16/8 support group

[Klaudia14]

Anyone interested in joining me here? I posted this on an older thread so will just copy and paste my story below:

I'm on day 8 doing the 16/8. I'm loving it!! I'm against dieting as restrictions always lead me to binges and feeling rubbish. I haven't weighed myself in 5 years as I got rid of my scales due to a very unhealthy obsession with weighing myself. I am very interested in intuitive eating and have been trying to get in tune with my body but it's been hard and the lockdown has thrown me off guard and I was overeating, feeling bloated and fed up. I'm loving 16/8. My eating window is 11-7 and I find this fits well with my lifestyle. I'm surprised at how much energy I have in the morning. Even managing an hour long walk with the dog ...getting up at 7 as well with lots of energy. Feeling less bloated and just happier overall! I think this is really helping me be more intuitively about what I actually want! Having good, hearty food. Butter and cheese and full fat yoghurt! These foods were always a no no for me but I much prefer theses to fat free/low fat options. I feel satisfied after my meals too .
Oh and I can't do this without a bit of milk in my morning coffee ( freshly brewed filter) so haven't cut that out. And have had a cheeky glass of wine during my eating window ...🍷

Hi,

How is everyone getting on?

I've been quiet for a few days because I have been busy - I listened to the Gin Stephens podcast, then downloaded samples of some books about IF, got the Fastic App and ended up buying the Michael Moseley book 'Fast 800' - I'm finding it very interesting.

I've done 2 days of slightly longer fasting - 19:5 on Monday and 18:6 yesterday - feeling very pleased with myself.

I also now love black tea - I'm amazed!!
The fastic app is helping me to drink more water which is something I've always been terrible at - but it does really help during the fast period.

One thing that appears to have happened is I'm needing less sleep - hence my 2.30am post!

Has anyone else had this happen? Is it normal?

@JamieFrasersSassenach Thats great!

I hsd a bad day yesteday,pre period craving have got a hold on me and i have some crisps and chocolate during my eating window. Usually i can go without, its always the few days before my period that i turn into a sugar monster!

Ive not noticed i need less sleep but i am defo sleeping more solidly and it isnt taking me long to wake up in the morning. Usually id need to snooze 3 times then lie in bed for half an hour before actually getting up but now i'm happy to just get up

I'm sleeping very well and waking up pretty refreshed.

Am also definitely finding hunger pangs easier. Before, I would get quite panicky if I was hungry and eat immediately. I couldn't tolerate it at all. Hunger = Bad. Problem was, I was feeling hungry several times a day, I guess from sugar crashes or whatever. So was eating several times a day. And usually a sandwich or toast. We weren't talking a few berries!

Now I think "Oh I can wait till 11, it's not like I'm gonna die of hunger before then" and have a cup of tea to tide me over.

So it's definitely reframed my thinking.

Haven't weighed myself in a few days, but I suspect my dramatic weight loss has finally plateaued. I don't mind, slow and steady wins the race.

Hi Everyone, ive just started this week with this fasting schedule (it works for me as i dont usually eat breakfast but force myself to eat it!). Weighed Sunday at 16.9 stones and today im 16.5 stones. Id like to get to 11 stones roughly. I just feel so fat at the mo and wearing a size 18 (5.8ft tall). How are others getting on? Any tips for filling/heathy meals?

Apparently on Monday I had gained 5lbs in a week, which I knew couldn't be right. I think I was ovulating (does anyone else find this makes you bloat/retain water?) and I ate a lot of salty food at the weekend which probably added to the water retention. Been really strict the last 2 days with a 17-18 hour window and no more than 1500 cals in my window. Today I've lost 3 of the 5 water pounds, hopefully the other 2 plus an extra 1 will be gone by the weekend!

@Sissy31 some days you just have to go with your hormones and don't beat yourself up over it.

I'm still pretty much eating what I like in my eating window so chocolate/crisps happen if I feel like them - less than I was eating them though. I'm definitely eating less overall and bizarrely feel less hungry than I have in years. What you said @ElspethFlashman really resonated with me - it's like hunger pangs aren't an issue now because I know when I can eat and I am very happy to wait. I really do feel as though I have been 'set free'.

Welcome @Bumblepants - I've only been doing this for 10 days, my tips would be make sure you drink plenty of water - it does help with hunger in the early days. For the first couple of days I was still having milk in my tea during the fasting period, that helped ease me in. Then I swapped to black coffee, black tea and water in my fast. Now 10 days on I am loving black tea and I have that during my eating window too!! I never ever thought that would happen! The other thing that I have found helpful is to be just focusing on getting into fasting before I start to worry about calories or food groups - I know if I think I can't have something it will be all I'll want and then when I crack and have it I'll feel as though I've ruined everything - self sabotage at it's finest! Plus if you have a bad day just put it down to experience and carry on.

