Hi all, just joined. Trying to read up all the info I can. I need to loose about 30 pounds. I am taking an estrogen blocker due to breast cancer, so need to try to control my weight.
This topic contains 518 replies, has 64 voices, and was last updated by fasting_me 6 years, 8 months ago.
Welcome, alex! Delighted that you’re here.
Got the basics yet?
I’m sorry for what you’re contending with but fasting may have some beneficial effects for your cancer treatments too. Mind you, I’m just your average idiot with a computer and a service provider so be sure to run things through your oncologist. But there is at least some evidence that fasting can make some therapies less traumatic and even potentially more effective. http://news.usc.edu/103972/fasting-like-diet-turns-the-immune-system-against-cancer/
Let us know how we can help!
Well! It’s Super Bowl Sunday in the US. That means an extravaganza of snacks and, above all, nothing that hints of healthy is allowed.
Guess who’s in charge of the shopping, the food prep and styling the spread?????
I’ve thrown up my hands. I know when I’m beaten. I’m just going to have my enormous salad — maybe even more enormous today — and hope I can at least curb the Appetite Beast.
::sigh::
Hi everyone. I’m early sixties and have just decided to give this a go for the second time – determined to stick with it this time.
I’ve recently been diagnosed with severe silent reflux so need to change my dietary habits anyway, seemed like a good opportunity for a complete overhaul! My problem last time was extreme tiredness, my energy levels on fasting days just seemed to plummet, any suggestions?
Polly, thank you for the name of the recipe book–I ordered the new version on Amazon. I’m wondering if it also includes recipes from the first book…do you happen to know? The first book appears to be out of print, but there are used copies for sale.
LA, your seafood stew was so delicious–a big hit with my family last night. Thank you. And, we are also watching the Super Bowl, but it’s just my husband and I and he’s doing his FD with me today. I feel for you having to be the one to resist the buffet you’re in charge of! I so wanted queso & nachos today–our usual SB fare, but we are doing shrimp cocktail, instead.;)
Welcome, NannyJane and Alex!
Good morning, all and welcome Nanny Jane.
Chubster, I hope you managed to resist the Superbowl snacks, mostly stodge according to the adds, plus beer, of course. I just can’t drink beer anymore, after some dodgy lager in Albania must have set up an intolerance.
Nr, the first book has more recipes, I think, none are in the new book. My purchase was a used copy, but in excellent condition. In fact, I buy quite a few used books from Amazon, most of the poetry books I’ve bought in recent years have been used.
Well done, curioser. Excellent progress. Glad you’ve found mediation a help, too.
I’m maintaining at 9.2, but over ate yesterday. OH’s tagine, from Fast Cook, was superb. I froze a portion, then decided that there wasn’t enough to keep. Topped up, then realised it was too much, but ate it anyway. Had an uncomfortable night!
We’ve enjoyed a great weekend of the Six Nations! Some wine partaken, of course!
Pol 💁🏼
Thank you all for the warm welcome! Really interesting to read back over some of the threads.
LA Chubster, I think I’m getting enough protein, but I don’t take any supplements. I’ve tried various things over the years, but have found it hard to tell a difference. I suppose now that I’m a bit older (!) I should give them a try again, but where to start?
First fasting day today and all going well so far. I know I need to have my head in the right place for this to succeed, hoping that all the positive vibes on here will help me to keep it there!
Ps loving the ‘Sexy Sixty’ tag!!
Polly, thanks for letting me know–I just ordered a used copy of the first cookbook! Can’t wait to dig in.
Do you all have Mimi’s cookbooks? Would be interesting to hear what are your favorites. Thanks in advance 🙂
Yesterday’s FD was challenging…watched the Super Bowl and put out some appetizers & shrimp cocktail for my husband and I. My detour was choosing champagne as my beverage, because we were out of white wine! Any excuse for a special day, and I reach for the bubbly. Ha! (I did read that it’s helpful for preventing Alzheimer’s–fake news, maybe?) Since I imbibed too much and slipped past 500 calories yesterday, today I’m doing a modified FD–just breakfast and dinner–to make up for it. And, then I’ll pick up my usual FD on Thursday and Sunday this week. I’m also getting out to walk–it is 60 degrees today in Colorado!
Wishing everyone a good week!!
