This topic contains 3,042 replies, has 111 voices, and was last updated by Delayedgratification 5 years, 4 months ago.
Lard baton. I’m loving that image. Defiantly not appetizing.
Way to go Kitty. A very successful fd. And it sounds like Jade is right there w/ ya. One down, one to go.
Our OHs may not understand us, but it is helpful when they keep the “little distractions” out of the house.
I will be taking up the lard baton tomorrow.
Slow & Mindful Eating!
Go Kitty you are a MACHINE!
Ok club it was not the prettiest FD, bachelor #2 dropped by with Chinese takeaway and lots of fresh pastries (family gathering). I had one tiny sliver of pie, no rice, lots of veggies and mu shu without the wrapper or the plum sauce. Ok and a bit of curry noodle but darn those things were skinny. However many cals it was, it was about a tenth what I wanted. I controlled the $**t out of that dinner and I’m calling it a win. And bonus, I didn’t feel awful later the way I usually do. AND I had a nice morning jog which ways makes me feel like a boss.
Lard baton headed westward!! Good luck Michel and others fasting tmw. xx jade
FUFD – I literally laughed till I fell off the chair Jade!! 🙂
If I FU a FD I don’t redo it the next day though, I just wait till the next scheduled FD as otherwise it will activate the ‘deprivation-Kraken’ and that is the mother of them all.
All the best with the sugar detox Michell, let us know how you go. For a sweet treat these days I’m enjoying a few pitted dates which also have other nutrients in them (or so I tell myself!) and they’re really satisfying but not the sort of thing where I’d be temped to eat a whole bag, well not yet anyway 😉
I love the lard baton idea too kitty and will be happy to hold it without eating it tomorrow. Jade, your comment about being able to eat a small dessert after a meal without it triggering a binge is true for me too but is possibly linked with the idea that we have already satisfied our body so it’s not craving and blood sugar is already high enough to satisfy? I know there’s a lot of focus on the physical mechanisms that either kick-start or drive sugar-fix-seeking behaviours but for me, mood is SO, SO closely linked with binge behaviour that I know the solution has to be inextricably linked with thought-processes. Till they find the holy grail, I’ll keep trying to be more mindful around food and practice loving-kindness and forbearance when I FU x
Good morning fight club!
Well done Jade, now that is a HUGE win – a Chinese meal, lots of fresh pastries and you ate well and in moderation. Wow. You are my hero!
Michel – best of luck with today’s FD, Im sure you will kick ass – you got this. Please keep posting these wonderful quotes, they are so inspiring.
Spring – I really like your FU plan. All too often I beat myself up if I FUFD or binge, which probably leads to worse behaviour. So I will follow your example and try to be kinder to myself if and when slips happen. Good advice. Also your point about mood and bingeing is spot on – how many of us eat excessively when upset, lonely, bored, tired… Classic comfort eating. It’s definitely part of my problem, but I’m sure there is a physical basis to mine too as I wake in the night craving sugar. Hence the middle of the night face down in the caramel tin…. Oh the shame! But hopefully that will stop with me cutting out sugar altogether. She said.
Wishing you all strength in the face of deliciousness!
Morning Fasters!
I have the baton! Spring are you fasting w/ me today?
Yesterday was neither a success or failure. I ate a few thing I shouldn’t have, but not out of control.
Jade: Way to own that Chinese food. That’s what I want to be able to do. Enjoy food & family without feeling sick later. Great job!
Morning jog – very inspiring. My Fast Exercise book is collecting dust.
I agree; we need to be forgiving when we have a FUFD. Self-loathing & negatively can lead to a downward spiral. (Been there) Where as a forgiving, positive attitude helps me look forward to the next fast day and getting myself back in control.
Quote from the book:
“”Feeling bad” about giving in to a craving only leads to….more giving in. It turns out that self-compassion is a far better strategy than self-flagellation.”
WOW – you ladies are hard to keep up with! I love all of the inspiration flowing back and forth on here. I try to check in as I can but I really need to spend some proper time to read all the posts.
Mexican went pretty well – I managed to drink only water but did allow myself a few chips. Yesterday I had the lard baton too and kept it and most other foods away from my mouth. I did babysit a 4 year old for about three hours and made “bikini” bread (zucchini/courgette bread) with her and allowed myself a few licks of batter before I remembered that I was fasting. I was going to try to stay out of the fridge until noon today, but woke up starving and couldn’t think of anything but food. I think it may have something to do with the day on/day off fasting schedule I’ve inadvertently put myself on. I’ll have the baton tomorrow but good luck to everyone who has it today!
Hey fast clubbers we are kicking some serious lardass lately. Behaving around yummy food?! I am so excited for us. We are really turning a corner. Not kidding myself that I’m normal but Michel’s quote echoes something in the other book I read, which is to congratulate yourself for stopping to think, making the effort to be mindful.
Get a load of this fortune cookie that I found under the table just now (thank goodness) I kid you not it says “if you eat food and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.” How weird is that. I don’t think I ever thought THAT but eating secretly is one habit I definitely needed to ditch.
