Countdown to FEBRUARY: a healthy vibrant January in which those Christmas pounds vanish - and more! All wellcome

[loveyouradvice]

Happy New Year

2026 is going to be a wonderful year of the weight coming off and our bodies glowing with health.

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.

So - how do you want January to look for you? And 2026? We'll look forward to hearing

Good to have some new faces, @2BarbieOrNot2Barbie and @Potterwatch89.
I feel for you with your hip drama, @ProfessorIDareSay , hopefully it's settling down.
I'm pleased with my progress over the past week or so, I haven't fasted every day but managed several 18:6s, and am making sensible choices within my eating window. Plus I had a really good gym session this evening.
I squeeze extra protein into my main meal by adding tofu in addition to the meat. So for example, chicken curry, add tofu cubes too, and try to get a full portion of each. I'll also fry it to add to salads (e.g. tuna salad with a topping of fried tofu cubes). It's a bit bland but I've acquired a taste for it!

Another thing that has been really worked for me is building a reward spreadsheet. Every day I don’t crack and have a cake or buy something from the bakery or I do some exercise, I add 2 euros to my pot, so up to 6 euros a day That pot then becomes my fun money. If I want so spend something for a non-food treat, like makeup or clothes, I have to earn it first. Every time I crack, I lose 2 euros from the pot. It’s been remarkably effective as it gives me an extra incentive to stay on track. And that way if I covet something, I know I can’t afford to slip up.

Morning all, mind if I join? I've started fasting (16/8) for the first time in my life and could do with some comradeship.

SW 70 kg 12 Jan
CW 67.7 kg
TW 60 kg

I've always been at or over ideal BMI. I'd like for once to be in the middle, maybe 23? My weight loss so far has been good but only because the first week I was sick with food poisoning and then this week I've had a rotten cold so I don't expect to keep losing so fast.

Oh and I forgot to put my stats on:

Sw 80kg
Cw 78.2kg
Tw 64kg

Weight fell off for the first 2 weeks like the PP but fully expect to fall to around 0.5 kg a week if I can keep it up. OMAD was definitely easier at first, hunger is definitely creeping up on me and I actually had lunch last Wednesday and Thursday as had a cracking migraine and it helps to calm the nausea if I have a little to eat.

Thanks for all the good wishes from @Anotherespressoplease et al.

So far I am managing to maintain, which is no mean feat given I am only burning around 1500 calories a day. No Jillian, obviously, but can’t even go out with the dogs. I wasn’t suffering too much fomo due to the rain, hail and wind but it is a beautiful sunny day today and it is frustrating to be stuck indoors! Can’t even potter in the garden as it is all steps and slopes so not negotiable on crutches.

Well the hip news is till vague sadly. I see the GP tomorrow. Rang the surgery first thing Monday to see if I could get an urgent physio referral but she said I had to wait to see the GP 🙄
So current state of play is L hip painful and clicking, in need of replacement, but 2 years ago surgeon said I needed to ‘wait a while’, which is what I made the original GP appt for, to be referred back.
R hip/leg unable to bear my weight (hip replaced 3 years ago) but A&E can find nothing wrong and told me to come back if it doesn’t get better….readers, it has not got better!

I know what you mean @JadeVS72 about the worry with prosthetic hips; late complications are thankfully rare but can be nasty so though I don’t even think about it most days any twinge does make me worry a bit. It was such a life changer for me and I was so looking forward to getting a matching pair!

How is your sneaking in protein going @2BarbieOrNot2Barbie ? My other ‘go to’ is a tin of tuna mashed up with chopped beetroot/spring onions and a dab of mayo.
As @loveyouradvice says, sardines are also an easy win.

Welcome @Potterwatch89 hope your fasting is going well still. And welcome @BonBonDong hope you are feeling better.

Protein is getting better - sardines are proving to be a winner. And I’m having a bowl of porridge mid afternoon which turning OMAD into more of a 16:8 but with extra chia seeds is letting me improve my protein to closer to where it needs to be. Possibly still a bit low but closer at any rate. I think the key is to mix it up so it doesn’t get too boring.

Bad Friday for me. Despite 3 fast days since my weigh in last Friday morning I have gained. It's probably all the sticky toffee pudding 🙈 but staying accountable and this week is another week!!

SW 77.4KG
TW 63KG
CW 70.2KG
I also got a cold this week and was"feeding" it as advised by my PT.
Feeling better now though!

Great to see all the new posts and new posters, and best of luck to everyone with your goals.
Sorry to hear about the health challenges and pain @ProfessorIDareSaymaintaining is amazing through that

OK, an update from me. I have actually gained another pound since the beginning of January currently 11 stone 13 pounds not too happy with that. I have still been doing time restricted eating mostly 16 eight haven’t done any 22s. Having had a think about things this morning, my biggest problem which I need to work on is sugar. I’ve been eating chocolate most days since Christmas. There’s always some in the house. I buy it - in my head, thinking it’s for the kids - in reality eating quite a lot of it myself. It’s not good for them either so I need to focus on planning and a big part of that is knowing what I’m going to eat and not buying what I don’t want to eat! I do eat healthily otherwise, focusing on lots of plants lots of green vegetables. It’s the extra sugar, chocolate pastries, bread, rice that I need to work on. It’s a habit I need to break.

