5-week fasting countdown to September

[Peae]

Starting on Monday 31 July I'm going to do a five-week accountability thread. Five weeks will get us to Monday 4 September and the start of term. I would be very grateful for company along the way.

Requirements
Every Monday, check-in with:
A measurement from the scales or tape measure.
Your fasting schedule e.g. 16:8 or 5:2 or OMAD.
Progress to date during the challenge, e.g. 1.5lb lost or number of plant-based foods eaten etc.

In between Mondays we can offer support and companionship. Even if I'm the only committing, I'd appreciate some encouragement if you happen to click on the thread.

(This is inspired by the successful thread by @waistchallenge, www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/4835460-5-week-intermittent-fasting-challenge?page=1).

If you'd like to join in, please say hello and state your goal(s).

My goal is to get in to the next stone. Currently Xst6 and would love to get below Xst.

Place marking to say I'm in. I go on a work trip to the States on Thurs 31/8.

I'm off out now for a last hurrah (family celebration), and am planning to start first thing tomorrow.

I'm a classic (very heavy) yo yo dieter and am at the very top end just now and am disgusted with myself. I am struggling (secretly as I'm ashamed) with a lot of things that become more difficult when I'm heavier and would love some support here.

I'm good at fasting and tend to stick to OMAD. It'll be tricky just now as I'm on a very intensive training course for my new job but I really can't wait any longer to get back on the horse.

Thanks for setting this up, perfect timing for me. I'll read the old thread over the weekend.

Welcome Rachel, I hear your authenticity and am here with you.

Hi, I'm glad I've found you 🖐 here's to the next 5 weeks 😊 x

Hey, welcome aboard!

I would love to join. I am 12 days in and have just started ADF. I don’t have a goal as I just want to feel healthy and lower my risk of type 2 diabetes, but if I’m going to be brutally honest, I sadly have 50kg to lose.

Is 16:8 where you eat within an 8 hour span, but you eat what you want? For example eat between 10am and 6pm?

And is 5:2 where you eat what you want but two days a week you fast totally? So for example you eat Sunday evening, then nothing but water until Tuesday morning? I want to check I’m understanding the terminology first.

And why only five weeks? Will there be another post after that, so it doesn’t feel too overwhelming you’re splitting it into smaller chunks of a few weeks at a time?

Ooh, can I join!? I'm starting the 5:2 diet from tomorrow too. Getting married end of September, so would like to shift a few pounds between then and now, and we're then starting trying for a baby again too after a couple of losses, so want to be as healthy as I can for that ☺️ Will be nice to have some company 🤗

Hi everyone! I've been doing 16:8 but also monitoring what I've been eating for the last week. Feeling so much better, far less bloated and "in control" rather than just eating willy nilly at stupid times of the night and then feeling guilty.

My goal weight is probs about 40kg less than I am so I have a lot to lose too manic. I'm finding it helpful to set short term, manageable goals.
I'm currently at 104.7kg and my next goal is 100kg.

Hey @Manicpixidreamgirl I hear you. I am focused on improving my health and reducing my risks of disease. I do need to lose weight though, and fasting seems to be the most well-evidenced way of achieving this as far as we know.
I also try to eat with inflammation and blood sugar in mind. So, reducing UPFs, upping variety of plant-based foods and trying the 'hacks' of Jessie Inchauspé (aka The Glucose Goddess).

Is 16:8 where you eat within an 8 hour span, but you eat what you want? For example eat between 10am and 6pm?

Yes. My understanding is it's about increasing the time you're not eating and therefore increasing the time your body has to recover from digesting (which has health benefits) and taking its energy from other sources (which has benefits for your weight). So, eating/grazing throughout your eating window is not the aim. I would say it's best to start with an achievable window, such as 12:12 and stop eating snacks between meals.

And is 5:2 where you eat what you want but two days a week you fast totally? So for example you eat Sunday evening, then nothing but water until Tuesday morning? I want to check I’m understanding the terminology first.

There are different definitions of 5:2. I think the most common is to eat something on your two fasting days though, e.g. a small meal of about 500 calories and to be very sensible on the other five days.

And why only five weeks? Will there be another post after that, so it doesn’t feel too overwhelming you’re splitting it into smaller chunks of a few weeks at a time?

(I really appreciate your questions). Yes, that's what seemed to work well on the other thread.

@ab0416 perfect timing! Welcome to you and @TheHallouminati!

Ok I’m in then! I’ll weigh myself tomorrow, but I reckon I’m between 98 and 105 kg, and ultimately I’d like to be 70 kg tops. I don’t know what I’m aiming for during this month though, is a good amount 1kg a week or something like that? I’m vegetarian and I don’t drink alcohol which will help I think? But I am very fond of sugar in everything.

What are we measuring? Anything I suppose, so you can see if there’s a reduction week to week? I’ll measure waist, hips, thighs, which is where I put on the most weight.

Do you have a spreadsheet? I’d like to keep a bit of an eye on other people, it will encourage me if I think ‘we’ll she is my size and she’s losing more than I am’ etc. Not in a creepy way, just in an encouraging way.

I was wondering about a spreadsheet, but it’s not something I will commit to this time. I wonder if it’d put people off or be encouraging?

