Delay, Don't Deny by Gin Stephens

Author:Gin Stephens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gin Stephens
Published: 2017-01-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Let’s talk about maintenance

I have been in many diet groups over the years and people seem to struggle with weight regain. We all know the statistics. Something like fewer than 5% of dieters are able to maintain a weight loss.

I have good news! I believe we have found the secret to an effortless maintenance. It's this: keep doing what you are doing. Boom. Done.

As long as we maintain our fasting regimen with consistency, and keep from spiking insulin during the fast, our bodies should happily maintain our ideal weight. The Herrings (Bert, who created the Fast 5 plan, and his wife) found through surveying long time fasters that maintenance was not an issue with those who stick to their recommended 5-hour daily eating window long term. Krista Varady found the same thing in her Every Other Day Diet research. Those who maintain a fasting schedule are able to easily maintain their weight loss over a long period of time. (And in the Every Other Day Diet, the maintenance fasting schedule is not every other day, thank goodness. You still fast, but not as frequently.)

Ever since I gave up stevia in my coffee, I have had zero trouble with weight regain. (Prior to giving up stevia, I did struggle with about 8 pounds of regain, but ever since I cut it out during the fast, my clothes have just continued to get looser month after month.)

When I look back at the various diet groups I have been in over the years, and I think of the people who keep having to go back to heavily restricting to re-lose the weight they keep regaining, I think there are 2 common problems. One is the use of flavored/sweet "zero calorie" products during the fasting period. They all claim it "works" for them, but I would argue that if it works, why do you have to keep losing the same 10-20 pounds over and over again?

The other common problem is that people see goal as a finish line, and when they get there, they can “go back to a normal life.” I have news for you—there is no finish line. Fasting is a lifestyle—and there's a reason for that. As a lifestyle, if we continue to follow it most days, we will succeed at keeping our bodies balanced hormonally and weight maintenance is a breeze. If we go back to eating frequently most days, we will be in the same hormonal mess that caused us to gain weight in the first place. The lifestyle that caused you problems in the past will cause you problems again if you return to it.

So—the good news is that you can maintain your weight loss if you keep up some sort of fasting regimen. You can experiment to figure out what works for you as a maintenance lifestyle. For me, I need to keep to a pretty consistent routine with not very many planned indulgences. Fortunately, that is easy. The bad news is that you will never be “done” and you won’t be returning to your prior eating schedule.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.