Diminishing days and weight.

This topic contains 62 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by  Duds 7 years, 2 months ago.

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  • Hello everyone. I’m 3 months into 5:2 (and occasionally 4:3) and have so far lost 8.9kg. One of the reasons for this is the support and accountability provided by the rest of the ‘Midsummer Challenge’ group. It sounds silly but it really does help knowing that others are going through the same problems and that you are going to check-in with your weight losses (or gains). Anyway, we’ve finished that challenge and everyone who stuck it to the end did very well. We’ve all had ‘blips’ but have managed to get back on to it.

    At the suggestion of Duds, I’m setting up a new challenge which will end on the autumn equinox- 21st September, I think. That gives us a nice 12 weeks of summer days to get on with the challenge.

    I have about 10kg more to lose, maybe a bit more and know that some of the other midsummer challenge people have similar amounts to lose. I’m setting myself a relatively modest target of 5kg by the end of the challenge as we have a holiday and lots of visitors to stay all over summer and I will have to do some ‘juggling’ of FDs and may no get to do my usual amount of exercise.

    However, by sticking to it, when autumn days start arriving at the end of September I will hopefully be able to wear my favourite Armani jeans again and should look and feel much less wobbly.

    If you’d like to join me, I’d love some mutual support. It would be great to see some new people as well as the old crew.

    Hi there F&F

    Looking forward to joining you on the journey! I have 20lbs to lose (down 12lb so far) and have an interim target to drop 10lbs before my holiday at the end of August.

    I’m working on a 4:3 regimen most weeks to try to speed up the weight loss.

    Hi F&F,
    You have done great with your weighloss! Yes, let’s keep this going. If you keep going like you’ve been…you’ll get into those jeans. šŸ™‚

    I would love to join this new challenge also. I’ve been struggling a bit over this past month…but at least I haven’t gained anything back. I am holding steady.

    I am about 10 lbs from the goal I set back in January…I’d like to reach that for sure. I am 15 lbs from a “normal” BMI…that will be my next goal.

    Hello Lynne and Floridag1r1. It’s great to have you on the challenge so thank you for joining me again. This challenge is open to anyone else like us who needs a medium term target but is determined to get there.

    How’s the 4:3 going, Lynne? How many calories do you eat on your FDs? I think 10lbs by the end of August sounds do-able.

    Floridag1r1, you are getting so close to a your goal and you’ve done so well not to gain weight while you’ve been struggling.

    I’ve just been away for a couple of days and have slightly overindulged (wine, cheese, croissants) but am doing a FD today. We have guests arriving on Sunday and they’re staying 13 days so I’m going to do 4:3, I think. It might be easier to juggle calories if I have a few more to play with. Also, I’m going to skip breakfast to have a smaller eating window to see if that helps. I have just over 12 kg to get to the weight I want to be but I may settle for slightly higher if I start to get wrinkly.

    Keep up the good work šŸ™‚

    Hey there, f&f…I am fasting with you today!
    Are you saying that you are doing 4:3 this week…or while you have guests? There is no way I would be able to fast while having guests.

    Have a nice day.

    Hi Flordag1r1. Glad I’m not alone fasting today. I’ll be trying to do 4:3 when we have guests! It’s not going to be easy but I’ll have to do it as we have guests for 6 weeks out of the next 2 months and otherwise I’ll lose no weight. Also, we go on holiday straight after the final summer guests leave.

    Any helpful strategies will be gratefully received but so far I’ve come up with:

    Skip breakfast to save calories and and have a shorter eating window (16:8)
    No alcohol Monday to Thursday
    Eat lots of melon
    Eat lots of veg soup and salad
    Eat very little bread (no bread= no butter)
    Try to keep up a decent level of exercise.

    My target of 5kg by the end of the challenge is going to be difficult but I’ll give it my best effort.

    Have a nice day, too!

    Hi. I’ve just found a website which simulates what we’ll look like when we’re slim! Very motivational.

    http://modelmydiet.com/

    I really like this challenge. It would be my first, so I might need some reminders about how to check in: what info do you want each day? @firmandfruity — thanks for suggesting it on the newbie forum.

