Hi Everyone-
I agree NoName....it's so nice to know that I don't need to eat three meals/day. Once you do fasting, you learn that hunger passes...and you don't get all weak and cranky. It goes away.
Love that. And so much easier to eat good food, less often than eat skimpy food, more often!! For me at least.
Anyone use a standing desk?

Hey IF'ers! I go away a few days and come back and the thread done blew up!

Yoyoma - At your weight (not much more to lose) a 20 lb. loss is awesome.

Sum 38 - To answer your question about splurge days. I don't really splurge. I will eat more on days that I have e.g. worked outside all day in the yard. I don't consider that a splurge since I earned those extra calories! Congrats on your new low.

Lightenup - The bday celebration went good on Friday. They went low key since I wasn't eating and had Klondike bars. So easy for me to pass up and no one actually said anything about me not eating. I would so love to have a treadmill desk, but I work for the government, so I don't see that happening.

I lost 2.4 lbs since my last weigh in and it's been sooooo easy. I was able to stay on plan, even though it was my birthday.

Hope everyone has a great day!

ETA: Just realized today is my 50th day of Fast 5! Love this lifestyle!

wvu - that is fantastic, and a happy birthday to you!

More evidence that combining 5:2 with an eating window 5 days a week is having an awesome affect on my weight loss...I tried on a pair of hiking pants about 3 weeks ago in the largest size (16) and they were just too snug. I think they barely zipped. Tried them on last night and they fit! Woohoo! So I bought them for our vacation (in 2 weeks), just hoping they don't get too big on me too soon as they are pricey. Hopefully I can sell them on ebay or something in a few months once I get some use out of them. I feel like my body is just wooshing lately in a way it hasn't before.

noname--That's awesome! I haven't tried on any of my jeans yet, but I certainly hope they're a little looser. I was getting to the point of not having anything to wear, but not wanting to buy clothes that fit "fat me". Will you be hiking on your vacation? I really want to get back to the mountains, but we've just been too busy.

wvuchick--That's nice that they took your eating (well, not eating) into consideration. So great to get through a "special occasion" and not lose weight! It seems like those occasions happen all the time--so many opportunities to get off track. As for the treadmill desk, I work for the government as well, but I work from home. My supervisor did put in a request to have my work pay for it, but that was a no-go! But there was an article I read online a while back about Oregon buying treadmill desks for their state employees. I forwarded that to my boss ;-) Anyway, happened to find the exact machine I wanted on Craigslist, so I did at least get it for half price.
I'm on it right now, in fact!

Someone else had asked about a standing desk. I don't really have one, but I can stand at my treadmill desk with the treadmill turned off. I have also worked at a standing desk for a day, and we used to have our home office computer at standing height (moved recently, haven't got that set up here yet). I'd say I like it more than sitting all day, but I don't really want to stand all day, either. I have bad veins in my legs and I can just feel the blood pooling. I did find myself needing to walk in place, lift my knees, etc. But for off-and-on work I certainly like the standing more than a traditional desk.

So far I'm down 5 lbs since last Wed. I woke up with a slight headache this morning--anyone else experienced this? It was in the back of my head. I do drink coffee but I drink decaf, and have been having that each day. I found myself very full yesterday when I did eat, and not tracking calories, I'm hoping that I'm getting in enough calories. Just by guessing I'd say I'm getting at least 1300 to 1400, so that should be enough, right? I'm 5'6".

Okay, so I need to reread my posts--wvuchick, I meant nice to get through a special occasion and not GAIN weight!!

Oh, and I realized later that the quote I quoted was incorrect. It was actually: "The less I eat, the less I eat." I still love it ;-)

I do sometimes experience those same headaches but am never sure if they are diet related or just life. I don't think I've had any more than usual. I quite drinking caffeine a few months ago, much to my dismay. I'm glad not to be bound to it, but I do miss it. This weekend I bought some green tea but not the decaf version. GRRRR!

Yes I actually lost weight over the weekend. But I worked like 14 hours outside between Saturday and Sunday so that helped a lot.

