@ Orlcam - glad to have you lurking in the background. Just remember we're all here for the same reason, and are here to support you if you need us.

I'm attempting 16:8 today, to see if that will curb my picking in the evening . My plan is to have my dinner about 6, give that an hour to settle. I'm hoping to get a run in tonight, so that will keep me occupied till about 8ish, by the time I have a hot bath and a chill it will hopefully be bed time.

2nd fast of the week planned for tomorrow.

I am pretty low-key about this new diet with husband ( fit/buff can eat what he likes type of person) but think he may realize something was up if he got a plate out of the cupboard with the word 'vomit' on it. I have had five fast days in the last two weeks, and he hasn't noticed a thing! I just have his supper ready and say airily 'oh, I've eaten'. Which is perfectly true(ish). Makes me wonder what else I could get away with?!

@‌ snaps27 only trick I've used so far is trying to use smaller plates and (without realizing it) I even have blue/light teal plates which is supposed to help decrease appetite lol. Not sure it's working haha. I measure everything I cook at home so it helps keep calorie creep at bay. I am going to start trying to reduce portions over time (especially my fav pasta).



It's so weird because I NEVER eat just focusing on my food. Obviously, eating with others, you are involved in discussion and maybe commenting on food for a second, but the rest is just juggling shoveling it in and talking lol. I'm a slow eater because of that so I try to remind myself to cut back and not finish the plate (which can have some negative-feelings-consequences when your mom doesn't think you like her food because you didn't eat it all lol). Even eating alone, I'm always absorbed in something on TV and barely put the fork down.

On fast days it isn't an issue because I eat my portion and I'm good. I don't think about hunger or food again after that because I'm done eating for the day. The time it becomes an issue is when I can "eat anything" and don't have to stop after eating because I still have more room in my TDEE, etc. I keep thinking about food and planning my next meal, etc. This is why I love my fast days. I don't have to think about food- I eat my portion and that's it. No room for extra or more. I need to incorporate more planning on my TDEE days, but those are the days I let myself not be restricted to keep the day adaptable so that is where the balancing act comes in lol.

Hello everyone! I love reading your entries, all of you so inspirational! I've been struggling lately. Scale just isn't moving, which I guess is good that it's not going up, but man... I really want the losses. I do know what my problem is though, 100% lack of activity. I've been on-point calorie wise, but the lack of movement has me at maintenance, which is completely pathetic at less than 8000 cal a week in. Why oh why am I one of those people that finds it easier to not eat than move more? LOL

Anyway, my fitbit tells me I'm a slug, my body tells me I'm a slug. Time to not be a slug.

thecarbmonster wrote: »

On fast days it isn't an issue because I eat my portion and I'm good. I don't think about hunger or food again after that because I'm done eating for the day. The time it becomes an issue is when I can "eat anything" and don't have to stop after eating because I still have more room in my TDEE, etc. I keep thinking about food and planning my next meal, etc. This is why I love my fast days. I don't have to think about food- I eat my portion and that's it. No room for extra or more. I need to incorporate more planning on my TDEE days, but those are the days I let myself not be restricted to keep the day adaptable so that is where the balancing act comes in lol.

You took the words right out of my mouth!

thecarbmonster wrote: »

"With the above in mind, yes there are some times where a fast isn’t strictly speaking a fast day, even if it was rather lower calorie than a feed day. But, all too often I see fasters fretting about having gone just a few calories over and asking if it should be considered a fail and that they should fast again tomorrow to make amends. If this is you, please relax! A few calories over isn’t going to ruin the fast. 500/600 isn’t some magical number through which weight is lost, it is simply based around 25% of the average calorific needs for an adult. Personally I’ve had times where I fasted on nearer 600 calories or even 700. Will it reduce the weight loss? Well, slightly. Will you lose the benefits of fasting? It depends on how long you’re going without food I suppose. But, there’s no need to consider it a failure if you go a bit over! This is the attitude of traditional diets creeping in! We’ll have none of that here thank you! Intermittent fasting is a way of eating for life. So, a fast went wrong. Big deal. You had to change your days? No problem. You only managed one fast this week? It doesn’t matter. It’s one fast out of a lifetime. Learn from your mistakes, don’t beat yourself up and just keep on. It’s not like with typical diets where one bad day can make you feel you’ve failed and fall off the wagon. This method is flexible. It works around you, giving you back the control."

