The FastDay Forum

BTW @wakki22 - do they have Spanx where you are? That might just do the trick for getting you into that dress for the day!

Hello, everyone!. I've been rather busy this week and not had time to visit with you. Mid-week the scales were showing a loss of another pound but on the evening of my Thursday fast day my son came home with fish and chips for us and I just had to eat them! Well, it would have been rude not to! I tried to limit the damage by leaving most of the batter and only eating some of the chips but it was still a rather hefty helping of carbs and fat!

To further compound this gluttony - yesterday my husband and I had to pop out for something at lunchtime and he suggested that we should eat in a new place that recently opened in the town. I ended up with the greasiest (and very delicious!) burger and fries! I munched my way through the whole thing, including the fried onion rings, bacon and cheese, although I couldn't manage all the fries! He then had pancakes and I managed to eat one of those! To be fair, I then ate nothing all day except a very small tub of ice cream at the theatre in the evening but the scales this morning were showing exactly the same weight as at last week's weigh-in!

So, today, I have eaten nothing all day - except two apricots and the melted top off the small tub of salted caramel ice cream, which I bought when I went to the supermarket to buy lettuce! After I had eaten it I looked at the calories on the tub and, if I eat the whole tub, that will be 1200 calories!!!!!! How do you rate the chance of me losing any weight before tomorrow morning? I would have to say - very slim!

Looking on the bright side, I suppose that these splurges came on days when the rest of my food consumption for those days was low so, as damage limitation, it's not too bad. In addition, I did manage to enjoy what I was eating and not carry on with the splurging afterwards. I am not beating myself up about it but I do think that after three and a half years of maintaining, I should have done better!

I hope that you are all doing better than me. Have a good weekend! Onwards and downwards!

I see so many similarities @StowgateResident. There are temptations everywhere. In the early days of 5:2 I was much stronger in saying no to fish and chips or declining to have chips with my burgers but now I have them and skip other meals, not necessarily getting all the good nutrition I need. I made chocolate brownies yesterday and ate some with a big bowl of salted caramel ice cream last night, knowing that my fast on Monday is simply necessary to undo the weekend weight gain, not always being enough. Sigh.

Well, it is Sunday, which means weigh-in day for me, so here goes. (Fanfare for a big announcement)This week I have lost 0.5 of a pound! This magnificent amount added to my previous week's losses means that, since the start of the challenge, I have lost a total of 5.7 pounds and now weigh 150.3 pounds. Not quite another star for me yet, @cblasz, but slowly, very slowly, getting closer to my goal!

I go away two weeks today, so not much chance of hitting my target before then. In fact, i suspect that by the time I return I will be back to square one! Then it is only four weeks until we are away for a month in Canada, but including a week's cruise in Alaska! I shall be the size of a house before mid August when we return! Oh well, I will have to deal with that when it comes to it!

You are quite right, @Wmr309, about temptations everywhere! Usually, when my head is in the right place, I just go with it and then the fasting sorts it out but, during my last absence from the forum, I was just eating ridiculous amounts of rubbish! I have a feeling that the beta blockers I was prescribed in late December affected my eating by slowing my heart rate down so much and therefore making me so tired that all I felt like doing was dozing and eating! However, now I have the cardiac pacemaker, I am back to my old self and the fasting is fine. Resisting temptations is always going to be a problem but I usually give in (when in Maintenance mode) and then deal with it by a fast or two. I just love 5:2 and bless the day that I discovered it!

Hope you other Solstice challengers are doing better than me! It's gone very quiet in here, which usually means that something is going on with your eating that you are not happy about. Take it from me, that is the very time that you need to get back on the forum. Onwards and downwards!

Too right!! @StowgateResident - I've been bad this weekend. And at the rate I'm currently eating there is no way in the world I'll loose the 3 kg (6lb) I want loose by 25th June..
I had a family lunch today, and my mum noticed I'd lost weight - which is very reassuring given that my weight hasn't changed and my measurements haven't either, but I swear my body does look leaner. I just don't get it.

@cblasz Yeah, we have spanxs here - looks like I'll have to get some.

Tomorrow's fast is definitely necessary following one very atrocious eating weekend for me. I really need to step it up if I want to get comfortably into that dress. 4 weeks to go.

Congrats @StowgateResident - I think you are making great progress!

Unfortunately, there are a lot of temptations, because unlike smoking or drugs or something like that, food is a way of life and a way of celebrating, mourning, socializing, rewarding, thanking, etc. So I think it's really about finding a way to be healthy and still enjoy life! I think sometimes we can get carried away with trying to lose every last pound.

For example, @wakki22 - I think if you are that close to fitting into a size 6 dress, you are doing just fine. I'd be happy to get into a 10!

Yesterday on NPR (I imagine this is just in the U.S. ) it was a great program about people "coming out" as fat. Basically accepting that they are fat and probably always will be and trying to find a way to accept that and have the people around them accept that, too. You might be able to hear it or read the transcript here!
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio- ... -me-im-fat

I'm trying to find habits I can live with. I know there are some bad habits I have that are just unnecessary and I should be able to live without. But I know there are some things I can't live without but can try to only have in moderation. And then if I can get in enough exercise and water, maybe my body will at least get down to a weight I can be happy at and maintain!

