The FastDay Forum

Yeh @carieoates the champagne on ice awaits you in the Fastiversary Tent..so very well done XX!

Yeah well done Carie! Here's to the next one

[carorees]

Congratulations @carieoates! Here's to many more!

Happy Fastiversary, @carieoates! You have done really well and played such an active part on this forum. Long may it continue!
Valerie
PS Did the Cambridge meet-up happen or are there any other dates?

[carieoates]

Hello felow fasters....heres my story..
This time last year I had just returned to school after half term hols.
I wasnt a happy bunny, just discovered that i needed surgery as I had a uterus the size of an 18 week pregnancy, which was trying to escape and was hopeful that my hubby was going to take the new job he'd been head hunted for, but selfishly, I was a bit miffed as that meant we wouldnt have a summer holiday.

I was chatting to a fellow yo- yo dieter in the staff room and she said, my sister is going to try 52, I'm
like "whats 5 2?" its all over the tv she said, "eat little on two days of the week and normally the rest".

Mmmm...I thought I could do that, so i went home and like the sponge that i am i read about it, watched the documentary and thought.. I will do this tomorrow.
I was 13st 7lb
My first blog read like this.

I've had a 2 day headache now. I thought that I drank plenty, obviously not. I Started diet on Monday, today is second fast. Doing ok. But just found out from my progress checker that I can have 595 cals on fast day as I exercise at least three times a week. A a bit dubious about this but I cheered as its my daughters 12th birthday and I'd like a sliver of cake.

I mentioned it on the forum and was told to "drink more water Caroline" Ive subsequently discovered that I need a bit more caffeine than I first thought, and that fasting means eat less food, and that a couple of coffees or teas don't hurt but in actaul fact works wonders.

One of my first worries was exercising when fasting, it took me a few weeks to get the nerve to combine the two and didn't drop dead, so carried on with fast and exercise on the same day, which I have done up to four times a week believe it or not.
I was then worried about over- weighing, but now its a daily habit and not a mood altering addiction.
In the early days I relied heavily on low cal hot chocolate and ainsly herriot low cal soups, I now only occasionally have a hot choc. Once I realised that I could in actual fact go all day without food and not pass out it was relatively easy to stay on track.
Fitbit- In august I got my first fitbit, thanks to the thread here. That too has changed my life forever, because even thoughI was going to my regular classes, on rest days I felt lazy, and my step count was very low in comparison, at this point I started runing, and enjoyed it.

I believe that my weight loss has been slow due to the exercise, but I have been told that I am pretty well toned, so that doesn't bother me. Just before exmas I had a hysterectomy, then mentally had to figure out that not exercising would not make me put on weight. I managed to maintain, but then like many others did get a delayed xmas reaction and managed to gain about 5 lb. This was when I discovered that 16.8 was also very do-able. Oh and then I got new scales..... another 5lb heavier I weighed in at..... that was a shocker I can tell you.

So in summary...
I've set goals, achieved a few, and missed several. But I have learnt that I will not die without food, I eat less, I eat good fats, I hold back on carbs, I lose weight if I do what I'm supposed to do and if I cheat I will not be rewarded.
My weekends are for feasting and alcohol is a special treat then rather than finding an excuse to have a glass of red during the week.

I have lost 13.01 lb and dropped from a tight size 16 to a comfortabley loose size 14. I know its not much by some peoples standards but if thats the way it is....then so be it....... Another 10lb to go! .

I've made oodles of friends here, and consider myself lucky to have found such a warm, knowledgeable, comforting place such as this.
Giving is better than receiving, and that's why i am honored to be part of the team now and hope that I may be able to continue to inspire and help others who need it.

Wow, Carrie, that was a good read, so glad that we have all found this wol and it continues to work for us not just in the short term, everything works in the short term, but for the rest of our lives. Congratulations, you are so inspiring and I wish you well on the rest of your journey, you will get there,

Ballerina x

Happy Fastiversary to you
Happy Fastiversary to you
Happy Fastiversary dear @carieoates
Happy Fastiversary to you .....

And here's to another good fasting year.

[janeg]

well done that woman! thanks for the recap of your adventures

Hadn't heard how you started on this WOE before Caroline so a great read and so inspiring to learn you have done so well despite surgery and a few setbacks along the way. Very well done!

**** wild applause***! !
What a fantastic inspiring and well written read! Love it!

I haven't visited this tent for a while but have just had a good read through, so well done to everyone who has reached their Fastiversary since last time I visited. Thank you so much Caroline for such a well thought out, inspirational post. Another one for the inspirational stories thread?

