Hello and welcome. This is the continuation of the Healthy New Me thread that has been running on a two-monthly basis throughout 2023. Newcomers are very welcome even if you have not been on previous threads. We are a friendly bunch and like to view the thread as a bus journey 🚌 heading towards its ultimate destination – the achievement of our health and weight loss goals.

So if you’re up for a bit of camaraderie as you work towards your own goals please do come and join us! Welcome aboard!

Morning all- I’ll be boarding the bus on Monday. My aim is to get to 145 lb – slow and steady steps toward my goal . I’ve leaned to take things slowly and have less expectation of my progress- slow and steady wins the race. I’ll be incorporating 36 hour fasts, OMAD, TRE and “normal eating days”. Mixing things up regularly keeps things fresh and exciting for me. I have been doing BSD for so long that my body knows what’s coming every day so I am playing games with it! My son bought me a Fitbit for my birthday so I am going to be walking more now I am temporarily out of work . My recent toe steroid injections have alleviated a lot of pain so I’ll be aiming for 10.000 steps a day where possible. I’ve a few mini breaks over the next few months but I am happy to do OMAD when away so I can enjoy my evening meal. We have booked a Mediterranean cruise for next year so it would be wonderful to go away slim! I won’t be coming back quite so slim but if I start at 138 lb then I won’t be too out of control when I come back! Anyway, that’s all in the future. I am going to knuckle down on Monday now I am feeling better and will weigh myself and then re weigh myself at the end of the journey and hope I’ve shed another 10lb. Looking forward to sharing the journey with you and seeing how well we all do .

Hello Cathy
I will be firmly in my 💺 on the bus 🚌 on Monday I am still on holiday in Italy 🇮🇹 at the moment oh dear oh dear too much pasta 🍝 and too many ice cream 🍦 🤣 oh know I should of said no🤣but I am determined this next bus journey is going to work for me I am back on Tuesday but I will ease myself in gently from Wednesday onwards
Just hope the 💺 is big enough for me!
Looking forward to the next journey with you all
Lv nokie x😘

Hi guys, I am doing up my seat belt already.

I have just started another fast which will run until lunchtime on Thursday the 6th. (Next appointment with the cardiac team is on the 6th) I am planning at some point to try to knuckle down to a rolling 72 hour fasting program, but I just find it so difficult to plan around 36 hour eating windows when the shops are a 20 mile round trip So much simpler to just not go into town for a week or more and then get 4 days worth of food when you do go in.

Regarding sharing email addresses, Wendleg has my email address if anyone ever needs to contact me.

Count me in too. 💖

Hi everyone,I’m strapping myself into my seat today.I only lost 2lbs on the last journey but am hoping to do better this time.We are having five days away with family friends from 30th August so I would love to have lost a fair bit by then.DH has never needed to lose any weight but had gained some round his middle this year so started eating low carb/sugar 33 days ago and has lost 19lb and 3 inches off his waist.He just asked me what he should b eating and I didn’t count calories or carbs for him, just reduced them right down (he was a cereal and bread lover so I think not having either of those has helped a lot) he has really inspired me with his iron will power:) It also proves that I know what to do, I just need to do it!He has lost this weight without exercising, he is a keen cyclist but has developed something called drop foot so hasn’t been out on his bike for about 6 weeks.He only has a couple more pounds to lose and I’m sure that he will have no trouble maintaining his weight loss, especially when he can start exercising again.We have a blood sugar monitor at home and his reading a few months ago when we first got it was in the 7s and is now 5.5 (forgot to take a reading when he started low carb 33 days ago so it may have been even higher) So, to sum up, I just need to ‘practice what I preach’ and should hopefully have good result😀Wishing everyone good luck.Nokie I hope you’re having a lovely time in Italy.Dawn X

Morning everyone
I’m strapped in and ready to go. I’m on the front seat because I got here early! I’m fasting today and doing ADF this week to give me a good start. I weighed myself and have put on 4lb! My aim for this journey is to get into the mid 140s. Not been in the 140s for a few years! I did 10,300 steps yesterday and my plan is to walk 10,000 steps every day this week. We are going to Lytham at the weekend for a little seaside break so that will mean plenty of walking and I’ll do OMAD when I get back for a week. Mixing things up seems to trick my very stubborn body. My son achieved a BMI of 24.9 this weekend. He has been working hard with low carb and OMAD and I was so pleased for him. I’ll be hoping to join him in the healthy weight range in the next few months.
Great to see a lot of enthusiasm on the bus.
JGwen- good luck with your long fast (I know you’re an expert faster) and good luck with your next cardiologist appointment . I’ve got to get my LDL down before September! I know they are not up to date with the latest research at the doctors but I’ll try my best to make a difference in my cholesterol reading- I’m never going to accept statins in my body.
Here’s to a successful journey for us all. My goal is to lose 10lb or so on this bus ride. I’m slowly heading in the right direction but it’s taking a lot of effort and determination but I’m feeling positive and motivated. I’m so glad that the forum is back up and running and we can support each other. Good luck everyone

