Little Voices January 2016 Accountability

This topic contains 339 replies, has 38 voices, and was last updated by SDS 8 years, 3 months ago.

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Action Hero

7:14 pm
7 Jan 16
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Morning all, Friday morning here in a Gloomy and chilly New Zealand today, however the rain is good for the garden and also my golf course that needs the rain.

Completed my 3rd FD for the week and have recovered 1.3kgs (3lbs) of my Christmas excesses so I’m on track to be back to my pre Christmas weight by this time next week. I’m just so pleased in the knowledge that when I put in the effort then I get the results and this FD WOL just keeps on working.

LIFESABEACH, your observations about falling off the wagon are very true however I have mentioned in past threads about making the PAIN of doing this so real that it should be enough to at least make you stop and think one last time before doing the deed. For example, if you had such a strong desire for your size 14 ski gear then that pain of not fitting into a 14 should be sufficient to not over indulge, if it’s not then maybe you should ask “do I really deserve a size 14??” I’m just using this as an example, I’m not picking on you LAB because I know your results have been commendable.

Everyone needs to have their own “Size 14 reward” whatever it may be and make it very real in their mind that falling off the wagon is so painful that it becomes not worth it after all the effort put in earlier.

Keep up the great work everyone, we are all amazing people who are doing something to improve our lives while many, many others are just prepared to say “stuff it” and not do anything to improve their lifestyle. Well we are not like that, so hold your head high, pat yourself on the back and be proud of yourself for taking responsibility of your outcomes.

Cheers, Mike

Third time lucky

7:37 pm
7 Jan 16
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Heyyyy, welcome back Action. Thought you had given up on us for a while! How did we all end up on the Christmas challenge? Thanks for your words of wisdom getting us there.
Hi to JFitzy and Little Dragon from my first thread I followed after starting 5:2. I know you will find support and laughs here to keep you going. Can we persuade Hilly to join us?
Thanks to Coda for taking us all on in January. I’m struggling just now. After a good holiday period where yes I also Overate but did my two days fasting each week. We have done more entertaining recently and I seem to have thrown caution to the wind! Thing is, all this rich heavy food makes me feel like s..t! So after a 500 cal day today, I’m hopefully back on track. I gained overall 3lbs since the last challenge, so now 5lbs to unload to get to goal. I’m not going to put a time frame on it as I don’t want to put myself under pressure.
Anyway, see what the scales say tomorrow and take it from there.
Depressing weather here – roads closed all around us and more rain to come. Things are really bad in the east of Scotland and will get worse instead of better. TTL

SweetTooth55

8:18 pm
7 Jan 16
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Hi, I’d like to jump into this group too. Keeping track of total fast days per month is what worked for my unpredictable schedule last year, so I hope to keep with that strategy this year. (And yes, Coda, I’ve already updated my profile just for you!!!) My commitment to myself on Jan 3 was 9 fast days this month, and a Dry January except for one family gathering. Today is my third fast day, and it’s going ok. ST55

zen123

8:29 pm
7 Jan 16
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Well folks, I’ve had 5 fast days this week! Not down to any any willpower of my own, simply because of lack of appetite due to bronchitis it so was really easy – talk about making the most of a bad situation! Would be lovely to get rid of the illness but keep the small appetite.

QuietOne

8:48 pm
7 Jan 16
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If you don’t mind I’ll step in with this. I updated my profile just for this

I went off 5:2 over the holidays and my body knows it. I’ve been on 5:2 eating pattern for just over a year I started just for health reasons and have achieved great benefits, and have gone from 230 something to 182-187 it varies depending on the things. (like this holiday season just past)

For Jan 2016 the goal is 2 fasts per week and to stay within my TDEE on other days. I have problems with that. (I also do one 5 day water fast per month but that’s something else and I don’t recommend it just want everyone to know where I’m at)

Good luck to everyone. No try just do. It isn’t rocket science it’s just keeping your mouth closed.

Coda

9:17 pm
7 Jan 16
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Just a quick post to welcome our newest members St55 and quietone I have logged both your fast days and well done for updating your profiles in anticipation of me asking lol.
My goodness quiet1 5 water only fasts! Normal fast days must seem a breeze to you!
Zen I hope you feel better soon. I swear by echineca a good quality one like bio force and the stronger one is best. Every cloud as they say, just watch you don’t make up for it when you recover.
Third fast day of the week tomorrow for me and another run – hope the weather is kind till I get into the way again.

QuietOne

10:59 pm
7 Jan 16
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My normal fast days are water only also. I find if I eat anything at all I just get the rumbles for more and feel hungry through out my fast, whereas if I don’t eat I don’t really feel hungry. For me “TRUE” hunger usually doesn’t kick in until early on day 3 of a 5 (or longer)fast and stops after a day. Hunger just goes away I can’t explain why. (Though I do have some food dreams that are so vivid and real I should wake up having gained 10 pounds.)

