Hi All
Great Site!!
I'm Marlene, 57 years old, living in Brighton with my 21 year old son, James. I'm a retired psychologist and a writer.
I've been gaining weight since having thyroid disease 30 years ago when I had my thyroid gland removed. Since then, I've got fatter and sicker, having a hysterectomy, gall bladder removed and now chronic osteoarthritis in my knees which limits my mobility. My GP and NHS endocrinologist have offered me bariatric surgery and double knee replacement surgery. I am horrified by both prospects and determined to do everything in my power not to take those options. BUT I must address these metabolic problems that are causing me so much ill health, and try to slow down the ageing process.
I've read a great deal about Intermittent Fasting - long before the Horizon Programme brought it to the nation's attention. I have in fact fasted many times in the past - I undertook a supervised 10 day cleanse, followed by a 28 day juice fast as a way of trying to reverse the arthritis, but the results were disappointing. The first time I did IF was four years ago when I went to a Buddhist silent retreat where you were given a vegetarian based diet which consisted of breakfast at 6am followed by lunch at 1pm and then nothing whatsoever except water until 6am the following day. Food was considered to be a hindrance to clear thinking and deep meditation.
As usual, with all good intentions, I slipped and went back to my old eating habits and more weight piled on. So now here I am: I understand the principles of IF and I know how beneficial fasting is so I'm hoping I can stick with it this time - as each year passes I become more painfully aware that to do nothing, or continue as I am, will lead to further mobility problems and probably surgery, not to mention a host of other so-called 'age-related illnesses'.
It's good to be part of a group of like-minded people.
Great Site!!
I'm Marlene, 57 years old, living in Brighton with my 21 year old son, James. I'm a retired psychologist and a writer.
I've been gaining weight since having thyroid disease 30 years ago when I had my thyroid gland removed. Since then, I've got fatter and sicker, having a hysterectomy, gall bladder removed and now chronic osteoarthritis in my knees which limits my mobility. My GP and NHS endocrinologist have offered me bariatric surgery and double knee replacement surgery. I am horrified by both prospects and determined to do everything in my power not to take those options. BUT I must address these metabolic problems that are causing me so much ill health, and try to slow down the ageing process.
I've read a great deal about Intermittent Fasting - long before the Horizon Programme brought it to the nation's attention. I have in fact fasted many times in the past - I undertook a supervised 10 day cleanse, followed by a 28 day juice fast as a way of trying to reverse the arthritis, but the results were disappointing. The first time I did IF was four years ago when I went to a Buddhist silent retreat where you were given a vegetarian based diet which consisted of breakfast at 6am followed by lunch at 1pm and then nothing whatsoever except water until 6am the following day. Food was considered to be a hindrance to clear thinking and deep meditation.
As usual, with all good intentions, I slipped and went back to my old eating habits and more weight piled on. So now here I am: I understand the principles of IF and I know how beneficial fasting is so I'm hoping I can stick with it this time - as each year passes I become more painfully aware that to do nothing, or continue as I am, will lead to further mobility problems and probably surgery, not to mention a host of other so-called 'age-related illnesses'.
It's good to be part of a group of like-minded people.