Hello everyone
Although I am still in Italy 🇮🇹 I am sort of in bus as we fly home tomorrow will have my last pasta 🍝 this evening 🤣
I have about 10 lbs to loose as well Cathy let’s do this !!
Jgwen good luck with your fast and good luck to everyone in this journey I think we are great team
Lv nokie xx🤗

Hello everyone.

I am getting on the bus empty-handed, with what I hope will be a 50-60 hour fast. (Don’t worry, I do have my water bottle!!)
I had some ups and downs in the last bus ride, but hoping to lose 12lbs during this bus journey.

Thank you everyone for being on the ride with me!

Hello everyone, I’m climbing aboard for the next leg of my weight loss journey 🙂
2023 has been a bit of an up and down year so far, but I did manage to lose 1.8kg (3.97 lb) on the May/June trip so the scales are heading in the right direction again! My clothes are fitting better which is a relief. My Happy Scales app is telling me that it’s still possible to reach my end of year goal of 80kg by the 10th December, so I’m strapping myself in. By the end of August I’d like to have lost another 3-4kg (6 to 9 lb roughly), so here goes 🙂
I have more motivation health wise, I’ve been experiencing RA flares which are very debilitating. I am in the process of changing medication, but I’m sure my poor diet of late hasn’t helped, as when I was constantly eating low carb foods I rarely, if ever, experienced flares. I’d also stopped taking Turmetic supplements (had run out and forgot to buy more), so I’m not sure if that contributed or not, but I’m back on them now! It’s a good reminder to me that we are what we eat!
My plan is to use TRE, and like Dawn my extensive knowledge of BSD/Fast 800 to prepare healthy low carb meals, and also like Cathy, keep my steps to around 10,000 per day when I can. I have the ability, some days my husband and I walk closer to 20,000, it’s more the time, it’s difficult on work days.
I haven’t weighed myself this week, but last week I weighed in at 90.2kg. My first mini goal is to get under 90kg again, then 88kg which is where I was at for my daughters wedding last October. Then if I can get to 86 or 87 by the end of this trip I’ll be well on my way to my target weight of 80kg.
In saying all of that though, it’s not the figure on the scales but how I look and feel, how my clothes fit etc. I feel so much better at size 16 than I did at size 18, 20 etc. plus I’m sure the less I weigh is better for my joints!
All the best everyone 🙂

Hello everyone
I’m just walking up the bus to check everyone is doing OK after their first day.
The first three days are always the hardest when we are getting into the swing of things. I got off the bus to do my 10,000 steps. I did 10,500 on Sunday and Monday. So far today I am at 7,800 but I’ll be going out later to complete the 10,000 steps. It’s hard doing it every day!!. I’m eating today and then doing another 36 hour fast after my evening meal. Hope JGwen and Happysnap are coping with their long fasts. I have to say I could have continued my fast this morning after 37 hours but I am sticking to my regime this week.
It’s great to see some very realistic targets for this challenge and I think that comes with experience. We also know our bodies really well now and know that they don’t respond as they once did.
I ate yoghurt and seeds this morning to break my fast. My lunch was seeded sourdough toast with avocado and cheese and my evening meal is mushroom omelette and salad. I have read that some people who do ADF eat what they want on non fast days but I am keeping it healthy but not keto. I felt tired when out for my walk this morning and thoroughly enjoyed my lunch when I got home.
Sit tight everyone and enjoy the ride.

Hi Cathy – putting my hand up for the bus roll call. I’m planning all my meals – currently using the Fast800 recipe book – and feeling positive. Your food sounds lovely btw. I’m focussing on fishy dishes at the mo which are enjoyable so far. It’s lovely to open the fridge and have lots of fresh healthy food in there instead of the ready meals I’ve gradually become used to in recent months (no particular reason other than laziness/business and lack of imagination!!).

Hope everyone is having a good week so far?

