The FastDay Forum

I have gained 8 pounds!! Popped a button yesterday. Time to act.

I just looked at page 1 to see all those angels and palm trees. [Reminds me of Hawaii - I went once for a wedding] Nice work all of you, even those of us without them. We have been working at it and learning. I relate to “Old habits die hard, and It’s not the end of the world.” Thanks @Hazelnut20.

Yes @Hazelnut20, I have met the OSI Monster and we are good buddies, living in the same kitchen lately. Just giving it a name helps me to think about how to change my response. Maybe it will help me to write a list of all my reasons and benefits for 5:2 to look at when old OSI shows up.

@Debs - down a whole stone? Wow! Good for you. Do you still have your job after that meeting at work? Love that you reminded me ‘nothing had changed but my attitude to how I deal with it.’

@johns I understand well that need for quiet, alone space, even if the reason you don’t have it is a good one. Enjoy that grandchild and your daughter. Meanwhile, can you leave and find another place to sit quiet? We moved my aunt into our little guest room 5 years ago. We love her dearly, but I am never in my home alone. She’s in the livingroom all day, or in kitchen eating her very visible cake and donuts. Now 95, she won’t leave the house except with me for an appointment she has to go to. Very slowly I am learning how to get my needs met differently for now.

@Sassy1 thanks for helping my looking at possible triggers for bingeing.

I am giving up windows for awhile. It was working really well till I went away for a 3-day trip and relatives visit. Then I came back sick, brought husband to hospital for illness, 2-weeks stress for me. Now I just can't seem to get back to windows. Maybe starting over with 5:2, going back to square one as a beginner will be what I need. Good luck and hugs.

Good evening ladies - it's time I caught up properly with you all...so here goes! Am going to work backwards:-

Great to hear from you @grannieannie - and the first thing to say is...there's nothing you've written that many of us can't relate to - we've all been there, honestly. Let's start with the effect stress has on our eating habits.....how long have you got??! Sounds like you've had more than enough to be dealing with recently...I think it's called life....you know, that thing that gets in the way of the best laid plans for all of us from time to time. Perhaps in a perfect world, nothing would ever happen to derail us from losing weight week in week out. Step forward anyone that that ever happens to though! That's right - absolutely no one! So, you've had a bumpy ride....but you haven't been derailed. At the very real risk of repeating myself...let's remember what we are, ladies.....WIP's. I love that you have worked out what you are going to do, grannieannie and I think it's a case of "know thyself". You've thought it through and worked out what you think is best for you...so you're onto a winner! And we're here for you every step of the way....that's what you get when you sign up to be an Accountabuddy!!! Please check in with us as often as you can...so we can cheer you on...xxx

Lovely to hear how positive you are feeling, Shelley @johns - can't wait to hear how your run went today! Another lady who has done some thinking and worked out what she thinks is the best way forward for her - yippee! Back in May this year, when I came to the realisation that once more, I needed to take control of my eating, I had a long hard think as to how I was going to achieve the results I wanted. I knew 5:2 would work for me - because it had worked before - but importantly, I knew that whilst the fast days would be fine, I definitely couldn't trust myself to behave on the other 5 days. Honestly, girls, I was so out of control. What I needed was to go cold turkey...it was the only way for me. Best thing I ever did....so glad I listened to me!!! I'm only saying this to illustrate how important it is to know yourself...and trust your instincts. After all, know else knows you better?? Good luck for Monday...I hope you'll drop into the BSD thread when you get a chance xxx

Whoop whoop @candicemarie - am loving the image of those roomy clothes - especially the trousers that just a matter of weeks ago wouldn't go past your thighs...and are now roomy! If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does!! So thrilled to be following your wonderful journey, lovely lady. Keep an eye on those trousers...! xxx

Respect @debs- I like a girl who can handle her cake! Been there, done that myself many times! Cake is so much yummier than cabbage - fact. I could probably live on cake...ooh no, that would be a bit limited....better include cake mixture as well! Rather fond of peanut butter myself, Debs, so I can relate to eating it by the spoonful...purely for the protein boost you understand! Many thanks for the very helpful suggestions about squats - how many sets do you think I should be aiming for every day to see a difference? Your advice would be very gratefully received. Gosh, well done you for looking out for all those stray cats - it must be so hard to witness all the unkindness around you. Also, massive congrats for dropping a stone on the BSD - brilliant stuff! xxx

