Have you been measuring yourself? I know I just started the fast because I'm frustrated with the lack of progress I've made in the last month just dieting and exercising, but here's the thing- I've gained about 3 lbs since starting to workout hardcore and track my calories, but I've lost like 4 inches off my gut. Sometimes you have to track inches, not weight. Scales will drive you nuts. Now, with the almased fast, I'm seeing a loss in weight and definitely some loss in inches but I'm also too weak to work out, so I have a feeling once I stop fasting I might have the same issue you are having.
If you measured yourself before, keep measuring and see if you are losing. Another possibility is that you have simply hit a plateau. 6 lbs is a lot to lose in such a short amount of time, so you might just have to keep working out and eating right and eventually you will see a change. I have a long history of yo-yo dieting, and I have found that very often, I go weeks without losing a pound and then one day I step on the scale and I've lost 5. Concentrate on being healthy and feeling good, and the weight will come off- it just might take time. At 5'4" and 145, you are already considered at a normal weight, according to your BMI. I understand wanting to lose more, but it's not going to be as easy to lose the weight as it would be if you were obese.
There are a few ways to break a plateau, in my experience. I like to calorie cycle, which is hard to do when you are following the shake regiment, but hear me out. I love almased because it really seems to help with my insulin resistance. That being said, if I eat the same amount of calories every day, I stop losing. I like to have days where I eat a lot more calories and burn a lot more calories. It always seems to boost my weight loss. I'll go to the gym and burn about 1000 calories, and then have a big steak or something for dinner. The weeks I do that, every once in a while, I swear I lose more weight. When it comes to working out, I have more luck when I lift light weights and do intense interval training for about 45 minutes 4 times a week, and on my off days I do walking. If you do the same exercise every day, your body becomes accustomed to it; therefore, you are not working as hard and not burning the same amount of calories. You need to push yourself in order to make progress.
Don't get discouraged, you're making healthy choices and they will pay off in time. Everyone loses weight differently, just change up your exercise routine and try some different ways of eating and monitor how it affects your body as you go. You probably lost a lot of water weight with the fast and then resumed working out; fatigued muscles retain water, and you could be retaining water
while losing fat which is why the scale isn't showing change. That's still okay- just pay attention to how you feel and maybe ignore the scale for awhile.
As for your questions on what to do about the fast vs. eating, I am not a nutritionist, but I would say to move to one shake a day, work out harder, and eat very CLEAN. No processed foods, avoid too much sodium, eat your vegetables, meats, fruit, and occasional dairy, and track your calories--and watch what happens to your body. Track your inches and weight loss; if you start gaining, maybe go back to mostly almased in your diet; if you keep losing, then good! It's all about what works for your body. I would think that if you move back to fasting right now, you might still not see the same results you saw the first time, get discouraged, and give up all together. You can't fast for the rest of your life so you should figure out a way to eat that allows you to stay healthy. It's all a learning process. Good luck!
<message edited by grlnxtdoor002 on Wednesday, June 06, 2012 8:33 PM>