4-week fasting countdown to February 2024!

[Peae]

Welcome all, this a thread for Intermittent Fasters who want a weekly check-in on Fridays. Chat between the check-ins are welcome too, share as little or as much as you like. Each Friday, log your weight, fast, whatever metrics help you.

Check-in 0 Friday 5 January.
Check-in 1 Friday 12 January.
Check-in 2 Friday 19 January.
Check-in 3 Friday 26 January.
Check-in 4 Friday 2 February.

@StealthLaSilkySightHound I am exactly the same re morning milky tea and have managed to retrain myself to green or green/peppermint this week when fasting in the mornings but I miss it still. I do look forward to tea with milk during eating window.
Also yes to distended abdomen when eating wheat. As an experiment this week I have not had any wheat at all. Have had black beans, chickpeas, lentils, cabbage, roast peppers all of which I thought caused bloating and NO BLOAT and no abdominal distending so I think wheat is something that I will have to permanently avoid.
My GP who also has Hashimotos herself told me to drop bread two years ago and I ignored her. Then I put on two stone and felt shit.

I should have listened 🤦🏻‍♀️

Up again - so now heavier than thisvpoint last week! sorry I know we are not about daily weigh ins but it’s to note to myself that 3 meals and red wine were the common denominators! I do want to be able to eat 3 sensible meals without gaining though…

@StealthLaSilkySightHound I was actually reading a book (ancestral diet revolution) about seed oils after dh’s heart attack and it seemed to be a fairly persuasive argument that seed oils use and heart attack increases were rising in line with each other. I only read about 1/3 of the book though as it was getting repetitive. Dh was obsessed with cutting salt which I don’t think is necessarily the thing to avoid. He was given totally contradictory dietary advice by the cardiologist (low carb) and the dietician (eat wholegrain carbs!) but has started to notice that sugary food (Nakd bars) cause him to have low blood sugar symptoms now he is on so much medicine, so he is realising things are more complicated than avoiding salt.

yes snap with milky drinks - sometimes that’s the main reason I have breakfast. I had tea with milk and sugar as a toddler/baby. I cut sugar as a teen but my mum still has it in hers even now.

@FastingPhilly well done on run!

I think this is the first week I’ve set out my goals for the week ahead and I’ve already broken it. I have a stinking cold and it’s making me starving so I’ve broken my fast early with a hot cross bun. I think the cold is just making me crave the processed carby crap I haven’t been eating. Hope it clears up soon so I can get back on track.

Don't worry, I broke mine with a Cadbury's creme egg. I have, however, clocked up another swim yesterday and spent the afternoon prepping food. Tea is always my danger zone as I get in from work tired, cold and hungry and it's easy to convince myself that I deserve a treat after denying myself all day at work.
The storm is really picking up here, so it's been nice to have the excuse to spend most of the day inside doing a jigsaw.

Okay ...... plan for this week changing

At friend's funeral two days ago and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, too many griefs on top of each other

So I did eat in the wee hours of the morning - lots of dark chocolate so not horrendous

Until I feel stable again, I am going to eat in a 6-9 hour window aiming to eat healthy stuff and not worry much about the quantities.... and to continue to weigh daily once I am home. I do not want to let my weight soar, but am not going to add to the emotional stress by eating too restrictively...

That sounds sensible to me

Hear, hear @StealthLaSilkySightHound!

Sorry if this is TMI but I think my backside has a cork in it 😂I haven't "been" for a week 💩

Chia seeds every day, 2/3 litres of water, black coffee x 2 every morning, vegetables with my meal, at least 10k steps a day - and ZILCH!

Took 3 Ducolax last night, still nothing. Driving me mad!

Any tips welcome, before I go slightly mad 😩😀

@FastingPhilly I can’t help as if fasting affects my bowels it always has the opposite effect. I don’t know what diet you are following but if I do get constipated eating a punnet of grapes usually sorts me out.

I do have some grapes, worried it will take me out of ketosis though! May well give it a blast though tomorrow - will try 4 Ducolax tonight (thankfully I wfh!) so be ready for Storm Philly when they finally work 😁

Sending love @loveyouradvice

@StealthLaSilkySightHound thats amazing that your bil was able to turn around his health, and really shows how much of a difference diet and fasting can make. I think part of the problem for dh is that even the scientists don’t know the healthiest diet for sure. For nhs dieticians they can probably only go with the best bet advice. We listened to a Zoe podcast about cholesterol and also one by dr rupy and to be honest it seems like the verdict is out still on things like butter and even eggs to an extent. Dh has gone with mainstream advice and eats pure spread, but does eats eggs a couple of times a week I am having butter but have reduced the quantity a fair bit now!

You are right about women and caring responsibilities, my dh has a disability and I was young and naive when we got together- sometimes I just feel like I have turned into a drudge and not even a very accomplished one as the house is a total mess 😂I love my family and am proud of them so wouldn’t change anything though but sometimes feel disappointed in myself that my career is very blah despite a degree at a good university. But it works for our family and that’s the main thing. feel like if I could really feel well and full of energy I might do everything a bit better - bring a mum, housewife, person in my own right! But unfortunately I don’t feel full of energy!