I’m reminding myself of the three elements for success according to TFM podcasts which are fasting, nutrition and community so although I’m a bit sporadic, I’m going to keep coming back here and updating with the good and the bad!

At least January is over. It’s been a long month and great to see some more daylight. I’m also focusing on sleep and and building on a routine bedtime and waking time and prioritizing between seven and eight hours sleep per night. It really helps a lot when I can achieve it.

Thanks @tiredwitless I seem to be bobbing around above and below 62kg and hope I can stay here for a while until I get this injury sorted, but it’s difficult without exercise giving me some leeway. The lack of physical activity is not helping me stay away from the kitchen either!

I also have a problem with chocolate; got back into the habit of it over Christmas, having it now because I am feeling sorry for myself, but must knock it on the head!

I’m so glad January is over, it’s been pants.
Saw the (thankfully sensible) GP on Thursday and he actually properly examined me! He could feel the clicking and grinding in my left hip and then poked a muscle in my right thigh and I nearly leapt off the couch!

As I originally thought, and he agreed, I have damaged my right leg/hip trying to protect my left hip and it looks like a grade 2 tear of the biggest quad muscle, (the one that runs from the outside of the hip to the inside of the knee).

4 to 8 weeks recovery usually.

He reassured me that the senior radiologist had since reported on the x-ray and confirmed no fracture. An MRI would have confirmed the muscle damage but no point having one now as it will have healed by the time I get an appointment.
I’m still pretty cross that nobody in A&E actually examined me or got a musculo-skeletal bod to take a look at me.

He has referred me back to my surgeon for the left hip to be replaced (fingers crossed that won’t be too long) and gave me a self-referral form for physio but said it will take weeks 😡So I have booked to see a private physio tomorrow as I still cannot bear full weight on my right leg without it starting to give way.
I know I have been doing all the right things to heal but I want a professional opinion on what else I can be doing to recover.

TFI February! let’s hope it's a better month for all of us.

Hello old friends and new, not read the thread so far but jumping in to join.
I was a regular poster back in 2024 and lost 4 stone slowly over the year. Last year went a bit Pete tong but I have just managed to turn things around and am losing weight again.
I remember this being a very supportive thread so I am back here stating my intent to lose weight and get my fitness back this year.

I’m enjoying this thread so far as a push to stay accountable. I’ve been fasting for 3 weeks now and just under 3kgs down. What I’ve not been able to do at the same time is up my exercise which is currently pretty much non-existent. I have a crazy busy work from home job which means I can spend whole days stuck to my chair.

One of my plans is to try and sort my work-life balance a bit, particularly see if I can work out a way of delegating a bit more efficiently as I’m probably doing more than I should and then maybe protect some time to do exercise. The upside is that not eating lunch is easy as I often don’t have time!

Weighing day today:

SW 80kg
CW 76.8kg
TW 64kg

Still trending downwards which is good but absolutely not managing any exercise apart from a brisk walk on the way back from the school run (I take the tram there).

Hunger is definitely striking more than it did at the beginning. I definitely feel hungry in the morning so am having to make a conscious effort not to eat (which was my downfall previously). But managed to hold strong and not buy anything on the way home from the bakery so proud of myself.

I keep hoping work will calm down and I’ll find a little more breathing room to exercise.

How is everyone else getting on?

I saw a lower number of stones on the scale this morning which feels like a milestone.

CW 11 st 11 which is 2 down from last week. Have attempted 2 x 22 hour fasts this week - alt day fasting - found them very difficult. Hadn’t done them for a while. Got to 21 each day. Had to break out a banana during a work meeting to relieve headache and generally feeling weak and it helped. Im reminded that I need a pinch of salt in my coffee on those days to avoid side effects and hadn’t done that.
Doing a few late evening walks for exercise, short yoga sessions and squats while kettle boiling - which isn’t a lot but better than nothing.

@2BarbieOrNot2Barbie not going into the bakery sounds like a great win.

Love to hear how others are doing

Had my Friday weigh in yesterday and was slightly down but do seem to continue bouncing either side of 70kg, hope I can get 2 weeks in a row under though!

SW 77.4KG
TW 63KG
CW 69.6KG

I need a bit of a shake up as have been snacking on biscuits and not tracking well on non fast days. But I also have a super busy week at work coming up followed by a week away so might not get the chance to be super strict for a while!

Checking in to say I am firmly in the 62’s and it looks like I am going to have to seriously buckle down and curtail my intake.