@MoonBabysMagicalKalimba I've always heard that it's best only to weigh yourself once a week, at the same time of day and on the same scales as weight can fluctuate throughout the day and during a week, but that over 7 days you'll see an accurate change in weight - I stopped weighing myself last year because it was having such a negative impact on my mental state.

Hi everyone I am 2 weeks in now and still doing well, finding it easy to do 16-18 hour fasts every day without any slip ups! I have reduced my calories massively as I'm just eating dinner plus snacks during my eating window (e.g. plain Greek yoghurt, fruit, boiled egg, chocolate and wine)

As I posted up thread I have been getting headaches every day though. I'm wondering now if it might be due to low sodium so I've decided to try having a glass of salt water during my fast to see if that helps.

Morning all! Uneventful few days here. Sticking to my fasts, but probably eating a bit too much in my window. Avoiding the scales 😳

Welcome to all the new faces & good luck.

@beautifulmonument I was reading somewhere about people vomiting after Salt water, so go easy! I just lick a pinch of salt of my hand. Not nice, but it does help if I feel a bit off during my last hours of fasting.

@JamieFrasersSassenach sounds like it’s going great for you. I really enjoy the podcast.
My sleep went a bit odd to start with, but had settled down and I’m sleeping really well. The baby is also sleeping through, which helps a lot!

I know exactly what you mean about being ok with hunger @ElspethFlashman. It’s amazing how we adapt.

@MoonBabysMagicalKalimba the scales are temperamental aren’t they. I think it’s better to try to get an average, rather than daily weighing.

Hope everyone has a good day. It’s proper wet and rainy here. Kids are already crawling the walls!

Weighed myself today, ive maintained the same weight for the last 2 weeks
Kind of dissappointing but i do feel alot better and i am hardly hungry at all before 2pm which is great.

I am counting calories but not being hung up on them.
Todays menu will be
Cup of tea with 1 sugar around 2/3pm (whenever i get hungry) to break the fast.
Carrot sticks, cherry tomatos and cucumber to snack on till dinner if i need it.
1 Homemade burger with cheese ketchup and bun and half a plate of mixed veg
Then apple grapes and a peach just before 7pm.
Closing eating window at 7pm which will altogether be 1018 calories

oh and i'm drinking 2.5 litres of water during the day!

Hello all. Weighed today and have dropped a lb, so 5lb loss overall since starting just under 3 weeks ago. I’ve also been taking pictures of myself and the difference between 2 weeks ago and now is amazing - my love handles have disappeared!

Had a lovely brunch to break my fast today - sourdough toast spread with mashed avocado and topped with a poached egg 😋

I shall have a gin or two this evening to celebrate!

Don’t worry too much about the scales @Sissy31. They will get there.
Your food sounds lovely.

Well done on your loss @CaveMum! I’ve avoided the scales for a week. Think I’ll leave it till Monday now. I don’t feel like they will have moved to be honest.
Your brunch sounds delicious. I had sourdough with some gorgeous tomatoes, mozzarella and avocado today. Yum!

Hope everyone else is ok? The rain has finally stopped here, so I’m off out for a walk. I’ve missed them since the weather turned.

Hi everyone, had a busy week or two here. Partner has been furloughed for the past fortnight so we’ve been getting a lot of DIY done - long, tiring days.

We haven’t eaten particularly healthily because we haven’t had time to cook, but we’ve stuck to the fasting windows (often doing 18 hours) even if we’ve had fish finger sandwiches for dinner some days.

I think I’m about half an inch slimmer in general, though I do get water retention when I do a lot of gardening etc.

We’re going to take a few days off work before his furlough ends on Thursday, so we’ll probably be drinking most days and cooking nice meals, but we’ll stick to the fasting nonetheless.

Scales haven't budged any more and I've had a shit week at work (I'm a nurse so every week is a shit week since March tbh) so I had wine and crisps last night.

To add to the wine and crisps on Wednesday night.

So whilst I've been following my fasting windows the rest of th time, I definitely can't do that and expect to lose weight.

I'm going to try to be a bit more disciplined next week and ditch the crisps. DH has an awful habit of buying multipacks because the packets are much smaller so in his head they basically hardly count. So there are always these wee bags of crisps in the house! Not good.

Hi, just checking back in. Thanks for your advice this week lovelies! Ive just weighed myself today and im showing as 16.2 so thats 7lbs lost this week. Ive been weighing myself every other day and did put on a pound mid week but im happy with that for my first week!!

I must admit, ive followed this loosely and havent 100% eaten healthy. There have been too many snacks (even two ring doughnuts yesterday 😫) and not enough water (one glass a day but mostly tea/coffee). Ive not even exercised either but maybe its because ive got more to lose its the initial honeymoon period and it will level off 🤷‍♀️

So far, seems to be working so im happy with that.

