Delighted at eating half a pizza? You may be wondering why I am so pleased. Well - for the last nine days I haven't counted a single calorie! For me this is something of a triumph because for the last forty years, whenever I have been 'dieting' (at least a couple of times a year), I have weighed, measured, counted and written down everything I have eaten! Then, having lost the weight I wanted to, I have stopped being so careful and piled the weight back on!
Last Sunday, three weeks into this new WOE, I made the decision that the counting had to stop! I had lost eight and three-quarter pounds but realised that all I was doing really was restricting my calories (and recording them) in the same way I had done so many times before - apart from the fasts! So no more spreadsheets for me! I then went to Germany for a week.
Staying with my daughter and her family meant that fasting just wasn't going to happen! (This is where the pizza comes in, so bear with me!) Saturday night was pizza night. I found, to my amazement, that I was capable of eating only half a pizza! Not because I had counted the calories but because I felt full! Another day, I was offered cake and decided I wasn't hungry, so I didn't have any! Throughout the week I have been able to make decisions based on whether I really wanted to eat something, or not, and by listening to my body I have managed to come back only a quarter of a pound heavier than I went! This from someone who, previously, could come back half a stone heavier, after a week of eating anything and everything!
Yesterday should have been my first fast of the week, but despite my quarter of a pound gain (only a quarter!), instead of writing this week off, I am writing this somewhat lengthy post while waiting until this evening for my salmon and vegetable stir fry.
Is there any relevance for other people in my tale? If, in the past, you have felt it necessary to eat everything on your plate and to eat just because others are, then this may encourage you not to. If you have ever gone on holiday and come back pounds heavier, then maybe this will give you hope that it doesn't have to be that way forever. If you slavishly count calories and do without the things you enjoy because you're 'dieting', then perhaps your relationship with food could improve, as I hope mine is. Or, maybe, just reading this will take your mind off your fasting huger pangs for a few minutes!
Best wishes to all those fasting today!
Last Sunday, three weeks into this new WOE, I made the decision that the counting had to stop! I had lost eight and three-quarter pounds but realised that all I was doing really was restricting my calories (and recording them) in the same way I had done so many times before - apart from the fasts! So no more spreadsheets for me! I then went to Germany for a week.
Staying with my daughter and her family meant that fasting just wasn't going to happen! (This is where the pizza comes in, so bear with me!) Saturday night was pizza night. I found, to my amazement, that I was capable of eating only half a pizza! Not because I had counted the calories but because I felt full! Another day, I was offered cake and decided I wasn't hungry, so I didn't have any! Throughout the week I have been able to make decisions based on whether I really wanted to eat something, or not, and by listening to my body I have managed to come back only a quarter of a pound heavier than I went! This from someone who, previously, could come back half a stone heavier, after a week of eating anything and everything!
Yesterday should have been my first fast of the week, but despite my quarter of a pound gain (only a quarter!), instead of writing this week off, I am writing this somewhat lengthy post while waiting until this evening for my salmon and vegetable stir fry.
Is there any relevance for other people in my tale? If, in the past, you have felt it necessary to eat everything on your plate and to eat just because others are, then this may encourage you not to. If you have ever gone on holiday and come back pounds heavier, then maybe this will give you hope that it doesn't have to be that way forever. If you slavishly count calories and do without the things you enjoy because you're 'dieting', then perhaps your relationship with food could improve, as I hope mine is. Or, maybe, just reading this will take your mind off your fasting huger pangs for a few minutes!
Best wishes to all those fasting today!
Well done to you I know exactly what you mean and I now listen to my body to tell me when it's hungry. In fact over Christmas hubby and I (who are doing this together) on Boxing Day I just felt like doing a fast day, so despite having a house full of people I did - just because I felt that was right !! Unheard of!! Good luck - keep up the good work Stowgate - doesn't it feel gooooooooooooood 
