Day 27 – FIN – FD
Day 26 – NFD

Running on too little sleep again (10 hrs the last two nights combined) due to another deadline. Didn’t manage to catch up even last night since I fell asleep on the couch and couldn’t fall asleep again after waking up at 6.

Just had my first meal of the day – fruit and nuts, the usual fast day fast breaker as of late. I’m saving the rest of the allowed calories for dinner. Despite being hesitant at first, I think this approach of eating as late as possible suits me the best as well.

@debster251, thank you for the tips on sating FD hunger. Will give at least the sparkling water + lemon combo a try today (the others possibly later when I have the ingredients).

@pashaw Positive thoughts to you and your OH.

Day 27 – USA (Illinois) – NFD

Yesterday’s FD was all I needed it to be at 500 calories. Maintenance is working doing 6:1 and really being judicious on NFD’s with only small indulgences. I do love salt, more than sugars, so I know I must retain water especially on NFD’s. Reading 158.5# on the scale this morning makes me happy.

Also, I continue to clean out closet items that are too big (still have a few XL’s in there!)and finding I can buy new things on sale that are 12’s and some 14’s. I can even get a M in one of my favorite tee-shirts from Duluth Trading Company. Even though I know I could weigh less, for the wrinkle’s sake, I am content where I am. That 25 BMI makes me smile. DH and I are both at 25 now – yeah!

@pashaw – prayers for your OH and for you too. Having an ill family member can be such a strain on everyone.

@at – thank you for the wine sugar research. Yes, just stopping at one glass might be my problem too. On occasion I can. White Zin’s and blended reds are my favorite. I’ve discovered a new Aussie Shiraz that I really enjoy called “19 Crimes.” My Aussie friend can’t seem to find it there though. Interesting.

Wet day today, but I have the day to get ready for Friday company. I need to break my fast. Onward and downward!

Day 26- Montreal-NFD
Day 27- ” “- FD

Day 27 – East Coast Canada – NFD
Day 26 – FD
Day 25 – NFD
Day 24 – FD
Day 23 – NFD
Day 22 – NFD
Day 21 – NFD
Day 20 – NFD
Day 19 – FD

The month is getting away from me! Heading to Europe for a month, there is a lot to do to get ready (I am not complaining). Looking forward to seeing how all of our friends have managed with the April Challenge – it has been great to have the accountability to this group.

2nd post

I just discovered a sure fire way to make sure you don’t break your fast too early after a fast day : get someone to lock you in a shed! I can assure you it works.

I was cleaning one of the sheds and noticed the door wasn’t closing properly so I dashed to catch C our handywoman. She was about to leave after chasing a rat out of the barn and blocking the holes up. (I don’t know what I would do without her.) She came down and fixed the door while I was in there and then said bye and left. I didn’t notice until I finished cleaning the shed that she had automatically locked the door. It is just what you do when you come out of one of the sheds. I called and called in case she wasn’t gone. I got louder and louder. I even took my kindle out of my pocket thinking I could contact another local volunteer to let me out cursing having taken the skype app off which could have got through to my son. Only of course I was out of wireless range anyway. That was one of the rare times I have regreted not having a mobile phone. I took off my jumpers and lay down on the floor and had a go at getting out through the door to the run. That was overly optimistic. I have lost a lot of weight but not that much. I was fairly sure I could break the door to get out but without C around to fix it again that would have caused problems. I was thinking that I was going to have to wee in the muck bucket when I managed to displace the door far enough to the side by using the scraper I use for cleaning as a lever for the bolt to come out of its keeper. It was lucky Caroline had just moved it over and left a bigger gap between the door and the frame. Except if she hadn’t it wouldn’t have happened in the first place… So I didn’t break my fast until half past two. And that left over curry tasted sooo good:))

Day 27 – USA – NFD

Day 26 was a bust – 1121 calories total so a NFD; ate some darn pork rinds and had a few beers after spending the day shoveling a culvert out with OH and then smoothing out 1.5 inch newly laid gravel in the driveway. I guess I figured I deserved it after such hard physical work….self-delusion at its best! Took a peek at the scale this morning and I lost 1.2 lbs, down to 181.4. I’ll take it. And with one more FD this Saturday, perhaps I’ll get down to 180.5 or maybe less. That would be nice, but I know I’m sabotaging myself these last few FDs and could lose faster.

@pashaw, thinking of you during this difficult waiting time. Should have made a list of all of your names and the replies I thought of while reading your posts, but just didn’t make the time to do it. Takes up quite a bit of time in the morning to read, but so worth it for motivation and comraderie.

