Hi everyone! Well I have been dieting for 31 days now so I can share my experience. Disillusioned by the failure of New Year’s Resolutions I came across an article on setting ‘objectives’ as an alternative. Number two (after addressing debt!) was lose 10kg. So, on 6th Jan I started with the NHS Choices webpages. These told me that my BMI was 29.1.
I am female, early 50s but unusual in that I am mainly in bed on an oxygenator due to neurological problems as a result of severe head injuries in my 20s. This lowered my daily max calories to 1200 (usu. 1400 for a woman).
Luckily in the first week I also came across Michael and his FAST system and added that to the mix – two fast days max 500 cals usu Mon & Tues. The exercise regime is great too – though I have started slowly there.
I record calories on an Excel spreadsheet each day and weigh myself once a week. I ought to say that I do not beat myself up on the actual calories per day limit – my weekly averages have been 1184/933/1351/1017 (the joys of Excel!)
This is the first time that I have ever dieted/counted calories -looking back my BMIs were 19.8 aged 21, 21.5 aged 32 and only leapt up since my health problems made me inactive from age 40. (It took the dear NHS a decade to diagnose the breathing problems by wiring me up to measure blood oxygen – far cheaper than endless MRI scans – and I just fell asleep all the time hence low activity and weight gain.)
As a scientist with time on my hands this is something of a fun project! But it does concern me that many here come over as implicitly hostile to their minds/bodies and this seems to hinder the weight loss/exercise process. Because I am aware of what obstacles my brain is tackling everyday to enable me to do what I want to do I want to understand what it is up against and help rather than hinder. Our brains (the sub-conscious part that runs the show not the lippy thinking part!) are truly amazing. I took mine for granted until sustained severe head injuries, coma, ataxia, depression. Then when I became pregnant years later I was suddenly its handmaiden in the great task of growing a new human being! Brain/body and conscious mind – we are all in this together and need to support each other.
All the best!

Good to hear from you Tramcaur! You do have a challenge there – it can do no harm to try the relaxed approach rather than the OCD one – but do not lose sight of what your brain/body is up against and be kind to this vital part of ‘you’…
All the best!