OMG! Yesterday was a total debacle for me. I should be hiding myself in shame instead of posting on a bulletin board. But today and tomorrow are FDs to straighten me out. And I may try to fast again on Fri as well. We’ll see…
It’s raining and feeling very Vancouver-ish here again in LA. Good for our forests and environment. But it’s slowing down my gardening. OTOH, I’ve got a lot of clean up from yesterday to take care of. Sent half a ton of M&Ms to work with my husband but there’s lots of goodies left over that I guess I’ve just got to pitch. Got laundry piling up and beckoning. At least that will keep me out of the kitchen for what’s left of the morning.
I don’t use cookbooks anymore. I’ve got hundreds I don’t remember to open anymore so I don’t buy anything new. I’ve got favorite recipes that I’ve collected over the last 40 years or so in a database and then I’m on food blogs every day finding new and tempting things. I just stick with what doesn’t have grains or starchy carbs — or tinker to eliminate them. I don’t shy away from natural fats anymore. I try to keep the protein content high and then cram in as many veggies as possible.
My husband had a gastric bypass a number of years ago. He doesn’t tolerate everything so well anymore and he’s also preferring more veggie-based meals. Lots of soups, a bit of slow braised meat, some fruit smoothies. That sort of thing.
Tonight I’m sautéing up a bunch of veggies then putting them in a garlicky chicken broth with cannelini beans. It’s kind of experimental but we’ll see how it comes together. …or, more correctly, he’ll let me know. I’ll be fasting. 😏
Morning, ladies! My polishing off of the tagine has resulted in a gain of a pound, but that’s ok, still well under target. Must the discomfort which I don’t want again, though. First tai chi class for ages today. No doubt I’ll be aching, as well as being the butt of some if his jokes!
Nr, do you have the original Fast Diet book? There are a number of recipes there and they got us started. You mentioned a modified FD. What do you normal do? We never have breakfast now, actually I have cereal or porridge at lunch time. I suppose that puts me on 16:8 and it seems to be a good maintenance programme, as I allow an odd glass of wine or bit if chocolate.
Chubs, your invented dish sounds lovely! Good strategy in getting rid of sweets. I’m wondering what happened to the Hallowe’en sweets in our house, now!
It’s a lovely day here. Surprisingly, there’s no frost on the car, so I can lounge a while before a quick shower and off to class.
Hello everybody,I am new to the forum.
I am a healthy 64 year old vegan with a bit of flab to loose. I am very aware of what I eat and I think diet plays a big role in how well we age. I am aiming at a ripe old age, trying to stay as fit and healthy as I can. I look forward to connect with like minded people and share notes on this forum.
I came across IF last year in October and started on skipping breakfast, which I find easy to do. This was ok but did not do anything in terms of weight loss for me. I went onto 5:2 in November and that’s where weight started to come off. I have lost 13 pound by now and feel very happy at the prospect of being a slim size 10 again at my age.I had given up hope of that, but IF works so well, even for me! I started at 133 pound and I am aiming at 104 pound.
Morning everyone. I could just put ditto after curioser’s post. We were eating from habit, as well as indulging ourselves.
Yesterday we had to fit eating around rugby, so OH made leek and potato soup. We had that during half time of the Ireland Italy game, 3.15, with a roll each – rare bread. But that’s all we had, apart from an ice cream treat for me. I confess to three spritzers, though. Final one to console myself! 😱
I am still losing weight, although attempting to stay around 9.3., below target.
Chaya, you must eat on a NFD. The science behind IF is that the body never gets used to low calorie intake and the metabolism slow down.
We have left over soup today, easy food before another good rugby game, I hope.
Pol 💁🏼
Chaya, according to Michael Mosley’s book, you eat up,to you TDEE on non-fast days, in order to prevent the body going into preservation mode. That’s what happens in ‘normal’ diets where the metabolism slows down. Once, past the first two weeks, I always found it hard to reach my TDEE as my stomach had shrunk anyway.
Hi to everyone — especially the new folks! Congrats to you, Marie Anne, for your major weight loss!
I lost 50 pounds several years before I discovered intermittent fasting. I managed to keep most of it off for about 2 years before I let it all creep back and had to start at ground zero again.
The VERY good news is that 5:2 is an effective and sustainable way to lose weight, metabolize fat and to feel great. And I’ve found that a great many of the things I’ve learned about food and dieting over a lifetime of trying to lose weight actually fold beautifully into intermittent fasting. The miracle is that IF makes it possible for some of us to actually DO those constructive things that simply “dieting” didn’t.
It will be great to hear how you adapt your life and experiences as you become a seasoned hand at this.
