@rabbette: I find that I lose the most after a challenging fast day! Hang in there, it is totally worth it! You’ll be very happy tomorrow. I’m sure ther reward is coming! You are strong and you can do it!

For my comparison photos–yes, same everything. My bra and underwear (same), same distance to the mirror, front, side and back. So yes I was hoping to see more of a difference. I guess it is possible I lost like 1/4 of an inch all over or something like that and I simply can’t see it. The 10lb or so had to go from somewhere. At least I have my tank top photos fromt the store to keep my spirits up!

The 30 Day Shred will tone you no problem! Though I have serious doubts yours is not toned, with all the yoga you are doing. I think my planking is helping a bit. I do feel stronger in my core.

Today was a challenging day for me too. I was VERY tempted today with all the yummy food at home and with cooking for the family. But I think I conquered myself. I even smelled some of the food lol, and promissed myself that I can have them tomorrow. Not much longer and I’m excited.

We are doing so awesome with our goals!!! I’m very excited. So glad we are sharing our journeys.

June 27, 181.8lb! We are exactly 30lb apart lol
Congras on your lowest and your saggy pants!! That’s my lowest as well! I think we have practically achieved our goals for July, and the BIG GOALS too. Are we awesome or what??

I broke my fast at 42h with left over savoury pie (beans, broccoli, cheese, bacon bits etc), fruits, nuts and coffee with cream. Feeling a bit stuffed haha. I’m not tempted to have any chocolate thought, even if I have lots lying around.

Now that I finished the C25K, I’m doing a different plan, very loosely. The idea is alternate different types of runs: a long and easy one (for me that 45-50 minutes); a short an easy one (25-30 minutes); and a fast/ hard one, 2.5 miles at close to my best pace; and intervals, where you run faster and slower within one run. People get very technical with those but I sort of have this as a guide and I will try this schedule for July and August and see if it will improve my pace. I can’t believe I’m even thinking about improving my pace–just recently I was thrilled to have run for 5 minutes!

Today is my short easy run and I will go in a couple of hours after I digest all this food! I’m getting a bit addicted to running, and I only hope I don’t over do it and can keep going. I literally go for every run thinking it coould be my last, because if my knees start hurting I will have to stop.

TOM is finally here. I think TOM was afraid of all the butt issues I’ve been having (I was stressed out about that) hence the delay. All the GI and butt issues have been steadily improving, and I have been mopey and weepy for the last two days, thank you, TOM.

I’m looking forward to my run later today. An unexpected victory regarding my running pants. I got them used about 6-7 weeks ago, and they are actually zoomba pants. When I started running in them I couldn’t fit the phone in my back pocket–it would stick out too much and the top part of the pocket wouldn’t go over the top of my phone so I couldn’t get the back pocket zipped. I vented to myself about the stupid pocket that should have been bigger and what was the point of having a pocket if I can’t fit my phone in it. Well guess what. Smaller butt helps enourmously. My phone fits well now, with room to spare, thank you very much.

Enjoy your busy day, Rabbette!

Goals for July

*******************GOALS FOR JULY********************************************
***Goals for July***GOALS FOR JULY***Goals***Goals***Goals***JULY***JULY***JULY*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

1. Daily Planking. Currently 10 sec per plank, 5 sec per sideways plank. What will be my progress?
2. Regular 36h water fasts–from 3 times a week, to ADF
3. Running–minimum 9 miles a week (taking it easy to take care of my knees).
4. One 100h Super Fast. To test my will power, reduce arthritis in my foot, and to kick 170s in their ass.
5. Weight loss Goal #1: 182-4=178lb; Weight Loss Goal #2: 182-10=172lb

June 30, 185lb.

