One more thing I'll add to that--I've been doing Fast 5-ish for the entire time, 7 days per week. I think just the mental break from waiting until evening to eat every day will be nice. Some others might choose to take it easier on the weekends, or a few days per week. In general I tend to do better with the regular everyday routine, so I guess I'll just be taking my "break" days all at once in the two week break! And I do remember that in the beginning, doing Fast 5 every day was fairly easy. I think over time something affects the hormones (mostly in women?) and a two week break gives that a reset.
Something I just realized: I've mentioned that I had done IF two years ago, but after all the calorie counting I had done, and then IF on top of that, I burned out when I got to my goal weight, and let it all go. If I had known about diet breaks, and PLANNED a two week break, maybe I would have gotten back on the bandwagon and been fine. Shew, it's nice to know that might have been the issue back then. Really, I had done 4 months with no break, and I was actually writing down the calories for every morsel of food I ate. And even on my vacation at the beach I was fairly strict. So I'm sure a break was what I needed, just not a two-year break, lol! But then, a couple of months later I was trying to get pg, so it all went downhill from there anyway, but that's beside the point
Thanks again, Noname, it sounds like we're on the same page. It's funny, I do remember back when you did that maintenance break in June, I was thinking, "Why would anyone plan to go off their diet?? I couldn't do that, it would derail all my efforts!!" But now I read that if it's "planned", then psychologically you actually do better during the break, knowing you didn't just let it all go to pot, but that it's all part of the plan, ie, you're still in control of your diet.
Okay, I will give you all a "break" from my posts, ha!!
I think mental breaks (breaks from anything routine in general!) in between are an excellent idea and don't think it reflects poorly on IF. As a matter of fact, I think it's a good kick start to your metabolism. I know I've only been doing this for almost a month, but it's truly doing wonders with my body and my psych in general. I will take planned breaks as well when I'm ready... so I'm right there with you guys!
Fast went great yesterday! I'm hungry as we speak, but waiting until after noon to eat. I had a GREAT run today and did 3.30 miles! About .30 was walking, the rest running! I feel amazing!
lightenup You crack me up! Don't apologize for your posts. I love seeing your thought process as you work through it! Sounds like Labor Day weekend will be a great start to your diet break. Just don't forget about us and make sure you come back :P I actually put "Diet Break" in the calendar in my phone, so I could visually see that it ended. haha Beach, wedding, family visits?! Sounds like a great time! HAVE FUN.
nayla Cheers to another successful fast Amazed that you have enough energy for a run like that the morning after a fast day. So awesome!
I am feeling so much better this week, maybe by the end of the week I'll actually be smaller instead of just feeling it! I fasted yesterday, though I think my calories were a bit over 500, but that helped convince me to go to the gym. I did 30 min on the Arc Trainer and an upper body work out. I will try to do another 30 min. tonight and lower body work out. I keep convincing myself that I don't have time, but I gotta make the time! I wanna end this month on a good note. Hoping to go on a nice hike this weekend, too.
I just realized that if I keep at this pace, I will be at my goal weight in less than a year. I have a feeling I will end up adjusting my goal weight lower, but just knowing that I can be there by the time we moved to Colorado is amazing. I can't imagine what it would be like to move somewhere new where no one will know that I used to be fat. lol But I look forward to it...so that will be my new goal...150 in time for the move!
Noname--That sounds like an awesome goal! Can I just say (in case I haven't already) that I'm JEALOUS of you moving to Colorado! That's where half my family is, and I love the state in general. So beautiful, and all the mountains to explore. Ugh, and here I sit...Oh well, maybe someday!! I will also likely move my goal weight down if I ever get to it! I chose 133 because it's a pretty good weight for me, and the weight I was back when I did my first marathon (like 12 years ago!). But I've been as low as 118 as an adult (well, young adult, ha!), so something in between would be awesome. Slowly, though!
Nayla--That's great that your fasting and running are going so well. I've been running, but not very regularly. Once or twice a week is all I'm managing, and usually it's a combo of walking/running. I have been doing fast intervals some, which I enjoy, and some trail running, which is a lot of fun. This weekend I think I'll be doing some longer stretches of running. Being at the beach and having to run on the sidewalk along the main beach road, I'll try to do maybe 5 min running to 1.5 min walking. What do you do--all running, or some walking breaks in between?
Dottington--You're starting back to school--what is your focus? Is it music/piano? You might have given more details but I can't remember. Or are you teaching? But I hear you on less time to workout! Just my kids being in school has had the same effect on me.