    I have 18 kg. (40 pounds) total that I want to lose; not sure what to set as a goal by September 21. Any suggestions? I’m doing 5:2 for now; as we get closer to September 21 (and my son’s wedding September 23!) I could switch to 4:3.

    I returned to IF in April after a short stint of it about four years ago, when I first saw Eat, Fast, and Live Longer. Since April I have had some interruptions, and am only down about 2-3 kg. since I started. I think this web site, which I visited for the first time a few days ago, is going to make a big difference.

    I’ll be glad when I have some noticeable results, because I’m already an evangelist for IF, but it’s bit awkward raving about something when I’m overweight and don’t show any transformation, haha.
    Like the person preaching about how to manage money who’s in bankruptcy.

    Today is a FD for me, btw: I’ve had coffee with some milk so far, and it’s nearly 2 p.m. here. Feeling the growl, which I rather enjoy. šŸ™‚ Amazing how what used to frighten me is now empowering!

    Hey Guys

    Nice to catch up with you all again! I have had trouble logging in this week ā€“ has anyone else had trouble with the website?

    So just to recap, have done the Midsummer Challenge and am pleased to report a 9 lb loss in 11 weeks. I know some of you have lost more than that (yay-well done guys!) but I have been quite relaxed about the whole thing and havenā€™t been too religious about sticking to the rules so am really happy with the way things are going. I now am trying to get below the 10 stone mark which is a barrier I have faced many times before and failed at – only 2 lbs to go this time. Long term I would be very happy with a similar weight loss as the Midsummer Challenge although I am guessing it gets harderā€¦.. weā€™ll see!

    Good to see a new challenger PaxEst! I hope, like me, you find the routine of posting on forum helpful and supportive and it works for you!

    I am on holiday next week (I used your website to put my diet model by a pool F&F ā€“at my ideal weight of course!!) so no fasting for me but hopefully not too much feasting either! I will see how you are all getting on in a couple of weeks.

    See you soon
    Dx

    Happy Friday everyone!

    Welcome, PaxEst! This is a more relaxed Challenge post…we are just here to encourage each other. No real formal data tracking. I have found that about 1 lb per week is realistic for me…some lose more, some lose less. I am shooting for 10 lbs by Sept. 21st. As my weight loss has stall over the past month and I will have a holiday in August.

    Congratulations Duds! 9 lbs is awesome! I hope that you have a fantastic holiday!

    f&f…I really like your plan…I can see that it could definitely work. I may have to use those strategies while I am on vacation. That is a cool website, thanks for sharing.

    This month my weigh loss has stalled…I didn’t gain anything back…so that is a plus. I know that I have been sloppy…I am going to do better in July!

    Have a great weekend everyone!

    Hi Losing Team! (How do you like that name? Lol!)

    I’d love to join all of you. I have about 7 kg to go to meet to my goal weight which is around 60 kg. I think that is a reasonable goal for this summer challenge. I’ve been fasting yesterday and today because I’ve been on a business trip for the first 4 days of this week, where I had several meals with clients and co-workers which made it difficult to try a FD. So instead of my regular Monday/Thursday routine it was Thursday/Friday this week. So far it’s going well. But my weight this morning, 65.4 kg was probably a little lower because of the FD.

    I started 5:2 on May 10th and have lost about 5.2 kg so far. I’ve definitely had some long plateaus but the weight loss is steady overall and so far it’s been pretty easy for me. It fits easily into my way of life. I thought at the beginning that I might try the 4:3 or 16/8, but since this has been dependable and easy (although sometimes slow) I think I’ll stay with the 5:2, at least for now.

    I count calories meticulously on FD and just try to be mindful on NFD. Some days I’m less mindful than others!

    Anyway, I look forward to working with all of you and offering support for our journeys. Good luck to everyone. We can do this!

    Hello everyone and I hope you’re all having a good weekend. Welcome to PaxEst and CalifDreamer- great to have you on the challenge.
    As Floridag1r1 says, this is quite a relaxed challenge with no particular check-in days. All we try to do is share useful hints, offer mutual support and celebrate our success. Having said that, most of us post a few times a week and report our weight losses.

    I lost another 0.4kg when I weighed in on Tuesday giving a total of 9.3kg since 16th March and people are starting to notice! My target is to lose at least 5kg by 21st September. We have a very busy summer with various guests staying for a total of 6 weeks with us going on holiday at the end. I’m going to have to do some serious juggling to keep losing weight.

