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.

Same here too - wine 3x this week as well as biscuits and drinking milky drinks when I should start fasting. I wonder if it’s a January thing? Hoping my gain isn’t too bad tomorrow but it will be up rather than down i would think. Fresh week ahead tomorrow though.

I wonder if it’s a January thing?

Quite possibly. Life just feels like one long (dark, cold) slog.

CHECK-IN WEEK THREE FRIDAY 25 JANUARY

No loss this week for me, stayed the same, I have expected a week like this as I dropped 5 pounds since 2nd Jan so not too disheartened. It just seems odd to me it's happened mid cycle when I'm feeling good and eating well, oh well!

But how about we share a non scale victory? I tried on some trousers I bought ages ago which were tight and now fit nicely. They were a vinted bargain so I didn't want to get rid when they didn't fit and now I can wear them, hurrah!

CW: 9st 13lbs
SW: 10st 4lbs
Goal: 9 lbs 7ish (maybe lower?) for my holiday in May. (Real goal, buy size 10 trousers without worrying whether they will fit so whatever weight that is)

Well done on the nsv @Saraswati - mine is that I picked a top out of my drawer I hadn’t worn in ages and it fit! Also things in general are fitting when I put them on which wasn’t the case 4 months ago.

12 stone 11 . 2 so up approx 1.5 lbs

Weekly check in:
01/01/24: 195.2
LW: 193.9
CW: 193.7

Well a loss is a loss!

I've been weighing daily and taking my weekly average, so there's been a lot of fluctuation this week. But it's been my daughter's birthday, so there's been wine, takeaway and cake!
Starting the think more about "what" I'm eating, not just the when, so hoping I'll see better losses going forward. Although for me, if I lose nothing I'm happy; I just do not want to gain any more weight, and the way I've been the past few years I've easily gained half a stone a year. So enough is enough!
Plus I'm sure my body is reaping plenty of other benefits from IF so I'm more than happy with the process!

80.2kg - very slightly less than last week. I feel like I might start February just under 80kg, which would be very motivating.

Enjoy those trousers, @Saraswati that's a really nice feeling.

Non-scale victory: I'm currently seeing a therapist for work-related issues and have had two really useful insights this week and last, which I've been able to share with my husband. It's helped us talk about unhelpful patterns we find ourselves repeating, which are nothing to do with my work, but obviously everything is all bound together really.

Also I attended two webinars this week about pensions, which I've been meaning to get my head around for ages, and they both made me feel much more confident about what I need to do next.

Well done @Clearingaspace @Catherhino @HarpQuartet that's all so positive!

I've had a similar experience with my husband too @HarpQuartet he started having counselling and it's had a positive impact on me too, he's been able to share with me some of the negative communication patterns we've been stuck in which we are trying to rectify. Also it's like a black cloud has lifted from over him, just getting everything off his chest to a neutral person. I had therapy years ago and it was one of the best things I've ever done, it really saved me from spiralling when I was in a difficult situation.

Hi everyone!

SW 2/1/2024 14st 6lbs
CW 26/1/2024 13st 10lbs - 1lb down this week

Hello everyone, been lurking and enjoying everyone’s updates but usually forget to post on a Friday morning.
sw 11st10 07/01/24
cw 11st7 26/01/24

feeling like it is more than that and have a lot more energy. Was going to wait until I was a bit lighter to (re)start running again but it stopped raining for half an hour on Wednesday and I couldn’t resist. My attempt on the world’s longest couch to 5k campaign is now definitely back on.

So glad I found this threadl, I’m so impressed by everybody’s determination and kindness.