Well I think psychologically the idea of an upcoming break is already making me relax a little. Today has been good, and I feel a lower weight coming on for tomorrow, and with TTOM right around the corner, that's good news (man, that just comes on too often!!). I have short cycles, ugh. Anyway, thanks for letting me brain dump! I just really hadn't heard of planned breaks before Noname mentioned it a while back, and had not considered it at all for myself. Now I'm excited about it (and a little nervous--will I gain back ALL the weight I've lost?? Yikes!!)
Noname - Seriously! Give me your name! At least another nick name! It feels weird calling you "noname" LOL Anyway - yay for new starts and new goals! Very nice! You'll get there I know!
Lightenup - I can't remember your name either I'm so bad, I know! As far as runs go, I warm up for five minutes, run for 30 minutes straight - I'm a slow runner and average about 13:45 pace - then I walk for about 1 minute seconds, then run for another 4 minutes. I just increased. I was only running 30 minutes and just started adding those 4 minutes but always have to walk for about a minute after the 30. I'm hoping next week I don't have to stop.
Today was a slower run - I wanted to sleep in as I was exhausted and running after 8am in Florida during the summer is hideous. 16:8 was great yesterday
Today I have to plan my meals carefully as we're going to a restaurant for dinner to raise funds for family. One of my son's football coaches died last week
On a light note... take a look at this picture. I was so out of it this morning and totally did it! haha!
Nayla--it's not you, I just didn't give my real name It sounds like your running is going great! It's always motivating to see improvement. I can imagine Florida in the summer is not fun for running! That pic is totally something I would do!!! I'm so sorry to hear about your son's coach. How sad! How old is your son? Is he taking it very hard?
Nayla-Lol omg I've definitely done stuff like before too You're doing really well with this WOE, what's your favorite thing about it so far?
noname-My birthday is Dec 9th! Yay Sag twins lol Sorry the doctor was a waste of time Hopefully the tests will give you some insight. I think its so exciting how you're moving! I'm sure you'll reach you're goal by then and how cool will it be to start over somewhere at your goal weight?! I'm looking forward to starting grad school for that reason, it will be nice to not have people comment on my weight From your pictures you seem to carry weight very well and look very well proportioned, I wouldn't be surprised if you are happy at 150. Do you know your frame size?
lightenup-How cool we're both 10lbs away now! We got this I took a maintenance break as well, I've taken a couple actually. This last one I did when I first got around 137-138ish after my mountaineering trip. I'm really glad I did it and it was very freeing. I didn't count calories and instead ate completely intuitively. I found my bodies natural eating pattern and that was cool. I stayed at 140 for the 3 weeks I did it. 140 is the weight I naturally go to it seems. I need to take a break every now and again mentally. I don't think it helped "restart" my metabolism or anything like that, but I was really over the weight loss struggle and during those weeks I realized what it would take to continue to push downward and seriously thought about if it was worth it. I decided it was and was all pumped and excited to start IF and now I've been losing much faster than I have in a while because I'm more excited, dedicated, and committed after the break. I think breaks are a good idea not only for the mental benefits, but also to teach yourself maintenance. I was so afraid of gaining weight before but now I know I can trust myself. I'm a piano performance major and this is my last year of undergrad! I also teach piano but not at the school.
Right now I'm in Santa Barbara(aka Dorothyland/place I would kill to live) with my fiance for a court case he's doing. He's in court right now. The courthouse is so gorgeous and designed like a Spanish mission. We had breakfast at an amazing place with tons of gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian options for me. I had gluten free pancakes with fruit and an almond milk latte. Yum. After he gets done we're going to explore around and maybe do some shopping since I need to buy my sister a birthday present. I think I'm going to apply to grad school here. I love it so much and its a good safety school to apply to. But this is pretty much my ideal place to live.
Tonight I'm going to San Diego to see my pianist friend who's visiting from conservatory back east.
Can't fast around my fiance or my friend so I'm going to do a modified fast tomorrow and Friday. It feels so weird not fasting on a wed. I'm planning on doing lots of walking today and tomorrow and maybe I'll do a hike Friday morning.
Here's a couple pics of my fiance at the courthouse.
lightenup No need to be jealous, just make a plan and go! Ha! I know, easier said than done. This has been a year in the making, and a year to go. Yes, we made a two year plan And of course it's all still up in the air, we still have to save money and get jobs! But the goal is getting closer, I can feel it...
nayla On other forums, people just abbreviate it to NNS It's a quote from Breakfast at Tiffany's, if you've ever seen it, Holly calls the cat a "no-name slob" in one of my favorite scenes. Sorry to hear about your son's coach. Was it sudden? How old is your son? And LOL! I definitely get empty-headed like that (however, your picture just makes me want some coffee...my friend sent me some Brazilian coffee, I can't wait to get home and open the package and smell it!)
