Fast-5... Wow

[delilah]

I see that alot of people here tried fast-5 or some other type of IF this summer and I'm wondering how you guys are doing now?

I started fast-5 on Wednesday, but I'm acclimating so I ate at 12. Then Thursday I ate at 2. By Friday I'd lost 2 lbs and felt that weird taste in my mouth that the pdf talked about. Overall, I'm super excited!!! The science seems so obvious, so real, true.

This last year has kicked my butt. I was gaining weight constantly, stress eating, and by March I was topping my most ever non-pregnant fat wieght at 183. We were running out of savings while my husband finished a three year project creating an rpg computer game, Depths of Peril, that just recently came out. I was freaking out about the money and about the unknown (not knowing what would happen when the game came out). Plus, I have alot of writing in the game and I didn't know what that meant for me or my writing career. Besides stressing out about all of that, I was stressing about my weight spiralling higher, my spiking blood pressure (distolic over 90), and the serious heart burn resulting from too much advil (headaches due to blood pressure) ripping up my stomach.

By May, I was on Meridia (part weight loss, part anti-depressant), which I took for nine weeks. It really helped with the anxiety. I noticed right away that things weren't making me tence up the way they used to. But for that luxury, I felt car sick anytime I shopped (groceries) or spent time on the computer. I lost eight pounds and gained back five when I went off the drug, but my weight steadied at 177.

I am thin at 140, so I need to lose 37 lbs. I'm extremely positive and excited about fast-5. It just makes sense! I've not been very hungry during the day. The biggest thing is psychological, the times I think I "should" be eating. But I'm stubborn as hell. And when I'm not eating, I can't stress eat.

I did weight watchers five years ago with my husband and lost 30 lbs. But after two years, it started creeping back. I tried ww several times after that, but I couldn't stick to it. The result was that I yo-yoed myself up to new heights. It was very frustrating and depressing.

I really think fast-5 is exactly what I need -- long term. I can't wait to get my body, and more important these days, my health, back for good.

Delilah

[Steven Barnes]

Delilah--
You want to hit both of the snake's heads: control eating, and control exercise. It doesn't take much time to exercise properly, but it does take emotional control. The payoffs are enormous, on multiple levels. We advise the Five Tibetans (google the term, you can find free info on the web), yoga, Kettlebells, walking, FlowFit, and a few other things--many of which can be effective in no more than 15 minutes a day! The very best of luck to you...

[delilah]

I have ordered flowfit. :-) I want to get yours next, and eventually, clubbells (because they look cool). I want to spread them out, so when the newness wears off, I'll have something else new. I've never stuck to an exersize plan in the past, but hopefully that will change.

Yesterday, I was moody (may not be from diet, just how I am sometimes) and I didn't eat until 4. It was hard to wait that long! I wasn't that hungry, but I wanted to eat. I think I'm sticking with four, either four to nine, or until I get used to four.

Delilah

[delilah]

Is anyone else still doing IF?

Today is the end of the first week of fast 5. I lost 2 lbs but felt down for three days. I decided I needed more time to acclimate, so I dropped my time to 2:30 for now.

On the exercise front, I said I never have stuck to anything, but that isn't completely true. I love going on walks and I do walk 1-2 miles about 5 days per week.

And now for the exciting news... I got Flowfit in the mail TODAY! I'm really excited!!! I've tried all seven of the exercises and have come to this conclusion -- my arm strenth (what arm strength?) is way way WAY out of proportion to my leg strength.

Delilah

[temporus]

Delilah. I'm on week 20 of Fast 5. I found that the initial weeks were strong, but that eventually, you'll taper into a more moderate loss. I feel pretty good in general, however, what makes a tremendous difference to me is not the food, but the sleep. Days when I get a good amount of sleep, I'm feeling great. But if I try to run myself ragged (such last night, where I just had to type my latest edits into my story instead of waiting for today, and stayed up til 1:30 am) I pay a pretty hefty price.

That's my 4-5 month experience so far.

Good luck,

Ed

[AdamCrafter]

I'm 3.5 months into adopting IF as a lifestyle change.
I started by doing the adjustment from Fast-5 for 2 weeks, then I jumped into Alternate Day Fasting(ADF).
I've dropped 8 inches off of my waist, and lost quit a bit of fat.
I keep having to add new holes to my belt.
-
I'm currently fasting MWF, as that is a good fit with my schedule.

Fasted all day yesterday, then went to the gym this morning before eating today.
Felt great, did not run out of energy, no headaches.
-
I have restored the insulin sensitivity to my metabolism.
Now I can get serious about upping my exercise plans!
-=-
I enjoy working out both in my fed and non-fed states.
running, weightlifting, and martial arts keep it mixed up and fun.
--
Good luck!

[baubosboy]

Hi, I'm closing in on six months. Hoping to get some tests done at the end of the month to see how things like cholesterol have changed. So far, tho, so good. I'm doing 6-to-6, no idea how much weight I've lost, but have lost several inches from around the waist. Feeling better in general. Still feeling good about it, found it very easy to stick with. Have also implemented other changes, changing my weightlifting regiment, adding more cardio, etc, so some of the positive changes may be due to that. Will go more in depth once I get the tests done, at the six months mark. Hope it works out for you as well as it has for me.

Take care,
Geoff

[delilah]

That's great you guys!!!

I'm still adjusting. I gave up on the third day of a con, then the day after when I was exhausted and stressed, and then the next day (yesterday) when I had a late lunch date. Today I'm back on. I can't wait until 4 or 5 because I get depressed (I don't know why), so I'm going to try a 3-8 window. I find after I have a big meal, I'm not very hungry the rest of the day.

I'm still walking. I have Flowfit now and started it before the con, but I haven't done it this week. I really should do it today...

I can't seem to get into a sleep routine. If I stay up late, I sleep after the kids leave for school. Last night I went to bed "on time" and got eight hours, but I still feel tired. Yesterday, I slept only six hours, three hours at a time. After the con I probably slept twelve hours! But I didn't get enough during the convention (did I mention I met Steve Perry? So cool!). I think I'm going back to bed now.

Delilah

[Steven Barnes]

Perry is one of my very favorite people. Sleep is vastly important. I've heard that those who get less than 5 hours a night are like 75% likely to be obese. Fits my observations: you have to seriously disassociate yourself from your body to treat it like that.