Counting down to August B)

[desikated]

We're all going on a summer holiday....
No more fasting for a week or two...

@Cherryblossom81 @Clearingaspace @TooEarlyForBreakfastInJune @Eastie77Returns @HarpQuartet @ItRainsItPours @NewYorkNewYork24 @Saraswati

Morning all, Friday check-in: 76.7kg. My mini goal is to be 76kg by 10 July, then stay under for the rest of the month. Doable but I need to stop eating rubbish!

My treat was a sound bath on Wednesday, which was lovely, and I'm happy with the exercise I'm doing.

@alwaysplanning apparently you can start off with under 800 cals on 5:2 and work your way down towards 500.

I am going to come back to the meditation recommendations thank you @loveyouradvice and @HarpQuartet. thanks also for the new thread @desikated . Well done everyone for keeping on keeping on (I always get that phrase wrong!)

sw 204
last week 188- high of 190 ish!
this week 182.5

so the human being diet has done the job of getting me off the upf! Think like @ItRainsItPours this makes a big difference for me. The fasting element is 2 days fasting mimicking with only veg and black tea or coffee and water. There is something horrible sounding where you are optionally supposed to drink Epsom salts for a laxative effect- I skipped this! Phase 2 is 14 days with no oil, sugar etc but fruit and protein added in. I have been having 2 eggs and veg for breakfast, 140g protein and 140 g veg for lunch and dinner. One of the strict rules is 3 meals a day with a 5 hour water fast in between each, which is hard. There are loads of rules and phases to understand but the book is on kindle unlimited and there are offers for a free month at the mo for prime day. This diet recommends varying veg and protein as much as possible and interestingly I have just read the same in an article about pufas.

Hi!

Can I join?

CW 88kg (13st 12ish??)
Goal for the end of July/ beginning of August 86kg

Holidays mid August

Starting a new job 1st Sept

Medium term (End of the year?) GW 79kg (about 12st 6ish?)

though eventually I'd like to get back to 72kg which gets me back into the healthy weight range!

I managed to maintain roughly 70-74kg for a year after losing almost 50kg over 18 months during the pandemic (yes I'm contrary 😜) but it's crept up again during the last two years purely due to self indulgence, tiredness and stress eating (I know using sugar to compensate and reward and prop myself up is self destructive and is how I got really heavy back when my children were sleepless small ones, but I still slip back into it 😳).

I know what to do but think I need a support thread for accountability!

desikated do you take an average weight? Fluctuations are normal and in my personal experience often related to what I eat not how much. I find that although complex carbohydrates can cause bloating and if eaten late in the day they can cause the scale to be higher in the morning because they're still in my digestive system, actually long term complex carbohydrates (especially oats and carbohydrate rich vegetables and beans/ pulses) help my weight loss. Salt obviously causes water retention which also looks like weight gain but isn't really of course. The killer for me is processed food especially but not only anything containing processed sugar. For me that causes fast weight gain that doesn't shift quickly, but it's so very hard to stay away from as nearly everything anyone offers as a "treat" contains processed sugar!

I honestly don't think it's carbohydrates that need avoiding, just specifically simple carbs and processed food (which is usually high in salts and simple carbs and low in fiber). Most people in "western" countries already eat too much protein, not too little and don't actually need to increase protein (according to the Zoe and Gin Stevens podcasts and the Blue zone cookbook anyway 😜)

I've listened to a lot of intermittent fasting and "Zoe science and nutrition" podcasts, as well as read books like the diabetes code (I don't have diabetes but have a family history). I think wholefoods are the answer and it's logical.

@Whale80ne welcome to the thread. I too lost weight in lock down but have regained some of it. I found it so easy when I eating at home without things like ice cream vans jumping out on me!

ItRainsItPours thank you for the welcome! I must guiltily admit I felt weirdly more in control during lock down although I was actually working incredibly long hours in a shift work health care related job (though not "frontline") and had three kids homeschooling - it should have been prime weight gain territory but actually I felt I had to get out of the morbid obesity category I was in so as to reduce my COVID mortality risk, and somehow I felt in control and driven by a sense of urgency. Obviously that couldn't last indefinitely! Not sure how to recreate that drive! Health is still my main motivation for wanting to be a sensible weight, but it's so hard to do something forever (maintenance 😳). Still got to get back to a maintenance weight first I guess.

