Countdown to Christmas

[ItRainsItPours]

All welcome!

Supportive thread for setting goals including self care and fasting, and chat in between!

Hello all, I'm checking back in after Christmas. I've been keeping up the fasting (currently 15 hours and counting.... I'll probably go to 18 hours today) but food choices have not been great. I'm too scared to weigh myself as I know I'll have put on weight but I do need to face it and get back on track at some point.

The fasting has definitely stopped me feeling completely out of control and I've had far less sugar than I normally would. I have not eaten any mince pies at all and have had one slice of my homemade Christmas cake. I have however eaten nuts and cheese so I can't claim it as a huge success!

What I have done is I've signed up to a yoga class for starting in the New Year to do something else positive for my health.

@HarpQuartet Touching toes again - I love that.. I'll make that a gentle January goal, and will find it hugely symbolic when I manage it again

I so agree - this thread is definitely like chatting to friends, and hugely supportive ones at that. I love it!

Welcome back @GameOfJones. Your fasts sound hugely impressive and congrats on signing up for a Jan yoga class! You may have overindulged in nuts and cheese but I definitely see it as a win that you've not embraced the sugar monster, which I think is far more damaging to our bodies. Let us know what it looks like when you get back on the scales - and the triumph is embracing long fasts and healthy eating again now.

I'm surprised how easy it was going to a party last night and just drinking sparkling water, eating nothing - hugely enjoyable chatting to people and feeling good that I'd had a day of just eating what I wanted. I'm aiming for the same again today - though a little ham/olives at two parties tonight ... It is helping me to truly immerse myself in how good my body and brain feel and recognising how different this is to a normal Christmas. (Though I do know how fragile this is too, and how easily I can topple)

Tomorrow we go to stay with friends for New Year, so eating will be more communal and festive until coming back on the evening of the 1st. I'm going to continue reporting daily - wow does it help me - and aiming for pleasure and damage limitation. We're all taking food so at least some of it is in my control and I'll have plenty of "snack stuff" that I've found really helpful for feeling festive but not going off track (raspberries, kombucha, gazpacho, cold cooked courgettes (!), physalis and tangies).

SW (Xmas): 11.3.8
CW: 11.5.4... continuing stable, hurrah...
GW for Xmas period: 11.5

@GameOfJones i actually did a 30 minute YouTube yoga video yesterday. It wasn’t the best one to start on as there was lot of core stuff but I will try the Adrienne 7 day series in January. I agree fasting has been very helpful over the festive period. Cheese and nuts are at least real food even if you overindulged.
@loveyouradvice i think keeping alcohol to a minimum is helpful to me. One large glass of red and will hoover up anything in front of me.
Not the best day for me as we had a big family meal and it is pizza for tea. Did have a lovely walk though.

Hello all

Well, I am somewhat surprised - I managed 2 parties yesterday on just a glass of sparkling water at each. And I had a good time!

@ItRainsItPours - I so agree - alchohol, being tired, or feeling emotional all lead to me becoming a hoover.

Now off to stay with friends for a couple of days - I am aiming for eating windows of 8-10 hours today and on the 1st, but going to be more relaxed tomorrow. I am taking my scales - this feels eccentric but is also a real help in just keeping me conscious. Also lots of simple things to eat to fill in gaps - like raspberries tangies olives and cold veg.

I am hoping Hoping I can stay at under 11.7 as life gets easier from 1st ... a bit more socialising but spread out...

Also hoping that I can stay conscious around food which for me is the key - choosing to eat things and truly enjoy them, in small quantities. Tomorrow will be challenging. If I can be successful, I will feel a real sense of pride and satisfaction.

SW (Xmas): 11.3.8
CW: 11.5.4... still stable, hurrah...
GW for Xmas period: 11.5

@loveyouradvice you have done amazingly with so much socialising - I am in awe! Thank you for posting your updates as they have been a reminder to me to not go to crazy!

@GameOfJones well done on your fasts and good luck with weigh in!

@ItRainsItPours well done on your yoga - I keep meaning to check out Adrienne as I see her mentioned on here quite a bit.

