The FastDay Forum

by Katharina » 04 May 2015, 07:26
"I don't want to be neurotic but there's no getting away from it that past conditioning takes some getting over, if one ever does. I think of this change, WOE/WON, as the only thing that lets me partly neutralise what I did for years. "...........................

Nail and head just made contact there, I was having a conversation with a close friend the other day and she admitted that she is totally unable to buy any full fat product and eating them is even more impossible for her due to conditioning over the years about the 'dangers' of fat. She is obsessed with 'government guidelines' like '5 a day'.....'safe units of alcohol'..............'low fat'..............'low cholesterol'............levels of exercise etc, etc. this is an intelligent, highly educated woman who has a powerful job in the financial market yet she is unable to think, or read it would appear, for herself. She starts every day with a large fruit smoothie, never has butter, only eats low fat cheese and actually believes that governments know best about nutrition?@!/? Guess what? Yes, she is unhappy with her weight, spends a fortune at the gym and is bemused as to why she is unhappy. I have tried to gently steer her towards more healthy reading matter but the message over the years is so firmly entrenched that she is unable to change, even though her beloved government guidelines no longer support low fat regimes, such is the power of brainwashing.

Ballerina x

I love the support that forum members give each other. I have been fasting for nearly 2 1/2 years now and I have never 'fallen off the wagon' I don't fast when I am on holiday and the weight I gain takes about 3 times as long to go as to come . However the rest of the time 5:2 is just what I do and there is no arguing ( with myself). I am so pleased to have finally found a way of controlling my weight that allows me still to have some sweets ( less that before and savoured more) and a few drinks at the weekend that I will not let go.Some fasting days I still get very hungry but I just try and grit my teeth, have a large drink of water and imagine my fat been used to supply energy. My weight loss has been very slow and if I plateau off to a maintenance weight soon I will go with that but I know that sticking on plan is with me for life.
I am not trying to show off but just to reinforce the idea that determination and gritting of teeth is the way forward. Good Luck to all of you

Hello all
I actually came looking for some advice on shift work and fasting but got side tracked reading this. And I should be sleeping! I did the Fast Start programme in Jan and got into to the way of it, lost 5lbs. I have since managed to put 7 on having been unable to sustain this WOE during 2 holidays and a weekend away, so am back where I started but keen to get back into the way of things. I'm not away again until August, so have the opportunity to focus.

So really my post is about 2 things - it is good to be in the company of others who struggle (that doesn't read well, but it makes me feel like i am less alone on this constant, all consuming mission) And trying to work my fasting into shifts, night shift being the main one I have difficulty with. I need to scoot around the forum to find more info on that topic.
I also struggled on my non fast days, not to eat all the food available, scabby dugs included, and found on a couple of days I really went for it, big time. So I'm re-reading my paperwork for the Fast day programme, in the hope it will get me back in the zone. I'm also finding the information on the forum and peoples experiences helpful.
But for now I'm lying in bed trying to sleep, with my belly beside me and hope that one day we will be as one! Sorry if that's TMI

Cheers
Fee

[carieoates]

@KiltedGirl, none of us find this easy all of the time. With time you will should stop overeating on non fast days. Holidays are a pleasure but when you're in the zone it's often difficult to relax food wise.
So my advice is take it one fast at a time, try not to concentrate on what you can't eat but plan with pleasure what you can.
Log all you eat for a while if that helps as when you have to admit to eating something you know you shouldn't then it sometimes gives you a moment to rethink the action of consuming it. As Bal says remember that great feeling of getting a new number on the scales and aim for that. I know I'm heading for a good one when I have to lay on my side in bed to stop the belly rumbles when I get into bed on a fast night, not because I'm not looking after myself but because I can't eat too late,
Also skip breakfast on holiday or lunch whichever suites you.
So come on back and let us know how your next fast day goes. Mine is tomorrow. When's yours? I hope you're asleep by now to be honest.

There's no easy answer, is there? Cos if there were, we'd all be at our optimum weight, wouldn't we? Instead of slogging our guts out to attain it.
The way I see it is, I can either be my old overweight self, hating my body image and reaching for a comforting snack, or I can be proud (yes, proud) of my size 12 figure, which has taken a year to achieve. I've maintained it now for over a year.
I had a mental image of me building a wall, brick by brick, over the course of a year, one brick for every pound of the 5 stones I've lost. It's my mental cathedral. Every pound I put back on, I'd have to knock a brick off my cathedral wall. I cannot bear to think of my wall flattened and me, not only 5 stones heavier, but on the way up, because it wouldn't stop there, would it. No by 2018 I'd be well over 17 stones. And I am not going there.
So, I have a daily regime, because I only take it a day at a time. Daily weigh, record it, daily food planning on My fitness Pal, wear a Fitbit, watch not only calories, but carbs and the most important thing... find food you can eat and enjoy.
Unfortunately, you do have to be disciplined, eat less, eat well, bblahblah, but also you need to love yourself (in the nicest possible way) and promise yourselves that, not only can you do it, but that you will do it. So....

