Re: [fast5] Having trouble after a year!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Re: [fast5] Having trouble after a year!

I would certainly endorse what Phil says about calories-in, calories-out. Despite observations others have made about "good" or "bad" food categories - and I won't dispute that these concerns may be relevant to other health issues - when it comes to weight loss energy balance is by far the most important factor. If weight is not going down over a reasonable period, then either less food must go in, more energy must be expended, or both. All the properly controlled research studies (crucially, those not dependent on self-reporting) have confirmed an almost straight-line relationship between energy balance and weight. Of course, this shouldn't really surprise anybody, as the converse would violate basic laws of physics (like perpetual motion!). So as Phil says, "whatever you want" doesn't translate to "as much as you want". To put it another way, if you are both wise and fortunate, you can have anything you want, but not everything you want.

Fast 5 isn't a magic bullet that robs food of its calorific value. Rather it's a strategy for limiting calorie intake based on the observation that the fewer opportunities we have to eat, the less often we can fall prey to temptation. But a five-hour eating window (or even less) is no barrier to the capacities of a dedicated glutton (speaking as one myself) and hence a degree of control is still necessary, especially when there is still weight to be shed. Don't forget - unfair though it may feel - that as we lose weight we need fewer calories than before to maintain our slimmed-down bodies. Even now, when I have been at my target weight for years, and exercising typically for an hour a day, if I lapse into eating as much as I (sometimes) want, the pounds begin to creep back. But, even though I still have to practice a degree of limitation, IF still works for me because my daily four or five-hour window still feels more satisfyingly like a "feast" than a larger number of calories spread over the whole day.

David

On 21 September 2011 16:06, Beth <beth@virtualchurchill.com> wrote:

My husband has been doing fast 5 for about a year now, primarily to lose weight (he is in good health otherwise). Weight loss has stopped completely. He lost 30 pounds over the first 6 months, then nothing. Now he has actually gained back 5 pounds. he needs to lose another 50 pounds.

He has eaten outside his window maybe 3 to 5 times the entire year, that's it. His window is early in the day, he has tried to change it but been unsuccessful due to business lunches etc, and whereas it used to be easy, he now finds himself hungry in the evenings, although he doesn't give in and eat. He doesn't eat particularly healthy, but one of the things that attracted him to this lifestyle was that he could eat whatever he wants. He gets very little exercise also, but I can guarantee you that would be the most diffcult thing for him to change.

He is so frustrated with hunger and lack of weight loss, I told him I would ask you guys for any ideas.

Thanks,
Beth