Maybe it could be an opt-in thing? I can’t do it, I have no idea how to set them up or use them. But I’d love to use other peoples data as something to spur me on. And other people could use my data to spur them on if they felt I was doing ‘better’ than them. And then maybe just keep the same spreadsheet when you move onto the next month, new thread, new month, but with two or three months of your weight loss or inch loss to look back on?

Hello, I started 16/8 eating last Monday at the end of term (giving me a couple of days off first and I'm determined to be back for the Inset on the 1st looking considerably better so this is fantastic timing. I'm not really doing weighing myself - it's about the clothes for me. I currently have loads of stuff that doesn't fit / I'm not comfortable in. So far so good ...

Well hello there, can I join in too please? Was just over 88kg at the start of June after three rough years of horrendous sleep deprivation and eating biscuits to stay alive, and fell over the wrong side of the prediabetes/T2 diabetes borderline last year. The thing that's spurred me to finally sort myself out is that my child finally sleeps like a normal person, and I started to get tingly feet as a probable diabetes symptom - the realisation that that was my nerves literally being burned away through my awful sugars has been the kick up the backside I needed.

Have been trying gradually to reduce my carbohydrates over June, and for the last three weeks or so have been properly low carbing and trying IF, initially about 12:12 but now mostly about 14-16 hour fasts. I've also been having a big push on eating more and more varied vegetables and avoiding UPF.

As of today, I'm down to 84.2kg, have lost two inches off my waist and I generally feel much better, (no tingly feet!) it's terrific. It'd be lovely to have a few other people doing it with me. Big marker for me will be routine bloods in early August, and seeing whether I can knock those back to a healthier place.

One thing I've found really helpful for my motivation was making a list of non-food rewards for when I hit milestones - mainly clothing and jewellery. Apparently, the prospect of shiny things makes me focus!

Oh, crumbs, I forgot - am aiming to get down to under 70kg, ideally 65kg, which would put me back at a healthy BMI (am short). Actually feels like a possibility for the first time in a long time!

That's inspiring to read, thank you.

I'm in. I lost 3.5 stone recently for my wedding and then have put the majority of it back on within 7 months

I'd love to lose my double chin. I'm also embarrassingly struggling to bend down to lace up my work boots. definitely apple shaped.

I shall measure my weight and waist each Monday. its my birthday the week this finishes and I'd like to be 7lb down at least.

intermittent fasting is probably the only style of "dieting" I've never tried so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Requirements
Every Monday, check-in with:
A measurement from the scales or tape measure.
Your fasting schedule e.g. 16:8 or 5:2 or OMAD.
Progress to date during the challenge, e.g. 1.5lb lost or number of plant-based foods eaten etc.

So, here goes:-
*Monday 31/7/23 117.8kg (can't believe I'm here AGAIN
*I'm going to try for OMAD (eating around 7pm) as this really works for me however I'm not going to be afraid to adapt if I can't get through the afternoons (the tricky bit) as there's a lot going on for me just now. I do also have a couple of social breakfasts and lunches planned so will switch things around on those days
*No progress to date, if you don't count piling on weight you've already lost countless times before

So today's plan is fasting (from around 7pm last night) until early evening. I'll drink approx. 2l of water at work today and probably have a cpl of cups of tea (I'm aware this isn't clean fasting but can't give these up yet). My sugar cravings are going to be horrific I can already tell.

I'm off to the States a month today and would love to lose some of my gut by then (I know I've got a long way to go, but small steps), find it a bit easier to walk around and NOT NEED a seatbelt extender on the 'plane!

To @AllTheWeatherAllTheTime, I am having feet issues too, totally new to me and I've a feeling I am undiagnosed pre-diabetic. This has given me a real fright.

I've more to say but need to get ready for work now, I'll check in later and thanks again @Peae for setting up this motivating thread and place for us all to come together!

Here we go, my first check-in too.

A measurement Xst 5lb
Fasting schedule I'll set myself 16:8 as leeway but I generally aim for an 18 or 19 hour fast.
Progress Obviously, we've just started, but I'll mention how many steps I've been clocking up. I've really gone of doing any kind of cardio or strength training at the moment. With so much work stress, they just felt like another chore to get through. So, I'm focusing on walking because I love it and it's so good for us.

Good luck everyone!

@rachelohrachel will you be having sugar with/after your meal? I'm wondering if there's ways of not making it horrendous!

I tend to start the day between 8 and 10 with a green salad, sauerkraut, seeds etc. (all the good stuff we're supposed to eat). Then I'm afraid I'll have some crap which I won't name as it might not be helpful to read. Finally between 12 and 2 I'll eat any meal I fancy. Sometimes a healthy choice, sometimes not. By then I feel satiated and satisfied and am happy to stop thinking about food or eating for the rest of the day.

Morning all! Feeling chirpy today - happy side effect of eating better is that my mood seems noticeably improved too. Here are my stats for this week.

Measurement 83.8kg, waist 37"
Fasting schedule 16:8ish - not mega rigorous on exact timings, evening meal at about 6.30-7pm, and then just see how long I can go before having breakfast, but sometimes get to about 11-12. Easier because I WFH mostly. Low carbing, low UPF, more varied veg.
Progress -3.8kg, -2 inches off waist since July 20th.