I’m going for FD2 tomorrow, so don’t squeeze that lard baton too tightly! Trying out my new good behavior today. Finally figuring out that this is a 7-day WOL and those 5 have their own challenges. Good luck to all. Begone kraken! xxjade
So… how do you all finish out a FUFD? Typically I just try again the next day BUT that seems like a temptation then to binge and make the FU a blowout. I like Spring’s idea to just keep the schedule set, try again the next regularly scheduled day. I believe I’d be more likely to keep eating mindfully even if I’m upwards of 1000 for the day. Thoughts? Not that I want to make a habit of FUing but let’s be honest it is going to happen. Hahaha I’m not polishing my halo just yet.
Hello fasters whoopeee did a fast day as well as a run/jog/stagger/sweat session and felt wonderful and smug and energetic!! Boo hoo next day caution was thrown to wind and my mouth was constantly opening and shutting on large amounts of food crisps, nuts, dip, chocolate, chardonnay…went to bed felt rubbish got up and repeated the whole scenario again – tomorrow will be a fast day honestly!
Am going to watch one of my favourite tv shows tonight the great british bake off! Will enjoy looking at the food…..mmmmmm
I’m still holding tight to the baton. Drinking tons of lemon water today.
Penguin: Congrats on a successful fd.
Bikini bread – sounds good & healthy. Win, win.
Jade: I find that how I finish a FUFD totally depends on why it got FU in the 1st place. Some have been salvageable and others beyond repair. I prefer (if I can) to fast the following day. Clean out the system so to speak. That does sometimes cause B2B fasting, but if I’m up for it I can do it. I have not been able to fast on the weekend yet, so I have to get my 2 in during the week.
Fizzy: Sorry your successful fd was followed by a not-so-successful eating day. Been there done that many times. Tomorrow will be your day!
Quote from the book:
“On average, we make 227 food-related decisions every day.”
Hi everyone, I’ve been on 5:2 for 2 weeks now. I’ve been reading all your posts and this is definitely the rightplace for me! I have about 5 stone I’d like to lose but if this takes me a couple of years I can live with that. Ive found all your posts and stories really inspirational so a big thank you for sharing 🙂
Just finishing a FD and feeling mostly pleased with myself as I only went over by about 80 cals and have been sooo hungry today! Still, ive made it and now off to bed before I get tempted into anything else…
Good luck to those on a FD tomorrow,
Ange x
Hello fast clubbers and welcome Ange! I was a bit of a mess today. Lots of snacking but don’t think I completely dove off the cliff. Tomorrow is a FD for sure, we’ll be on the road and no family celebrations on the agenda. Climbing back on that old mule.
Thanks Michel for the input on the FUFD. I am thinking it is better for me to keep my eating In check even if I’ve flubbed. If I can hold it to under 1000 cals then perhaps just wait till the next regular FD. I can’t do B2B I feel too deprived.
Send that lard baton over when you’re ready!! Good luck all and big hugs to us for all this determination. We are awesome! xx
Hello all and WELCOME Ange – so good to have a new face and another person to hold the baton. I have the baton firmly in place today and I’ve already used it twice to fend off attacks. The most grizzly attack came when I realised I’d left my FD supplied at home and it’s an hour away… I’m ashamed to say my first instinct was relief that I had ‘no choice’ but to ditch the FD but it turned out I was too busy at work this morning for anything else but a coffee and so baton weld number 2 came as I approached the work Cafe very, very quietly so as not to awaken the kraken and bought something appropriate to tide me over till tea time. So, go me and all hail the strength of the global baton.
Sending out super-strength vibes to all of you fasting. Btw, I loved the quote “we make 227 food-related decisions every day” but I had to laugh as my brain finished it with “and 226 of those are to eat” Hang in there Fast-Clubbers 🙂
Hello and welcome Ange – well done on your successful FD. As you will see from our posts, we are all struggling with our various issues with food, but are making some real progress with each other’s support. I wish you well in your weight loss quest.
Jade – on a FUFD I always think “Ah well, might as well consume my own body weight in cake, I’ve ruined it now” but recently I’ve been trying to be more mindful and make sure that I at least come in under TDEE. I then do the FD the day after…I have to, or I’ll just put it off and put it off until I’m atop the sugar mountain again. Like Michel it sometimes leads to B2B fasting but it’s weirdly satisfying, maybe it’s a control thing.
Penguin – pml at bikini bread! But well done on stopping yourself chowing down on that delicious batter…now that’s strength.
Fizzy – Regardless of the blowout the day after, you still got a FD in, with tons of exercise – well done, that’s not for the faint hearted!! If you can do another FD this week you’re golden.
Michel – Go you! You are kicking the ass out of FDs, you must feel proud! Especially with your workplace breakfast burrito fiestas. I don’t know how you do it, I’d be like the side of a house if I worked there. Such strength!
Spring – I’m certain you’ve turned into a normal person….first the sensible eating in the Chinese, now the strength not to FUFD – a giant well done to you!!
