Hi everyone. I need some gentle honest advice.
I started fasting on the 13th December. I decided to do rolling 72s with half a day of eating in between.
It is now the 2nd February. My starting weight was 236lb. My current weight is 219lb.
I am a female and unfortunately suffer from pcos. My husband and I have two little boys who were conceived via IVF and in both pregnancies I suffered from gestational diabetes. It also runs in my family.
So I wanted to fast for weight loss and to control my high blood sugars. I’ve cut out sugary sodas and such but mainly eat whatever I want on my none fasting days. I highly doubt I even go over 1500 calories on the days I eat because I simply don’t have a huge appetite anymore. I absolutely don’t ‘binge’ eat at all.
I’m getting pretty upset about it all because I thought in 2 months I’d have lost far more than this. Nobody in my family, including my husband, can tell I’ve lost weight and it’s becoming quite disappointing. Nobody has told me how well I’ve done. It makes me want to quit. (I’m currently 60 hours into another 72 fast and feeling quite low) I have personally noticed some weight loss in the fact a pair of my pyjama pants are looser - but that’s all.
I exercise very lightly (swimming three times per week) as I have a brain condition that limits how much I can exercise.
Am I doing something wrong? I take all of my vitamins also and the things I need.
Any advice would be great.
17 pounds in 2 months seems like a win… but it isn’t really noticeable to people who see you every day. It’s gradual. Take off another 10 or so, and people will start noticing. For an extra boost, catch up with someone you haven’t seen since before you started when you’re about 30 or so pounds down and get a thrill from their reaction.
The truth, though, is that most people aren’t paying as much attention to our weight as we do… so they may not even react when you’re back to the pre-baby body.
Just confirming, you are fasting no food day 1-3, then 1/2 day refered, then fasting no food day 4-7.. repeat for 2 months?
This is impressive. I’m sorry that you’re not seeing as much weight loss as you would like, however, I would like to add, just the action alone shows you have great self discipline and I’ve found that has really helped me.
Start tracking what you eat on your refeed days. You may think you’re only eating 1500 but it’s actually more. Also, if you have PCOS and high blood sugar, try lowering your carbs to under 100g/day. After you get used to that drop it to 75 then 50. Eat mostly protein and green vegetables.
An additional option: Also cut out all processed food. Diet soda, “sugar free creamer”, etc. You are disciplined enough to do rolling 72s, so you can absolutely make those other food changes.
PCOS makes it tough to lose weight.
It’s a disease of hyperinsulimia (like diabetes also is).
To fight it proper, you have to go low carb. Preferably keto. At least during the healing phase.
You’re doing great with rolling 72s. Now drop the carbs like a dead weight.
During your eating windows, only eat the 2 or 3 meals. No snacks.
Good luck!!
17 lbs in a couple of months is winning, we don’t gain all our weight in a couple of months takes many of us years to reach peak weights. It has to come off in a similar fashion. You are making a lifestyle change. Good for you and keep up the good work, for your children and especially yourself. Good things don’t come easy or everybody would already be there.
While I understand you’d like to see more progress, it’s really not that bad. Looks like you’ve fasted roughly 34 out of the last 51 days. If you lost half a pound on fasting days and no weight loss on eating days, you be at 17 pounds lost, which is exactly where you’re at.
I’m down 60 pounds since August (325 to 265) and honestly, I’d barely be able to tell myself if it weren’t for my clothes. At some point, everyone will notice, but it takes a while.
Hang in there! You’re doing amazing. Sometimes weight loss does not translate to the number on the scale. Take measurements instead! And maybe try eating as much fresh food as possible, unprocessed. I find that I struggle with weight loss if I’m eating too many carbs and not enough fresh food. Stay consistent. Don’t give up! I’m in the same boat as you. Give yourself a chance. 😇
It will take time, and patience and hunger make for a terrible sandwich.
I wake up every morning with the realization that there is less of me today than there was yesterday.
Remember that it will also be more difficult for the people that see you everyday to notice the difference right away.
I imagine if you ran into a person who hasn’t seen you since before you started fasting, they would notice.
Giving up would make all of the effort you’ve gone through meaningless.You owe it to your past self to keep at it.The you that exists tomorrow will thank you for that.
This isn’t a fight that you win in a day.
Talk to a doctor. With all your medical issues, you could have a hormonal imbalance, pituitary issue. Need a full blood panel to see the deal. Not eating but half a day every week, you should be dropping 1.2 lb a day.
Are you taking no calories in at all during those 3 days fasts? You should do keto when not fasting those just to keep ketone, fat energy conversion, production in tact. No carbs, at all.
I think maybe try keto some. Fast some. No carb diet would be best.
Good luck to you. And remember it’s a long term goal, so don’t expect immediate results. I was 210, and 14 months later I’m 179. Still got last 15 to go. It’ll take me 18 months total to reach my goal. Long term weightloss is better for a long term success. Weight lost to fast usually gets up right back on. Wish you the best
You’re almost at 20 lbs in 2 months which is a good pace, I’m doing ADF and about a 10 lb a month pace myself
Try wearing old clothes if you want to see a difference. I can tell by my coats and summer clothes if I’ve lost any weight
It takes 48 hrs to burn up your glycogen after eating whatever you want (carbs). If you refeed with keto you should lose more weight and find it a lot easier.
Rolling 72s is likely going to kill your metabolism as well. One fast a week? I haven’t even figured out what my body will do. ADF killed me after 3 weeks.
I’d try once a week and eat keto.
Fasting is, no-pun-intended, not the fastest way to lose weight. I lose the most weight on keto with no fast for example (and by keto I actually mean very-low carb diet, not high fat) Eat mostly protein and leafy greens, Artificial sweetener in zero cal drinks is also fine.
Fasting is a more “sustainable” approach to weight loss. You’ll see a lot of progress pics here of people losing 50-100 lbs over 2-4 years.
The way I see it, fasting is great for maintaining your gains (we overeat as a species anyhow nowadays) and it can be great for a very long term approach to weight loss, but in general I would have to recommend something more aggressive if you take your motivation from “visible results” (which is also what I do).
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A bit like investment, we don’t all have the same time-horizon, and the more sustainable strategies are the least visible/slowest ones. I still recommend active strategies though, so long as the risks are well-understood and accepted. It’s easier to yo-yo back on a fast diet than on a lifestyle “forever” change.