Aagghh...you said the "S" word @cblasz...a very fickle piece of equipment as we all know well. Vent away anytime...we all know the story and it can be so very disheartening...but we're back to "marathon not sprint" territory I suppose. Two steps forward, one back...still equals a step forward. We all want to achieve things as quickly as possible - that's human nature, but not necessarily reality. You may not read this before going to the fair on Sunday, but I would say make your choices about splurging...and then enjoy...but definitely don't feel guilty. Life is for living and enjoying and heaven knows we all have plenty of days every week where we deny ourselves something we really want...but we're not saints! Life would be so boring if we were...I hope the scales will be kind to you on Monday, but if they're not, just move forward and don't stress too much, because stress has a proven negative impact on weightloss...so no room for that here! xxx

Terrific attitude you're adopting @justdee - so right too! You're not losing weight for anyone else - this is for you and your health. You're the one who will get the main kick when looking in the mirror and seeing a slimmer and healthier you. As you continue to drop the weight, those kicks will come thick and fast...anything else will be bunce! I know just what you mean about how much better everything feels when you're back in control - and there can't be any nicer feelings than being comfortable in your own skin and full of confidence too. So, you've ditched 44 packs of butter eh? That's immense! So pleased for you...and looking forward to what the rest of this year will bring! This is our time..xxx

Still thinking of you lots @tracieknits and hoping you're OK and coping with everything that's going on at the moment. Look after yourself sweetie xxx

Hello @katharina - if you ask me, a 1.2lb gain is absolutely nothing - particularly over a fortnight. Bodies are such complex things aren't they? We're up one minute, down the next - anyone who has done daily weighing will tell you so! Having a fixed day for a weigh in means anything can and will happen..but it's really just a snapshot in time. What we're interested in is....trends. Specifically, downward trends....even if it looks like a set of stairs! Also, you're definitely not alone in self-sabotaging - I do it all the time, but I know Rome wasn't built in a day...and I'm trying to undo years of bad habits around food...so no wonder I slip up from time to time. Guess the important thing is to learn from it if possible..Don't forget we're all here for you, so keep in touch when you can...because we're rooting for you xxx

How's it going @happyitsworking - hope you've had a good week? Can I just check something? I may have misunderstood your two weigh in reports - I'm thinking I may owe you a palm tree because I can't add .4 & 1.6 and get to 2! Please let me know if i do! Also, how's it going with the BSD? Would love to hear what you think of it...xxx

Greetings @sassy1 - totally with you on the subject of a large serving of veggies at dinner. You should see what i put away! I'm really into roasted broccoli these days and get through loads. Nothing worse than short measures in my opinion! Again, we're back to knowing and understanding ourselves, aren't we? If you need lots of veggies, that's got to be so much better than not so many veggies followed by mindless snacking later. In my case, I don't think I'm troubled with the "famine reaction" so much as habit. I got into the habit of snacking late at night - often overriding any feelings of being full up before I started. Call it autopilot if you like. I've always known that the issue was emotional for me - even if I didn't understand precisely why. In the past, I've been told that I shovel sweet things in to make up for the lack of sweetness in my life. Wouldn't disagree with that theory but I also know that there are not enough bags of Maltesers in the world to fill my void. I suppose the trick is to start moving forward. I can't heal the past, after all. Maybe it's time to adopt a more adult approach to what I'm doing. Very happy to talk more on the subject if you wish. Ooh, by the way, I'm standing by with my halos and palm trees so let me know how your week has gone...xxx

@Sassy1
Thank you. Did this one work? Ann

Hi @grannieannie

The tagging worked fine!

Hi @Hazelnut20, I was going to post my progress yesterday, but didn't quite feel like it after the news from Moogie. However, given some others are posting, I decided I would.

I think I would like 2 halos please, one for my food management, which was generally okay (ie no excessive overeating in evening!!) and for the learnings I have made (eg stop obsessing!!). Although I am not weighing myself, and know I weigh more than my (arbitrary) goal (based on how clothes feel), I expect my BMI is between 22-23, which is probably a weight which is comfortable for my body, given my age, genetics, history, etc. I have decided to change my challenge slightly - I will make the 2 fast days just light days - I will hold off eating for as long as I can, but then will have enough food to feel (just) satisfied. Other days I will have breakfast as late as I can but if really hungry, will eat then. Like this morning - I usually eat after exercise but I was very hungry and decided that the exercise might be too difficult without some ready fuel, especially for the cycle up the hill, into the wind. I was very glad I ate first.