If I don’t eat and just take water I’m fine. I do drink at least 2 litres a day when fasting for any length of time.

Please note I do NOT recommend extended fasting for anyone.

simcoeluv

11:36 pm
7 Jan 16
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Hi QuietOne:

Your hunger on day 3 is typical – I also experience it and it is often mentioned in fasting literature. It comes as a result of the body switching from burning mostly carbs to burning mostly fat. Once the body gets into ketosis it is happily living on its own fat and muscle and is no longer hungry. As you know, you can go for many days without hunger, but if you are like me, you get bored with not eating!

Interestingly, people doing the induction phase of the original Atkins diet experience the same thing. It is usually called the ‘carb flu’, and after it passes – around day 4 – people generally feel better than they have in years. In the case of Atkins, some of the fat and protein used by the body is being supplied from food, of course, but people obviously lose a lot of fat weight, too.

I also water only fast on diet days and believe everyone on 5:2 should try to gain that ability after they have been successful with typical 5:2 diet days for about a month. It not only cuts more calories out of the diet without having to do more diet days or reduced eating on non diet days, it also continues the ‘education’ a person gets from going without food for awhile.

I also agree with you that longer term fasting is not for everyone, and should not be attempted without understanding its pitfalls and having the time/appropriate situation to be safe and successful.

chipmunk13

12:09 am
8 Jan 16
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SIMCOELUV I see you pop up on lots of forums with great advice and good references which people very much appreciate. But there is nothing in your profile. In CODA’s words, tell us a bit about yourself. I’d love to know how your 5:2 journey has progressed.

simcoeluv

12:24 am
8 Jan 16
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Hi chipmunk:

People that only follow one or two threads miss a large majority of my and everyone else’s posts. If you are interested, quite a bit of the information you seem interested in can be found on my thread: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Action Hero

12:26 am
8 Jan 16
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Hi TTL, I did an update post on the December Thread, albeit was a little late after we shut off for Christmas, so have a look back there to catch up. I think you won a choco;ate fish for beeing the most cheeky on the thread but tough luck, I ate it for you so just go and look at the pictures and be pleased about not having to digest the calories. The things I do for you guys is just too much.

About the Scottish weather you mentioned, I remember a joke that Billy C told at one of his shows I was at, he said “Scotland only has two seasons every year, June and Winter”. I thought that was quite funny but I didn’t know too many people up there until this Forum so hope that doesn’t offend. There again, I suppose you have heard all of Billy’s jokes about Scotland, so everyone reading this, please don’t laugh at TTL and the Scottish weather, it’s not her fault….

So just to finish (can’t help myself….)

Scottish Summer….. 4 weeks of warm rain. 🙂 🙂 🙂

nirvana78

9:45 am
8 Jan 16
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Good morning everyone, I’ve been reading all the posts each day but haven’t engaged and that’s not fair to all of you. I’m on my third FD this week, the week has flown by. I find the support and encouragement on this thread fantastic, far better than what I ever received when I was attending a weekly weight loss class with one of the leading multinationals. For their weekly fee of almost Eur10.00, I can use that instead to purchase my food for my fast days. I can get a bag of porridge, a 1.9kg chicken from which I can make about 5 or 6 meals from, and fruit and veg from the Super Six range at Aldi and still have change to put towards a non food related reward at the end of the month.

I love the flexibility of this WOL, I also have my birthday this month so I can adapt my fast days to include this. To make it more special I won an overnight stay with evening meal in a lovely hotel, so when planning out my Fast day calendar I was able to do a fast day at the end of the month instead of a Friday. This WOL is like working out a maths equation, there may be more than one way to come up with the answer. If the question was how can you fit 12 fast days in to the month of January? Our virtual friends here would all come back with different answers because it’s not one size fits all, it’s so adaptable.

A tip I have to avoid ugly temptations is to hop on here and read a few posts, it takes a few minutes but it’s so rewarding.

Good luck to everyone for week one

Coda

10:15 am
8 Jan 16
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Hi again a quick one – I wonder if Simcoeluv is Michael in disguise or Mimi? I couldn’t keep up with reading other posts and I like this one with my virtual friends. Funny day 3 and on the way to work I had a rumbly tum which was unusual it’s nice to know what is happening – so thanks for the explanation.

Maybe if I want to really push myself I may try a water only day but will have to prepare myself mentally – just to see if I can!

Hope TTL you are now finding it less of a struggle and are back into the swing of it all.

Love the jokes AH but could also relate to NI at the moment – another wet day 🙁

I have bought 2 nice little glass jars with the intention of putting little glass nuggets one labeled lbs to lose and the other lbs lost with the appropriate number of glass nuggets in each – another visual reminder for me.

