Countdown to CHRISTMAS and thriving TOGETHER through the festive season - WE CAN DO IT!!!

[loveyouradvice]

Hello lovely people

Wow - how did that happen so fast?

Come and share your plans on here for December - some of us are aiming to lose a few pounds and then relaxing over the Christmas period.... All of us are creating strategies and plans that we believe will work for us.

Come and join us!! We’re a friendly group that uses Fasting in one form or another to lose weight or maintain our weight loss. We all have our ups and downs, and welcome insights from others and laughter along the way.... pirates and dachshunds will pop their heads up, we're in awe of those shredding with Jillian and lifting significant weights (beyond our own!) and impressed when we get our steps in.

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

Some of us find daily posting helpful for accountability - others just pop in every now and then

I for one will be posting everyday from 20 December and know the accountability and encouragement from you all really helps. Meanwhile, I'm aiming to stay at 10.12 AND enjoy parties and festive meals... mainly by balancing indulgent days with lowish-calorie/low carb fasting days. And my Christmas approach is to Eat consciously... and enjoy EVERY mouthful. As soon as I notice myself eating unconsciously, I'm having a few quiet minutes by myself - even if midst cooking Christmas dinner!!

Okay, I am going to take the plunge... I know it will help me hugely with motivation, and I'm keen to learn how to manage my blood sugar spikes... so for 4 weeks from the middle of next week, I am going to wear a CGM. A nice combination of seeing me through the festive period and learning on the quieter days what works for me. I know I will find it fascinating.

@StealthSightHound Do you get yours from an online pharmacy? and I see there are choices - which have you chosen and why? Knowing you're someone who does great research, I'm going to piggyback on your knowledge if that is okay. Otherwise I suspect I'd get stuck in decision inertia!!

Hi team. Well done everyone staying accountable, getting through the festive season and sharing success 😍
I am pleased to share that I managed to put some new batteries in my scales and this morning's weigh had me at 69.8kg, considering my Christmas target is 70 and I wasn't sure I would get there, I will take that!!

Cw 69.8kg
Sw 77.4kg (I think this might have been slightly more than I really was as I wasn't letting scales reset at the time but it was the reading I got!)
Tw 63kg
Tw for Christmas 70kg 🤩

Have a great Friday all!

11.0.5 today, c’mon 10’s!!!!! So close!

@JadeVS72 - what a triumph! Congratulations.

How tantalising @thenewaveragebear1983 ... you'll get there next week, or even in a day or two. You can do it!!

I love reading of your success with a BSM @StealthSightHound . Truly inspiring and literally life-changing. How do you feel in the morning now when you wake?? Hoping you still have loads of energy.

And me today - about to bake a mousse gateau for 80... how will I resist a lot of sampling? Tis so delicious... I'm going to remind myself how proud I will feel if I dont and that Im practising how to eat for the new me!

Five days of eating in the evening with others - I'm 10.11.8 so feel very chuffed! But also so tentative - yesterday, gorgeous lentil soup and then do I have one or two spoonfuls of hummus and that delightful aubergine thing... where are my new boundaries? I have no idea.

Here goes - Friday check-in.

SW 14.2
TW 10.12
CW 10.11 so 1lb down on last week

which feels like a triumph with longer eating windows and more sociable food... Great practise for Christmas!!

Hmm if I want to do more TRE I really need to stop having (soy/oat) milk in my coffee!! I do like black coffee I just prefer it white. But on my fast days I have got better at not eating until lunchtime so if I cut the milks I could manage a 6 hour eating window and an early night 😂 and could probably do 8 hours on other days as often don't grab breakfast until 10 now . Tell me it'll make a difference?? The CGM also sounds interesting and I see so many people with them on these days, I'm just slightly freaked out by a needle constantly in you!?!?

Yes, do try it - it may or may not make a difference for you @JadeVS72 . Gin Stephens is clear that it doesn't for everyone. While others are clear that to clean fast you can only drink it black.

I so get the preferring with milk, but just keep telling yourself you can drink it like that in your eating window. Why not suggest to yourself that you try three days and see how it goes?

Yes I ate some deliciousness while making moussey cake... but much less than normal.

Weight stable 10.11.6....

And tonight I'm giving myself permission to indulge - to enjoy the canapes and formal dinner - and lots of dancing!! I'll not eat many carbs - this one feels easy - and also aim to not over-indulge... a muscle I'm training myself to develop, and rather less easy.

Then 6 days until the next sociability so plenty of time to return to my regular eating and stabilise.

Really enjoying your daily updates @loveyouradvice

You are doing brilliantly! 👏

Enjoying the routine of the kitchen window. Waistband is slightly looser and there’s a tiny clearance between me and the steering wheel. Scales not moving though, but I’m much more alert and comfortable.