Hello everyone
How are we all doing? DCT- the recipe books that accompany the Fast/BSD/Keto are all amazing. Being vegetarian I am limited in my choices but even so, with all three books I have a great selection of meal ideas. I’m fasting again today – haven’t been too hungry so far. I’ve walked over 10,000 steps a day since Sunday but today I only did 6,000 as I feel a need a rest day and it’s my second 36 hour fast since Monday. I’ve managed to pair my Renpho scales with my new Fitbit so I’m starting afresh on the weight chart. It feels quite good to discard all previous weights and start again. Don’t know why- might be a psychological reboot. Desperately hoping to get back into the 140s in the next week or so!
I am hoping that three fasts a week (various times 16/24/36) combined with sensible , nutritious and low carb eating should help me achieve my goal. I’ve struggled to find a formula that works for me over the last year or so.The fasting element definitely seems to be helping me and walking too. My recent toe injections though incredibly painful have afforded me fantastic relief and I’m walking pain free so I’ll make the most of it and also I’m not working at the moment so have time to go out a couple of times a day to pound the streets!

Hi everyone, I am back on the bus after a few years away.
I’m 89 kg and 27 bmi, and want to gradually improve so aiming for 1/2 kilo per week over the next couple of months.

I’m eating too much bread and having dessert when I’m already full. I don’t need three cooked meals a day and I want to try to reduce my eating window to 9am to 6pm.

I am going to have half the potatoes but fill up on greens and vegetables. Avocado toast sounds great for breakfast. I will get seeds for yoghurt brekkie as well.

I’m going to reread the bsd recipe book for ideas.
I used to keep my food notes on an app I cannot remember. Is there anything that just lets me list my meals without having to weigh ingredients?

Good luck everyone,

Hello Patricia
I think I remember your name on the forum- Welcome aboard the bus. You are amongst like minded people sharing our weight loss journey together. From reading your post, a couple of things struck me, you’re eating potatoes and bread. When you re-read the blood sugar diet book again you’ll realise that these two foods are ones to ditch. I never eat potatoes, rice, pasta and only very very occasionally eat a piece of sourdough bread. It will be good to go back to basics – it’s so easy to slip into bad habits as I know only too well and I’ve paid the price!
I don’t use an app to monitor what I eat- back in 2017 when I started I wrote everything down in a diary. I know a lot of people use my fitness pal but I found it a faff.
With a BMI of 27 you’re not too far away from being a healthy weight so good luck on your journey and a few tweaks here and there and you’ll be seeing progress in no time. Fasting and time restricted eating are helping me at the moment. After years of following low carb I need extra help to get the fat moving. We look forward to hearing about your progress.

Hi Patricia and welcome back! I’m glad you’re travelling with us and hope that we can help you to achieve your goals.

I personally find that if I need a bit of a reboot it’s helpful to go back to the recipes in one of the BSD or Fast800 books. Then you get a fair idea of carbs and cals (I know they may not always be 100% accurate but a pretty good guide). I’m predominantly pescatarian, though occasionally eat chicken. Last night I made the leek and salmon quiche from the Fast800 recipe book and it was delicious. There is no pastry crust, just salmon, leeks and spinach, baked in a mixture of eggs, creme fraiche and parmesan. It was very filling and didn’t need anything with it. Even so we couldn’t finish it, so I’ve just had the leftovers cold for brunch before I go to work – and in fact, I think I preferred it cold, it’s very similar to frittata. Cathy I reckon you could make this with substituting other veg for the salmon, and as it’s got eggs and cheese in it, the protein is already there.

Hope the rest of the week goes well for you all.

Hi CC and DCT yes I used to be on the board but had a change of diet due to low carb making me very constipated. I need the rainbow of vegetables and fruit for a healthy gut.

But that is sorted, and I need a bit of help with keeping up with the new routine to eat less non nutritious food.

I am away from home now and will have a look at the recipe for salmon quiche in a few days. Sounds delicious.

What I remember was that the cookbook was not particularly low carb as it included nutritious carbs like quinoa.

I bought a little notebook for my meal plan and what I eat.

