Help! I’m a big fat mess!

[mofro]

I’ve spent last 2 nights reading through most of the threads on here after watching Michael moseleys - lose a stone in 3 weeks

I’ve got about 4 or 5 to lose.

DH kindly took the most unflattering photo in the world of me - and I’m a total fat mess in it.
I have about 3 bellies and at least 2 chins.

It was just the kick up the fat bum I needed to take action.

So I’ve started Fasting since yesterday snd did 16/8.

I’ve been trying to do 10k steps daily for the last week and am getting there!

I’m 45 years old, 5”5 and around 15 stone.

I will weigh and measure myself today

I’ve set myself a goal to lose 33lbs by 31 December.

What would people suggest is the best type of fasting to do?

There’s 16/8, 5:2 or the BSD 800 calories a day which he covered on the programme- that seems to give most rapid weight loss.

Should I be doing that or do 16/8 to get started?

Any advice from experienced fasters gratefully received 😊

I lost a stone in 3 weeks doing fast 800 but only lost about 3lbs in the following 6 weeks but that’s ok. I’m trying a bit harder this week but just glad I haven’t put it all back on. 33lbs is a lot in 10 weeks. Much of it will be water and muscle mass so I think you’d be better off losing less and building up muscle (not body building just not your body eating itself). I was a stone lighter than you to start and am now 12.7 (ish) and the same height and similar age. I want this off for life so happy to wait a bit longer. I do zoom pt twice a week (pm me if you want details) and started couch to 5k.

Since fast 800 I’ve been trying to stick to 1800 calories a day across the week (more manageable for me as I like wine) and just reducing that to 1600 now. I tend to eat lunch and dinner and don’t worry about fasting time too much but sometimes have breakfast if I feel I need it (full fat Greek yog, pomegranate seeds and a few bran flakes).

Nothing constructive to here except bloody well done to you. I dint know you, but what you say makes me feel both proud Of you and inspired By what you have said.
The honesty and the humour is wonderfully refreshing.
Good luck, by the sounds of it, you will definitely get to the 33lbs by Christmas.

Pm me if you want me to shout at you to step away from the cake.

Thanks @superram
I did think the goal was ambitious but wanted to push myself and tbh will be happy right now if I lose half of that! There’s 66 days left of the years so I just halved the number to come up with my goal 🤪

@Pickypolly thank you so much for your kind words ❤️ Hubby kindly made be a lovely breakfast this morning which I said no to and had a black coffee instead.
I’ll be having a brunch at 12pm ish with omelette, mushrooms, spinach and smoked salmon so that’ll keep me going!

I think I’m mixing up 16/8 with the 800 Cals but don’t think that’ll be a bad thing?

I know I eat too much so even if I eat the 800 cal recipes in slightly larger portions, that’ll be better and healthier that what I was eating a few days ago...right?

I’ve also created a photo collage ok my phone of current ‘big fat mess me’ and the ‘gorgeous me I used to be’ for my inspiration on my journey to getting fit and losing the fat through fasting...

Slow and steady and changing habits is the way to go.

1lb a week is 4 stone in a year
and if you do it in a way that your brain and body ENJOY the new way of eating
you'll only have to do it once.

Make sure that you are getting as much exercise as you can
even if that is just standing up as much as possible
and standing on one leg while brushing your teeth or doing the washing up

(just remember to NEVER "eat back" exercise calories)

Remember that 5:2 is not a diet its a way of eating
You'll do brilliantly.

Hello @mofro. I know exactly where you are coming from and like you, a lot of people will be feeling the same.
I agree 100% with @ListeningQuietly that slow and steady will win the race.
I have learned from doing this that measurements are a must. As much as you should weigh yourself, there will be days where your weight has not changed much (or at all) and your measurements will be going down.
Best of luck whatever Fast you decide to do. It defo gets easier and does become a WOL rather than a “diet” 🙂

Thanks @ListeningQuietly and @S0RCHA

Definitely looking at this long term, and can see its very doable based just on today.
Had an honest convo with DH today about my weight and how I look and it just reinforced that I have all the love and support and resources to do this - I just need to get on with it and do the doing :)

We went for an hours walk together and then my son went out for a walk so I tagged along - just over 12k steps today - Yaay!

So we’re already working on adding in good habits.

I just want to be able to actually stick to something and get great results for the long term

Thank you for your comments and advice! .

I'm doing 5 2 and have lost about half a stone in 6 weeks. I've not been particularly strict on non fast days and have had meals out and some glasses of wine. I have tried to eliminate snacking and mindlessly eating crisps and have been doing HIIT and strength training classes 3-4 times a week but was doing them before and not losing weight.

The only tip I have is to make your goal about sticking to your diet rather than about how much you are going to lose.

My tip is to remember that insulin is the fat storage hormone, keeping insulin levels low will mean you burn fat, high insulin means you store fat. You cannot burn fat when insulin is high.

Sugar and processed carbs give the biggest insulin increase, they also trigger hunger as your blood sugar comes back down, So reduce how often you eat sugar/carbs, avoid carbs in snacks, and if you are eating carbs reduce your insulin spike by diluting the carbs with healthy fats (butter, cheese, animal fats, cream etc) and break your fast with something fatty rather than something high in carbs.

@RishiMcRichface
Thank you 😊 tbh I’m not that fussed About the actual number on the scales. I thought I did try having a number that would help me to have a focus and I’ve got something concrete to aim to. Really my main aim is to lose some weight at the same time to get fitter and more energetic as well. So hopefully it’s all a win-win !

@CrunchyNutNC thanks for the advice.

I’m still trying to Get my head round it all to understand and that really helps.
I am try my best to cut out as much junk and processed food as possible, just tried to change eating habits so the more healthy. I love my chocolate and biscuits, so that’s the biggest challenge, although I’d cut down and had no chocolate for the last 12 weeks!

What kind of things would you recommend breaking the fast with then?
?
And if I’m trying the 16:8 method at the moment should I be doing that every single day or a few times a week?

You'd do 16:8 every day, it's a way of life. My fridge always has double cream, couple of types of cheese, chorizo, bacon, butter, and have roasted nuts, nut butters etc in the cupboard. Breaking fast with a small handful of nuts is good, a slice of toast is bad on it's own (but ok with plenty of fat e.g. cheese on it). I like to eat a bit of cheese whilst cooking, it satisfies my need to nibble whilst not putting carbs into an empty stomach.

Lunch today was a very small baked potato with butter and cheese, and some salad - lots of cheese. It was very filling! No snacks needed, then dinner was steak, cauliflower cheese, broccoli and literally a few chips - again very filling and no desire to snack on toast before bed!

I make a carb free fudge and keep in the freezer - 100g almond butter, 50g very dark (70%+) chocolate, 50g butter and erithrotol sweetener to taste. Melt butter and choc, beat in almond butter and sweetener, freeze in a tray and slice into little squares. It satisfies the need for chocolate/a sweet thing and because it's high in fat (and no sugar/very low carb) it doesn't raise your blood sugar or give you the sugar crash afterwards. Delicious!

@CrunchyNutNC omg that fudge sounds amazing!
Thank you, I’ve found it ok so far touch wood!
TOTM started today so I’m normally a chocolate monster but head is in the game right now so will make the most of it.

Had boiled egg and fruit and broke fast at 11.30am today- got my timing wrong so was half an hour early :(

I think I’m getting confused and trying to do Fast 800 meals while doing 16:8, while you’re doing low carb and high fat.

I’ll try that for rest of the week and see how I go- thank you!