    I’ll have to do a FD on Sunday this week so I can save my calories for a light evening meal when the first guests arrive.

    I hope the weekend goes well.

    Starting out at 144 lbs.or 65.3 kg (after a 2 day fast). I decided to set my goal to 58 kg, just a bit less than I mentioned before. I should still be able to accomplish that by September 21.

    Looking forward to the summer here with all of you.

    @firmandfruity I like that weight loss simulator! I think it gives a pretty accurate picture of where I am now and hope to be.

    Love the http://modelmydiet.com/ @F&F, I gave myself the full makeover and turned my grey hairs back to brown too!

    I’ve got to get off the plateau somehow! Started at 172lbs, now 160lb (and have been for 2 weeks despite 2FDs/week!), aiming – eventually – for 140lb (middle of the healthy BMI range for my height).

    I’m trying to stick to 500 cals on the FD, and avoiding high GI carbs, substituting with veg instead. Like you F&F, I am thinking of doing the 16:8 on NFDs for a while to see how that works (as I understand it, it’s eat only within 8h window e.g., 12pm-8pm) on any day), maybe this with 5:2 instead of 4:3 – see how things go. Good plan on the no alcohol Mon-Thu too.

    Congrats @duds on your 9lbs – amazing!
    @paxest and @CalifDreamer- welcome, good luck on the journey!
    Floridag1rl – hoping you get to jump off the plateau too this month!

    I hope that everyone had a nice weekend.
    Monday – FD for me.
    I am determined to get back to the exercise…I think that it will help immeasurably in my getting back on the weightloss track.

    Let’s have an awesome week everyone!

    Had a nice dinner out with friends last night and didn’t count calories. But I brought half of my meal home so I think I did a pretty good job. Up 1 pound to 65.8, but it’s not unexpected. I will hopefully lose it today on my Monday FD.

    Have a great day, everyone!

    I hope that everyone is doing well.

    How did you FD go, Calif ? Good job, only eating half of your dinner, while out…sometimes that is really hard.

    My hubby ruined my FD Monday…but it was in a very nice way. I did have a really good FD yesterday and I am back to exercising, so I am hoping to move the scale this month. šŸ™‚

    Hello folks, hope you all had a good first week of July? I’m trying to find the edge of the plateau – after 3 weeks on it, I’d like to leap off it!! I’ve been reading lots of posts on the forum about this, so trying absolutely everything from water to 16:8 daily to shift the pounds. Hopefully soon.

    Good luck over the weekend – hope the sun shines on you wherever you are

    Happy Friday all.

    I also hope that everyone is having a good week!
    I hope that you find the key, Lynne.
    I am getting back into the groove with the fasting days and the exercise…so yes hopefully there will be movement on the scale.

    Have a wonderful weekend everyone. šŸ™‚

    I hope that everyone is doing well.

    f&f, I know that you are probably entertaining visitors…I hope that you are enjoying yourself.

    Lynne, Duds, Calif…I hope that you are all sticking with it and finding some success.

    I had a good FD yesterday and I have been good getting back into the exercise. My scale still seems to be stuck…but I am not giving up šŸ™‚

    Hi guys!

    I am back from holiday (thank you FG ā€“ I did have a good one thanks) and, get this ā€¦ā€¦ I am actually LOOKING FORWARD to getting back to my regime!! Last week I ate lovely hotel food every day (hopefully not too excessively) and probably had more alcohol than I should have done. The result has been I now feel a bit lazy and sluggish! I am missing that light, slightly edgy feeling that only a good fast day will give you. Well, who would have thought it? I used to dread my fast days and now I am actually missing them! So I am back with you with renewed enthusiasm ā€“ great tag by the way CD ā€˜Losing Teamā€™! I like it! I hope you find our forum helpful and friendly!

    Lynne/FG ā€“ I hope you get off the plateau soon. Plateaus are the reason most of my past diets have failed. They are so frustrating when you have been so good and desperately want to see results. Itā€™s the reason why I donā€™t weight myself weekly ā€“ I canā€™t take the pain of not seeing results! Hang in there ā€“ it happened to my friend for a few weeks – she was on the point of giving up then she had a big step down so hopefully it will happen for you too.

