Day 9 – Iceland – NFD

Just a quick check-in, busy weekend coming up with FD planned for tomorrow although I will be baking buns for Fastelavn… for the past two years I have been abroad during this time of the year and I don’t want to miss out on this delicacy for the third year in a row even though I know that Cruella will be waiting to punish me for it!

@songbirdme – yes it is really cool! Small world 🙂 Glad you got home safely in all the snow.
@johnnyr – that is a very kind description!
@ciren2 – I agree with everyone here that skipping breakfast is the best start on a FD, could not skip dinner as easily…

Wish you all a lovely weekend!

@annach such a good book! I found it really fascinating and it has really informed my cooking since. Also really recommend getting into fermenting if you’re interested – my kitchen has become like a laboratory full of experiments, but more than anything it’s really good fun!

@beddardo, I was making kefir for a while after I had stomach surgery in March. My GI consultant is of the opinion that microbiome is extremely important. I need to get back into it. My stomach is very noisy when ingesting fermented foods though..

@annach yes, I don’t seem to have that problem myself, but know others who have to tread very carefully with fermented stuff. Great that you were having kefir though. I think that generally, the more you consume (and your boime gets used to it) the more your body adapts, so if you can push past the gurgly phase then it will really benefit you.

(I have even heard that if you eat Jerusalem Artichokes often enough, eventually you won’t suffer such, ahem, *windy* side effects)

Day 9 – Fife, Scotland – NFD

Positive news this morning having lost a pound and a half. Have eaten quite a bit today but also been very active at work so hopefully offset my intake.

Have a great weekend folks!!

Rodger

Onedayordayone! Welcome back! I was interested in what you said about tinnitus going away. I have it, too, and have given up alcohol but not caffeine! I think I am going to try that. My doctor keeps saying that there is nothing to be done about it, although I do know it can be a side effect of certain medications. Unfortunately, that’s not my problem! Stay strong and have a nice weekend!

@beddardo and @shinything thanks for the advice. I think it’s the way to go. I have been consuming psyllium husks for a few weeks as well so I’m hoping its retraining my gut to tolerate more to avoid a gale ahem…. so no processed foods for me and mine. 😬😬

Day 9 NFD Oregon USA

Well I am very happy to report that I didn’t have to toss my scale out the window this morning and managed a 1.5 pound loss this week. Even after the Superbowl last Sunday and the overdoing on Tuesday night.

Also managed to get out the door this morning and run/walk three miles BEFORE heading to the office. It was actually very nice. Just the right temperature (cool) and not even raining. There is a little retirement community just down the hill from me, and houses built back when everyone wanted the streets to look similar, so most still have a front yard street lamp and it felt safe and comforting to run about there. Also FLAT! 🙂

Long ways to go before I’m anywhere NEAR half-marathon ready and anywhere near your running routine @nesslock2018.

But they are a start for me as I’ve been non-exercising for months right now.

@AT–welcome back!! So lovely to see your post and wonderful to hear that all the fun and family didn’t add pounds. I’m sure you’ll be back in the exercise swing in no time.
@diverdog-congrats on your muscle building. That has to feel fantastic!

@dingping your post made me laugh at your nursery song. And OMAD means “one meal a day”

@penz and @bert1802 Hope the planes, trains and automobiles all get headed in the right direction soon. At least you have your sense of humors! 🙂

I can now say without question that exercise helps your mood. I know it’s proven but sometimes when I am feeling really down, it’s just sooooo hard to get up and move.
This week with three walk/runs under my belt my mood is definitely “lighter”. Also taking magnesium at night–in pill form–had tried magnesium oil spray from someone’s recommendation here but find the capsules work better for me. (Perhaps I don’t get the dosage right on the spray).

I think whether it’s HIIT, yoga, walking, running or Zumba (my personal favorite @Markie)–exercise isn’t about weight loss. It’s about overall mental and cardio health.

Going to try NOT to blow all of the week’s progress this weekend but also with others and don’t want to have to “count” calories every day. Going to do 16:8 tomorrow and still aim to do that most days. Keeping the 3 x 800 calories days and hope the down trend continues.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Day 9, Gozo Malta, nfd

Ate below tdee. I’m not exercising though. Tomorrow my second daughter is duty at the Gozo hospital and I’m babysitting from 8.00 am till the evening my two wonderful granddaughters.