For those who weigh weekly I am looking forward to hearing some of your results when you weigh in on Monday morning. With that in mind have a good weekend everyone. x

chipmunk13

11:18 am
8 Jan 16
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Simcoeluv you missed my point. I know all that – we’re mostly not newbies- it’s YOU I’m interested in! Tell us YOUR story. CODA I really don’t think it’s Michael or Mimi.

chipmunk13

11:26 am
8 Jan 16
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Love the idea of the jars CODA. But isn’t the weigh in against your month’s accountability goal of fast days not lbs??

Third time lucky

11:31 am
8 Jan 16
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Good morning all. I see blue skies, sunshine and loads of surface water. Forecast is for more rain over the weekend, but I will enjoy today for what it is! Feeling good after the scales show a reduction of 1 3/4 pounds! Back on track and that horrible bloated feeling has gone. Carbs, any grain in particular plays havoc with my system. There is something to be said for eating ‘clean’, and now I don’t eat twice the amount I feel much better.
Thanks Action for the award from December. I would have gobbled it up given the chance. Hope you enjoyed the calories! Believe me, there are more jokes about the Scottish weather, and Billy C has it about right.
Off to deliver a dehumidifier to a friend whose shop has been flooded. Hope we don’t get stuck on the way! Have a lovely dry and bright day wherever you are, and keep safe. TTL

rommy5163

12:41 pm
8 Jan 16
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Logging in with two fasts completed and one more tomorrow to complete first weeks commitment. My trick for keeping hunger at bay is to have a cup of coffee and a bite of a homemade protein bar, or a small piece of cheese or some walnuts or a slice of frozen banana . My plan is to increase exercise on tde days to burn up the increase in calories in order to maintain any weight lost on fasting days. Hope this works, if it doesn’t I’ll make another plan lol. I am also trying to increase my water intake as I read somewhere that the gut can hold up to 5 kilos of food being processed and the more water I drink, the faster the food is pushed through and less of it is taken up by my body, so I’ll see if that helps. The apple cider vinegar is really helping with my sore finger joint, so that must work, it’s also helping with water intake as it tastes so sharp I need two glasses of water after lol

Coda

1:12 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hi Chipmunk – the jars are for an overall effect, something to help visualise. I will put in all the lbs I want to loose and then take out all I have lost until I reach my goal when all the little lbs are in one jar! My concentration is for fast days and if I do them then hopefully the lbs will follow 🙂

Fastinlady

3:03 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hello everybody! I’ve completed 2 fast days so far this week and was planning one today but I’m going out with hubby after work to celebrate Friday and the completion of the first full week of work for the year. I’ll do #3 tomorrow instead. I was back up to 132 after the Christmas celebrations so I’d like to get rid of the 3 pounds I gained and then lose another 2 or 3. I’m hoping this accountability thread will help me to stay on track.

Coda, I was just listening to a podcast that gave the same advice to ask the question whether your actions are bringing you closer to your goal or not and that really resonated with me. Reading your post reminded me of that advice. I’ve asked myself that question a few times this week when somebody brought their leftover Christmas chocolate for the office to share. I don’t blame her really – I wouldn’t have wanted it in my house either! I did have one or two pieces but then realized that doing so was not bringing me closer to my goal and was able to easily ignore the candy bowl after that.

Anyway, welcome to all the new fasters and good luck to everybody!

Runningnorth

4:44 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hi everyone from the north. It has been chilly this last week, so much for global warming….-37 Celsius! I still managed a 1 1/2 hour x ski on Monday but it was cold. I have done two fast days this week and I have one today. So far so good. I braved the scales after the holiday and my little bit fluffy turns out to be my last 11 pounds now. Oh well like action I find when I stick to the plan it comes off quickly. I have found I have great workouts on my fast days. Not sure if anyone has this as well but my runs and skis are always better. So don’t be intimidated to push yourself on your fast days. Have a great weekend everyone. Love reading the posts. Nice to see new folks and hear from regulars. Happy your back action. Always enjoy your posts.

BillyBunter

4:55 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hello Folks,
This weeks fast days went surprisingly well, and now doing my commitment to the non fast days i.e. Eating within my TDEE. This leads to my question, obviously as we lose weight TDEE drops, is there any guidance of when to adjust to the new TDEE? Another question springs to mind, if my target weight is 11st 7lbs, should I be consuming the calories associated with maintaining that weight? Currently my TDEE is 3100kCals, if I weighed 11st 7lbs it’s 2200kCals.

I’ve really enjoyed reading the postings, I’m very grateful to be part of the group, even at this early point in my journey.

Bill

Coda

5:12 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hi

Fastinlady is really is wonderful when something clicks – it give such an incentive to carry on – yes I can do this!

-37 Brrrrrrrrr!

Billyb if you fill in the tracker on this site it does it all for you. You fill in what you are now, it will tell you what your TDEE is then as you add your weight weekly it will automatically work it out for you. Hope I have explained it ok. Have a look fill in what it asks and take it from there x

QuietOne

5:43 pm
8 Jan 16
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What I’ve done to calculate my TDEE is to work from what I should weigh not what I do weigh. This lowers my TDEE considerably but when (?) I reach what I should weigh I won’t have to make much of a shift to maintenance.