Hi gang,my ‘ tick notification’ was unticked so I didnt get emails! 🫤
Good to see so many aboard our bus! Good luck everyone. Onwards and downwards ,
Will catch up reading the posts now!
X💕x🌷x💕x

PATRICIA welcome back! I have used MyNetDiary,its quite simple to use ( but you do have to enter the weights of what you eat.)
Good to see everyone happily seated on the bus! NOKIE see you on Wednesday when you climb aboard.
Very impressed with our fasters! 👍👍👍👍 and we have so many good planners! 👏👏👏👏 I need a wet lettuce swiped around my face at the moment..Its going to be Monday before I really knuckle down properly. ( tho had two really good days earlier in the week) DAWN congrats to DH! Excellent results and you must have been such a good teacher.
Hang on to your hats folks and on we go! X Thanks as always DCT! X

Hi guys,
Well my appointment with the cardiac team went well-ish. Small drop in weight since the previous appointment, only 2.2kg but I also know that I was in a smaller size of jeans. 4 days of eating a “normal” style of diet was obviously successful in ensuring that my blood test results were all in a normal range so no discussion about LDL and needing statins.

The nurse didn’t talk me through the ECG taken at the end of previous appointment, but I know it looked much better than the first one, there was only a single upwards spike and the downwards spike was not as wide. My blood pressure was down again, so was back to the boundary of normal. I still have not worked out why they check your height on each visit to the cardiac team.

So, I am discharged from the cardiac department, with a lot of hummps. I have said over and over I would take drugs compatible with fasting, but instead they have preferred to record this as refusing to take drugs, rather than refusing to take drugs that are incompatible with fasting. They told me at the first appointment that I would never improve and the best I could hope for was stabilising the problems if I took the drugs they recommended. The first set of drugs prescribed included a repurposed drug for diabetics which prevents water retention but says in the paperwork it should not be taken if fasting. -I talked it through with my GP and he agreed it wasn’t safe to take if fasting. The next drug specifically said to not take if you are taking any medication to trigger autophagy.

I am going to try going for rolling 42 hour fasts and see what I can achieve in the next month. The nurse did say that she would put in a form for another echocardiogram, but it will take a few months to get to the top of the waiting list. I want to try to have improved results from the next echo as it will make a big difference to the costs of travel insurance when I am near my target weight.

Hello everyone
It’s been a tough week. Two 36 hour fasts and a 24 hour fast since Monday. Scales move down and then go up! I really do hate scales so they’re going away AGAIN! I don’t know why I give them any power over me. Been to the doctors because I have had electric shock shooting pains in my left inner ankle. Absolutely excruciating. All bloods are normal. I’m really concerned that I may have a recurrence of a Schwannoma I had resected from my femoral nerve in 1999! I need a CT/MRI scan arranging so that is another battle.
JGwen it looks like you had a reasonably positive cardiology appointment this week. You’re working hard to improve your health and show them pesky nurses you’re in control!
We are going away for a few days tomorrow so I am going to be eating more “normally” and I’ll resume my fasting when I get back on Wednesday. I’ve worked really hard this week with walking, fasting and staying low carb.
Next week will be a mixed week but mixing things up does me good. Im not going to be going mad but I’m also not going to be ridiculously strict like I have been this week. I was disappointed when I got on the scales today because I hoped I would be in the 140s but true to form I’d gained a pound! So it’s going to be another couple of weeks before I post a 149 weigh in on the thread. Watch this space- it’s going to happen one day soon!
Have a good weekend everyone and I’ll look forward to reading about your first weeks progress whilst I am away in Lytham.

Hello Cathy and everyone
I am back from 🇮🇹 Italy had a great week but the scales say otherwise 🤣🤣
My sister came over from Switzerland 🇨🇭 for few days so. Can’t start properly till Monday I will work out my menu tomorrow for week and am determined to stick to it my son gets married on September 20th so I had better cracking otherwise I will be wearing a sack 🤣
Have a good weekend everyone and keep going
Lv nokie x🩵

Hi Nokie- I’ve saved you a seat for Monday. Glad you had a lovely holiday. Now you’re back you can get back to basics and your son’s wedding is the perfect incentive to be strict.
I’ve decided not to weigh myself until 29th July – so that will be four weeks on this bus. By then it would be reasonable for me to be getting closer to my goal and I would like to have lost 5 lb. There is no point me weighing daily or weekly because it actually details me when im disappointed. So a monthly weigh in for me going forward.

Hello all, just jumping in quickly to say well done to JGwen on your test results. Your determination, not only for weight loss, but better health is inspiring.

Cathy – good idea to ditch the scales! I think I’ll do the same thing and just weigh at the end of July and the end of August. I hope you enjoy your break away 🙂

Nokie – welcome back. I’m very envious, Italy is somewhere I’d love to visit. It was my daughters favourite country when she went to Europe for her honeymoon last year.