    Remember ā€œIf you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesnā€™t lead anywhere.ā€

    Hi Everyone! I like your saying about obstacles, Duds. So true!

    I’ve been sticking to the plan and am now in “the 143’s” or “65’s”. Sunday was an unintended FD when it got to be 3:00 pm and I hadn’t eaten yet because I was busy. So I figured I might as well go with it since I was more than halfway there. I’m 143.6 or 65.1 today.

    I’ve been eating breakfast for the past few days which I don’t ordinarily do. I ordered some Vegemite from Amazon out of curiosity and discovered I like it. But it only seems to go well on bread type products and with butter. So a toasted bagel or toast with butter and Vegemite ends up being around 400 calories or more, depending on the type of bread. I hope it doesn’t make me hungrier the rest of the day. I usually skip breakfast.

    Duds, I’ve discovered I quite like the feeling of lightness on FD and the day after. I don’t know if I actually look forward to them, but I don’t dread them either.

    I have a high school reunion the end of next week, so great incentive to drop a couple more pounds.

    @duds – love the ā€œIf you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesnā€™t lead anywhereā€ ! So true.

    @califdreamer I totally agree with you – love the feeling of a FD now. I wonder if anyone’s done any research on regular intermittent fasting and mood?

    And finally, finally, the scales tell me I’m down 1 lb – is this the end of the current plateau? Fingers crossed! @floridagirl – hope you see some good news on the scales soon!

    Hey there everyone…

    Duds, glad to hear that you had a nice trip. That will be me in a few weeks…too much yummy food and drink…and I can imagine that like you I will be glad to get back to my fasting.

    This week has been a little messy…not able to stick to my plan as usual…but I am holding steady.

    Planning to fast Tue and Thur next week.
    I hope that everyone is having nice weekend.

    Hello everyone. Well done to all of you who’ve posted and kept up with the plan while I’ve been away. I’ve been very busy with our visitors- lots of cooking but thankfully with me in charge of meal planning it’s all been reasonable and I’ve eaten loads of melon, no desserts and have done exercise etc. I’ve managed to stick at the same weight which is a relief!

    However, we now have a week without visitors so I’m back on plan with a FDs tomorrow and Thursday. I’m also doing a big bike ride on Wednesday and a couple of swims so that should help shift the scales in the right direction.

    Well done to Lynne for a nice 1lb loss and Califdreamer, I’m definitely with you on the nice feeling you get from a successful FD.

    I hope you all have great week.

    I just joined the forums and would like to join this challenge. I used 5:2 to get to a really good weight about 1.5 yrs ago. My weight has started to creep up and I want to turn that around. So, I’m all in for the challenge!

    Hi elainenc. It’s great to have you on the challenge, too. As you’ve done this before, you must know lots of useful hints. How much weight do you have to lose? My challenge for 21st September is 5kg but it’s going to be difficult because we have a very busy summer. I will, however try my best and know I can do it if I put my mind to it.

    Who else has done a FD today? How has it gone?

    f&f – My FD yesterday went very well…how did yours go? I am now looking forward to breakfast. šŸ™‚ I am going to eat very mindfully today, and then another FD on Thursday. I should be able to get some exercise in this afternoon.

    Welcome, Elaine…it’s nice to have you join us.

    How is it going, Duds, Lynne…California? I hope that all is well.

    I’ve been changing my fast days the past 2 weeks from my usual Monday/Thursday to a 3 day Fast with a B2B last week, for the extra boost before a class reunion this Saturday night. This week I did a Sunday/Tuesday FD because I’m leaving for the Midwest very early tomorrow morning and wanted to get the FD’s out of the way.

    This morning I was 140.8 or 63.9 kg. Now to break into the 130’s! But eating this way has been pretty easy as long as I stay away from processed sugar. The sugars I do eat are in fresh fruit. That doesn’t seem to make me hungry afterwards.

    10 weeks total today and 15 pounds or 6.8 kg lost in total so far. 12 pounds to go to goal.

    Hope everyone is having a great week!

