Morning all, just starting my second fast this week and have come here for a dollop of strength. (Not sure what happened to my other postings hopefully this one will launch). Joining the sugar debate, I’m sure it’s the answe for some but my issues are in my head ?. Food is how I sooth myself, love myself, comfort, treat and enjoy myself

I hardly drink alcohol because it makes me feel rubbish. A glass with friends is very pleasant but anymore than that makes me feel quite awful, so i never have anymore than 1 probably 4/5 times a year. In January, I cut my tea consumption drastically after hearing how much caffeine was in tea and immediately saved myself 35 tsp/week. The result was that I began to realize that puddings at work were making me feel rubbish in the afternoon, which was a hell of a blow to a girl that loved puds. So, I cut out puddings for 1 week to see how I felt and I felt much much better. Then I tried 1 pudding the following week and realized that I felt rubbish. It wasn’t difficult to ditch the puds as I knew that I felt better without them. I became aware that I was no longer hiding sweet things to eat on my own, as I was no longer buying them because they were also making me feel rubbish after I had eaten them. Other food tasted more sweet, so that reduced my consumption further as I needed less of them.
The notion of reward and treat is interesting. I realized that FD were changing what I wanted to eat and what I enjoyed.
I still enjoy the occasional Almond Croissant, perhaps 1 every few months now if I am passing, as opposed to several times a week and going out of my way to get one.My favourite now is a couple of slices of wholemeal toast with a mashed avocado spread across them…how times have changed!

Hey Nose! Nice to see you again. Yep Spring, it’s different for all of us. My path to food insanity has a lot of trails! But sugar sure gets a hold on me, so I should not dig into the treats very often. HA. What are soy grits?

I tangled with the nFD lizard today, planned badly, had no time for lunch – AND a long day (still at it, almost 7 pm). So I’ve had a mocha latte, half a Cadbury bar, and some freaking trail mix. The good news (?) is I feel “like rubbish” as Annette puts it. No way could I binge on anything sweet right now! Wishing I had some of your bolognese sauce!

I need to try lentils in stews and such – I don’t like plain lentils but mixing them into other things sounds like a fabulous idea.

Back to work with me so I can go home before midnight. xx jade

Hi again all, just thought I’d drop back to say I’ve lost 1/2 of the weight I put back on during my 5 week travelling hiatus (being very naughty/enjoying life – depending on your perspective!). So I have a bit more to go till I’ll be back where I was and can continue the downward trajectory, hopefully by next week.

Well done on a successful FD Michell and remember, apparently there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, really!! Sending you micro-manager-slaying vibes.

Jade, planning is key I know, I hate getting caught at work with no options but a vending machine. And your sugar battle is an inspiration, keep up the good work. I swear I’ll log on one day and you’ll be saying how much you love that wholemeal pasta (it really is really yummy btw but look for some fresh stuff at a market to convert you rather than the store-bought varieties which can be a bit dense/flavourless). Soy grits are basically just soy beans that have been toasted and ground into small pieces, so they blend in with almost anything without taking over the dish. They were too small for the kids to notice/object to at the time when they would balk at whole beans and could spot a lentil at 50 paces, and they have a nice nutty flavour. A bit like the flavour of Misfit Island… xx

Thanks spring I am just guessing how many lentils to put in all sorts of things and I think that I am underestimating the amount at the moment which is fine as no one seemed to notice(I had hidden the packet in the cupboard). Are the soy beans,tinned ones that you use for soy grits?

I am certainly feeling much better with less sugar and getting used to less in my tea too. I thought that I might have a go at making peanut butter and chocolate spread in an effort to eat less processed food. The peanut butter(dry roasted peanuts,groundnut oil and some honey all blitzed in the food processor) was so simple and tastes delicious- much better than anything I have bought and took 5 minutes to make. The chocolate spread(double cream, dash of salt, little bit of sugar poured over the cream and whisked)is setting in the fridge. I have a little pot of organic yoghurt to use with some milk later to make some plain yoghurt(boil the milk add the yoghurt and put in a thermos flask for 8 hours and then in the fridge)-never made it before so that will be interesting so see how it turns out. I got the recipes off the internet.

