Countdown to JUNE

[loveyouradvice]

All are welcome!

We’re a friendly group that uses Fasting in one form or another to help or maintain our weight loss. We all have our ups and downs, and welcome insights from others and laughter along the way.

Summer's round the corner so let's enjoy getting our bodies ready for June, whatever that means to each of us!

Fridays are our informal day for weighing-in (optional) and reflecting on the week – often with ideas for self-care and new goals in the coming week.

We cheer each other on, and commiserate when things don't go to plan.

If you’re new to this group, do introduce yourself and share your hopes and plans.

And welcoming regulars to our new thread...

Hello to our regulars
@ItRainsItPours
@Clearingaspace
@Fouramclub
@HarpQuartet
@IDareSay
@StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans

Oh my goodness what a terrible shock @loveyouradvice. it’s reassuring that the doctors think the odds are that it’s benign. I will be thinking of you on Monday x

Evening all
i didn’t weigh this morning.. and afraid to weigh now as I’m usually heavier in the evenings. So.. I’m going to go with yesterday’s weight which was a possibly flukey 12 9. I usually weigh every day and the rest of the week was 12 10 every day…
SW 13 5
CW 12 9
Goal 11

so I’m slightly down or possibly STS this week with signs of moving in the right direction!
Did 16:8 today. V little exercise but did go out for a ten minute walk at lunchtime today - self care more than exercise.
Im eating a bit too much bread in my eating window, I’m going to have to tackle that somehow, it’s probably my worst weak point. Like a lot of people I do ok when fasting but find it hard to eat in a controlled way during eating window.
Thinking about trying longer fasts as a solution as really hate and dread calorie counting.

@loveyouradvice I hope all goes well with the neurologist on Monday, meanwhile look after yourself, sounds like you’re doing all the right things.
Well done @Clearingaspacegood workouts, and amazing plant intake!
@HarpQuartet hope you’re doing ok
Hi to everyone else on the thread and hope all have a good weekend!

@loveyouradvice glad that things are moving quickly for you after such unexpected news. I hope Mon goes well and will be thinking of you.

Daily log:
Lunch (1pm): ham and cheese salad with the last of the wild rice. Cup of tea for ‘pudding’

Snacks: Tea x 1

Dinner (6pm): 2 sausages with mash and broccoli.

So eating window of 5hrs which wasn’t deliberate, lunch ended up later than planned.

I seem to be developing a tea drinking addiction. I’ve always liked it but I’m now relying on a cup for a sweet fix (I have one sugar which I’m not willing to give up). I did switch to sweetener for a few years but have switched back from a UPF viewpoint.

Morning all, I'm away for a few days and the place has a full length mirror and I wasn't repulsed by my naked body this morning, so that's good.

@loveyouradvice hope you've managed to plan a relaxing weekend and all good wishes for Monday. Would watching Eurovision tonight count as light and entertaining?

I really enjoy the camaraderie of reading everyone's posts, so thank you for sharing.

@HarpQuartet hope you’re having a good time away.

Daily log (haven’t eaten anything yet but logging early will force me to stick to it!):

Lunch (about 12): Ham and cheese sandwich, crisps and apple. I need to eat on the go hence the sandwich, I have been trying to make better carb choices recently but this will be fine.

Snacks: 1 x hot choc as meeting a friend and 1 x tea when I get home.

Dinner (about 7?): DH wants to BBQ so will be a bit later than normal. Burger, with bun, and new potatoes and salad. No sausages for me. For next time I’m going to look into some nice marinades for chicken / lamb as DH loves to BBQ but I only had burgers and sausages in for tonight.

So eating window of about 7.5hrs I think.

I seem to have forgotten to post yesterday!

So Thursday was protein pancakes with fresh strawberries and Greek yoghurt. Again, but I love them
Dinner was chicken curry with cauli and brocolli and I finished eating by 5.30pm.

Friday was pancakes again (all stawberries gone now 🙁) at noon so that was over 18 hours fasting.
Dinner was cheeseburgers (no bun) with salad and coleslaw, finished by 6pm.