    Hello there,
    Sorry, somehow managed to delete instead of posting last week…
    @califdreamer – that’s amazing to do 15lb in 10 weeks and over half way to the goal!
    @elainenc welcome – hope it’s going well for you so far?
    @floridag1rl, hope your next week is good!
    @firmandfruity, glad you had a great break!

    An observation on plateaus – now that I’ve been using the tracker for 3 months I’m noticing a definite pattern to my weight loss – drop of 3-4 pounds over a week, then a long plateau – cue frustration and much pulling of hair (just the grey obviously!) – with maybe 1-2lb down over 3 weeks, followed by another drop. Just thought I’d mention in case others see similar, or are equally frustrated by plateaus!

    Lynne, I have that up and down of 2 to 3 pounds on my plateaus too. My weight graph show a zig zag line, but it’s heading downward. Some weeks the scale shows nothing, but then a few days later I see a drop, just like you mentioned. I think that’s because this isn’t a rigid diet where we’re locked into certain foods. We can eat whatever we want, even on FD, as long as we stick to 500 calories. Since there are no forbidden foods, there is much less temptation to overeat.

    I think social situations where we’re encouraged to eat someone else’s prepared dishes or when a lot of booze is flowing are the hardest. We need to learn how to say No tactfully, but without feeling we need to apologize. Seriously, other people really don’t think much about what we’re eating or even notice. They’re more concerned about what’s going into their own mouth!

    @califdreamer – you’re so right. It’s those social events with alcohol (and lots of carbs) that are so tricky. Glad to hear it’s not just me on those zig-zaggy plateaus! Huge congrats on your weight loss too!

    I hit a milestone today – 3 months in, 16lb down and therefore half way to my goal weight. Happy indeed. Onward and downwards folks.

    Hello all. Big congratulations to you, Lynne. 16lbs in 3 months is great progress and to be half way to your goal weight is fanatstic. Calif, your 15lb in ten weeks is amazing and you’re halfway there, too! Have you noticed your clothes getting looser yet? The plateau thing is frustrating, Calif and Lynne but it’s the overall trend that’s important and you’ve both done very well indeed.
    I did a FD on Monday, a decent swim on Tuesday (1.4km), a big bike ride yesterday (66km), gardening today, FD tomorrow and will swim again on Friday. I hope to see a loss on the scales soon. We have more visitors coming on Sunday for a week so I’ll have to do 4:3 and 16:8 again as it’s much easier to manage.

    Floridag1r1, I hope your FD was good. Elaine and Duds- how are you both doing? I’d love to hear from you. Have a great day.

    Hi Guys

    This second challenge is definitely starting to show some serious results now. Well done to all of you! You must be getting some lovely comments from friends and family by now?

    I met up with my friend last night who has successfully lost a lot of weight on this diet and is now on maintenance. She had some useful tips ā€“ here are some of the comments that I can remember

    ā€¢ On fast days to try and stick to ā€˜plants and proteinā€™.
    ā€¢ Apples are your friend.
    ā€¢ Alcohol is your enemy.
    ā€¢ Keep hydrated ā€“ fruit or herbal teas are excellent (I would add that I have a
    cup of Bovril ā€“ itā€™s quite salty so not too many but only 13 calories a cup!
    ā€¢ If desperately hungry try a rice cake with a big glass of fizzy water.
    ā€¢ Eat slowly and concentrate on your food ā€“ donā€™t grab something whilst you are
    doing something else.
    ā€¢ Try to go as long as possible before you eat on a fast day – the hunger pangs
    seem to kick in as soon as you do.
    ā€¢ Keep busy on fast days.

    I am fasting today and out of my routine. I am working late when I would normally be out walking my dog. Everyone in the office is tucking into some lovely ā€˜Chocolate Thinsā€™ dark chocolate digestive biscuits that were on special offer at the local Supermarket! I have to console myself with the thought that I can have one tomorrow ā€¦. (if there are any left!)

    Dx

    So nice to hear from everyone.

    California! Great job on the 15 lb loss!
    Lynne! You are doing great!
    This group is off to a great start with this new challenge.

    f&f…it sounds like you have had a very good week…that scale should have shown some downward movement. šŸ˜€

    Duds…you always offer some good tips…thanks again for sharing. I hope that you had a successful FD.