Poor you Jade. On the plus point, now that you have felt rubbish after the chocolate, it is so much easier to refuse and try to find something more healthy to eat. I am making a stash of meatballs, some for tea making my own tomato sauce rather than the sugar laden shop bought jar, and then more for the freezer for when I am back at work.

Fast day for me tomorrow. The boys are having slow cooked chilli beef with red kidney beans and brown rice, which I don’t like. Me? Probably prawns for lunch and salmon for tea. I am hoping for some good news on the tape measure this weekend.

Afternoon Fast Clubbers!

Feeling in control today. (so far) No food in the office, Yea! Makes it so much easier.

Oatmeal & 1/2 a protein bar for lunch.
Looking forward to dinner w/ mom tonight.

Stay strong everyone!

Ah Helen, you had me singing! About food but still, the “glorious” part — which is fresh/unprocessed.

Congrats Spring on getting your groove back – I love 5:2, it gives us such tenacity and resilience (watch me fling those multi-syllabic words!). It just always seems so “doable” and flexible. No other way of eating even comes close.

Wow, Annette, your son lost a stone? That’s amazing. Any idea if he had any kind of food cravings that had been caused by sugar/additives? Sneaky you with the lentils, you might not want to quiz him too much about his eating 🙂 Your choc sauce sounds divine, like ganache.

Go Michel, good planning for you today! Enjoy dinner with your mom <3
Funny thing about my FU-nFD yesterday, I ended up having a late supper of veggie soup that I had frozen for a FD dinner. So I ended up turning for “comfort” to real, nutritious food. My inner lizard was in tears, surely. And I felt a whole lot better!
Stay strong lovely fasters — xx

Night All!

I finished this successful nfd with a big chef salad w/ half an avocado on the side. Very tasty!

Annette – Your peanut butter sounds delish.

Jade – Way to put your inner lizard in its place.

Goal for tomorrow:
Save my Fri breakfast for lunch & stay in TDEE!

Strength to my fellow Kraken fighters!

I’ve got one of those family centric weekends coming up with big meals Friday and Saturday nights and house guests – and have been a good dieting girl all week in anticipation of my slightly too tight dress for Saturday. It started last night with a modest ice cream and ended with a bottle of Sauvignon blanc and a late night cheese party – quel dommage (frommage?). Thinking back and considering what Annette has been posting lately many of my rampages have started with sugar. I am going to try for a sugar free week next (including alcohol) and see what happens? Annette congrats on jeans – an excellent moment to be treasured.

clothes bought in the spirit of optimism and never worn are major guilt trips for me – being able to wear them is a major high – justifies your optimism – you got there. It’s also good to have a clear goal !

Interested to know how folks here set there goals, how do you know when you’re there?

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all well.

Annette – I watched a Lusting lecture on youtube several months ago have found that it does help to imagine the effect that multipack of doughnuts is going to have on my pancreas. I very rarely drink now having realised I was drinking to excess in that past, so the analogy with alcohol poisoning certainly hit home. Since watching that video, I can confidently say that I have not bought a multipack of doughnuts. However, sometimes the knowledge of what I am doing to myself simply is not enough to stop the lizard claws reaching for those packs of jellybeans (although I have at least managed to restrict myself to buying one large pack rather than two). It is good to be reminded of it and the science behind it – thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

I haven’t fasted properly for a while as I start to get quite depressed at this time of year (I have one sun lamp on my desk at work and another on the kitchen table), which makes me a lot more vulnerable to bingeing. I have been concentrating on trying to eat for the good of my mental health – lots of veg, bananas, avocados, nuts etc. As I type this I have blueberries and green tea in front of me. “Fake it til you make it” has worked in other areas of life for me, why not also having a healthy relationship with food?

