My 16/8 / 18/6 fasting 80 pounds to lose journey

[TarasChoc]

I've just started this Woe last Monday and I'm very happy with how much more naturally this comes to me than anything else I've tried. I fell into it accidentally after starting The fast 800 a few weeks ago. I had a few things on and found the low carb and calories aspect hard to stick to but realised I was still in a decent deficit, eating less sugar and doing a 16/8 without finding it all too hard. I've now fallen into 18/6.
I am tracking calories, I'm only eating two meals and the occasional snack so I don't find calorie tracking hard.

I'm looking at losing 70 pounds so I'll be in this for the long haul. I'm currently doing a lot of research listening to Gin Stephen's podcast and reading Delay, don't Deny , The Obesity Code and Fast, Feast Repeat.
I've been weighing everyday to track the trends but my official weighin day will be Monday.

Meant more in control of my eating!

@sheepdreams , that sounds fair enough regarding the weighing. I was never really a fan of scales and up until recently, never even owned any. I, too, prefer to go off how I feel. That's what it's all about anyway, really. Feeling 'right' - lighter, healthier, happier and yes, in control.
I try to not have too many diet drinks ; I'm also quite partial to sparkling water with lemon or lime. Or sparkling water and a dash of cordial. I quite like fruit teas. If I remember, I make a couple of mugs in the morning when I'm having a cup of tea, then when cooled, I pour in a glass with ice. That works.

I love how different things work for us all and enjoy reading all your ways of working this.
I also used to love (was pretty addicted to) Diet Coke but weaned myself off it last year. I still need the bubbles though so I drink a lot of fizzy water. For me (and I know this isn't the same for everyone) the Diet Coke triggered my need for something else sweet and I always ended up eating something I hadn't planned to which could easily become a binge of sweet stuff. I still have a huge sweet tooth but it's more easily controlled without the sweet drinks.

Morning all posting for accountability.

Managed to fast yesterday but had poor nights sleep on Friday night so craved carbs terribly yesterday. Thankfully still managed to keep calories to 1400 but carbs higher than I would have liked and not all healthy! Slept much better last night so fingers crossed today will be easier!

Food

Br 0
Lunch homemade chicken and veg soup with chicken sandwich on seeded bread

chocolate digestive

2 poached eggs and seasoned curly fries I so needed these carbs!

strawberries

Glass red wine

water intake and steps (4800) poor!

Hopefully today will be better. Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday.

Morning, @sheepdreams , it's hard to limit those carbs when you're tired. Food sounds nice though !
I had a bad day yesterday in that I drank wine. Not much to eat but not the way I want to do this.
Today's target will be to not eat rubbish.

Hi Amdone123

I think any goal we can set ourselves to help us improve our diet is progress as we are trying to move forward. And a glass of wine is just soo… nice.

take care and have a good Sunday I’m trying not to think about the bacon sandwich Im now craving! Black coffee instead! Onward and upward!

Good going everyone 😊😊 lovely to hear positive results all around!

It's so tricky trying to get the balance with healthy / not-so-healthy foods... And you don't want to be so arbitrary that you start to resent it like any other restrictive diet.

The beauty of fasting is that it is all about the timing - even if you don't change any food habits to begin with, you still get the benefit of the fasting hours 🌟🌟🌟

Interested to know how you guys get on with diet fizzy and other flavoured drinks during your fast, long term... There is some evidence that those can cause a little insulin spike which might make you hungrier or even make it harder for your body to burn fat during the fast.

Not wanting to dictate / preach because as @Neeko says, fasting works in different ways and it's great that you can find your own way of doing it! But I'm so passionate about it that I want people to find it as easy as possible AND get the best results!! 😁😁

Good morning. What a lovely day. For 🦆 🦆 🦆.

Well, 13st 9 this morning so I've lost 2lb which I'm pleased with.
I was on track for losing more ( could feel it ), but I think the Weather, the Weekend and the Wine set me back.
The 3 Ws shall not defeat me this week.
The weather - I walked a lot at the start of the week, weekend no exercise and obviously wine.
My water supplies diminished too.

So, this week's targets ;

• carry on IF as best I can
• more water, no wine
• try to get to a zumba class at least once
• stay positive !

Have a great week, folks.

Well, true to my word, the Weather has not defeated me. Got out of bed, stuck a waterproof on, and walked for 1.5 hours, just under 12k steps. I'm best walking in the mornings.
The Wine nearly defeated me as I popped into tesco for some bits, but I resisted.

I thought I'd make an egg loaf today. I saw the recipe 8:8:8, but I'm going to half it so 4 eggs, 4oz cream cheese, 4 oz butter ( and vanilla extract and cinnamon to taste).
I'll let you know what it's like - it's supposed to be like French toast. 😋

Morning everyone and well done on your weight loss Amdone123 and the walking in this wet weather!