I’ve had a quiet day at home today, not feeling 💯 but I think it’s due to the side effects of the new RA medication I’m on. I spent the day cleaning out the fridge and making some pumpkin and red capsicum soup. I also had bag of apples in the fridge my daughter had bought and not eaten, they were looking a bit sad so I’ve cooked them up with cinammon and will use in my oats this week. Last week I had oats for breakfast a few times, adding some seeds and crumbled walnuts and I found it really satisfying and filling and perfect for our cold winter mornings at the moment.
I also found my Fast 800 recipe book and rediscovered some old favourites that I plan to make this week – broccoli and blue cheese soup and smoked salmon omelette were 2 that some to mind.
Hope everyone has a good week 🙂

Hi everyone, hope you all had a good week.I had some days sticking to plan, some off plan so will hold back weighing myself for another few weeks.Will try to do food plan tonight for the next 7 days as I’m food shopping tomorrow and it always helps me massively if I’m organised for the week.Good luck for this week’s journey😀 Dawn X

I thought this was an interesting read – a 385 DAY fast!
https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-news-headlines-on-this-day-in-pictures-famous-historical-images-crime-sport-celebrity-world-news-global-events-anniversaries/a4e6a3c2-97d9-46c2-864d-910637d4aa03

Hey there

I was last on here about 7 years ago and the forums were such a help. I lost 3 or 4 stone rapidly and my blood sugars went back to normal.

I’ve about 2 stone to lose this time. I don’t think it will be as difficult psychologically because I still don’t eat many of the high carb foods I used to crave. I’m not sure exactly why I’ve put on weight – age/HRT/Statins/too many sugars even though only through whole foods (I’m talking carrots and onion here, not wheat). Milk – definitely was drinking too much of that even if most of it was lactose free.

Anyhow for whatever reason I’m back in the danger zone and getting tired and so it’s black coffee and salad for me for the foreseeable. (My salads have cheese and nuts and seeds and olive oil and are delicious so I’m feeling fine about it).

I’m a massive, massive believer in this way of eating. I know for a FACT it works. Looking forward to hearing all your stories.

Hi JackieM same story here, except I have been eating too much bread and ice-cream. In February this year I was 85kg, and now it’s 88-89kg and of course % fat has increased too.

My strategy last time was to throw out bread and flour, pasta and desserts. My husband is now retired and fills the fridge with all my trigger foods, and has been known to put strawberries and ice cream in front of me even when I say no dessert for me. There are limits to my self control.

I bought more vegetables for a lasagna with aubergine from the bsd recipe book, and made it last night. It’s very tasty and I’ll eat it with crunchy salad when Chris has his lunch today.

Quinoa instead of potatoes; fewer meat meals.

I have not bought packets of nuts, I don’t have any self control around them either, and will eat 200g nuts in between meals. Peanut butter might be an option for protein sandwich.

I am not trying for ketosis as I have a few bad habits to break first before going all in. Let’s see how it works anyway

Morning all! How’s everyone doing?

I’m very focused at the moment. I’m using Mother of the Bride as my goal, though really it’s just nice to have a label and event to pin my latest efforts to!

Up and down movement on the scales but I’m not letting that bother me : I’m mainly concentrating on getting into good fitness routines whilst I’ve got a bit more time to do so. (I currently have two jobs. One is freelance writing, which is ongoing but flexible time-wise, and the other is working part time in a private school which has now broken up for summer). This year has been very busy and rather bumpy so far, and any attempts at fitness have gone totally out of the window. So I guess I’m trying to overcompensate for that, and have created a daily routine to work back up again. My hope is that by the time I go back to school I will be in a firm fitness groove and even if I can’t do quite as much, I will still do a lot more than of late!

I’m also taking the time to plan meals properly rather than just wing it, and that is helping too. Not just the actual meals themselves, but I think the whole process of planning helps me to be more mindful about what I’m eating and think about the goodness of food more, rather than just stuffing too much of it in my mouth!

I hope everyone else is doing ok? Do share any hints and tips, and also let us know if you need a word of encouragement – or even one of Yowzer’s wet lettuce slaps 😀

Strong start followed by weekend away – definitely not a calorie counting weekend, but as low carb as it could be. Home now. Tummy less full. Feel more alert. Have come to conclusion I’m better always slightly hungry – mentally as well as physically. Quite the turn around for a child who ate their feelings.