The psychology of weight loss and management is pretty interesting but I don't seem to be able to master it! What are the meditation plans posters are referring to? Is that something continued from a previous thread? I've looked into mindfulness quite a bit but not meditation - does it help with being in the right frame of mind to avoid eating junk?

Just dropping in to the new thread to say hi 👋 I'm still maintaining here just below my target at 9st 6lbs. Despite a holiday and weekends away in the last couple of months I've stayed this weight so seems to be a sweet spot for me. I think I could lose a little more with effort but don't want to get too skinny (who knows if this is possible?) As I'm 5'6/7ish so means I'm 21 bmi at the moment. I'm still doing IF everyday except for my long run day which is usually Sunday.

Still running and strength training, working towards a half marathon in October. Anybody got any summer fitness goals? We haven't got another foreign holiday planned but kids being off school sometimes derails me (stress and out of routine!) so I'm hoping IF will help this summer!

Really great to hear this @Saraswati - finding your sweet spot and staying there! What could be better? Huge congrats with the ongoing running...

I'm still feeling rather hung over from a 5.30 am bed this morning - no alcohol just election euphoria..... so just reporting as I stumble thru the day...

I was 11.9 all week, bar 11.8 one day but have bounced back to 11.10 with celebration foods last night....

it'll come back down...

SW: 14.2
CW: 11.10 ... was down to 11.9/8 but bounced back to last week's weight
TW: 11.2 with 11.8 for this month

SW 1st January 17 stone 5
CW 5thJuly 14 stone 8
TW 31st July 14 stone 5

2lbs lost so far this month, mostly sticking to the fasting though quite a bit of high upf has crept in. Will try to get back to healthier habits this weekend. May have to stay away from the England game. Stress tends to equal overeating for me.

My post last night talked about eating lots of processed food and this morning I have the mother of all zits. It’s bad enough being perimenopausal without teenage acne as well. Hopefully the motivation I need to behave this weekend.

So identify @ItRainsItPours ... I had great skin as a teenager but LOTS of zits in my 40s ... go figure....

Hello well done everyone for staying accountable! I have had an ok couple of weeks, not fasting this week as pmt and it doesn’t seem to help. Despite going slightly over my calories everyday too I do seem to be very slowly heading in the right direction so I’ll just keep trying my best. Lots of distractions coming up mine and besties birthdays and end of term celebrations (I’m a teacher) but I’ll do my best. My focuses for next few weeks are drink more water and daily movement

Hi everyone, I always like reading the updates and like picturing us all far and wide like a friendly support net.

I've been a bit ashamed of my eating recently and need to get my eyes on the prize, which is the health benefits of being 72kg. I'm stuck around 77kg, maybe because my clothes fit me nicely at this weight, so I'm quite content with how I look, but I need to remind myself why I need to get back on track.

@Saraswati that's a really helpful idea for me, a fitness goal. I've got one run left to complete Couch to 5k, but a little blip in my routine has knocked out pilates and strength training, and so my goal is to reintroduce that.

@HarpQuartet thats fantastic your clothes are fitting well - and also that you want to continue to lose a little more for health reasons - in honesty vanity is too big a part of it for me and that’s what I yo- yo. The people who seem to keep weight off are more focused on health I think 🤔

so I had a good weigh in today and was 179.7! Finally!!!! Still releasing the same weight as earlier this year but very happy as it’s the first time in ages I have had a weekly weightloss aim and actually achieved it! HBD diet is hard but I am having fruit after all 3 meals which really helps psychologically. The five hour gap with just water is super hard, it’s getting easier - but sometimes is just not practical with work and family life. However I am expecting a weight stall now as I am adding new foods back in this week and also starting hrt. Bit nervous about it tbh. Hopefully hrt will be a positive thing though.

have a lovely weekend all x

Sub 180, @Clearingaspace 👏👏👏 you're grit and determination personified.

I have Covid and it's turned me into an eating machine and also I'm barely doing anything other than sitting on the sofa, so grateful for a weigh-in of 76.5, only a smidge over my first goal for the month (I was a kilo more yesterday - bodies are weird! Maybe the loss is entirely snot).