10.13.5 today which is a 3lb loss this week, I am very chuffed with that!

i am determined to have another good week this week, TRE (albeit not very organised) seems to be working for me, and something definitely clicked the last few weeks.

the weeks ahead looks quite busy at work and home. We all break up on Friday 19th and I cannot wait. last week I got some meal pots in Tesco reduced to 50p, some myprotein ones and some Bol ones. They are around 300-400 cals each and they will be my back up this week. It’s been helpful to just be able to grab and microwave and they are filling and tasty. Wouldn’t pay £3-4 for them, but 50p is perfect 👌

I’ve booked my gym classes and scheduled my runs, but annoyingly I have trapped something in my shoulder/oblique and have very limited movement in my arm right now, plus it’s painful.

Hey hey @thenewaveragebear1983 you're in the 10's!! I hope you can hear my cheers from where you are.

Feeling comfortable and more alert feel like a couple of great wins @2Early4Breakfast - I often find my body holds onto water, and then lets it all go when it recognises I'm serious.

Bless you and thank you @ProfessorIDareSay .... my last daily update for now. Yes I did indulge last night - truly delicious supper, two slices of my moussey cake (seriously yum!! luckily I dont have any at home), some gorgeous red wine and even a couple of helpings of cheese - feeling a bit hungover today...And not surprised! And It was worth it.

So ... I'm proud I didn't eat other carbs and resisted a third helping of cheese!

Intrigued by how the scales will react this week...
I'm up exactly 3lbs at 11.0.6
How much of that is temporary weight? I'm hoping at least 2lbs... and that with a week of my more normal moderate eating it will all be off by Friday... but will be very interested to watch and see.

And I feel rather elated that even up by 3lbs, I'm still under my initial TW... unimaginable even 18months ago ago.

Look forward to seeing you all again on Friday!!

Small triumph- got through to 12 on just black coffee and water then made a healthy low cal lunch (tempeh, brussels sprouts, courgette sautéed in water with garlic and soy sauce) I will be starving by tea time but will have a chopped bell pepper and miso soup as a snack then a baked sweet potato for tea. I don't think I will fit in another fast day this week and next week will be difficult but will try to have an eating window of 10-6 (12-6 where possible!) on the days this is feasible (out for dinner Wednesday and Friday) and hopefully won't go backwards!

Sounds good @JadeVS72 ... and not surprised you will be starving... do you fancy adding more volume? It really helps me - piles of roast veg which I just have sitting in the fridge alongside cherry tomatoes, etc...

And a great plan!! I too like planning a week ahead for those balancing days, especially in the festive season

When does Christmas start for everyone on here? Mine officially on Saturday... so I'll be posting my Christmas plan/strategy on here on Friday or Saturday - It is really helping thinking about it gently these days... phew, after two hectic weeks, this week is a calm get back into the rhythm one.

And two of those three pesky pounds I put on from Saturday night are off - two days eating "sensibly" in an 8 hour window - lots of protein, low carb, lots of veg. I'm hoping the last one will come off by Friday - I'll let you know.

I do try (and enjoy!) to bulk things out with lots of veg. Really enjoyed my lunch yesterday as well as the afternoon bell pepper and sweet potato for tea!
Managed a second day of a 6 hour eating window (12-6 with lots of black coffee in the morning), about 1100 calories from my my fitness pal estimations. In the office then travelling for work tomorrow so will have a banana when I get to the office so my stomach isn't rumbling through my morning of face to face meetings!! Off to the in laws for the weekend to kick off Christmas. Will try my best not to be tempted by all tha snacks they offer! Can easily eat lots of crisps when I am there normally but will try to fill up.at mealtimes on as much veg as they will give me so I don't get tempted.

I’ve done a kind of crazy thing considering I just want to stay the same for the next few weeks and it would make sense to stick with what’s working.
I’ve been listening to Zoe podcasts and there is a lot of evidence now that an eating window earlier in the day is much better than a later one for cardiovascular health. I think the evidence is quite convincing that skipping breakfast is an independent risk factor for CVD.
So I’ve switched my eating window to morning and I’ve been eating breakfast each day this week for the first time since last March. Eating window now 8.30 to 4.30. Getting established at this is my goal right now so not trying any longer fasts. It’s a little awkward with other routines but I’m making it work.
One advantage is I sleep through the hardest hours of the fast as with a good dinner at 4pm I’m not hungry in the evening.
Im doing fasting mainly for prevention of CVD and dementia so I just decided to change while I had the motivation.
Current Weight 11. 7 so it hasn’t done any damage as yet.
I have a meal out tomorrow evening with work though which means I’m going to have to eat later but I will probably compensate with a longer fast the following day.
I feel like I’m taking a risk but if things go wrong I can go back to what works.

@loveyouradvice Christmas doesn’t have a start date so much as it’s gradually creeping up on me.l I’ll be working up to Christmas Day - then off for a good stretch - I can’t wait! But that’s when I’ll need to be careful I don’t sink into round the clock eating :)

Congrats @JadeVS72 ... enjoying our food is SO important, and for me is what keeps me on track. Any other strategies around crisps? So easy to be seduced by them....