Re your comments to me in your post (and thanks for all the effort you make to address us individually), I have never tried roasted broccoli, so must. We generally just have steamed veggies. Boring but I still enjoy them. Occasionally I roast the potato, sweet potato and pumpkin, and sometimes I do a curry or stir fry, but remaining son at home will only have veg If not mixed in with other foods, so given the only healthy food he has is at dinner, I do tend to cook what he will eat...

The problem with being used to lots of veggies is that I have great difficulty keeping my food intake under control when I am unable to have lots of veg (eg when on hols and not self-catering). I know I would have mentioned this before! I don't think my "I'm full" switch works at all when I only eat protein, fats and of course carbs. My OH firmly believes that the amount of salad and veg I eat has distended my stomach and intestines, so that they need a lot of other food to fill them up!!!

Re eating a lot late at night - totally agree that this is often habit. If it is habit, then one can sometimes find ways to break it - through distractors such as keeping ones hands occupied - knitting, other craft - and going to bed early! Then there is the emotional eating. This is much harder to deal with. I think women in particular can turn to food to try to fill the gap of not enough love and affection. The taste of food is pleasurable! (Doesn't explain why we keep eating even when the pleasure stops and you know you are full - it's more than just habit.) I know that I used food as a reward for getting through the day, as well as the enjoyment of the taste. With less stress in my life, I now have less need for the reward, so that helps. But it is hard to find alternative activities/rewards that work on a daily basis (eg can't really have a bubble bath every night, assuming one likes baths in the first place). I just keep telling myself how much better I will feel the next day if I don't eat too much in the evening. But delayed gratification doesn't always work.

I did a very interesting short course ages ago about overeating. Can't remember a lot now, but there was certainly an emphasis on making sure you savour every mouthful - eg only serve yourself a few Maltesers and make sure you dissolve each one slowly and really appreciate the taste. (I do buy chocolate in the individually wrapped minibars which has helped me be able to stop after a small number - if I have a large block, I can munch my way through it all.) Nothing you don't know about there. The other thing was to have a list of at least 10 things you are happy to do that can serve as a distractor instead of eating. Nothing new there either. But it can work.

I do find that drinking lots of water often helps, though sometimes I can't stomach any more! Drink a large glass of (warm) water with lemon half an hour before a meal, and when the first "hunger" pangs strike in the evening. It doesn't always work, but often will.

Very happy to talk more - pls tell me more about what you mean by "start moving forward" and taking a "more adult approach".

@sassy1 hello sassy. hoping Im tagging properly now. thanks for that. had to be shown how to do it on facebook too by one of the kids

@hazelnut20 ok, I have a confession to make didnt go for a run yesterday. poop. home from work about 8.30am & it was chucking it down. didnt stop all day. had arranged to go to canterbury with daughter shopping for winter clothes & as she had a party to go to early evening she wanted to get back so she could get ready so I had a cuppa & then we went straight out. ate loads yesterday. had a big pigout day. bought a tub of popcorn from asda (hadnt seen that before so had to try it). anyways, me & hubby scoffed the lot whilst watching a film in the evening. have weighed in this morning. official start weight is 11.7.2lbs so here goes. today is now my first day of bsd so have brought that forward & I will run later on today before dinner. lunch is scrambled egg on a slice of pumpkin seed bread as this is my guilty pleasure & it needs using up. dinner tonight is omelette & grilled big flat mushrooms. may add some cheese & onion to that & am planning greek yogurt as a snack. havent eaten anything as yet but fancy a cuppa

pernelle, Im sure that there is an app or a squat challenge where you add to your daily amount of squats. one of my daughters started it. dont think she finished it but you know what teenagers are like (think it hurt too much)

@grannieannie isnt it typical how stress affects us?? why cant it make us lose weight?? seems to make us make terrible choices on the food front, although sometimes its just eating food thats convenient & easy to find. hope things are ok. daughter & boyfriend are moving out today. they have found a house-share so daughter & grand-daughter are getting their own room & we are all getting the front room back. woohoo!!! I know what you mean about the house not being yours though. hubby says that having daughters boyfriend in the house (although he is lovely) means that he cant walk around in his pants not that he does that but I think its the knowing he cant if he wanted to. my grandad turns 87 in a couple of weeks. he is still in his own home but me & an auntie do his shopping a few times a week & give the house a good clean & take care of the garden. he hates gardening but keeps the garden full of plants in memory of nanny who died 17 years ago.