Ie when I started 5:2 I weighed 232 lbs if I calculated my TDEE from that my TDEE would have been 2173 calories

Instead I calculated from what I should weigh (weight I’ve felt best at not what the medical profession says I should weigh) which is 161 */- a few lbs the TDEE for that is 1787 calories and that is what I try to stay within on non-fasting days. I have a difficult time doing so and usually run over from 10 to 200 calories, but I am getting better about it. The goal for this month is not to go over my TDEE at all and so far so good.

Runningnorth sounds like we’re practically neighbours. I wish I was able to exercise however age and health issue rule out more than light short exercise more. I truly wish there was a Tia Chi instructor here.

10:am -20C wind chill -29C

simcoeluv

5:45 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hi Coda and chipmunk:

LOL. I am neither Michael nor Mimi, nor have I ever met or communicated with either of them.

Just here with the basics of weight loss to help people wanting to lose weight. People can do what they want with the information, and ignore me and my posts if they want.

Good Luck!

SweetTooth55

6:11 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hi All, Completed my 3rd FD yesterday. This forum is keeping me honest in all sorts of ways. Yesterday I was cold most of the day, then I read the posts from our friends in the north. QuietOne and RunningNorth are keeping me in check on that point. Thank you!

A question for those who exercise on fast days. (I’m e-looking at you Ms -37C!) I swim several mornings each week and feel great while I’m swimming on a FD, and satisfied after my late lunch, but want to gnaw on the furniture by about 6pm, so I switched to swimming on NFD. Exercising on a FD, do you feel hungry by evening? What do you do to stave off the hunger at that time of day?

Coda, I love, love your idea. Your visual reminder is there on FD and NFD. My wine glasses aren’t getting much use (dry January for me) so I used them and put pennies in. I also put 2 dimes in to prepare myself for the last couple of pounds which always seem so hard. Awesome idea! Thank you.

Nirvana, I also like your calorie-free idea of reading posts. Thank you too.

Rommy, one of the things I miss on my fast days is cooking. Veggie plates and grilled fish are not much of a culinary challenge. Would you please share your recipe for homemade protein bars?

Thanks all. Best of luck to today’s fasters! ST55

SweetTooth55

6:19 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hi QuietOne, we were posting about the same time. I took a Tai Chi class on Sat mornings last fall at a local community college and found some good tai chi videos on Youtube. You might find something there.

QuietOne

8:09 pm
8 Jan 16
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I’ll check out you-tube and I’ll ask at the Rec Centre if they know of anyone doing Tai-Chi I know they had a class a year or so ago but I haven’t seen any info this fall or winter.

Amazing some of the exercise programs they have here for a town with 2400 people. From boot camp cardio through dancersize. All of which are beyond my physical capabilities.

nirvana78

8:44 pm
8 Jan 16
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Yay Hubby treated me to new trainers today, so went for my first run of couch to 5k. Took a photo for reference when the programme is completed, OMG the tide wouldn’t take me out, it was not pretty. Anyway I live in a rural setting with no street lighting, I was running in the pitch dark on a road off the beaten track with said hubby driving behind me providing some light, hilarious. So excuses or results I know what I want to focus on!

GL502

11:16 pm
8 Jan 16
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I managed to complete 2 fast days but the third one was good until evening and then everything went out the window. Now only 100g over my December challenge final weight. We did not get any of the rains last week so everything is bone dry. The temperature is starting to pick up again with more extreme days coming.

SDS

11:51 pm
8 Jan 16
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Hi All,
Finished 3 fast days this week. Managed to keep well within my TDEE thus far and will try my best not to blow it on the weekend. At least I know I have fast days on Monday and Tuesday to minimize the damage! Am back at my pre-christmas weight, so phew! Now the journey downward continues.
Happy Weekend everyone!

Action Hero

6:13 am
9 Jan 16
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Good evening all, Saturday evening here in God’s Own Country, 7:00pm and we have just finished a BBQ on the deck in a very pleasant 24 degrees, great steaks, a very smooth Otago Pinot Noir (sorry Chipmunk, no Marlb Sav), sun glasses and sun screen lotion. That’s +24 degrees RUNNINGNORTH, that’s a massive 61 degrees temperature difference from your -37 in your part of the world, it even makes Scotland seem warm !!!! 🙂 🙂

SDS: What are we going to do with you, haven’t you learned yet, there is no “try” in this WOL, there is only “do or do not”. Focus on those goals and be strong and you’ll be so proud when your scales tell their story. Well done on those 3 FD’s plus masintaining your TDEE’s, so now don’t just “try” and follow through, just “do it” and tell us on Monday how you got on. Don’t make your FD’s on Monday & Tuesday as recovery days from the weekend’s over indulgence, make them new reducing days, then this time next week you’ll be so proud of yourself and we’ll all congratulate you on your new achievements . You can do this ….. 🙂