So I had planned to FD today (Mon and Thurs) but in my comatose state at 6am I found the banana and honey bread I’d made for my husband….but I only had two slim slices rather than eating the whole thing. I’m annoyed though, I’m meant to be off sugar!! it’s like I’m on autopilot, I totally forget in the middle of the night/early morning that I’m meant to be fasting and I chow. Double annoying when I’ve been so good during the day. But I’ll carry on eating mindfully and come in under TDEE, then try for FD tomorrow.
Does anyone have any ideas for how I can stop eating through the night? I don’t know anyone else who does this…it’s totally aberrant behaviour but despite my determination, when I’m half awake it just goes out the window. Help!
Wishing you all strength and determination, good luck to those with the baton today!
Morning Clubbers!
Looks like Jade & Spring have the lard baton today. Anyone else fasting?
I defeated my 1st kraken of the day. Skinny guy from work was off to the donut shop & taking orders. I said “no thanks”. Now I just have to focus on how bad donuts are for me.
Mantra for the day: “Donuts are bad for my health”.
Spring: Way to go! So much easier to avoid the kraken than to fight it. Exactly what we are all needing to do: Stop, Think & make Healthy Decision. You go girl!
Kitty: Good for you, only eating a little. And staying committed to be mindful for the rest of the day.
I wish I had some words of wisdom for you. I just don’t wake up “hungry”. I do wake w/ the desire for donuts (as I’ve mentioned numerous times) but they are not in the house; therefore I can’t just grab one. Help me understand why you baked the yummy, irresistible bread?
Quote from the book:
“Remove temptation. Don’t give yourself the choice of whether to eat the potato chips or not; don’t put the potato chips on the table . Better yet, don’t buy them.”
Oops I’m about to throw the lard baton at my husband! He is rather ocd on travel days, every little thing is an emergency. I’m not usually a bad-times nosher — more the good-time let’s dig in girl — but today it is already hard to keep my mouth closed!! For eating or sassing. Best I could do so far was to grab a handful of nuts (not his lol) so I’m going to be MINDFUL and concentrate on kraken avoidance for the rest of the day!! At least try. Oh wait it’s do or do not there is no try…? Sorry Yoda best I can do today 🙁
No time to write more – congrats on our successes and sympathy for our struggles. Onward clubbers we have the power! xx
Oh fellow fasters… yesterday was a doozy. I have the lard baton today as well, and it’s a good thing. Unfortunately, I never find fast days to be that hard, it’s the day after that send me reeling. I’ll just say this: after a wonderful vegetarian lunch with a niece I haven’t seen since she was born (she’s late 20’s now!) I came home and made the completely willing decision to have ice cream for dinner. And finished the 1/2 gallon container, of which there had been at least 3/4 left. And I topped it with chocolate sauce. And I drank wine. And then I ate some chips. I wouldn’t have done it if my husband had been home, but that doesn’t excuse the willful disregard for any type of mindfulness. It was a willful binge. Now that the ice cream is gone I won’t buy any more, but I marvel at my ability to justify my eating habits to myself. It’s sick, really. Speaking of which, I received in the mail today two bottles of vitamins from my doctor. Vit D and a B complex. Apparently my lab work shows that I’m low on both, so she’s having me take them daily. I wonder if that could contribute to feeling some lack of nutritional need?
Good luck to all fasting today – I’m feeling strong and I hope you are as well. And good luck for tomorrow, too! That’s when I really need it.
What an amazing bunch of wonderful people!! It is so great to log in and know there will be real, honest stories from everyone about their struggles and successes and with loads of humour too. I was just picturing what it would be like if we all lived together on FD’s (like the menstrual huts of old) and could support each other by mounting an hourly kraken-watch to keep us all safe 😉
And what is it about husband/partners being around and not eating? (and I admire your restraint in grabbing the edible nuts Jade). I often think about the deterrent effect my husband has on my eating and I’m sure it goes back to childhood shame. Even though I’m rapidly aging and really should have dealt with that particular demon by now it’s a persistent bugger. My husband is quite possibly the most understanding man on the face of the planet but I never binge when he’s around and in fact I’m invariable alone when that happens. In answering the question “What are the common factors in this crime” I’d have to say “Umm, it appears to be me, your Honour” Just the shame factor I guess, so I will have to work on that some more. I had a friend years ago who wowed she would never eat alone again, perhaps that would be a good start?
I sympathise around the night eating Kitty. Might it help to designate something ahead of time (something healthy) and tell yourself that you can get up and have that if you’re really hungry, but nothing else? Does it help to have a snack just before you go to bed or would that make it worse? Hunger is an issue for me sometimes on a FD night but I’m usually so chuffed I’ve made it through the day that I stay put till morning.
Sanguine I believe there are some links between micro-nutrients and eating as well as micro-nutrients and sleep, and lack of sleep is always a binge trigger for me. Let us know if you notice an improvement and good for you deciding not to buy ice-cream anymore!
And more power to you Michell in saying no thanks to the donut-man. Is there a single, more non-nutritious item of food that tastes so incredibly good? They were invented by the devil.
