The FastDay Forum

Hi, sorry Seph, when I said wedding dress shopping I meant a dress for myself for DD no 1 wedding. The colour of the second dress was not compatible with the colours at her wedding so I can't wear it at the wedding but the first dress is also very nice.

Shopping for dresses. Wonderful way to spend time with your daughter. You must be excited.

Adam made his crepes for supper last night and only ate half. I ended up eating the rest even though, AGAIN I wasn't hungry. Oh well, I didn't gain any overnight. I am fasting as well as you and so many others today. I have another 10 1/2 hours to go until bedtime. I just had a hot cup of bouillon and am nauseous. I guess it was the wrong thing to do. In the past I would have grabbed some crackers to hopefully settle my stomach, which never worked, but a good reason to eat the darn things I will just wait it out.

You could tell your friend that your stomach isn't feeling well, but that would mean telling a little fib. One that I'm ashamed to say I have said before, or that I have just eaten and am not hungry. Marion, my elderly lady always want me to have the cookie or cake that is served at the socials I take her to. Sometimes I tell her I've already eaten which she accepts grudgingly. I've tried telling her simply that I'm not hungry (most times I'm not) and she gets a little upset with me. Funny lady . I make sure I don't fast on the days when I visit Gisela as she would be so offended if I didn't eat the food which she spends a lot of time baking. I will be visiting my other friend, Ille on Friday when I will be fasting but she seems to understand this fasting business and doesn't take offence if I don't eat. I usually take some fruit and nuts to share, which I eat sparingly over the few hours I am there. Works out well.

Well, I must make Adam some lunch - pasta with tuna - which doesn't tempt me at all, I dislike fish.
Have a good visit with your friend and I'm hoping she doesn't insist you eat.

Oh, I see. So now you have an extra dress you need an occasion to wear it for. I guess you can't just wear it around town doing the shopping maybe get the town talking.

Steph, I read on the fasting thread that your fast went belly up. Oh well, it is always annoying when this happens because a perfectly good fast is being spoilt and we have to start again.

I had texted my friend not to cook anything for me and she hadn't so I got home at 7pm and had a bit of beef pie and lots of peas. I think I kept to about 350 cals or thereabouts. So this morning I wasn't hungry and ate a couple of apples at half past 11. Lunch consisted of a protein rich roll (it contained lots of linseeds) and three triangles of soft cheese, some mixed nuts as well as a punnet of strawberries.

So now I am hoping to manage to be good tonight and not spoil yesterday's fast. As I am off sugar, I think I might be OK. I want to get down to my pre-Christmas weight next Monday morning. I was my lowest weight in 17 years at the beginning of last December and I want to get there again especially since I have bought the dress for the wedding now.
Since Christmas I have been hovering just a pound above my maintenance range but this morning I was right in the middle of the range. To give me some room for maneuver I want to lose one more pound. Also I weighed myself after a fast day this morning which is not realistic so next Monday morning is the day/hour of truth.

I hope your fast goes well today and that you manage to keep your end of March goal. Take care BIH HUG

Ieramul, I'm so glad you found a way to continue your fast. I assume your friend wasn't hurt by your texting her not to cook? you seem to be going in the right direction and I'm sure you will look great in the dress! After Monday's mess I managed a good fast yesterday. I'm down another half a pound but as you say it is the morning after a fast. I have another to go on Friday and then my official weigh-in on Saturday. I'm hopeful I will at least stay at the 132.8 mark of this morning and then I can lose the extra come next week. It looks like I will make my end of March goal. I'll be so happy if I do. It would mean this WOE is worth continuing. And to have lost 4 lbs in a month will be amazing to me as it has been so difficult to lose at all the previous couple of months.
On with the day! Another gorgeously sunny one although a bit colder than it was last week.

Steph, you will, you will. You have managed to not sabotage yourself these last few weeks. I think your normal eating appetite is not big, it is - like with me - the snacking. For me that mainly contains sugar. I don't snack so much on salty food. If we can manage that, we are OK.

Steph, I have been contemplating this morning on another thread, that I think I need to give myself guidelines when I eat well and when I dont' restrict. I need to know that there are times when I can be "bad" and it is OK to eat sweets or too much. If I allow myself, then I dont' feel like a failure. I think after lent, I will give myself two days when I allow myself to eat sugar, one day of fasting (Mondays) and then four days of mindful eating without any sugar snacking. One of the bad days will definitely be at the weekend but the other might be mid week.

I think 5:2 has proven that I can do anything as long as I know it is not permanent. And I think it is better to give myself "permission" than always feeling guilty and feeling I failed. So in the same way I plan my fast days I can plan my "bad" days.

I am secretly hoping that I might not need to give myself more than one sugar day at all. I seem to be coping without sugar for five days at the moment.

