Hi Everyone!
Welcome gamesmaster1!

I am also the type of person that once the floodgates are open, I'm in trouble. I do find IF natural and easy. I was never a breakfast or early day eater, so it always seemed crazy to force myself to eat when I wasn't hungry (thought we were supposed to avoid that), and then later in the day I didn't have enough food.

Moozie - I am also more aware of what I'm eating. It's almost freeing to know you really don't have limits, but you limit yourself naturally and willingly and if you do have a special occasion, you don't have to worry about it. No "bad foods."

Ellay - Hang in there, you're doing great. Remember that IF is really a life style change and not a quick weight loss diet, although you probably lose quickly with all that you're doing. Isn't it more important to be on a plan two months from now that you can sustain, than to lose quickly and throw in the towel because your exhausted.

Sapphire - Are you still doing 2 fasts?

Painted - Great about the continued weight loss. I think it's smart to go down to one fast per week for a while. It seems like you have a lot on your plate.

I'm having lunch with a bunch of friends today, so I'll probably have a noon-5 window, and then fast until 5 tomorrow, so I may just get a 24 hour fast in naturally that way. LOVE the FLEXIBILITY!!!! Keep going everyone!

You all have been so great! I'm really excited that we'll all get to weigh in on the 6th together. I'll probably report that evening after the gym. I weigh there because it's like the industrial one they use to weigh trucks lol. No, I use that one because it seems to be the most accurate. Last time I weighed myself was I think last Thursday - I weighed 336, so from the time I really started going to the gym religiously and using the new work out plan, which was right around January 4th or 5th, I had lost about 2 lbs, with NO diet at all. So...I'm really hoping to see some decent results.

On my 2nd fast right now. Having a cup of hot calorie free strawberry green tea. Not exactly my usual cup of coffee, but it makes my tummy warm so I'm ok. I am already hungry! But...I'll get through it. If I get a headache, I'll grab some tylenol. I do go to the gym tonight. I'm going to try really hard to not eat something before I go. I will down a couple bottles of water just before I go.

Is anyone using any appetite suppressants or anything on their fasting days?

Welcome to the thread, gamemaster1!

Italiannie, I am still doing 2 fasts a week. I just finished one up this evening (5pm to 5pm) and things are going well. Like you, I have never really been all that fond of breakfast and I personally love dinner so I'm happy to have ESE work seamlessly into my life.

Ellay, When I first began ESE I would sometimes chew sugarfree gum to help with hunger and cravings but after a week or two, it was no longer necessary for me. It will get better and you're on the right track with drinking lots of water... it does help.

Hi everyone! I am new to the board and new to ESE.

I stumbled across ESE a few days ago and decided to jump in.

After having 3 kiddos and taking care of them all the time, I finally got tired of being tired and overweight. I admit my sister's 50+lb weight loss also lit a fire under me. ( I hate being the "fat" sister)

So here I am, 6 hrs into my 2nd fast and am eager to learn all I can from those who have been doing ESE for a while.
I read ESE and noticed the suggestion to do some weight excersises while on ESE. What are you doing for a workout? How often/long? Do you find it harder on days you have fasted?

Thanks for your tips and experiences!

Well, I didn't make it to the gym last night. I flaked out twice this week and really am mad at myself. I had a headache from the fast and didn't go. My schedule is MTWF. I didn't go Monday because I fasted and had a headache then too, so I did Monday's workout on Tues, Tuesdays Workout on Wed, so now I need to make up Wednesdays workout today and Thursdays workout tomorrow. OY! I'm thinking of changing my Monday fast to Sunday so it doesn't mess up my workout schedule. I've heard a few of you say after the 2nd week or so you don't notice the hunger anymore...I'm hoping that's true. The hunger pains are tolerable, but the headaches are awful!

Either way, I'm still doing it! Put a pair of jeans on (the only ones that fit!) that are usually pretty snug, and they were a little on the loose side!

Was about to weight myself this morning and then i remembered you gals and our weight in date - roll on 6 Feb

mellyme123 - welcome! I did my 3rd ese fast today! Went really well and i kept myself busy and hardly even noticed i was fasting! Now I am having my Friday night bottle of wine and crisps after my salmon, poached egg and oven chip dinner!
I train in the gym 1 or 2 days a week, just do heavy weights (20mins) max, no cardio - takes to long! Any questions let me know!

Sapphiregirl - thankyou for the welcome.

Next fast is Monday after the weekend, I am so impatient with wanting to weight myself all the time.

Anyone else want to join in with a group weigh in on 6 feb??!!!

wow, so many more of us now!
hi to Gamesmaster and Mellyme, glad to 'meet' you both.
great to see our little band of merry fasters expanding- well hopefully not literally!

Ellay, like Italiannie i wonder if you are doing too much. 3 fasts and all that exercise is going to be hard to keep up- especially if you have such high expectations of yourself......or am i just jealous!! No seriously, none of us want to see you giving up because you cant sustain it.

dont be hard on yourself if you cant keep it up, just do your best.

about the headaches- have you changed the amount of caffeine you are having? increasing or decreasing significantly can bring them on.

and no i dont use appetite suppressants. they are not healthy and can cause arrhythmia of your heart beat. Im just finishing my 3rd week and have def found that this week has been really easy. so maybe yours will subside too. it may just be that with all the exercise and 3 fasts, its just too much.

sorry , sounds like I'm nagging. dont mean to. just concerned!!

anyway, what you are doing is having an effect if those jeans are feeling a bit loose- oh to wear jeans again!!!

