The FastDay Forum

Excellent, Steph. You managed low carb this morning, try and keep as low carb as possible today and see if tomorrow's fast will not be much easier. If you can do no carb on your fast day I am absolutely sure you will find you get far less hungry, if at all. It is so encouraging when a fast day is relatively easy. I bet On Saturday the scales will thank you for it.

I agree, it is so much easier to fast when not at home. I don't have ny food at work and that is that. Today I had a couple of apples, 400g of grapes and a banana and when I got home DH had fried up some gnocchi for me which I had with some quark and afterwards I ate one of the pork ribs he had cooked. But I didn't like it all that much.

Just now I am munching on some hazlenuts. Ever since my lenten no sugar challenge I have taken to eating nuts instead of sweets during the week. I know they are very calorific but I have managed to reduce the amount to just a couple of handful. Even if they have the same calories as a bar of chocolate, they are still better for me as they are very healthy and don't trigger cravings. Also sugar is supposed to be very aging and cell damaging. That fact really helps me to reduce the sugar. I don't want to age prematurely.

As you said, most of us have to fight our own little demons and all of us are just trying to find the best way.

We are off to visit FIL and DH's son and family. They have a little baby so we will all be cooing all Saturday.

Take care and good luck with your fast tomorrow. I will set out for our 3hr trip without breakfast tomorrow morning and do a good 18:6 IF. Then it will be fruit until supper again. I shall be very virtuous this weekend. BIG HUG

Oh, I am jealous that you can spend time with the baby! The closest I get to little ones is when I volunteer at the school with the 4 and 5 year olds. Babies are just so different from little children.

I managed a successful fast yesterday and the only carbs I had were from vegetables! Surprisingly my two meals filled me up. I had 3.5 ounces of chicken in lettuce wraps and a tomato for lunch and then for dinner 6 hours later I had tofu, green beans, carrots and sauteed spinach. I snacked on a few raspberries while cooking the rest as I was really hungry when I came home from grocery shopping. I was surprised how these two meals satisfied, so much more than if I had potatoes or rice with them. Just a few months ago I couldn't even imagine a meal without a starch/carb. I had trouble falling asleep and around 12:30 I was hungry but resisted the temptation to get up and eat something. Finally I managed to fall asleep.

Today I go to an OA meeting then to a friend's. I am bringing walnuts, pecans, some raspberries and strawberries. I'm sure she will have lunch ready but I'm hoping I can lessen the damage from the carbs whe will serve with the fruit and nuts. I can completely understand your nut craving?obsession?desire?. I've discovered I can't eat even a few peanuts without wanting more, or trail mix with all the mixed roasted and salted nuts and the dried fruit. I only eat a few raw walnuts or pecans at a time, though, and have no desire to eat too many. Funny that. Must be that they are not roasted and salted.

It is another glorious day. Yesterday the temperature went up to 20 C! The magnolias are just about blooming. Tomorrow they'll be out in all their splendor. The trees are leafing out. I imagine most of them will be green by the weekend. It is spring! I'd be happy if this weather stayed all through summer and fall. Not so, of course. The heat will come soon enough.

Take care, sending big hugs your way! I hope your visit and drive went well. ttfn

I know, I know, two posts in a day but just wanting to say I am really full and had nary a potato, rice, pasta or bread side. My friend ended up not serving lunch so we shared the nuts and fruit I brought with me. She is going out for dinner. I just ate my dinner of chicken souvlaki and greek salad and a bit of watermelon. I think I should have waited longer to eat because now I am over full. So second day low carb-ing and so far so good! My friend sent me home with some roasted soy beans. They are addictive which I discovered after eating a few so I tossed them in the compost. Don't tell my friend It would be too easy to eat them all in one sitting and make myself sick. Better the temptation is gone.

I'm eager to hear how your visit with your FIL and the baby went! Lots of love and hugs!

Hi Steph, sorry for the long absence but we had a bank holiday Monday today and we only returned from visiting family.

I am so pleased to read that you managed to eat lower carb on Friday and Saturday and that you seem to almost enjoy it. I am confident that you will reach your mini goal by the end of the month if you keep this up

The weather and temperatures seems to have also picked up. That all helps with motivation and weight loss. I always think between May and October is the best time to get the weight down and over the cold months it would be great if we could simply maintain for a while.

