4-week fasting countdown to the New Year

[HarpQuartet]

Welcome all, this a thread for Intermittent Fasters who want a weekly check-in on Fridays. Chat and insights between the check-ins are welcome too, share as little or as much as you like. I weigh myself in between, others don’t, some of us are in kg, some in stones, it’s all good.

Here is a roll call for those who may wish to continue with accountability, encouragement, sharing your wisdom, wins, or woes. All are very welcome plus of course anyone new who'd like to join us. Sincere apologies to anyone I’ve inadvertently missed out; and if your name’s here but you’re not planning to join this thread, then wishing you well.

@Fouramclub
@pottypotamus
@trainplane
@TheShellBeach
@Clearingaspace
@putthehamsterbackinitscage
@MegBusset (hope you are still on your happy plateau)
@iwantavuvezela
@Clearingaspace
@Blackeyeliner
@Thereyougo10
@bluejay5
@gettingolderbutcooler
@Scentorii
@BackSeatDriving (would you like to continue stiffening your resolve? Such a good phrase)
@Sonnet
@Catherhino
@loveyouradvice welcome to the December thread!

Oh and harp is correct that it does make it easier for adhoc fasts - you click start and it records the time, the app also gives you a record of fasts etc so overall it is probably easier than a phone countdown. Also if you forget to click start you can edit the start time which is useful.

I’m absolutely with you there - I like to have all the tools and knowledge available to me to motivate me! I’ve read delay don’t deny and I’m about halfway through fast feast repeat (or is it feast fast repeat, I can never remember! 😂) I’m a bit of a stats geek so I like to track and record things - helps to visualise progress etc. And talk about it with other people that won’t think I’m boring on 🤣
I’m on for 18 hours minimum today, longer if I can. Been fasting since 6pm so not much longer to go! I’m going to walk the dog when I’m struggling and know I’m going to have food when I get home!
I’ve not weighed for a couple of weeks due to being “off plan” but I might weight this weekend so I know my pre-Xmas weight.

Totally agree @Clearingaspace .... this is me!!!

Any time I try to make changes I need tools to keep me on track - buy books, join groups, get new food, sign up to apps - particularly if they are free. The more I invest into a woe (even if just time researching etc) the more likely it is I will have a good amount of success.

I used to think I wasted a lot of time on this ... I now see it as the best investment in my health I can make. Losing and keeping off weight is such a huge challenge - We are all doing amazingly to be taking it on and making it happen. Anything that can help that is great...

So yes, all of you helping hold me to account and my dieting buddy in real life... and the reading and the delving deeper in new knowledge rather than a box of chocolates when i feel my commitment weakening.

How's everyone doing this week??? What are you looking to achieve over the next week before Christmas?

Sending huge hugs and thanks to all of you for being on this journey together ... and especially to you @HarpQuartet for bringing us together

Ah, thank you but I can't take the credit, it's been going a while now 🤗

I'm having an overeating day - my plans were cancelled because a friend is poorly, and finding myself at a loose end wasn't good food-wise! But I've got plans tomorrow that will get me back on the straight and narrow.

What are you looking to achieve over the next week before Christmas?

I am very realistic, and I know myself very well, so all that I am hoping is not to put too much weight on over Christmas.

I've lost nearly four stone since June.

I'll get back into dieting properly in the New Year - I am not fooling myself, or stinting myself, at this time of year.

How do you all keep yourself motivated through December?

I think it’s two things for me. Firstly, the thought of waking up on the 1st January and how I might feel. Secondly, “Delay, don’t deny”. I want to enjoy the festive fare, so I’m just delaying it until my eating window opens.

i need to check that out stealth, i am a night owl but my husband wakes during the night and gets up early so I usually burn the candle at both ends.

my Christmas goal is approx 3lb off for the last weigh in of the thread but with family birthdays and Christmas I will be happy if I maintain!

I have actually just downloaded a new fasting app which I think is more informative and useful than the Life one - it is called bodyfast - free version seems to be good. Only problem is they keep asking me to sign up to alerts.

see you all at tomorrow’s weigh in - good luck to any fasters today!

Ooh, good reminder:

WEEK TWO CHECK IN TOMORROW,
FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER!

Hello!! Friday here already 😅
So I was 66.1kg this morning!!
Last week: 66.7kg
Starting weight mid-Oct was 72.5kg
Target is 61.5kg to get out of overweight BMI.
Happy considering there was a lot of chocolate eaten this week 😬

@pottypotamus ... Wow, that's success ... lots of chocolate and .6kg down... way to go!!!

