8 WEEKS FAST 800 : WEEK 8 :ONE WEEK AT A TIME BEGINNING 21st February 2023

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posted by wendleg
on 20 Feb 2023 at 17:08

Well folks if you are following the 8 week program, this is the last week.

If like me it hasn’t been 8 weeks of solid commitment for whatever reason ( celebrations, family events, ill health, fatigue , emotional eating etc ) then this isn’t the end , we just carry on .

I have learnt that eating certain carbs makes me feel yuk and I have to be hyper vigilant .

It’s good to have a target , a holiday , a special event or just to feel better.Really hope JGwen and Tulip can find a solution to deal with long Covid

If you have had a tough time , feeling unwell which has impacted your food choices, just start again wiht healthy choices where you can .Thinking of you Amz, OPM !!

Wishing you all a good week .Spring really is coming !

Wendy, Sunshinegirl and SunnyB XXX
posted by Jinxyfool
on 20 Feb 2023 at 19:05

Hi everyone –
I’ve been a lurker building up the nerve to post. I’ve had great success in the past with Fast800 but have had about a year’s worth of ‘false starts’ and figure it is time to actually join the conversation for real to get support and to support others. At the end of 2019 I had an injury (sport related) that required about 5 rounds of prednisone which was the kickstart to about a 40lb weight gain. We all know what began in 2020, and needless to say, the weight got comfy and decided to stay. With regard to diet, I would say I fall into all of the usual traps: “starting tomorrow”, “starting Monday”, “weekend sabotage”, “just a tiny bite”… quick fix here, quick fix there, etc. I also feel like I need to focus on changing my relationship with food. It seems like I’m always either comforting myself with food or celebrating something that is probably not worthy of cookies, chips, and cake as often as I do.

… with regard to exercise, I used to be extremely active. I’m probably still more active than an average person with about 3 easy runs a week (2 to 4 miles) and 2 casual 6 mile bike rides a week while my hubby runs (I used to run 1/2 marathons, teach yoga, surf, and skate). I work in high tech and digital spend so during the beginning of covid lockdowns I ended up working to the point of burnout. I’m only now (3yrs later) starting to enjoy some of the sporty things I used to before I was too exhausted to enjoy anything but bourbon cocktails… which I am also working to cut back on.

Anyway, that’s the story of how I got here. This thread looks like it is all the end, the middle, and the beginning 🙂 Would this be a good place to start? Today is week 1 day 1 and so far so good 🙂
posted by SunnyB
on 20 Feb 2023 at 19:07

Thanks for the inspiring kick off post, Wendy. I know what you mean about feeling yuk after overindulgence in carbs … something that happens to me at least once everytime we’re in Turkey. It’s usually when we’re being entertained by Turkish friends and I fear being rude by turning down cakes and baklava😱. Then I spend the next 24hrs feeling ill.

I’m one of the people who has not managed to get properly on track in the last eight weeks … I’m disappointed in myself, but know there is nothing to be gained by beating myself up for not getting my act together.

We now have dates for our next trip put to Turkey, so definitely time for me to get serious, so I’m kicking the week off with a fast. 24hrs in now and planning to push on to as close to 48hrs as I can.

Will be looking forward to reading about everyone’s progress during the week ahead.
posted by wendleg
on 20 Feb 2023 at 19:15

Hi jinxyfool and welcome to the thread ! No need to be nervous with us !
I am sure we can all relate to your experience and if we didn’t have a dysfunctional relationship with food we probably wouldn’t be here!
So please join us . It does help to share experience and get some much needed motivation.
You say you are familiar with Fast 800 and had past success. It definitely does work but it requires commitment and that may not be so easy second time round .
You know why you are doing this and we wish you all the best . You certainly sound very active even if you do less than before your injury.