I'm guessing most if not all of you are in the states? Im in England, so my morning weigh in will be ahead of yours, so will prob be posting first- will be nice to have so many joining too.

Ive had a funny old week with my fasting. I worked 2 nights- sunday/monday and fasted from one night to the next, which was actually quite hard. also it played havoc with my guts- i was like a bag of wind!! dont find that on my day fasts.
then getting back into day routine was not easy. my body clock does not like being disrupted.

anyway, I had planned to have breakfast on thursday, then fast. but woke up and was just not hungry. so fasted all day and then didnt eat till friday breakfast. the surprising thing was that not only was i not hungry all day, but on friday morning when i had breakfast i did not have the urge to consume lots- as i usually do when i break my fast. i just had a bowl of porridge and went to work.

am out tomorrow to celebrate my birthday so will no doubt even up the calorie score a bit!!

have also done my first Zumba class- not a pretty sight. but my daughter and I had a good giggle. she wiggled and i wobbled.

Welcome to the thread, mellyme123 and good luck with ESE.

I'll be joining in on weighing February 6th. I usually weigh every morning so I'm hoping the week goes by fast.

Keep up the good work, ladies!

Just wanted to say hello. My name is Kelley. I stumbled across this thread about 12 days ago and started right away. It seems great. I had pretty bad headaches and felt "strange" the first few days, but after that- great!! Very happy to try something DIFFERENT. I don't struggle with a lot of weight, but I do have about 10 lbs to get rid of and it has been very hard. Especially with the main information to eat, eat, eat and don't ever go without food for more than a few hours. That has created more hunger, cravings, etc for me than anything.

The one problem is that in the 12 days, I don't think I've lost any weight
I weigh myself once a week. It does feel like I have lost some fat around the middle though. I have done 2 24 hr fasts and plenty of the shorter ones. I do exercise a lot, but I always have. I think I might eat too much on some of my days off.

Anyway. Have a great weekend and I am looking forward to Feb. 6th.

Kelley

Welcome Kellyeb and mellyme123!
We are really growing strong. So exciting.

I'm having guests for dinner tonight, so I won't eat until then. Beauty of IF.... I'll eat what they eat. It's a good thing. Making homemade Minestrone, Huge salad and light dessert. Yummy!

KelleyB - Don't worry about the lbs. It is an adjustment for your body. If you are creating a calorie deficit, it will come off. In the meantime celebrate the fact that you are helping your body do some healing during your fasts. That is just one more benefit to IF.

Ellay42 - I do not use suppressants. Focus on eating healthy for yourself, and I think you will find that you will not need them, as your body and mind make the adjustments. Too many side effects, and not the best thing you can do for yourself. Remember healthy, healthy, healthy.

Moozie - Funny about the "bag of wind" LOL... Wonder if it's just your body purging something a little below the surface because your system was empty and at rest. Let's assume it was a good thing! It's great to have an international IF group! My friends that are coming tonight are British, but they've been in the States for over 20 years. They're back and forth quite a bit for visits.

Working Out - I don't really work out. I hate it, and I've decided life is too short. I walk several miles 4-5 times a week and I do about 5-10 minutes of light weight bearing exercises while I watch the morning news. I find that I enjoy these things. I will say, that I will probably add some ab exercises soon, as I am a bit flabby around the middle.

This time for me, I'm not going to do anything that I don't think I can sustain for the rest of my life. When the weather improves, I'll be gardening, hiking, etc.

So. Hang in there everyone. I'll weigh in on the 6th as well.

Have a great IF day!

[QUOTE=sapphiregirl;4191972]Welcome to the thread, mellyme123 and good luck with ESE.

I'll be joining in on weighing February 6th. I usually weigh every morning so I'm hoping the week goes by fast.

Keep up the good work, ladies![/QUOTE

Hi Sapphiregirl! Roll on Feb 6th

I usually weigh in every morning too. I have digital scales which show body fat and water % as well as weight! There is nowhere to hide!!!!

Hi Kelley! I'm the same - those last 10 lbs are the hardest! But just stick in there, the fat has to be used as fuel eventually! I am going to try fasting 3 days next week again (mon/Wed/Fri). Hopefully there will be some movement on the scales on 6 feb!

Took my sinny jeans out of the wash and normally I hae to lie down on the bed to squeese them on, but today I could get them on whilst standing up, so I know that I must be loosing inches.

Hey everyone ! I've been reading about intermittent fasting for a little while now and started yesterday. I eating in a daily window of 2-7. I don't know if this is the right place for me to be posting.

Welcome Mamac412! This is definitely the place to be. Most here do ESE, but I do mainly Fast-5 with an eating window 5-10pm or thereabouts. I do try to get a weekly 24 hour fast in, and I do ESE when I know I have a weekend or special occasion that I may be eating for an entire day. The beauty of IF is that it is so flexible.

Hi everyone else, for the second time today. I got a break so I thought I'd check in.

I won't be eating until about 7:30 tonight, so I'll be really hungry before my guests come. I'll probably jam down a few pieces of fruit when I break my fast, so I don't over do the heavier foods. I actually find this to be very efficient, as often once I eat my main meal I'm not that hungry and I really think it's important to get those fruits in. I have no trouble with the vegis' as they're such a huge part of my meals.