Fast & Walk The Fat Away

This topic contains 17 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by writermac 7 years, 8 months ago.

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writermac

8:22 am
26 Mar 17
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At least that’s my goal. I’ll be starting tomorrow, Monday 27 March. I live in southern France where there is a lot of temptation–cheese, bread and wine to name just a few. If i just stroll up to the boulangerie, all sorts of treats await me. But it, the boulangerie, and the treats will still be there and dropping the pounds is more important.
I’m a writer, pretty much desk bound during the day, so my goal is to walk at least 30 minutes every day and to fast three days a week. I would really love to hear from other people who are just starting out. Janice

writermac

6:43 am
27 Mar 17
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7:39 First day of fast. Set the alarm for six, first thought, food. Or rather vowing not to eat food. Lay in bed thinking about it. If I started to feel light headed, I decided, I would make a banana last all day. Bites doled out when absolutely necessary. A long walk in Beziers yesterday with a friend in which we discussed fasting. She said it worked better to not eat at all, if she started eating she’d cheat. Drinking coffee right now, not really hungry. Will squeeze half a lemon into a cup of hot water.

BiddieV

9:30 am
27 Mar 17
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Hi writermac and best of luck! I started in November and have been doing the monthly ‘challenges’ (see the forum list eg 31 Day March Challenge) ever since.

There is a tonne of anecdotal information on them, plus inspiration and support that I have found hugely useful – similar to your friend giving you a useful tip (I find the same thing as your friend, btw).

All the very best – I simultaneously envy and don’t envy your proximity to the boulangerie… 🙂
BiddieV, Melbourne

diverdog

4:21 pm
27 Mar 17
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Welcome writermac. Fasting can seem daunting at first, especially when temptations abound. If you are going to eat anything I would suggest avoiding sugary fruit like banana. It spikes your blood sugar and makes you crave more food. A bit of cheese, nuts or if you must a low glycemic fruit like an apple is a far better choice.

Adding walking is a great idea. When I was desk bound all day I set a timer and took a five minute walk break every hour.

Looking forward to hearing about your journey.

writermac

5:53 pm
27 Mar 17
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Hi BiddieV and diverdog, thanks for your encouraging responses. Ok so the first day went fairly well, walked for 30 minutes, felt a big hungry at lunchtime, but drank tea, and more tea. Also lemon juice in hot water. By 6:30, I wasn’t so hungry but I ate 1 cup of a vegetable and quinoa casserole and one of black beans. I’ve decided that I’m going to try to do the 18:6 –a six hour window in which you can eat, then 18 of fasting. My thought is that if I carefully control my calories during the six hour window–I’m logging them on Livestrong.com and will keep under 1,000–I could do this every day–instead of fasting on two days and eating normally on other days.

It all sounds a bit complicated and I’m brain fogged from sitting at the computer all day, but I think it’s something I could do for a while. Unfortunately, after a bad writing day, I couldn’t resist a glass of wine tonight, but it will still bring my daily total to under 1,000.

Tomorrow will be a bit different, perhaps easier, since I’ll be out and not at my desk all day. Evenings are always difficult of course.

writermac

7:03 am
28 Mar 17
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Day 2–Rewarded on the scales this morning with the first significant drop for weeks so that’s definitely encouraging. Ended up eating about 900 calories yesterday–quinoa, vegetables, black beans, a banana and a very small glass of red wine–stressful writing day, but considerably less wine than usual.

I’m feeling hungry as I write this, but I’ll have some lemon water and coffee and feel quite confident that I can keep this going. Having something, albeit very calorie restricted, to look forward to in the evening seems like the way to go for me.

What about multi-vitamins, etc? Any thoughts?

BiddieV

11:23 am
28 Mar 17
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Many people eat highly nutritiously, I have noticed, in the forums. There are plenty of vegetarians, some vegans, and lots who have adopted the Mediterranean diet or LCHF. Vitamins etc don’t feature that strongly, but that doesn’t mean people don’t take them, I’m sure some do. The main thing appears to be that this way of eating helps us get more in touch with our bodies, so perhaps the thing is to just do it for a couple of weeks or so and see if you think anything is lacking. You might find you have heaps more energy, even on FDs, that’s quite common, but there is a wide range of experience. I found, unexpectedly, that my blood pressure improved after a few weeks so I stopped the medication (low dose, anyway) – a real bonus.

writermac

12:42 pm
28 Mar 17
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Thanks Biddie. It’s about an hour past lunchtime (or when I’d normally eat lunch) and I’m definitely feeling hungry and finding it a bit hard to concentrate. Not tempted to eat, but I’ll be glad when 6 p.m. arrives. I might pick up some vitamins, I concerned that I might not be getting all I need at the moment.

writermac

8:10 am
29 Mar 17
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Day 3–Discovering that the early mornings are not the difficult part–I can drink coffee and lemon water and not really feel hungry. Midday there’s a bit of a slump, not sure what to do about that. Low blood sugar? I’m not exactly hungry, but I feel less focused which makes work difficult. I’d love to hear if anyone has a similar brain fog experience and what they do about it. Yesterday, met a friend for dinner which tested (I failed the test) my resolve. Forty-five minutes short of my 6 p.m. deadline, I had a glass of wine and we shared a small pizza–cheese and anchovies. Still, another slight drop this morning which is encouraging.

So, I’m going to plug on. Fasting and walking and, hopefully, melting the fat away.

Stardust09

10:01 pm
30 Mar 17
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Hi

I’m following a walk and fast plan. I usually walk midday or late evenings.
30-60 min walk every day.

I probably need a lot of vitamins during fast but I read vitamin pills have the opposite health affect of actual foods.