Okay, well, in the spirit of shining a light in the darkness I now have to come clean about dropping the baton despite (or maybe because of?) my early kraken-victories. I got home last night and just did a number on the kitchen. One of those times when you know there is literally NOTHING in the house you want to eat (not a single treat) so you just randomly eat stuff that is normally not a problem, like muesli with maple syrup and lots of crackers with enough cheese to keep a Tex-Mex restaurant going for 24 hours and poached quinces with ice-cream of a flavour I buy because hubby loves it and I don’t. Yet, again this morning, I weighed in to find I’d lost another 900gm (2lb) so I just don’t know how it’s coming off. I’ve thought today that I might start keeping a food diary so I can see what I’m eating on non-FD’s as I’m clearly eating less than I think I am (I don’t count calories on those days).
BTW (drum roll please 😉 ) I’m taking a big bow this morning as it is officially ONE YEAR since I started 5:2 and I’m just 300gm shy of losing 25kg (55 lbs)!!!! It can be done and whilst I still have a long way to go (20kg/44lb) I know this is the only way I am going to get there – very slow and steady and with the support of my wonderful Fast-Club buddies who totally get how hard it is, even if it is simple. Much love, Spring xx
Spring: What an amazing year it has been for you. You are proof that it works and an inspiration.
Also, great suggestions for Kitty and anyone else struggling with night time hunger.
I think the wheels came off my wagon today. I passed up the donuts (and yes, they were invented by the devil) only to succumb the the Dairy Queen blizzard. Different food pusher was buying for the office and I thought a “mini” blizzard, how bad can it be? Well, let’s just say I was surprised and not in a good way. Then to top it off, I was almost done when I start hearing people say: “this is too sweet-I can’t finish it” WTF? I’m done & ready for another and they are throwing theirs away? or putting it in the freezer for tomorrow?. I will never understand.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
And I just remembered tomorrow’s breakfast is homemade sausage bread. Who can resist that? Not me! I think I’m screwed……..
Morning guys
Spring – Wow!!! Huge congrats on your fantastic achievement, you must be buzzing! You are the poster girl for 5:2 bingers, real proof that it can be done. Keep up the good work, you’re obviously doing all the right things. Please share the secret of your success with us, how did you become normal? Lol!
Oh and thank you for the excellent suggestions….a snack before bed doesn’t really make a difference, but your other suggestion worked for me last night! Before bed I wrote myself a note and stuck it to the fridge “Hoi fat ass, if you get up in the night and read this, have one slice of toast with a scraping of honey”. Well I did, and I did. Like my befuddled dozy brain saw the note, and just did it, no hunting for anything else.
Fair enough, it’s maybe not the healthiest thing I could have chosen but it’s a lot better than my choices in the past. So well done, and thank you. You may have given me the tools to beat the hardest part of my food problem, and for that I’ll be forever grateful. Roll on tonight!
Michel – hubby asked me to make the banana bread, there was a pile of elderly bananas that had gone beyond black and he didn’t want to throw them out, plus he adores it. I’ve had a word with him and told him if he wants it, once it’s made he has to hide it. I just do not have the willpower right now to resist it! Although I did make a blueberry cake for my MIL and never touched a bit, not even the batter? But oh Ice cream, I adore the stuff, cant have it in the house. Those food pushers at your work are unbelievable, why are the people there not the size of caravans?
Talking of ice cream, lovely Penguin, please don’t beat yourself up….so you ate ice cream for dinner…..a wilful decision – not automatic eating. Surely a conscious choice is better than an unmindful one? And at least you replaced dinner with it and didn’t have them both. Find the positives, and grab the baton once more when it comes your way. You got this.
Jade – mouth closed for food and sass – hahahahahah I can do neither! You’re a good wife!! Hope you got on well the rest of the day and didn’t throw him out the moving car. My hubby becomes Mr Bean whenever we enter an airport, bumbling around and panicking. Bizarre.
Feeling strong and mindful today, I will eat healthily and in moderation. Gonna squeeze in a third FD tomorrow to try and even things up.
Thinking of all you guys and sending positive vibes! Go Fast Club!
Hello again Queen, nice to have you back – you brought us all together and I owe you big time for that! What an honest, valuable post. Again, I read it saying “me too, me too”. Isn’t it amazing that we have this wonderful supportive resource where we can confess things we wouldn’t dare tell anyone we know….
It sounds like you have successfully identified your triggers, that’s half the battle I think, knowing what sets a binge in motion. I agree that fasting helps constant cravers, possibly by getting us in touch with proper hunger/full signals, which are easy to totally ignore. Whatever the method, my binges have reduced in number and severity, though I did have a mental two week sugar festival which threw me totally off track and resulted in me gaining 5lb! But, 5:2 is always there for us to restart and in time it’ll become our way of life. Best wishes to you and happy fasting.
Good morning all you lovely fasters! Queen, it’s always good to see you. Identifying triggers is some of the best work we’re doing. Never thought about caffeine…but definitely the big breakfast is a killer for my day. I am a constant craver as well, but like you I don’t think fasting is a trigger. I need the reset that I get from consciously controlling and overcoming my hunger.
