Dottington good luck with your fast today! Are you doing a full fast or eating up to 500 calories?
I am also on a fast day, and today is our annual golf tournament fundraiser. So far, so good. I will just have to eat smart at the buffet for my 500 calorie dinner.
Nayla, how was the rest of your day? Hope the bloating is gone!
Lightenup I'm sure waving goodbye to pms will help things get back on track. Also, I have virgin skin (no tattoos!) so you are not alone
Today went mostly ok. The food options at dinner were terrible so I probably ended up eating more calories than planned but I still did moderately well. The next couple weeks are gonna be tough with traveling and a music festival, but hopefully I can at least stick to 16:8. It will be hard to do 5:2, and all my workouts. Just gotta try my best. A couple weeks won't ruin my progress!
Bloating is gone... scale read 156.9 Going on a run this morning, then coming home to shower and off to the dentist.
Lightenup - stop it! hehe There's always time for a new tattoo, of course
Nonameslob - I hate it when that happens, crappy food around. I travel quite a bit with work, which is why I think 16:8 will work perfectly since I usually travel early in the morning. I may be able to do some 24 hour fasts!
nayla-Glad the bloating is gone! I do plan on combining 16:8 with 5:2 But this first week I'm not going to be super strict about it while I get used to it.
lightenup-Thanks it went great! Sorry your appetite was up and PMS has been bugging you :/ But great job only having one piece of chocolate!
noname-I'm doing the 500 calories Glad you were able to make the best of the sucky food situation at dinner. Sorry the next few weeks will be rough, but you have been so successful and at this for a while that I doubt a couple weeks will derail you Quick question, how much exercise do you do on a fast day?
My first fast was a success! And surprisingly much easier than I thought it would be. I wasn't even that hungry at dinner for my meal. I even did some light lap swimming for 30 min Today I'm aiming for TDEE(or a little below) and won't do an easting window just yet although I do want to combine 5:2 and 16:8 but I want to make sure I give my body time to adjust and not try and do too much all at once! Very very pleased with yesterday. Going to fast again tomorrow
nayla Fantastic news! I bet you will have no trouble sticking to 16:8 for work travel! You'll have to update us on how that goes. Do you have any work travel upcoming?
Dottington Yay! Sounds like you had a great first fast! I bet it really helped that you started with 16:8. So proud of you!
I do exercise on fast days. I've always done my workouts in the evenings after dinner. I've heard working out the morning of a fast is fantastic and can even be a better workout than normal, but in the evenings sometimes I'm a little lower energy. Otherwise I stick to my normal routine and I let myself eat a little bit more if I feel I need it afterwards (haven't had to do that in months). Just listen to your body - you'll know if you're pushing yourself too hard.
I had a lot of trouble with lightheadedness over the weekend. It's happened to me before, specifically right before I went on my maintenance break. It went away on maintenance, and now it's been back for two weeks on and off so I assume it is in some way related to my diet. It's mostly when I stand up, so probably low blood pressure or low blood sugar?
I plan to discuss it with my doctor, but I wanted to think through all scenarios first. One thing I realized is I have been using salt with no iodine for about 3 years now (it's kosher salt, never thought much of it until I was doing some research on my lightheadedness!), so I picked some up with iodine and will see if that makes any difference. I felt fine all day yesterday and today. I notice it doesn't matter if it's a fast day or an eating day. Eating something doesn't make it go away. Drinking water doesn't help (I already drink at least a gallon/day!) More carbs, less carbs, doesn't matter. I've read suggestions that it could simply be the body ridding of toxins through fat loss. Who knows. It hasn't made me pass out, it's just annoying and obviously I want to fix whatever is "wrong". But I am afraid to bring it up to my doctor because I know that 5:2 and fasting in general is frowned upon in the US so I just have a feeling my doctor will say it's because of 5:2 and I should stop. So I might just get my physical, get my blood levels checked, and if nothing alarming comes up then I can mention it? We'll see...
Last edited by nonameslob; 08-05-2014 at 11:04 AM.
noname--Good luck with the next couple of weeks. I'm sure you'll do fine! I figure that even with traveling and special events, I'd be doing worse without the eating window! And getting back into your routine afterward will take care of any possible weight gain anyway ;-)
Ladies, I cannot figure out how to put real smileys in here--help please??
Nayla--congrats on the loss! Always a great feeling, and a good motivator!
Dottington--great job on your first 5:2 fast! It sounds like you're finding what works for you, which is the key to IF I think. There are so many variations, and what works for some might not work so well for others. It sounds like the combination of 5:2 and 16:8 might just work for you! Maybe I'll get inspired to do a 500 cal fast soon, combined with Fast 5 (well, Fast 6, really).