And thanks for this!

lulu1066 wrote: »

I am pretty low-key about this new diet with husband ( fit/buff can eat what he likes type of person) but think he may realize something was up if he got a plate out of the cupboard with the word 'vomit' on it. I have had five fast days in the last two weeks, and he hasn't noticed a thing! I just have his supper ready and say airily 'oh, I've eaten'. Which is perfectly true(ish). Makes me wonder what else I could get away with?!

When I started 5:2 in September I didn't tell anyone, not even my husband. Two weeks into fasting my husband comes home and says, "A buddy at work fasts 2 day a week and he said it helped him loose weigh" and I replied, "I have always wanted to try that, I think I'll give it a go". Perfect timing!

Although my husband's idea of fasting is slightly different, he thinks it's...don't eat anything until 5 and then you can eat what you want. He doesn't believe in the who calorie thing..."Oh, don't believe anything they say"...he remarks to any...well most things...unless he agrees...lol. So I do my thing and he thinks I 'fast'. In November he was convinced I was get colds because of the fasting and 'suggested' that I only fast once a week until the weather get warmer...and I said, "okay dear". But still fit in a fasting day during the week, he's none the wiser...devious laugh

The greatest thing though is that 'he agrees' that I am having huge benefit to fasting, so I think I am safe to keep it up. Aren't husbands a funny thing lol.

snaps27 wrote: »

So I think that someone out there (all techies listen up) should invent a camera that will analyse any food we are about to eat. Think about it...take one picture and you will know exactly how many calories you will eat...with out the weighing and calculating...heaven!

Your wish is the App Store's command. Check out Meal Snap. Don't know if it actually works but it proves there is technology out there already.

thecarbmonster wrote: »

It's so weird because I NEVER eat just focusing on my food. Obviously, eating with others, you are involved in discussion and maybe commenting on food for a second, but the rest is just juggling shoveling it in and talking lol. I'm a slow eater because of that so I try to remind myself to cut back and not finish the plate (which can have some negative-feelings-consequences when your mom doesn't think you like her food because you didn't eat it all lol). Even eating alone, I'm always absorbed in something on TV and barely put the fork down.

The other day I had the opportunity to eat in silence - no talking, no TV, no newspapers, no electronics - just me and the food. Can't tell you how long it has been since I have done that. It was weird but good. I focused on what I ate, knew how it tasted and how much I ate. Must try it again.

It's great to see this area of the site so active and supportive!
I'm on my second FD this week, and yesterday's weigh in had me back at pre-Christmas weight - huzzah!
Tuesday's dinner was a turkey Madras served on lettuce leaves. Tonight I'm having kangaroo steak - I'll have mine with a tub of "red veg" which I made last week and froze in individual portions. DH can have a packet of pasta and sauce with his ( I might sneak a spoonful of that)
Busy at work so I haven't really thought about food, and I'm at a dance class tonight.

Finished 2nd FD. Ready to eat at TDEE!

@melaniecheeks - When you say "kangaroo steak", do you mean from a real kangaroo? Didn't know you could eat kangaroo? (Sorry to be so ignorant.)

@lulu1066 that's really cool! It's definitely been changing my relationship with food as well! I am still struggling a bit with the TDEE or "non-fast days" but I feel really positive and in-control and empowered on fast days because I know I am in control now. I can feel satisfied and fuel my body and know I am improving my health. I am definitely going to be tracking all of my TDEE days again (and try my best to plan the "spontaneous"/going out to eat part as much as can by estimating or leaving a cushion and then back-filling the rest).