I’ve had a couple lousy weeks since the Super Bowl. I totally lost it and was a pig. An absolute PIG! But I let it play out and at the end of today I’ll have 2 clean days of fasting behind me. Tomorrow I’ll decide if I can do a third day to make *sure* I’m clean again or if I’m ready to resume eating sensibly.
My good news is that, tho I can’t get on those size 8s I was so proud of such a short time ago, I am back in 10s when I thought I was going to have to go out and buy myself a couple pair of 12s until I could whip myself back into control.
I’m sorry I went AWOL but I didn’t want to just whine about how out of control I was and I’ve been trying to get my garden cleaned up in the lovely weather we’ve begun to have. I was away from home the last TWO Springs and Summers so it’s really a *mess*. But I’ve gotten 2 raised beds fitted out and planted and two more ready to go when it gets warm enough for things like tomatoes and peppers. Right now I have peas, onions, lots and lots of lettuces and beets.
You’re very honest, Chubster, and sound as if you’re on the right track again. You know, I think having quite a lot of clothes bought in America was one of my problems. Size 10, oh great! EXcept it was a size 14 UK.
Well with the exchange rate as it is I didn’t buy any jeans in the States this time! Just a sweater from Gap. I did go to the till with a ‘small’. The assistant said it would be a 6, so I changed it for medium. Guess what, too big!
Your garden sounds lovely. I wish we could grow peppers and salads. Being away from home is one of our problems, too. I love travelling, though.
Hi, Marie Anne. I’m sure you will find IF works. I’m maintaining now, finding the good habits are entrenched. There’s no huge ‘diet’ hassle.
Pol. 💁🏼
I think you’ve identified an issue, Pol. I LOVE any time I have an opportunity to be in an international forum and can broaden my horizons and check my assumptions but we *do* sometimes talk across one another with cultural norms and expressions that can produce confusion.
I talk about sizes because I don’t weigh myself. The truth is I’m still incontrovertibly large. Referring to a BMI might be better but then that’s based on weight too. My waist-to-height ratio is still 0.61 if that makes it more clear. That’s pretty abstract to me but it’s the only universal I can think of.
I’m really pleased to have a garden this year. I haven’t had home grown tomatoes since 2014 because we were in Vancouver, BC in a rented house last year and in Cape Town in a small apartment the year before.
My garden is small but it’s such a pleasure to get out of bed and go out and pick a fresh pea first thing in the morning. They’re so sweet it’s like a piece of candy! Wish I had enough space to have a row of them to have a couple servings at dinner but maybe the 1 or 3 pods I can get at a time are what make them special. 😏
Getting to travel is great but getting to be at home can be pretty great too. 😏 I know I’m going to be enjoying this growing season.
Thanks so much for the lovely welcome LA and Pollypenny. I love the fact that we can have 500 calories when we’re on our fast days. It almost doesn’t feel like fasting. I had 2 sausage patties for breakfast and a grapefruit for lunch. I still have enough calories left to be able to have some yogurt later. Do you usually fast two days in a row, or spread the days out over the week?
I do back-to-back fasts. And I do water fasts. Neither is a specification of intermittent fasting but it’s what works for me. Actually, much *easier* for me than limiting what and how much I eat. And I love that IF is flexible enough to fit our lives and preferences.
You can eat on your food days. You do it according to your TDEE calculating first your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and then one quarter of it. 500 calories is a generalization but we’re all different and I think when I calculated mine it was much lower than that. Here’s a link to a TDEE calculator: https://mytdee.com There’s one here too. Somewhere. But when I try to find it I come up with my personal history.
Speaking of which, have you found the Tracker? It’s a useful tool for monitoring your progress. It’s up in at the top of the right hand margin.
But back to food days. As long as I do my fasts on my fast days, I don’t pay much attention to what I eat on food days. Calories don’t concern me in the least and I eat quite an enormous volume of food. I have a regimen that’s very high in fiber, generous in fats and very low in starchy carbs. I stick to it because I don’t have to think about food and I don’t treat it as entertainment anymore. I do that because my eating was truly disordered before and if not fully addictive at least mimicking it extremely well. IF has freed me from that.
I report all this for the sake of anyone who may also have had a lifetime of disordered eating and think they are doomed to be the victims of their appetites as I was. You may and probably *are* much more of the norm in regard to your body and your eating. So you can choose to eat on fast days and have a full range of foods to choose from within the limits of your TDEE. Good for you!!!