@tiredwitless not mad at all and I am doing the same... curiously this summer I started getting hungry in the morning so I just naturally moved my window to around 8.30-4.30 as it was what my body seemed to want - A big surprise having always been a later eater. And then like you I read more and more about CV risks, so thought this IS best for my body. Not very sociable but works really well for me and I feel happily full and satisfied all the time. Does mean though that when eating with friends I seem to eat in a longer window, starting at 11/11.30 and finishing as early as I can.

Welcoming any crisps strategies 😂
Might try to replace with some crunchy veg or fizzy water!!
Hoping my weigh in tomorrow is another loss so I feel secure in getting to Christmas/end of year under 70kg. Trousers I am wearing today are definitely feeling too big!!

@JadeVS72 or Parmesan crisps? Sprinkle grated Parmesan on a tray and bake it then cut it into squares 😋

My starting weight for December was 61.9kg. As of this morning I am 60.7kg (BMI 23.7) so I am delighted to have hit my target of 60.something kg before Christmas.

Fasting a little ragged around the edges, but I have counted every morsel on NutraCheck and haven't missed a workout. My calorie deficit for December so far is c8000 calories, so that tracks with me losing just over a kg. It's been one of my best months since the spring in terms of weight loss so diligent tracking is really working for me.

I'm confident it isn't a one off as I have been bumping around in the 60's for a few days and it seems to be sticking; I even had chicken and chips last night followed by a Crunchie so not exactly a light meal before weighing in this morning!

On the crisp front, I find nothing hits the spot like crisps when the craving arrives, so I just don't have them in the house if I can help it. I have got two bags of my favourites arriving on the food order next week and I will jolly well enjoy eating them!

I'll continue as is until I finish my Jillian programme on Monday, then relax into the Christmas break, though I will still track and weigh purely out of curiosity and then see how long it takes me to lose what I call the 'fluffy' pounds gained by eating too much for a few days. I'm bound to collect a few of those!

Hope everyone else has had a good week

@ProfessorIDareSay THAT IS SO DARN IMPRESSIVE!!!! as is your BMI... congratulations And that it resisted chicken chips and a crunchy (yup, my fav since childhood) is phenomenal!! really glad that intense monitoring is working so exceptionally well for you. Sounds like a great strategy and I love the thought of "fluffy points"

And here goes - Friday check-in.
SW 14.2
TW 10.12
CW 10.12 so 1lb up on last week
which feels a little disappointing given I've had a 500 calorie in 1 hour eating window day, and very moderate eating in 8h on the rest from Sunday... but at least it means 2 of the 3lbs from Saturday's party have come off.

I'm enjoying mulling over my Christmas strategy/plan and will post over the weekend... And look forward to being inspired by yours!! Do post thoughts on here - the clearer u are and the more you say, the more likely you'll do it!!

I'm aiming to stay as close to 10.12 as I can ... I'm fine to go up to 11.2, and think these 3-4lbs fluctuations will be normal... if I go over 11.4 at any stage, it's drastic measures....

And I'll be posting daily from tomorrow as I have three festive eating days, then respite on Tues (will decide on the day how drastic to be, Im hoping a moderate 6-8h will be fine, but ready to go for a 500 calories in 1 hour day if I need to) and then another three festive days Christmas Eve/Day/Boxing day...

Confession ... I've just had my first unintentional (semi-intentional?) Christmas munch... a little mini Lindt reindeer... I adore them! And Rule no 1 - if I eat something at Christmas I have to enjoy every moment....It was yummy and festive and now my eating window is closed for the day....

Okay... for me daily check-ins on here until early in the New Year...

This is a surprise - I've gone up by half a pound - Hmm. Going to be very cautious the next few days and hope I go back to 10.12 by Christmas Eve

Today - a party with a wonderful spread on the table - chat and eat..I will aim to spend most of the time in the room without the table (!!) and for just protein, olives, veggies and go with a full stomach. I will allow myself a maximum of three things outside this - eg a crisp, a sliver of cheese, a chocolate... But will feel immensely proud if I have none. I will wear my new sparkly Christmas top and keep reminding myself how much I enjoy looking good having lost the extra weight.

SW (Xmas): 10.12.6
CW: 10.13.2
GW (max): 11.2

I'm feeling quite chuffed... I only add one piece of popcorn and two of the tiniest bits of cheese at the party yesterday...

I'm focussing on noticing this Christmas - what helps, what doesnt

I've skin-brushed for years - I noticed I can do it as a mindful exercise and really get in touch with my body and its new shape over Christmas each morning

I also noticed that I wondered if I could eat nothing yesterday at the party... I felt no desire to until I was standing RIGHT NEXT TO THE TABLE chatting to someone... Note to self: STAY AWAY FROM THE TABLE!!

Today - Christmas party and sups with friends... Resolve to eat either nothing or two tiny bits at party... resolve to eat healthy with friends: don't imagine it will be difficult, especially as I'm taking the pud (a healthy one).