Woke up this morning feeling very dehydrated even though I drank lots yesterday. By 10am I was feeling quite light-headed and eventually succumbed to a Fulfil protein bar. I occasionally feel like this so keep a stock in, including always having two in the car.

So as I ate at 10.30am my overnight fast was just over 16 hours which I'm still pretty pleased with. I'll drink plenty today and hope this is just one of those days. Planning an omelette for my normal lunchtime and chicken of some sort for dinner.

@loveyouradvice good luck for Monday though I'm sure it isn't needed, sounds like you are in good hands.

@IDareSay - I think we're going to have to have that pancake recipe - you make it sound so delcious

The camaraderie on here is wonderful

I'm a bit weepy today while knowing it is ridiculous - I was so strong the last two days - Darn! And that's okay... I'm doing some gentle reading online and really prognosis is very good indeed unless Im very unlucky. I'll let you know how it goes on Monday....

Huge thanks wonderful people for being there through thick and thin... and yes, we have been getting thinner or planning to go that way...

Being a bit weepy is not a surprise @loveyouradvice it is a shock when something like this crops up out of the blue and the emotions often creep up a couple of days afterwards. Make sure to spoil yourself a little

Pancake is easy peasy:

1 egg, 15g ground almonds, 30g cream cheese, couple of drops of whatever flavouring you like (I mostly use vanilla essence, but lemon or anything else works; whatever you have in. Vanilla gives it a nice 'dessert' smell).

I mix mine in my little rechargeable blender (my best buy from last year on the Christmas shopping threads) but a stick blender works just as well.

Dab of butter in a small frying pan and when hot pour in the batter and cook for approx 5 mins per side on medium heat.

That makes one pancake with approx 250 cals, 2g carbs, and 12g protein.

Serve with plenty of fruit of choice and Greek yoghurt.

That is a serious win @HarpQuartet - making friends with a full length mirror again!

Eating window looking good @Mull

What self-care are we all planning this week?

I'm about to buy some of my favourite rose-scented bath essence and planning two short Tai Chi sessions a day ... as well as drinking lots of water and hopefully early-ish nights.

And just bought a rose-scented candle... I never buy those things!! Far too expensive...

Sounds beautiful @loveyouradvice

agreed @HarpQuartet thats a fab nsv

love all the updated everyone.

I might fast this evening and tomorrow am, but not going to be to bothered if I change my mind! The family are having snacks bits while watching Eurovision.

Your self care sounds great @loveyouradvice, treat yourself gently with whatever you need.

My self care:

• gum work continuing. I think this has nearly embedded as a habit now but I must keep on top of it.
• met a friend for a lovely walk today and we might be going away together for a few days in Jun without children!
• Exercise has not been good this last week so I need to focus on that again. My dumbbell lifting is puny compared to @StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans but I’m giving it a go!

Hi everyone, wow that’s a huge shock @loveyouradviceso it’s good that you’re going easy on yourself. I am not doing a FD of any sort today but have been aiming to do 16:8 or a 500 cal FD during the week, weekends are more dependent on what’s happening as have 3 kids and can’t always control what or when I eat. Family BBQ at a relatives house this evening so will be practicing damage limitation.

I like the vibe on this thread - thanks for the welcome x

Evening everyone
I’m just checking in , did 18 hours fast today. Being a Saturday and at home it was hard but I made a to do list in the morning to keep myself occupied, and got there. There was a Magnum involved - so far from perfect eating - but other than that focused on veggies, and protein with as usual some bread, but not a crazy amount. I’m going to try to make 18:6 my normal..
I usually close my eating window at 8pm and I noticed today I felt a bit panicky as it came close - I have these feelings of anxiety about not getting to eat what I want but the habit is what’s getting me through it. Once 8pm arrives I accept that’s it for the night. I think posting on here is helping too.
Great to hear about everyone’s progress and non scale victories. Great self care @Mull
@StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans you are an inspiration! I’m 56 and hair also has quite a lot of silver now . I’ve some way to go on the deadlifting 😂 as right now I go for the 3kg dumbbells 😊. Your flexibility and energy levels sound great - that’s where I would like to get to! I need to make more time for resistance training.

@tiredwitless well done on 18 hour fast! I got 16 hours done yesterday, which I am happy with.

