The FastDay Forum

Welcome to the July challenge! It will start today and go to July 31st (or thereabouts!) I'm probably going to start on Monday, but the 31st is a Monday too, so that works out well. I thought that a month might be a better amount of time. Enough time to accomplish something, but not so much time as to lose momentum!

Here are our challengers!
#1 @cblasz - lose 5 lbs. (by sticking to eating windows, exercising every day, 100g of carbs 5 days a week)
#2 @Tracieknits - Sticking to 60g carbs 3 days a week and 125g carbs 4 days a week and lose 5 lbs. as a result.
#3 @Sassy1 - No non-hunger eating after dinner and one light day a week
#4 @Orchid - lose 2 kgs. (4.4 lbs.)
#5 @P-JK - maintain current weight
#6 @nycnyc2013 - lose 4 lbs. by fasting 2 days, low carb and sugar the others.
#7 @WarriorPrincess - lose 3 lbs.

Achievements
#1 @cblasz -
#2 @Tracieknits -
#3 @Sassy1 -
#4 @Orchid -
#5 @P-JK -
#6 @nycnyc2013 -
#7 @WarriorPrincess -

I thought I'd start off this challenge by sharing this article I recently read about willpower and how it can't be relied upon to reach a goal.

https://journal.thriveglobal.com/willpower-doesnt-work-here-s-how-to-actually-change-your-life-9fb9a85762ca

To summarize, it basically says that if you are relying on willpower than you haven't done 2 things.

1) Fully committed to your goal. If every day you are deciding should I exercise or should I eat that cookie, etc. Then you are not fully committed. It shouldn't be a question. It should be a simple no, that you aren't going to have the cookie and not should I exercise, but when will I exercise.
2) Changed your environment. I think this one is a little harder when it comes to food, since it isn't something we can do without and it is all around us! I am lucky that because I live alone I can control what food comes into my house. But I can't control what food will be in the teacher's room at school or at a picnic, etc. But I guess that's where we come back to #1.

So I was thinking about it and I realize that I probably haven't fully committed to a weight loss plan for a long period of time, since the very first time I did WW (about 16 years ago!). My weight had finally gotten to a point where enough was enough. WW online was new, I worked at a computer all day and my coworker and office mate did it with me. I tracked every single point and didn't go over. I lost 47 lbs. that year!

I need to find a way to get back there. I do think I was committed this year when I gave up candy. I had decided that was it, I wasn't going to have any more candy and I didn't, even though it was always at work. I simply said no. But that was all I fully committed to.

For this challenge I'm going to commit to 3 things:
1) Getting in some exercise every day
2) Sticking to my eating window
3) Keeping my carbs at <= 100 g. Not 101, but 100 (or less). This one I'm still contemplating a bit. It will be easy on days that I'm home and not going out. The going out part will be harder. I think I'd like to allow one day where I don't have to count, but is that already not being committed enough or just sensible? I can control my environment by not going out too many times each week and choosing restaurants where I will have good options.

I have other goals too, but I think it is hard to be fully committed to too many things. I think those 3 things would make a huge difference.

I hope others find this article helpful as well!

[Tracieknits]

I'm in! I would like to earn 5 stars - 4 for behaving each week and 1 for losing 5 pounds.

There are four weeks. I'm hoping to earn one star for each week that I stick to my low carb plan (3 days at 60g carbs per day and the other 4 days at 125g carbs/day) and hoping to earn one star if I lose 5 pounds. I'm making the effort count more than the results because last spring was so much effort for so little result. Of course now that I've made that rule, watch the weight roll off much more easily than it did in the last challenge.

Thanks for the article link, @cblasz, very interesting!

Some initial reactions - tho the idea needs more thought than I am giving it at the moment...

I do agree that one reason I snack in the evening is probably that I am not committed to not snacking... And I am not committed to not using food as a reward, or for the immediate pleasure, or for comfort - at times. And I am certainly not committed to never again having sugary foods... And don't want to be.

The situation of commitment with eating / food can be more challenging, as you say, than deciding you want to run a marathon, etc. But with any commitment you do also have to be able to decide when it is not appropriate - eg if you are unwell, then a long run may not be a good idea. You have to be careful not to get obsessive.

There certainly has been discussion before in the forum as to whether we need an "all or nothing" approach to certain foods. Some people seem to, but others are able to learn how to moderate/ adjust their intake "appropriately".

I will consider further while I work out what my (measureable!) challenge will be.