After all the sushi my weight is 185lb, but I’m sure it is all water weight after the carbs, as everything fits the same and my body feels good. So I’m not counting this lol. I don’t know about that math on the first of the month lol–it ain’t working for me ;-), with all this sushi! I’ve been fasting for 22h and will break the fast tomorrow at 40h or around that. I’m actually going to try keto-ish breakfast / lunch tomorrow and see how my digestion handles it. I haven’t had bacon and eggs for over a month!

Congrats on catching down with your SO! WTG! And yay on 152.6—that’s fun when you can track so precisely. And big Congratulations on the 10 years! I hope you have a delightful anniversary. We love sushi and pretty much all our family celebrations are at a sushi buffet. Nothing fancy, but fresh and plentiful, and not that pricey, and all the kids love sushi–sometimes finding a place to eat that all 3 kids enjoy is a challenge. Thefore, we haven’t moved on from sushi in several years.

Thank you for all the planking tips! At least I knew to breathe!

All this planking has helped me to have better form for foam rolling! I really struggled with keeping myself balanced when I first got the foam roller a couple of months ago. My muscles are feeling so good now! But it was painful to roll—which it is supposed to, I read. I hope the foam rolling + planking will help me with my knees even more. I’m going to research foam rolling more so that I can feel massaged all over!

Yes, I’m 6 feet tall! So it makes sense to be 30lb apart lol.

July 2nd, 181.2lb. Totally an eating day! I kept a short 20h fast and then just ate junk food. Didn’t finish my french fries, but finished deep fried clams and most of my can of pepsi. Then drove to a different place and a had a latte and half a chocolate chip cookie. Hooray for gray summer days and great friends. Yep, gray, cold summer days, but the enjoyment was real. I wonder about the calories. Deep fried anything must be exceptionally high on calories. But the most important thing was that it was HALF a cookie. And it felt great.

Came home late at night and did one set of planking exercises, to the total of 50 seconds of various planking! Rest day from running. (And from sleeping, apparently, as it is well after midnight. Yikes!)

I’m fasting until Thursday morning, so a 40-44h fast. 180lb, here I come!!! Deep fried clams and all! lol

July 3, 180.8! That’s the lowest this time! We are DOING IT.
50 minute run–Done! Slow and easy, except that one darn hill, where it is slow and hard.
Planking–Done! I’m feeling so much stronger in my core, that’s amazing!
Eating–Done! No comment.

Today was supposed to be a fast but then we had company and went out, and I decided to eat. Entering a slightly dangerous territory, as part of my decision to eat was based on me being 180lb. Hm…This is how we get fat, GW165! (self talk.) This time I’m too motivated though.

I had a side ceasar salad and coffee and a slice of rhubarb pie with cream and another coffee. That was around 1pm and looked like it could be my light OMAD. But then I got home and discovered my avocados reached the EAT ME NOW stage, and had a no-dressing salad of 2 avocados, some cherry tomatoes, cucumber and pickles. Followed by two oranges, a bowl of cherries, and a handful of nuts. My typical nourishing fruit and veggie feast.

I started my fasting app tonight and am fasting until Friday afternoon.

That’s a very sweet story about your tall friend and how you’d sign for her. I’ve never experienced people just talking to me like this, even if for most of my life I was slim. My hubby says that I can send people away with just one glare. I never wanted anyone to approach me like this and I guess my glare can be quite intimidating ha ha.

35C is a melting weather. I don’t know how you are managing. Do you find it is easier to fast, though? I think I can last a long time on fizzy water with ice and a generally reduce appetite due to heat. EDIT: Just checked the forecast. 35C humidex Friday here. Yay?? lol I can test my theory re fasting in the heat.

Have the most wonderful anniversary! That cake sounds delicious!

Oh, in other news, I have a new pair of Motivational Jeans! They are gray and lovely and I got them the last time I was losing weight. They NEVER fit. I bought them a little too small (thrift store, so I didn’t have options lol) and I never lost “the last 5lb”. Back then I couldn’t zip them up. This time around I can zip them up easily! But they are a little bit tight around my waist and thighs. The fit is certainly presentable enough to wear out if needed, and my Formerly Motivational Jeans are getting too loose! So I’m in between. Of course they are different brands, and maybe even different generations, so they are both size 14. So now I’m waiting for them to fit a bit better! Yay! I really want to be able to wear them on July 30th with room to spare.