Mostly, I bet you’ll find success and satisfaction following IF. And it will be great to hear how it goes for you. 😏
Hello all. Started a week ago after stumbling upon the FastDiet Cookbook at the library. I’ve done two fast days and haven’t found them too difficult. I am 65, a retired nurse whose always been overweight, with most of the excess fat in my buttocks and upper thighs. Currently am about 20 kg too heavy. I’m finding more difficult and painful lugging around this excess baggage at this age. And although I walk daily( most days) and eat healthfully( mostly, although the sweets around the holidays called my name repeatedly and relentlessly!) I’m finding it hard to lose weight, so I’m hoping this eating/ fasting plan will help. I also gave up sugar around mid January, as I was addicted, and I had read from several sources that it contributed to the development of atrial fibrillation, which troubles me intermittently for 24 hrs or so at a time. I don’t weigh myself regularly but the day after my first fd, I broke down and weighed, to find myself 5 lbs less than a year ago. That was likely from giving up sweets, I’m thinking. But unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped the AF episodes from occurring,
Anyhow, here I am, warts and all.
Hi Bobana-
Oh! My heart goes out to you hearing about your AF. My husband had them for *years*. More trips to the ER to get zapped to stop them than I can — or *want* to — remember.
He finally got a series of ablations — though it took *years* to establish the correct nerves to ablate — and now he simply has a flutter. Whew! Quelle relief!!!
Don’t know if intermittent fasting will do much about AF but it’s bang on for controlling insulin production and triggering the metabolism of body fat. I’ve also found that it GREATLY reduces all kinds of cravings and makes it not only possible but satisfying to stick to a healthy diet. And, certainly, losing weight will ease the burden on your heart. Happily, it sounds like you’ve made a great start already!
Many of us come to find that an Atkins-like approach of low carbs and benign indifference to natural fats works well as an adjunct to intermittent fasting when making our food choices. Some of us end up giving up grains altogether.
I started in a very similar place. My weight was primarily between my hips and my boobs — which is significantly different, I realize — but I couldn’t move and even sitting and compressing all that body fat was uncomfortable. I originally had about 37kg to lose. In a year I’ve lost about half of them. And it’s been do-able, empowering, and I’ve (mostly) felt great about it all — physically and mentally.
Glad you found that library book and made your way here! It’s a great group!
Good evening everyone – Just finished watching the video. Thanks so much for posting it LA. I just posted it to my facebook page so others can see it. It’s so encouraging that this might even help brain health. How exciting. I’ll be old with a great body and still in my right mind!!!
Today was my second day (regular eating). I tend to crave chocolate mid afternoon at work. Today I had half of a grapefruit and it actually satisfied me. I went a bit berserk at supper though and after eating hot dogs and beans, had a whole wheat beer batter roll with butter and a large slice of cake. Funny though, I don’t have heartburn like I usually do after eating grain. I will do better tomorrow :).
Good evening everyone – Just finished watching the video. Thanks so much for posting it LA. I just posted it to my facebook page so others can see it. It’s so encouraging that this might even help brain health. How exciting. I’ll be old with a great body and still in my right mind!!!
Today was my second day on the program after fasting yesterday. I tend to crave chocolate mid afternoon at work. Today I had half of a grapefruit and it actually satisfied me. I went a bit berserk at supper though and after eating hot dogs and beans, had a whole wheat beer batter roll with butter and a large slice of cake. Funny though, I don’t have heartburn like I usually do after eating grain. I will do better tomorrow :).
It gets easier…I’m in my second month….lost about 8 pounds. Slow but steady. I like fast days because I know exactly what and how much I am going to put in my mouth so for at least those two days, I know my limits.Another ten pounds and I will have hit my goal. Eating a big apple really helps me get through the afternoon. best of luck to you.
Early in January I gave up sugar, and that has really curbed my cravings for any food. I’ve only done two fast days so far( having started last Friday) and have found them very doable. Today I was at my sisters for coffee when she parked a plate of chocolate covered cookies in front of me( sisters,hey!?), but I had no problem resisting them. However I’m taking this journey one day at a time.
LA , I also watched Michael’s documentary, enjoyed it, and learned a lot. Thanks again for sharing the link.
Thanks, Pollypenny. All’s well here in western Canada, skies are blue, the sun’s shining and the snowpack is dwindling nicely. Yes it sounds like a rough time is being had by our neighbors to the south. Wishing them well.