Oh no - a few people seem to be getting Covid right now. I hope you feel better soon. lol at snot weightloss 😂

I'm just checking in as I've missed a couple of weeks and am hoping to make myself accountable for a fast tomorrow! I'm starting now and aiming to do 16-17 hours.

@HarpQuartet hope you are feeling better. I've found I want to eat loads when I've had covid. It's weird as other illnesses tend to reduce appetite.

Did my first premenstrual fast last week (without knowing it was going to be!) The fasting itself was fine but my mood was awful - I was so short tempered! 😔 I've found it much harder to avoid snacking on non-fast days with a period. I'm blaming that anyway! 😂

I had a week off fasting for pmt time, just couldn’t face it with a busy work week, man flu husband etc but now that’s slid into celebrating my birthday and this is my down fall- always find an excuse!!!!

I'm a bit dismayed at having fallen out of my routine. I have heard from others that Covid made them massively hungry, and although I'm back at work now, my routine hasn't really re-established. I've had a couple of overeating days and generally am not managing as well as I would like, so need to sit down and have a therapy session with myself and plan my meals and get back on track.

I've just weighed in at 78kg, and my goal this month was to get to 76kg and stay below it, so I obviously need to recalibrate.

With 11 days left in July I think it would be reasonable to get below 77 again.

Well done everyone who's keeping on keeping on.

Happy birthday @Bunnie007 Definitely a good reason to celebrate and eat some nice food!!

@HarpQuartet we will all be there at some point over a year with weight gain after covid or illness - definitely look after yourself and concentrate on nourishing yourself well for a bit to get back on good form.

hope your fast goes well @Misstabithabean

so hrt and very relaxed hbd diet are working in my favour with a 3lb loss bringing me back to my lowest this year I think (and lowest in at least 2 years). Finally back on track after, oooh only 6 months of yo-yoing 😂 😭

sw 204
lw 179 something
cw 176.6

@Saraswati @desikated @loveyouradvice and everyone else, hope all well with you

Happy birthday @Bunnie007 ! Its my birthday on Tuesday so I'm going to have a relaxed weekend, dh taking me out for a fancy lunch tomorrow so I'm not going to fast this weekend. Might still go for a run though! My last year of my thirties 😫

I'm still hanging at my target, had to cut down running as I had a hip issue but rest has helped, need to up my mileage as I'm 12 weeks until my half marathon now. Thinking of other targets to set myself before 40 next year! Having a mid life crisis already I think...

High fives and celebrations for all this news, fanfare for the birthdays, the marvellous getting back on track and all round inspiring-ness

@Saraswati I am looking forward to hearing what other goals you come up with!

Start 05:07 - 88kg
CW 20.07 - 86 kg (this was my end of July target)
New end of July target (only a week) 85.5Kg

I finished reading 'Life in The Fasting Lane' which reminded me how I lost the weight last time and has got my mind back on track I think. I completely avoided processed sugar and did two 36 hour fasts separated by a day of eating three healthy meals with loads of fibre and some protein and healthy fats. It was easy because I did 7pm Tuesday to 7am Thursday, and 7pm Thursday to 7am today (eating unrestricted healthy food between 7am and 7pm on Thursday and just doing 18:6 on the other days). I work until 21:30 on Wednesday and Fridays so fasting is easy on those days and really freeing as it means I don't have to make myself food to take or stop myself eating communal snack foods always available. I'm only working this pattern until mid August then holiday, then changing to a regular daytime pattern in September which might make getting back to a healthy weight and maintaining harder, but I'll work it out!

Happy birthday Bunny
Get well soon Harp
Well done everyone for the successes and onwards and downwards!

Morning IF-ers, bit of a meh month for me. I'm currently 77.3kg, same weight I was at the end of April! I still have 5kg to lose, so need to stop hovering around here and pay attention to the amount of UPF I'm eating. It's definitely do-able.

Exercise-wise I'm enjoying Zombies, Run! And need to keep reminding myself to do a strength training or pilates video. It's amazing how forgetful I am when it suits me!

Oh my goodness I am very forgetful about exercising @HarpQuartet - well done on zombies run!

@Whale80ne how have you done with your fasting this week?

I am a bit cross as the scales were not my friend this morning- i had a small amount of roast potatoes last night so that might be the culprit 😭 i did also have a treat weekend rather than meal last weekend to be fair!

sw 204
lw 176.8
cw 177.7

hope all good with everyone