As predicted I was as good as gold whilst visiting, as soon as I got home I made up for it in indulgences. oh well, I will be fasting tomorrow and balance everything out.

Good luck to you this week. Take Care. BIG HUG

Hello Ieramul, funny how we can eat properly when around others but then blow it when we aren't being watched. I've done that so many times.
I hadn't really thought about maintaining in the winter months. That really makes sense to me and would be easier to stick to rather than beating myself up about not losing weight and then throwing in the towel and eating everything in sight like last winter.

I managed a successful fast although it was tough going earlier today. My mind was wanting to eat even though I was full from lunch and then dinner. I think I was feeling resentful at not being able to eat more. I managed to eat just a few dried cranberries and not the entire bag which I bought ostensibly for salad. I had the salad for lunch with some meat and it was fantastic, another recipe to add to my fasting and non-fasting repertoire. I'm thinking of having it again tomorrow. I used a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey and salt, all in small portions but enough to give the salad a great taste. Mmm just thinking of it makes me eager for tomorrow's lunch.
Time for bed now. It will be a little difficult getting to sleep tonight, I think, as it is warm in my bedroom even with the windows open and after a couple months of relief my hot flashes are back, just in time for the warm weather. Drat. Enjoy your day! toodles

Hi Steph, I have the distinct feeling that you are on the right track . You appear more positive and reports of great salads are very encouraging. Also you seem to eat less carbs etc. I can see the girl who managed to lose 50lbs due to sheer will power.

Let's try and give this a summer push. Just imagine if you reach your mini goal of 128lb soon, you could give yourself a few weeks off maintaining and then give yourself a new goal of maybe 124lb by endof July followed by a few weeks of maintaining and then aim for 120lb by end of October. It would give you an idea what maintainig consists of. For example it doesn't mean not fasting but keeping a nice balance. It also means that we need to be realistic that our weight fluctuates throughout the week by an average of 3lb (everyone is different)

Whatever you reach by end of October or thereof, you keep up maintaining over the cold winter months - again it will still mean 5:2 unless you are a permanent angel. If you can maintain over the winter then you can always decide if you want to go lower next year but I don't think it would be necesssary.

Maintaining for me is 5:2 without the disappointment of not losing in other words doing one possibly two good fast and then not stress too much the other days (it does not mean overeating though). We short girls can't afford to slip/over eat for too long. But everyone needs to find a way that works for them.
Take Care and BIG HUG

Hello Ieramul,

I've been eating low carb since Friday. Quite strictly, no bread or other flour products like crackers , no rice or potatoes or pasta. I plan on doing this for 2 weeks if I can manage it and see what happens with my weight. I'm not sure what Friday will look like, though, as I am going to a fundraising dinner that evening. Might make Saturday morning's weigh in a bit high. I'm hovering around 29 lbs right now so unless I do something drastic I should definitely hit 128 by the end of May, if not sooner. I think I'd like to keep working towards losing if I can rather than maintaining. I have a few more pounds to shed before I fit into last year's summer clothes. I don't want to have to go out and buy more. I don't really have the money to do so. Crossing my fingers that this little extra no carb push will get me there.

Yesterday was difficult with Adam bringing home fresh baked cookies from school and offering me one. I resisted. I called one of the women from OA and we had a pleasant hour-long chat. When I hung up I no longer wanted to eat even though we talked about our families instead of about eating. I guess I just needed another focus. Today I was very hungry all morning at the school. I should have eaten something before I left the house. First time I've felt so uncomfortable and ravenous in a while. Even when fasting I don't feel hunger so intensely. I had a large bacon and cheese omelette and a tomato and cuke salad, and some raspberries and a few of those dried cranberries. I am stuffed now. I'm not sure what'll be for supper, that salad I mentioned and perhaps a steak. One steak will feed both Adam and I and is very easy to cook. There are already left over rice and veggies for Adam so it would be such a simple supper. Right now I don't have much energy to cook but will once Adam gets home from school. I'll save my half of the steak until later this evening when I actually feel hungry.