Spring, congrats to you!! A year on 5:2 and you are ahead of the 1 lb/week avg loss, go YOU. We need to learn your secrets on nonFDs. It clearly is the exact opposite of what I’m doing, mistakenly thinking I’ve mastered the art of mindful eating. I do think I’m getting better at it, but….
My scale showed a 3 lb gain for this past week, despite what I thought was being mindful around food, going for jogs, no binges. It’s disappointing, but I am trying something new in reaction to it. First, normal people don’t freak out when their weight fluctuates, so I shouldn’t either – I know I can buzz it off in a flash. Also, it’s easy to misjudge calories in restaurant food HAHAHA Chinese food….in retrospect, I’m sure that FD was barely a TDEE. My FD yesterday didn’t go too well either, though I did at least stay out of the dark chocolate caramels (don’t ask why they were there). Maybe I just imagined I was hungry, because I sure felt that way a lot…but 3 lbs had to come from somewhere.
So there were hits and misses, I had fun, and it’s back to 5:2. And just so you know, I just erased a pity rant about the whole weight-gain thing. But I realized that there had been a lot more treats than I had owned up to. Fizzy, I’m in your camp there — the overeating on nonFDs — although you were far more honest about it!
Penguin, I think owning that ice cream dinner is still a big step up from the mindless binging we’re all trying to conquer. Sounds similar to my Chinese dinner — I mean, it’s not as though I ordered steamed veggies, oh no I got sesame chicken, nothing really but doughnuts masquerading as a main course. We’re all going to have those times, because we enjoy food and not even “normal” people control themselves all the time.
Kitty, great work on figuring out what to do for those half-awake forays into the kitchen. Planning ahead and having a less-disastrous nibble on hand sounds like just the thing. Great advice, Spring — so last night, I needed something before bed, and luckily had some yogurt and banana on hand, just sweet enough to send me off to sleep not feeling deprived. The real problem comes when there is not anything handy — that can be a binge trigger for me, rummaging through old bags of crackers and cookies that never fill the void.
Michel, indeed WHAT the **** is up with those people not being able to finish the job on a treat — too sweet?! How is there such a thing. And a mini-blizzard is my idea of restraint for sure. I hope the sausage bread wasn’t a killer today. It sounds like another baked good from hell. I think you’re amazing just to work where you do and exercise any control. I love reading about how you deal with all that, it’s very helpful for the battles I have.
All right, gang, I’m committing to a true, by the book FD today. So I was chewing on the lard baton yesterday but today I’m feeling strong and in control. Love and hugs to all my buddies today! xx jade
First of all – a HUGE congrats to Spring. What an amazing accomplishment and proof that this WOE/WOL is sustainable. I admire you, truly.
Second – Jade, I’m SO SO SO thankful that you wrote the post above. I, too, showed a three pound gain from two weeks ago and I’m devastated. Obviously I’m unhappy that I gained, but the icing on this proverbial cake is that, once again, I’m dancing around the upper 180’s. I had been so happy when I finally saw the 185 on the scale – a goal I had been trying to reach for AGES, only to see it gone away again and back to the same spot I seem destined to lounge around in. I’m so TIRED of it. But anyway, I read your post, realized that resistance is futile, and so I must go on. Time to take responsibility. Thank you.
Welcome back Queen – happy to see you again 🙂
Strength and solidarity to all fasters and non-fasters today!
Afternoon Fast Clubbers!
Some great posts today.
I’ll start with my confession. I came to work with a plan to deal with the sausage bread. Haha, that plan went out the window when I smelled the bread and everyone was saying how wonder it was. Let’s just say homemade, warm, spicy, cheesy bread is irresistible and yummy.
So now I must figure out how to salvage the day and not let out turn into a eat fest.
Kitty: You rocked that midnight snack! Way to plan ahead. What a huge success. And asking hubby too hide the leftovers, way to control your environment. I have done the same in the past. Sometimes just not being able to see it works and other times I ask him to take it to work.
I get “not wasting” the bananas, I hate to throw food away. We usually freeze them for smoothies. And who can say “no” when asked to make something they love. Good luck on your fd tomorrow.
Queen: I have missed your posts.
I can identify with “something just for me”. I don’t have to share it and no one is going to say “don’t you want to save some for later?”. It is a rebellion. Pure & simple. I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. I try not to have caffeine or very much red meat. I go to work every day & pay my bills on time. Secret eating is my weakness and I obviously get pleasure from it, but I am working on having fewer rebellious moments.
Jade: Good Luck fasting today! Way to go after those 3 lbs.
I too find yogurt & fruit a good dessert. One that does not trigger a binge or overeating episode.
Penguin: I feel your struggle. Last month I reached a low I had not seen since last Oct (when my weight started climbing). Well I saw it once, jumped up a little & have been holding steady for a month. “Time to take responsibility”. I like that. Thanks for the post.
Here’s a quote I need for the weekend:
“Don’t eat straight from the box, bag, cartoon, our tub. Serve yourself a bowl of –whatever– and then put the carton away.”