@justdee hi dee. are you gonna be looking for another job now that this one is coming to an end? do you get a winter where you are or does it get cold that you feel the cold & holiday makers are walking around in tshirts? hows things going? are you back to BSD now? Im hoping that the colder weather wont make bsd difficult.

anyways, my cuppa is calling me. hope everyone else is doing ok. shelley xx

Hi @johns

Tagging working well!

Btw, not sure you would want the stress that makes you lose weight! Anyway, the weight just goes on again once things become more normal.

I don't mean to preach and I know I am a broken record on the subject, and I know we all know this, but when stressed, eating healthily is even more important than when life is going along okay. I guess because we know it, then we can use this knowledge to help us make better choices. Easier said than done I realise at times, especially if you don't have time to prepare food.

Perhaps we could share ideas/strategies on what helps us make better choices re food?

Hello ladies,

No Shelly @johnsI won't be looking for a new job. I get the winter off. I worked my last day today. I've loved working and speaking with all the holiday makers and will probably go back next year. The boss even turned out to be okay in the end. Not saying I like him but he's not as bad as first thought. He knows I'm good at my job and that I won't take any cr@p from him, so he's okay with me and not there most of the time.
You're right about the cold, it's nice and sunny most of the year but we feel the cold when visitors don't. Last year my family visited in November, we had sweaters on, they were sun bathing haha.

So, today was my last day at work and I made the stupid choice to have my last bacon butty (sandwich) this morning. Yep, you've got it........ mistake!!!! I went on to eat carbs all day. Had a small chocolate croissant when I got home and then a fried egg sandwich on brown bread for dinner. Cals not really that bad but way over on carbs. I was doing so well this week too. Never mind, tomorrow is another day, shame it's weigh in day as I'm sure weight will not be the lowest it's been this week. I'll weigh tomorrow but then I'll change my weigh in day to Thursdays, as that always seems to be my lowest weight of the week. Most probably because any excess is usually at the weekend.

Thanks for checking up on us all, Pernelle @Hazelnut20. How are you doing? Sorry if I missed it. So much of what you said really talked to me. About the carrying no guilt because of negativity and 2 steps forwards and one back still being one step forward. You are so right.

Anyway, time for bed, I'll be checking in much more, now I have time on my hands. Take care everyone and have a great week

PS. Hi @candicemarie, Glad you're still with us. I knew you'd still be doing fab. Well done, You go girl!!!
Hi @Sassy1, nice to see you here posting more. ***((Waves))***

Hello,
I'm sorry to report that I am up 1/2 pound today. Not too bad, I guess. I did go to the fair yesterday and splurged a little - lots of sugary stuff, so I'm sure that didn't help. But, I will keep on keeping on. As I said before I think I need to get in more water and more exercise. I also need to put the scale away during the week, so I don't obsess over it. I'm also considering changing my weigh in day from Monday to Friday. I know it all comes out in the wash, but it might help my morale and motivation to see it before I indulge a bit on the weekends instead of after!

I have been learning about some new foods with trying to keep carbs down. I've discovered that kiwifruit is very good for you in many ways! I feel like except for the weekend splurging, I'm actually eating very healthy. So I know my body has got to catch up eventually.

@Hazelnut20 - Thanks so much for your words of encouragement!! By-the-way, I saw the Fab Faux the other night. They were amazing. They didn't look anything like the Beatles or try to, but they sounded just like them. It was a fun show! Unfortunately, most people sat the whole time, so we had to sit also, which I hate. I like to dance at shows. Oh well!

Hope everyone is hanging in there. This is a tough road and we all just have to keep on keeping on!

[Debs]

Hi All,
Just been reading back and good to see everyone taking hold of themselves, even if it is small steps. I disappeared for a couple of days as we've had a stressful time trying to rescue two pups that were abandoned by their owner here and who have been hanging around. Unfortunately one was run over, which we were afraid of, but we caught the other one this morning, during which OH got a nasty bite. She is in care now thank goodness. Animal cruelty is rife here and there are no protection laws so it relies on volunteers. I had chocolate for dinner last night as I was too stressed to eat much else, but tonight I'm back on track with a thai red curry soup full of veg.
Needless to say my weight went up slightly and then back down again so I am still on track thank goodness.

Isn't it funny, I rarely eat it, but living in a Muslim country I get terrible urges for bacon butties so I was a bit jealous when I read your post @justdee!!! Mmm, fried egg butty, has to be done occasionally, although I would have it in a white crusty roll myself!! Oops, got carried away there!