Did you fast yesterday? or today? are you still in your maintenance range? You give me such great encouragement and terrific ideas to think about! I wish I could do the same for you . Maintaining for a few weeks after hitting my mini goal weight of 125 lbs may be the way to go. Perhaps by the end of June I will hit it.

Oh my, I have gone on! Love and hugs!

Hi Steph, Wow I knew it. You are doing so well. I am so proud of you and I am absolutely convinced that you will see the weight move downwards if you can maintain (more or less) low carb for two weeks and you should indeed be able to reach your mini goal. You might feel so great that you indeed want to keep losing weight until you reach last summer's 122lb. We shall have a virtual party then

I did fast today until 4pm - but then had 3 carrots with a bit of dip with a handful of hazlenuts and tonight I had a normal meal and a banana. I have no idea how many calories I had (maybe 700 cals) but I will make it up tomorrow by eating only 1200 cals then later on in the week (possibly Friday as DH is working away at the weekend) i will attempt another, better fast. I want to have at least one brilliant fast in the week.

Steph, I am so proud of you. Keep up the good work and I can't wait for your your next weekly weigh in.
Take care and BIG HUG

Your an inspiration Ieramul! I had a "low cal" day too. Trying to lessen my upcoming Friday dinner out. I'm not sure I'll be able to resist dessert! I've had about 800 calories today. Adam had pizza when he got home from school and the rest of it is in the fridge. I wasn't even tempted! Amazing! never thought I'd be able to go so long without processed carbs. Mind over platter indeed.

I visited my lovely 93 year old lady, Marion, this afternoon. She is such a peach. I've known her for just over a year and I cannot believe she has not been sick at all, not even a cold, in all that time. She says, "I must be doing something right". I spend two hours with her and I'm always surprised at how we pass the time talking. She repeats parts of the conversations and asks the same questions again and again because she's forgotten what we've just discussed. But, I follow her lead and the two hours fly by. It is such a treat to spend time with her and see her smiles and hear her laugh. Warms my heart.

Did you manage your 1200 cal day all right? Do you not get hungry just eating carrots and dip and some nuts? once I start eating, even if I tell myself I will only eat a small amount and then have a larger meal later it doesn't work out. I'm still working on this meal thing. I didn't quite make even one "meal" today. I started grazing at 5 and just stopped at 8:30. Quite full. Oh well, at least I kept the calories low.

Good night Ieramul! or good morning How was your visit with the baby on the weekend? Big hug

I Steph, I am so delighted by your determination and can't wait for your next weigh-in. I am sure you will have dropped a pound or so. If we manage our carbs and in particular our sugar we can eat quite a bit of satisfying protein without the head hunger or craving afterwards.

I think I managed about 1200 cals yesterday. Today I am eating normally (hopefully no more than 1400 cals) and tomorrow I will throw in a fast. I hope I can do a good one ( I mean one below 400cals) after a half hearted reduced cal day on Monday. On fast days I can't eat anything until the evening meal because I am hungry in the evening if I eat a meal at lunch time or not, but I really want to eat a bit before bed time in order to sleep well.

When are you fasting again? Or are you doing low cal every day now?

Our time with the baby was great. She is just at the stage where she is almost walking and very active. It is my step son's family and we don't see them very often so every time we meet there is a big change. Can't wait until my DD has a baby. We also had great grand dad with us so four generations together was refreshing.

Take Care and Big HUG

Oh, Steph, I meant to say that the reason I can do vegetables and dips and fruit only is because I am at work. The discipline is much easier when not around my own home and kitchen as I can only eat what I take with me and even though there is a supermarket next door (with an excellent bakery), I don't allow myself to go in on a fast day or when on low carb week days. I have not been able to fast on a weekend or when not at work so far, so I don't know what will happen once I retire. I am hoping that by then fasting is so ingrained that my life will be less enjoyable if I don't fast. Also I am aware that this is all a mind thing and if I didn't work, I could fast at home, it is just how my routine works out for me.

