Day 16/NFD/Melbourne Australia

I’m having trouble gathering my thoughts to respond to and contribute to the discussions on the chaos around us. @happyslim I can only echo the comments of our caring and warm community. Today I’ll be surrounded by family and loved ones but you and my many Korean friends will be in my thoughts.

Today’s weight 55.6kg. Goal to stay under 56kg achieved.

Congratulations to everyone on their progress whether it is maintaining, losing or altering behaviors and WOE. To the person who was disappointed with only losing 3lb in 15 days after 6 fasts give yourself a pat on the back. Perfect and sustainable progress. Just think where you’ll be in a few months with this rate of losing. It took me 10 months without feeling deprived to lose 42 lbs. It may sound a long time but I carried that extra weight for at least 10 years and yo-yo’ed up and down for at least 30 before it! By following 5:2 I’m maintaining my loss for the first time ever. Your progress is perfect.

Off to prepare a traditional Easter lunch – roast lamb with all the trimmings. Dessert Is a fruit platter with a mixture of fresh fruit and chocolate coated strawberries and grapes with a chocolate and vanilla swirl icecream for the grandchildren.

May you all enjoy a peaceful and happy day.

Day 16 Croatia NFD
Weight: 77.6 Kg

Day 16,Germany,FD

@happyslim you and your family will be in my thoughts.

@fordperfekt well done, you must be feeling great. @okeydokey I’m the swingdance-one, beware of your knees, you have to bend them a lot when swingdancing and you have to move very fast.

@lynzm you did it,Lent is over: Open that drawer of willpower and try to choose carefully what is worth eating.

I’m having another unplanned FD,DH has to take all emergency-calls for 24 hours (thought this would be tomorrow) and than go to patients in need for help so no large cooking can be done today.

I hope everyone has a nice day today, it’s cold but sunny here today.

Day 16 Newcastle UK NFD.
Off out for a bike ride to try and shift those extra calories I ate last night. Steady away with the food intake today. Good luck everyone over this tricky period.

Day 16 UK NFD 🌈

Happy Easter all 🐣 🐰🐥😁

@snowflake56 guess what, willpower drawer still in tact, have won two boxes of Hotel Chocolate chocolates and been given a bag of Chocolate Brazil nuts (my favourite) and even though I’m happy to receive I don’t feel the need to stuff my face and make myself sick. 😂😂 think I’ve turned a corner, will keep my willpower drawer as a little treat drawer now and then to savour and enjoy.

Have a good day everyone. Hope we all get time to relax and contemplate and enjoy although sometimes we are challenged we can still count a blessing somewhere in our lives xxx

Day 16 Oman NFD
First Sunday since 1 Jan that has not been a FD. But it’s Easter Sunday so a nice brunch planned. Will try to make sensible choices!

fatrabbit- I too have an overweight son with Aspergers who also has issues with texture of food. My son was diagnosed while at uni,but had been diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia when he was 8. He was also depressed but for him the diagnosis was very positive, he finally knew why he was different.
I have struggled to be more direct with him as any mention of his weight or eating habits resulted in door slamming and him being very angry. I have no idea how heavy he was because he refuses to stand on the scales, but I would guess that he has lost 2 stone over the last year and I would guess that he has another 2 to go.
He loved apple juice, sugary cereal and didn’t move much at all. I thought about what he liked to eat-meat, cheese, bread, peanut butter, walnuts, broccoli, peas, chinese food and then thought about how to ‘sell it to him’. I had read Robert Lustig so had started to look at the visible and hidden sugar in out diet and had spoken to him about what I had read and what changes I was going to make(making tomato sauce for pasta for example), as well as having less complex carbs in our diet as it was going to be better for us all, as we all needed to lose weight. Then I discovered Jason Fung The Obesity Code and talked about skipping meals if we weren’t hungry and having pasta or rice no more than once a week(my rule) which then made me think about what we were going to eat the rest of the time. Meals morphed into meat and veg(he doesn’t like fish or salad) or the occasional potato cut up into wedges/drizzled with oil and baked for half an hour(no more oven chips as these are much tastier/cheaper).
Would he learn to cook food that he was then going to eat? Might be possible to sell it to him that he would then be able to make it exactly how he would like it.
My son also worked in a restaurant for over a year while he was applying for post grad jobs. I thought that it would be a disaster, but his confidence grew as his social skills improved, he asked the chefs how to cook various simple foods that he likes and being on his feet for long shifts all helped.I also had the tough conversation about weight and being healthy(a waist-around the belly button of 37″ healthy for a man-not the number his trousers said!) as well as it would be easier for him to get a job if he was slimmer because of the assumptions that people make(overweight people might be seen as lazy).
My son has recently moved into a flat on his own and started a new job. He often has an omelette for breakfast or if he is still full from dinner, skips it.He makes sandwiches for his lunch and then cooks meat and veg for dinner.
For my son the fact that nothing was banned, we had already started having family meals without complex carbs twice a week and that his beloved cheese was fine and that he could have a handful of walnuts every day has made all the difference.
It is difficult but not impossible. My son has the tools to make better choices within his fairly rigid food likes, the apple juice was ditched sometime ago(I never bought it but he did) and now he drinks tap water or full fat milk.He doesn’t snore anymore, has bought new smaller clothes, walks taller and knows that he has still weight to lose to be a healthy weight for his height. BUT I am confident that he will continue to shrink. I have bought him an Easter egg but just one and we will have pudding today, but we only have that on a Sunday. The rest of the time, the offer is fruit. I hope that this helps, have the talk you might be surprised at his reaction.