Hi Sassy1, I don't think this is an all or nothing question. It's about fully committing to whatever you've decided your goal is, so that you are not relying on willpower. Your goal could be to only have one sweet a day or a week or whatever. And yes, certainly there are times when you make a conscious decision to make an exception. Maybe it's a holiday or you are going to a wedding or something. So you say to yourself I'm going to have one piece of cake at the wedding. But it's not getting to the wedding, seeing the cake and not being able to resist it. When I was on WW, certainly I had sweets and some indulgent food, but it was all very planned and calculated.

Right now I find myself veering from my goals because I'm not committed enough. And then when I'm tired or stressed or whatever, my willpower is gone and I say WTF! This is what I want to try to avoid!

[Tracieknits]

Sassy1 - I don't have a no-snacking rule or commitment, but I do have a commitment to myself I try to honor which is that I won't eat unless I'm actually hungry. Could that help you?

Thanks for the feedback, gals! I think my last challenge was to only eat when hungry, but obviously/ presumably I was not committed to that...

I have been reflecting on this issue over the past day, and trying to work out what I am able/ willing to commit to. And how to know that I am? Each challenge I have made myself I have thought I was committing to, and would be fine for a few days - and then I would lapse. Maybe that is due to lack of real commitment, but maybe there are other factors?? Our biology is pretty complex. Or is that just an excuse...?!

I can't think of any "new" challenges for me, so guess I will just stick to the usual ones and see if I can reframe my thinking so that I am actually committing to the challenge. So yes, it will be: No eating after dinner unless I am genuinely hungry. And two stars if I manage that for a week, none if I don't! And I would also like to have one light day a week - one star if I manage that.

We are going away on holiday in 2 weeks time, which will take me to the end (and past) of the challenge. But I still aim to commit to the first of my challenges.

Day 1 for me today - I certainly was not committed to nor achieving the challenge on the weekend...

Good luck "all"!

Hello, I am in this challenge. I weighed myself today and it was 66.3 kg and my long term goal is 58 kg. I hope to lose 2 kg in July.

I am a beginner here and have been learning this method for 4 weeks. I am so pleased with myself for starting and try to continue to myös goal.

Good to see you here, @orchid!

How are your nfds going? You mentioned elsewhere that you were finding those more challenging. What strategies are you using to help with those days?

PS. This might be a bit hypocritical of me, given my views on weighing, but I must admit I am curious how much weight you have lost since you started a month ago. I noticed that you started with.6 fast days in a row, and wondered what impact that had (I guess I should note that I think someone may have mentioned at the time that this website does not support more than 2 fast days in a row).

First day going okay, as you will see from my fasting today post.

I am really hoping that cblasz has found the key to meeting our challenges with the "commitment" concept.

Thanks everyone who has joined so far! I hope maybe we can get a few more.

I'm more than happy to work with your behavioral goals in addition to scale goals! But I think you will have to just let me know how many stars you earn each week!

@Sassy1 - how do you define light day? Is that 500 cals?

I've decided to modify my challenges to be 5 days of <= 100g carbs. I think that will be a reasonable way to deal with going out and stuff. I'm still going to try to make low carb choices those other 2 days, but I may not keep track of them and may be over the 100. But hopefully 5 days a week I can keep track and stay under!

My starting weight is 168.5 lbs. So I hope to be at least down to 163 by the end of this month!

I don't know how much I have lost since the beginning of June. However I now fit in my certain trousers better that I haven't been able to use for a year at least. I did all the measurements this morning and wrote them down.

I read a book of gut mikrobiom and I now try to add food that helps healthty bacteria to intcrease. Kefir, miso etc. and vegetables.

Nice way to start a challenge @cblasz with an interresting article. Many points I agree on, but some nuance would be in place. That will take some more time than I have at the moment, so I will come back on that point. Meanwhile, count me in for the challenge as that seems to be a nice way to get involved (I usually do not need a challenge to keep on track in maintenance). So my goal will be to maintain in the two weeks until the start of holiday and during holiday as well

Great @P-JK! So maybe we will give you one star each week you maintain!

Glad to have you join us!

Hi @cblasz, if I manage only 500 or so cal then that is a fast day, a light day is around 1000cal (as I think my TDEE is around 2000). Of late, I have found it very hard to keep my cals as low as 500, and so don't want to commit to that!!

Lovely to have P-JK join us!

@Orchid, you are doing well if in a month you can fit into trousers that weren't fitting you before. You must be pleased.