If the weather is good (i.e. hot) and stars align, I’m starting my 100h fast Sunday night! If not, then next Sunday night. A Sunday night start fits the best into my schedule. I’m ready to see 179!!!

July 5: 179.8!! My first glimpse of the 170s!! YAY. Super Happy.

Running: DONE! Only 20 minutes, but did a HIIT run and didn’t want to push it too much in the heat.

Fasting: Broke the fast at 36 hours.

Eating: Started the day with Kimchi to set my digestion on a better course before I went for the run. Went to IKEA for lunch and had traditional Meatballs with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, and coffee with cream. Then at home had my typical HUGE salad: 2 avocados, a tomato, half a cucumber, sunflower seeds and a package of organic arugula + probably 3 cups of spinach. I wasn’t that hungry, but I felt I was beginning to have sore throat and I wanted good nutrition; and also our greens spent too much time in a hot car so they were at the end of their live ha ha. Had to eat them. Then ate 3 cups of cherries. Now I need vitamin C. I am hoping I can fight this cold.

Planking–I really don’t feel like planking with the sore throat. So I skipped it.

I’m not sure whether I will fast or eat tomorrow–I’ll go with the flow.

Oh, IKEA has lovely options for lunch, including vegan. Their chocolate and vanilla almond cakes are to die for and are gluten free. We adore their cafeteria and also the little “grocery” section.

I’m taking lots of vitamin C and all kind of other things. I’m not impressed with my sore throat at all!

I’m glad you are checking out the possible low iron and other things are your RLS. Sorry to hear it has been bothering you agan.

I haven’t checked my weight today. I’m just drinking lots of fluids and plan to have fruits and veggies in the evening. I don’t think I feel like Fasting Day either…I’ll restart when I’m over the cold. I’m fully expecting to be in the 183-181 range again, but that’s okay. That glimpse of 179 was very satisfying and motivational!

Darn today wasn’t easy, psychogically speaking! It is interesting how getting out of the Fasting Flow affects me. I wasn’t hungry, but boy was I tempted by all the food I could eat. Veggies, my glorious veggies! My yet un-roasted cauliflower, peppers, sweet potatoes! All the plums that have been ripening! My avocado, my beloved avocado! Steamed broccoli! Let’s not foget steamed broccoli. And IKEA rye crackers with plain, sour yogurt.

I don’t like when I think about food too much on my fasting days! This gotta go. I hope I wake up with no Food Insanity in my head, but something tells me tomorrow might be a feast day. Vegetable Feast Day.

Interestingly, I wasn’t really hungry. So go figure whey my body and mind are playing dirty with me. Maybe because I’m getting over my cold?

I made it, though. This wasn’t a very productive day, but at least I did my planks and the knee exercises.

I hope to go for a short run tomorrow–either an easy one, or HIIT, I’ll decide on the spot. And yeah, veggies. Veggies.

Some thoughts. I keep forgetting what my blood type is, but years ago a naturopath told me that my blood type means that I need to be vegetarian for optimal health. Back then I was doing Low Carb, Hihg Fat, with lots of bacon, and was loving it, and I really didn’t like like the naturopath for all kind of other reasons. Also back then I was convinced that Blood Type Diet was the most anti-scientific poop there was.

I haven’t looked further into the blood type diet, but my fasting journey and what not led me a bit closer to the idea that maybe there IS something behind blood types and nutrition. And my obsession with veggies. Hm…

I still do love my bacon and eggs, and meat in general, but lately, percentage wise, I’ve been eating much more vegetarian than before. Something to think about, I guess.

July 9 Report. Feeling accomplished.