Ieramul, giving yourself permission to eat some not so healthy stuff once or twice a week sounds like it might fit with your lifestyle. You've been doing well maintaining it seems to me even when you were having sweets, were you not? I have gone off my no junk food commitment three times in the last three and half weeks and have still been able to lose. I guess I am doing what you are thinking of doing and I have still been able to lose. I don't know if I want to plan my binges, though. I'm afraid I'd fall back into old patterns but you seem to have a handle on this WOE. I decided not to feel guilty about Monday's chips and cookies and just chalk it up to just one day and now I'm back in the WOL practice. Beating ourselves up about such days is not healthy I don't think. I've found that on the majority of days I don't even think of sugar and like you can do without.

You have surpassed your 1st year 5:2 anniversary I see by your profile! congratulations!
Take care, big hug!

Hello Ieramul, and coffee if you still pop in . I did something I shouldn't have. I haven't been hungry all day since having a sourdough bread roll earlier in the day. Don't know why I feel so full some of the time. I started to feel a little weepy and sad after a not so pleasant doctor's appointment yesterday so I went out and bought fried chicken and fries and a biscuit for supper. I ate too much of it and now I don't feel weepy or sad but certainly VERY full. It will be difficult sleeping tonight because of it. Nutty. I bought diet soda with it in a combo but since I haven't had it in ages I couldn't stand the taste of the aspartame so I tossed it down the drain. Small success, that. Well, tomorrow's another day and I will prepare the lettuce and veggies for a salad to eat when I am home from work. I will buy a flatbread sandwich from work to go with it -much less bread than a sub. We'll see how long it takes for me to be hungry tomorrow. I fear this fried supper will stick around for a while .

I hope you ate better than I did today. I have all the fixings for healthy meals but just get too lazy or sad and out of sorts, like today, when I just don't feel like eating, or making the healthy stuff. I will make an effort tomorrow. I was doing so well. (I have walnuts, almonds and brazil nuts in the cupboard but do I eat them? no, I forget about them LOL. I'm impressed with how healthy your food choices are.)
Time for bed, I'm leaving the dishes until morning. I'm planning on getting up early enough to go for a walk before work. I took a short one this evening, didn't help my mood any, though .
Have you decided which days will be your "bad" days? When will you fast next? I am planning on Friday again. Take care. Big hugs!

Hi Steph, I am sorry to hear you are feeling a bit weepy and that your news at the doctor's was not what you wanted to hear. Unfortunately food contains dopamine which makes us feel better temporarily - this is of course tricky because soon after we feel bad about the eating. I am sure you will cook a healthy meal today and feel better. I am glad to read that you don't beat yourself up - absolutely right. Just use the next day to go back on track. This is what I meant in my post yesterday, I think we need to splurge out sometimes and not restrict all the time.

I am one of those people who eat either very healthy food or the absolute opposite. You see, it goes in phases. After Christmas I ate so much sugar it wasn't real. Having given up sugar (at least most of the time) I find healthy eating much easier. My weight is back to pre-Christmas so I am determined to not ruin it at Easter. I am doing so well this week with virtually no sugar craving, making me hope that my taste/palate might be capable of change and make me crave less sugar in time. But these are just hopes. I can go from doing really well to doing really badly. This is why I wonder if I can tame the "bad days". Oh, all speculations - we just have to take each day as it comes.

Steph, I am definitely impressed, that you chucked the soda and that you don't think of sugar most of the time. That is excellent. In fact, I think you eat a lot better than you think, it is just that you are very honest and count every morsal that makes it sound more that it is. Good on you - but be kind to yourself.
Take care - BIG HUG

Good morning/afternoon? Ieramul :0 Thanks for the encouragement. I'm like you it seems. I either eat well or eat terribly. There doesn't seem to be much of a compromise, although I think we are both working towards that goal. I managed to do all I planned this morning including a short walk in the bright sunshine. It felt good to be outside in this lovely weather. I also put some tagine in the crockpot to cook while I am at work. I will take it with me to Ille's tomorrow so I can have that as my lunch while I am visiting and still stick to fasting. I will take some for my friend as well as she asked to have a taste when I told her about it ages ago! I'm feeling much better than yesterday so I'm hoping work will be pleasant, as always.
Have a splendid day! Big hug back atcha!

Hello Ieramul, I've been thinking of you and wondering if you've been successful with your new "allowable" days? Thinking of you, big hug!

Hi Steph, thank you for your kind thoughts. Sorry, I have been a bit slack here. I hope you are doing well.

I did give myself permission to eat this weekend. I should only have been allowed sugar on Sunday (because of lent) but I weakend and started on Saturday. It was strange, nothing really satisfied enough to stop eating - sweet or savoury. I have no idea what goes on physically or psychologically. I could just keep eating. Was my body catching up? In contrast, yesterday (fast day) I had no problem not eating for 24 hrs. I didn't feel any hungrier than the day before with all the food. In fact I had planned not to eat at all that day but then I came home and the house smelled nice as DH had cooked some fish, mashed potatoes and peas. So I ate a small battered (overn cooked) fish with peas and two bananas. I should think that kept me at about 500cals.

this week, I had wanted to do one 0 calorie 36 hr fast and eat mindfully and lowish carb until Friday to enjoy the weekend and especially Sunday with a bit of sugar. But now I will do another 500 cal fast on Thursday or Friday. Monday fasts are always easier.