Well I'm glad I kept to one piece of chocolate early in the day yesterday, but it was difficult! I ate within my calories for the rest of the day I think, but only because I decided against the late night glass of wine. Hubby fell asleep early anyway, and I figured a night off is good for me--I should probably do that a few nights per week, but it's just such a nice way to unwind at the end of the day. Seriously, if I could do a water, coffee, wine fast and stay healthy I'd do it! I've been considering a longer water only fast to try to help heal some minor issues I have, but the thought of no coffee or wine for that long is not attractive at this point.
noname--I just read your last post. That's interesting, and annoying I'm sure. I would guess low blood pressure, and I have read that IF (as well as weight loss, of course) does lower blood pressure. I guess this could last even over the days you're eating. Have you had it checked at all lately? You can purchase a blood pressure monitor to have at home. But if that's it, I don't know the solution! It sounds like the iodine could help. I don't about telling the doc about 5:2. I'd be afraid he would just stop looking at other alternatives and simply suggest stopping 5:2. But then you could point out the weight you've lost and how that's got to be healthier than being heavier. Also, you can point out that you've been doing this for a year, and I believe the lightheadedness has only been recent, correct? I don't know, good luck, and keep us posted!
Dottington--I'm not sure where I found this, but someone on a fasting thread (here?) mentioned the book The Mini-Fast Diet, which is basically like 16:8, and he really emphasizes exercising during the fasting period, a few hours before you eat, so the fat burn lasts longer. His book is really geared more toward an eating window, but I would think most of the principles would apply for a 500 cal fast day as well. It's a good book with lots of info.
Okay, so I love that my husband is doing IF as well, but now it's sort of sabotaging my efforts. The problem is that I begin eating at 5:30pm or so, and by the time he gets home at 7pm I've eaten half my calories for the day (or more depending on how it's going!). But he hasn't eaten all day, so he begins feasting when he walks in the door, pulling out all the snacks and random goodies. So of course when stressed I just continue eating along with him. Ugh! Tonight I simply skipped dinner because I was pretty much out of calories. And all carby stuff, too. I don't really watch carbs, but I have been eating less of them since doing Fast 5, but not tonight! Anyway, I'm happy that he's doing well, but I might have to figure out a way to get more on his schedule. And persuade him to choose healthier foods! Really, he walked in and pulled out Trader Joe's cookies, Twix, and white bread. Did I really buy those things? It was the PMS, I swear...
lightenup, thank you for your comments. I'm glad to know someone feels the same way I do about telling my doctor about 5:2. However, I remembered that last year the doctor who did my physical was very attentive to me and really listened to my concerns. I'll make sure to request her again, and hopefully she won't jump to conclusions. I really liked her. But, I am increasingly frustrated. I felt like crap again last night, lightheaded and incredibly tired and headachey. This has to stop! I started taking my multivitamin again. I am considering a maintenance break, though it's a month earlier than I wanted to take it. We'll see how the rest of this week goes. Thank you again for taking the time to read and respond to that.
Can you move your eating window a little later so you are eating with your husband? Sounds like it's time to cut some things off of the grocery list, too :P I am the same way...if I buy it, I eat it...especially if my boyfriend is eating it! And he can eat a ton and not gain weight. He ate almost half of the zucchini bread I made last night. My goodness.
ETA: I may have found the culprit, or at least another avenue to try. My boyfriend suggested low electrolytes. I did some reading. With how much water I've been drinking in the past two months, it's highly possible I've been diluting my electrolytes. Gonna try to find something (other than gatorade!) to boost those for a bit and see if it helps.
Last edited by nonameslob; 08-06-2014 at 10:28 AM.
lightenup-Yes from my research it seems that exercising fasted is highly suggested. It worked fine for me Monday, today I'm really busy though so I'm skipping exercise. I think you should try pushing your eating window back to your husband's time, it would be much nicer to eat together I know it might be hard at first though, but just a thought. Ugh I have to be so careful with what I buy! If I have anything tempting in the house I always eat it eventually unless I hide it pretty well
noname-Thanks! I'm sorry about the health stuff Low electrolytes are a real possibility when drinking so much water. I hope you're able to fix it soon! I understand your concerns about talking with your doctor and them blaming it on 5:2 :/ I'm actually keeping it secret in real life because I'm so afraid of the backlash.
Today is going to be my 2nd fast day Its a busy day though, but I know I can manage if I try hard! No exercise today, I have to practice Weighed yesterday and my weight already seems to be dropping! I'm trying not to get too excited, bc it could just be a fluke but I'm really hoping tomorrow will be a good weigh in.