Well done @Bumblepants - great motivation for you to keep going.

@ElspethFlashman - it sounds like you are doing brilliantly in tough circumstances. I don't know how you do it, wine and crisps sounds great to me!

I am still quietly amazed that I am sticking to the fasting - last night I had a few drinks and it was nearly midnight before my fast started. That meant fasting until nearly 4pm today - I was convinced I wouldn't be able to do it and had decided to do 14:8 just for today - and then went until ten past 4 before I broke the fast.

I know I haven't lost any 'size' - I can't say weight because I don't weigh myself. But I am so happy to be able to stick to this way of eating. I am thinking about changes I can make to what/how much I eat and also to increasing exercise without jeopardising the fasting.

I'm also back to work (very part time) from this week so I think that will help as I'll be very busy on the days I am at work and a bit more active on those days.

Has anyone tried a keto style way of eating with fasting? I've seen a few things about it that are interesting

Hi all, hoping I can join for some motivation.
I'm trying to shed lockdown pounds and the bit extra I already had before that.
Have read Gin Stephens and Jason Fung.
I've lost just under 3kgs in the first three weeks (but I know a good chunk of that will be water weight).
I'm mostly doing 18:6 but also doing 2 days 21:3 just before the weekend and then more like 14:10 on Saturday and Sunday so I can eat with the kids.
Hoping to drop another 10 kilos so in it for the longer term I guess.

Welcome Lockdown and well done on your loss so far. I think having a group like this really helps keep us accountable!

I’ve dropped another lb this morning so up to 6lbs loss in just over 3 weeks so far! Aiming for another 10lbs to get myself back in my comfy zone!

I was discussing this on another thread, but does anyone remember watching a programme on Channel 4 a few years ago called “The Truth About Slim People” where they looked at the eating habits of two slim people, the woman was essentially practising Fasting without realising it - skipping breakfast and not snacking in the evenings.

I found this article which went over some of the findings but I imagine the programme may be up on All4 as they seem to be putting loads of old programmes up at the moment!
www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/4849997/how-people-keep-thin-with-unhealthy-diets/

Welcome @Lockdownlumpy
Well done on your weight loss so far!

Ive been MIA the past few days and i have been in bed with a severe migraine for the past 2 days (severe enough yo have burst a blood vessel in my face!)
Exercise has been none existant, barely eating (which is a good thing!) But taking painkillers every 4 hours so technically not clean fasting but the pain has been unbareable.
Starting to come out the other side today (ie ive made it to the sofa!) Hoping 1 more day of painkillers and rest and ill be back to normal tomorrow!

@Cavemum Yes i remember this! Also do you remember Supersize vs Superskinny?
That was similar and the skinny people basically had 1 meal a day, though usually an unhealthy one!

Oh Sissy that sounds horrible, glad you are steadily on the mend.

Yes I remember Supersize v Superskinny, though they do always seem to pick the most stubborn/obnoxious types for that sort of show!

I'm on 15:15 of my fast, aiming for 18hours today but I'm struggling this morning because I'm home schooling and quite frankly this mornings english task is making me want to crack open the gin.
(not having a go at teachers - I am one - it's more to with how my child is approaching the work )

However, I am proud of myself, last night I closed my window at 7pm as soon as we'd finished dinner despite having a tub of ben and jerrys calling and a box of Hotel Chocolat calling me. But actually I think appetite correction is coming into play, as I am getting full really quickly at dinnertime.

Sissy be careful taking painkillers on an empty stomach, some (particularly ibuprofen I think) can irritate the stomach and lead to ulcers.
Hope you're feeling back to normal soon.

Thanks @lockdownlumpy, i dont suffer with a sensitive stomach but my Dr has gicen me Tramadol and another pill to take with them to protect my stomach just in case

Just checking back in. Clearly got ahead of myself and ate too much at the weekend as i put on 4lbs! So went from 16.2 to 16.6 yesterday 😫 Weighed today and im 16.5, so 4 down so far. Im determined to do this 1lb at a time 💪

Hello! Been rubbish at keeping up. I’ve not had the best few days with eating. Mostly Stuck to my window though and haven’t put any weight on. Amazing, considering I’ve consumed the majority of the millionaires shortbreads I made for dh on Father’s Day 🙊
I’ve been feeling generally a bit fed up. I think lockdown finally got to me. I’ve now arranged to do some kit days at work (still on mat leave) and feel much better for the prospect of some time out of the house.

Back on track today. Opened my window at 12 with an egg, mushroom and emmental wrap. Sausages on the meal plan for tonight.

Love reading all your updates.