I have also decided to treat the lizard brain like a naughty toddler. For lunch I have been bringing two sandwiches instead of one so that when lizard wakes up mid-afternoon, I can tell him quite truthfully there is food in the lunch box, he doesn’t have to wait even five minutes to go to the shops, why doesn’t he just eat that? Similarly I have a bar of posh dark chocolate in my sewing box which HAS BEEN THERE FOR A WHOLE WEEK. If i feel the need to binge at home – there’s the chocolate, go right ahead lizardy liz, eat it all up. To which lizard brain replies “but I don’t want dark chocolate” and I can then reply “there is a perfectly good bar of chocolate there, if you don’t want that then we are certainly not going to the shop to buy different chocolate”.

Such great advice here today – love you all.

Michel, sounds as though you had a terrific week – congrats! The meals you describe sound so much better than the processed junk that has tempted me this week. I confess I fell victim to “biscuits” (cookies) last night.

Welcome back Melb, so good to see you again. I wish you luck in your seasonal battle. Psychology is such a complex thing. Brilliant approach to take extra “good” food to hush that lizard.

I am still feeling flat, not sure why but I am learning to roll with it. I think it is the natural biorhythm cycle to expect (if that’s even still a thing). Not going for another FD this week, but focus on good nutrition. A good dose of Dr. Lustig can’t hurt either – thanks Melb for the link!

So Noseinbook, my goals shift – right now, my bigger goal is beating the sugar lizard. Like Annette’s son, I’m sure the weight will follow. The goal weight I have is my weight long ago before I started dieting, and it’s tantalizingly within reach.

Annette, I love hearing about your victories – you are finding them in nooks and crannies and it has broadened my thinking to look beyond the scale also. Heading to the store in a bit and will def get some lentils for this lovely soup I’m making. I’m pleased to report that I am officially too small for my clothes – even though the scale hasn’t changed much. Not sure where that part of me has gone! But anyway, it’s time to visit the tailor or get some new work slacks. Funny thing about jeans, they shrink to fit no matter what, but at least I don’t have to lie down to zip them now!

Good luck in whatever your goals today, Fast Club. I am happy to have you all here on the island with me <3 xx

Whew! I listened to Dr. Lustig’s bio-chem lecture. I already knew sugar was bad but somehow feel smarter now for seeing someone like him explain it. Even if I didn’t understand it. I’m a bit confused about why I’m such an on-again off-again sugar craver when I don’t drink sugar at all (not even in coffee) – I guess because it’s in all our food.

I have my huge pot of soup simmering on the stove, with every veg I could find in fridge and freezer, some top sirloin, broth, and lentils – perfect! They are just the right size to sneak in, no screaming “beans in here!” which would make hubs run for the door. He just said it was the best soup he ever tasted. HA. And I need to remember my stick blender for other soups – the carrot-coriander sounds nice. Looking forward to a fall full of wonderful soup 🙂
xx – happy friday all

Is the crystal lite history Jade?

Ha!
Try this Jade.By Phil Daoust. Make your own yoghurt(no sugar!!!) You just need a saucepan, a thermos flask and a thermometer. Take one small pot of organic, plain live yoghurt and let it come to room temperature. Heat 500 mls of any milk up to 85C in a suacepan, stir it occasionally and then let it cool to 46C, then whisk or stir in 3 tablespoons of the live yoghurt(3tbsp/500 mils). Pour it into a warmed Thermos flask and screw down the lid. Leave for 8 hours. Transfer to a jar with a lid and store in the fridge.
It is lovely with meusli or fruit….and no sugar.

The craving thing is that humans are hard wired to seek sugar. I have found that concentrating on whole foods I am feeling much much better, Trying to put lentils or beans in a meal every day is keeping us all fuller for longer, the desire to snack is diminished and I do think that my mood swings are history.It has only been a week I know, but this is a much better way of looking at food.

I am trying to slim down one overweight son by stealth. He is very resistant to change, but likes the yoghurt and now that I won’t buy fruit yoghurt he is going to add some fresh fruit to the homemade yoghurt. He much prefers the brown rice, is happy to try the wholewheat pasta and claims that he doesn’t like beans or lentils, but and hasn’t identified red lentils in 3 of his meals this week!

How is everyone getting on?
Loved the comments about the man choosing the sides, that made me laugh out loud!