Hi everybody. Small loss for me this week. I had a very strong start to the week with a long 44 hour fast, and then did a couple of shorter fasts too.
But having pizza last night probably didn't help 😂

05/01/24 66.1 kg
12/01/24 62.9 kg
19/01/24 64.3 kg
26/01/24 64 kg

Well done everyone! Applause and high fives, especially in the U.K. winter cold and dark. Am really encouraged watching everyone progress and staying determined.
This is week 2 of being back on the fasting wagon. I lost about 1.5-2lb this week. Longest fast was almost 20 hours. Also had a day where I was hungry and stopped after 14 hours and had avocado and egg toast. I had planned to quit bread entirely with the WOE but this was high quality whole meal high fibre and I was worried it would stall me but it seems fine which is great, so now I am going to have bread once or twice a week. My diet has really changed to a Zoe type diet, lots of fermented food, veg, salad, etc and DH is getting into it too. Yesterday I made a chickpea and black bean chilli with shredded cabbage noodles and we both loved it. Previously he would have moaned that it didn’t have meat.

I have noticed 30 mins of inclined treadmill walking is feeling easy so I’m upping the gradient to 12. And I have moved to ten pound dumbbells instead of 7lb for my upper body workout.

SW 195.5lb - 13 stone 9lb - 88.7kg
CW 187.5 lb - 13 done 3lb - 85kg
GW 150lb - 10.7 stone - 68kg

My birthday is early Feb so if I can be ten pounds lighter for it than when I started I will be chuffed AF.

Sorry your daughter has the puking virus @StealthLaSilkySightHound sounds grim for all of you

Hope your dd is starting to feel better @StealthLaSilkySightHound

well done on losses and nsvs everyone.

Potential nsv, I had my hair dyed with permanent dark dye at Christmas (possibly a mistake!) and the roots have come through scarily white, however their are lots of baby hairs so I am taking it as a good sign of healthy things happening internally as my hair has thinned a lot over recent years.

Hello all.... thank you so much for your lovely messages, which landed beautifully in those first days, when I thought I was navigating things okay.

Since then, I semi-binged for 2.5 days at the end of last week, only rebalancing myself Sat, Sun and today. I would love to reflect more on that with you in coming days - I suspect there is much wisdom and experience of this in this group.

So, I didn't weigh myself on Friday while being very aware that you all were.... reportingtoday: after a couple of days of rebalancing, I have put on 2.5 lbs which feels fair and accurate given what I ate.

SW: 14.2 (last summer)
CW: 12.3
TW: 11.2
Now back to 3-6 hour windows with low carb, lots of veggies, berries and protein.

Gentle reminder to self – I lost 40lbs in 2021 to reach my 11.2 target and kept it off for 14 months: I can do it again
IF is how I look after my body for the rest of my life

I'm sad that I'm not on track for 11.7 by my birthday (early March) which was my goal, with target weight by Easter. But this is a WOE for life and stumbling along the way and hopefully learning from it happens.

NSV - I love these!! I am back in favourite dresses which were languishing in my wardrobe until November... And I confidently went to a second-hand charity designer sale on Friday evening, just casually picking up anything that appealed and tried it on. Yup, I'm currently wearing a jumper that was labelled S, while also buying an XL which certainly wasn't and is going to become one of my favourites.

It is so good to catch up on all of your news....

@PartridgeInAPearShape – I love the learning we are all going through about our own bodies and what works for us. Congrats on discovering what really causes bloat for you – and what doesn’t. And big workouts – yes I have always gained a couple of pounds after these: I read it was about the body retaining water as your muscles mend, before releasing it.

@Peae and @PartridgeInAPearShape I am in awe of your exercise regimes – so impressive!! And @Notmycircusnotmydonkeys – wow! I love that you couldn’t resist going for a run, that must hae been a gorgeous feeling. I will be cheering you on with your couch to5k progress.