@umka6 I’m by no means an expert, but based on what I’ve read and what I would logically deduce, constantly eating below your BMR (basal metabolic rate, the amount of energy your body consumes in a day to keep up normal bodily functions even when you not as much as move a finger) will cause problems in the long run, since your body will need to use that energy regardless of your actions. (I assume that’s also why the BSD is only 8 weeks and apparently rather specific in what you should eat.) This is naturally a smaller issue if you have a large fat storage in your body that can be used for energy. Still, your NIH considers eating plans with at least 1200 kcals a safe, healthy way to lose weight. “Women should eat at least 1,200 calories per day, and men should eat at least 1,800.” (Source: American College of Sports Medicine)

“Following a very-low-calorie diet, such as a crash diet, detox or cleanse, can cause serious health issues, because it doesn’t provide all of the nutrients essential for good health. It may weaken your immune system and cause an irregular heartbeat or even a heart attack, especially if you have underlying health problems. These fad diets put you at risk for protein-energy malnutrition if you stay on them for long periods, which can cause you to lose muscle, bring on anemia, lower your body temperature, decrease your pulse, give you skin problems, make you irritable and cause diarrhea or constipation.” (Source: Livestrong)

@happyslim I really hope North and South Korea won’t break their truce to resume an active war and that all this recent muscle flexing is just for show. It can’t be denied, though, that the situation is very tense and it feels like the whole world is on their toes especially with the possibility of a nuclear weapon test on North Korea’s behalf (guess it’s something of a relief that their missile test today was only that and also unsuccessful). North Korea is a risk not only to South Korea, but to the entire world. I hope you’re safe and will continue to be so for the remainder of your exchange.

@fatrabbit Dr Roy Taylor’s research into controlling diabetes by fasting/800 calories was based on research involving optifast. I have no idea of it’s nutrient value but Dr Moseley cites Dr Taylor’s research to support the BSD.

2nd post

@annette52 That is great that your son is able to cope in his own place and has been able to lose weight. I would love ys to get to that point. I have known he has Aspergers since he was 2 but because he was such an easy child compared to my eldest son who has severe autism and learning difficulties and severely challenging behaviour he didn’t get the support he could have done with. And living with eldest’s behaviour took its toll on all of us. It is no wonder he is a mess. He is supposed to be at Uni but has only left his room a few times since Christmas except to go to the kitchen. He has exams soon and is supposed to be studying but I doubt he will actually manage to cope with them. If he passes the exams they will give him support next year but there is nothing to help him cope with getting there to do them. Although he is allowed to do them on a computer in a separate room as he is so dyspraxic he can’t write. He has hyperflexible joints that give him pain from writing as well as from walking or any exercise:( His brother also has joints like this, and I do to some extent, I was unable to walk after my second son was born as everything loosened up so badly, not helped by the fact that eldest couldn’t walk and had to be carried to his constant therapy sessions. It is not good to be carrying a 35lb child around wihile heavily pregnant. He finally walked at two and a half but still can’t run or climb or use a toilet at thirty:( Although he can scoot along at a fairly impressive rate when running after something dangerous. He is much too fond of chasing things like cars or dogs or motorbikes or horses or running up and grabbing people usually to hug them but to bite on occasion. Typing this reminds me why I can’t look after him anymore, but I will always feel it as a huge failure on my part that he has to live in a home. Poor ys used to lose a handful of hair to him nearly every day as he was stuck next to him in the car or was just too stubborn to move. I often got biten trying to separate them. (not by ys, he has never been violent, just stubborn, he would rather get hurt than give in). It is no wonder ys is stressed. But all the doctors will do is give him antidepressants which make him feel flat and uncaring. I am sure from my experience that fasting would help more than they do and leave him better able to study. He is cooking for himself but he settled on one meal and is reluctant to vary it although he is gradually adding more types of veg. Currently mushrooms, onions, fine beans, peppers, chili and water cress. With veggie sausages and four pieces of brown bread. He often doesn’t eat for a whole day in between these feasts but if anyone else is in the house he won’t cook and so orders a takeaway or eats huge bowls of cereal with heaps of sugar on top. He also has a hugely erratic sleep pattern, currently he is nocturnal and sleeping during the day. He is asleep at the moment, I am itching to wake him up and have a talk to him but that could end badly, I need not to be too gung ho, but I have to share this with him.

Day 15 lancaster pa NFD
Day 16 lancaster pa NFD

April 16. Day 16. Sydney Australia. NFD. Only had one FD since last Tuesday. But keeping the intake under control and NO CHOC RABBITS so far!
A FD tomorrow (Day 17). Happy Easter everyone.