Fabulous Jade about the lentils but don’t drink fruit and vegetables, because you will lose the fibre and consume too many sweet fruits at a time(you might consume 3/4 at a go, but might eat one or two whole fruits). The fibre is very important for keeping the insulin levels low and whole fruits do this very well and regulate how much fruit(sugar) we consume too. Something about creating a mesh that slows down the transfer of glucose to the liver, so we feel fuller for longer and avoid that sugar spike. I am not as eloquent as Lustig but that much I know is very very important.Don’t blitz fruit and veg to drink…eat them whole.

I didn’t know that there was a cookbook, I’ll have a look at that. Thanks.Interested to see what you think of the homemade yoghurt I made it 1 day, left it overnight and hey presto!

Jeans have been too big and baggy for a while now, sliding down when I bent down with my hips keeping them up. I think that they look stupid, and now I am a size smaller!!!!Very pleased and now these ones look like my last ones did when I first got them.

I have some homemade soup sitting in my fridge and will be adding some cooked lentils to it tomorrow, which should fill me up on a FD. How is the bingeing Jade?

I don’t binge either.I did have an Almond Croissant yesterday and I can’t remember the last time and I did enjoy it, BUT it didn’t taste as wonderful as it did in my head. I intend to enjoy the odd cake from time to time too, but I want control of when I choose, not my messed up endocrine system causing havoc with my mood and body.

My shopping trolley now looks all green and leafy. There are many aisles that I just no longer go up, no point, I’m not buying anything from there anymore. Food shopping is much quicker no that I have identified what will not be coming home with me.

A sort out of the kitchen cupboards and freezer is in progress with food that will be eaten and not replaced or that which will simply be ditched. Quite cathartic. Menu planning for the week has taken moments which is also brilliant too.

Any difference in your mood?

The science behind sugar by Dr Robert Lustig is compelling. He argues that sugar messes up our biochemistry and keeps us craving sugar.The other key approach is to increase the fibre as it both fills us up and keeps us full for longer, but also slows down the transfer of sugar to our liver which helps stop an increase in insulin and the creation of fat. As sugar is in so much of our food and drinks the only way to reverse this is to avoid processed food and eat whole foods-wholegrain bread,unprocessed meat, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts, cream, butter and milk.
This week we have had brown rice which is delicious and so very filling, and I have started using beans and lentils. I am rather embarrassed that I am learning what beans are best in what, but in experience I can hide cooked red lentils in bolognaise and curry sauce. I have made my own tomato sauce for meatballs(the sugar in the jars is very high)I have made my own chocolate spread and peanut butter, and plain yoghurt to see what they are like. They are all scrumptious. My focus has changed to concentrate on whole foods for every meal, almonds/fruit in between and beans/lentils wherever I can. I usually cook from scratch but I think that the lentils have made the biggest impact(you need to cook them first for approx 30 mins before you add them to other things). You may well find that your mood improves, Queen as well. I feel better and on a more even keel rather than sugar driving me to have more, every time my sugar level plummets. I have to say that feeling fuller for longer really works. I usually have breakfast except on a FD when I don’t. FD have also been much easier as I have felt full all morning from the evening before.I snack on whole almonds with there skins on, very partial to a peeled carrot too. My focus is just on whole food, avoid processed and chuck lentils in anything and everything with some beans as well, if I think it looks OK.

Hahaha Jade, I laughed out loud when I read “Funny how it happens the minute I’m feeling all “wow I’m so cured!”. For me the answer is to avoid making all or nothing (“I always” “I never”) statements relating to anything involving volition 😉 Call me suspicious, but I think the ancient Greeks were on to something when they coined the term hubris, as nemesis is never far behind.

Well done everyone on managing motivations to eat as best you can. It’s definitely not one-size-fits-all so don’t be down on yourself if something worked last week but won’t cut it today. Some days, it wouldn’t matter how much my smart brain could tell me about the health benefits of certain foods/choices and if it were that easy, there wouldn’t be so much real estate on Misfit Island. Humans are notoriously complicated and it’s what makes us so endlessly fascinating to study!

