Hello fellow fast dieters, I hope the New Year will be healthy for all of you. I wish you all courage and self-forgiveness as you move forward with your goals, and especially if you find you have plateaued or feel you have not kept to your plan.

This is a followup report to remind myself that good habits have to be life long. If into the bargain anyone here learns anything from my experience, I will be delighted.

Background: In July of 2016 I started the fast diet and lost 30 pounds. I have kept all but 3 of those pounds off for a year as of this month.

What seems to have worked: I have been able to keep trading things I used to eat, for other treats. Example: I gave up ice cream with candy stirred in it, and replaced it with yogurt or lattes (coffee with steamed milk). This reduced the sugar I had been eating. Trading, rather than simply deleting, seems to be psychologically easier.

Trading candy for nuts and seeds as treat – eh, went well until recently, when I started to slip. I suspect a certain amount of mental preparation for grocery shopping (where they always seem to have chocolate bars ‘on sale’ right at the checkout) may be necssary. The lesson: the sugar industry has its goals for my ‘habits’ as well. They have a vested interest in my failures as those failures are for them sales – i.e. successes.

Buying cookies 1 or at most 2 at a time, instead of buying a bag. I have the luxury of doing this since I don’t have kids at home. So far, this has been kept, but I note I have started to buy even only 1 0r 2 more cookies or sweet muffins regularly. Sugar is virtually an addiction for me and I can’t afford to forget this, especially in light of industry marketing.

Learning to throw out part of an oversized muffin or bagel instead of eating it. I’ve kept this habit reasonably well, although of late I have noticed I have paid less to ‘portion distortion’ than before.

In a nutshell: I still miss sugar especially chocolate and that’s my biggest challenge.

Note: I haven’t fasted in many months, even a ‘maintenance’ fast – I may need to resume for a bit to get rid of the pounds I have gained.

I wish all of you the best. I know how hard it can be.