The intermittent fasting seems to be the ticket for vets in a rut like myself. I gained 7-8 pounds back from my all time low over the last year. (I am 2.5 years out)

Unfortunately I am not able to only consume 500 calories or less per day. I wish I had the will power to do it!!!!

BUT I started a similar idea at the first of the year and I am down 3.5lbs!!!

It’s called the 8 hour diet. It’s simple. You eat 8 hours of the day only, the other 16 you fast. (you drink Water or other beverages with no calories.) Basically you can eat whatever in the 8 hours with in moderation, but no need to restrict calories significantly.

So far so good!!! It is surprisingly easy for me to follow. I have also been shooting for high Protein, lowerish carb, (but I am reasonable, I have still been getting my white chocolate iced espresso daily from Caribou coffee!!) and I have been at the gym which also helps.

I haven’t seen the scale move DOWN in more than a year I’d say!

I work 2^nd shift as a nurse, so I have slightly different hours to eat then some of you might… but this is what I do:

I eat Breakfast at about 11:30am, and then I can eat a snack around 2 or 3 and have dinner at 7-7:30 then I don’t eat again until 11:30am the next day. I thought it would be hard but it’s not! Also the book I read regarding the plan does say even if you follow this 4-5 days a week you will still see results. (google 8 hour diet for more info)

This plan seems to give your body a chance to use stored fat for energy. I feel great! Also the plan recommends a brief 8 min “workout” just before you break the fast in the morning. (I will lift my 5 pound dumb bells and push-ups and go up and down the stairs a few times.

I am very optimistic, I know I have only been following the plan for 10 days but I am excited to be on the loser’s bench again. I will keep everyone posted, I can’t wait to weigh myself tomorrow!!

I've heard of it and tried it back in the day It's very popular on pro-anorexia/pro-bulimia sites-- I think it could work for some-very few- For others it's nothing more than way into starvation

True. I MAY have 5 bites on any given meal but not all the time!! .

So, I don't track calories so when I say I do 5:2 it is probably a bit more like the 8 hour thing. I try to focus on NOT eating all day long, that whole giving it a rest seems to make a huge difference! When I am using 5:2 aggressively, my "2" fast days are really more ultralow carb, and by inference low calorie days. I don't like using the word "feast" - my normal days are normal is all.

I haven't done it in awhile because I am maintaining without it, but whenever I creep up I do 5:2 (my version) and it works great.

^^^^ what she said. . And as a note, when we "sleevers" say "feast days as mentioned it's just a normal 12-1500 calorie day or less! I, personally cannot eat over 1350 on any given day without gaining. As CGJ also said, I've been maintaining my RELOST pounds for about 6 mos and staying within my 3-5 pound bounce zone but like yesterday did full on fast day since coming off 9 day vacay and up a couple. It works great for me and easy.

Excellent suggestion. I started doing 16 hour fast this week, and lost 2 pounds. I've been struggling to get any weight off since November, and the loss has just slowed down. I try to eat the same amount of calories I was eating, about 800-1000/day. It's the only way weight comes off. I do think the limited time helps curb the extra few calories I was putting in my mouth closer to bed, which also helps. But I could see once I hit maintenance, I could do this 5 days a week, and loosen up a little on weekends. Guess I'll see when I get there. Thanks for a great suggestion, and glad to see your success with it!

Awesome!! So glad to hear you are having some success with this too. This is totally the ticket for me. I am at my lowest weight post op ever!!! ( I am 2.5 years post op) :-) Keep me posted!

I'm certainly going to try this starting today. How much have you lost since January. I was 12 pounds from goal and gained back because stress of cancer in my family.

I'm certainly going to try this starting today. How much have you lost since January. I was 12 pounds from goal and gained back because stress of cancer in my family.

I've lost 10 pounds since January - and most of it in February when I was doing this. I quit, and I've not lost anything since! I am thinking now that I see this I'll have to try it again, too. It really did help. I also did the 5:2 a couple of weeks, but this far out, I find that pretty hard to do.

I'm certainly going to try this starting today. How much have you lost since January. I was 12 pounds from goal and gained back because stress of cancer in my family.

I've lost 10 pounds since January - and most of it in February when I was doing this. I quit, and I've not lost anything since! I am thinking now that I see this I'll have to try it again, too. It really did help. I also did the 5:2 a couple of weeks, but this far out, I find that pretty hard to do.

We have the same goal weight. You are so close! I want to believe that I can do this.

FYI the Fast diet people have a new book coming out... its a 6 week boot camp...

The Fast Beach Diet Plan http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Beach-Diet-Super-Fast-Programme/dp/1780722249/?tag=thfadi-20some of us are thin

Some of us ate thinking about giving it a go... I am currently at maintinance using the 5:2, but would not mind losing another 5 pounds...

I'm 9 months out and have 5 lbs to get to my goal of 150 lbs. Can I be added to the 5:2 group please?

Im 15 months out and I've been stuck at 162 since Christmas. Im getting very discouraged and depressed like I was before I was sleeved. Im willing to try anything

Why not start a 5:2 support thread on the vets forum? I personally don't think it's a great idea for people in their first year anyway, they should be following their surgeon s program. ...

As I have said I am a 5:2 person but do not track so am not a purist.. There are variations but it is all about reduction a couple days a week and that "fasting" element.

I think that would be a great idea!! I've been trying to find the actual plan on the internet...is there a guideline to go by?

@@Emilee68 here is the link with lots of info:

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/291240-52-links-and-info/

It's at the top of the vets forum. FYE put that together and made it a sticky should it should be easy to find. Feel free to ask questions on that link and those of us that do 5:2 will try to answer them and support you along the way.

Why not start a 5:2 support thread on the vets forum? I personally don't think it's a great idea for people in their first year anyway, they should be following their surgeon s program. ... As I have said I am a 5:2 person but do not track so am not a purist.. There are variations but it is all about reduction a couple days a week and that "fasting" element.

I think the issue for me is that at 9 months I'm not allowed in the vets forum but a lot of what happening outside of here doesn't help me anymore. There's no where for me to go to for support in that sense. I was hoping there would be a group for "tweeners" like me. That, more than the 5:2 support is probably what I need. I'm 5 lbs from goal (lost some following your suggestions! Yay! Thank you!) and realize I need mental support from vets but Not sure where to get it.

How is it going for those doing the 8 hour

FYI the Fast diet people have a new book coming out... its a 6 week boot camp...

The Fast Beach Diet Plan http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Beach-Diet-Super-Fast-Programme/dp/1780722249/?tag=thfadi-20some of us are thin

Some of us ate thinking about giving it a go... I am currently at maintinance using the 5:2, but would not mind losing another 5 pounds...

I'm in on the bootcamp! When it comes out on Kindle. I also just bought a kindle book called 5:2 mistakes you wish you would have known. Looks like goot info. I'll post anything I think we could use.