There is another alternative if we want to keep supporting each other and that is Google Hangouts, which we could set up for this challenge and any other posting we want to do. It isn't the same I know and I dearly hope someone takes this over as I have been here since the beginning.

Love to all!!

Hi all, just letting you know I weighed in today and I'm gutted I did well all week,, down at least 5lbs,, then had a carb heavy day and the scale went all the way back up. I don't really know how this has happened. I know it's a water thing and not that I regained 5lbs of fat and I knew the scale would go up after a carb heavy day, but I've never had it go up that high. Oh well, must keep plodding on.

Just read Moogies post, double gutted I really don't want to lose you guys. What are we going to do?

Dee - there is no way you could've gained 5 lbs. in one day! I'm sure if you weigh yourself tomorrow, you will be back down. (at least 4 lbs. anyway!)

Just a very quick post from me to record yesterday's weigh-in result - will be back later to reply to your posts, but must get on with the day first!

It was a good week for me last week - pretty much sticking to the BSD...except for the odd occasional deliberate lapse (such as when my youngest brought home a delicious Bakewell tart she had made at school....though I must say the damage could've been much worse...I restricted myself to one small slice..and boy, was it scrummy!).

On Sunday, a day before my official weigh-in day though, I started to notice unexpected water retention...drat! I'm 54 and things have only just started to go a bit haywire on the menopause front....but sure enough, last night I found out why I had been feeling bloated....grrrr! Now I don't know where I am...but I suppose that's par for the course. Anyways, in spite of that, I had a great result of 3.8lbs lost, which left me teetering on the very edge of going sub-12stone.....a massively significant issue for me. Don't the point-something's of a pound have the power to really irritate us???? I now weigh 12stone 0.2lb...so 11-stone something is just within my reach.....hurrah! The very best weight I got to doing 5:2 in 2014 was 11stone 11lbs.....so I'm knocking on the door and feeling very happy - even a little proud. Not so happy that I didn't polish off a ton of Maltesers last night though.......(hangs head in shame)

@Hazelnut20 well done,almost below 12 st! Great work well done, (and no maltesers either). Just a bit more to go now!
Reporting my downward trend, now 136.5 lbs......so lost that gain and edging down and what a smile inducing motivator it is. I have been quite good and the overall/ average calorie tally in the week does matter. I love my morning coffee with hot sugar free almond milk frothed with a teaspoon of coconut oil. It carries me through for hours. Off to the gym, have already taught at school, more work later. Wishing everyone a great edging-down week!

[Tracieknits]

Hello dear accountabuddies and fearless leader Perness @Hazelnut20!

So I have a new goal for this challenge. I would like to maintain my weight through to January 1, when I will resume real weight loss efforts.

My mom is now out of the hospital, and trying to choose which form of surgery she wants - either a traditional open heart surgery valve replacement or the newfangled TAVR which is via catheterization. She also is trying to get dental work finished up before the cardiac surgery. She's weak, but doing well considering. Thank you so much for the well-wishes and sorry I disappeared.

We don't have a plan right now, which feels very unstable.

I ate HORRIBLY while she was in the hospital. I know I could have made better choices, but I didn't want to, frankly. I was craving sugary, floury things and I let myself have them. So I regained 2 pounds. Thankfully it's only 2 pounds. I don't need suggestions for which choices I should be making or what healthy snacks I should be bringing. Believe me, I know all of these suggestions. I just didn't want to follow any of them because stress. I imagine that while my mother is back in surgery and recovery, I will be eating the wrong things at the Au Bon Pain bakery they have on the first floor of the hospital, and I"m ok with that. The sugar and croissants definitely were comforting.

I've gotten back on track, for now. Yesterday I wasn't able to manage a fast, but I *did* manage to not have any sugar. So I am quite pleased with myself for that one. I limited carbs to two slices of bread. So again, I'm pleased with that.

Today I'm on track again as well. If I can lose those two pounds in the next few weeks, great. If not, I'm ok with that. I'm going to give in and adjust my tracker to account for today's reality.

Thanks for your support!!

Just a quick one...@hazelnut20 well done and 3 palm trees for you! You must feel marvellous! Even more reason for me to keep emulating you as much as i can!
Can i have one please..have lost one pound in two weeks despite strictly 800 cals,,average of 40 carbs..BUT iknow i' m slimmer.clothes are so much baggier! X