I am up a little but feeling positive, as I did a 17 hour fast - although with some milk in drinks. Sw 193.4 cw 192.9 gw 139

I have just broken my 16 hour fast with a lovely homemade French bread pizza. Lots if veggies in the sauce. Am off to the swimming pool once that settles. I’m hopeful it will be quiet as I know once January kicks in everyone with be returning to exercise.
I am a bit stiff from the core yoga, I should’ve started with something easier. Hopefully the new year course will be quite gentle, I will sign up to the thread over on the yoga board.
Does everyone have New Year’s Eve plans? We have a party with food to navigate. Then there is the issue that when tired I am ravenous so staying up past midnight will be a unique challenge.

@ItRainsItPours you are so inspiring, congrats... and I agree re food - there will be six of us on New Year's Eve and lots to eat over many hours - I think I'm approaching it like Christmas day, not too much of anything and "go to"s of a bowl of tangoes if I feel myself weakening (I reckon I ate 9 or 10 on Xmas day)... plus some super dark chocolate, physallis and mini Lindt teddies which feel festive but are tiny so if I eat two or three it feels okay... And back into fasting action next day.

My DH thinks Im a bit mad - I told him before Christmas that I loved having so much chocolate in the house and success would be if we hadn't eaten most of it by twelfth night.

I confess I found myself late last night opening the Hotel Chocolate cabinet gifted by a relative just to admire them, and smell them. I almost found myself needing to post on here to stop myself eating some of them....somehow I hauled myself back.

En route here I stopped to buy two more bags of tangies (already had one!)... just in case... my safety valve. I am feeling nervous about these two days - I am SO looking forward to becoming the woman who can eat naturally without SO much effort, who can just focus on having fun with friends rather than thinking about almost every morsel I consume.

I keep telling myself this is a transition phase.... and think about how much I am looking forward to creating wonderful vibrant bodies for us all in the coming months...

Quick update from me....

Yesterday went fine - brunch of berries/kefir/muesli/dark choc/nuts and then a fishy starter and main at the restaurant with 2 small spoonfuls of DH choc mousse...

Today's the big challenge so I am going to declare my intentions here....

Eating window 11-10 so 11 hours...
Eggs, gazpacho and cold veg for breakfast
Soup - salad - ham - a little cheese and whatever else is there for lunch
Snacks through day - Raspberries, tangies, physalis...One square of dark choc and a few nuts
And then dinner... not sure what it is yet.. but same principle as Christmas Eve: a small amount of mainly healthy stuff, and sticky toffee pudding with Greek yogurt....
I will be drinking kombucha and sparkling water (which I really enjoy as a mix) with perhaps half a glass of champagne, or nowt - I really do feel much better with no alcohol in my system at the mo
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And of course I forgot to bring my scales but that was a bit ridiculous of me to think I needed it for just two nights... yes longer stays I do, and it really helps... but using DH and being on here is good accountability at the moment.

And I'm also telling mates here that I am relearning my relationship with food, and am being very open about both the challenges and how I am starting to be more successful.

I'm also accepting that my weight will probably go up by 2 pounds, as it did on Christmas Day - but then rather wonderfully came back down with a couple of short window/low calories eating days - so looking for a repeat performance!!

Bizarrely I am also finding that having far too much food is making it easier for me to not eat lots ... so far this is! A strategy that's never worked before (just meant more delicious things to eat) but seems to be this year.... I'll reflect more early Jan if it continues to work. Might it be something to do with feeling there is plenty so I don't need to hoover it all up today - it's there for another time so I can relax? Not sure... but let's see if it continues to work first...

Hope everyone has a beautiful New Year's Eve with people they love - or at least like!!

Hello all, so I braved the weigh in and am 4lbs up from before Christmas. In the grand scheme of things that's not bad considering what my food choices have been like and how much socialising I've been doing.....I'm actually looking forward to getting back into my routine and am planning to get those 4lbs back off quickly.

@GameOfJones 4lbs should come off nicely if you get back to it - I think anything up to that 4 lb or so point is likely water weight from more carbs than usual.