    I had 2 really good FDs this week…still lagging in the exercise department…but the scale is finally moving.

    Have a great weekend everyone. šŸ™‚

    Hi all
    @Florida1rl – congrats on the scales finally moving, excellent news!
    @duds – thanks for the tips, really helpful.

    Hope you are all enjoying some summer sunshine wherever you are

    Hi Guys

    Another week done and we are a third of the way through this challenge already! Howā€™s everyone doing? @paxest and @elainenc would be nice to know how it is going for you.

    I had a mixed week this week. My fast day on Monday didnā€™t quite go to plan and it all started so well too! I even went to my exercise class and came home with the intention of having a small chicken salad but my daughter had cooked a lovely risotto for her friend who didnā€™t turn up. She didnā€™t want it to go to waste as she had slaved over it! I didnā€™t want to disappoint her and I only had a small portion but it occurs to me that we constantly face these sorts of dilemmas donā€™t we? The reality is we donā€™t live in a social vacuum and we donā€™t all possess cast iron willpower. There are plenty of people encouraging you to “just have what you wantā€, ā€œdonā€™t worry so muchā€ or ā€œitā€™s just one night ā€“ you only live onceā€. The beauty of this diet is that you can plan your fast days around social occasions and if it doesnā€™t go to plan, well you can always fast tomorrow or have one fast day and call it a maintenance week!

    I am glad to see the plateaus are finally being left behind @floridag1rl and @lynned. You should be proud you didnā€™t lose focus or motivation and pushed through the barriers.

    Have a good weekend everyone – see you for the second third next week.

    Dx

    Hello folks,

    Can’t believe we’re a third of the way through! Where did July go?
    @duds, you’re so right – it’s very hard to follow planned FD sometimes. Hope you have a good week next week! My daughter is a big Mary Berry fan, so baked goods make a regular appearance in our house – too tempting sometimes, and I don’t want to disappoint by not tasting her latest creations!

    A reflection: I am very glad to have used the tracker to monitor progress. After almost 3 months on this diet, I can see a clear pattern of plateaus and drops emerging. I hope this will keep me motivated through the next (inevitable!) plateau.

    Hope you all have a great weekend and a good end of July!

    I’ve had a good week, going down at least a bit each day. I’m down to 138 or 62.6 kg. That’s different from my usual plateaus, going up a little or staying the same for several days. I’ve been sticking to 2 FD of 500 calories each week and eating what I want but not going overboard the other 5 days. I’m averaging 1.5 pounds or .7 kg loss per week for the 11 weeks since I started the 5:2. My goal of 128 for this challenge (and for my final goal in general) is finally within sight even though it seems like a long ways away. This WOE works and it’s not too difficult!

    We’ve been having really hot weather here, in the high 90’s and low 100’s so that probably helps a little with not having a big appetite. Fortunately it cools Dow after dark!

    Hope everyone is having a nice summer. It’s good to see you all here and I’m sticking to the plan.

    I does sound like everyone is off to a good start.
    I am reporting a 2 lb loss for this month…I’m happy with that, the scale is starting to move again.

    I should do well with my 2 FDs next week…then I will be on vacation.
    I will hit it hard when I get back.

    California, you are having really good losses. Congrats!
    Duds, I always like to read your thought…very insightful.

    I hope that everyone is having a nice weekend.

    Hello ladies…I hope that everyone is doing well.
    Saturday…was a bad one for me…I went into binge-mode…eating everything that I could get my hands on. I brushed it off…got myself together on Sunday…I had a very good fasting day on Monday. Looking forward to a very low-carb breakfast…low carb day as a matter of fact…then another FD on Wednesday. Just a couple more days, then I will be on vacation! šŸ™‚

    I am definitely going to try some of f&f’s strategies while on vacay.

    I hope that everyone is doing well.

    Hi All!
    Thank you so much for sharing your struggles and encouragement — @duds, @lynned, @floridag1rl . I have had a ups and downs since I joined this challenge. Overall, I am happy with my progress because I am seeing a net down in my weight — even through the (happy) opportunities and occasions to eat out often. The focus really helps. Thank you @lynned for suggesting using the tracker to help with understanding weight gain/loss/plateau patterns. I will try it this month.:)

    Stopping in to say, “Hi” before I leave on vacation.