What are you waiting for? Go, do it!

Thanks for your replies.
Carrie, I'm planning on fasting tonight. My shift is 1900-0700. So if i have my tea in between 2300-0200 i'll fast for roughly 24 hours after that. I skipped breakfast on holiday so i know it can be done, think i may have put on even more weight otherwise. I am very, very good at beating myself up about my weight and i put myself under a huge amount of pressure, setting deadlines etc and feeling a failure when I don't meet them.
Pennyforthem - interesting, i think of the lbs i have to loose as a wall that has to come down! I am planning on recording food, weight daily and using my fit bit on non work days. I have a sedentary job and work long shifts.
So, onwards and upwards and as Katharina mentioned, past conditioning takes some getting over.

Fee

Well said @ballerina and @pennyforthem it's you two that I have copied since day one. Thank you @carieoates for the comment about my salads. I eat better than I ever have before and I am so happy that salad days are here again. I do have a chuck it all in approach to salad and have found that I really need strong flavours. Smoked salmon, recently discovered feta and even more recently discovered blue cheese. Just a little goes a long way. Sometimes a small amount of chopped nuts and dried fruit finds its way in and I never skimp on tasty dressings. After all, you can't do much damage with a pile of lettuce! I use my allowance on flavour. Forget grains and nasty white carbs. As Ballerina and @carorees say, protein and fat is key to keeping you feel full and satisfied.
My salads are not always pretty but I am happy to jump on a thread to share my ideas if they would be useful to anyone.

Hello @Kiltedgirl I used to work a 3 shift pattern and I have to say that I found nights the easiest in terms of food consumption, I just was not hungry on nights and of course I slept a lot in the day so for me it was not a problem but others struggled, could not stop eating, it made me feel nauseous just watching folk gorge in the middle if the night, so I am afraid I cannot help you with this one, it is such an individual thing but I hope you find a way to manage it.

Hi @Pennyforthem and @Wendy Darling nice to be back in the saddle here and seeing friends again, although I have been around I have not been posting much but I hope to bore you all again, take care girls,

Ballerina x

Wow, so much "food for thought" here! I've been plateaued for awhile, though I've just lost some with FastBeach (while I've stayed away from alcohol, not so good about the carbs).

I can certainly relate to the out-of-control noshing at times. It seems that my brain says, Hey, you were so good on your light day, you deserve a little sumpin sumpin...

As a vegetarian, it's a little harder to find "pure" protein; most is either "faux" meat or beans, both of which also contain significant carbs. And cheese is too high cal for large quantity consumption. I have been doing more salads lately; I love a good big meal salad, with protein, cheese, lotsa veggies, dressing. Oh, one thing I've found; if I put salt (actually a seasoned salt called Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt) on veggies such as cucumbers and tomatoes, I can use a lot less dressing. And all that chewing means it slows me down; I've always eaten too fast...

As you'll note on my signature, I call this "WOL" for Way of Life, mostly because of the "woe" thing...As a writer, connotation is everything and I do find it bothers me (if it doesn't you, no biggie).

It is always a pleasure to come here and know that others are sharing challenges, sometimes the same ones as I am, and sometimes different ones--ones that may be waiting for me down the road. Wise women (and men ) can be counted on to offer sympathy, advice, and a kick in the rear when necessary. I've been cruising around at around 136 lbs.--sometimes up a couple and sometimes down. This is about 6 lbs. higher than my lowest point, which I was at for all of about 5 minutes! Somehow I've managed to remain here abouts even though I have been pretty lackadaisical--not crazy bad, but not crazy good either. Overall, my tastes and capacity have changed for the better. Also, I know that if I let myself go too many days in a row with carbs, I could get into trouble. And to be honest, I am enjoying being able to go to my closet and grab something that I look pretty good in rather than the old days of searching for something that looked the least bad. So, I'm headed for the wobbly tent, looking to tighten up those 500 cal. days, especially. I think that is the key that will keep me in line on the nonfast days. So let's do this!

[carieoates]

@bordergirlAlways good to return back to the welcoming arms of basic 5.2 once in a while. It's like that old misshapen cardigan that you know you should throw out. Unforgiving and comfortable to be around.
You'll be fine as you know you can do it, just need to remember how to that's all,