The FastDay Forum

Hi All, I thought I'd get started with the weekly challenge thread....

Well, the last few weeks have been especially challenging for me outside of fasting....But the fasting itself has given me a sense of control where I don't feel it at elsewhere (work).

I've gone up in weight even though I've been doing dinner to dinner fasting windows 4 times a week.
The reason is: overeating and eating lots of comfort foods.

So this week I challenge myself to go clean on the 5 work days, and hold off any overeating or comfort foods for the weekend.

Tough challenge given my current environment, but I think I'll reap the rewards

Good luck all with your challenges this week!!

@Wakki22 - that sounds like a good plan. I'm kind of aiming to do the same thing.

I gained weight this week, which is not terribly surprising, seeing as I didn't do very well with my eating last week. Too many sweets, etc. I have only lost 5.6 lbs. since September!!!

My birthday is coming up and I have a few dinners and such planned, but that doesn't mean I have to celebrate on the other days! So I'm going to stick with my challenges this week and try to be super good the next 5 days. Then I will splurge a bit on the weekend. I am also going to start being more mindful of the carbs I eat and try to reduce them.

Have a good week everyone!

[Tracieknits]

I think you both have great plans, @Cblasz and @Wakki22

I hope you have a very happy birthday celebration, @Cblasz! And I hope your work calms down and gets less stressful @Wakki22


last week I may have loosened up a bit too much. Hubby was finally home after three back to back business trips. He came home sick from the last one and then I succumbed for a bit as well. I didn't track a bite all week for weight watchers (although my weight remained steady).

But I'm back on the horse today and determined to behave. That, and we leave for Paris again in just under 4 weeks

Good luck and best wishes to all weekly challengers!

It seems that life often conspires against us when we are trying to stick to a particular resolution. It could be useful to think about why this is the case. Reasons may vary across individuals, but if we can gain insight into this, maybe we can find other strategies to employ that will help us stick to our plans.

Is it because we really aren't committed (and why is that)? Is it not the right time? Are we asking too much of ourselves? Is it realistic? And so on. And we also know there are physiological reactions that don't help when it comes to eating - eg it can be hard to stop at one chocolate / biscuit /etc without having a strategy ready to deal with this.

I know I have said this sort of thing before - I feel we need to get a better understanding of our behaviour (such as what we eat and when) in order for us to find long term solutions to changing this behaviour (if that is what we want to do).

Anyway, enough of the (pop) psychology!

Wishing you all a successful week.

To be honest, for me it's that I'm working 2 jobs, trying to maintain my house, have a bit of a social life and be there for my family. I'm often tired and just don't have the energy or willpower to stick to my eating plan. It takes a lot of time and energy and planning to eat right and exercise.

I do think psychology plays into it a bit, as many of us probably eat emotionally (for stress, boredom, loneliness, etc.) and also biology is a big part. Our bodies crave certain things and also is resistant to losing weight.

So I don't really want to analyze why I do/don't do things. I just want to keep working at it, setting small goals and hoping those will help me reach my bigger goals!

I do understand @cblasz, both all the "demands" on your life and your wish not to analyse things and just try various strategies. And if that is working for you (ie you are happy with that) fine! For some, finding the right strategy (which may be a particular way of eating) is sufficient in order to make the behaviour change and then achieve the results that are wanted. I just wonder if for those who continually struggle with longer term success, that some reflection might be useful. That's all!

[Tracieknits]

It *is* work, and it *is* exhausting sometimes. It's so much easier to not think about what we are going to eat, and to eat what's most convenient -- that usually happens to be food with a terrible nutritional profile!!! Even if you were to stop in McD's and get a salad, I'm sure the nutritional analysis would make you quite sad. Salads in a restaurant can easily top 1000 calories, and are often full of sugar (sugared cranberries, sugared nuts, sugary dressing, honey cured meats, etc etc).

Sometimes, life is simply stressful and it doesn't mean that psychologically we don't want to lose weight. it means life is stressful and we have a lot on our metaphorical plate. And sadly, carbs make us feel better. They release serotonin in the brain.

I just learned that my thyroid levels are low again. That makes me sluggish, cold, and less likely to exercise. So I have to muster double the willpower to get out there and walk.

And as Dr. Amanda Sainsbury Salis has pointed out (as well as @cblasz) our bodies are engineered to not lose weight easily as protection from famine. So sometimes, dieting is just a lot harder than other times, even with all else being equal.

We gotta just keep on keeping on! No shame in having a less than ideal week. We just pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try again with another light day. Speaking of which, I need to get my broccoli and cod into the oven to roast for my light day dinner

@Sassy1 I had a think and did an analysis on self after your post - and I realised that I'm not ready to commit to clean eating at the moment.
Given the current environment I'm in, I'm not prepared to drop the overeating or the "unclean" eating.

So, for now I'll stick to my 5 work day fasting windows - dinner to dinner
(if someone can please give me a better name for this WOE I'd appreciate it)

I'm not going to stress about my weight - I have lost the 3-4 kg I put on last December - So I'll celebrate my win and just maintain for now.

When my work situation settles, I'll consider what to do about the 5 more kg's I would like to lose

I think it is just an eating window, wakki. How long is your window? I still feel like that is a bit too restrictive, but if it works for you then great!

@cblasz Funny - I hadn't counted how many hours it is!! Its around 17 hours fasting and 7 hours eating. I should look at some "Eating Window" threads and see how long others go for.

Oh, that's actually quite normal. I thought you were doing just a couple of hours. The minimum eating window is 16:8, but 17:7 is great. I do about 16:8 most of the time. I'd like to shorten it, but it just doesn't work with my schedule as a teacher. I am limited to when I can eat!! I might try to do it in the summer!

There is a whole eating window thread though, you should check out. I've posted on it a bit, if you want to search my past posts!

How is everyone doing? I'm doing so-so I guess. I was doing pretty good, but I had a crappy day yesterday and ended up going out after work for dinner and a beer with a coworker. It did cheer me up a bit! And I am proud to say that I didn't resort to a pint of ice cream or anything afterwards. But the scale hasn't budged.