Has anyone on here fasted and dramatically dropped a ton of weight and kept it off? I need to drop about 1/2 to slightly more of my weight for multiple reasons and I just wanted to see if anyone else has had lasting success? If so, can you please share about it possibly?TIA
Yes, I have been at maintenance for a long time now.. Over 2 years. OMAD got me here and that is the same protocol I follow today .
You are never really “done” per se. I long ago came to grips with the fact that this is a lifelong commitment. If I want to keep what I got it means I have to stay forever vigilant.
To keep it off, you need to maintain some kind of fasting routine for the rest of your life. I’m not there yet, but I picture doing 16/8 with a one day fast thrown in every week (40 hour fast). Right now I’m doing 20/4 with two full days of fasting each week.
It’s very much a mental game. I dropped 50 pounds with keto + fasting and then gained back 40 because my mind was in a bad place. I started back on keto over a week ago and now I’m adding in fasting. If your mind isn’t in it….the weight will come back. I know this is going to need to be a lifelong effort for me.
I weighed 230, my first extended water fast was 14 days which got me to 210, then I went to OMAD which got me to 180 and plateaued with 8/16 for about 18 months. I did a 3 day fast and OMAD to get to 170 and maintained with 6/18 for a few years. About 6 months ago I started doing 3 day fasts and keto eating around my cycle to resolve issues and continued to maintain 170. Last month I did a 5 day water fast for autophagy (treatment for the same issues) and have been doing OMAD since, so I’ve been maintaining 160. I don’t plan to go below 160 and am working on building muscle. Since I’ve reached my goal, it’s more about “keeping a size” rather than keeping a weight number.
My general plan after the 14 day fast was to maintain 10lb chunks. Besides fasting and IF, I’ve modified my eating a lot. I’m not perfect, but looking at what I ate in my feeding windows in the past and now, it’s very different (less processed foods, portion sizing, more fiber etc.)
Edit: I started in 2017
Listen to The Fasting Method Podcast! One of the topics they address is what happens after you reach your goal, which is usually a certain weight, and one thing that I appreciated they mentioned is that it can be harder after you achieve your gal than before it. It’s certainly doable but you have to realize it’s a lifestyle change, and like others mentioned, a mental game, not just something to do one or occasionally, so you have to address all the root issues and make better habits and choices for the unforeseeable future.