Thank you Coda. They are good suggestions. I’ve not given up on getting under the 100 and I do need to stop allowing myself all these treats that really are small doses of poison affecting my “wellness”. I’ve got B2tf firmly in front of me now and when I think about deviating, I think of her starting 2 days after me and now within her goal range and realise that perseverance is the only way. I’m putting her up there with Lolly and Buttonboots and really trying hard to move into acceptance of this WOL rather than trying to get away with taking little side tracks. I hadn’t checked into my thread for a while so only just saw your message. I am still checking into the challenge but finding it hard to get all the reading done. I’m at the boys’ swimming lessons at present so catching up.

For time too quickly passes and we are growing old
So let us fill our glasses and drink to days of gold😉

Have spent a lot of this week out in the garden putting in a rock border, weeding and planting some new bushes and ground cover. My sister is up from Melbourne and we visited her yesterday, going out to a Spanish restaurant in Noosa for dinner. They had 3 guitarists playing and singing and it was a wonderful night. I was the designated driver so didn’t have much to drink. I’m trying to get back to a more controlled way of eating. I’m over-obsessing about food and then binging so need to back off for a while. Time will tell.

I had a resonable FD yesterday. May have eaten up to 800 cals I would guess. But no naughties. Just coffee and cream this morning followed by mineral water. Will do my best to stay away from food. I have 2 trees to plant so that means lots of digging. In heavy wet clay, that will be significant exercise. I’m off to buy some soil improver to make it easier for the roots to get to where they need to be. My weight yesterday morning was 110.4kgs. This morning it was 110kgs. I’m going to try and get a few FDs in a row to pull back from compulsive eating and restore my FD frame of mind. It was pretty easy 11 months ago, and I really want to get into that headspace again. I know it is very self centred to just stick to this thread and I still read the challenge as it is a warm and friendly thread, but I have to be more accepting of myself and not keep measuring myself against others and feeling inadequate. I look at the long term participants in this way of life, and it is not unusual to see them struggling at this stage. Then I look at dykask and see that he has taken 5 years to get to where he is. Not giving up over the long haul is what matters. So slowly slowly and gently gently. It will happen. Sugar is out the door again. I let it back in but it is a very poor lodger. Reflux returned and waist getting bigger. Clothes that were looking good are now making me feel sad. So there are plenty of measures to reflect on and keep me in line. Tally ho and all that jazz.

Easter Saturday, and closing in on the 26th April. Big family get together this weekend.

The sugar demon has me in thrall. It was so easy to give up before and yet now the cravings are paramount. I started the day off with coffee and a walk around the paddock, after doing the first level and day of fast exercise on that app. Then I cooked breakfast for one of my grandsons and joined him in a bacon and egg muffin. We are cooking roast pork for dinner at my son’s place.

It’s interesting to see that with all this junk that I have consumed over the past 2 and a half months, I am now bursting out in cold sores which I haven’t experienced much over the past year. So the junk is really stressing my body. I really don’t understand why I am doing this to myself. Never mind. I planted 3 trees yesterday. That is 13 trees I have planted in the past month. The walk down the paddock was to say good morning to my 3 new trees. They will grow to give screening to the big house over on the other hill from, I hope. It’s all activity. Now that I have debriefed here, I will gird my sins for this afternoon and endeavour to not have any chips and sugar producing foods. Have a lovely Easter to all those on the threads.

ANZAC Day and special thoughts given to those who fought for our freedom. My father was very skinny when he came back from the war and had developed the addiction to cigarettes. This affected his health to his detriment developing peripheral vascular disease and led to an early death at the age of 68. My uncle lost a leg, and their brother was killed in France. I grieve for those lost lives and even more for those who are dying such horrible war driven deaths overseas now. It is such a waste on so many fronts. It brings this weight loss battle into perspective.

My weight is stable at present but nowhere near where I need to be. I’m trying to become a lot more active rather than focussing on food so much. Having an FD today with one coffee and now one cup of tea (rooibos) but need to get water into myself. I forget to drink water even though I like it.

It’s hard to believe that it’s over a month since posting on my thread. I have been completely AWOL in mind, determination and commitment. However, the idea of fasting and its health benefits have stayed very much in my awareness, but very firmly defied/denied/ignored. Of course, there is a huge cost in this with inevitable weight gain. Time to put the brakes on and look at all the benefits that I have forgone, indulging in all the foods I felt I was missing. I’ve actually missed the feel good feelings that I used to get from fasting, but have struggled to do this. Now I’m ready to give it another shot. The concerts are over and winter is settling in. I haven’t eaten since 3pm yesterday and I have to say the empty feeling is very freeing. Free from reflux for a start. It has been plaguing me. We’re the bread, biscuits, wine, cocktails, potatoes, sweets worth it? They seemed so in the moment, but the cost is too high. Will check in in a couple of days.

