Countdown to Easter

[ItRainsItPours]

All welcome!

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

Just popping in to say I will fast until at least 11am, which will be 16 hours.

Good luck for 16 hours @HarpQuartet

i finally logged a fast correctly at judt over 12 - I keep having to delete 400 hour fasts!

Thanks @HarpQuartet and @StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans for applauding my mistype - I loved the operatic approaach and can just picture that! Fab image....and feels so apt. Sometimes our eating is dramatic and over the top - and sometimes pianissimo.

@HarpQuartet Congrats - that sounds great, you are getting back on track. Would you like to make a commitment to us to come and post about your fasting window every day this week? ie up to next Friday. Or does that feel a step too far?

I do think the secret is small steps forward - or sideways when needed, just recognising that is what fits your life at the time - and definitely learning how to maintain through rough patches... that for me is the biggest challenge

@Clearingaspace I hope you can be gentle with yourself as you recover - that post Covid exhaustion is so tough. I definitely find that when I am really really tired, my body almost makes me eat... it certainly sends endless signals that it needs food!

@ItRainsItPours sending you a Friday hug (if welcome)... and love to know your secrets for maintaining at the moment... what are you discovering about yourself?

@loveyouradvice yes, thank you for the suggestion: I'll do a short accountability message every day. You're very kind x

And my stats for the week... not great ones, but I'm telling myself that's okay.... I even find myself saying it aloud to myself "And that's okay"... I found it strangely reassuring when I couldn't do stuff after my sister died, and have used it ever since... a gentle caring tone that I'm not used to hearing.

My stats this week:
SW: 14.2
CW: 11.4 so up 2lbs from last week (and 5lbs from week before)
GW: Now 10.12 ... which is feeling more of a reach at the moment (It was 11.2 until a couple of weeks ago)... but I will get there, just a bit more slowly and there are bumps in the road!!

@HarpQuartet that's great - I'll look forward to seeing it.

And it feels almost serendipitous that you said I was kind... I suspect that being kind to ourselves is something that does not come naturally to any of us, and that the more we can do it, genuine kindness and forgiveness of ourselves, the less we will need food to fill the void. (At least that's true of me!)

I am so sorry to hear about your sister - I know you had mentioned periods of grief @loveyouradvice

thanks so much for all the support, encouragement and inspiration you give us. You will definitely get there @loveyouradvice . I will try to log fasts or small daily goals next week with @HarpQuartet

Hi all, great to hear all the Friday updates. I can’t fast so at the moment I am maintaining by keeping track of what I eat and exercising. I just got back from a 7 mile walk in our local forest. Not as warm or sunny as earlier in the week but plus point is the forest was quiet.
Looking forward to Mother’s Day weekend with a big roast beef meal. I’ve bought lovely puddings and will enjoy them before getting back on track.

@loveyouradvice I'm very sorry to hear about your sister, what a terrible loss xx

@ItRainsItPours a quiet seven mile forest walk sounds like a perfect Friday to me.

Head is still back in the game, won't break my fast until at least 11am today, 16 hours.

Cheering you on @HarpQuartet 16 hours is fab!!...loving the idea of @StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans and me doing a wee cheerleaders routine alongside! Though I think my days of back flips might be over....

Mmmmm... I love that you have a local forest @ItRainsItPours and a 7 mile walk sounds both impressive and heavenly. And seriously kudos to you for maintaining so thoughtfully.

@Clearingaspace thinking of you as you plan your daily goals or fasts - I wasnt sure if you were starting logging today or on Monday??

@StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans thank you for the reminder about wood and trees - I do daily relish my body being where it is (give or take a few pounds) and truly relish being able to wear new clothes and some old ones, hidden at the back of the attic for ages, and feeling good in my body. And shockingly for a woman in her early 60s, I enjoy the admiration of friends and genuinely feel I look good!! I never thought I would still care about my looks at this age, but I do, and recognise that I'm secretly (or not so secretly) quite vain...

What I miss is my celebration of just 3 weeks ago, that exercise was now my no 1 priority and that I had "sorted" food enough for it to take second place.... for ages, when I thought about health, what I ate was my top priority, and it felt hugely liberating letting that go... Clearly, far too soon! It's been very salutary having 6 days of overeating and chocolate munching, recognising that these age old patterns are still lurking in the background.

This sounds so magnificent @StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans - I feel lucky to alive, strong and cheerful and capable of meeting whatever shit life throws at me today.....Something I aspire to embrace

Have a good weekend everyone!

@StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans I will line up too with my pom-poms for @HarpQuartet

@loveyouradvice I am seriously impressed if you ever did a back flip! I have never even done a rolleypolley! Well my intention was to start today, but I was up early with dd for a uni placeholder event quite far away and their were major problems with trains driver shortages, fire on a platform and a train stuck on the lines 😬 so our trains both ways were cancelled and we missed half the uni event and also got home late. But my food was defo not on point and no fast (but yes to fast food 😝). Anyway I will try and have a cut off tomorrow evening and hit fast on my app - I would really like a little unbroken run of fasts.

have a lovely day tomorrow everyone

@Clearingaspace what a day!! Definitely no expectations other than fast food in those circumstances. Did she like the uni?

I'm going to have to keep all of you firmly in mind today, pom poms and high kicks (I may have added the high kicks - hope that's ok) because my fast doesn't break until 1pm (later dinner than usual, plus clocks went forward) which isn't a longer fast but psychologically is setting off a little bit of panic in me that I won't manage it then I'll career way off course.

It's hard to explain why a fear like that is real, but it's there, and it's making me aware of feeling hungry already.

So a cup of tea, exercise, and today is a working day for me, until 1pm in fact, so that distraction will help.

I'm adding a "You go girl" supporting cheer to the pompoms and high kicks!@HarpQuartet

Sounds like a strenuous day @Clearingaspace - what time is cut off today?

Hello sorry I was doing more travel today catching up with family and the blummin spring time hour being knocked off hasn’t helped! How did you go @HarpQuartet ?

@loveyouradvice i will aim for water fast at 8:00 pm and that way it will be 12 hours not much but it will mean I can’t do midnight toast munching!

12 hours fast is great - the body really benefits from this!! So congrats @Clearingaspace it's a fab step forward.

@Clearingaspace well done for knocking the midnight toast on the head, it's nice at the time but I'm convinced I'm better off without it.

Going well here: I have a psychology that seems to respond very well to saying I'll do something and sticking to it! I'll break today's fast at 10.30am.

Well done @HarpQuartet

funnily enough I was tempted by toast, then remembered I was fasting so it worked! Started my fast a little earlier than planned too. Will aim for 7:00 today.

Applauding both of you!

I so agree @HarpQuartet - I find I'm far more likely to do something if I've told other people I am