@loveyouradvice that sounds a great plan - enjoy your sticky toffee pudding. My version would be Greek yoghurt with apple crumble - yum. I may have had that for breakfast once or twice after a fast has meant I didn’t have it after dinner. I have a mini prosseco set aside for tonight - technically I was planning to have it at midnight, but actually I may as well have it with or straight after dinner and then close my eating window - not sure why I didn’t think of this until I saw your plan!

18 hour fast yesterday evening. Annoyingly I didn’t properly weigh in before Christmas. I seem to gain very quickly, however since logging my weight here the other day I have maintained as back to 192.5 again so that’s a win!

happy new year all - @HarpQuartet @ItRainsItPours @EmbraceTheBeans @Fouramclub and everyone else who had posted over the year 🥳✨

“And I'm also telling mates here that I am relearning my relationship with food, and am being very open about both the challenges and how I am starting to be more successful.
I'm also accepting that my weight will probably go up by 2 pounds, as it did on Christmas Day - but then rather wonderfully came back down with a couple of short window/low calories eating days - so looking for a repeat performance!!”

I really like this part of your post @loveyouradvice true friends will be pleased for you and supporting. I think we have a culture of needing to offer food and drink freely to be a good host. If people are onboard they are less likely to keep passing you food or topping up your glass. Or questioning what you have ordered if eating out. The easy on easy off mantra is so true and also helps stop the spiralling. I think in the past once I overate I would feel bad about it and then overeat the next day as a result.

I lost 4lbs at the beginning of December so should end it awash. I am ok with that and hope that weight will come off In January.

I will join @Clearingaspace in wishing all posters/lurkers a happy new year. Then I suppose we will need a new thread for the new year. Do you all think we will need to countdown to February or Easter?

@ItRainsItPours I'd be happy with a long one up to Easter BUT if anyone would find a February one more motivating please say 😊

I weighed in today and managed to end December 1lb lighter than I started so that’s not too bad. I am here, a little jaded from NYE but ready for 2025. Have started a new thread for the new year.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/fasting_diet/5242167-countdown-to-easter

That's a HUGE success @ItRainsItPours

I'll be weighing on return so tomorrow morning and will report

@HarpQuartet I do find the monthly countdowns more motivating and love being able to see what we all managed during each month - so yes I love the Countdown to Feb, to Mar, to Apr etc....

Happy new year to all you lovely people - and SO looking forward to creating powerful habits that support our bodies and us in our lives this year.

And my report on yesterday....

I am definitely creating the image of myself as someone who has power over food in 2025... It's still a work in progress.

So yesterday was a mixture of the old and new me...

Things I am proud of:

• using eating lots of tangies as my safety valve throughout the day
• eating 90% choc when I had choc longings - usually...
• not eating potatoes, icecream, cream, blinis at supper
• eating a lot of protein (ham) at supper
• putting a glass of celery sticks on table and having them with melted camembert rather than potatoes like the rest
• drinking very little alcohol
• not starting eating until 11

Things that were more the old me - and what new me would have done

• eating A LOT of supper... new me aims to eat more slowly, pause more, eat a bit less - yes second helpings but smaller plateful second time
• eating 6 yummy smoked salmon and horseradish on rye rather than savouring just 3 and eating them more slowly
• eating a couple of orange chocolates - not amazingly good, just there and I fancied them
• eating a medium sized portion of sticky toffee pudding and then scraping bowl with my neighbour - on Xmas Eve I had a very small portion and no seconds (but I did eat it with greek yogurt!!!- new me, hurrah!!)

And I had an unexpected tiny glass of triple sec at midnight - unplanned but deeply pleasurable!! And extended my eating window from 11-10 to 11-1... only eating tangies and dark choc and that wee triple sec. This is okay for new me - having fun, but not overdoing it!!!

So new me is going to enjoy food in 2025 ... and enjoy having a healthier slimmer body that feels great in new clothes and dancing and just walking down the street!!

Countdown to Easter it is - apologies, somehow not logged your post @ItRainsItPours ....

I'll also be looking to lower my cholesterol through diet and exercise this year so that is a VERY GOOD timescale for that...

I'll pop over and post on the new thread later - thanks for setting it up!!

@loveyouradvice thank you, I'll see you over at the new thread.

@ItRainsItPours would you like to set markers within that longer timeframe? I think I'll do that.