1h run–DONE! I took it slow, but I finished strong–I was able to increase my speed during the last 8 minutes of the run, and this made me proud and happy. My next run will be a short HIIT run.

Planking–DONE! As well as my other exercises that target glutes to keep my knees functioning. I love how my body is feeling “more together” with the core getting stronger.

Eating–DONE! I had 10 plums; a cauliflower + two sweet potatoes oven-roasted with olive oil and spices; a smaller than usual handful of nuts (yay!); a large cup of plain yogurt + rye crackers; and a bell pepper with horse radish sauce. I ate all of this in about 2h window, and started the next fast. I’m not sure whether it will be a 24h fast or a 44h one. I will see how I feel and whether my avocados have ripened. Seriously, if they are in the “eat me now” stage tomorrow, the avocado salad for late lunch it is!

I thought I’d be having my HUGE iced coffee on the cream base, but I just wanted fizzy water with ice after the run, so I think I saved myself 800 calories right there.

I did a rough calorie count after I ate–I’m guessing 1900 calories. I think that’s a good number of calories for me for today. I feel well nourished and I enjoyed all my veggies so much! I’m glad I didn’t feel like the iced coffee though ha ha. This also reminds me how I gained so much weight two summers ago–I was drinking those cream-based iced coffees daily, sometimes twice a day! Ice, lots of coffee (so the drink is BITTER), a cup of coffee cream, and BLEND to a nice foamy drink! This summer it is an occasional treat ha ha.

My favorite iced drink this summer, I make them 1L at a time in a pickles jar. 1/2 to 3/4 plain fizzy water; 2-3 table spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar; Half a tea spoon of salt–maybe actually less; And the rest is Bubbly Strawberry water (your fault for telling me about those ha ha!) I do dilute them quite a lot, and I refuse to dwell on WHAT those “natural flavors” are (I did read an article. You might not want to.) And lots of ice! This is HEAVEN after a run, especially in the heat.

July 10: 179.6! Interesting that even after an eating / feasting day I didn’t gain. This is progress. Broke my 24h fast today and ate someting like 18:6.

Running—not a running day. Bicycling—4km. But it didn’t feel like a work-out. Last year this route felt like a work-out. I guess I’m fitter this year. I need to find a different route. It was my frist bike ride of the season and I had FUN. Interval run tomorrow morning.

Planking—done! I’m doing a set of several planks, as per my app. I do 12 seconds of straight arms, 8 seconds per side, 12 seconds of elbow, 12 seconds of straight arms. Sometimes I do two of those sets a day, but mostly just one. I haven’t tried to hold one for a minute yet! I will try tomorrow to hold an elbow plank “for as long as I can.” I think I could possibly do 30 seconds, but not a minute yet. But my app is designed to gradually increase difficulty level, so I’m getting there. A minute is phenomenal! Congratulations!

Outdoor chores—done! More to come tomorrow.

Eating: O M G DONE. Maybe over-done. It was fun, and I even had cookies and chocolate. In addition to my Avocado Salad, smoke tune + lentil, baked potato, and possibly some other stuff that escapes my memory at the moment. I’m ending the fast Friday morning, at around 40 hours.

@rabbette: CONGRATS on 149!!! Awesome!!! Look at you!! Have fun with your egg fast. It is always fun to do those re-sets.

Sorry to hear about your big toe and that it didn’t align properly. Have you thought about an elliptical? And the 30 day shred, of course! I’m saving it for Winter, when my running will be limited. Also, what about the Kaushiki Dance? Somehow youtube started suggesting it to me. I’m awfully uncoordinated, so I’m saving it for winter as well. I unearthed my hulahoop today and going to give it some more regular use now that the weather has been so lovely!