Day 16 Derbyshire uk. NFD
Easter Sunday here. Having a quiet day today. It’ll give me time to think about my weight and diets and get myself galvanised and fired up
Thanks @lany36 for your advice it’s good to hear what others in similar circumstances have done to get through it. I’ll certainly have a think about your advice
We moved house at the beginning of the year to live in a village close to our friends. We’re just needing to have a break today from all our painting and decorating, building sheds and looking at kitchens and unpacking, sorting and decluttering. In the midst all this I dislocated my shoulder painting!!!

Public holidays always feel a bit sad for me as I seem to have lost a whole layer of my family in the past few years including my brother and a very close female cousin. I miss that closeness of being with my family I’ve also got my mum and an aunt in nursing homes with complex needs and Alzheimer’s. I tend not to talk about this much as people feel embarrassed or don’t know what to say. I also think if you scratch the surface of most of us and we’ve all got something that makes us sad or unhappy and it’s how we deal with it and get on with our daily lives.

@fatrabbit-just read your post and I am amazed that you have managed to lose weight while coping with your boys. Nothing that I can say will reduce the guilt that you feel about your eldest living in a home, but it sounds like it has been the best decision to keep him safe and also for everyone else in your family.
It sounds positive that y is cooking and gradually adding different vegetables and almost if he is fasting if he is just eating 1 meal a day. Quite how you get round other people being in the house and then him ordering a takeaway is a problem that I am thinking about.
One of my sons had severe depression and he was also sleeping erratically as well as taking medication, which also often leads to weight gain. I used to get home from work and then we would go out of a walk, I impressed upon L that it was very important to get him out in the light/sun to help his sleep pattern. He was compliant and knew that it the walk was non negotiable. But, if he had decided that he wasn’t going, there was no way I could have made him go.
I also think that unprocessed food cooked from scratch also helps mood and encourages self care. It is difficult if anti-depressants are helping, the side effects can be difficult to cope with too.
Would y sit out in the daylight if he thought that it would help? Have you thought about trying a light box? I struggle with the low light levels over the winter and slide into low mood which leads to general apathy, craving hi carb food and low mood. This year I invested in a light box from Lumie which I started using morning and evening…then just the morning and then put it away when spring arrived.
I will ask my son if he has any ideas that might help and get back to you if he has any pearls of wisdom to share. Feel free to share with him the experiences of my 2 boys, it might help.

Day 16 – South Korea – NFD

Dear @songbirdme @lynzm @strawberriesandcream @saffy420 @scs @sirisan @onahealthyhigh
@snowflake56 @at @chumi @okeydokey @bert1802 @mulville, thank you so much for all your sweet comments. As far as I can estimate now, the tension became less because of the failed test North Korea did. Im really happy about that because, for the ones that did not read my first post Im here on an exchange for half a year and my family back home especially were very worried about me. I self was also nervous about what was going to happen but I did not really noticed the Koreans being nervous, everyone just went on with their normal life. That was reassuring in a way, the danger of a war seemed further away.

Eating wise, I did quite good and went to the movies at night to get my mind of things and enjoyed some delicious popcorn. Today I also did a NFD and tomorrow (17-4) and probably tuesday (18-4) will be FDs.

For everyone who lost some weight these last two weeks, no matter the amount, you did a great job! For the ones whom are not that happy about the results, we still have two weeks to reach our monthly target and all small losses will end up in the end!

Day 16 – USA – NFD

Weighed in today – gained 1 lb. Last week the scale did not move. Seeing the need to look at the big picture instead of sulking about it. I’m learning new habits, seeing more of what needs to be done and losing inches. Overall a win.

I echo @krisnia‘s comments; couldn’t say it better!

Thank you @LinzM and @okeydokey I think that when we lose close family members it leaves a big gap in our lives – or a scar that gets less but it never goes away but gradually we start to fill that gap or patch that scar up by making new friends and important people in our lives. In myself this is probably why oh and I decided it was important for us to move house to be close to our friends – they fill those gaps.

@okeydokey I’m so sorry you lost your brother, I believe that we carry these people with us in our heads and hearts. My brother died very unexpectedly at 52 of a pulmonary embolism. The day before he died we were chatting on the phone (i should have been working!) and he was telling me that he was going part time at work because he wanted to spend more time with his sons and their children – he loved being a grandad – sadly he never got the chance. I thought I will try to be what he’d have wanted me to be. So I put in for early retirement at work – thinking “life is too short” and I’m going to do the things that are important to me – I started to do my art which I’d loved to do.
So I’m thinking of all those people who have lost – we owe it to them to live and love.

Day15 UK NFD

Day 16-US-CD

Day 16 Hampshire. NFD

Day 16 – UAE – NFD

Today I have been so hungry all day and I think it was because yesterday I walked round 12 km none-stop. My feets hurt and still need to do my daily walk 😾

Day 16 – SW WA USA -NFD

Easter blessings!

Off to service followed by helping at church brunch!

Enjoy your day fellow fasters!