Congratulations on the shrinking body Annette. Are you still running btw?

Nose, about setting goals, my current goal is to see my grand children grow up and graduate (I don’t have any grand children as yet!) so I have a lot of mini-goals that will get me there and one is to move out of the obese range – I’m almost ‘overweight’ 😉 – and then from there into a healthy weight range. I still have a long way to go for the latter one, but I have come a long way and I try to focus on that as well.

Hugs to you {{{Melb}}} I’ve had a few experiences with SAD but it sounds like you know what works for you. I love your ‘small child’ analogy and it’s one my psychologist friend has used recently.

Michell I’m almost jealous – if I’d only eaten what the man in my life brought to the table, I wouldn’t have a weight problem at all! I know, many would think I should just be grateful 😉

Queen, a great plan with the almonds. I usually carry an emergency ration of 10 almonds and I’m always amazed how far I can go on them, they’ll usually tide me over for a good couple of hours. I love the ‘self-love’ day idea too and if there was something I gleaned from the ‘binge over brain’ book, for me it was to stop telling myself there was something ‘wrong’ with me that needed fixing and to accept myself warts and all – self-compassion has got to be part of that.

And a quick shout out to kitty, fizzy, mcca, Helen and penguin – hope you’re all travelling well?

Okay all, I’m back to work on this FD. It’s ‘lunch time’ so time for lots of mineral water with lemon. Yum. Spring xx

Hey Fast Club!

OK my big news – I have been following the fast diet (on and off) now for A YEAR. Here is my progress report. Overall I am 24lbs down (it was 25, but up 1 lb today) which equates to about a 0.5 lb /week average… so well below the 1-2lb one should get, but I am not complaining – it’s off, it’s staying off, this is 11.5 months longer than I usually stick to any ‘diet’ or eating plan.

I’m really happy and astonished with this progress. Goodness knows I’ve fallen off the wagon enough times over the year, but clearly have been heaving myself back on again somehow.

ALSO – since reading that Brain over Binge book – I HAVE NOT HAD AN UNCONTROLLABLE BINGE. Note I don’t think it is a kind of “one size fits all read this and you loose weight” book – HOWEVER it has performed a miracle for me which is to stop me having those horrible cat-chocolate-eating binges where I just eat everything in sight, beyond the point where I am hungry, just feeling compelled to shovel things in. Yes I still like to eat fattening food but I think I feel (dare I say it) more like a ‘normal’ person around food – like a normal person, I have to make food choices, I have to monitor how much rubbish I eat, but I feel that the COMPULSION to ram things into my mouth has subsided, which is just AMAZING to be free of.

Queen did you ever try this book? I know that as our trailblazer you said you end up really overeating and I wonder if it could help you too.

Jade – I was so happy for you when you also said you felt like maybe you weren’t bingeing anymore. I read your account of your ‘slip up’ where you said you snacked for about 3 hours – but it sounded more like overeating than bingeing to me, no? I think liking food and having to be mindful and aware is going to be a lifelong challenge for all of us – just a matter of lugging yourself back onto the wagon and accepting that we’re all going to have days we eat more than we should. And THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for suggesting the no-breakfast club. That is just brilliant. Once I got my head around not having breakfast the day after a FD, it’s just been so helpful. I am a fully paid up member of the no breakfast club now. Limiting my eating window has got to be helping things.

Annette – thanks for all the information on Dr Lusting. I am sure the white stuff sets off things in my brain. We all know it is bad for us and I definitely think reducing sugar is a good thing however if I tell myself I am giving it up I know this will be a cue for me to go and try to find as much as I can of the stuff!