I am not planning to fast today but really need to do some housework and gardening so that’s the aim I need to focus on today.

Remembered I had some black pudding in the fridge so yesterday's lunch was bp and scrambled eggs, lush 😘Some bp left for tomorrow and a portion has gone in the freezer.

Had an early dinner of chicken and veg and finished eating at 5.30pm.

Just broken my fast with an omelette, so fasting time of 18 hours.

Dinner will be leftovers of last night's chicken and veg. Ocado delivery tomorrow so must review meal plan this afternoon. But first a lovely sunny walk with the dogs ☀

ETA: I'm not planning on weighing in until the end of the month; can tell I have already lost some bloat but not close to my previous lowest weight yet according to how my clothes are fitting.

So great to see you back on here @StealthilyEmbraceTheSilkyBeans ... Had been hoping you were okay. And a TRIUMPH to have a flat stomach from FMD - Enjoy wearing those jeans! Im just in awe - lifting your own weight, wow and mega wow! Seriously inspiring... I'll put a bit more effort into my 3kg weights as a start....

@Queendodo - I find those 500 calories in a 30 minute window days SO powerful .. I was doing them most weeks! Good luck with yours.

@tiredwitless ... ooh, Magnums, my weakness... our stash is kept in the freeze in the garage, with my husband in charge of the key!! Congrats on 18 hours, that's magnificent

@Clearingaspace those hours are looking good - hope the gardening goes well. Just THE best exercise.

Sounds like a sensible plan @IDareSay - knowing how you feel in favourite clothes is such a good measure. And Im salivating ... black pudding is lush!!

My eating plan this week is totally focussed on eating for health and recovery (my forehead scar is beginning to feel a bit irrelevant, but Im a vain old creature so will be eating the extra protein as it heals).

So the plan:

• Longer eating windows: 8-10 hours, and longer on Wed when seeing friends
• Lots of protein - aiming for 100g a day, when I normallly eat around 70g
• Masses of veggies, salad and berries....and a few legumes
• Relaxed about eating extra dark chocolate and nuts ... my weight is staying at 11.4, so weighing daily and trying to be moderate in my excesses...

I always forget how much I love homemade tabbouleh - seriously nectar of the gods... eating and relishing it for days on end at the moment ... And there is something SO satisfying in the making, chopping up great bunches of mint, parsley and coriander

I’m just about managing 17-18hr fasts most days, minimum of 16hr which I’m very pleased with.

Daily log:

Lunch: (12.45) Ham and smoked cheese salad with leftover new potatoes (going to cook more of these and have in the fridge for next week).

Snacks: 2 x teas

Dinner: (6ish) well it was meant to be roast chicken but the weather is too nice so we are going down to the beach and trying a new pizza ‘hut’ that has opened. Will be a lovely end to the weekend.

@loveyouradvice your focus on protein is great. When I wasn’t well earlier in the year, the dietician at the hospital kept badgering me about protein! I’m such a carb fiend I found that hard but try to ‘double up’ hence I still have meat and cheese in my lunchtime salad.

Dinner of leftover chicken and veg last night and finished eating at 6pm.

Broke my fast with black pudding and scrambled eggs at 11.30am, so fasting time of 17.5 hours.

Dinner will be pulled ham salad, just about to chuck it together.

@loveyouradvice hope your day has been OK.

@IDareSay pulled ham sounds lovely, I might get a ham on this week’s shopping order and do that as it makes tons of meat for salad etc.

Daily log:

Lunch (12.15): Ham and smoked cheese salad with new potatoes

Snacks: 2 x tea

Dinner (6.30): Roast chicken with a couple of roast potatoes, lots of carrots and broccoli. I will also have a couple of Yorkshires as I can’t have a roast without them!

Hello all... well the news is as good as I could hope... we're going to rescan in 6 months, meanwhile not to expect symptoms, lucky to have caught it early, and almost definitely benign. Only major question seems to be how fast it will grow and whether I will need an operation. I really liked the neurosurgeon who was clear and immensely likeable: I trust her which feels both good and important.

so relaxing now watching the rather wonderful The Leopard on Netflix....

Hoping everyone has an excellent week