Be strong everyone, have a great weekend and no excess over indulgences, but celebrate your wins because life isn’t all doom and gloom, celebrate life and be happy. Take care, Mike

lifesabeach26

10:02 am
9 Jan 16
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Thanks for that last post Action – 24 degrees, bbq, pinot noir….. (she sighs) can’t believe that this time last year we were preparing for our trip of a lifetime, leaving in under 2 weeks to discover the magic of NZ (via HK and Aus) we spent nearly 8 weeks touring both islands in your late summer/Autumn….now buying lottery tickets in the hope we can visit again, but this time in your winter to do a road trip again. Anyhow….so I took the brave step on to the scales, not visited since that fateful day back on the 12th December when I was horrified to see a 5lb weight gain. I knew I had to get back hold of the reins and take charge so there was no going back. Now considering that since the 12th December I then thoroughly enjoyed Christmas and New year non-stop I am sure I would have gained a further 5lbs at least so was expecting to see a minimum of 11 and a half stone, so was mildly happy to see I was actually half a pound lighter than my 12th December weight (still 4 and half pounds heavier than my lightest since starting this WOE when I reached 10 stone 12 and half, but that’s ok). So I am now 11 stone 2 and half pounds by my calculations. I did three fast days this week, and stuck well within my TDEE on the days in between. Cooking poached eggs for me and the OT this morning fate helped me – 3 eggs in the box, 3 slices of bread in the bag – question: Shall I get a slice out of the freezer and open the new egg box? Answer: no! 🙂 I decided to opt for just the one and hubby got two. Felt a little sorry for myself as we sat down and ate but now 20 minutes later I feel full and happy. Greek salad for lunch and chicken tonight. Tomorrow is sort of a day off (but in control) going to the gym for a spin session first thing, then booked a table at a lovely English country pub for a tasty lunch followed by going to the Imax to see Star Wars (will not eat again in the evening). I am going to allow myself a couple of glasses of wine – the only booze this week. So all in all, a good start to 2016. Two weeks to go til my ski trip so aiming for a 2lb shift next week and a minimum of 1 lb the week after to get me back below 11 stone. Good luck everyone and have a lovely weekend.

Coda

11:54 am
9 Jan 16
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Hi All

Billyb and Q1 this WOE is getting a plan that works for you – personally I would reduce my TDEE gradually as I lost weight. The best thing is to play around and see what works for you. Just because your TDEE is now 3100 that doesn’t mean to have to eat to that amount, it is a guidline – eat healthily within your TDEE. Maybe somedays you will eat well below other days maybe nearer your limit. If you reduce gradually you will not have much of a shift to maintenance anyway. At this stage I would not want to feel deprived and this I find is the joy with this plan. However it is what works for you and something that will keep you on the plan. If we are stubborn about our goals but flexible about our methods we will still achieve.

SDS – ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be? You can stick within your TDEE over the weekend and 2 fast days next week or blow the weekend and do 2 recovery fast days – what will get you to where you want to be. The choice my virtual friend is yours! If you usually find you blow your TDEE over the weekend do something different, change something from your normal routine, change your mindset. This is how this accountability challenge came to be. I wanted to change my focus from ‘I want to loose x lbs this month to I want to do x fds. The main focus is on FDS but the challenge was also to stick to within your TDEE on other non fast days – Are you up to the challenge? The results will be well worth it! The fact you aren’t where you want to be should be motivation enough – go for it!

Simco – so still a man/woman of mystery then? Is there any chance you will tell us where you are from and what brought you here?

Nirvana – well done on your 1st fun (another one doing couch to 5k)and well done especially in getting round the problem of dark rural roads. If the mindset is right – when your why is big enough you will find your how!

Roomy – look forward to getting your recipe for protein bars too – please share

ST55 – I find my appetite is curbed after exercise as I don’t want to spoil the good work but I exercise after work and have my main meal of the day when I get home. I also run on my fast days rather than non fast and am attempting to get get back into the routine of my planks, push ups and medicine ball wood chops.

I know Monday is going to be my official day for weighing in but I couldn’t help myself this morning after my 3rd fast day. 163.2 lbs, 74.1 kg or 11.91/4 stone so I am now down more than I was when I finished the Christmas challenge – so with that it mind I am even more determined to keep within my TDEE this weekend. I also bought a new pair of jeans as my size UK 16 were too big. I got a 14 and they fit!!!!! As they were in the sale at half price I bought them in a size 12 as well in anticipation of when I will fit into them as well. Just something else to help my visualisation. Looking forward to hearing results on Monday let me know if it was a 3 out of 3, 2 out of 2, or 2 out of 3 etc I want to see how many achieved 100% success.

LAB – good work on getting near those size 14 ski pants!

Remember ask yourself what is really important and then have the wisdom and courage to build your life around your answers!