FD# 4 yesterday. It went well, I’m very surprised that I don’t get hungrier than I do, but I believe it has a lot to do with my booting sugar out of my diet first. If anyone is interested, the you tube video by dr Robert Lustig called “Sugar,the bitter truth” was very eye opening for me, and a great motivator, as my weight loss journey has been primarily about my health. My family history is riddled with heart disease, and so far I’ve dodged the bullet although atrial fibrillation is problematic for me, causing me to be on more meds than I’d like to be.
Have a great day/ evening/night all!
Hi everyone! So pleased to have found this post. I will be turning 65 at the end of May and think when we enter our 60’s it can be a whole new ballgame when it comes to losing weight. I recently lost 5 pounds on my own, but hope to reach my goal weight and keep the weight off following the FastDiet. I’m planning to do the 500 calories every other day. Has someone else done this and could you share your story with me? I live in the United States in the state of Wisconsin so that is why I refer to pounds instead of stones or kg’s. Wishing you all great success with your weight loss! Maureen
Hi and welcome, Maureen. Hope intermittent fasting will be just what the doctor ordered!
Thank you, Pol, for your concern. It has been something here in SoCal. We have gone from a state — and region, really — in extreme drought for the last 4 or 5 years to one with dams overflowing and beginning to break down under the stress. In Los Angeles, which touts its annual rainfall in fractions of an inch we’ve had 5 days running of rain including a storm that took out trees.
BUT I’m glad to say we’ve gotten through it with only branches down. Mostly I’ve been keeping up a schedule of rallies, phone calls and letters to representatives. I’ve got a town hall meeting to attend in a few days and then company coming for a week. So it’s more business than weather catastrophe.
“Catastrophe” is my grandson’s new word. At 6 he goes around applying it to everything he can including this 3 dimensional puzzle that will make your brain ache. http://www.brainwright.com/products/display/8303
Giving myself a time off from IF while friends are visiting. Then I should be back in the saddle and posting again.
Best to all! Give it your best!
Hi, everyone! Happy to hear how y’all are doing and say hello & welcome to the new posters. I’ve been struggling a bit with limiting my FD food intake to 500 calories, so consequently I haven’t lost any more weight. The first month, I did really well, but I’ve frankly lost track of time. February has flown by. For some reason, my FD’s have not become a habit, so I’m going to re-watch Dr. Mosley’s video for inspiration.
Tomorrow is a FD for me, so I’ve planned out my food and hope it’s a successful restart. Making a gumbo with shrimp over rice for dinner tomorrow night & I’ll need to figure out how much of that I can eat–always a challenge. I know I feel better when I’m fasting and when I eat sugary things, my appetite goes way up. So, I’m giving away the Girl Scout cookies I just bought (sigh) and will stay away from sweets. Now I know, what isn’t working 😉
LA, I’m doing the same thing here–calling representatives, Homeland Security (re/Bannon on NSC), but our representatives are MIA for the town hall meetings! We will all remember at election time. Keep up the good fight!
Best to all and be kind.
YES! Keep up the good fight! Because you have to know that those chicken____s who are afraid to meet their constituents are getting the message too. And I love the creative things some groups are doing like holding their own Town Meetings in front of cardboard cutouts of their Reps or even an empty suit in one case. 😏
We’ll make them deal with the Citizens of the United States of America! This started out a representative democracy and we’ll make it one again!!!
Welcome, Maureen, and hi, everyone else.
Glad you’re ok, chubster, it is catastrophe indeed. Nr, I was always just over the 500 cals, but it worked. You’re all right about avoiding the sugar. I was surprised that I was able to cut potatoes to a very rare treat, and never a pile of buttery mash either, with its hidden sugar.
Still have the odd wine, probably equivalent of a bottle a week. Ditto small ice cream. The chick pea chilli OH made yesterday was too hit, so I had a scoop of ice cream afterwards.
Every other day is pushing it, Maureen. See how 5:2 goes. You’ll soon find that your appetite changes, anyway.
Pol. 🙋🏼
Third fast day today. Weighed myself this morning and was the same as when I started, but it’s my own fault. I went nuts last night with chocolate. When I get home from work tonight, everything with sugar or white flour is going into a pantry where I can’t see them whenever I walk into the kitchen.
I feel really great today. I had a grapefruit and cheese stick at lunchtime and just had another cheese stick (only 60 cals each) at 2:30PM. I also wear a fitbit and try to get at least 10,000 steps every work day.
I really love this website and the encouragement. Happy Thursday everyone.
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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.
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