Well I have fallen into the same trap as usual no sleep so craving carbs. I gave in yesterday so not a good day and subsequently did not post. I will be posting weather. The day is good or bad going forward. Determined to stay in the fasting window today although I am out for food tonight but have decided to have what I want but within my fasting window.

I am wondering if I would be better off trying to lose the weight more quickly by doing the 800 Fast and then maintaining by doing 5:2. Has anybody else tried this?

Goals for today: drink more 💦
walk at least 10,000 steps
Eat within my fasting window.

Hope the weather is a bit better where everyone else is it’s dreadful where I am.

Hello everyone, nice to see the thread so lively!
I will post properly later, so far I've written and lost two long posts so I'll give up for now and catch up later when I've time to rewrite.
Have a great day everyone.

I’ve fallen off the wagon a few times. Finding it hard to do 16:8 every day and have succumbed to late night cravings and eaten sugary crap a couple of times. After losing 11 pounds (c. 4 kilos) fairly quickly and going down to 69 kilos I’ve hovered around this number for a couple of weeks now. I was targeting 65 kilos for my holiday which starts in a couple of weeks. I am really struggling to eat my last meal of the day early enough. My days and evenings are so hectic so I often end up eating at 9pm (case in point, I haven’t eaten yet!)

Hope I can join. I've read the thread on and off and decided now is the time for some accountability. I've done fasting on and off for years since the first Michael Moseley documentary. Perimenopause and general life stresses have meant I've lost a lot of discipline. My BMI is 25.7 and creeping up. The goal is to ideally get it to 22. I am not that bothered about the weight loss longer term but would like to feel healthy.

Hi. I've been lying low (literally) as I gave myself a sore back from being over enthusiastic with the weights! All better now but it was a tender few days.

I'm back in the fasting routine but being quite flexible (window between 4 and 7 hours) as we have had some social events. The scales are on a downward trend but it fluctuates day to day.

@Eastie77Returns when do you start eating in the day? Would opening later suit you better?

@neuhorizon hi. You will get lots of great advice and support on here.

Hi everyone

Neeko Im glad your back is feeling better, pain is so wearing I feel for you. I was so impressed you managed to wean yourself off fizzy drinks. I need to they are my nemesis!

I have been away for a few days so have been more flexible but managed to keep within calorie count and fast although more flexibly. I also walked 45,000 steps mostly coastal which was lovely.

Food:

Br 0
lunch : cappuccino x2 and haribo ( I know not the best!)
snack: a few nuts
Dinner: H/M beef casserole, smidgen mash, lots of sprouts.

Thanks @sheepdreams Definitely in the mend now.
Well done on the walking and sticking with it. I like that this woe can be so flexible. Your lunch made me smile!

I'm 7 kg down started middle of May doing 18:6 I'm not hungry is going down slowly. I have take away Saturdays and Sunday roast.

Hello everyone. Nice to see so many posting and so many new people joining in recently too. There's no need to ask we're all happy to see new faces.

@Neeko glad to hear you're on the mend. A hurt back is no fun at all.
My last week has been chaotic. We had an extended family wedding on their farm and were helping out in the days before the 3 day event. It was hectic to say the least but lots of fun.
My fasting stood well to me at times as we had long periods between food but I didn't feel it.
However low carb and been careful went out the window.
I'll need to decide this week if I'll take my low carb to keto again. I need to do some research as my cholesterol is high and I need to work on that. I'm not sure if/how the high fat of keto affects cholesterol.
Here's to a good week everyone!

I've lost no weight whatsoever after a week and a bit of 16:8. Is that normal? I have been eating normally in the window, I have tried to keep carbs low but I've not been excessive. I can't exercise loads because I have a bad back.

I totally buy into the fasting literature re health benefits but if I have to add in keto or low carb or whatever it all seems a bit much, well for me anyway. I feel like I'm just starving myself!

@TarasChoc the wedding sounds fun. Why don't you give yourself a couple of weeks just getting back into your previous routine and see how it goes.

Hi everyone I’m still here although struggling somewhat at the moment! Still managing to fast but not keep within my calorie deficit. I feel hungry and I’m wondering if I should reduce carbs to help with this.

@atthebottomofthehill you won't be far adapted yet so it's not unusual not to have lost anything at this stage. You will be doing good though.
Focus just on the fasting routine for at least four weeks and see how you go. This is a marathon and a life-long change. 😊 I don't do low carb or keto. I definitely don't lose when I eat a lot of carbs but don't need to cut them out to lose. I aim to eat plenty of unprocessed foods and fruit and veg. I do have a sweet/ cake/biscuit most days though. Everyone is different and you will just need to experiment and see how you feel.

@sheepdreams sorry to hear that you are struggling. I said above that I don't do low carb but they definitely make me more hungry. Could you try higher protein for a few days? Aldi's seeded sourdough sliced bread is fairly high in protein for a bread (5.5g per slice) and is delicious toasted.

Dear Neeko

Thank you, I will give this a try I don’t want to give up as I am desperate to lose the weight.