PJBR

6:32 pm
9 Jan 16
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4 days fast this week

SweetTooth55

7:12 pm
9 Jan 16
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Hi Everyone,
What an inspiring crowd here! There are so many good reports. Nirvana28, congratulations on your first C25k run – you go girl! LAB, good choices – well done!

There are also the struggles and all the little wayward choices we’re making along the way. Don’t get discouraged, and let’s not be too hard on ourselves. Whether we did 2, 2-½, 3 or 4 fast days this week (and whether all those FDs and TDEE days were perfect or not) all of those are better than none. Let’s just pick up and keep going.

Coda, thanks for your FD exercise plan. I’ll try exercising later in the day and/or maybe adding more exercise later in the day.

I’m traveling later this month so I’m squeezing in a 4th FD this week. Still dry for January and, Action, I hope you know you’re enjoying that Pinot for a whole bunch of us! Good weekend to everyone!

QuietOne

7:32 pm
9 Jan 16
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I know how I do 5:2 isn’t how it’s written.

Ie. My fast days are Monday and Thursday, I’ll eat my last meal on Sunday evening. No snacking after supper. I have nothing but liquids until Tuesday evening a minimum of 44 hours fasting. 2nd fast I don’t eat after the Wednesday supper and won’t eat until Friday evening supper.

I drink nothing but water or mint green tea with powdered dried Stevia (maybe an occasional coffee like 3 times a week.) So I fast beyond the norm which is 36 hours as per the Fast Diet book and the FAQ. So I’ve changed things up a bit. It is what I’ve found works best for me over the last year.

For me it’s an easy thing to accomplish, what isn’t so easy is staying within my TDEE I usually run over from 10 to 200 calories on non fast days, but I’m working on it. It is a goal for this month which so far hasn’t been an issue.

Anyone else tweaking 5:2 to work for them? Little things, big things, motivators, mind set, mindfulness, successes and failures of things tried and thinking on.

Sticking strictly to 5:2 as written wouldn’t work for me. I’m not that regimented. If I want a 4th or 5th beer on the weekend I will even though it will push me over my TDEE by 800 calories. I will have chocolate sauce with my bowl of ice cream (I just don’t have as large a bowel as I used to and I don’t have nearly as often)

I will NEVER again diet. Every “diet” I ever tried ended in failure. I’m changing my pattern of eating forever, that testy TDEE throws a wrench into things a bit but over a year I’m down 43 to 50 pounds so I must be doing something right. Best thing is wearing jeans I’d put in a storage box 10 years ago. 2 pairs were brand new with the tags still on them, jeans were less expensive 10 years ago Levi’s $15.95.

The one thing that has helped me most on learning and doing this new eating pattern is to be conscious and mindful of every thing I put in my mouth. If I am conscious and mindful I don’t sabotage myself. I do plan breaks in 5:2 a week to ten days for special occasions or vacation, yes I do and I also plan a fast or two or three in a three week vacation and still I’ll gain 5 – 10 pounds and I know I will going into it, it is a conscious choice.

Be honest about food, every peanut, cashew, candy cookie, or steak and be committed to the pattern of eating and it does work.

Having said that I had the greatest corn dog from a food truck on New Years eve.

Action Hero

6:47 am
10 Jan 16
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Evening all, Sunday evening here in NZ, another great weekend almost finished and it’s back to work for many tomorrow after a great Christmas and New Year holiday break.

QUIET ONE You seem to do what works for you, sounds a little too severe for me, I could do 44 hours fast and would maybe need my 600 calories though within that time but all honours to you for your results.

ST55 The Pinot was within my “weekend wine allowance” I’m having a dry January Monday to Friday with moderation at weekends, after all one can’t play weekend golf and not have a beer afterwards at the 19th 🙂 🙂

Completed my 2 FD’s last week and planning 2 more for the coming week, however it’s a birthday celebration this week and I’m picking someone will twist my arm with a dine out on Wednesday so may have to plan an extra FD depending how far my arm is twisted… lol

Take care everyone and have a great week and stay warm where ever you are in this amazing world we live in.

Riana S

10:48 am
10 Jan 16
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Greetings from sunny South Africa!
Starting tomorrow, i will commit to 9 fast days in January ( monday, wednesday and friday)

SweetTooth55

5:08 pm
10 Jan 16
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Hi Everyone and welcome RianaS. I think you might be the first South African on this thread which, with everyone in, is on the go around the clock! Good luck with your Monday fast.

QuietOne, that is an amazing plan. Well, the plan’s not, YOU are for sticking with it. It looks like you really only have 3 free-for-all days in Wed, Sat and Sun. If it works for you, then great. You should see some really quick results with your regimen.

Inspired by you I did my first liquid-only fast day yesterday. I have to admit that it was mostly by accident. Got home after light exercise about 3pm and wasn’t hungry, so just decided to wait. By 9pm I was starving but had already completed my fast day log, so 2 cups of tea and a book finished out the day. To my surprise, sleeping went fine. I don’t think I’ll stay with that plan, but it was good to know that it’s an option.