Hello Lou Belles, Thank you so much for your warm sentiments. You and Coda are both being very supportive. I’m not quite ready to throw my hat into the ring on the daily commitment. Life is a bit haywire at present, but enjoyable for all that. I’m following you all from a distance. Take care.

I’m signing in on the July challenge. This time last year I was joining the challenges for the first time. I was on a plateau for months. Then the weight started to climb. Now I’m around the 115 kg mark and still trying to get a handle on things. Will persevere.

Thanks lilymartin. I saw your post on the July challenge and commented. Lovely to see you here. Thanks for the double support. I’ve just been for a 3km walk and now enjoying a lovely coffe Vienna style.

Hello Rocy65. My heart goes out to you as I know exactly what you are going through in regards to going off the rails and stacking it back on. But the ongoing support you get here whether you feel like a huge backslider or a success is never stingy. It buoys one up to know that this is not all that unusual and it’s just a matter of getting on with it. Have fun on your weekend away. And then it is a matter of being mindful of what you are doing and just why you are doing it. I’m convinced we don’t do this to ourselves without a reason.

Hi Coldpizza,

Afraid not. August seems to have gone to hell in a hand basket. But one lives on with hope in the heart . It’s been a big month with my daughter moving in up the hill, my husband sustained a crush injury to his (R) index finger and daughter a fractured toe. A good friend has had a re-occurrence of a very nasty cancer. She is such a good person who has always looked after her health, nursed friends through end stage of breast cancer, is a social worker who walks the walk as much as talking the talk. It seems so unfair, when there is so much evil in the world and this very kind loving person ends up with having to go through removal of tumour, part of the pancreas, stomach, spleen and bowel. The lost a kidney during the last bout of surgery.

Glad to hear that you are doing much better. Thank you for your note. I’m keeping a pretty low profile just now. Don’t want any despondency to rub off on others.

Lovely sentiments. Thanks Coldpizza.xx

I have just responded to Fruitcake3 and am feeling much more motivated. I can’t believe I last wrote on 17th January and didn’t follow up . False promises. But I am feeling much more accountable now. So here goes. Fasting tomorrow. The journey truly continues.

Rereading the fast 800. Will pick up a glucose monitor and measure progress in more ways than just getting on the scales.

Each time I check into this feed, it takes me ages to actually find my journey entries. Today I found it by going to the April challenge, clicked on @coda and got in through one of my entries in a 2017 challenge.
We are finally obliged to wear masks in Qld when out and about in shopping malls etc. Hopefully it will only last another couple of weeks.
I’ve been on a plateau for weeks, with weight fluctuations of +/- the same 3 kilos. My lowest weight so far has been 107.8kgs. Over Easter I shot up to 111.2 but today on 110.6kgs. I’m going on accountability calls and watching coaching calls on the fast mama tribe but still like to drop in here to see old faces who have been a support over the past 5 years. The fast800 has been an absolute lifeline. My HbA1c was up to 6.3%. 6.4% was cut off point for a diagnosis of diabetes. Following fast800 and it’s down to 5.5%, which is fantastic. Easter proved to me yet again that white carbs and alcohol is poison to my system. My eye is firmly fixed on 99.8kgs as my next goal. The 100kgs has been a barrier for many years, right back to the 90’s. I was part of the fast800 community for 5 months and I’m pulling out my folder with the 12 weeks of daily recipes. I released 14 kgs in those 12 weeks and expect I can do it again. I’m still doing TRE 16:8 but packing too much into those 8 hours. I will check in more often to keep track. I love life 💕💕💕🎶🎶🎶

I’m still in the 109s having gained .4 kgs but on the plus side, I have been a lot more active. I’ve cleaned 50 metres of 60 metres of louvres which involves getting up a ladder onto a plank between 2 trestles, cleaning and polishing banks of louvres. It’s a job I dread and have put it off for a year in the most obvious areas of the house and in the areas down the other end of the house, I haven’t done them for years. It’s a bit like my weight loss really. I’ve frequently lost the same 20 kgs but given up on the other 40. After all, people have noticed that I’m slimmer than I was and I feel better, so that’s when the rot sets in. Not this time. I’ll finish the other 10 metres this morning and I’m going to keep on with the plan, weighing, measuring, sticking to the 16:8 time restricted eating and 800 calories.
Happy Mother’s Day to all those caring for families, children in care, fur babies, to aunties who help out, big hugs for all of you. Virginia Trioli wrote a beautiful piece on this on her weekly letter. She is a gem.