Before and After Pic's for Motivation!!

Alairissa
Alairissa Posts: 160 Member
Hey guys! I just wanted to create a board where we can share before and after pictures as well in during pictures to help stay motivated for new fasters during fast days. :smile:

Replies

  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    edited March 2016
    So as one of the 5:2 elders ;) ...I will start

    May 2013 / 2014 /2015 and counting.... 5:2 for life for me :)
    86kg --> 57kg --> 58kg, currently at 61kg and slowly coming back down.

    Overweight / obese all of my life until the age of 45. Yes, it can be done. Takes time, the right mindset and a sustainable change in eating and exercise. For me 5:2 has been just that. I have good fasts and bad fasts....good nfds and bad nfds. That's just life. :) But in the almost 3 yrs I never abandoned 5:2 for more than 2 weeks at a time (vacations) and had a fast day in my calendar on my return. That helps me jump right back in and my body loves after vacation fast days to rid it of the carb bloat.

    81xa76dj1p0h.jpg

    And the two makeovers I won along the way...boah they were fun, inspiring and life changing inside and out.

    November 2014-Party after Makeover 1
    uw0gl7ymhoz9.jpg

    September 2015 - Before and After Makeover 2
    2owps99rqwyb.jpg
  • KateNkognito
    KateNkognito Posts: 1,609 Member
    @flumi_f You are awesome! And you are absolutely an inspiration for me. :)
  • flossyruby1
    flossyruby1 Posts: 337 Member
    Looking good, @flumi_f !!!! It's so helpful to have pics of you along the way. I forget sometimes how bad I looked (unfortunately, my heaviest weight pic is of me in my underwear, so no posting for me). I'm glad I have a few to look at to remind me how far I've come. My story echoes yours...overweight most of my life, yo-yo'd a lot, found 5:2, now able to maintain 40+ loss consistently (still have a few more to lose to meet my goal). Shopping is fun again, I no longer feel frumpy, and I feel so comfortable in my own skin!!!
  • MistleToeSter
    MistleToeSter Posts: 30 Member
    You look fabulous!!!

    Is this just two days a week?

    And could you tell us, how difficult was this in the beginning, what were the hardest months?
  • flossyruby1
    flossyruby1 Posts: 337 Member
    Mistle, I can't speak for Flumi, but I've stayed pretty true to 5:2 with a few 4:3 weeks thrown in. Any more than 2 days a week and I start chewing on everything!!! My weight loss was slow, but consistently went downward. It took me about 8-9 months to lose 40ish lbs. What I liked best was that I was getting the benefits of a reduction in calories without having to do so every day. I would say initially, I had a days where it was hard (I still do), but it is easier to eat less on one day and eat normal the following day. If you find you are a binge eater, I would track, track, track. I eat mostly a plant-based, vegan diet, so my calories on NFD tend to be lower. I only track FD and NFD when I've gained a few. In the past, my weight loss attempts were always focused on the end result. I'd get super overwhelmed, hungry from too low calories, and frustrated because I didn't see a way out. For some reason, when I started this, I just focused on each FD, weighed myself once a week, started tracking my weight, and started noticing a downward trend that kept me going. I never really focused on the endgame this time. Now, I do have an end-point, but that's because I'm so close to hitting my goal. Sorry for the long-winded response!! Hope you find it helpful. Flumi will have lots more to offer...she's a rock star!
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    edited March 2016
    I can echo what flossy said. Mostly two days a week, sometimes 5 fast days in two weeks. If I overdo the number of fasts, my body wants to compensate on non fast days. Two days between fasts help me, though I have done several back to back fasts this year, due to social plans. I'm not sure, I could have done that in the beginning.