Okay, about the flavoured fizzy water, in my case Bubbly. My GI issues started when I started drinking it. I also started Keto at that time…So all kind of confounding variables, for sure. I don’t drink much at all, but I have been drinking some. Maybe a can every other day. I haven’t stopped it yet, and I actually got a new flavour (strawberry)…But I wonder if my system is not reacting the best to it? The connection is so improbably, and that’s why I haven’t stopped it, but I wonder if I should take a good long break and see how things are. Because things are not in a crisis mode, but definitely not back to normal. After I finish my strawberry pack.

Maybe we should add WC (Word Count) for our books as our daily goals ;-). I’ve been procrastinating lately. Really, please don’t worry about spelling when writing. This is only important for revisions, and honestly, you can hire and editor. Not something you need to stress over. Don’t let your dyslexia stop you from finishing your book. You need to get all of your first draft out, without thinking about “perfection”, grammar, or spelling. Then you will revise. And revise again. And only then you’ll worry about spelling. And for goodness sake, please don’t worry about spelling on the forum!! Your spelling is just FINE.

I’m sure my weight will be over 180lb tomorrow after eating so much and later in the evening than usual, but I know from experience then the weight will go down afer that.

July 11, 181.8lb in the morning, which makes sense as it was after a feast day.

Running: 5km at my best pace, DONE! I feel very proud about it. It was a hard run, but I did it. Now for the next 4 weeks I’m going to continue with the suggested plan of long and easy runs, intervals, and tempo runs and then I will do the “race” pace again and see if I improved any. My race pace was pathetic, and probably if I were in an actual race I would have pushed much harder at the end for a better time. But I feel accomplished and proud.

Planking: One set from my app, plus 30 seconds elbow plank as a bnus, DONE!

WC:hmm. I might still work on a short story tonight, but so far ZERO.

Today wasn’t a clean water fast. I split one bottle of kambucha (40 calories) into 3 portions (diluted with fizzy water, apple cider vinegar, and flavoured fizzy wate and ice). I also had 1.5L of broth (I used some of my frozen bone broth, water, cabbage, tomato, onion and carrot + salt). I guess I am very well hydrated today.

I’m going to break my fast at around 40h tomorrow morning. Lots of about to go bad arugula in the fridge!

July 12: 179.8. I’ve stayed this weight since July 6th, with a couple of times the weight going higher after an eating day. Time for 178!! I should aim to have a lighter day today, which might not work out, this being cold and rainy. We’ll see!

Broke my fast at 38 hours.

Running: Today was supposed to be a rest day, but it was rainy and windy—and I really felt like going for it. I decided to do a slow and easy run, and to go for over 1h, a slight increase in time. This time I succeeded at keeping a slow and steady pace throughout, and the entire 4.5 miles felt easy and enjoyable. It was the best run so far. I felt pleasantly tired, but I was never out of breath and I knew my breathing and heart rate were just enough elevated to fit in the “easy” category.

Planking: DONE and my knee exercises.

Eating: DONE. I don’t even remember what I ate today as I started my fast about 6h ago. I did eat sweets, and lots of fruits and bacon and eggs. Coffee and pie. Drank lots of water, especially after the run. Today wasn’t a controlled day. It was a random eating day.

WC: ZERO (ugh.)

My knees are a bit touchy, but I feel so great overall. I feel like I’ve achieved something. I ran for 1h and 7 minutes, in the rain. I also wore a rain jacket that belongs to my oldest teen. Ha! She can’t wear it as her shoulders are wider than mine, but she is way slimmer than me. Well, she is outright skinny. It was tight on me, but obviously not TOO tight as it felt comfy in the rain and I didn’t get too wet.

I hope my knees will recover, as they have done this before. Though they haven’t done two run days in a row before, both being Personal Bests. I hope I didn’t over do it.

@rabbette: YAY for seeing 148!! I can’t believe I’m so excited over numbers (mine and yours), but I am! We are getting closer and closer to our goals!!! So AMAZING. We are amazing.