Does anyone else do this?: Remember that you’re on a non-fasting day and so think to yourself “I can eat whatever I want, so I should eat something.” And then go eat something that you don’t need (but you want)? I just did it after having a nice healthy lunch—I got up, grabbed a bag of chips, and was walking back to the living room with them when I decided that I should at least portion some out into a bowl so I don’t eat the whole bag. So I guess that makes it Chips:1; Me:1
Queen and Michel you nailed it – eating, especially alone, is a guilty pleasure just like so many we don’t have. I don’t smoke, gamble, do drugs, or have affairs (LOL a bit old for that one) — all things that give people a rush.
I do think rediscovering hunger and having a great meal is a similar rush. I’m working on having really great food be my guilty pleasure. But I don’t know a soul who doesn’t let loose once in a while around food. The holidays, for instance. We aren’t really so different. We just have more of those times. How many food decisions in a day was that again?
Haha Spring, I made close to 227 food decisions just now in the grocery store. I stopped ONLY for orange marmalade for hubs, which was in the snack aisle. I probably picked up 20 bags of snacks and put them all back (there’s 40 decisions right there). I have to laugh at the food industry — one bag was emblazoned “BAKED!!” as if that made a difference. Still loaded with crappy fat, useless carbs, no fewer cals. F*** off, snack making kraken f’er. You wasted a whole 15 seconds of my life reading the truth that the gov’t makes you put in the nutrition box. And I for one will be glad when that info is in the restaurant menus, too. Remember when everyone fainted over the Blooming Onion? Wow that thing had thousands of calories and I could eat one as an APPETIZER.
So yes, Penguin, I definitely do exactly the same. I’m even on a FD and still grabbing things in the store, in sweaty anticipation of the non-FD. Great follow-through though, to put those things in a bowl and own the **** out of them. Eating out of the bag is just like eating alone, no accountability because no one knows what I’ve eaten, not even me. Being accountable is such a huge step. Sucks that I’ve been so good and got smacked by the scale, but saddle me up, I’m still in the rodeo.
Michel, I so admire the way you navigate the minefield at your job. Heck yes I’d have some sausage bread if I had to smell it and hear all about it. Why not just bring in a honkin sausage mattress so I can take a big sausage nap over the noon hour?? Holy cow. Eating seems to be a sport there.
Whew, I’m fending off Krakens right and left today, but might put this day in the win column yet. Thanks for all the inspiration and great humor. As Kitty says, a win for one is a win for all, and I’m inspired by our success and determination. Even our flubs are looking better, right? We are learning from each other. We can do this. xx jade
Hi all. Its so nice to have a bad day and then look on here and find everyone understands and has done the same too! Michel did you manage to keep control on the rest of your day? I have to say that sausage bread sounds amazing, and thats not just because im on a fast day today! We constantly have cakes, biscuits, you name it at work and I find resistance is futile. There is literally no cake I do not like! The most progress I’ve made is to take a small(ish ) piece when it is first put out and saving it all day until about 4.30 when I can scoff it without feeling too guilty. Otherwise I can easily put away 2,3,4 helpings and find myself hoping no one has noticed. Trouble is, its right there under my nose at work. At home I can lock food up out of sight and try to forget it, but at work…
Re weight loss, comespring I am inspired by your fantastic achievement, way to go! I weighed myself today for the first time in 3 weeks to find I was exactly what I weighed before :-p I am comforted however by the fact that a man at work asked if I was dieting as I “looked like id lost weight” I could have kissed him if he wasnt my boss!! Also a pair of trousers I could barely breathe in a month ago are now comfortable. I might have a long way to go but any little victories along the way are being celebrated.
Is anyone else on a fd today or are Saturdays a no-no for you guys?
Hi Ange, great to see you again. I don’t usually do weekend Fds bc we go out and it’s too hard. Plus I like to work out on Sat and they say it’s OK on a FD but I’m a bit of a whiner as everyone here knows 🙂 so I don’t like feeling too deprived.
I hear you re the weight. I had a good FD yesterday and only 1/2 lb of my extra THREE from this past week vanished. But my clothes don’t feel tighter so I am thinking water retention or something. Maybe I swallowed a lead kraken. Keep going and it will work for you. I am committed because I have seen the results and a small setback isn’t going to stop me.
Enjoy the weekend all. We are off to dinner and I will try to behave but no promises:) xxjade
Hi fabulous fast-clubbers and welcome ange123 and I’m so chuffed with all of your congratulations and good wishes I feel very special indeed 🙂
It’s a FD for me today and I’ve carried the lard-baton faithfully (it helps that I’m working on Mondays for the next month) and only had one unscheduled banana due to dizziness on my walk home from the train station when I feared that spirit might leave body if I didn’t find some fuel and fast. That never happens as I am not the Victorian swoon-er type being far too ROBUST, so I was a little unprepared. Anyways, it’s almost 7pm and I’ve had my salad & veges and look forward to my Jarrah hot chocolate about 9pm and then to bed.
