The FastDay Forum

cherry blossoms! It's a big deal in Japan. There's even a special word for going to view the cherry blossoms: hanami. Speaking of alcohol, a lot of people like to set up a picnic beneath the trees and drink sake.

Sounds lovely MaryAnn! Enjoy!

I had a nice lie in this morning. Still can't believe my cat didn't get me up. She must have known I was taking a day off from boot camp and could use the extra sleep.

April 1st...we had snow yesterday like you wouldn't believe! Huge flakes and it added up to about 3 inches of slushy mess. Not sure what it's like out there now....it is quite cold this morning so I suppose it could be a bit icy.

Hope to start April off with a good eating day. It will be a "half-fast".

Have a good day!

A half-fast eh? @Lori? I'm intrigued to hear how that goes
Oooh cherry blossums @MaryAnn That sounds just beautiful. Will we be treated to some piccies?!
As for Sake, the last time I had Sake I was laying in the middle of Leicester Square on a sunny day...with my boyfriend! That is some years ago I can tell you!

This is from last year:

Oh wow! @MaryAnn that is just beautiful!

Lovely pictures MaryAnn!

Fasting today, but my attitude is not good. I'm feeling hungry already and it's not even 8:30AM! My half-fast went out the window yesterday when we decided to go out for dinner. I ended my evening with peanut butter cookies. WTH? I never sit and eat cookies! Boot camp was a struggle this morning and I kept telling myself that it was my own fault for eating those blasted cookies right before bed last night. Hope it taught me a lesson.

I will give my fast day my best effort, but won't be surprised if my 500 calories becomes more like 800.

Have a good one!

800 cals is still a very good fast in my book @lori ..and still gives the health benefits
We al have those peanut butter cookies moments ..its partly coz they are yummy,but there's also physiological and psychological reasons why these things happen
We are complex creatures and still have impulses in us dating back to times when food was scarce,so there will be days when we 're bewildered by behaviour we dont understand ....plus sometimes we just self sabotage,again for complicated reasons.
Another thing - goodies are available and hard to resist and at times we just dont! But many times we do!
Just tell yrself you enjoyed those cookies but you' ll think twice and count to ten next time before you have them! X

Morning all. Just wanted to "bump" this up so I don't lose it! I know we've got the DODO challenge going on, but I don't want to lose this tent. @Minsmum? Did you have some good shifts over the weekend? Are you still "in the zone"?
For anyone new peeps who may be interested, we fast every other day (its easier than it sounds...sometimes!) We currently have a challenge going on for a month "Bean's DODO Challenge" so if you'd like to give it a go, now would be a great time. See you in the Challenge tent!

Thanks @nursebean for bumping this thread! I've missed it! I do try to check in on your challenge tent even though I'm not participating. I'll make the next one!

My sister has been here all weekend, so that means no fasting for me! My normal Monday fast will be a bust as I have a dinner meeting tonight. I am going to fast all day until dinner, so calories will be low for the day. A proper fast tomorrow, another low day Wednesday and then Thursday morning I'm up at 2:30AM to get to the airport for a 6AM flight to Florida. This week will be a blur!

Have a good one!

Oh @Lori what an exciting week for you. Good luck with today's fast xx
Yesterday seemed to drag a bit. I found myself counting the hours until I could eat. It was lucky, then that I had a new shipment of goodies arrive so I was distracted whilst photographing them. I must say I'm always happy to wake up on a feast day. The kitchen is my oyster. Actually that's one thing I've never eaten...an oyster...and nor will I, not after seeing what happened to poor Michael Winner.
Anyone on the DODO challenge...I hope you enjoy today!

It's 10pm & I have got 5 DODO fasts under my belt......so I thought I'd drop in here and say hello!

Today has been OK as far as the fasting goes...but I have been reflecting lots on what steps I need to take to ensure I never fall off the wagon again. To say I am paying for my mistake feels like a massive understatement right now. I keep wondering what kind of shape I would be in now had I not stopped. Deep down, I know this is pretty futile, not to mention torturous, but today has been such a lovely day, weather-wise. I went into town this afternoon feeling rather frumpy...and trying some summer clothes on only served to highlight the struggle I have ahead of me. I've decided to try to "use" this feeling, dwell on it almost, to help ensure I am never as daft again. Guess the watchword needs to be "mindfulness" rather than "mindless"....Bit scary really.

Sorry for rambling - not really sure where I should have posted this!

@Hazelnut20, it's futile if it's a way you keep beating yourself up over it. It's not futile if it helps you avoid the same mistake in the future. I think you should look on the bright side. When a lot of people fall off the wagon, they gain back ALL the weight they lost PLUS MORE. You gained back part of it. I think you should vow to not let it happen again and move on. [Though some reflection to try to understand why it happened is OK if only to keep it from happening again.] I'm being redundant. And I'm sure that I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. You are really dwelling on this, though…. and it's tough to watch. I'm very sure that with your dedication you'll be back to where you were and then beyond in no time. Do you have a fasting buddy? Maybe you could use one to help make sure you stay on track. Would that be a more positive way of dealing with this?

Thanks for that @maryann. You are quite right - I really should stop dwelling on it and it is important to acknowledge that I didn't put all the weight I'd lost back on, so there's something to be very thankful for. As you will have guessed, I have a tendency to negativity....

I find writing things down easier than actually thinking about them on my own. I guess I'm hoping people will come up with the insight I don't appear to have. Sort of a "can't see the woods for the trees" scenario.

I have recently buddied up with Delibear - but I haven't had a reply to my last message & it's been a while since she was on the forum - so I'm not quite sure what's going on. Hope she's OK.

FWIW, I think you're a very positive person, @Hazelnut20! except when you're being hard on yourself…

I think some of the buddy groups have more than 2 people.

You can always visit the Bean & Oates tent @Hazlenut20 if you need a buddy or two, or three! There's always somebody around: either myself, Oatesy or Candy!
I must say I'm quite excited by our new fasting method. All we need now is a great name for it!!