Onwards and downwards have a good night 💤😴🌙😘

Day 9 – NFD- Budapest

Ummm, today was not a great day food-wise. Just totally overate 🙁 So I’m switching up my regular FDs for next week, and will try to fit in 3 instead of 2. That means tomorrow will be a FD, and Monday also. Hopefully this will bring my cravings down a bit.

Why is my motivation waning every time I lose a little bit of weight? Anyone else feel like they have a streak of self-sabotage in them? What are some things that keep you motivated? Please let me know, maybe they will work for me too.

Here are some things I just jotted down, and hopefully I’ll remember them next time I try to scarf down a whole Milka bar:

Motivation to lose weight and be more active
– [ ] be stronger
– [ ] be lighter
– [ ] be faster
– [ ] be more limber
– [ ] going on a hike without feeling like you’re dying
– [ ] taking the stairs for 5 floors and not feeling exhausted and out of breath
– [ ] have more energy
– [ ] enjoy being outside more
– [ ] enjoy moving more

ccco USA Day 9 NFD

Just started by 36 hour fast. I learned the last time not to drink so much diet soda. I thought about how many calories it has (none) but not about how much sodium it has (40 mgs). I drank so much of it yesterday that I think it was a big contributing factor in my water retention. So now, as others have dry weeks, I will have no diet cola during the week! Stay strong and good night! 🙂

Day 10 New Zealand

@michelinme I am interested, social justice? what kind of social justice? I study law at uni in my fourth year and have been helping with an anti-human trafficking group here in my neighbourhood. Would love to hear more about what your presentation was about.

@mjrbcd44 good luck on the half marathon training, I started running 4km and then one day just decided to keep running and managed 16km in one hit, figured if I could run 16 I could enter into a 21km race. My first wasnt a great time but I bought a camelbak so I could drink water whenever I needed it on the run, best investment I reckon I highly recommend! they say to not get dehydrated to put maple syrup and a dash of sugar in the water, just a little of both you should be able to barely taste it. I put too much salt in one time and it made me thirsty haha! That’s great on the weight loss, congrats.

Today I am working at a wedding venue, hospitality, and we get fed pretty well at dinner so its going to be a high calorie day for me, but tomorrow will be another FD. I think I am going to do 3x 500 cals a week, since I enjoy it so much haha

p.s I found a celebrity that wasnt anorexic, just a healthy lean weight.

@shinything – I just don’t think counting calories or weighing myself works for me. I make loads of mistakes, but I reckon I can trust myself not to go too bonkers and as the WOL actually does work, it’s fairly straightforward to get back on track.

I’m definitely in this for the long haul. I’m planning to lose around 25lbs over about a year, and to stick with fasting for ever. It makes me feel very well, and I can stop worrying about food, thank goodness. So long as that weight stays off ( and I do seem to be slowly shrinking) I don’t care how long it takes. Better than losing it really quickly and shoving it straight back on. What a monumental waste of time that would be.

Good luck. Try to trust yourself.

Day 10 – Japan – NFD 82.5kg

I don’t think there was any real value in my dry fast experiment. While I didn’t push it, to me fasting isn’t about flirting with death. Personally I think fasts coupled with exercise are more effective. While exercise unlocks a lot of glycogen stored in muscles it still seems to have an overall positive impact.

There is just so much nonsense floating around … like:

> dry fasting is 3x more effective then liquid fasting …
> dry fasting causes your body to purge dead water and create living water (I’m not making that one up! How do you tell if H2O is living or not?)
> don’t exercise while fasting …
> ketones are the bodies preferred fuel source …
…

The ketone one is really strange as it is pushed by some medical doctors. Unlike glucose the whole body can’t use ketones and zero glucose equals death. Thankfully our livers can normally make the glucose we need from fats and even proteins in a pinch. Some people might do better in ketosis, for me I don’t notice any mental differences however it does change my running endurance but generally limits my sprinting. Hard to stay it is any better for me, but it is a bit different. At this point I just prefer my normal fasted workouts where there only a limited amount of ketosis going on.

I think the basic problem is fasting is free. Some try to build all this mystic non-sense around it because they are trying to make money off of something that free and the body can handle on its own.

Unlike many expensive diets, fasting works is free and also very flexible. Eat less and move more is ineffective for most and promoted a vast dieting/exercising empire. Exercise is another thing, while it isn’t necessary as fancy, exercising can also be basically free if you don’t consider the time it takes.

Isn’t it amazing that it is many of the free things that really the most beneficial? Fasting, drinking water, exercising, sleep, etc …

Day 9 Sarasota, Florida CD It’s easy to have a CD by skipping lunch. I took a bike ride instead and drank a lot of water. Haven’t had time to read many posts but please know I’m pulling for all of you to meet your
goals!