Hello to MelB, Noseinabook, Spring, Michell, Helen, Penguin and anyone else who hasn’t posted in a while.. all of you ladies are AMAZING and I am so thankful I found this forum and everyone so open and honest and willing to share… I look forward to opening my emails EVERY MORNING to find out what you guys are up to (even though I am rubbish at posting myself, I read you lot like a NEWSPAPER every day!!!!) Love to you all, I am so happy today, I am sure I could not have completed this year without this forum, THANK YOU Queen for starting it!!!!!!!! xxxx

I’m trying to use a target to motivate myself, after spending my adult life yoyo-ing between 10ish to 12ish with sometime into 13 stone’ish in the last year following 5:2 I’m now 9 stone 8, and I’m wondering wether to go for 9 stone but feel a bit unsure about my remaining will power and a bit put off by the baggy skin that’s been left behind. I’m 5’2″ so I’m still quite cuddly ? But at 1 month from 58 yrs old (gulp) do I need to ‘go for it’. I’m off to Gambia in 4 weeks time so 4 weeks – 8 lb ? I know I’m rambling around but that’s where my brain is!

Ps I think it’s all a bit seasonal too. Macca well done you, it’s the longest I’ve ever stuck with a way of eating too (notice avoidance of the d word).

Spring I salute you and all you lovely ladies ??

So here I am, halfway through a FD, not a care in the world for sugar. How can I be addicted to something like that?? All I know is that on some days, nothing else will do. I try eating good protein, veg, fruit, honestly I could eat enough beans to power my way across the Atlantic with just a sail, but I would still want the sugary thing.

I want to know why that happens. Does it not happen to you anymore Annette? If I have to just stop eating sugar, period, for however long to rid myself of my sugar dependence, I will do it.

But I’m confused about what is “sugar” – plain yogurt has natural sugar in it. That’s not part of the problem Lustig talks about, is it? And when it comes to whole-grain bread, isn’t it all sweetened with something? Even honey would seem to have the same effect (biochemically) as any other sugar. I can cut out the sweet stuff, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life avoiding all sugars. I’d honestly occasionally rather go insane the way I did yesterday and tamp that down with a fast.

Anyway, it’s a great day to be on the Island – no matter what, I’m healthier than I was 6 months ago! Keep on keepin on…. xx

That is a lot of questions Jade.
I suppose that part of the reason that I no longer crave the sweet stuff is that I have been reducing my consumption since January when I cut down the tea habit and then became aware that sugar was making me feel rubbish when I had a pudding or cake. I am quite stubborn though and tested this theory several times! I became aware that as the months passed I was no longer buying sweet stuff and chocolate to hide it and then enjoy on my own. I realized that the secret eating was stopping in part because I knew that I felt better without the sweets/chocolate and I was then less likely to seek those things out. I was sure that I was addicted to sugar and wanted to be free of that monkey controlling my mood and actions. I am no paragon of virtue and love to bake cakes, but I am baking once a week, rather than twice a week and starting to reduce the sugar in the cakes too.It is also very early days for you Jade.
I am down to half a teaspoon of sugar in my tea now and although I can’t say I enjoy it, I am getting used to it. I put in a whole teaspoon the other day and found it too sweet(never thought that would happen)so I think that changing habit along with a belief that the change will be of a long term benefit is what drives me on.A bit like the 5:2 really, I thought that it sounded sensible and would be good for my health, so I had faith that there would be a long term benefit to my health and there has been. Plus I have just bought some size 10 jeans that fit like a glove-very pleased.

It is hard though to know what to do when food advice seems to change on a daily basis and we have all been brainwashed into believing that fat is the baddy. I do think that Lustig is right that sugar is the really bad guy. I will have a look in his book and get back to you.

Woo hoo Michel, me too. Actually sucking on a lemon right now to chase out the evening lizards. The sour citrus taste is pleasant, and does kill a sweet tooth.

Annette, sorry to pound you with questions. I think I was a bit hyper still from my sugar dosing 🙂 A good FD has righted me, so no need to answer all of them. Sheesh, I’m like a werewolf.

Daily mindfulness indeed, Spring. And Mcca, right – it was not a binge, just an incessant desire for sugar. I kept tossing nutritious snacks at it, but pffft. Finally gave in and fed it sugar. Had I not bought those silly cookies, I might have succeeded. Must stop telling big fibs to myself about why those things should be purchased.
Good luck all – xxx jade
ps: Michel, I bounce up and down for about 2 months, then another bit slips away. I’ve accepted being very slow at this.