Stay with us,celebrate your victories however small and have a moan if you feel like it !
posted by SunnyB
on 20 Feb 2023 at 19:32

Jinxy … looks like our posts crossed in the ether, but welcome to the weekly thread. Hope you will find it helpful being part of a like minded community. We do our best to support and encourage each other and give experience based advice if needed.

Think most of us are familiar with the stalling tactics you mentioned and the reasoning we use to justify eat things we know in our hearts we really don’t need. It’s certainly been my story in the past could of months.

At times we all struggle to stick with it … and sometimes we stumble, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make a fresh start as soon as we are able. Mindset is a tricky thing and can be a challenge to keep in the right space, but all we can do is our best, with the support of the lovely people here.

Anyway I’m looking forward to reading about your progress… feel free to share the ups and downs, vent if you need to, shout out if you need support and share every win no matter how small. And don’t forget the non-scales victories, because they count too.😀
posted by Wendy1947
on 21 Feb 2023 at 09:20

Hello Jinxyfool and welcome. I’m sure your earlier familiarity with the Fast diet will be very helpful but you also might like to buy The Diabetes Code or the Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung that I was thankfully recommended on here to read, & that my husband & I have found very eye opening. I’ve always enjoyed acquiring a better understanding of how my body operates & the clear explanation of how insulin impacts our bodies & the adverse influence of processed food is disturbing. Michael Mosley has of course highlighted all of this but I’m now more interested in longer fasts & wondering how insulin resistant I really am. Like you I can trace my weight gain back to a medication in my case Tamoxifen that seemed to completely rot me up “reprogramming my body” as I piled on weight regardless of what I ate to try & lose it. Seeing the tv programme on The Fast Diet finally started to help me lose some weight after stopping Tamoxifen. Your exercise routine sounds very impressive!
After seven weeks I’m still taking it one day at a time using the recommended recipes in the 800 cookery books & now the Obesity Code one as well & plodding on & much admiring everyone else on here who despite more health challenges than me are also battling on trying to lose any excess pounds!👏👏👏⭐️⭐️
I hope everyone has a good week! Oh & thank you all saying where you are based 😀
Margaret
posted by JGwen
on 21 Feb 2023 at 13:12

I thought I would give you all a laugh at my antic’s today.

The number of times I have said to people, stop measuring progress by the scales and measure with a tape measure. —- Healthy bones and muscles weigh more so its not uncommon for weight to go up or stay the same but inches are discarded.

To day I was lifting the sack of dog food and thinking how it will feel to have discarded that level of weight, but also wondering if body fat takes up the same amount of space as that amount of dog food,. so what will my legs and stomach look like when I drop that amount of weight. !!!!
posted by JGwen
on 21 Feb 2023 at 13:12

Yes, I did think about holding it up against me and look in the mirror to get an idea of that weight in terms of belly fat.
posted by sunshine-girl
on 21 Feb 2023 at 14:58

Hi everyone, just reporting in on my last weeks weight loss. Promised myself just 1lb per week to allow me to take things steady and maybe have some treats. Well, I have lost 1.75lbs, so well on track. That little extra will help to make up for when I have big treats like a meal out – next one is hubbys birthday and the end of March so not exactly a normal thing. Ready to do another week although I dont know where the last 7 weeks have gone besides being in hospital and then not being great. Although I do know I have lost all my Christmas weight so probably around 4lbs.

Welcome to Jinxyfool, I can appreciate the experience of being looked after by other people and them not quite getting the dieting part right. Bless him, my hubby has been doing all the cooking and I have had several meals that could be labelled as ‘comfort food’ like a corned beef hash. I am now taking on my share so 50% back on track. Tuesday he does his favourite chicken sausages with baked beans and a fried egg – lovely but a bit too many carbs. So when we shopped I purposely avoided the chicken sausage aisle (although they are quite low in cals and carbs) and pointed out we have so much meat in the freezer. Noticed this morning he has taken out some pork medallions from the freezer. Not sure what he will do with it – I have to keep my opinions to myself and just be grateful.

Wendy, the savoury dumplings you mention are the pyrogy (not sure about the spelling) I warned you about. I used to date a Polish lad many years ago but his mother was Ukrainian and, yes, they will feed you until you pop and you really dont want to be rude as they are so kind and giving.

Have a good week everyone, a new start with renewed motivation.
posted by Wendy1947
on 21 Feb 2023 at 16:12

I’m a bit sore & off balance today & was feeling rather sorry for myself so after our one hours balance exercise class because we were in town I suggested to my husband that a nice treat would be a bowl of soup in Cote Brasserie! Well temptation took over & I ate tartiflette with a green salad & a piece of sour dough bread, a small glass of Merlot ( Dr Fung does say red wine doesn’t increase insulin release (😂) a creme caramel & a cafetière of coffee 🙀 Because it’s pancake day I will make MM’s Keto recipe with blueberries using almond meal & some vanilla protein shake powder pancakes for supper & will do a 24 hour fast tomorrow!
My amusing moments were yesterday trying to use a walking stick with an enlarged ferrule on the bottom, to protect the bowls mat, to bowl down the left hand side. The walking stick is a man’s one so too tall for me but fitted the base so I was overbalancing & bowling poorly which was embarrassing being my teams skip! But fortunately today my husband has managed to fit a shorter ladies stick for me by wrapping the end in tape. Everyone was so kind giving helpful advice but I felt as though I looked in my dotage and felt rather foolish. Oh well I must persevere & get better because I’m in the club team playing competitively in the next couple of weeks🤔😂
I hope you are all having an enjoyable day!
Margaret
posted by Russianroulade
on 21 Feb 2023 at 22:45

Evening all.
I’m still here and plugging away. It’s been a busy old February. The Christmas pounds are off. I’ve started couch to 5k this week, so am beginning to incorporate exercise back into the mix. The longer evenings are certainly making that easier. Had some pancakes tonight to celebrate shrive Tuesday. Not on plan, but I’ve been sensible with everything else.
posted by Tulip1
on 22 Feb 2023 at 09:06

Hiya.
…well, I really need to restart BSD again…..pancakes yesterday and this morning, sigh- I did enjoy them though.
Any how, must get back on it- my clothes are all to tight and I now have 1 st 11 to get back to goal. I’ve just steadily gained weight instead of losing it!
Love to all xxx
posted by Elle-Mae
on 22 Feb 2023 at 09:24

Good morning all
Well with pancake day out of the way there should be no more distractions in the pipeline. So a 24 hr fast day from last night’s dinner until tonight’s. I have until the 15th March to knuckle down to it before we go away on holiday.
Sunny I hope your villa in Turkey avoided the earthquake.
Margaret, my Fiancé has bought me the Obesity Code Cookbook for my birthday so I haven’t sight of it yet 🤣
posted by SunnyB
on 22 Feb 2023 at 13:17

JGwen, really admire your focus and determination with the long fasts and you have every right to admire your progress!
SG, well done on getting back on track and exceeding your weekly goal. You’ve done brilliantly so far this year and I’m sure that will continue, regardless of upcoming events.
Wendy1947, don’t worry about the transgression, this is a long term exercise and it will balance out over time. How did the fasting go?
Russian, sounds like you are doing really well, hope the couch to 5k goes well … have to say I’m not brave enough to tackle that!
Tulip, think many of us have taken our eye off the ball in recent months, hence the number of us here trying to push back to target weight. It’s all too easy to become a bit complacent. Luckily once we get ourselves back on track, progress usually follows quite quickly. Stick with it and us, Tulip, you’ll get there.
Elle, I too indulged in a pancake yesterday (made mine with chickpea flour, to reduce the carbs a bit) think it had to be done🤭. Thanks for asking about our Turkish property, it’s all fine as our corner is on the opposite side of the country to the recent terrible events.