I love reading all the Julius Sumner Miller-style musings. Why is it so? Why indeed. Why can I fast well today but over the weekend wanted to crash-tackle the fridge?? Why does having breakfast set some people up for a day of hunger but not others? How can people not finish dessert??!! I know the sharing and musing helps me enormously so keep it up.
And just what exactly is sausage bread?!? These cross-cultural references just have to stop or I’ll start writing about my love of bubble and squeak, Chico Rolls, Spiders and Balmain Bugs…
Stay solid everyone and super-strength lard baton carrying vibes to all Monday fasters just starting out – I can tell you there is a very low Kraken-count ahead of you, so relax 🙂
Oh Spring, you must describe all those wondrous foods. Weren’t you the one who mentioned a squid salad? And with some fondness, too. All I could think of was tentacles, as in “The Mist” where they eat you instead of vice versa.
Why is it so, indeed. Lately I’ve had tummy troubles that would cause most people to lose weight, and I have gained instead. It’s time for me to fold up the fainting couch, though, and get down to business.
I’ve been lazy and defiant lately, ticking the FD box knowing full well I’d had more than 500 cals (when really it should be 400 based on my TDEE). Honestly, I think I was just limiting myself to 5 THINGS, and counting each one as “eh..probably 100 cals.” I know what’s going on. The novelty has worn off and 5:2 is no longer “fun” in the sense of a new adventure. I know how to not eat, but wahhh. I really miss clandestine eating, too, and I haven’t found a guilty pleasure to replace it with! Midnight gardening, maybe? Snake handling? None of that namby-pamby shoe shopping will do, I’m telling you I need something WICKED yet not (too) self-destructive.
In the meantime I am recommitting. Today is going to be a full-bore, Kraken-busting, knife-wielding, butt-busting FD. Thanks for clearing the path, Spring. You are an inspiration! Happy Monday, Fast Club – I want to hold myself accountable, so I’ll be back later today to report in. Love and luck to all! xxxxxx jade
It’s afternoon and I’ve slurped up 52 calories somehow. It’s total honesty-accountability day and surely I can do this for ONE DAY. So far just 1/4 c of FF plain yogurt (hoping the probiotics will right my tum) coffee (which hubs says is now linked to Alzheimer’s oh swell), calcium chews, and gum. I’ll have strong bones even if I don’t know who I am. I’m amazed that it all equals that many cals.
Someone (Michel?) wrote that binging is a way of rebelling – seems exactly so. I am cheesed that I am so effing responsible in every other facet of my life yet I still can’t come to grips with eating. It is NOT FAIR. OK enough of that. Stay strong whoever is on the fast train today!! xxx
Afternoon Fast Clubbers!
Fasting today and really loved being able to start the day w/ support.
Penguin: Way to stop, get a bowl and portion some out. I was not successful at that this past weekend. Chips out of the bag = huge weakness for me.
Ange: Sounds like you and I have the same struggles at work. I’ve got your back next time something yummy is out on the counter. Fri I managed to hold on and not have a free for all. Although I’m sure I had all my non-fd calories w/ the sausage bread.
My work day is looking kraken free. Thank goodness, not feeling very strong today.
Way to go on the trousers. The scale my not be moving, but something is. Loose pants are a great sign of progress.
Jade your last post is crack’n me up. I feel ya sista. It is not FAIR. I think 100 cals are taken up w/ my daily fiber intake (pills, powders & chews).
Holding tight to the lard baton – positive vibes out to y’all!
Jade
Oh my….. I am super hangry from fighting off Kraken all day. Now hubs wants spaghetti for dinner, so I stopped for veggies, to bulk out my plate instead of my ass. Not the wisest FD meal but he’s still feeling bad so he gets dibs. I will carefully drape my 2 allotted pasta strands over my veggies, cursing Kraken as I go. Why is this still so f****** hard……
xx
JadeLark you are so funny – love your post. I am new so sorry, I do not know who Kraken is.
I’ve been doing this now for about 3 weeks and I seem to be slowly getting there. It has been difficult because it’s been so cold this Winter: I am in South East Queensland in Australia.
Onwards and upwards though, good luck!
Hey iSabella, welcome and thanks! I get ultra sassy on fast days. A Kraken (according to legend) is a giant mythical sea monster whose “unleashing” is always catastrophic. Here, it just represents a binge monster/loss of control. We on this thread are quite legendary in our own right when it comes to losing and regaining control. Some days are harder than others…..
THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY NINE CALORIES Y’ALL. Because I’ve stupidly avoided MyFitnessPal, I had NO idea that zucchini and eggplant had so few calories, like 20-40 per cup. I roasted assorted veggies and had several cups for dinner with maybe 5 strands of pasta. Used Kitty’s method of tossing in a bag with just a bit of olive oil, then roasted for about 45 min in the oven. It was really filling!! It tasted even better after another 30 min, so I’m hoping my stomach doesn’t unleash its own kraken over the rawness of the eggplant. I ripped into those veggies like a tiger.
Michel, I hope the lard baton worked its magic in fending off the ice cream Kraken. Picture that ice cream all melted and smelly in the Texas heat. Like cold doughnuts that taste like old grease.