Dottington Yay for December babies! And thanks for the compliment I've always felt pretty proportioned, so that's good. I don't really know anything about frame size. I'm very similar to you in that I want to get to a weight that best matches with my hobbies - namely, hiking. So once we move to Colorado, I'll be able to hike more and figure out what weight I need to be at. I will probably focus on strength for a while because of that. Will you being going to grad school for piano performance? I hope you're able to get into the school in Santa Barbara, sounds like it would be a lovely place to live! Enjoy your time with your fiance. There will be plenty of time to fast another day! Your fiance is quite handsome and that courthouse is beautiful! Is he a lawyer?
I had my bloodwork this morning, and then I had a kind of stressful morning after that. On my way back to the office, I was so annoyed so I thought, I'll just stop and get a treat like fast food or ice cream to make me feel better, but then I remembered that I had my smoothie at the office already and I really, really want to see the scale budge this week. So glad I made that decision. My smoothie was yummy and filling, and I have an apple with peanut butter (my favorite snack!) to look forward to later.
Last edited by nonameslob; 08-27-2014 at 01:15 PM.
Lightenup - ah! Ok I thought you did share it at some point and I didn't want to go back and check. No worries My son is 5 and because we just met the coach, it didn't affect him as much as I thought it would. He asked some questions such as "why?", we explained the best we could and then he continued doing what he was doing.
Dorothy - I LOVE SoCal, PERIOD! I've always said that if I ever moved back to Cali I would move to San Diego. Absolutely love the Oceanside/Carlsbad area. My sis lives in the area as my brother in law is a Marine and always enjoyed driving south to go visit with them when I lived in Martinez. I may be going end of September on a work trip and I'm super excited just at the thought! Hope it happens for me Your fiance is very handsome!! Hope you enjoyed your time with him!
Noname - So sorry you had a stressful morning And glad you found your happy medium and it's getting better for you.
I had a great run today! I had steak and grilled zucchini for dinner last night and a nice early morning run this morning. It's amazing what the time of day and having good protein the night before does for my run. I was dragging through the first half but then found my pace second half and did 3.15 miles total I'm supposed to be fasting today but having a hard time for some reason - it's almost noon and my body is starting to think food! I'm going to try and work through it and continue drinking my water... we'll see how it plays out.
Well ladies, the good news is my blood work came back normal! The bad news is my blood work came back normal. I haven't had nearly as many lightheaded incidents lately, but the hair loss is still an issue. I guess I will just deal with it and revisit at my physical and gyno appointments in October.
Fasting with you today, nayla. I am soooo hungry right now! Gosh steak and zucchini sounds yummy. Mmm. Great job on the run!
noname-Yes, I totally understand about needing a goal weight to reflect your activities Its my (very)small frame size along with my hiking goals that I've picked the goal I have. I'm going to be so jealous of you once your in Colorado and posting about all the awesome hiking there! I am going to study piano performance in grad school It will be sad though bc once I'm in grad school I will be even farther from the mountains :/ Yes he is a lawyer! And I agree he's hadnsome! lol That is frustrating with the blood work...doctors are always looking for obvious causes so I think you will just have to hound after yours and demand she think more outside of the box to figure out what is wrong. Could it be stress related perhaps? That's an interesting idea Nayla has about it being hormonal....either way I really hope you get to the bottom of it!
Nayla-I was in Oceanside/Carlsbad yesterday! lol It really is a lovely place, I'm not sure I could ever really move from SoCal. I was born in Palm Springs and I've tried living other places, but I really do love it here. Although I've recently been getting more into the central coast as well. I had a great time with my fiance, right now I'm still at his place in Long Beach. I hope you're able to go on your work trip! Glad your run went well.
I'm still not back home Having a great time this week and me and my fiance are going to my place tomorrow morning. I really want to go hiking tomorrow and I need to get everything in order for starting back to school Tuesday I'm fasting today since I wasn't able to on Wed and I really need my 2nd fast this week since eating hasn't been the greatest! It hasn't been totally horrible, and honestly I think its been reasonable considering I've been traveling and eating out for every meal. I've tried to make good choices and haven't over stuffed myself once so I'm hoping to have maintained my weight. I've been away from the scale as well and I think that's probably been a good thing
Some of my clothes have gotten too big recently and I need to go shopping. I got a couple things in Santa Barbara. A pair of super high waisted shorts that have a bit of a vintage/pin up feel, a light-weight sweater, and a cardigan. I get so cold in my classes at school and really need to invest in more cardigans and sweaters. I need another skirt, a new pair of pants, some tops, and 2 new pairs of shoes(flats and heels). Luckily I got paid so will be able to buy some new things!