    Elaine – glad to hear that you are seeing progress…it helps to keep you motivated on those FDs.

    I hope that you are having loads of fun with your guests, f&f.

    I’ll be sure to check in when I get back. I’ll need the motivation to get right back on track. šŸ™‚

    Take care everyone.

    Hello folks,
    Hope you’re all doing OK?
    @califdreamer – congrats on your achievement, that’s amazing
    @elainenc – welcome to the challenge!

    This 5:2 plan is so good. I’ve really seen my eating habits change (for the better!) with much more veg, and virtually no sugar.

    It’s great now being (just) inside the healthy BMI range. I was watching my daughter bake today and realised I’d got rid of the equivalent of 6 bags of flour in weight in the last 3 months. It was liberating to see the physical equivalent in front of me! Very motivating…

    All the best for the week folks!

    Halfway through guys!! Are you happy with progress so far? I have not noticed such a dramatic difference in my body shape this time (as you know, I am not weighing until the end) but then this challenge takes in the holiday period so is perhaps slightly more difficult than last time. Also we are getting closer to our target and the last bit is always the hardest to lose!

    @lynned I love the flour comparison! It always helps when you can visualise something doesnā€™t it? Were you surprised at how much it was? Imagine carrying round 6 bags of flour all day! :0

    I too have noticed my eating habits have changed. I have dramatically cut down on sugar and alcohol and just the amount that I eat. I can do a fast day easily now without having to do too much planning and worry about whether I will be hungry. I tend to stick the same things on fast days usually ā€“ itā€™s not exciting but it works for me. I am more careful during the week and less careful at weekends. It certainly feels sustainable – I usually only have 6 weeks of dieting in me! On that note ā€“ enjoy your weekend! See you next week.

    Dx

    Hello everyone. I’ve been very very busy with guests but have been inspired to (sort of) keep going with your posts so thank you šŸ™‚

    We have had several lots of guests and in our week off, we went away to Bordeaux so as you might imagine, wine was involved! With guests, it’s almost impossible to fast so I’ve had to just generally eat smaller portions, not eat dessert, fill up on melon and salad etc. We have 3 more weeks of guests and then we go away. On the positive side, I have hardly had time to sit down and have still done a reasonable amount of exercise. I was hoping to lose more weight over this mad summer period but it’s going to be very small amount. However, I’m not giving up and shall console myself with the fact that over the last years I have always gained weight in the summer so to remain stable is not bad. Well done all of you and keep up the great work!

    Hello everyone…I am back from my vacation….back to work and today is my first fasting day. I am imagining that I will feel great tomorrow, after purging the sugars consumed over the past few days.

    I am scared to step on the scale…maybe Friday, I will find the courage after a couple FDs.

    Usually, after my Summer vacation I fall off the wagon…But NOT this time! I am fully committed to getting back on track and losing some more weight before the end of the year. šŸ™‚

    Hello all,
    @floridag1rl – hope you had a great vacation and good luck on the scales at the end of the week!
    @firmandfruity – amazing to be able to keep going with so many guests. I find it really hard to fast while catering for others…
    @duds – you’re so right, it’s good to have changed eating habits

    Visualizing fat loss is definitely keeping me motivated. Here’s a link showing 1lb of fat: https://rsvpmagazine.ie/benefits-of-losing-one-pound-fat/

    It’s an old link, but worth a look, not least for showing how much less bulky a pound of muscle is compared to fat!

    I finally broke my 3 week plateau in the 138’s (some of it due to overeating on NFD) and am down to 137 pounds (62.1 kg) this morning, after a B2B fast yesterday and Monday. I don’t usually do B2B but this long run in the 138 range needed desperate measures! While still resisting counting calories on NFD’s, I’m going to be much more careful. And while I don’t drink much alcohol these days, I’m going to be much more careful with that too. When not eating a lot of calories, 3 glasses of wine can make me feel really headachey the next day. I’m going to try sticking to a single glass when I do partake from now on.

    Hope everyone is having a great August with vacations and guests visiting. Stay strong!

    I just started on this Monday. I am pretty excited as I already lost a pound and I only had to count my calories the day I fasted. Quite surprised. I welcome the challenge even though I am so late to join.

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