Day 10 – UK – NFD

So encouraged! Lost Rome in one day (FD yesterday).

Actually, I found it a tough day – I was hungry but fortunately didn’t lose the determination and stuck to 300cal (two bowls of soup).

I’ve decided to weigh every day for a while to try to stay on track.

Enjoyed reading all your posts again – I’ve missed you!

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried Liquid fasting – what does your day look like….?

Day 10 Belfast NFD

I’m feeling rather bloated after an evening of over- indulgence in the alcohol department. 😳 That will soon pass.
@nesslock2018 – here is a link originally posted by @coda. It is a fun tool where you can ‘adjust’ your body image to see how you will look. It’s quite interesting to play around with it.
http://modelmydiet.com/
@ToddyBear- love your comment ‘lost Rome in one day’. Well done you!

Have a good day everyone.

Day 10 Brisbane, Australia

FD

Today was really hard. Every hour at work seemed like 4. Up at 5.30 and starving by 7. Egg for breakfast, and egg fur lunch. Hunger better after 3 pm. Vege soup and some almonds for tea.

Today felt like an accomplishment. The scales were kind. Have now lost 1.3 kg since Feb 1. One day at a time.

Day 10, Cornwall UK, NFD

I had a strange day yesterday, with two disappearing posts and then I posted my Feb Challenge update in the wrong forum! My head was affected by my news below (sorry for the repeat info for those who read this in the Science forum!):

My weekly Friday weigh-in showed another 0.8kg down and now under 30 BMI. It took 7.5 months of 5:2. I’m down to 85.4kg and am exactly half way through my marathon – with another 21 kgs to go. It feels like big news for me, even though I know the scales are not the only thing to watch. I feel a little worried now that I will sabotage everything and not stick to it. I probably need to keep going to the end of the year before I get anywhere near maintenance and it feels like an age. However, this weight-loss feels different this time, so hopefully I’ll stay with it.

I too am a maker of sauerkraut. I make it at home so it has all the natural microbes intact, as I understand a lot of the supermarket brands have been sterilised. My gut likes it and I can eat loads without any discomfort! It is incredibly low calorie, so I use it as an emergency snack on Fast Days. Easy to make too.

Day10. UK NFD

Busy week last week both in work and at home. We also had guests staying at the cottage we rent out in Wales. They were down for a few days to attend a funeral. They liked it so much they left us a Thank you card and a huge box of Thornton’s chocolate. Yikes, much discussion as to how we (well I really) can avoid eating the whole lot. We’ve decided to gift them to the guests who have booked to stay over Easter. So they’re locked away in the secret supply cupboard, I don’t have the key for it so short of breaking in they’re safe for now!

Started a new Yoga class on Wednesday, which went well and for once I didn’t feel like the fat blob at the back! Eating wise I’ve made a few bad choices, Wine gums on offer again! But yesterday I facilitated a workshop at an office I used to work in but haven’t been to for ages. I got lots of great comments, which really gave me more motivation.

So as always it’s onwards and focus on what I know works and just avoid the dratted Wine gums.

Day 10 USA Wisconsin FD

My FD yesterday turned into a controlled NFD, so going to fast today.

My most successful days start with no food at all, but lots of water, tea and coffee. The longer I delay eating the better. I love the light and alert feeling I have when I delay eating. As many of you have helpfully mentioned, hunger comes and goes. We just have to wait it out.

Plan today is for a successful FD and a walk indoors, probably at the mall, since once again lots of snow and ice in our area, making it difficult to walk outside.

@ccco thanks for the comment. I love yoga and I’m constantly learning, especially from other teachers. I teach one, sometimes two, regular hatha yoga classes per week, and the other 5 classes are 45 minute chair yoga classes, which are active but not as challenging for me. I try to attend one other yoga class each week as a participant.

@mjrbcd44 I agree with your comments about the benefits of exercise. Good for you for doing Zumba. I occasionally get to a class, and it’s something I should probably do more.

Good luck to all of the supportive persons taking part in this challenge and thank you for the many motivational comments you post.