I know exactly what you meant about when you started. I too soaked up all the info and then dived in with trepidation in case I fainted with hunger if I didn't eat for a few hours I also relied at first on a few staples including drinks of bovril, 10 calorie ready made jellies after dinner and 40 calorie hot chocolate at bed time. Like you, I don't bother so much with those things now but they did help at the beginning when not eating seemed so strange.

Like you, I have learned that carbs are better restricted. I agree that the forum is a great place to be and I have also made many friends.

Thanks again for such a great post and for sharing your story

Marvellous post @carieoates - a fantastic & inspiring read that reinforces everything that 5:2 stands for.

So pleased for you, very well done! Feeling clothes being loose has been a total revelation to me, having spent all my years with thighs straining in all sizes of trousers, so I really know how wonderful that feels - it's great, isn't it??

Congratulations and good luck for the future! Xx

So here I am, 52 Sundays later (on 5:2 ), at the One Year Fastiversary . I started on Aug.18 which was a Sunday last year and except for a handful, have always done Sun and usually Wed fasts.

I really can't believe where I am now. I have lost about 35 pounds which is the most I have ever lost at one time. I haven't been at this weight since I was in my 40's. I gained weight when I quit smoking in 1997 and at one time reached 186lb which is an obese BMI 30. I spent hundreds of dollars on Weight Watchers but I can't really say I followed it correctly. It was always about deprivation, day after day, and it got so depressing.

March 2013 was my highest weight and around that time I saw MM's Eat, Fast and Live Longer. It looked intriguing and I tried it for a week or two and I think lost about 3 or 4 lb. But then life intervened, lots of social events, dinners out and everything went out the window. In July, I tried a different program for 4 weeks and lost only 2 pounds

Then, as I have mentioned before, a chance comment by a colleague returning from England about 5:2 Fast Diet reminded me. I re-watched the show, bought the book and got my resolve. I started with the 150 cal breakfast and 350cal supper but eventually, following the recommendations of all the friends here, I managed to move it to a single meal at supper. Imagine ...didn't die, faint or quit (as predicted by some). The weight started to come off, initially at a rate I hadn't experienced before. But then it slowed, plateau-ed, went up, went down. Through it all, I just kept coming here to this amazing forum to keep positive and to get ideas on why things were stalled and what else I could try.
Have tried 16:8, ADF, liquid-only fasts but ultimately what seems to be working for me now is classic 5:2, low carb (60g) and minding the TDEE on non-fast days. Of course, I blow it lots of times but ultimately get back on track. I thought back then, after a few weeks and great losses ( can you say, Honeymoon?) that no problem, I'll be done by my birthday (in March). Every time there was a gain or wobble, the progress tracker kept moving my goal date...and it has been right . But I really have embraced this as a WOL.

So what have I learned?
1. The fast day is not easy but it is do-able and I have only blown my fast day 2 times in the past year. I have skipped a few when on holidays however ( those are the major upturns on my Progress Tracker). I look forward to that empty feeling on fast days and am always amazed when a cup of coffee or miso soup can calm that hunger monster, if he shows up.
2. This WOL is important to me and my friends now know it. Before, I always let any diet I was on be sabotaged by others. "We're all having pizza", " Just this once", etc. My fast days are almost sacred and I may move them but rarely skip them.
3. I have always known that daily weighing is also important for me. It is a sign that I am paying attention. All my major weight gains in the past have been when I stopped daily weighing. I don't obsess with the number, just track it and move on.
4. This forum is such an amazing place, I really can't emphasize that enough. Everyone is so supportive, kind , helpful, truly caring. There is no way I would have continued without it. I know it has been bumpy since the re-vamp but I hope that is behind us because, guys, selfishly, I NEED YOU.

So I am not at my goal, likely won't make the Solstice challenge, but I am still here and I feel I can do this for the rest of my life. I love getting comments on my smaller size, wearing smaller clothes. I am so chuffed to be NORMAL. It has been a long time (1992?) since I was.
Fast day number ?95 or ? 96 done. Off to bed soon (very sleepy on fast days). Thanks for reading and mostly for being here.

Big cheer for you @judithn on the momentous occasion of your Fastiversary!!

Congratulations for what you have achieved - it is brilliant, as was your post! Loved reading it....

Onwards and downwards then!

Wow @judithn, what a great success story. Well done and I am so very happy for you and I feel the same way as you about how this WOE is for life. Isn't it great that we never have to hand any $$$ over to WW ever again. If ever I am tempted to buy a WW magazine I just say to myself " what's the point?"
Xxx julianna