@FastingPhilly drink warm water and go for a walk. Chia really absorbs a lot of water and you might need to drink more than you expect. Peanut butter and oats usually work for me. Magnesium might be worth supplementing but only certain types are good for constipation.

Hope everyone’s Monday fast is going well
sorry to hear of funeral grief @loveyouradvice that is very hard
sorry to hear you don’t feel 100% well @StealthLaSilkySightHound @FastingPhilly @GildedAge
Can I ask if you’ve noticed either of the following affecting weight loss/causing temporary weight gain?

1. Wine
2. weight lifting/big workouts

I have been weighing every morning as an experiment (this won’t be a permanent thing but I’m trying to see if there is a correlation between what I eat/do day before and early morning fasted weight). Two days out of eleven I have had a temporary four pound increase - both of those days I had wine (2 units) and had also done an extra long workout with heavy weights.

@PartridgeInAPearShape absolutely yes to both. I wear a Fitbit and drinking a couple of small glasses of wine raises my resting heart rate by a couple of beats and I retain water. A tough weights session, again I gain 2llbs, I think this is your body repairing damaged muscles. This is where it can be more helpful to use measurements rather than scales and only weigh in once a week and even then look for the 4 week trend.

Belated check in:

start weight in Jan: 73.6kg
weight 5 Jan: 74.2 kg 😬
weight 12 jan: 73.1kg
weight 21 jan: 72.8kg

loss of 0.3kg. I had gone down to 72.2kg last Wednesday after 3 days of OMAD/1000 cals but then gained when I went away with work and had 3 full meals plus 2 glasses of wine.

Well done everyone on getting through the week. My plan this week is to do 3 or 4 days of 1000 cals and 16:8 throughout the week breaking my fast as late as possible. I'm also aiming to do at least x2 weights videos on YouTube and one long walk if I can.

I know this is naughty but I tend to have tea/coffee with a splash of oat milk when I'm fasting and pretend it hasn't happened. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong 😬

@GildedAge take it easy with the cold! I've found I get hungrier when I'm sick - it's the body's way of telling you it needs more energy!

@loveyouradvice 💐 hope you are ok

Well done @Fouramclub on your weightloss especially as that’s with wine and being away with work.

@PartridgeInAPearShape yes to both from me too unfortunately. The lifting weights bit really sucks.

Interesting about not cheating yourself @StealthLaSilkySightHound - I think my focus on the scale can sort of be cheating myself from prioritising health benefits sometimes. I want to lose each week but not at the detriment to things like exercise, eating well etc

I stayed up late reading last night and am wrecked today with a headache, I was finding work hard so have stopped my fast earlier than planned - still a decent length though at approx 22 hours.

@StealthLaSilkySightHound just shows that sometimes we have to respect our body’s need for chocolate! But as a general rule 100% we have to be patient and think of the bigger picture than a number on a scale. Plus it’s not like I have my weight tattooed on my forehead, I am more likely to look well from the vanity perspective if i put healthy habits first. Btw I was shocked to find out some of the random symptoms of perimenopause even things like hearing can be effected!

@loveyouradvice Sending you lots of strength and positive vibes. Hope you feel better soon, please be kind to yourself.

@StealthLaSilkySightHound I know exactly what you mean about that small sense of relief when your period starts after you've just eaten some chocolate. It's like, oh, my body knew what it wanted!
I hope you are feeling better now, it definitely is an up and down long road.

Well done to everyone else on your fasts and weight loss successes.

I finished a 44 hour fast yesterday. It went well apart from severe headache in the evening of day 2. I'd been for a swim and sauna that day and think that's what did it.
In attempt to keep my body guessing I'm trying something a little different today, I had a late breakfast (which was very sizeable), I normally don't have breakfast. Might have another small meal at some point before 4 pm and then stop till tomorrow. I'm not going to lie, I feel so stuffed at the moment I'm actually uncomfortable, my body is just not used to getting food in the morning. So heading for a walk to try and walk this food off.

I need to get back on track. I had a biscuit binge about two weeks ago, and I’ve done the same three times since then. Weight’s back up to the half-stone point that I had tried so hard to put behind me.

So I’m re-committing to my fast, and healthier eating. No more milky coffee before bed. No more cream or sugar/sweetener in anything. Loads of green salad and home-made soup and stews. Most of my exercise will be clearing the mess in the garden after the storms.

Tonight being Burns’ Night, I’ll partake in very small quantities. Then I’m done with excuses.

@LosingAndWinning am with you there! It only takes a few days off the wagon to see it creep back on. Like a never ending cycle with me.

Sounds like you have the positivity back though! Our last few days of this month - we can do it!!!

@LosingAndWinning similar story here. Not being too harsh with myself, and recommitting to more 8-hour days with lots of whole foods.