Arizona's Fasting Journey
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Weekly Weigh-in Post!
6/23/17: 200lbs
Began OMAD/Intermittent fasting on Monday 6/26/17
6/30/17: 197lbs
7/07/17: 195lbs
7/14/17: 198.8 lbs (after spending a week at Disney Parks in Florida and IF went out the window)
7/21/17: 199 lbs
16:8 on and off this week. definitely some high calorie days. Back at it today.2 -
Love your attitude to get back on track.
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Keep going!!!1
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I was thinking the same thing. Skip actual lunch time and eat at a different break in the afternoon, maybe around 230 have a smaller meal and then dinner by 6. Our school doesn't let out until 4 *groan*, so that might be more difficult. It will be an experiment. I'll be curious to hear about how you are doing throughout the year. Do you plan on working out?ArizonaToast wrote: »gomissfitnes wrote: »Hey! I teach first grade too! Congratulations losing weight! I want to make this the year I don't pick it back on.
Awesome! First is the best grade in my opinion. I'm going into my 9th year and I've taught grades 1-5. My plan for not putting weight on this year is to work through lunch during the week to support my OMAD diet. Maybe wait until after school to break my fast.
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Keep it up Happy belated birthday
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Day 36 of my fasting journey
Today marks 36 days since I began experimenting with fasting to restrict calories and lose weight.
The original plan was to consume only water between the hours of 7pm and 11am (fasting for 16 hours), eat a large and delicious lunch at 11am and then a medium to small dinner around 5pm.
After doing this for the first week I was ecstatic that I had lost 5 pounds. It was the first time in years that I had lost ANY weight without it being painful. I was excited to continue experimenting with it to see if I could lose any more weight.
During the second week of fasting (with the same schedule mentioned above) I maintained the weight loss. No big deal, I was still happy with this.
During the third week of fasting I went out of town for a week and enjoyed 3 different Disney parks (and their food) in Florida. I had go intentions of making the leap to One Meal a Day during this week, but it didn't happen. In fact, I ended up over eating and gaining weight. To my dismay, I had gained back those 5 pounds I had lost in that first week.
During the 4th week I felt defeated and made a slight effort to start my two meal a day fasting schedule. I also complained a lot and quietly told myself that I was silly for even thinking I could lose weight in the first place. I was some-what successful, didn't lose or gain any weight.
During the 5th week I had a better attitude but only had a few days where I stuck to my 16:8 plan. I have actually lost 2 pounds though.
To sum it up I would like to list what has gone right so far and what I need to watch out for to stay successful:
Things that have gone right:
#1 I kicked morning coffee (300-400 calorie) habit/addiction by skipping breakfast daily. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.
#2 I discovered that I enjoy the feeling of fasting. I expected it to be painful, but it actually feels good.
#3 I have saved A LOT money that I would normally blow on food, coffee, snacks and junk food.
#4 Not only have I saved on my personal spending money, my grocery bill has been decreasing as well due to not eating as much.
#5 When I was at my school setting up a week ago, my principal and one of the other teachers asked me if I had lost weight. (YES!)
#6 I have started drinking more water.
#7 I love that fact that at my mealtime I can eat until I feel full and satisfied instead of having to cut myself because I need to "budget my calories" for the rest of the day and constantly feel hungry. I now experience 2 feelings....truly hungry and satisfied/full. I am not going through the day eating a little bit at a time and never feeling satisfied.
#8 I felt like I could actually be truly honest in my calorie tracker. For once I could actually log my calories without cringing and feeling hopeless as I saw how high my calorie intake was.
Things I need to watch out for:
#1 Brain Fog: I discovered that while fasting I experience a brain fog very similar to one I experienced when I was pregnant. I will often forget the words/names that associate with objects.... For instance I will have to dig in my brain for the word "chair" or "spatula". It will take my brain a few beats to retrieve these simple words.
#2 I still have to count calories: My parents gave me an entire Costco cheesecake for my birthday as I absolutely love cheesecake. I am pretty sure this made me gain some weight as I was eating it daily until it was gone and those suckers are high in calories.
#3 McDonalds is really high in calories! I used to eat this daily (usually for breakfast). Limit this whenever possible!
#4 Constipation was an issue. I added a daily fiber one granola bar, but I'm not sure if this actually worked. Things actually better in that area when I was eating breakfast and not sticking to my plan. I am still figuring out a good solution to this.