Action, I’m coming to the conclusion that your Dry Jan plan is better than mine! When I decided to go for it – mostly because wine was undercutting my TDEE days – I didn’t realize that Feb 1st was a Monday.
My celebration is going to be a bit muted. And Happy birthday a couple of days early! ST55

Coda

6:56 pm
10 Jan 16
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Hi Riana welcome – We know where you live but you do not have any other info on your profile. Tell us all a little bit more about you?
Happy birthday this week AH hope you have a lovely day! I thought it was someone else birthday this month but can’t find who.
So first week over – don’t worry if all your fasts were not completed it is now in the past and you just move on, you can’t change it. You can however focus on this week’s fasts, see what you can do differently to achieve success and reassess your commitment to your goal. x

BillyBunter

7:32 pm
10 Jan 16
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Hi Quietone, you definitely have an interesting system – I think after this initial first month I might try the water only fasting. I chatted to my wife about non fast day meals, and to help me stay within my TDEE, we’ve agreed to plan our meals – I think this will help a lot. And she has decided to fast one day a week to help me in this journey which is a big help.

One concern that I have is dropping lean mass, i.e. muscle. Does anyone know when the body starts to burn muscle, I read that 5:2 weight loss is primarily fat, after how many hours fasting does the body start using lean mass as fuel? Is it as simple as that?

Bill.

nirvana78

8:00 pm
10 Jan 16
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Hi Riana, we chatted before Christmas, great to see you here best of luck. You’ll have no problems getting in to this with all the support and experience here.

Cheers Coda and SweetTooth, I’d say you both got a laugh with your visualisation skills. I initially ran behind the car but almost choked on the fumes, it was a cold still night so nowhere for the fumes to go. I then ran in front of the car, I must have looked like some crazed woman. Anyway I love this feeling of nothing is impossible at the moment. As I said excuses or results?

A thought occurred to me today and I wonder is anyone else thinking it? As the process this month has changed from weight loss goal to how many fast days, I feel more in control of how I’m going to feel. I mean, if I said “I’m going to lose 4 lbs this month” then I wait each week to see the result, not knowing what it’s going to show! With the new focus, on fast days, I get a feeling of contempt more frequently as I fast three days a week. I feel better right now for having achieved 3 fast days, than if the scales said I was down weight. The January 2016 Accountability is like Buy One Get One Free, complete the fast days and get the weight loss free 😀… I know the method is how it should be but the approach is different. Thanks Coda for the revised edition 👍

Action Hero

9:04 pm
10 Jan 16
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BILLY B: Have a read of this little article about fat versus muscle burning ratios. http://livehealthy.chron.com/lose-muscle-fat-fast-3423.html

It seems to suggest that while we have fat to burn that’s what the body will use for its energy sources while fasting. One sentence seems to sum it up “Depending on how much fat is available, you could survive for several weeks with minimal wasting of lean muscle tissue”

Hope this answers your question. Most of these questions can be answered from simple Google searches, just a matter of sorting out the most informed answers from the reputable sources.

I know we arem’t focussing on weight reductions this month but just reporting 2kgs of my Christmas excesses reduced over past 6 days from 2 FD’s so I’m very pleased with that.

Away to golf this morning, a very pleasant 24 degrees today, clear blue skys and fast fairways await me, FOURRrrrrrrrrrr !!!! (plus 18,000 steps as a bonus exercise, isn’t life just too simple 🙂 🙂

chipmunk13

9:50 pm
10 Jan 16
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Welcome to all new members and great to have some additional new little voices adding to the motivation, information and wisdom of the group.

Gosh ACTION, someone sprinkled happy dust into your New Year!! Sounding very very upbeat these days – maybe dry-ish January is working in unexpected ways. Happy Birthday for Wednesday.

NIRVANA, I’m guessing you meant contentment, not contempt!! I agree, the slight change of focus is good – I am actually thinking about not weighing myself again until the end of the month.

BILLYB it’s great you have planned meals with your wife and I love she is supporting you by fasting as well. It really helps to get those at home on board. While theoretically supportive of my efforts, my naturally very lean OH still doesn’t seem to get I can’t eat what I what without gaining weight.

Due to a late start (Jan 7th) guests and other excuses, today is the second fast day of the challenge for me. At this point I weigh a few hundred grams more than I did at the end of the Christmas Challenge so that isn’t a biggie. Am managing dry days except when we have guests or are out for social occasions. I am not too good at tracking calories on MFP on non fast days, but do so loosely in my head. Three fast days this week (and more guests) then a weekend away with several dinners and social events planned.

Another beautiful day here in sunny Marlborough so out into the garden. We had the blessed relief of a day or two’s rain last week and now everything has taken off again, especially the weeds. Have a great week everyone.

