Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and wanted to share my experiences. I'm a nearly 38 year old man, and I live in the North of England.
Firstly I will apologise for those of you who work in either Pounds or Stones - I don't! My gym uses metric for all of the equipment and I stopped converting to stones a long time ago - those of you who want to know my weight in lbs, then get you calculator out and multiply by 2.2!
I have struggled with my weight for many years - I carry it reasonably well as I am quite tall, but I am not happy with it.
Year in, year out I have ended the year heavier than the year before. Never by much, usually 2-3kg or so, but enough. This year after the New Year Drinks had gone and I decided that 130kg was too much for me, and I couldn't allow it to creep up to 133kg by the end of December, so I decided to diet.
Dieting doesn't come naturally to me. I don't comfort eat, but I do love food, and big portions too! I have always exercised, but in recent years I have found it more difficult. I can't cut out things I like so I started in January with portion control and more exercise. I rapidly dropped 3kg down to 127kg, and then things stagnated. By August I was back at 128.5kg and I knew unless something changed, I was on course for ending the year higher again.
I then saw a programme on the BBC about alternate day fasting. I was intrigued, and had a holiday coming up at the beginning of October. I decided to do the alternate day calorie restriction version of ADF, and I stuck to it rigidly for 6 weeks from Mid September until I went on holiday. My weight dropped from 128.5kg to 119.8kg in that time.
I was very pleased with the results. I didn't follow any rules for the 'non-fast' day - in the first instance I was eating what I wanted, but as the diet went on and the results started showing I was conscious that I did not want to undo the work from the fast day. On the fast day my diet would typically be low fat yoghurt with fruit (usually blueberries or raspberries) for breakfast, and a can of soup for both lunch and dinner, sticking rigidly to a 600 calorie limit.
On holiday I did not diet at all, but when I returned after nearly 2 weeks, I had gone back to 123.4kg, which I suppose was acceptable. My weight has stayed pretty static since then, and I have calorie restricted on a number of days, but not on the strict day-on, day-off regime. My weight dropped slightly to 122kg, or within 500g either side. My wife then set me a challenge to get to 115kg by Christmas, that way I will be able to enjoy all the turkey and drinks I want!
I thought about this, and decided to kick start the diet again by doing a three day fast. I have read contradictory reports about this - some say it is good for you, others say it is a fad and you put all of the weight straight back on again. I'm not sure which is true, but as I am otherwise healthy, I thought I would do it.
I didn't prepare but at 22.00 on Sunday night, I ate my last food. I ate nothing all day Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, but drank approximately 4 litres of water on each day to keep hydrated. By the evening on day one, the hunger pangs were painful, but on the morning of day two they had gone, and never really returned - so if anyone is contemplating this, then you must have willpower through the hunger stabbing you, it does go away.
I stepped on the scales this morning, and I was delighted to weigh 117.6kg. That is the lowest I have weighed in about 7 years!!!
I now intend to ADF to Christmas to try and hit my 115.0kg target, with the long term goal of getting to 100kg by next Christmas.
The only problem is none of my jeans fit me now!
I'm not posting this to try and suggest that alternate day fasting/calorie restriction or three day fasting is suitable for everyone - I am sure that there are many that wouldn't like it - or shouldn't do it for medical reasons. All I can say is it works for me, and I find it a pretty easy way to loose weight, when other methods I have tried over the years have always failed.
Kind regards to all.
Firstly I will apologise for those of you who work in either Pounds or Stones - I don't! My gym uses metric for all of the equipment and I stopped converting to stones a long time ago - those of you who want to know my weight in lbs, then get you calculator out and multiply by 2.2!
I have struggled with my weight for many years - I carry it reasonably well as I am quite tall, but I am not happy with it.
Year in, year out I have ended the year heavier than the year before. Never by much, usually 2-3kg or so, but enough. This year after the New Year Drinks had gone and I decided that 130kg was too much for me, and I couldn't allow it to creep up to 133kg by the end of December, so I decided to diet.
Dieting doesn't come naturally to me. I don't comfort eat, but I do love food, and big portions too! I have always exercised, but in recent years I have found it more difficult. I can't cut out things I like so I started in January with portion control and more exercise. I rapidly dropped 3kg down to 127kg, and then things stagnated. By August I was back at 128.5kg and I knew unless something changed, I was on course for ending the year higher again.
I then saw a programme on the BBC about alternate day fasting. I was intrigued, and had a holiday coming up at the beginning of October. I decided to do the alternate day calorie restriction version of ADF, and I stuck to it rigidly for 6 weeks from Mid September until I went on holiday. My weight dropped from 128.5kg to 119.8kg in that time.
I was very pleased with the results. I didn't follow any rules for the 'non-fast' day - in the first instance I was eating what I wanted, but as the diet went on and the results started showing I was conscious that I did not want to undo the work from the fast day. On the fast day my diet would typically be low fat yoghurt with fruit (usually blueberries or raspberries) for breakfast, and a can of soup for both lunch and dinner, sticking rigidly to a 600 calorie limit.
On holiday I did not diet at all, but when I returned after nearly 2 weeks, I had gone back to 123.4kg, which I suppose was acceptable. My weight has stayed pretty static since then, and I have calorie restricted on a number of days, but not on the strict day-on, day-off regime. My weight dropped slightly to 122kg, or within 500g either side. My wife then set me a challenge to get to 115kg by Christmas, that way I will be able to enjoy all the turkey and drinks I want!
I thought about this, and decided to kick start the diet again by doing a three day fast. I have read contradictory reports about this - some say it is good for you, others say it is a fad and you put all of the weight straight back on again. I'm not sure which is true, but as I am otherwise healthy, I thought I would do it.
I didn't prepare but at 22.00 on Sunday night, I ate my last food. I ate nothing all day Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, but drank approximately 4 litres of water on each day to keep hydrated. By the evening on day one, the hunger pangs were painful, but on the morning of day two they had gone, and never really returned - so if anyone is contemplating this, then you must have willpower through the hunger stabbing you, it does go away.
I stepped on the scales this morning, and I was delighted to weigh 117.6kg. That is the lowest I have weighed in about 7 years!!!
I now intend to ADF to Christmas to try and hit my 115.0kg target, with the long term goal of getting to 100kg by next Christmas.
The only problem is none of my jeans fit me now!
I'm not posting this to try and suggest that alternate day fasting/calorie restriction or three day fasting is suitable for everyone - I am sure that there are many that wouldn't like it - or shouldn't do it for medical reasons. All I can say is it works for me, and I find it a pretty easy way to loose weight, when other methods I have tried over the years have always failed.
Kind regards to all.