Black coffee, seeing if I can fast a bit longer today. Off to work in a bit. Cauli cheese yesterday (boiled cauli, yoghurt, cheese, Worcester sauce, baked – ground almond crust. OMG. Food of the Gods). Today’s plan: Salad (grated parmasan, oil, vinegar, either chicken or tuna) tonight. Some chia seeds and linseed on yoghurt at some point to keep me regular.

Apparently 30 veg (seeds etc included) is vital for healthy gut biome. I do like to win a challenge!

Hi Jackie, good to hear from you. It sounds like things are going really well and I love the sound of that cauliflower cheese!

I agree that I feel better when slightly hungry, and it all makes me look forward to and appreciate my food much more.

Have a great day!

Hi folks! DCT like you I am feeling very focused and in the zone. Day 5 for me of fast 800 and have lost 7 lb- mainly water of course but feel so much better for it.
JACKIE welcome and nice to meet you ! SUEBLUE that was interesting link…guy was amazing doing that fast for over a year!
Love to all..keep on,onwards and downwards,and hold on tight as the bus chugs along! X

Hi all,
How are all my fellow passengers doing?
I am pleased to have lost 1.5kg so far, but i’m struggling with fasting, which I managed much better last time.
I know that I need extended fasting to reverse my severe Insulin Resistance…
Oh well. I suppose I just have to keep trying.

On a positive note, we have booked a holiday at the sea in Kent during August, and we are doing self-catering (airbnb) and I’m busy stocking up my freezer with food for myself- soups, stir-fries, etc so at least I won’t be unprepared! Hope it’ll all work out.

I’m not getting on the scales yet as I get a bit obsessive. But my tummy is deflating a bit and my hips are closer to the surface.

I think (know) one of my problems is milk. I’m now drinking black coffee and maybe one or two teas with lactose free whole milk and I think it makes a difference – I think otherwise I tip over into too high carbs really easily and the problem with THAT is then I want more carbs. I also can eat a decent amount of 85/90% chocolate when not careful too and this has now stopped.

Last night – steak with seedy salad (cheese and raw broccoli and dressing as well as leaves). Late though – gone 8. Yesterday I ate at about 12.30 but I didn’t really feel I needed to. I’m going to see if I can push through today as we are eating out tonight (more salad for me I guess).

Good to read everyone’s journey. Hope it’s still going well.

I saw on facebook a few people recommend episode 24 of the podcasts Megan Ramos does on the fasting method website where she talked about the common mistakes they address when supporting people For those who do not know Megan is the public face nowadays for the clinic Dr Fung set up and she was patient no 1. She mentioned that they get a lot of people who have been following low carb or keto but have plateaued signing up to work with their team of advisers and what they focus on is working out a plan for people that will take them 6 months to a year to reach maintenance.

One of my takeaways was the focus on strictness on preventing insulin spikes, I do have a habit learned from the years of office work of having a break with a coffee at various times of the day, but apparently even on an eating day the coffee with cream should only be during one of the 2 hour eating windows if we want to reverse IR.

Happysnap, my aim now is to reverse IR, do you want to buddy up supporting each other with a extended fasting program?

Hello all
Been reading the posts i am at dentist 🦷 at the moment so catching up with all news
Back from Italy 🇮🇹 holiday had lovely time but over ate!!🤣
I am back on diet trying to be good it’s so hard thought it’s the carbs like bread 🥖 and pasta 🍝 that I am trying not to have
Good luck everyone I will be in touch later in week as I am just going in to dentist now
Lv nokiexx

I have a None Scale None Victory to report. – spent yesterday evening hunting online for ideas for padding for shoulder straps for knapsack sprayers as I don’t have enough padding of my own over my collar bones. – I just wish that I could select where my body removes the fat from.

JGwen, glad to hear of your NSV. Wouldn’t it be handy if we could point out to our “problem” areas and select weight loss from those!!
I definitely would love to be your IF and extended fasting buddy- how would we go about that?

