The FastDay Forum

Wow, @BeautyNovice, those exercises and your loss of weight are really making a difference! Well done to you!

Thanks, @StowgateResident! I've got a long way to go, but I'm quite pleased with my progress so far. IF has made a huge difference!!

Sunday weigh in (using Saturday's weight): 171.6 pounds, up 1 pound this week.

It's been a rough week. Monday was a holiday, I was home all day and overate quite a bit. Tuesday I came down with a chest cold . I've suffered with this painful chest cold all week, which means I've been home from work with increased access to food. I fasted successfully on my fast days, but on my feed days, I mostly overate.

When I started this journey toward better health a couple months ago, I would have been devastated by a 1 pound gain. But the combination of establishing a workout habit where I'm seeing real progression in my conditioning, and having found this way of eating where I have so much flexibility and can stay on track so easily, I have confidence in my program. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel . Weight loss no longer feels like a mystical journey where real progress is just beyond arms' reach. While I have a good long way to go (another 35ish pounds), it feels practical and attainable for the first time in a long time. Seeing the inches lost, reclaiming old clothes I'd outgrown, trying on clothes I've not yet reclaimed, I can see new milestones in my immediate future. It doesn't seem all that far away, if I just keep doing what I'm doing.

Having been sick all week, I found myself the most sedentary I've been in the past two months. And while my chest has been burning most of the week, I had the experience of being excited to work out , in spite of my discomfort. That's like an alternate universe for me . I'm increasing my cardio workouts right now because I entered a challenge called DietBet. If I lose 4% of my body weight in a month, I split the pot with all the other players who lost 4% of their body weight. My strategy has been to increase my daily calorie burn so that I stay on pace. This was the first week, and I gained a pound , but I'm hoping to make it up in the final three weeks . After that three weeks, I'll be incorporating workouts that are a little more challenging for me, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I started with workouts that I find really fun because I've dreaded challenging myself during my workouts. Now I'm looking forward to that challenge .

I couldn't be more pleased with my progress at this point , even with a 1 pound gain this week. Until now while enjoying this intermittent fasting lifestyle, I've really indulged in foods I've missed during my previous diets. I feel like I'm now ready to pivot toward food choices that are really going to make my body feel good. And I'm looking to find ways to incorporate more home-cooked meals with my busy schedule.

So that's where I am this week. Really hoping to be restored to health soon . In the meantime, I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing.