Thursday 21 March 2013

5:2 Third week


Life was a bit complicated this week so I ended up doing my fasts on Sunday and Wednesday.  For reasons I needn’t bore you with I didn’t go to church so I went all day until 6.00 and then had my usual salmon and scrambled egg followed by an extra-large dollop of stewed apple and some yoghurt which made the day’s total 445.
On Wednesday I had quite a lot to do at home so again I went without food ( but plenty of water and some coffee of course) all day and then had dinner at 6.  I even went outside and did a very little bit in the garden!!!  I planted the 6 broad bean plants that had been growing on the kitchen windowsill, but I think I had better cover them up with some fleece at night for a while.  Dinner was steamed cod and lots of veg followed by a small pot of rice pudding with some stewed apple and dried cherries.  I had to add the rice pudding to make up the calories, total was 470.
So here we are on a Thursday again.  Measurements are 41:35:39.  Yes, the one place I didn’t want to lose any inches is the place I have lost one.  Fat content is down by 0.1%.  Well, it’s a start but I still have 1.3% to go before I’m (just) back into the safe zone.  And the weight – well, bearing in mind that I fasted only yesterday and am going out for a slap up lunch today my 10st 4lbs must be taken with a pinch of salt.  That’s 3½ lbs in 3 weeks.  Frankly I am beginning to lose heart.  I have no way of knowing if the health benefits claimed are happening or not and I think I  would have lost more weight if I’d just eaten extra sensibly 6 days out of 7.  Contrary to what has been said by a lot of people I actually don’t get on very well and struggle to concentrate on the fast days.  I will give it one more week.

3 comments:

  1. Don't give up yet Janet!! It does take a while to settle into that 'routine' - I reckon it took me about 6 weeks. I also do 'have' a routine. I fast on Mondays and Thursdays, so I'm mentally prepared for them and I can plan my week in advance.
    Are you weighing your food? Especially the large dollop of stewed fruit and yoghurt? Make sure you keep hydrated too. I find that's really important for my concentration levels on a fast day.
    The other thing I did when I first started was to kick the process along by following the Hairy Dieters on the non-fast days. I followed so many diets over the years, I knew my metabolism would go into 'famine' mode and slow any weight loss. I'm no longer actively following them but do keep to their guidelines on reducing fat content as much as possible when I'm cooking.
    Anyway... just some thoughts xxxx

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  2. Hi Veronica. Yes, I weigh everything scrupulously on my fasting days, hence the accurate calorie totals. I can't have a routine as my life isn't like that. I don't feel safe driving on fast days so I have to arrange them around the days when I have to go out, take mother or husband out etc etc. Following other diets in between seems to defeat the object. The hairy dieters book actually offers more than I would eat normally any way! I use very little fat, cook from scratch always unless it's my own stuff that I have frozen, never do take aways or ready meals. The hydration is a bit of a problem but every fast day I end up getting up 3 or 4 times in the night following. Thank you for your thoughts, I think I am ahead of you mostly. I only really need to lose about 7lbs so that's part of it but I do not enjoy the fast days and am beginning to dread them and thall probably be why I will stop. We'll see xxx

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  3. Oh gosh, it certainly is very tricky for you, Janet :( I can't say that I enjoy the fast days whilst they're happening either, but I do feel better having done them. I went through a phase in February of dreading the prospect of them too. Then something seemed to rebalance itself.
    But you have to do what's right and feels right for you.
    I will continue as both my mother and my grandmother suffered from strokes caused by high blood pressure. My BP had gone into the high side of normal but has now dropped back to low side of normal, which is what it used to be when... ahem... I was younger. xx

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