My report is, I completed a 48hr fast last evening. This morning, I weighed at my lowest since we came back from Turkey in December and I can fit into another pair of trousers… means I currently have three pairs that fit at the moment! Of course, this discard is not consolidated, but will do another fast from this evening to Friday lunch, so fingers crossed I can build on progress so far. Have until 9th April to get back to target … 7.5lb to go.
posted by Wendy1947
on 22 Feb 2023 at 13:22

I hope you enjoy the recipes in the Obesity Code Cookbook Elle-Mae👍
The Keto/protein shake recipe from MM’s website I made were not very good because the mixture was thick & stuck on so much they were impossible to turn over & just broke into a partially cooked scrambled mess. They tasted ok & were filling but I won’t make them again. There is another pancake recipe in one of the Fast books using almond meal instead of flour & that is much better. Perhaps next time as a treat I will just keep to the traditional recipe😂
Our son has invited himself for a long weekend & I will have to be careful with what I eat until I weigh on Saturday so I’m on a 24 hour fast at the moment & might extend that to 36 hours depending on how I feel this evening. I won’t need to prepare supper tonight because my husband is out at his model railway club. I have some prep to do for our son’s arrival tomorrow however it will be lovely seeing him 😀
Onwards & downwards everyone 👍🍀🍀keep on going!
Margaret
posted by Elle-Mae
on 22 Feb 2023 at 13:28

Margaret, Sunny I made my pancakes from M.M’s Keto book, with almond flour, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla extract. They tasted like real pancakes, very nice. I added a teaspoon of chia seeds to the mixture just because I always add it to my breakfast (to keep things moving🤣). Served with some raspberries and blueberries, Greek yoghurt with a sprinkling of cinnamon and a tablespoon of mixed seeds l. It was very filling and delicious.
posted by Wendy1947
on 22 Feb 2023 at 14:04

Elle-Mae I think that must have been the recipe I made & also enjoyed👍😀
posted by Tulip1
on 23 Feb 2023 at 22:12

thanks SunnyB, also good to hear about your house xx
Some of those pancakes sound interesting…..I’ve not tried anything other than the regular type as yet…
any how, today wasn’t too bad, had a couple of off plan things but overall not bad.
xxx
posted by arcticfox
on 24 Feb 2023 at 03:59

Hi everyone,
I completely forgot about pancake day until I came on here and saw all the recipes. Oh well, there is always next year.
I found a copy of the Fast 800 book at the library at the weekend, so have been reading it to keep me on track. I have been doing well with TRE, but think it might be time to get back into some slightly longer fasts once or twice a week.
Glad you are having some success with your fasting, JGwen. Mitochondrial dysfunction may play a role in lipedema as well. I bought some co-enzyme Q10 to try as that is supposed to support the mitochondria. I’ll have to give it a try and report back.
Tonight I had pan-fried halloumi with some steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Simple but tasty. I have a pumpkin soup recipe that I want to try, but not sure if I will do that tomorrow or wait for the weekend.
posted by Wendy1947
on 24 Feb 2023 at 08:58

Good morning everyone & I’m pleased to be able to write that I have lost a further 2 lbs in weight so my total loss in six weeks is now 13.5 lbs😀 I have actually weighed a day early because our son has unexpectedly come for a long weekend & I’m sure the eating will become more haywire & relaxed with more wine opened over the weekend which I would like to also enjoy, but also celebrate my weight loss this last week!
We ate steak, ratatouille, roast parsnips & kalettes for supper last night & I had a small glass of red wine. Today it’s broccoli & spinach soup for lunch then I go to play Mahjong & supper will be pork stir fry with teriyaki sauce & noodles for the others & I might have a little amount of those! This evening we are all going to see a musical production of calendar girls. Tomorrow some of the frozen Christmas snacks will be cooked with lots more calories, whilst watching the rugby & no doubt some wine & whilst I won’t go mad it will be nice to enjoy eating something different & I will get back on track on Monday.
ArcticFox I also much enjoy pan-fried Halloumi & often serve it with a mixed salad with Balsamic vinegar & a little garlic oil & the Halloumi sprinkled with lemon juice.
I hope you have all had a good week & will have an enjoyable weekend 👍🍀🍀
Margaret
posted by wendleg
on 27 Feb 2023 at 13:42

