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!

Thank you for that post @StealthOps - perfect timing

I have/had come on here to declare my eating window closed for the day .... yes, it has contained several chocolates and chocolate ginger biscuits alongside the healthy stuff but NOW it is closed.

I eat my grief ... I have every time. And I learnt last night that one of my oldest dearest friends took his life this weekend: we spoke so often. I did not know this was even an option for him.

So now I am here with a heart that feels as if it is breaking - and a stomach that is grumbling because it feels I have maltreated today. The eating only helps for minutes... the walking, hugging, talking helps more and for longer and without the side effects....

I'm very sorry to hear about your friend @loveyouradvice

So sorry to hear about your friend @loveyouradvice what sad news, it must have been a huge shock

@loveyouradvice so sorry about your friend. Be gentle with yourself 🩷

my therapist would say that this is not a day to have a rumbling stomach. Would it be a good idea to eat something to satisfy your hunger that is also really good for you?

@loveyouradvice I'm so sorry to hear about your friend 💐

Condolences, @loveyouradvice , I'm very sorry. How are you doing?

Hello all... the honest answer is badly... sleep and food up the spout....

But today, I am going to - and feel able - to do as @Peae suggests: eat food that is good for me. I am going to make a bowl of muesli, kefir, berries when I finish typing this.

That is what I did when I sadly lost my sister the same way in February - ate good food though far too much of it and I put on 30lbs.

I was so proud of having lost it all just a few weeks ago.

I am going to talk to myself each day about using food to help the healing, to talk to myself about how to nurture myself each day ... there are some lovely ideas from @Clearingaspace above. I know from losing my sister that what helped me most was spending time with friends talking, feeling their love and moving through the grief with their help.... as well as spending time outside in beautiful places, truly appreciating nature and all it brings to our lives

I also realised then that my sister was the first truly huge loss I had experienced and as we grow older, we need to become experts in grieving as loss will happen more and more and is the price of love... a life skill that is so seldom recognised or maybe that's just because I haven't been part of it before... a dear friend who lost her husband a year ago talks about the club that no one wants to be a part of, those who grieve, and that it is that club that helps you get through it.

I would like to say a big thank you to all of you - strangers I have never met and who are helping hold me, and giving me the space to reflect on food and so much else. Thank you for being on this journey with me, each of us bringing different things at different times.

@loveyouradvice I'm so sorry to hear how soon this comes after the death of your sister. You express yourself so well, I'm in awe really at your insights, and that you know some of the ways to manage such an awful, distressing situation. You're right, we do need to be able to do this - what a hard part of getting older it is, but what a privilege to be one of the people carrying the memory of the person you've loved.

@loveyouradvice sorry to hear about your sister
Awesome that you've made such good progress on your weight loss journey ❤️

I weighed myself this morning! Friday for me has come round so quick!!

CW: 65.4kg
Last week: 66.1kg
Starting weight: 72.5kg

Really glad I've had some weight loss thins week!! Not anticipating any next week. I will try and be good and maybe stick to 1 dessert instead of 3 or 4

But we'll see

Good luck guys!!
Merry Christmas 🎄

WEEK 3 CHECK IN TODAY

This is always optional, but I feel like it's even more optional than usual at the moment.

Happy Christmas to you too, @pottypotamus and to all. Currently having a cup of tea, will weigh in a bit.

@loveyouradvice hope you are doing ok and I am thinking about you.

i am down a pound to 181.4 this week. I didn’t eat well yesterday and it made me feel a bit unwell - some treats are good but think I need to be careful and at least follow the 80:20 ratio for non upf to ultra processed food.

Today: 79.1kg, down 0.3kg on last week, very happy (and honestly quite surprised!)

@StealthOps I'm the same now with alcohol, a little is plenty now for me

Thank you for your very kind messages - I am feeling a bit more stable.

I'm loving all your reflections on how our bodies react to food - after my very poor eating/sleep my joints ached for 2 days... very strange, and hasn't happened before. I can only suspect it's that my body has got used to my new healthy eating and was feeling rebellious when I gave it other stuff - yes, indeed it is a wol we are all adopting

My weight today 12.00
Last week 12.2
Previous week 11.13
(down from 14.00 this summer

and 15.7 four years ago: I made and held my goal weight last year, 11.02)

I think this will be me for the festive season - fluctuating between 11.13 and 12.3 and if I keep myself in that 4lb window, I will be doing well.

Really great to have the reminders of how grunge one can feel with the wrong food .. I'll try to remember this when faced with deciding whether to have a fourth chocolate or not!!

Okay ... what are your winning festive season tactics?

I'm looking for inspiration... So far for me:

1. Having bowls of physalis and clementines freely available so I can have a "christmas treat" in my eating window
2. Keeping boxes of chocolates on slightly inaccessible shelves so I have to make a conscious choice to get them down (and making sure I don't sit next to them at the Christmas table - I am such an unconscious eater)
3. Stocked up with Loving Foods kombucha, so I have a go-to enjoyable drink for non-alcoholic days (yes @StealthOps, like you I'm going light on the alcohol as my body doesnt really enjoy it on consecutive days)
4. Weighing every morning and noting all my food each morning and celebrating if my eating is going well (and not blaming myself if it doesnt, just getting back on track)
5. Planning a few short eating windows when social plans allow

Hello lovely people. I weighed in much the same as usual, 13st 8.6lb. Not too surprised by this as I've been focused on Zoe, trying different foods and generally losing sight of my eating window.

I'm excited about the weekend as I intend on having my "natural" eating window of 10 til 4, a decent breakfast (poached eggs, salmon, avocado etc.) and later a light meal of olives, cheeses, crackers and some chocolates.

Hope you're doing ok, @loveyouradvice . Reading your posts I was reminded of a podcast that talked about, "eating as though you love yourself", something I'm still working on.

Hello everyone!

I haven't actually weighed myself this week as my eating has just gone downhill. I've been sticking to 16:8 but have been adding squirty cream to multiple hot chocolates throughout the week 😬

I'm going to have one meal tomorrow as I've over eaten so hopefully that will balance things out!

@loveyouradvice hope you are doing ok 💐

Mmmmm... great inspiration already.

Love that concept @Peae - eating as though you love yourself... I think I might make that my Christmas motto alongside the invaluable "delay dont deny" which really works for me.

And yes savouring - definitely the best approach to Christmas @StealthOps ... truly relishing gorgeous food replacing my absentminded eating and then surprise that two platefuls of pudding have vanished wihtout my realily noticing.

Im so impressed by these short eating windows - Yes, only so much one can eat in a 4 hour window!! With lots of cooking and socialising I think mine is going to be 8hours for the next 4 days and then a couple of OMAD days and much more balanced between Xmas and New Year.

And thank you all - I am doing okay - not brilliantly but okay, and that is okay.

Nice to catch up on messages, lots of wisdom! @loveyouradvice your tactics are v good and I'm stealing some: I have a bowl of satsumas in sight and will weigh every day, also the short eating window when circumstances allow. Going to make the sort of sandwich that I'd make for someone I care about 💕

Pleased to have managed a 5-hour eating window today.