#5 I need to make sure I get all food groups for proper nutrition (as I think this will help with constipation too).
#6 A daily multivitamin may be a good idea too.
My plan moving forward is to move my eating window to 3:00pm to 7:00pm. This will put me at a 20:4 split instead of a 16:8 split. I believe this will work for me as I will begin teaching again next week and will be busy during the school day. I will eat a large and delicious meal after school at 3:00 which includes all food groups. Right after school will be a great time for this as it is a time that I am usually exhausted and reaching for a snack anyway. Eating at this time will also shorten my eating window and help encourage a calorie deficit. I will then have dinner with my family between 5 and 7 while cutting off food by 7pm.
Let's talk numbers...
Current weight: 198 lbs
August has 31 days. If I restrict 500 calories per day that gives me enough time to lose 4.4 pounds. I will round down to 4 pounds to allow for imperfection as I'm sure it will happen.
This will put me at 194 lbs on September 1st.
My BMR is supposedly 1960. So...that would put my daily calorie allotment at 1460.
Here we go!2 -
Good luck - you can totally do it!! BTW, have you read Delay Don't Deny by Gin Stephens? She is a teacher, which is why I mention it! (Plus it is a good book... ) 1
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@minigrrll I've never heard of that book. I will check it out!0
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Looks like I will be taking a page from your book! Planning to 16:8 during the week and OMAD on the weekends.1
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Arizona, nice planning and I love your positive and work on lists! You're learning so much about yourself and your body's needs. Best to you this month!1
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Arizona,
If you have a bad week and it says you gained 5-lbs, you really didn't. Most of that is water and if you immediately go back to fasting, you will lose at least half of that in a couple of days. Don't let that discourage you. I used to gain 3-lbs every Saturday (from a one day splurge) and it would be gone by Tuesday. Did that many many times. Then the rest of the week I would make new progress. You can do this! Eat enough protein, IMO it makes it easier to fast the next day and I think it helps to reduce muscle loss. Good luck.3 -
Good advice, @blambo61. Going to up my protein today!2
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Very nice job putting down all of your self reflections. Sound like you have a solid plan that you will be able to maintain throughout the school year. Here's to not gaining during the school year!0
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Love the observations and your attitude! Remember, you only lose the battle when you stop trying! Update us and let us know how this week is going 0
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Awesome way of working out the things that could have hindered your weight loss and becoming mindful of them!!1 well done!!!
As for brain fogs could this be a sign of some sort of detoxing? maybe it clears out as you go along fasting?...
We need to remember that fasting is a huge detoxifier and we are detoxing during our fasts big time...an this can be taxing to our systems if we have huge toxins ... so it takes time and patience and some days we might even feel sick but the sickness is only due to the toxins coming out of our system...
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You are so right Barb, some people quit doing the detoxing/healing process and miss out on the big results. The bad stuff only lasts a little while, but the benefits afterwards are what lasts.0
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Weekly Weigh-in Post!
6/23/17: 200lbs
Began OMAD/Intermittent fasting on Monday 6/26/17
6/30/17: 197lbs
7/07/17: 195lbs
7/14/17: 198.8 lbs (after spending a week at Disney Parks in Florida and IF went out the window)
7/21/17: 199 lbs
7/28/17: From 7/28 until 9/1 I did sporadic intermittent fasting, but wasn't very focused. My weight stayed around 198-197.
8/4/17: 198
8/11/17:198
8/18/17:198
8/25/17:197
9/1/17: 195
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Between the 7/28 and today (Sept. 3) my fasting has been sporadic. School started at the beginning of August. I ended up getting very sick the second week of school and even took 2 days off to simply sleep.
What usually broke my fast was a coffee from McDonald's on my way to work. I usually felt that I "deserved it" or had "earned it" or felt so tired that I believed I "needed it".
These vanilla lattes are around 300 calories, so definitely enough to break a fast let alone be enough calories for a meal. Since I haven't been tracking my food intake, I don't know how many calories I've been eating per day nor how often I have actually been true to a 16:8 fast.
My guesstimate would be about once per week during the last 6 weeks.
My weight has fluctuated during this time, never popping above 200, yet never falling below 195.
Friday morning, my official weigh in day, I weighed in at 195lbs so I counted that as my weigh in.
I will continue to try again with 16:8 (or even 20:4) now that I'm not sick anymore. Here's to September!0 -
Good luck there!1
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September will be better!!1