The struggle over crackers is real. Good job! I pretty much trained myself out of crackers the first time I did LCHF the First time I lost weight after baby #3. I now enjoy hummus and dips with either celery, pepper, or carrot and it works so well. I started having some high fiber crackers again after my GI fiasco.

Yeah, I knoow that technically nothing in flavored water should give me constipation. And yet. I am still drinking it lol. And most days things are significantly better / back to normal. My religion is called Fermented Foods now. I start my eating days with Kimchi. Seems to help.

We ARE getting stronger and slimmer. We ARE doing it!!

Hubby is cooking. It smells so good. I’m gonna somehow persevere and survive. I’m at 24hours and eating now won’t make me happy. I’m not even that hungry.

I hope to go to bed soon and by tomorrow morning I’ll feel so good about this decision!

July 14: 178!!!! Moody was giving me options between 177 and 179, so the prudent thing to do was to choose the average. YAY. So excited! They mythical Whooosh effect has hit me this morning.

I’ll report later on my running (might take a day off today, not sure yet) etc. BUT my WC is 700 which is just enough to submit to a little contest. I’ll be revising tonight.

So far I had a tomato + cucumber salad, a bell pepper with hummus, some cabbage and mushroom saute and two oranges. Great start to the day, I’m going to be out with friends for most of it, so maybe some dessert.

July 15: 179.8 this morning, which is expected as I ate supper really late last night. Yesterday was a day of lots of fruits and veggies and some coffee with a small amount of sweets. When I reach 165 I’ll start tracking my weight AFTER eating days, not after fasting days, as this will be more realistic. However for now I want the excitment of the lower weight!

Runnning: Went for a 30 min run. It was supposed to be slow for 5 minutes, steady / faster for 20 and slow for the last 5. I was able to go steady for only about 15 minutes and then I had to really slow down, but my overall pace was my personal best for this distance. My goal is to be able to go steady /(i.e. faster) for the entire 20 minutes. The run felt really good.

I’ll break my fast tomorrow at lunch, at about 40 hours. Going out for sushi with friends. It’ll be FUN.

Planking: DONE

WC: 0, but I submitted several stories to mags, so that’s progress.

Feeling accomplished today!!

@rabbette: From what I’ve been reading weight fluctuates so much with hormones and water retention and even the outside temperature and exercise level, it is really unpredictable. I had a day just recently where it jumped almost 5lb up, and then went back down, and there was absolutely no reason for this! So annoying, though, to see the ups, where I’d rather see the downs!

When my weight goes down I get excited and motivated. When it goes up, it is “just a number” and I get motivated in a different way. It is all good and part of the journey.

So…I’m in between sizes and it sucks! My regular jeans (the formerly Motivational Jeans) are sort of baggy and not flattering anymore. My Gray Motivational Jeans still gave me a bit of a muffin top (though less than 2 weeks ago). And since it is hot out and I can’t wear a lose flowing cardigan to hide this. It is ANNOYING. I refuse to buy a new pair though! I’ll persevere. Maybe I should wear my capris more.

And then I was looking for running shorts in Winners / Marshalls. I found only 2 pairs. One in a really nice subdued pink in XL and regular blacks in L, in different brands. The pink ones were way to big, and the L ones were a touch too small. I would hae wanted the pink ones in L, but that wasn’t an option. I did buy the slightly small ones, I think they should fit perfect in -5lbs. I did run in them this morning and there were no issues. I would not have worn them to a busy running park though! It felt good to wear something so short and have my legs bare. I haven’t worn anything so short in ages.

My Fasting Notes

<b>Friday, July 19, Day 1: Cabbage broth day!</b>

I started strong, energetic and strangely excited about the fast. I went to the store to buy electrolytes, cooked for the family, and made cabbage and sauerkraut broth.

