an interesting 2 years
Posted: 06 Mar 2015, 23:01
Well I just realised that 2 years have passed since I joined this website. I was one of the non obese but just into the overweight range. The trouble was 5 years earlier I was slim and each year another kg was going on. I knew the pattern well enough, having been there many times before. So for most of those 5 years I had tried to arrest the flow of weight and had failed. I was never a big eater, my problem was I liked carbs...well sweet things and liquid red carbs so whilst most of my eating was pretty healthy (I mean 1kg a year?! I can put that on in a week now), I was still slowly gaining. So my story is a bit different than a lot of people here, I didn't learn to eat better, I learnt I could eat worse and still lose weight but it HAD to be 3 fasts a week. I lost the 9kg (2 more than planned) pretty easily and wss suddenly the lightest in my adult life. Also unlike others I found if I skipped breakfast I was so hungry I'd eat any crap in sight, breakfast is really important for me because I make it at home = healthy and it keeps me going for hours. But when I was fasting I knew it had to be filling and low calorie. Because I don!t care about tradition, I ate home made vegie soup for breakfast, huge great bowl, about 70 cals. In fact I should go back to that. Anyway there I was below goal, people saying OMG you are SO skinny, 1 even told me it didn't suit me?? So I started to go up again, got fed up with deprivation and stopped fasting. Put 7kg of the 9kg back on! So then I got the wet fish out (I have 1 on hand at all times ) and went back to 3 days fasting. Didn't take long to drop the 7kg. So then it was time for a better shot at maintenance. I decided to try Krista Varady's version of maintenance 3 days of 1000 cals. This has been better for me, tho my weight bobs about, I'm not there yet mentally. I know that whilst I am finding my solution, I just need to ensure the weight stays low whilst I am experimenting. The wet fish is kept handy.
In conclusion I would say fasting gave me a big woohoo in the beginning, eat cakes, eat bread with butter!, drink wine, lose weight! I was in heaven, unfortunately it unleashed a beast and that beast needs to be restrained a bit...er a lot so whilst I AM slim, I have some way to go to taming the beast. I am exceedingly mindful of what needs doing and what keeps me from doing it. If I was rich I would have my personal vegetarian chef...I LOVE eating healthy food, just can't be bothered cooking it. With my changed circumstances (commuting 4 hours a day) in the last 2 years, I've been slack in that dept. There are other things that need reigning in, most of them due to feeling knackered and grabbing easy wrong food. But I will keep striving, I will watch and learn, I'll make changes until I've got things right. The bottom line is, if you are one of the unlucky ones that runs to fat, if you aren't vigilant, if you turn a blind eye, when you take the blinkers off, you've gained weight. It!s a pain, but I think when you don't stress, don't beat yourself up about it, approach it from a problem solving rather than emotional perspective, you CAN achieve your goals. I also think if you struggle to lose doing 2 fasts, bite the bullet and do 3. In many ways it is easier, you get into the rythm of fasts rather than the rythm of feeding. Personally I don't like slow, cos you feel like it's all effort and no result, but 3 days of 500 cals, you do lose quite quickly, I went nowhere with 2 fasts a week, so for anyone who thinks they need a boost I suggest 3 x 500 Cals.
In conclusion I would say fasting gave me a big woohoo in the beginning, eat cakes, eat bread with butter!, drink wine, lose weight! I was in heaven, unfortunately it unleashed a beast and that beast needs to be restrained a bit...er a lot so whilst I AM slim, I have some way to go to taming the beast. I am exceedingly mindful of what needs doing and what keeps me from doing it. If I was rich I would have my personal vegetarian chef...I LOVE eating healthy food, just can't be bothered cooking it. With my changed circumstances (commuting 4 hours a day) in the last 2 years, I've been slack in that dept. There are other things that need reigning in, most of them due to feeling knackered and grabbing easy wrong food. But I will keep striving, I will watch and learn, I'll make changes until I've got things right. The bottom line is, if you are one of the unlucky ones that runs to fat, if you aren't vigilant, if you turn a blind eye, when you take the blinkers off, you've gained weight. It!s a pain, but I think when you don't stress, don't beat yourself up about it, approach it from a problem solving rather than emotional perspective, you CAN achieve your goals. I also think if you struggle to lose doing 2 fasts, bite the bullet and do 3. In many ways it is easier, you get into the rythm of fasts rather than the rythm of feeding. Personally I don't like slow, cos you feel like it's all effort and no result, but 3 days of 500 cals, you do lose quite quickly, I went nowhere with 2 fasts a week, so for anyone who thinks they need a boost I suggest 3 x 500 Cals.