18-month update - my linear weight-loss and maintenance.

[S11m]

I lost weight the way I am now maintaining: No counting - and a lifetime healthy eating LCHF/IF lifestyle. Weight loss can be quite linear (...I did Stay The Same one week early on, but I lost six pounds in two weeks - and left out the intervening plots!).

I lost a stone at two pounds a week, and I lost another 37lb at one pound a week. (Weight loss can be linear).

My first goal was 18 Stone for my sister's 75th birthday - and then 16 stone for my 70th. I stabilized at about 15 Stone 9lb for a month - and I have now been stable at 15 Stone for nearly four months. I am 14% body fat, according to my body-fat calliper and the BizCalcs four-fold technique. See:

fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calcul...

BMI is not a good guide for tall, old, muscular people, but I started at BMI about 35, and I am now BMI 26.2. Even if you do take any notice of BMI, some websites say that BMI 27 or 28 is ideal for longevity and all-cause mortality for old men.

See: "How do you know if you are too fat?

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

Height:……6ft 3"

Age .............70

Weight:

15 Stone……..... 1978

15 Stone…7lb.... 1985

16 Stone…7lb….1995 (muscular, lean mass 95kg, 14St 9lb)

19 Stone... 5lb…. 20th June 2018 starting weight

4 Stone... 5lb.............. Total loss on Health Unlocked. (Total loss 4½ St)

It now seems normal to only eat for four hours a day (Intermittent Fasting 20:4) but, before I had ever heard of IF, I thought that food you ate in the evening tended to get stored as fat – so I did not eat after 19:30... and brought the “end of feeding window” forward until I was only eating from 10:00 to 14:00... so I was Intermittent Fasting 20:4. It is best to change the scheme occasionally, so, after ten or eleven months, I did three 44-hour fasts, and then a 68 hour fast. This was very easy – if you fast 20:4 and then extend the fast by 24 hours by not eating for a day – that makes a 44 hour fast... and another day makes 68 hours. So, a two-day fast is then a 68 hour fast! ...but you have to get into "fat-burning mode" to make it easy!

To keep up to my target weight, I now eat yoghurt with my gluten-free, grain-free muesli.

I had Bradycardia Atrial Fibrillation (AF), two pacemakers, three Cardioversions and two Catheter Ablations... my AF was supposedly cured.

I had little difficulty losing weight – I think that this is mostly because I have always ignored Government/NHS advice, and I have never cut down on fat, or eaten low-fat or low-calorie diet food. I was disabled for the first three months I was on this forum but I was still able to lose weight.

When I had lost some weight I suddenly felt a great deal better – and I was able to walk. It might be a coincidence that it was when they inserted an additional atrial lead and a replacement pacemaker. I now walk 30 to 45 km per week.

If you "slim smart" weight loss is not so hard! It is not all about motivation and masochism.

Many of us here find that what works best is a combination of The Low Carbohydrate, High-Fat (LCHF) diet (see the forum here on Health Unlocked) and Not Snacking All Day AKA Intermittent Fasting (IF). See my "Welcome newbies FAQ":

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

[Hidden]

Hey S11m this is really encouraging so well done you and thanks for the update.

Jerry. 😊

[elliebath]

Well done, it's always interesting to see our weightloss journeys mapped out, and is a good reminder of how far we've come.

Clearly IF suits you, although your 4 hour midday eating window would be difficult for people with jobs, young families or evening social life. I'm retired and I don't follow IF religiously, but I find a 7 or 8 hour window generally fits in ok with family and social stuff.

Thankyou for sharing S11m and I wish you a happy Christmas.

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20 in reply to elliebath]

Eating breakfast and fasting late is, I think, better - but, as you say, we have to fit fasting I around family, work, and other commitments.

A longer IF window and or occasional longer fasts give one autophagy - with better longevity and other health benefits to cure or prevent arthritis, cancer, and many non-communicable diseases.

For occasional social meals, if I am at or above my target weight, I eat One Meal A Day (OMAD).

[Stoozie Administrator in reply to S11m]

Hi

I agree that some studies suggest it's best done earlier in the day, but this meta-analysis suggests it's just a time window of xx hours, rather than specific hours:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/247...

So the days you do OMAD later should be just as health-giving.

Cheering you on!

[Zest]

Hi S11m

Inspiring to read your progress, and many Congratulations on all you have achieved. Really great graph as well.

Zest

[Dangerouscurves IF16]

Hi S11m that's an impressive story. Well done on all your achievements. You sound like a very strong person and it's encouraging to see how well IF works for you. I'm really enjoying 16/8 I find it keeps me focused sometimes I go to 18 hours it seems to suit me. Again well done.