Coda

10:17 pm
10 Jan 16
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Hi Nirvana I am so glad focusing on fast days is working for you. I love your buy one get one free! When my focus was on lbs to loose I felt so despondent when I didn’t achieve and it took a bit of effort to pick myself up. So the idea of changing the focus came to me, hoping if I focus on the important element of this diet then the weight loss of how many lbs is a bonus. I feel more in control and although I wish I could wait till the end of the month I know I won’t be able to resist and will be stepping on the scales tomorrow. I will then transfer the equivalent glass lbs to my lbs lost jar. Every little helps!
Oh to be able to get out into the garden (sigh) it has been so wet here even stepping on the grass results in a muddy footprint but the spring bulbs are begining to poke through!

Coda

10:22 pm
10 Jan 16
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Billyb – it is so cool that your wife is helping you on your journey and planning meals together sounds a great idea and such a help. Also that she is joining you on a fasting day is marvellous. Well done Mrs Billyb!

Jessie6

10:25 pm
10 Jan 16
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Just had hot cacao and settled for bed. It’s one of my current good treats I have the night before a fast; the nut element makes me feel fuller on fast days. I have it within my tdee

I’ve also just acquired a fit bit. As my new toy, it really keeps me motivated so I don’t forget my target – to be attractive in 3 months time.

Just thought I’d share the motivation!

From a nicely warm during the day to pretty chilli at night Cairo.

Lisa57

6:47 am
11 Jan 16
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Hi everyone
Really enjoying reading your posts – thanks for all the support and encouragement. First week check in – 3 fast days done and 2lb gone. TDEE managed apart from yesterday (due in main to me choosing an indulgent restaurant meal and dessert which I savoured and thoroughly enjoyed). In terms of finding a way that works for me, I’m using the TDEE of my eventual goal weight so I retrain my eating habits to smaller portions which I will need to be used to. This means that for now, I don’t worry about occasionally going over and in time, will have to be stricter about TDEE as I get closer to my goals. Thanks to these forums, I’ve found MFP to create a food diary to track things which I’m finding easy to do and sure it will help when I no doubt encounter some blips in future. Have a good week everyone ☺

Riana S

7:32 am
11 Jan 16
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Good morning! Its 9.25am and a beautiful sunny day in South Africa. I live in a small coastal town called George. I am a CCU ( Critical care unit) Nurse and love my job. I am a single mother of a beautiful 6 year old boy. I am generally a very passionate person, borderlining on excessive. My motto has always been- Go BIG or go home! Obviously thats i am at my biggest weight ever!
I stopped drinking 23 November 2015, the day i turned 40. Whoop whoop- they say that life begins at 40. So December i did a couple of really super successful fasts, but the non-fast days i was an absolute pig. Maybe not having my usual glass or 3 of wine made me want to eat more. Maybe the festive feeling? Who knows. So this weekend i sat down and did some planning. I am quite a awesome planner, even if i have to say so myself. And today i am starting focusing 100%. I didnt pick up any weight since 1 December, but i obviously didnt lose anything. So i am as ready as i will ever be! I can really do with support. I work these crazy 12 hour shifts and i love to eat! So this lifestyle is perfect for me. I can still have my little treats on my non-fast days.

QuietOne

8:36 am
11 Jan 16
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Fasting will cause some loss of lean muscle mass. Body builders know this and bulk and cut before competitions. Less than 2% fat is what they aim for less fat the more cut, the reduction can come with a lean muscle loss of 2% -5% over a month in the cut stage.

What that means for the normal person is that if we were to water fast for a month without exercising we might lose 2% lean muscle. Eat 500 – 700 high protein calories a day and do light exercise in that period and it is likely you would gain lean muscle mass

My daughter is a body builder and she will talk my ear off on the subject. For days not hours. She is one of the best in Canada.

I’ve read here on the forums of the timing of the burn of stores of glycogen etc but for the life of me can’t find the post now. I do know that in longer term fasting the body goes into ketosis on about 3 day and at that points is converting and burning fat and it will keep g0ing for extended periods. 40 day water fasts are not uncommon. Don’t think you can just step into one though. I don’t recommend extended fasting to anyone even if you have full information and knowledge and a Drs recommendation and oversight. There are dangers to this that can jump up out of no where for what seems like no reason. 20 days in everything is fine and a half hour later things go sideways. Really it is not something to be taken lightly even a 5 day fast can go bad. Stick with 5:2, modify it a bit to suit you make it yours. after awhile it will become so much a part of you like breathing you don’t even realize it’s happening.

5:2 pattern of eating shouldn’t cause any or very little loss of lean muscle mass. It is a totally healthy pattern of eating for people that are otherwise healthy.

Congrats to all those that are sticking to their goals for the month. If you do miss climb right back on. Doing and failing is still doing. We learn more from our failures than our successes. Just do it again and again and you will get it right for you.

An amazing group of people here I’m glad to be in it with you.