OK everyone, let’s finish this day with a win! xxx
Hello everyone and greetings from Edinburgh.
Last night I stopped off at a sainsburys local after work and for absolutely no good reason bought 4 chocolate eclairs, a Danish maple pastry (the only miracle is that I restricted myself to one) and a huge packet of crisps. Did I share these foods with friends and families? Perhaps we were having a birthday party of some sort? No, of course not. I sat on the sofa bed and shovelled food into my mouth so that I could get it all in before my boyfriend arrived home from work. The packets are now hidden in my running rucksack (lol) waiting to be disposed of when I leave the house this morning.
Last week I bought two large dominoes pizzas, ate one and a half and then graciously left the remaining slices, pretending we had pizza at work and I had bought some back for him as I knew he would be late home from work. Top girlfriend points all round.
University days were littered with raiding other people’s cupboards to binge in their chocolate, biscuits, chocolate biscuits, and when that would not do, eating spoonfuls of jam from the jar. My greatest shame is probably the law bag of dog chocolates I once consumed in desperation (note to others, not recommended). But since I always replaced the food I had stolen, and somehow managed to stay thin, I never really acknowledged it as a problem.
Now, post 30, my body is rebelling against this secret and shameful eating by storing it on my tummy for all the world to see! No more secrets here!
I hate feeling this much fatter (4 stone in 4 years) and I also hate the control food has over me, that I don’t feel safe unless I have a stash somewhere, but that as soon as I have a stash, I have to eat it. I had thought about five-two before but worried it might be counter productive and increase bingeing, but having read through all these posts I have decided to give it a go.
perhaps, just perhaps I am not quite the incurable freak as I had thought. Or perhaps I am just in good company 🙂
First fast day today. Merci for your attention.
Hey Melb – welcome to the club! You’re neither a freak nor incurable. I did the half-empty box thing just a few weeks ago myself. Ah, the clandestine snack….we could all write romance novels about it. It’s more common than you’d ever have guessed.
I’m not the most successful 5:2er, but it has slowly worked for me. I’ve dropped 10 lbs. I’ve learned to appreciate the feeling of controlling my hunger. Oh it’s fun to lose control too (at least in the moment), and we all still do that, but not as often and not as bad. Feeling healthier has helped me realize that the aftermath of a binge is not much fun.
Each time I control my hunger, whether on a FD or just waiting until I’m truly hungry, I feel a bit better. I now know that hunger pangs are often temporary. I can still feel the insanity of wanting to sink my teeth into some “bad” food, believe me. But if I wait, 15 minutes later I often wonder what all the fuss was about. OR I give in, and 15 minutes later I feel sick and, as you put it, like an incurable freak. OR I wait and wait some more and still feel hungry, in which case I ask myself if an apple sounds good. If so, it’s real hunger and I eat something (preferably the apple, but haha not always). But the trick is figuring out what’s hunger and what’s just a craving for sugar or other junk.
It takes some work, because bad eating habits are usually long-term. But that’s all this is, a bad habit, and everyone I’ve ever met has some bad habit they need to break. So congrats to all of us, right, for working and sharing ways to improve ourselves? Biggest thing I had to accept was that there is a lot of psychology at work here and it’s messy and I don’t understand it, but I know I need the help. It’s not as simple as just eating less, anymore than smoking cessation programs would simply say “stop smoking.”
Second biggest thing, DO NOT EAT ALONE. When you have no choice, then employ sub-things (a) do not eat in the car, and (b) do not eat straight out of the bag. Put whatever you’re going to eat on a plate. As Michel says, OWN that food. Make yourself accountable. There’s the psychology at play, and I have scoffed at it before, because I’m way smarter than that. But smart isn’t enough, obviously. The idea is to be accountable, and most of us are not accountable when we’re holed up in our secret nirvana closet where calories don’t count.
Well, that felt good! Can you tell school is about to start? I’m getting in lecture mode already. Sorry to ramble on, but it helped me to write this down. I’m working on my own reawakening to why 5:2 works and why I should keep doing it even when it isn’t exactly fun. After a great FD yesterday, I feel in control and ready to eat like a normal human today. Hope springs eternal 🙂 xxx jade
2 quick thoughts:
1) I should not have wore the pants that make me feel like a sausage. I was so excited to fit Iin them again I didn’t stop to think “what will I feel like later after all the water?” Well I’m rethinking that choice now and that’s before I eat anything. 🙁
2) Strange feeling of “if you only knew” you get when co-worker stops to ask your advice because “you always eat so healthy. What is your secret?”
Where is everyone today? How are y’all doing?
Hold tight & stay strong x
Jade: I was busy writing when your wonderful post came in. Ramble on girl. Great insights. I need to hear them again and again. Especially w/ “free” lunch in an hour. Maybe my tight pants were a god-send: I can’t for much else into them.
Congrats of a successful fd yesterday and feelings of strength today.
Healthy here we come!
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We pay tribute to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Mosley. Michael was an integral part of our lives, […]
Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
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9:23 pm
28 Jul 15