@StealthOps interesting... and I am so impressed by the impact of your sleep. Im going to try the same, starting tonight for the 7 days and see what happens.

One thing I know is that my body translates tiredness into hunger. It is sort of understandable that it gets lost in translation, ie lacking energy = eat some food. So yes, for me good sleep always translates into being easier to eat better

well done @pottypotamus

sep sw 203lbs
lw 184.3
cw 182.8 but that is the best weight scenario as if I move the scale a fraction it goes up to 183.2!

Oh well done too @StealthOps on both the nsvs and now the weighin

@StealthOps and @Clearingaspace ... what great losses!! Congrats!!

And me? Having celebrated getting down to my preChristmas goals of 11.13 last week, I am up to 12.2 this week... so NOT good news. I'm going to try to get back to 12 by next Friday.

Challenges of longer eating windows and more sociability means I am eating more - together with a humdinger of an emotional situation earlier this week which disrupted sleep and lead to a day's emotional eating.

So plan now - Continue to weigh daily, and adapt my diet depending on both what it says and social commitments. Doing as many OMADs as I can before next Friday - looks like around 4....Darn, I love seeing people but also love the ease of just deciding my own eating independently each day

Similar result here @loveyouradvice . I’m a pound up to 13st 8lb 🙄. I could perhaps blame this on my experimenting with my CGM, but that would be a lie.

Hi there,

Sorry to butt into a line running thread but I am hoping you guys can give me some advice!

I am currently 13 st 5lb and I don’t lose weight while easily. I eat no processed food or sugar at all (which is easy for me as I am coeliac and gluten free food is full of awful ingredients and I never eat out as I get really ill from any cross contamination).

I only drink green and soursop tea. I don’t drink alcohol. I am sensitive to all dairy bar greek yogurt which seems to be fine.

I do a 48 hour fast once a month, and a 72 hour once every few months - don’t drop an ounce. I do omad.

On a day to day basis, I’ll have a fresh celery and carrot juice, a pot of full fat greek yogurt with added ground flaxseeds, a big pile of brussel sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli roasted in coconut oil, some form of protein (steak/chicken/fish/lentils). I also have a shot of olive oil with turmeric, cayenne and lemon. 6 almonds.

It’s about 1,100 calories.

No deviation and no carbs aside from when I have lentils and the carbs in green veg as the Gf ones are awful so I stear clear.

A month of that everyday has seen me lose ….. jack shit. The month before, I lost 1b.

And no, I am not exercising heaps and building muscle. Just walking when I can.

Any ideas?

I see a nutritionist yearly for coeliac bloods, she just says, “well, it’s easy not to count the odd couple of biscuits or cake isn’t it, we all do it and it all adds up!” I haven’t eaten a biscuit or cake in 3 years since I was diagnosed and saw the crap ingredients in gf food. When I said that, she just looked at me blankly and then said I should all in some whole meal bread and cereals 😖

Theres no giving up by the way, I’m not on a diet, this is just how I eat now. But come on. I eat like a fucking saint and 1b in 10 weeks now?

Weekly Weigh-In

Last week 16st 5lb

This week 16st 4lb

Weight loss 1 lb

Total loss since June: 3st 10lb

Weigh in

CW 10 13.4
Goal 8 13.0

Another poor week - largely the up being stressed about work, too much wine biscuits chicokate ....

Start again time 😳

@putthehamsterbackinitscage .... they happen ... you are on here and you are committed to changing ... So long as we keep restarting when we fall off, we will all get there.

Wishing everyone on here a good final week before Christmas Friday weighin - full of good food but not too much, and an ease with fasting when you want to!

@Notafanofchristmas I cannot answer you question, except to ask how many carbs you're eating. They are full of calories, as you know.

Are you quite sure you're only ingesting 1,100 calories a day? If I was only eating that for ten weeks I would lose nearly two stone.

Another poor week - largely the up being stressed about work, too much wine biscuits chocolate

@putthehamsterbackinitscage that is to be expected at this time of year though. It's normal. Don't beat yourself up about it.

A success on the scales this morning despite having a “wobble” over the past couple of weeks - thanks to you guys for getting me back on track this week!
Down to 190.4lb (start weight was 201.2 in September). Slowly slowly but heading in the right direction and this is the lowest weight I’ve been all year!