I did a fasting day on bread only and I ate more than I planned but under 600kcal.

writermac

7:39 am
31 Mar 17
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Missed writing about Day 4, but discovered that the afternoons–around 2 p.m.–are difficult in terms of staying focused unless I have something to eat. I’d started the week, Day 1, thinking that I would fast until 6 p.m. and try to do that every week day. Now I think I overreached a bit and I’ve modified it until 2 p.m. I’m actually feeling a bit confused by it all. I’ve walked every day for 30 minutes, stayed under 1,000 calories every day, yet except for the initial drop, my weight hasn’t budged.

At the moment, Friday morning, I’m looking forward to the weekend and a break from thinking about diet, fasting, etc. I will return to it Monday–hopefully after not indulging too much over the weekend–with renewed determination.

Can’t imagine a bread fast, Stardust09! Would you do it again?

Stardust09

11:51 pm
31 Mar 17
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writermac Best of luck

Yes bread and water ofc. Breakfast was bread and cheese, the rest bread only. I got hungry again after 6-7 hours.
I can do it again but I like variation xD

I’m currently trying to not overdo the weekends. I had to compensate for my last week, 2 fast days and barely any loss.

Couscous

4:14 am
1 Apr 17
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Hi writermac, just reading of your journey. Re bread, I love bread but my nutritionalist says avoid if possible due to the yeast content which effects my gut microbes in a negative way. She tells me a wheat free sour dough is ok or any wheat free breads, ie German Rye bread for instance or make a vegan bread from non wheat recipes. The 16-8 eating window is good, I do this on my Fast Days. Due to medical reasons I recently had to do 2 water fasts. One of aprox 53 hrs and another of around 44 hrs. It was interesting to experience how when the hunger pangs came they quickly went and I coped quite easily on a water only fast but I had a health focus. I will probably try a short water fast again. It works for me but we are all different. Again think about increasing your calorie intake on non fast days from time to time. There is a body of opinion that one way of kick starting weight loss is to trick your metabolism into what Michael Mosley called “Feast and Famine” mode. Dont go over board with the “Feasting” but it may help, otherwise with a low cal diet it is a matter of waiting for the drop to start again.
Being a writer why dont you keep a hard copy diary and make a note of your feelings and experiences during your journey?, you may find it helpful.
Keep experimenting, find what works for you and good luck.

BiddieV

6:32 am
1 Apr 17
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Hi writermac, I remembered later that a few people mentioned taking minerals – magnesium for leg cramps/restless legs/insomnia and even constipation! And I think potassium is another one that a few people are taking. The first few fasts can make you feel headachey and a bit unwell (I think the minerals can help with that), but it’s astonishing how the body does adjust quite quickly.

Couscous

10:54 am
1 Apr 17
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Hello again writermac. Having read your posts I was searching Google for some further inspiration for myself and Googled jason fung. He is well known to many posters and has a number of YouTube presentations. Anyway, I came across the following site that may be of interest to you and other posters http://www.dietdoctor.com/dr jason-fung The site is new to me and I have yet to get in depth with it but there are lots of blogs, video presentations etc including Dr Fung presented by many doctors, researchers and scientists about many aspects of fasting and dieting low carb, ketogenics, health and fasting, etc etc etc.
In terms of information for yourself and others it seems to be worth a visit to check out all the links. By the way there is a monthly joining fee if you wanted all the newsletters after the first month as a member but that is not an option for me.
Good luck.

writermac

7:01 am
3 Apr 17
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Week 2, Day 1: First thanks Couscous and Biddie V for your information. Someone else had written that support from others is great motivation and I agree. It’s easy to think I’m the only person frustrated by the effort to drop a few pounds and the responses from others going through similar struggles are reassuring and motivating.

OK, I have to admit that as I start this second week, I’m feeling a bit discouraged. After doing well last week, seeing a small drop in weight, being reasonably restrained over the weekend and walking quite a bit, the scales this morning were disappointing. Most of last week’s drop was gone; not quite back to where I was last Monday, but close.

I’m determined to push on though. Today will be a fast day. Any pm brain fog will determine what I do tomorrow–protein around 2 etc. One more thing. I noticed last Friday, a non fast day, when I had a piece of toast for breakfast, I was just as hungry an hour later as if I hadn’t eaten at all. Protein would be a better choice, but in France, in a two boulangerie village, c’est difficult!

writermac

6:36 am
4 Apr 17
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Week 2, Day 2: Incredibly tired this morning, hit the snooze numerous times. Drinking coffee and trying to wake up, but very tempted by the thought of breakfast. Weight is back to where it was last week after the first drop. Ate around 900 calories yesterday, starting around 3 p. m. Perhaps too much for a fast day? Wine is the biggest calorie expenditure.

BiddieV

5:50 am
19 Apr 17
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hello writermac, how are you going?

I have fallen into a slight slump recently, no doubt due to an enormous project at work that went on for 4 weeks at a full-on pace and in which things constantly went wrong – very draining. I hope to get over it and get back on the wagon now that it is largely over. I have managed mainly 16:8 so hopefully haven’t regained more than a kg.

I thought you might find inspiration with Lolly – https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/lolly_-lots-to-lose-and-everything-to-gain/

and Buttonboots – https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/buttonboots-my-weightloss-journey/

I have found both very inspirational and read them from time to time.

All the best, BV

writermac

10:11 am
19 Apr 17
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Hi Biddie, I’ve had guests for the past two weeks and although we’ve walked a lot, we’ve also eaten far too much. They leave today. I’ll give myself the next few days to restore order to my house –difficult to stick to resolve when there’s chaos all around–then start again next week. Thanks for the links, I will need all the help I can get.
Best of luck with your efforts, stay tuned.
Janice