I went for a good 5 mile walk today with my friend, but I also ate some unnecessary sugary stuff! Work in progress! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Hello everyone! I had a relatively busy week last week (for me) and didn't make time to post, or even read posts at times. I have caught up now.

Despite mixed results, there still seems to be a lot of positivity around the challenge, so that's great!

On the weekdays last week I was generally able to eat according to hunger, so managed the evening eating okay, but not so on my weekend away - as expected. As I have reported before, if I can't have my normal diet which is very high in veggies, I find it impossible to limit my eating, as nothing else fills me. I know that fats and protein are alternatives, but very few pure sources of those were available either. I did try to limit the processed carbs, but by the time I got to the evening the carb munchies took over.

I think I am coming to recognise that another challenge for me is to be able to accept that there will be days when I overindulge, and don't let it upset me, or beat myself up about it, or say I have been bad, or naughty or whatever - just resume normal eating. People who don't have weight management issues do that. Which means that unless I feel like fasting (ie I am not hungry), that should not be the response to overindulging,

I agree with the ideas in cblasz's post. We need to be able to accept and love our bodies and ourselves as we are. That doesn't mean we can't try to change behaviours we aren't happy with or know aren't good for us. But we do need to be comfortable with our new behaviours for them to be sustainable.

NB By the way cblasz, Australian size 6 is US size 2!!!!

OH!!!!!!! Well, then...yeah, I definitely think you should be happy @wakki22!!!

@cblasz & @Sassy1 I agree I need to accept myself more, and I guess in the same way, respect my body, which I don't do so well... eg going through 2 bottles of red over the weekend. It cant be good. I'd like to find respect somewhere where I don't stuff myself silly with junk food.

I know I don't have that much to lose in terms of weight, but I feel it's still a valid challenge for me. Everyone has their own challenges/demons/desires.

@cblasz we do have NPR streamed here but it's not ongoing on the radio channels ( They have an "NPR Segment").

Sounds like a good program about self acceptance. I know the media and basically the world say we have to look like the top 1% of beautiful people in the world that grace all the magazines. It feels like I've had a lifetime of this brainwashing and now just trying to accept self in whatever form it takes.

Another long post of my was lost as I was logged out again I was making the commitment not to eat past 7:30pm this week, or at least not until Friday night, no sugar-laden products at all this week, three alcohol-free days this week (incl two fasting days). My cupboards are full as I enjoy food shopping and spontaneous baking and I can't throw anything out. Fingers crossed I stay strong this week.

Well, I'm down about 1/2 pound this week, but still not back to where I was a couple of weeks. I've only lost 3 lbs. on the challenge so far. With 3 weeks left, maybe I can lose 3 more. I have 23 lbs. to lose in order to have a healthy BMI.

I'm going to my brother's for a picnic today, so today will probably not be stellar and we have a retirement party on Weds. night this week. I will have to try to not overdo it at both and be really good the other days.

I also have to work on not having so many sweets on the weekend and I still need to work on drinking more water. Do you guys find that drinking water helps with weight loss?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Hi everyone. Weigh in day for the challenge saw 103.1kg (227.3lbs) this morning. I am back at the gym thanks to all the support here and walked a 10km (6mi) walk on the weekend. I have been invited on a 32km (20mi) walk next weekend. I did it four years ago but doubt I can do it now. I am still going to try. Maybe I can get halfway.
I use a size 6 dress as a dinner napkin by the way... But I realise everyone's struggle is their own. Nearly in the final month. Yay!

@Fat_Teacher -ha ha ha ha! That made me smile. Good to keep it light - all this weight loss talk can get quite miserable sometimes.
Well done on going back to the gym!

Hi pals! Playing catch up.........
Some good philosophical stuff to read here as well as our ups n downs as we journey thru this Challenge
thanks @cblaszfor yr thoughts x and @sassy1 x
@stowgateresidentwell done on yr loss! The day you went a bit overboard,well they happen,and like blsz and sass were saying,we just have to accept it can happen, and focus on the better days...we will never be perfect,we are only hoomin!
I weigh the same as you now Stowy...150 lbs..in total have now lost 8lbs on this challenge and lost 98lbs in total ...could still afford to lose a stone or more at least.
With BSD rather than 5:2 tho,it really works longterm for me.

@wakki22 thats fab you can get the zip up now on yr dress...that must feel magical!
@maryanni always found it hard on non fast days..i wish i knew the answer coz i really believe fast days are good for us,but the relief of nonfast days so often leads to overeating!
@tracieknits i hope levothyroxin helps...but dont forget,71.8 lbs and 12 points down on BMI is such good going!
@fat_teacher well done on gym and weight loss!
@wmr309 you can do it in time for yr sisters visit! Tho am sure you'll both have a wonderful time anyhoo x
Keep going everyone xx

Thank you @CandiceMarie

I'm fasting today.... and I'm struggling. But it's not with the fasting itself. Its when the "fasting time" is over when I get home that I'm struggling to keep to the 500 cals and on the non fast days I can't keep it below 1500 cals. Its like a flood gate of over eating and rummaging through the pantry to find comfort foods.

Argh.

Tonight I think I'll try change my schedule. See how that works.... have a shower early, eat dinner earlier and maybe try some meditation.

I was thinking of picking up a hobby like knitting. A knitted scarf right now would come in really handy since it's so cold in Sydney.