The Snake Juice electrolyte mixture tasted awful and I couldn’t drink more than half a litre (he recommends 2L a day.). Next time I won’t add magnesium. I didn’t really need electrolytes on Day 1, but I was eager to experiment. Then I decided to drink the sauerkraut brine….and later drank cabbage broth as well. I’m sure it wasn’t much calories, but considering this is DAY 1 and that I normally do a DAY 1 Fast every other day, I really didn’t see why I had to drink all those extras. It could have easily been a plain old water fast. It was just my curiosity that led me to drink the brine and the broth!

30h: I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow—I have cold brew coffee brewing; I have more cabbage broth, sauerkraut brine, and chicken broth. I’ll go with the flow—it will be either a water / coffee fast, or water/ coffee/ broth fast. Though it would be nice not to have any broth until DAY 3. I’m not even sure why I was finding the end of DAY 1 slightly challenging. So much of fasting is in the MIND.

All this cabbage broth today was great for my GI tract—very cleansing, but in a good way!
The plan for Day 2: I want to aim for water and coffee fast, and I’ll save the broth for DAY 3. I want to go for a short easy run in the morning.

<b>Saturday, July 20, DAY 2: Water and Coffee day!</b>

42h fasting: Just came from a slow and easy 5K run (44 minutes) and drank lots of water. Feeling fantastic. No hunger. Great energy. It is midday and so far Day 2 seems to be the same as Day 1 or like any other fasting day where food is delayed until evening. I wonder if this is partly because I had cabbage broth yesterday. I might also feel differently in the evening.

48h. Zero hunger, but I feel like eating because eating is a nice activity. Hm…That’s an interesting way to frame it, and something that I need to ponder more about. The feeling like eating passed very quickly when I got busy with things.

54h. Ready to go to bed. Only now having very mild munchies, no hunger. Drinking plain soda water and some of the electrolyte solution (still working on that bottle that I made yesterday, yuck!) helped almost immediately.

Excited about tomorrow and how I will feel. I’m not sure whether it will be cabbage broth and chicken broth day, or coffee and water day. At the moment I’m thinking to extend the fast (while incorporating the broths) until Tuesday, but I have a commitment on Monday night…if it wasn’t for that, I would have tried to continue (but that’s me talking at just 55h. This feeling might change. But I’m also considering the option of having a very small keto meal on Monday afternoon, like an egg, and then continuing the fast on Tuesday.)

<b>Sunday, July 21, DAY 3: Water and coffee day!</b>

68 hours. Woke up with great energy and no hunger. Had my black coffee and some water. I’m considering extending my fast to 116 hours! This sounds crazy, and I am allowing myself to change my mind.

Moody was showing me numbers from 174 to 178lb. So the trend downwards is definitely there, but what my weight is I have no clue! 178lb would make the best sense so this is what I’m recording, but it is great to see a lower range from Moody. I’m really curious how I’m going to feel by the end of the day.

70h, still feeling great! Though a bit bored with not eating. How awful that so much of our eating is really out of habit and boredom. And all the mainstream eating with 3 meals a day and all the “healthy snacking.” We really don’t give our bodies a break from constant insulin production.

72h—the energy is good, no hunger, but feel like eating. Drinking some of the electrolytes and water solved the munchies. Roasting chicken with all the aromas though is a bit of a challenge! I also made my favourite lentil stew. I drank a bit more of the electrolytes and some plain soda, and the munchies went away. So that’s super nice.

At about 74h I went for an easy 30 minute run. The amount of effort was more moderate than easy, but it felt absolutely great.

78h—The fact that I’m updating every couple of hours means only one thing—I’m too focused on “fasting” and I’m a bit bored. My goal is to learn how to fast without this hyper-focus. I’m NOT hungry. My energy is good. And yet I’m pre-occupied with the idea of “I’m fasting.” This is a little bit like being in early labour. I know lots of women who do fun things like going shopping, watching movies etc in early labour. I, on the other hand, always focused on the fact that I was in labour and on the expectations ahead. Not the best way to deal with either labour or fasting! Lots of space for improvement. At this point I have no hunger and my energy is good, but I don’t think I’m ready mentally to extend the fast past 92 hours.