Hi everyone . All this talk about pancakes . They have been the bane of my life !!
I think the almond flour, cream cheese recipe is the same one I use for making chaffles in my little individual waffle maker .They are nice for a Sunday brunch as I never have breakfast in the week .

You were right SG about the savoury dumplings .
The only solution is total abstinence for me as the carb monster lurks constantly , just waiting to be woken . It is hard as offering cakes and other heavy duty carb laden treats is the way my Ukrainian pupils show their love and appreciation . I have tried saying I will take them home to hubby but I just get more.

I have just read JGwen’s message on the Positives Thread about the GP fearing she was having a heart attack and having her drive to the nearest hospital !!!! Good grief . I admire how you deal with everything life throws at you Jillie , especially doing your own research .I cannnot see you being railroaded into following a high carb, low fat diet . Keep us informed how you get on , and hope the extended fasting goes some way to sorting the long Covid . Take care xx

Well done Margaret ! That’s a stone in weight you have discarded !

I have to go out this afternoon and hope to be back for the usual time I set up the new thread . If it’s not too late I will do it this evening, if not tomorrow .Last day of February !
posted by arcticfox
on 27 Feb 2023 at 23:44

Hi everyone,
I am fasting today, but not by choice really. I seem to have picked up a case of food poisoning from a seafood salad at the supermarket deli in town. I spoke to my mum on the phone today and she said that they never eat things from that deli as she and my sister been sick from things there before. Thanks for telling me ahead of time, mum!
I’ve been sipping on water with a slice of lemon most of the day and have just made a cup of ginger tea. I struggled through a bare minimum of chores in multiple little bouts. At least I caught up on some much needed sleep. And I’m very glad that I did all the snow clearing yesterday after we had 20cm.
posted by Wendy1947
on 28 Feb 2023 at 08:38

Oh dear so sorry to hear you are unwell arcticfox & hope you soon feel much better!
Good heavens snow clearing? Wow!
Have you told the local Environmental Health Department because if you are ill I bet other people are as well?
Margaret
posted by wendleg
on 28 Feb 2023 at 12:27

Hope you feel better soon, arcticfox

As feared I got in too late last night to start the new thread so I am about to do it now !
posted by Jinxyfool
on 28 Feb 2023 at 13:09

Welp, here I am again! Thank you everyone for the very warm welcome and sorry for the delay. I work in high tech and last week we had our round of the dreaded tech layoffs. I’ve personally survived but a teammate and a lot of friends I’ve known for 20 years were let go. Needless to say, it was quite a ride on the anxiety rollercoaster. I suppose the win for my week last week is that I didn’t fly completely off the rails; and while I didn’t stick exactly to plan, I did have some good conversations with myself when it was time to “step away from the cookie jar”. As expected, I didn’t lose any, but luckily I didn’t gain any either. I do actually have Dr. Fung’s Obesity Code – thank you for the reminder! I think it is time for a re-read even if just for the amp in motivation and discipline. I am also starting to check out the emerging science on ketones’ positive effect on mitochondrial health (which impacts so much as one of you mentioned earlier in the thread) after stumbling over a few of Dr. Chris Palmer’s talks.
For now, hooray for all the losses!!! Well done! To the rest of us… we won’t give up!
posted by sunshine-girl
on 28 Feb 2023 at 13:22

Hi Jinxyfool, sorry it didnt all go to plan but you have survived the layoffs. Wendy has started a new thread with the same title but dated 28th Feb, see you there and you can get your boost of motivation.