Day 27 super duper FD country West Australia

Day 26 : FD plus Easter eggs = NFD
Was doing really really well on yesterday’s FD until 7 pm when I went past a shop selling half priced Easter eggs. Went in for a coffee and came out with a coffee …. and a couple of Easter eggs which quickly disappeared.
Backed up today with a very mindful well under 500 calorie FD. I actually wouldn’t have eaten anything as I find it easier not to eat at all. But DH was worried so I passed up the treats at the baker’s, the morning and afternoon tea offered, all the enticing food as I shopped at the supermarket and had a 200 calorie homemade tomato sauce for a pasta. delicious and filling.
May do a 16:8 tomorrow – time will tell.
Still have about 6 pages to read to catch up. Good luck to all fellow travellers on this 5:2 journey.
( BTW the fat fairy enjoyed every morsel of said Easter eggs and rewarded me with 1.5 kgs. So kind of her … NOT !!)

Day26 lancaster pa FD

@tillysmum – I never did give chew sticks to my dogs but after seeing a video showing the process they go through to be made I would not recommend them especially if they are not feeling very good – just my thoughts.

Day 27 FD St. Louis USA
Couldn’t add my name to the fasters list because my finger was so cold the copy and paste wouldn’t work. I’m there with you all though.

@okeyfokey thank you for the John Hopkins reference. I will look it up. I’m also going to try to download Dr. Jungs audiobook that was mentioned in an earlier post. I find those articles and references helpful to keep going.

Also want to find @fatrabbit‘s story about getting locked in the shed for which she needed to MacGyver her way out.

Best of luck all and hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Day 27 – SW WA USA – FD

How can the scale go up after an 800 FD? Pants still fit well this morning. Will continue on… #4 of 5 FDs.

27–MA, USA–FD 800. Today is my day 4 of fasting for me this week. I stayed below 500 yesterday, even though I thought I’d do an 800. I’ve decided to allow for 800 calories today, and think I will reach that. My stomach has been growling a lot! I’ll need to stay strong to keep to it today. I may throw tomorrow in as a fast day as well. I’ve felt good this week, and I know Saturday and Sunday will be NFDs and I really don’t like to have three NFDs in a row. Best of luck to everyone as we barrel toward the end of April.

Adding myself to the list of fasters:
@mila69
@missymay
@lynzm
@sarah57
@jarbia
@mia139
@endellion
@snowflake56
@coda
@annemarilyn 4th of b5b
@okeydokey 4th of b5b
@chumi
@scs
@rachel
@krisnia
@umka6
@fordprefect
@lilymartin
@cleo120

Day 27 – Cumbria UK – NFD/CD

Lovely day today – went to my aerobic class this morning then went out for brunch with DD before doing the food shopping – skinny flat white and Huevos Rancheros with a side of avocado but not the sourdough toast that was on the side!! very restrained of me……..😇

Not feeling hungry atm so might only have a glass of my homemade Kefir this evening……..and planning my last FD for this challenge tomorrow.

@coda – did you say you needed a good kick up the behind! Consider it done……..Come on, you know you have it in you to conquer this. Re Dry skin – I’m plagued with dry skin and dry hair too – I have found using Bio Oil daily after my shower whilst my skin is still damp great for my skin – might be worth a try
@hannahwatto – sounds like a good idea to mix things up a bit – some on this forum have had good success with doing 5 FDs x 800 cals and 2 x NFD – might be worth a try for May??
@sirisan – thanks for sharing that link
@brightonbelle and @songbirdme – I know one glass is never enough!!!!!! I try to restrict to 2 glasses for 3 or 4 nights a week but not always successful…………
@lynzm – hope your dragon slaying day today is going well???
@snowflake56 – doing a great job maintaining. By the way how is your hand/arm coming along with the physiotherapy and also the speech-training? I know you said you didn’t like either but hopefully some improvement is being seen by you x
@bert1802 – 💃 for your successful FD on 26th and hopefully you are joining me in a nice CD today
@chumi – hope you catch up with some sleep tonight – nothing beats a good night’s sleep
@okeydokey – great will power – When I went on this weight loss journey I knew the one thing that was important for me was not to feel deprived and the 5:2 WOL has allowed me to lose weight and maintain the loss but also to have my cake and eat it too if you like!!!! I hope you get to enjoy a really good dry white (if that is your favourite) when you decide to have one in June 🥂Also thank you for the links – all very interesting
@fatrabbit – your stories always bring a smile to my face – another good one being locked in the shed – loved your escape…..
@lilymartin – don’t you just hate that fat fairy 😈
@ciren2 – 23:1/16:8 days and CDs are great – small steps and all that ……“Little by little does the trick.” ~Aesop – stay focused and don’t lose heart – you have this x

A lovely sunny evening as I sit here and write this – OH has gone out for a run on the fells – dinner in the oven for him but I will stick to that glass of Kefir I think………and go for that FD tomorrow

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.” ~Mike Murdock

Day 28 NZ FD

Thank you for your supportive comments around my weight loss this month.