I’ve been reading about breaking fasts. A lot of contradictory information and half of it doesn’t make sense. This mostly applies to fasts 7 days and longer, but I’ve had diarrhea after 48h fasts, and I want to avoid it. It can’t be a healthy way to exit a fast. So maybe my body needs more care during the transition even if the fast was only 3 days. Many sources recommend returning to hourly (HOURLY) diluted juice for a day, and then to small meals every couple of hours. So hard to know whether this is a good transition or not. Maybe the digestive system needs this kind of a gentle but frequent stimulation to re-start, and then I can continue to OMAD? Or it is quite possible that these are outdated methods that stem from the idea of 3-4 meals a day as a healthy option and from various cultural traditions around the world. None of what I read is Keto or low-carb compatible. So much about nutrition is still a guessing game.

Some other thoughts for today—this fast felt very quick and also very long all at once. For example, I went for a run today, thinking that I ran on Friday. In fact, I ran on Saturday, i.e. yesterday. I ended up running two days in a row.

July 23. Moody has heard me and has offered a narrower range reliably, from 174.8 to 178.2. I’ll take 177.4, how about that?

I’m insanely proud of myself for sticking to a transition day yesterday. In retrospect it wasn’t that hard, and it should become a new norm. I’m feeling great today.

@rabbette: It seems like you will experience the magic of the Whoooosh Effect pretty soon! This is what plateaus are for! Also, even if you are not losing WEIGHT, you are certainly losing FAT, and that’s ultimately the goal. By the sound of it you are definitely in the caloric deficit. And the weather variations do affect water retention as well in weird ways. You fitting into your Dance Pants proves my point–you are losing inches!!! Hooray for the motivational dance pants! Talk to Mr. Particular.

Tuna salad is my nemesis–I love it and this is the kind of taste that I really struggle with small portions. I put onion, canned peas, pickles and eggs in mine (and mayo) and the combo of tuna and pickles does it to me.

I had a normal eating day today. I haven’t eaten too much or too little. I’m not sure about the calories, but I’m sure they were not over my TDEE or at least not significantly over. It was a bit of a disorganized day and I’m not even sure what I ate. It was all small portions of grabbing things from the fridge. An egg and some bacon crumbs on it; 1.5 cups of plain sour yogurt with rye crackers; probiotic yogurt; roasted peppers with the same rye crackers (small portion); lentil stew with pickles; a can of smoked fish; a couple of dark chocolates and a creme brule; an apple. I keep eating those crackers because of fiber. I haven’t had rye / seeds crackers in AGES. I do enjoy them. I need to do grocery shopping tomorrow and get more veggies. I’m out of veggies and most fruits.

I also went for a 45 minute run in the rain and it felt great. My running shorts fit a tiny bit better.

Overall, it was a good day.

For tomorrow I plan to have OMAD HUGE SALAD + yogurt with crackers in the second part of the day and start a 36h fast–back to my usual scheduling after the 92h fast.

I also learned that while Bubbly is meh (I tried only strawberry, cherry, and orange), Perrier Peach is DIVINE. They nailed it! Much more expensive, though. But that’s okay, I’ll save it for real treats. I also dilute it 1:1 with plain fizzy water, add a table spoon or two of ACV and a pinch of pink salt, which creates amazing deliciousness. But Perrier Peach is almost too good to be diluted. I haven’t seen La Croix is stores yet, but I know some stores here do have it.

My realistic goal for July was 178, and I’ve been steadily ther for weeks lol
My better goal was 172lb…With one week to go this is not realistic, unless my steady 178ish meant water retention etc and there will be a Whoosh. Which thanks to Moody I might not even know about. Either way, if I lose another quarter of an inch around my waist as per my Motivational Jeans, I’ll be super pleased!

Go Rabbette, go! Enough of that 150 nonsense, Mr. Particular!