Hello everyone and it’s good to see NSV’s as well as focus and optimism.
I’ve had a little set back. My health hasn’t been too good for the last couple of months and I have been having horrendous electrical shocks in my left ankle. I won’t go into detail but I’m having tests and due to my high levels of anxiety haven’t fasted this week since coming back from seeing my son in London where I was in a lot of pain. I have a history of extremely rare nerve tumours and I’m concerned that I’ve either developed another or there is a recurrence of my original tumour. Once my pain is settled and I’m calmer I do plan to get back to fasting but my mind has been preoccupied and I’ve been catastrophising this week!! On a more positive note I’ve got myself a nice little job for a month at the local sixth form college helping with the new intake of student enrolments from 14th August so I’m hoping I’ll be able to continue with that.
I feel very bloated this week as I’ve been comfort eating. It was a “what the hell” type week for me. I’m not weighing anyway til the end of July so I don’t need to see the damage I’ve done this last 10 days or so.
I am considering this to be a small set back and I’m hiding at the back of the bus for a few days whilst I come to terms with things but I’m keeping as positive as I can for a good outcome from my tests.
Have a good week everyone. This last week has been a good lesson for me in perspective, health and happiness.
Yowser, I’ve finished the book written by the 102 year old doctor – have you ? Lots to take away from reading it.

So sorry to hear of your pain and fears CC. – It is not unusual for fasting to trigger our bodies to heal old injuries and while it is happening we suffer from a renewal of pain or twinges. Lets keep our fingers crossed that is all it is.

Happysnap, we could set up a seperate thread on this forum specifically for those who want to share information and discussions on focusing on reversing IR.

or

we could take the chat off the forum and talk via facebook, or email.

My plan of action includes setting up some program of targets and awards for myself on the number of days fasted. – So just like I have set myself some rewards when I get down to specific target weights I am going to also set up some rewards that spurs me on to be intensive in the period in the run up to the next echocardiogram maximising autophagy.

Hi everyone. How’s the week been?

CATHY I\m so sorry to hear about your ankle and hope that the test results are reassuring and that it all calms down again. Congratulations on your n ewjob too – that’s great news.

JGWEN I was interested in what you said about fasting triggering the body’s healing mechanism. I’d like to know more about that – is there a link you could recommend? Thank you for all the info you give us! And I sympathise about weight coming off in odd places : I’ve had that before too. I really want it off my belly, but other less-obvious body parts seem to get targeted first!

No scales loss for me this week but I did actually remember to take measurements yesterday and will check those in a week or two. I’m doing lots of exercise at the moment, and hopefully toning up and building muscle, so would actually expect NSVs more than scales at this stage. I hope so anyway! 🤞

Hope everyone else is ok and that you all have a fab weekend X

Hi Dreamscometrue.

When you fast your growth hormones are raised. and autophagy which is the bodies process of removing/replacing damaged cell components and damaged cells is ramped up. We forget that even our bones are going through regular cellular replacement. so one of the benefits of fasting is building stronger bones.

Autophagy is a relatively new discovery and there are lots of research programs into harnessing it and the benefits but there is lots of anecdotal “evidence” that people go through periods of feeling twinges, and subsequently an old injury improves. Its happened to me, I broke my ankle years ago (foot went back under my leg breaking the bones on both sides of the ankle) and it remained swollen on both sides of the ankle, now there is just swelling on one side after a period of stabbing twinges.

JGwen thanks so much for that info. It’s of great interest to me – aside from the weight loss implications – as I have a skin condition which is widely regarded as being an immune system issue. I’m currently on a medication which kind of helps, but is not good for me in other ways, and my consultant is in favour of switching to another medication which I really don’t like the sound of for all sorts of reasons. But I’m now wondering if doing some prolonged fasting might make a difference. The condition came on at the onset of puberty (a very long time ago for me!) so if it were possible to kind of reset my system then who knows what could happen.

I will research this further but thanks again for the insight X

Popping in to say Hi!

My diet is already low carb by Western standards, so this time it’s been all about calorie control and portion size. The first time I did all this I had so many cravings and carbs habits to contend with. This time, I’ve found I can quite easily fast for 24hrs and this has been the easiest way to go. I’ve never managed more than 15hrs before.

Drinks:: counting milk as food has been pivotal – tea only in afternoon and only with lactose free milk. Otherwise black coffee and water. I normally don’t like water, but I’m so thirsty (good sign) it’s not a problem. Gin not wine, but mostly not gin either, just water.

Food: seedy salads with cheese and meat and lots of other veg thrown in. Yoghurt – smaller portion size than normal with only one or two raspberries, less almonds, same chia seeds.

Seeds – pivotal for me for bowel health. Towards the end of the first 8 weeks I did it got pretty unpleasant. Chia seeds are my best friend! I value my bowel health a lot (something I never thought I’d say aloud) and it’s worth looking after.

Motivation: I want to look like the person I think I am again! Also, I want the energy to go do my things. Also also, I have a guilt about plastic packaging – this keeps me away from snacks and some supermarket food. I think it’s helpful not to always be motivated by myself. For me any how.