Noname--Ooh, that's so frustrating--sometimes it's nice to just hear something back so at least you know what to do to fix it. At least that means it shouldn't be anything major, and maybe it is more hormonal like the others said? Of course, then how to fix?? Anyway, I hope you figure something out soon--it's been a while now! Could you try a naturopathic doc, or maybe an accupuncturist? That can be costly, though.
Dottington--Okay, jealous of you, too, living in beautiful CA! Although I can do without the earthquakes! My aunt and uncle live in San Jose, and they've been through some good ones. Well, at least here we do have mountains, but they're a 4-hr drive. The beach is a 2-hr drive, and we love that too. So around here where we live we only have some nice state and city parks, but there are also a lot of nice greenways. That will have to do for us for now! Yes, very nice pics of your fiance, and the surroundings are beautiful. What type of lawyer is he? And more importantly, have you solidified any particular wedding plans???
Nayla--I have a 5 year old daughter. How many kids do you have, and what are their ages? You might have said before but I forgot. Ours are 8, 5, 3, and it's finally getting to be easier, with no diapers and our littlest finally sleeping all night in his own bed!! I hope your fast went well yesterday. The evenings are what get me!
It's funny, since I decided to take a break starting this upcoming weekend, I've felt better and more relaxed, eaten a little better (although a little more due to PMS), and even lost a little weight! I think it will be really good for me to go for a while without the pressure on myself to not eat until 5:30pm everyday. Of course, yesterday I got to 5:30pm and wasn't even hungry at all. Anyway, today I did eat at 1:30pm, so I'm making my diet break start today! Friday two weeks from now will be the day to get back at it! Hey, FYI--I bought some organic cranberry tea a week or two ago, and it just happens to be one called "Weightless", and it claims to "relieve temporary water weight gain". I only got it because I was looking for a decaf organic tea, and the cranberry sounded yummier than the other ones. Well what do you know, it's PMS time right now, and I am not bloated much at all! My feet usually balloon up, but they're nice and thin the last few mornings, lol. I haven't gained any weight, have actually gone down a little, and my belly only has a slight pooch. And it's so great to not see that weight increase! I mean, I know it's just water, but psychologically it still messes with me and lowers my motivation. So, anyway, if you want to try to avoid the usual PMS bloat, you might want to try this tea! I want to say I got it at Target. I'll let you know if my results change and I suddenly bloat up!
Noname--Can you tell me again--you didn't count calories at all during your break, right? But I think you said you don't count anyway...I'm finding it difficult to figure out how NOT to count them, since I automatically keep track in my head.
Dottington--You said yours was a maintenance break--so did you count calories on your break, but just added 300 or 500 or so per day? It might just turn out that on the days we're out of town or with family I'll not really keep track as well, but the other days (about 5 days) I'll try to keep it to about 2000 calories. And I'll just do whatever exercise sounds appealing for any given day.
I will still be checking in over the next couple of weeks--I don't want you gals to forget about me!! ;-) Plus, I want to keep myself in check (and accountable--back at it Sept. 12!), and I might have questions!
So I just read up on this tea, and reviews on amazon are generally great. But, I found out that you should only drink this tea for 1 to 2 weeks at a time, because one of the ingredients (Uva Ursi) can be toxic to your liver! Well what if I drink it for a week every month until menopause...will I kill my liver? Ugh, too good to be true. I'm currently searching for anther tea that does something similar but without the uva ursi.
And I do remember that in the beginning, doing Fast 5 every day was fairly easy. I think over time something affects the hormones (mostly in women?) and a two week break gives that a reset.
Cheers to another successful fast 
That's where half my family is, and I love the state in general. So beautiful, and all the mountains to explore. Ugh, and here I sit...Oh well, maybe someday!! 
I'm so bad, I know! As far as runs go, I warm up for five minutes, run for 30 minutes straight - I'm a slow runner and average about 13:45 pace - then I walk for about 1 minute seconds, then run for another 4 minutes. I just increased. I was only running 30 minutes and just started adding those 4 minutes but always have to walk for about a minute after the 30. I'm hoping next week I don't have to stop.
Yay Sag twins lol Sorry the doctor was a waste of time 
And of course it's all still up in the air, we still have to save money and get jobs! But the goal is getting closer, I can feel it...
I haven't had nearly as many lightheaded incidents lately, but the hair loss is still an issue. I guess I will just deal with it and revisit at my physical and gyno appointments in October. 