At the beginning of January I was “severely” obese (according to the BMI charts). I set a target to attain “overweight” by the end of May. This coincides with my next batch of blood tests. I’m 7kg away from that target. So either I accept that I won’t make it (but will be closer to it (moving from severely obese to obese is still good), or go hard-core for the next 4 weeks (would 7 kg remotely be achievable in 4 weeks???).

Thoughts?

@triplet

The best I’ve managed is around 5kg in a month. 1.75kg a week might be possible. I had a quick look at your posts and you’re nearly doing ADF. Change-up is my advice if you want to lose more or carry on the impressive rate of loss you are doing. You could do longer fasts, but the recommendation is to do these with medical supervision, especially if there are any underlying medical conditions or medication involved. I’m starting next week with my first 3 day (72+ hour liquid only fast) happy for you to join in and compare notes if helpful.

@onahealthyhigh — yes, wine drinkers anonymous (aka pocket winos) — I bet @at and @brightonbelle would love it too!

Day 26, Mountaintop PA, NFD
Day 27, Mountaintop PA, FD
Day 28, Mountaintop PA, NFD

Coming to the end of the month I keep my NFDs also CD. Walked every day this week along with sensible eating. FD all good. Enjoyed less than 800 calories over protein waffle and fruit breakfast and dinner spinach salad with 3 oz steak protein topped with chopped walnuts and Feta cheese sprinkles. Food should be colorful and healthy.

Day 28 FD ( hopefully) country west Australia.
Well, after a very good and mindful FD the fat fairy has gone away for a holiday and taken 1.2 kgs with her. Very kind and thoughtful of her.
But I just know she is lurking waiting to surprise me when I don’t expect it. I think she lives under my scales and hops on when she gets bored. Whatever, I’m just glad she’s away this morning with some of her unwelcome baggage.
There are times when I actually DO expect her to visit and that doesn’t worry me. It’s the times when I think she shouldn’t have hopped on my scales that I find irritating.

However, in the scheme of things it is probably a ‘first world problem’ as my children would say.
Let’s face it – it is a glorious autumnal morning, the day is before me to do with as I please. I have people who love me, I live in a stunning part of the world – rain would be very welcome but that’s another story…- I have lovely home, a worldwide circle of friends ( you guys) , plenty to eat, access to clean water.. the list of blessings goes on.
Make today the best day it can be for you whatever comes your way and despite problems, disappointments etc. You only get to live this day once so make the most of it.
🤗

Day 28 Uk. FD
B2B fast day today to minimise holiday damage and try to finish April well. Have caught up with all the posts and totally inspired by the wonderful people on this forum. The support is amazing. Ready now to face the May challenge with renewed enthusiasm! So many thanks to @okeydokey for being such a wonderful inspiring host this month.

Day 28 UK NFD

I have somehow lost 4lbs this week. How? This must be the whoosh effect because aside from drinking more water nothing else changed.

This is the most I have lost since week 1 back in September. Super amazed! This brings total loss in April to 6lbs and brings me to wihin 6lbs of goal as I start my ninth month on my forever WOE.

Total loss since September is 41lbs. BMI When I started was 30.9 now it is 24.3.

Okeydokey, I won’t be weighing again now til 5th May so this is my final loss to record for April. Thank you so much for all your hard work amd encouragement this month.

We all have out struggles with adapting and there have so many weeks when I feel I have worked so hard for a pound or to maintain. For anyone struggling right now, just keep on keeping on.

Day 28 Croatia FD
Weight: 77 kg

Day 27 & 28 NFD NZ
Triple t – I’ve never been obese so I can’t fully relate and am happy for you to take whatever you choose from my opinion.
I suspect that it’s taken a long time for you to become any degree of obese (please don’t take my use of that term as a judgement of any sort, obese is an awful word and I feel uncomfortable using it) and changing that state will take a long time too, as I’m sure you know.
I think your loss so far is fabulous and you should feel incredibly proud. But I’d encourage you to stay focussed on long term permanent change instead of hitting certain targets by certain dates. Another 7kg may be possible in the timeframe you desire but I would hate for you to push too hard and become fatigued with overdoing it, or even worse, to push hard and miss your goal then become disheartened.
I think people like you who have so much to lose and who are making such impressive changes should celebrate the fact that you are on the road to permanent improvements and hold fast to the steady progress more so than particular numbers and dates.
You are an inspiration to me, I’ve had so little to lose by comparison and I’m awed by those here who are facing such a long road and sticking to the WOL.
It’s just my opinion, but given how much you have achieved so far I think you should continue doing what you are doing and only consider changing or pushing harder if you stall. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it🙂