Score on door: 72.6kg – 2.6kg to not be overweight and another 4 or so after that to feel in my prime.

Onwards, onwards!

Jackie

My mother suffered from psoriasis all her adult life so I recongise what it looks like but I had never suffered from it myself until I caught long covid. – The covid virus slows down the rate of autophagy so that it can hide from your immune system, Its not only covid that does this, apparently other viruses do. I developed psoriasis on my elbows and the bottom of both arms and also on my face and scalp.

Fasting cleared it all up. and for me it was the first stage of fasting plus taking antihistamines to reverse long covid and calm down the over active immune system that knew there was an invader but couldn’t get at it that achieved that. – There is a virologist who was suffering from long covid who used all the research papers as they were published on covid to work out a protocol, then he shared that via a facebook group just for people dealing with long covid and continues to share new research. In the meantime there is so much evidence from individuals following his program that now there is a formal research project being undertaken by one of the universities into its viability.

His program is to recommend people build up to a 60 hour fast each week, Build up, because if you are releasing viruses or parts of viruses it does trigger an increase in symptoms until you have reduced the virus load. Antihistamines because your immune system is over reacting because it has been responding to the virus for so long.

The rest of the week he recommends sticking to a 16:8 TRE protocol. and using food to help your body rebuild.

Being in the USA, so having access to the functional doctor system and the option of reliable methods of purchasing supplements and being able to work your doctor to prescribe drugs means that he is able to also recommend a range of supplements that I would be concerned about sourcing in the UK. He does recommend a very good quality probiotic, he also recommends a drug which triggers increased rates of autophagy on eating days, but just the fasting and the antihistamines was enough to make a major improvement for me.

JGWEN belated thanks for your reply re autophagy and its impact on the immune system. I’ve since done some further research myself and it’s all really interesting and very positive. I’m definitely going to give it a go and am feeling hopeful. I’m fed up of taking medication which has other side effects and, although it does calm the psoriasis down, it’s gradually getting worse. And, as I said, the next step is stronger medication with more side effects and so it goes on. I feel I’m stuck in a vicious circle and need to break out. So will be building in fasting from now on and see what happens. Thank you again.

JACKIE you sound supermotivated and on top of your game re meal planning etc. Well done so far, and do keep us posted on how you’re getting on. I’m sure you’ll be in your prime zone very soon!

I’m having a planned off-piste day today as I’m going into London for a theatre matinee then meeting my daughter afterwards for dinner. But back on track tomorrow. I’m now doubly motivated not just to lose some weight before the wedding, but to see if I can start to take some control over my skin too.

Hope everyone else is doing ok?

Just catching up with reading posts.
CCATHY i loved that book! Had to return it to library,sbody else had reserved it. Might buy it. Lovely news about your new job,sounds interesting! Sorry to hear about health probz. Im going for chest xray,blood tests and ecg,as having chest pains and breathlessness.
DCT hope you enjoyed theatre and dinner with DD!
A big wave to SUEBLUE!DAWN!HAPPYSNAP!JACKIE!NOKIE!MARIET! And beep ….beeeeep! Keep on keeping on..onwards and downwards. LINDA Hope you and hubby are ok.
Saw this today and like it,it made me stop and think…
“You are in charge of your life and you get to decide how to live it.”
Not sure this is 100% true 100% of the time,but its certainly true of deciding what we eat and drink,and how much / often we choose to move our bodies. Noone else can do it for us! XX

Hello all
Thanks for the wave YOWZER 🙂 sorry to hear you’re not feeling 💯 and all the best for your tests x
CATHY I hope you are not in as much pain now too.
I’ll have to write a proper post later as I’m at work now but to cut a long story short I’ve been slacking off and actually put ON 1/2kg (1lb) during July so need to refocus in order to reach my goal by the end of the year!

Hello all😊
Thanks for all your posts sorry I have been a bit quiet been a bit hectic at home !! Trying to sort our bungalow out with a new bed and decorating well we have to have some thing to do inside the weathers so awful 😣 rain 🌧️ rain ☔️ ☔️ 🤣🤣🤣🤣
My weight is slowly going down not as much as I had hoped though Thursday week I am going to Switzerland 🇨🇭 to see my sister for a long weekend oh dear more chocolate 🍫!! No seriously I am ok if i could start more exercise I would be better
Hope everyone is ok and doing well
Will be n touch soon and thanks for the posts
Lv nokie 😘 xx