July 28-Day FAST start

[Peae]

Would anyone like to join me in following the Gin Stevens’ workbook? I thought I’d start another round of 28 days on Monday 1st July.

Ive been unwell recently and had to stop fasting in order to take medication, but I’m getting better and wanting to eat cleaner and fast again.

There’s time to get the book and read the “instructions” before July.

Bumpty-bump just in case anyone wants to join me from Monday.

Day 1, starting with an early hotel breakfast due to work. Not ideal. Later I have to choose between conference buffet or train station tea or wait til I get home (healthier but extends the eating).
14 hour fast since yesterday.

Hello! I'd like to join you please. I've been doing 12:12 for a while but have decided to give 16:8 a go for the entire month of July as far as possible, but not worrying if it ends up being 14:10 if I'm out in the evening, for example.

I was listening to a Gin Stevens podcast this morning and decided to commit to it for the next four weeks then review how I feel.

Hello! I'm so pleased to accept your company!

Would you like to say a bit more about your timings? When do you tend to break-fast, what meals do you have etc?

I'm aiming for at least 16:8 and find that what's been working for me recently has been a small meal around 10am and then a main meal over by 6pm. However, I also think that there are times when I really need three meals a day according to my body.

@Peae I'm planning on eating between 12pm and 8pm.

I am never very hungry in the mornings so don't usually have a breakfast as such. I usually make a latte and have it with a small handful of nuts and my vitamins. So I figured if I can cope with swapping my morning latte for a black coffee, and moving the handful of nuts to an afternoon snack then it shouldn't be too hard..... I hope!

I am trying to cut down on UPFs and eat more whole foods. I'm not vegetarian but I don't eat lots of meat....twice a week on average. I'm also trying to cut down on alcohol so limit it to weekends. That is something I found 12:12 really helpful with as I could have a glass of wine with my dinner on a Saturday for example but in the evening the kitchen is shut so I wouldn't have a second.

I've lost 13lbs since I've been doing 12:12 and becoming more mindful over the past couple of months so I'm hoping 16:8 will work for me.

Hello! I’ll join you. I’m doing 18:6 (probably more like 16:8 at the weekends). I’m also doing dry July so hopefully that will help too. I want to shift the stone that has crept on over the past year or so. I’ve cut out UPF and mainly cook from scratch but LOVE food and obviously eat too much of it…..

lunch: baked potato, cottage cheese, salad leaves and homemade coleslaw
dinner: roast veg pasta bake with salad leaves
80% dark chocolate and a handful of nuts

Thank you @GameOfJones and welcome @Bloodylovecake

Day 1 motivation carried me through today:
-I swerved the buffet lunch completely and picked up wholefood salads from M&S at the train station.
-Started fasting at 3pm.
-Then hit the gym for the first time in weeks (due to Covid)
-Reached 10k steps for the first time in weeks (also due to Covid)
-Have cooked a lentil and chickpea curry for tomorrow night.

Hi all, I’d like to join please. Have known about Gin for a long time and have fasted before. Started yesterday with black coffee during my fast (losing the sugary tea wasn’t as bad as I thought) and ate between 4 and 10. Would like to move this to between 5 and 9 ideally. Happy fasting 🙂

I haven’t read Gin Stephen’s 28 Day Fast, but have read Fast, Feast, Repeat and occasionally listen to her podcast. Is it worth buying the workbook?

Today
12 lunch - leftover veg pasta bake and salad, apple
5.30 dinner - veg thai curry and spicy cauliflower
handful of chocolate covered almonds

The food I eat is quite ‘hearty’ and my portions are on the large side so I’m going to try and combine IF with slightly smaller portions this month.

In my opinion, yes. There's a lot of repetition, but that's something I find very helpful. I thought the price of £14 for a month's support was ok. (This is unpleasant, but I really struggle with Gin's podcasts because her voice and chuckle grate on my nerves).

It's helped me make two changes - one, I finally accepted the need to eat clean. If I persuade myself Diet Coke doesn't count, I don't lose weight. Secondly, it made me get very realistic about my eating window. Before I'd eat a couple of meals and graze slightly in between. Now, I 7eat a small meal or snack and then no grazing until a proper meal and nothing afterwards.

Today I managed a 21 hour fast and 6 hour eating window. Also, walked my commute, so currently on 13k steps. Breakfast was salmon salad and 2x Oreos at 12pm. Tea was the chickpea and lentil curry with basmati rice, at 5:30.

@Peae I don't find Gin's voice bothers me but I do know what you mean as I find it very difficult to listen to the guy on the Zoe podcasts. Not Tim Spector..... Jonathan Wolf so I understand about different voices grating on different people.

I actually did listen to one of Gin's podcast episodes today and found the person sharing their story quite inspiring.

I managed an 18 hour fast today as I had eaten an early dinner yesterday. I didn't find it too bad at all other than I got a slight headache this afternoon despite having had 1 black coffee and 3 glasses of water by that point. Perhaps I really need to up my water intake!