@StealthLaSilkySightHound I hope hope hope your DD has recovered and no one else has got it: how horrid for you all. AND wow, your BIL’s story is SO inspiring: it is so impressive how much we can achieve when we understand more about the power of nutrition ... And I so agree about mental bandwidth: losing weight usually takes a serious investment of time and energy for me and so often in life I (and other women) haven’t had the space fort this. These words of yours resonated deeply with me... reading them, I felt this is me AND that it is possible...
The sum of which was, I can't cheat myself. There isn't a quick way to go about fixing things when I'm over half a century old. Lots of bad habits, lots of areas to bring back into balance. But, what's my alternative? Get ever fatter, which is a no from me on grounds of both vanity and health. So, got to do what I've got to do and somehow keep motivation up when innately I'm very impatient, impulsive and like fast results. Sigh. This is going to need a change of personality in me, let alone the physical changes required.

@FastingPhilly I once checked with a hospital bowel surgeon what they recommended in the natural line for patients - linseeds 2T a day was their response, and I've found that having 1-2T a day really works for me.

@Saraswati – so much for you to celebrate –Im LOVING the image of you in your gorgeous trousers – and wow, it must feel good to be back in the 9’s – Congratulations.

And HUGE congratulations to everyone this week for losing or maintaining or deciding to get back on track (with great empathy for those like me who overate unexpectedly). I am a strong believer in our being powerful women who can do this together.

Winifred has to be the perfect name.... I wonder if she is trying to tell you anything? Or just doing some internal processing before she announces her findings...

Yes, I love that moving into the no longer overweight category - for me that happens at 11.6. A great goal to focus on ... and interesting my end goal is not much less. I rather like my hourglass figure and am happy to have the extra padding in a way that I wasn't in my 20s when I felt chubby at 10 stone and was always trying to get back to 9.5. How foolish the young are!

You are going to be a seriously skinnyminny at 60kg @StealthLaSilkySightHound ! And have real fun with your new body!

And HUGE congratulations to everyone this week for losing or maintaining or deciding to get back on track (with great empathy for those like me who overate unexpectedly). I am a strong believer in our being powerful women who can do this together.

Hear, hear. @loveyouradvice I also went a bit crazy last week and so didn't check-in. I'll do so now,

• at least 14-hour fasts every day. Yes! Between 14 and 23.
• at least a Zoe score of 50 per day (this means basically low UPF and high in plant-based foods). Nope, had three days below. This is the one I'm focusing on now.
• at least 10k steps a day on my sedentary drive-to-work days days. Nope, last weekend was terrible and I can't even remember why.
• get to the gym and lift x6 and swim x3. Smashed this one - lifted x7 and swim x6.

On a recent Zoe podcast I heard something that I'm trying with my binge foods (whole packets of Oreo's). Instead of trying to quit, you try five different alternatives to something you’d like to change. And if none of the alternatives work, go back to it. Also, the alternatives don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be better.

So I’m going to try five alternatives to biscuits, starting with sliced apple and whole nut butter. My second experiment is going to be black bean brownies 🤔

Check in:

start weight in Jan: 73.6kg
weight 5 Jan: 74.2 kg
weight 12 jan: 73.1kg
weight 21 jan: 72.8kg
weight 29 jan: 71.6kg

so a loss of 1.2kg. I'm not setting too much store by this loss as I've had the flu since Wednesday last week and went for three full days having consumed the grand total of 5 breadsticks. Over the weekend my weight dropped to 70.4kg and whilst usually I'd be ecstatic to be that much closer to my goal, the last few days have been misery and it's not really a true weight-loss, or fat loss, just loss of fluid most likely from being so ill.

I am still feeling phlegmy but I am slowly getting my appetite back so here's hoping I can carry on with some sustainable fasting for long term health and weight loss! My main goal for this week is to get better and be in bed by 10.

Well done on everyone for getting through the week!

@Peae my favourite "healthy" snack is to put peanut butter in a medjool date and pop it in the freezer. It's sort of like a snickers ice cream and relatively faff free. Another firm favourite is medjool date with half a walnut in the middle sprinkled with some desiccated coconut. My mum used to make these for guests all the time when we were little as an after dinner treat with black cardamom tea ☕️