    How difficult fasts are vary alot (it's a mind game), but it does become a routine. I skip breakfast, eat 150cal lunch and the rest for dinner, sometimes an apple around 15h. I lost quickly at the beginning and it leveled out. 4kg/mth the first 2 mth, than 2kg for 2mth and then it leveled to 1kg/mth the closer I came to being 'normal'. I'm a foody...love cooking... love eating...love the healthy stuff as well as the unhealthy stuff. Come on...I live in the land of chocolate.... At 157cm my tdee before exercise is only around 1600cals now, and my exercise burns are also low because I'm short. Thus fasting twice allows me a little more on nfds and still maintain B) I fast to eat on other days :p

    I tracked pretty religiously every day in my first year and lost very well (29kg). On maintainance I track the days, where cooking is in my control. If I go out, I don't bother. But I know, I will be over that day. That's where the fast days come in to level the up days out ;-) I gained a few kilos in the second half of 2015...lots of things going on and some emotional stuff got in the way too. But thanks to the fasts (perfect and imperfect ones) I could keep the gain within those few kilos. I'm working on them now by logging more diligently and my fasts have been better since the beginning of the year. Losses are slow these days, but the trend is downward.

    The beauty of 5:2 for me is its flexibility. Fast when you want / can. Take a break and jump back in. Eat your meals as it suits you with foods that suit you. Just one 'rule', two 500cal days a week.

    And I'm not the only rock star in this group @flossyruby1 and @KateNkognito!
  • Alairissa
    Alairissa Posts: 160 Member
    @flossyruby1 - Thanks for saying how long it took you to lose 40 ish pounds. My goal is between 30 - 40 lbs. I have a better idea of what I want to look like verses how much I want to weigh. I can now think clearly that it will probably take me also around a year to healthily lose weight, but if I am close some what by early December I will be super happy.

    @flumi_f I like how you are tracking your calories. I personally can't do that anymore. :/ If I overall watch what I eat and make healthy choices do you think I will still lose? (Anybody can answer this).
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    Sure @Alairissa . I would actually prefer that...but I tend to eat too much, if I don't track cals periodically. Thus I track them when I can and don't worry when I can't.
  • mamainthekitchen
    mamainthekitchen Posts: 929 Member
    Hi! I'm up late waiting to pick up and drive back home the 19yr old who's having alcohol at a party! Yes on a tuesday!! Thought I'd catch up here...

    I'm about the same as the others here who pretty much stick to a 5:2 way of eating except the odd time putting in a 4:3 especially at the beginning. I don't have a scale, and agree it's how I look & feel that's more important than a number on a scale. Since oct '15 I've lost 6" off my waist! And this is the very first time I've ever counted calories, which sure is an eye opener! I've never been over weight until I turned 50 and my sis got sick & died in '12 so I packed on grief weight since then. I've really become more aware of foods, good foods and low calories choices, sodium products etc by adopting 5:2, so I plan on sticking with it for life. Like others here, I have good days and some not so good, as I love candies (can't imagine living in Switzerland like flumi around all that chocolate!), but all in all I've lost quite a bit of weight in a relatively short amount of time so I love 5:2!!! Good luck!
  • flossyruby1
    flossyruby1 Posts: 337 Member
    @Alairissa, your weight loss may occur faster. I've read others who were probably very diligent about their FD being no more than 500 cals. I must be honest and tell you many of my FD go over 500 cals. Many of my FD in the beginning were 500 cals, but included wine (so not 500 cals). On the weeks where I was very strict and could keep to my cal budget, I did well. I guess what I'm telling you is that, for me, even in days where I wasn't too strict, I still lost. On days where I had my act together, I lost more. As Flumi continues to point out, this plan is SOO flexible. And she is right on so many different levels. Most of us are in agreement...find the combination that works for you and you'll see that scale move downward. I, too, am a lifer on this plan.

    Mama, so glad your child has a safe ride home!! My 14 year old son left yesterday to fly half way across the US on a school-related trip. I'm a little out of sorts because I'm not there to keep an eye on him. I just want him to have fun, be safe, and not do anything stupid (he is 14, after all).
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    Hey Ladies and Gents....I would love to see some other fotos than just my own :p
  • snaps27
    snaps27 Posts: 960 Member
    edited March 2016
    Ok so here is mine so far...
    smsgr87g9osj.jpg



  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    Yay!!!