The lack of exercise is really getting me down so I am in the mindset of ‘deserving’ treats. DH trying to be helpful by bringing me ice-cream and chocolate is not helping 🙁but he means well!

Physio tomorrow so I am hoping she will give me a plan to gradually return to exercise; I can manage on one stick/crutch pretty well now and I’m hoping to graduate to none by the end of the week. My leg will bear my weight but still feels unstable.

Even a very rainy dog walk is looking very attractive! (It’s pelting down at the moment.)

@ProfessorIDareSay that sounds very challenging. In my experience physios can be brilliant at enabling getting back to activity so really hope they can help you tomorrow.

@loveyouradvice We haven’t heard from you in a while I hope you are doing ok?
I’m wondering about starting a new thread for countdown to March - I haven’t started a thread before but can have a go unless anyone else wants to?

Edged up over 63kg this morning. This is my red line. My eating window has been far too lax so I am going to push back the time I eat in the mornings for half an hour every day until I get back to something sensible.

I can’t let this injury undo all my good work.

Hope you are coming back to us soon @loveyouradvice 🙏

Hi everyone, and welcome to those who have recently joined. Good to read all your updates. There's a lot of determination on this thread. That sounds like a tough time, @ProfessorIDareSay. Being in the house and in pain really increases the temptation to turn to comfort food. I hope your physio appointment helps.

I had a really busy week in terms of exercise last week, I got some good weights sessions done, a long cycle, and some shorter cardio sessions (running, rower). I relaxed the eating window (roughly 14:10) and am happy with how I feel in my body; I have no idea what the scales are doing. When I have several sedentary days in a row I go back to fasting 16:8 or 18:6 (planning to from tomorrow). I find breaking the breakfast habit hard every time I go back to fasting, though!

I'm enjoying the Winter Olympics and Six Nations being on TV - watching sport is a distraction from evening snacking (kitchen pottering in the evening is a danger zone for me!)

I wish you all a good week in your fasting and fitness goals!

Yup, I've been AWOL... I became very unwell, and then ate too much to compensate (why do I always get so hungry when Im ill??)... weight soared to 11.5, so 7lbs up .... and now come away for some summer sun, aqua twice a day in the pool and recuperating... so much easier to eat well again...

Checking in today, and will come back on Friday...

SW: 14.2
CW: 11.0 - so lost 5 of the 7lbs I gained...
GW: 10.11... ideally by end of Jan, but relaxed...Hmm: That's what I said last time, when it was feeling easy. Im now thinking just to maintain 11.0 until end of Feb will be a triumph so that's my new goal

@Anotherespressoplease - your exercise and approach sound SO great... I hope I'll be saying similar in 6 months or so... thank you for the inspiration, and so agree about kitchen pottering being a challenge

@ProfessorIDareSay - thank you for the kind words. Wow, you are having a tough time.... was the physio helpful?? how are you planning to tackle this week? I love your DH appearing with icecream and chocolate to "look after you" ... sounds like there's some training needed there!! It's so important to have a red line... congrats on recognising it. What's this week's plan and can you enlist DH as an ally? Mine is particularly good at making soups when I ask... and yes, silken tofu is added to give creaminess and protein, I so agree @AnotherespressopleaseI'm popping it in everything I can find, and particularly enjoy eating the smoked version

@tiredwitless Delighted for you to start a new thread.. yes, do give it a go!! I'm doing okay again now, thanks... like so many, vanishing represents NOT good news... but I will always come back!! I find these threads invaluable for supporting my weight loss... and I imagine maintenance in the first year, when I get there. Congrats on the 2lbs down and the kettle squats - such a great habit!! Agree re sleep - I'm trying to nail that too - everytime Im unwell it goes haywire.. Im aiming for 10/11pm to 6/7 am... which would be REALLY fab and give me SO much more time in the day. How about you??

@JadeVS72 I so know that frustration of bouncing around 70kg... good luck with your busy week and less biscuits!! Is there another snack you can start substituting?? Bizarrely I find radishes and olives really help me.

Congrats on trending down @2BarbieOrNot2Barbie - and for avoiding the bakery! Brisk walks are vastly underrated... I'm beginning to do the walk fast and then even faster, like interval training... so you ARE making a difference. How long is the walk? And aiming to protect some exercise time sounds brilliant ... I've decided I'm putting it into my diary FIRST this month, before anything else... who got to say that work is more important?? It can fit round exercise this month and then I'll re evaluate... It'll be interesting to see. Glad the sardines are helping - I even travel with them!!

Welcome back @NewYearNewYu ... good to hear the scales are moving in the right direction. Love to know what other NewYu's are coming in in 2026 - great name!

And good to have you with us @BonBonDong - how's it going?

Good to see you @loveyouradvice!

New thread - Countdown to EASTER -started

Can’t figure how to link to it but have tagged most of you I think and it’s in the Fasting/5:2 diet topic for anyone I’ve not tagged!!