I had lunch at 12.30pm, a snack of some mixed nuts with a latte at 3pm and dinner of poached eggs and beans on toast just now at 6.30pm. Back into fasting mode again now and I'll see how far I can get. I'm going out for dinner with work colleagues tomorrow so ideally will do a long fast to shift my 8 hour window a bit later to compensate for it......but I'll see how I get on.

I actually did listen to one of Gin's podcast episodes today and found the person sharing their story quite inspiring.

I've scrolled through and downloaded some with guests from the UK and Australia, as I find their diets tend to be more relatable for me. It's also part of that repetition, repetition, repetition that I find I need to help counteract all of the advertising to eat lots of junk lots of the time. Good Luck with your fast tomorrow!

Is anyone else following the instruction not to weigh for 28 days? Last month I ended up having a sneaky peak or two, but ultimately it was helpful not weighing myself.

I’m not weighing myself until the end of the month, happy to wait and see.

I know what you mean about the Zoe presenter’s voice @GameOfJones… I’ve just listened to Bert Herring’s ‘The Power of Appetite Correction’ and whoever narrated that sounds like a robot - very off putting!

Today
12.30 greek salad and oven chips
80% chocolate and handful of nuts
5.30 leftover veg thai curry and cauliflower

My only exercise is walking at the moment. I should really think about some strength training.

I managed another 18 hour fast. Broke my fast with hummus on sourdough toast at 1pm and it was delicious.

I am weighing myself once a week as I have a lot to lose and I want to keep myself on track. I've lost 1lb so officially hit my first stone lost (only three more to go! 😬)

What I have found (and sorry if this is TMI) is I'm feeling a bit constipated. Has anyone else had this?

Are you constipated or just not needing to go?

Feeling like rubbish here (I get migraines since hitting the perimenopause). So, only managed a 15 hour fast. Bit too much eating today and quite sedentary. Might make it to swimming but probably more likely I just go to bed early.

How is everyone else doing?

I was definitely a bit constipated, although it seems to have settled down now luckily. It was a late one last night out with clients, I finished my glass of wine at 10:30pm so ended up with a 9.5hr eating window yesterday. I'll try and go as long as I can today but aiming for at least 14 hours of fasting.

Today's meals:

L- Hummus on sourdough
S - Melon and some nuts
D - Jerk chicken, rice and green veg

Did a 1km swim yesterday, but only 9k steps due to the rain.
Also, trying to delay my eating window this morning too.

Fasting, eating and sleeping have really taken a hit the last 24 hours due to general election, but still a 14 hour clean fast, and no grazing.
Over 14k steps.

Plan for tomorrow is get caught up with the book and journaling, and clean fast.

I’ve managed to stick to 18:6 and no alcohol - but a couple of social events last week meant healthy choices and smaller portions went out of the window. Cake featured heavily yesterday and sugar seems to switch my brain into ‘give no sh*ts’ mode🙈

Back to mindful choices today.
lunch: cheese omelette wrap with loads of salad
apple and watermelon
Dinner : Vietnamese salad with smoked tofu
80% chocolate, handful of nuts

Have lovely weekends all.

Going real well here. Fasts are mostly 16-18 hours, with a 14. Post-Covid walking is increasing too.

Hows anyone else doing?

Going well here too. I've discovered I really like the Clipper white tea brand and can drink that without milk so that's made clean fasting so much easier.

I'm aiming for 16:8 but am hitting 18:6 most days apart from one evening out which ended up at a 14:10 but I was still pleased with that overall.

I'm feeling good and definitely less bloated. I'm also surprised at how calm I feel, particularly at bedtime and I'm sleeping well.

I'm aiming for 16:8 but am hitting 18:6 most days apart from one evening out which ended up at a 14:10 but I was still pleased with that overall.

Snap! :)

I'm sleeping much better, but I'm putting some effort in to the sleep hygiene so can't say how much is down to the fasting.

@Peae I'm normally pretty good with sleep hygiene in terms of regular bedtime, no TV in bedroom, reading in bed or listening to a podcast rather than scrolling etc so I do think it's the fasting that seems to have made a difference. Maybe just going to bed not feeling full or bloated is what has changed.

I managed 19 hours of fasting overnight and today but food has been a bit all over the place due to a manic day at work.

2pm - a latte
4pm - some nuts and a yoghurt
5.30pm - avocado on toast

I've got a vegetable pie ready meal so I'll have that before 8pm then start fasting again. It brings me to 1100 calories for the day.

Only a 15 hour fast completed this morning, but hoping for at least 17 tomorrow after a pub tea tonight.
I wanted to go to the gym whilst the footie was on, but I'm absolutely exhausted so heading for a bath and an earlier night tonight.

(And in complete disclosure, I had a sneaky, illegal peak at the scales this morning and was encouraged!).