Hello Ieramul, sorry for the long silence. I am so discouraged. After being so good all week last night I binged. I ate an egg in the early afternoon after I came home from work because I was going to a fundraising dinner in the evening. Because this was a huge treat for me, I haven't been out to a fancy dinner in years, I splurged on mashed potatoes with gravy, pie and a bun with butter, along with caesar salad and roast beef. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't continue eating once I got home. One night of bingeing sabotaged the low carb of the week. Why or why did I eat that way? I could have easily filled up on salad and roast beef. Hmph. Back to low carb today. The OA meeting is this morning and I think I'll go. Perhaps it will be helpful. I called one of the members earlier this week which was a great help. I am so pleased I have people to call when I am feeling weak willed. I should have called a member last night when I got home from the dinner, but didn't. In for a penny in for a pound .

Do you skype with your family? I tried once or twice with my daughter and her children but it was awkward. It is so much easier on the phone, but I don't get to see the kids grow up that way. How wonderful to see the 4 generations together! When my daughter was born we visited my great-grandmother and took a picture with the two of them together. That was 5 generations. Amazing to see all the various generations together.

Congrats for sticking to your low cal days and fasting! It is easier to fast on work days. Half the day is gone by the time I get home. Last night we didn't eat dinner until after 7, so I'm thinking if I can manage not to eat until then, only having a boiled egg when I get home from work on Fridays it may be easier to get through the fast as I could have a larger meal later in the evening. I will see how next week's fast goes. I could try that on Monday as well, my other regular fast day.

Well, I'd better get off my duff if I want to get some groceries before I go to the meeting. Take care!

Hi Steph, how are you doing? Sorry, to hear about your slip up. I am so glad you have support around and you can speak to someone when necessary. I wonder what the damage was?

Last night (Sunday) I thought to myself: 'Why don't I have some of that ice cream in the freezer. Tomorrow is a fast day and anyhow I try to eat less sugar during the week. If I don't have it now I won't be able to have it for ages'. I was quite shocked by this kind of self sabotaging thought process. I was basically trying to convince myself that I should food hoard to prepare for a shortage.

I had already had plenty of (naughty) food on Saturday and earlier on Sunday, eaten well over my TDEE so this was not because my body wanted to catch up on food or deprivation.

With regards to seeing the family, I do skype my children and grand child but not with my parents - they are not very computer literate. I think it is great when the children are small and change all the time, but for grown ups it is not really necessary.

I must go, have a great day/week. Take care BIG HUG

Helooooooooooooo Steeeeeeeeeeeph, Come out from your hiding place. Whenever I don't hear from you I know that you feel bad and you struggle. It doesn't matter. Come and talk to me. All will be well. You know you can do it.

Lots of love and BIG HUGS

Hi Ieramul, you know me so well! The last couple of days I haven't been so diligent. I did fast on Saturday, though Yesterday and to a lesser degree, today, I've had stomach pain and nausea, before eating, which is odd. It usually only happens if I gorge myself. Oh, well, I'll chock it up to IBS. Last night I gave in to cake, chips and licorice. The last two I sneaked from Adam's stash. He hasn't checked them yet and I don't know if he will notice I ate some, well, a lot, really LOL. I didn't have a proper lunch today but "snacked" on healthy stuff like scrambled eggs, nuts and fruit. Don't have a clue what I'll have for supper, I'm making pasta for my son. I'm tempted to go out and buy some fast food even though I don't really have the money for it. I want something like french fries and fried chicken!! I could just buy a pecan, apple chicken salad with really sweet and unhealthy but oh so tasty pomegranate dressing instead. Hm. Really not in the mood for cooking. I will figure it out.

There was a bit of excitement at the school this morning. A "Code Red" was called over the intercom and we had to cover the windows in the door, lock it, close the blinds and sit beside the wall on the circle carpet. And of course, we had to be silent. I couldn't believe how quiet the kids were! Found out half an hour later, when it was downgraded to "code yellow" where we were only confined to the school, that there had been a phone threat saying that someone was bringing a gun to school and was planning on shooting students and teachers! The police determined the threat was a random computer generated hoax. "phew!"

Did you eat that ice cream after all? or did your realization not quell the desire?

Not quite feeling like myself today, been having naps in the afternoon to pass the time. Crazy as I wake up feeling groggy and out of sorts. I could go to the library and get some books but I'm not in the mood to read. I could also go for a walk but haven't felt like walking for days now. Funny how some days are just "off" days.

I hope you are doing well! did you fast yesterday? Thank you so much for your support and encouragement! it means so much ! Big hugs Time for a cup of tea.