I would love to work my state job from home, but I don't think that will ever happen. It wouldn't be hard to do but some people are just terrified of change. I drive an hour and fifteen minutes each way and spend $500 in gas just to get to work and back, so working from home would be wonderful. Maybe one day...

wvuchick--Wow, that's a long way to drive to work! It's too bad they won't consider letting you work from home. So many businesses and government agencies are allowing it these days. Well, I hope you can at least get out and walk at lunch. Our central office has a walking group, and they even put a stationary bike [as well as a doctor's-office-type scale(!)] in the loading dock for whomever to use. I wonder if it has something to do with keeping state employees healthier, since the state covers health insurance! Also, some offices I've heard of have one treadmill desk and the employees take turns using it. Anyway, good luck with petitioning for a home office!

I have a question: I've been doing Fast 5 for 5 days now, with an eating window of roughly 5:30pm to 10:30pm. Today it started a little later, and I'm thinking I should eat something else tonight since I probably haven't had enough calories, but the problem is I'm still really full from what I ate earlier! I am amazed at how quickly I'm getting full now. Should I go ahead and plow through a little more food to get the calories in, or just appreciate the calorie deficit and not eat?

lightenup, I'm really of the mindset of not deliberately eating more than my stomach or mind wants. But that's just personal opinion. I have days where I'm not that hungry, and then I have days where I'm ravenous that more than make up for the other days.

wvuchick Yikes, that is a long drive! I had a long commute like that for a couple years and it's part of what got to my heaviest weight (ok, so it was just my excuse...I really can't blame it on anything!). But in West Virginia, commutes like that are pretty normal huh?

I've been very tired and feeling weak the last couple of days and had a few instances of being lightheaded when I stood up. My workout yesterday was just awful. I'm supposed to be fasting today, but if I keep experiencing that, I think I'll just make it a normal day. Aside from struggling to get up this morning, so far so good...hoping it's not related to my diet, and just one of my unexplainable things that happens now and then!

noname - I think most people in WV work close to home. It just so happens that where I live in particular is lacking in jobs requiring a college degree. I think most just move to where there are better jobs. I however like my rural little town and would just rather drive than live in the "big" city (small city for most places but it's our big one ).

lightenup - There have been times where I have eaten lower than what is recommended, but I don't stress. I do count calories though, because 1) I'm an accountant and we are all about numbers and 2) It's become a habit. I say just eat what you feel comfortable eating. I plan my meals for the whole day first thing in the morning and stick to it all day. I think if I didn't I might be tempted to binge a little. So planning it out keeps that behavior at bay. But everyone is different and you just got to find what works for you.

I'm down again this morning. Only .4 lbs but I'll take it.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

The following is the best resource I've seen on fasting/LC and blood glucose levels. You might want to give it a read (esp the part about the "ruined ski trip"). This info isn't about people eating in a baseline calorie deficit and that might skew the numbers. Plus, this info is about normal people, not those who might be metabolically challenged. Despite those caveats, it's still the best info I've seen on the subject.

http://www.medbio.info/horn/time%203-4/homeostasis1.htm

I do a fair bit of walking, but that is fat-burning, not carb-burning. You might need to be more careful with scheduling other types of exercise. I've also heard anecdotal evidence that carbs are important for good workouts.

I don't know how LC your diet is, but you might also be experiencing "carb flu" a.k.a. "Atkins flu" (the name you choose is based on your PR camp) where people report feeling crappy as they switch over to ketone burning. I kindof wonder if the same thing might happen with some forms of IF, as the body discovers it doesn't have a steady supply of carbs available throughout the day.

Thanks Yoyoma. Good info!
Does anyone use a scale that gives you body fat percentage? Beneficial?

Thanks yoyoma. I will read through, after a nap. Went home early today.

If it was keto flu I just ruined it with the carbs I just ate lol!

Hello everyone it's been awhile since I've last posted but that's because I'm just now crawling back onto the wagon. I actually did my first fast day on Monday and it went really well. I am also doing a fast day today as well. I feel motivated and I certainly hope it sticks. I see that everyone here is still doing a great job. Hopefully I can feed off you guys success.

Good for you ShaMac!
Give yourself big credit for "crawling" back onto the wagon
So glad fasting is going well for you!