The FastDay Forum

I totally understand how you feel as I am struggling too. I've only lost 6 pounds in the last 7 months. I had lost 10 and then gained back some.

But, I do have a question for you? Do you actually weigh less than a year ago? If so, then I think you are making progress and should be proud of that and just keep at it. That's what I am trying to do. If I can get back in the right direction, then even if it's slow at least it will keep going down.

Enjoy your holiday. There is so much more to life than the number on the scale!!

Stop beating yourself up!

When a diet isn't working for you, it isn't because you have a "weak will." It's because it isn't the right diet for you. Or because you have some metabolic problem, for example high blood sugars or thyroid dysfunction that make the kind of fasting diet you were doing hard to stick to.

Spend some time figuring out what it is about this diet that made it so hard to follow, and then come up with a different kind of diet that won't introduce those stresses into your life.

5:2 works very well for some people, but so do many other diets. "All you can eat" Atkins works extremely well for some people. Cutting portion sizes in half and eliminating snacking but otherwise eating normally works well for others. Some people do fine cutting out fat.

If none of these feel comfortable to you, it might be a sign that you need to get your thyroid checked, or perhaps find out if you have the severe insulin resistance that goes along with PCOS. The latter condition can make it extremely hard to lose weight on any diet, though the mediation metformin can be helpful to many people.

People who lose weight on diets aren't the ones with iron wills. They are the ones who have found a diet that is harmonious with the way they are comfortable eating.

It all comes down to your own individual needs.

Sorry that you are feeling so down, @theshrinkingwoman, but I hope that you find it possible to enjoy your forthcoming holiday. Give up on thinking about losing weight before your holiday but make sure that you come back to us immediately after it so that you can get on with your weight loss campaign.

I used to hate having my photo taken and would do anything to avoid it! A few years ago my daughter, who is a keen photographer, gave me a strict talking to about it. Briefly her message was ' Your photo will be taken at some point so you may as we'll make it the best photo that you can. Shoulders back, turn at an angle to the camera (helps make your hips look slimmer) , smile and look straight down the camera lens!' Since then I have tried to follow her advice and I now manage to end up with a few photos from every holiday that I think are OK.

I hope that you have a wonderful time!

@theshrinkingwoman I've just come across this thread. If a normal BMI was in reach things can't be that bad. Before I started 5:2 I had formed the opinion that the me inside was the person that people liked and wanted to spend time with and the wrapping was not that important. I think we are our own worst critics. Enjoy your holiday , feel beautiful and confident and you will give of a positive vibe. Others are more used to what we look like than we are especially if you tend to avoid mirrors. As regards photos , there are photos where I feel I look gross but others say what a good picture it is. That is because they are seeing the person they know and like and don't know about your mental image of how you feel you should be.
My weight loss is only around 1/2 lb a week but it does gradually add up. You say 5:2 doesn't work for you but that may be because you had a target in mind. If you look on it as a long term strategy with no end point you can relax more and may find the fasting days easier and less need to go mad on your normal days and just take every little loss as it comes along without thinking of the bigger picture.
I hope your have a fantasic holiday and come back refreshed and re-enthused

Oh dear, I was so sad to read your post and like a lot of others I also hate having my photograph taken. I agree with the others who say STOP BEING SO HARD ON YOURSELF! Out weight is only one aspect of us and I'm sure you have many other wonderful qualities which you should be proud of, loving mother, hard working, selfless etc. Go off and enjoy your holiday, enjoy being with your precious family, relax, smile at an cameras that you find pointing at yourself and think about all this dieting lark when you get back home. I do, however, agree with Peebles when she says that you have not found the way that suits you yet so when you come home try and work out what will be the best strategy for you and then have another go, in the meantime, have a great holiday and let us all know how it went


Ballerina x

[janeg]

All good advice given here . Hope you can be kinder to yourself.
About photies- I, too, despise seing myself in photies. I am the most unphotogenic person on earth- others agree! BUT, I have very few photies of myself with my children when they were wee, and there are very few family photies of me with my parents. My dad is now in care and losing it daily. We are in a different country so each time I see him could be the last. With this in mund, photies were taken on the last visit, and do you know, they're actually quite good!
Let memories be made of times- not how you feel about your figure/weight. As [tag]ballerina[/tag[ says- you are more than the number on a scale ( paraphrasing the wise woman )

@janeg Didn't we see a photo of you recently at a meet up in Scotland? I thought you looked really good.

[janeg]

You did indeed @Sallyo! That'll be the one where I think I'm looking glaekit and nowhere near the camera. Thanks for saying I looked really good

I thought you looked really nice as well at your Scottish meet up so stop being a daft auld wifey, lol

Ballerina x

Another photo hater here. Others have said much of what I would say. I'd just like to concentrate on your self esteem; you are a much loved wife and mum, yes? They love you as you are, I'd guess, not stressing because you can't appear in photos with them.
So, who cares if you have an extra dimple here, a little too much weight around the midriff or a tad too much padding in the cuddly places?

I've had to carry on in a separate post, as my tablet seemed to post the one above!
What I'm trying to say, badly, is go away, do not worry about your weight, looks, photos or anthing extraneous like that. The one important thing is going away and enjoying it. You will come back refreshed and eager to start again x

Another photo hater here. Others have said much of what I would say. I'd just like to concentrate on your self esteem; you are a much loved wife and mum, yes? They love you as you are, I'd guess, not stressing because you can't appear in photos with them.
So, who cares if you have an extra dimple here, a little too much weight around the midriff or a tad too much padding in the cuddly places?

I take what you say on board about being loved as I am but I don't see me in these photographs, I don't recognise that person. I was very slim for most of my life and so I suppose I have an internal image of myself as a slim person and I just have never been able to adapt that image to my current reality. I know it might sound strange but I almost get a shock when I see a photo of me looking fat, or am in a changing room or something. I know I can't turn back the clock but I'd like to look a little closer to what I think is the 'real me' if you know what I mean.

But, I do have a question for you? Do you actually weigh less than a year ago? If so, then I think you are making progress and should be proud of that and just keep at it.

I'm a pound heavier than I was this time last year.

I used to hate having my photo taken and would do anything to avoid it! A few years ago my daughter, who is a keen photographer, gave me a strict talking to about it. Briefly her message was ' Your photo will be taken at some point so you may as we'll make it the best photo that you can. Shoulders back, turn at an angle to the camera (helps make your hips look slimmer) , smile and look straight down the camera lens!' Since then I have tried to follow her advice and I now manage to end up with a few photos from every holiday that I think are OK.

I hope that you have a wonderful time!

I think the biggest problem is the ones taken when I'm not aware, such as from behind.....I'm always shocked at how wide I look compared to whoever I'm standing next to for example....and the ones taken when I'm laughing can be the worst because I have a habit of throwing my head back when I laugh which shows my worst feature- my neck and chins. I think another reason why it's harder these days is that you never know when someone's going to put a bad photo of you on facebook or something. If its someone I know well I can ask them to remove it but it's not so easy if its someone you don't know well or if its a great photo of someone else!

Anyway I do appreciate each and everyone of you who posted ....I am just juicing today (just to feel better) and will be back on board after my holiday - hopefully to get my motivation and willpower back! So thank you all again for all you kind words and suggestions