Take care, Markie

Day 10 – UK – NFD

Completed my first B2B FDs for a long time but after minimal fasting days over the last month I felt in need of doing a second one after my first FD for February on Day 8(538 cals) and Day 9 FD was a total of 422cals. Weight this morning 52.7kg 💃

A very wet and cold cumbrian day so went out for brunch with OH and thoroughly enjoyed a very nice Wild Mushroom Baked Eggs, Chicory, Shallots, Hazelnuts and Caper Crumb with 1 slice of sourdough toast and a skinny flat white 😋 Dinner this evening is a homemade seafood paella requested by OH – he has missed my cooking whilst I was in Australia 😉

@bigviking – enjoy celebrating your oldest child’s 21st this weekend 🥂
@emma Taylor – hope your FD yesterday was successful too x
@dingping – It is important to drink plenty of water – I try to aim for a minimum of 2L daily – try flavouring it with lime or lemon or even cucumber 😇
@rainbowsmile – sorry to hear about your Dad 🤗
@missybear – Happy Belated Birthday – sounds like you had a fab time celebrating 🥂
@fatfingers – congratulations on eradicating those 23lbs since November 👏
@bert1802 @penz – I’m going to drive past to pick you both up and I’m not taking NO for an answer – We have got you x
@belfastsink – Enjoy your drinks with your colleagues and look forward to the challenges of the new job You sound strong and positive – you can do this!
@realmac and @cogumela17 – don’t deprive yourself too much – work out your TDEE for your target weight and eat to that TDEE on NFDs and stick to 500cals or less for the FD and the weight will come off – This WOL is not about feeling deprived 🤗
@diana123 – Thank you – I have found it a great motivator since reaching target to stay in maintenance! and feel free to share x
@ciren2 – You can slay that dragon 🐉 – Go Girl!!!! Personally I am firmly in the camp of no breakfast whether I’m on a FD or NFD – I have found that eating breakfast does make me feel hungrier!!! I now eat my first meal (break my fast) when I actually feel hungry and on FDs I drink lots of water and try to avoid any food until the evening as saving my calories until then helps me to feel satiated and sleep better on FDs
@debster251 – Thank you – I had a fab time and already planning my second visit in April for niece no 2 wedding……..
@annach and @beddardo – try Kefir grains which contain about 30 strains of bacteria and yeasts, making it a very rich and diverse probiotic source. Other fermented dairy products are made from far fewer strains, and don’t contain any yeasts. I have been making my own Kefir at home and drink a glass daily – very easy to do!
@shinything – Re not counting calories and portion control – I found that firstly I needed to learn what a normal portion looks like – it is amazing how we underestimate how many calories we were eating before finding this WOL and learning what is a normal portion – eating a Mediterranean style diet and cooking with fresh ingredients is healthy and sustainable with this WOL and best of all you don’t feel deprived!
@mjrbcd44 – Thank you for the welcome back 🤗 and yes I will definitely be picking up my normal routine – did my yoga class on Wednesday morning and then a lovely sunny, if freezing cold walk on Friday with my regular group but certainly felt the muscle soreness as a result of doing very little for a month…..
@ccco – try and avoid diet drinks – they are no good for you truly – try water flavoured with fresh limes, lemons, or even cucumber all tastes great! have a read of the links below x
Why You Should Stop Drinking Diet Soda – Health
http://www.health.com › Nutrition
Diet debate: Are diet drinks a no-go? – BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34924036
@johnnyr – your Day 9 dinner sounds very nice but I would miss out on the new potato (I’m one of those strange people who is not a great potato lover!)😋
@toddybear – well done on holding out on your FD yesterday! When I have liquid fasted in the past I just drink lots of tea with a dash of skimmed milk (about 4 cups) and lots of water (hot water in winter and cold in summer flavoured with lime/lemon) around 2/3 litres and if needed a glass of homemade kefir before bed
@daffodil2010 – we are having a wet and cold cumbrian day today so I’m looking forward to an afternoon curled up on the sofa enjoying the Rugby this afternoon too

For anyone struggling at the moment remember “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking…….because her trust is not in the branch but in her own wings……BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Day 10, Manchester UK, CFD

Going dancing with my glam sis tonight.

Must go to shower and primp.

Mari

Day 10 NFD – Nebraska, USA

Hello everyone! Still holding at 3 pound loss since starting on 2/1 and I am happy with that. Looking forward to things kicking in again and losing some more. I have been focusing on being more active and I can tell my body is changing shape.

It has been very, very cold here and snowy…both conditions I despise but, alas, this is where I live so I will make the best of it. Soon we will have spring and I am looking forward to that.

So far I feel very comfortable with the 5:2 Diet and look forward to more results showing in the future. I am not looking for fast results but am focusing on permanent ones and so I am concentrating on making life-style adjustments and changes.

Hope you all have a great weekend!