My FIL is coming tomorrow to look at some senior residence flats and apply for a place near here to be on the waiting list when something becomes available. I am not sure he really will move here until he needs nursing or can't manage by himself. He is a remarkable man, so independent and intelligent - always eager to learn new things and change.

Steph, are you OK?

Hello Ieramul, good to see you and glad to hear you are doing well with fasting. I know very well what you mean when you say nothing seems to satisfy, those days for me end with a big binge-fest! till I am so full my stomach hurts and I am nauseous. Thank goodness that hasn't happened in a while although just now I had another piece of chicken pot pie, some cantaloupe and salad with boiled egg. Now I am very full! I've realized that I am not doing true 24 hr fasts since on Sunday I eat up until 9 or 10 in the evening then eat around 3 or 4 on Monday afternoon. Perhaps that is why the weight is so slow to come off? I think I may try a 24 hour fast on Friday and see if I can hack it . From 3 or 4 on Thursday until 3 or 4 on Friday. It will be tough but not impossible. I'm determined to meet my goal on Saturday. I am so close!
Were you allowing the sugar on Sunday as one of your eat what you want days? apart from Lent?
I can't imagine doing a 36 hour 0 calorie fast! More power to ya!

Those dishes are calling me. I want to get them done before "Forever" comes on the tv. How old is your FIL? are his mind and body in good health?
Take care!

Hi Steph, I wonder sometimes if you really eat as much as you think. I have the notion that you feel full quite quickly. You see our perception of quantity does change. What I thought was a reasonable/medium amount of food 10 years ago, now seems a lot.

I know you probably know this already but for you keeping a record of how many calories you are eating is probably more helpful than how many items you have eaten or how full you are. When you feel full easily eating more feels like binging.

Tell me if you want me to shut up and mind my own business, but I just want you to stay optimistic and encourage you to be objective about your food intake.

My FIL is 90 years old and whilst he can't walk much, for some miraculous reason, he can still do the gardening (150ft x 30ft garden) and it looks stunning. He has been coping well (I think - so it seems) after the death of his wife. The house he lives in (for the last 60 years) is ideally suited for him as and if necessary, he could live downstairs only as it is bigger than most senior residential flats. He has a downstairs bathroom, kitchen and two rooms, one of which could become a bedroom. He is fortunate to be able to pay for someone to help with cleaning and he can afford to buy himself some nice ready meals or go out for a meal. In fact if I was him I would also not want to move unless I needed nursing care.

Hello Ieramul, I agree about being full quickly, I do. When I think of the quantity of food I eat it is less than my friends eat for sure. I can eat a meal in the afternoon and then not be hungry until the next afternoon, although I will still eat before bed because I think I should eat more. Then my stomach feels awful. I also think part of the reason losing weight is so difficult is because of the choice of foods I eat which are high in calories. Anyway, it is Wednesday and I'm still at 133.4 lbs. Not looking good for Saturday's weigh in. I plan on having a nice meal of roast beef, mashed potato and salad this afternoon when Adam gets home from school. That may be all I eat today depending on how "full" I feel and if I listen to my body. I've talked with my doctor about this "full" feeling and other digestive problems and he just says "it is just IBS so live with it". I don't feel as if you are over-stepping so no need to "shut up" or mind your own business I value your input.

Gosh, gardening at 90! I'll be amazed if I can be as active at that age, if I make it to 90! Does your FIL have family near where he lives? is he thinking of moving to be closer to your OH? Is that the reason he is looking at nursing homes in your area?

How are you? still resisting the sugar during the week? I managed another check mark on my calendar last night. It seems to be getting easier. There was an open bag of chips in the living room for a few days. On the weekend I had some but then after that I had no desire. Adam eventually threw them out. I was pleased. He bought himself a sub with a pop and some cheezies when he came home from school yesterday. He threw out the bag of cheezies because he didn't like them and then tossed out most of the pop. I was so pleased that he didn't want all of that pop. He drank a mango smoothie instead. I think his tastes are changing or his "need" to eat poorly is diminishing. He still buys pop and chips on Fridays but lately has been throwing out most of the pop. He thinks it goes "bad" if it has been opened, then sealed with the lid and put in the fridge for a day. I haven't commented but let him think that. He needs to eat less of the unhealthy foods. He leaves bags of chips open and uneaten for days until he finally throws them away. Oh my, on and on I go!

Well, I'm off to run a couple of errands before I go to the Y for my exercise class. Have a wonderful day Ieramul! hugs