downwards) on the scales next week.

[carorees]

That's great news! Did you make any changes to the way you were eating/fasting/exercising that might have helped or was it just a question of time do you think?

Thanks for posting this, I am stuck ATM and feeling like giving up. Will keep on a few more weeks now.

No Caroline I didn't change anything, even though I did keep saying maybe I should move to 4:3 to get results i never got round to it.

Even did less excersise this week due to bad back!

Obviously just a matter of patience I think (of which I have non)

I have lost 10lbs in 7 weeks doing 5/2. I am really pleased. I have been hovering on this forum for a few weeks and did not want to post until i felt really comfortable with the WOE. I have been good on other diets and failed eventually. Hopefully i will continue with this as it fits in with my life. Thanks for all the useful tips.

Great that you are seeing results again chocobunny, and thanks for letting us all know and encouraging those who feel they are on a 'plateau'!

To anyone not seeing results at the moment I would say comfort yourself with 'the math':

By doing the fast diet you are restricting your calorie intake by 21% (assuming you are eating your TDEE on normal days and 25% of this on fasting days.) Your body must balance this energy shortfall by breaking down body tissue (hopefully largely fat). This must already have happened - there is nowhere else for the energy to have come from. Less body tissue = less weight.

A variety of short-term factors, probably connected with water retention or the uselessness of domestic scales, might mask this for several weeks - but in the medium-term this weight loss - which is already happening - must show up because you can't carry on retaining more and more water forever, and/or those useless domestic scales must eventually start to swing randomly towards less pessimistic values.

So don't worry that the magic is not working. There's no magic, just the first law of thermodynamics.

(One little note: your TDEE may be less than you expect, it is worth checking with online calculators - plenty to be found via google. And of course it will reduce as you lose weight.)

Definitely agree with Dominic 100% ( well said btw!) There should be a sticky somewhere about plateaus to ease peoples worries in the FAQ section lol

In any regime or WOE patience is really key and detrimental to one`s overall success in meeting desired end results. With that being said, congratulations CHOCOBUNNY on keeping with the regime despite the plateau, it paid off huh?!

Kudos

Think I'm the same as most I've read, hit the 8/9 week stage and I've stayed at 8 stone 8 pounds for the last 2 weeks and it's really getting me down as I've lost 11 pounds so far:/ any advice how to break the plateau ?

Me too! HIGH FIVE! It's a great feeling isn't it?!

Me too! HIGH FIVE! It's a great feeling isn't it?!

Is that irony?

Think I'm the same as most I've read, hit the 8/9 week stage and I've stayed at 8 stone 8 pounds for the last 2 weeks and it's really getting me down as I've lost 11 pounds so far:/ any advice how to break the plateau ?

Hi Kayleighannegrace and welcome to the forum! I don't think it is normal for people to plateau at 8/9 weeks. Our rate of weight loss in the first 2-3 weeks is much higher than later (especially in the first week) because of water loss, and it seems (according to the wonderful forum-wide Tracker statistics) that weekly weight loss falls slowly thereafter until it stabilises at about week 13 at a little less than 1 lb / week.

Your 'plateau' is probably just a temporary thing, please see my post above for more about that. Alternatively it could be that, as you have lost weight, your TDEE (the amount of energy your body needs each day just to maintain your weight) has reduced, so you need to eat a little bit less on the feed days to resume your progress. It may be a bit of both.

Last thought. Losing 11 pounds in 8/9 weeks is good going and at 8 stone 8 pounds (that's 120 pounds or 54.4 kg) it's unlikely you are overweight. How much more do you need to lose? Your choice, of course...