Getting weighed

[Gillian2]

It's strange. 5:2 diet, Monday and Tuesday restricted days, weigh myself on Wednesday morning, no significant difference. Friday morning is the day I chose to record my weight loss (got to stay positive) and there's a slight decrease (from Wednesday). Sunday morning I step on the scales again and there is the movement downwards. Is it because it is the end, well almost the end of a 'cycle' in the 5:2 diet? It's only the third week but that has been the pattern. It's strange. Anyone else found this?

[deekay64]

Is there a reason you restrict on consecutive days? It's just the plan isn't designed that way and you risk your body going into 'starvation mode' and storing fat on the days you do eat.

The plan was designed to fast/feed/fast but if it's working for you then all well and good

[gingernut49 in reply to deekay64]

From a recent article by Dr Michael Mosley discussing the Fast Diet (5:2):

Will I go into starvation mode?

No! This great dieting myth is based on a study carried out during World War II, which put young volunteers on extremely low-calorie diets for up to six months. Their metabolism — the rate at which they burned calories — gradually slowed as their body went into starvation mode, so they could, in theory, last longer without food.

But a more recent experiment on the effects of short-term calorie restriction produced very different results. When the University of Vienna measured the metabolic rate of people who had been on a four-day fast (eating nothing at all), they found their metabolism increased by 12 pc and their bodies had switched to major fat-burning mode.

This fits what we know about evolution. Early man often had to go without food for short periods, so starvation mode (where everything slows down, you become drowsy and burn fewer calories) would have been dangerous.

Only during periods of prolonged famine (a harsh winter, for instance) would it make sense to slow down the metabolism and wait for better times to come.

Read more: dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

[gingernut49]

It's heading downwards so that's the main thing. Many choose to have their 'fasting' days (up to 500 calories) on non-consecutive days, but also many do the two together. There's no such thing as 'starvation mode' - such an outmoded idea where this way of eating is concerned!

My fasting days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, just Tuesdays when I'm at my goal weight to maintain, and when I'm actively trying to lose I stay under my TDEE on the other days thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-...

This further reading might help too dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

[Gillian2 in reply to gingernut49]

Thanks for your information. Intriguing. Everything helps and lovely to talk about it all so freely without that horrible fat feeling.

I'm going to stick with this until, or if I hit a plateau then I may shift to 2 separate days. For now, it's great and working and I want to have healthy eating as a common habit.

Thanks again.

[deekay64]

Sorry for the conflicting advice, please disregard my reply as the other lady is the expert on this.

My 'experience' as a serial dieter is if you cut your calories too low then the weight loss slows and stops so I choose to separate the days. I did a lot of reading before starting 5:2 and splitting them was recommended.

Not sure you got the answer to your original question but I apologise for mid-information given

[Gillian2 in reply to deekay64]

Thank you for the reply. I think you're right, the recommendation is to split but the Horizon page says to do it a little differntly, I think. Probably the weight loss won't be as quick but I really do need to coach myself into a way of eating that's healthy and not so huge portions.

I'm going down and it's an effort still but I will keep going 'til I get there, poco y poco.

Maybe I will split the days when the scales just won't cooperate and go downwards!

Thanks again.

[HRHGaby]

It happens to me too. Exactly the same.From what I read, when the body loses fat, fat cells are filled up with water as a response. If you keep on dieting, your body gets rid of this water and the scales show your real weight.

Just keep on the good work and results will show!

[Gillian2 in reply to HRHGaby]

Thank you for your reply. Yay, it's not a freaky thing then. I have changed my weigh day to a Sunday now and I think I will only get on that day....hmmm...well I'll try.

I hope your scales are kind to you.

Thanks again

[FatbellyGutbucket]

I've given up trying to figure out any relationship between when I eat, what I eat, how much (or little) I exercise, when I exercise and when my weight shows a gain or loss. I now just eat less (and healthier), exercise a little more and hope it'll have the desired result eventually.

The best I've been able to figure out is that whatever I eat occasionally disappears into subspace (where it is weightless) and then might (or might not) show up where I least want it a few days later.

The real answer is, of course, that to find out what is really going on would require more measurements of inputs and outputs than I have the resources to measure.

[Gillian2 in reply to FatbellyGutbucket]

Hee hee, that made me laugh.

Of course, you're right, as long as it is all going that's good.

...but then does it make a difference if you breath in or out? Ha ha...I'll stop.

I hope lots of you has gone to sub-space, in the nicest possible way!

Thanks for the reply.

[Penel]

It's going to take time for your body to burn your stored fat, and everybody will burn fat at a different rate. The idea of having your "fast" days as two together comes from the studies that predate the Michael Mosley plan. You will lose the most weight if you cut out carbs on your "fasting" days, as this will reduce the amount of insulin in your body.

[Gillian2 in reply to Penel]

Thank you, it's fascinating stuff isn't it? I'm not eating carbs and I'm not finding that too tricky for those two days so good to know I'm on the right track.

Thanks again.