Just doing a quick check in. I did not get much sleep and have been up since 2:45 and stayed up because I had to pick up my friend and her daughters from the airport. I followed through and broke fast at 1pm (had to get some work done and didn't pay attention to time). This works out because I'm going to move my fast time and feeding time while she's here since we'll be gone a lot and I'm sure eating later.
I think I may give the 5:2 combined with 16/8 next week and see where that takes me. So I'll be right with you Dorothy!
Lightenup - I agree! Cut items from the grocery list and try to move your window.
Noname - sorry to hear about the health stuff hopefully the electrolytes is the answer and you just need to supplement.
I did it! I completed my 2nd fast day today!!! Super happy and came in exactly at 500 calories Loving this WOE and so glad I tried it Today was a busy day for me though with practicing for 4 hours and teaching and regular life stuff But I did make it through. Really really excited to weigh tomorrow.
I'm just excited for tomorrow in general bc I'm getting up early to meet my sister for a yummy gf blueberry pancake breakfast then up the mountain hiking. Afterwards I'm coming home and need to clean a bit, head to the grocery, and get ready since I've invited some friends over for wine and some treats in the evening
I'm aiming for 2100 calories since I'm hiking and its a non fast day.
I am SO loving all of the support for 5:2 right now!!! You guys have no idea how much that excites me
nayla yikes that is an early morning Sounds like it all worked out though!
Dottington I'm excited to hear how your weigh-in goes today! Just remember that your weight the day after your second fast will be a good bit lower since you're basically on an empty stomach, so it will read as a bigger loss than maybe is "real", but over time once you are able to compare your lowest each week to the next you'll get a better idea of "actual" weight loss. Either way I expect you will be happy with the scale today! [sorry I didn't mean that to sound so negative. Having a hard time explaining what I mean.]
Thanks for all the support guys. I was very tired throughout the day yesterday, but by evening I was actually feeling more like myself - I even went to the gym!!! So, I bought coconut water because I had read it was a good source of electrolytes. I almost threw up. SO GROSS! I bought a huge bottle though, so I may try to use the rest of it in my smoothies. Ugh. Looks like the multivitamin I'm taking has all those electrolytes in it so I think I will just stick with that for now (iodine included, so I didn't really need to buy new salt but that's okay) I'll just need to set an alarm to remember to take it every day. Hopefully that will take care of it.
Tomorrow morning I leave with my parents to visit family in NY. I'm thinking of making a few batches of pickles to bring for family...so I figured since I'll already be bringing a cooler, I might as well make a smoothie to have for lunch on the road (they will probably laugh at me, but they're the reason I got into smoothies!). That will at least get me started on the right foot, and then I can relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend like I usually do.
Last edited by nonameslob; 08-07-2014 at 08:58 AM.
I don't have much time, as I need to get some work done tonight, but I'm getting down about my fasting/eating lately and could use some motivation. TTOM is just about over and I haven't seen the water weight go down. I'm still wanting food more than I was before, and once I start to eat when my window opens, I'm having a harder time not snacking and picking at everything. What is the deal?? I'm trying to figure out how to kick-start my motivation again, but ugh. I'm also lacking in sleep since our little one has been sick the past few days and not sleeping well. And this was back to school week, so the schedule is just more stressful with earlier mornings and homework in the afternoons. Well anyway, I'm absolutely stuffed right now even though I didn't think I did too bad tonight. We'll just see what the scale says tomorrow :/
Dottington--Congrats again! Enjoy your weekend!
Noname--Ha, my sister and mom have tried to get me into coconut water, but I've resisted trying it so far. It doesn't sound good, although I do love coconut oil and coconut butter!
As for the Twix, it's almost never in our house except at Halloween, but there was a special circumstance in which I asked my husband to get A PACKAGE of Twix, thinking he'd get the pack with two Twix in it. You know, Left Twix and Right Twix. But no, he came home with a whole bag of them. So anyway, I think moral of the story is don't have dh do the shopping!! ;-) Oh, and the little tiny cookies from Trader Joe's were meant to be a little treat for the kids' school lunches, but dh can't keep his hands out! Last week I was able to resist easily, not so this week...Ugh
Glad you were able to make the best of the sucky food situation at dinner. Sorry the next few weeks will be rough, but you have been so successful and at this for a while that I doubt a couple weeks will derail you 
And surprisingly much easier than I thought it would be. I wasn't even that hungry at dinner for my meal. I even did some light lap swimming for 30 min 
Low electrolytes are a real possibility when drinking so much water. I hope you're able to fix it soon! I understand your concerns about talking with your doctor and them blaming it on 5:2 :/ I'm actually keeping it secret in real life because I'm so afraid of the backlash.
Weighed yesterday and my weight already seems to be dropping! I'm trying not to get too excited, bc it could just be a fluke but I'm really hoping tomorrow will be a good weigh in.
