Alternate Day Fasting Tips from An Old Pro...

1. Don't think of ADF or any form of intermittent fasting as a diet, regard it as a lifestyle because you WILL need to follow some form of fasting for the rest of your life. Thinking you'll need to be on a 'diet' forever is downright depressing.

2.Don't hate your fasting days, try to enjoy them as much as possible

3. Nothing is written in stone, if you want or need to swap days then do it. Don't have an extra fast day by way of 'punishment', only do it because you want to

4. If you don't want to eat anything because once started, you can't stop. Then don't ... because this is right for YOU ... added benefits to make this idea easier ... you're likely to lose weight faster.

5. Find something you really like to eat on your fasting days. There's no reason at all - other than hoping it tastes so bad you don't want it - for not enjoying these meals ... you'll be following this lifestyle for a l-o-n-g time.

6. Experiment. If you really can't cope with 500 cals or less try daily eating windows, or ... have more calories. There's no real reason to stick with 500 cals, especially in the early days when it's tough and you've got a lot of weight to lose.

800 cals of something you enjoy - and are likely to repeat - is far better than 400 cals of something that tastes like ... umm, shite - been there, done that - because this is likely to put you off the whole idea of fasting and you'll likely feel deprived.

7. Have mini goals with treats to look forward to ... if you want a ginormous pizza for your treat, have it ... but if you do, you may have to reach the same goal again a week later ... so this time have diamonds ... or is that just me?

8. Have planned holidays/vacations, if you want to minimise damage, use eating windows ... ie 16-18 hour daily fasts. Otherwise enjoy your holiday and come back happy to do a fasting day ... I'm always sooooooo relieved to get back to fasting after a week of munchy days

9. Don't feel guilty about holidays, you'll lose any gained weight in no time ... quick on, quick off.

10. If ever you find yourself eating out of control or binging, remember most of this lifestyle is a mind game. Do not punish yourself!! Forget self loathing - been there, done that, totally not worth it - just carry on eating and tell yourself you're on holiday and you'll get right back to it ASAP ... and mean it.

Any feelings of guilt at this point can make you throw in the towel permanently ... and that's not fair to you after you've already done so well ... if it makes you feel better and easier to get back into a fasting routine, treat yourself to something nice - like diamonds ... er, that's just me again isn't it? - because you're worth it.

And finally ... don't get caught up with the idea that 'fasting' 3 or 4 days a week is good so 5 or 6 must be better. It may well be in the short term, but that's when our bodies panic and hang on to every calorie for dear life ... because it needs to. It has no idea that your brain knows what it's doing - also been there and done that - and assumes you're starving. This buggers up your metabolism.

If you do find it's happened to you - because your brain thinks it's smarter than your body - then expect to gain weight when you get back to your regular routine. It isn't permanent, so don't panic and start eating less again, just ride it out...

Still Maintaining

Intermittent fasting is still working for me after losing 63lbs two years ago - give or take a couple of Christmas lbs - I just wish I'd remember that I was a faster when I went shopping. For some reason my brain gets switched off and I continue to shop like someone who eats 3-4 meals a day and the freezer is starting to groan

Christmas food shopping is insane. I never did get around to making the gingerbread house I bought in kit form and it sits in the cupboard along with the two boxes of shortbread, Christmas cake and a stollen. The six boxes of chocolates Mr Grumpy bought me as presents should last us until Easter because we've not started them yet. We're still only on the roof of my delicious chocolate house.

Oh yes, the domestic goddessing ... we currently have about 30 jars of homemade jam/marmalade/chutney that will never get eaten. This is because by the time I have toast - the only way I've ever liked sweet stuff on bread - I end up wanting crunchy peanut butter instead. And along with the stash of regular alcohol - that a professional bar wouldn't be ashamed of - There's also a bottle of unopened sloe gin, plum vodka and Christmas pudding vodka. And there's about 20 mini muffins in the freezer I made using the fruit from the pudding vodka ... sigh.

As an intermittent faster I can eat whatever I like, and even though I spend time thinking ... "yum, I'll have pizza and ice cream tomorrow" - just because I can - I invariably have something else. These days I always eat what I want because the body knows what it NEEDS nutritionally

I've not always taken notice of it, during last summer my brain thought it knew better and went all stupid. The body rebelled, got bolshy, let me get shingles by way of 'I told you so', told the brain to back off and get on with doing proper brain stuff and leave the day to day running of things to experienced ... er, bits ...  and since then we've all got along just fine. 

After yesterday's once weekly naughty day - of a Wetherspoons lunch and toasted slice of panettone for tea - my body wants fruit and home made nutty Muesli, it won't get it until around 7.00pm. Until then it'll make do with tea, coffee, bouillon and squash.

Here endeth today's 'dieting' lesson. I may even get up and have a stroll on the elliptical doodah, but not before I've finished my cuppa. 

Just one small whinge. I'd written all this out once - much better than this crap - went to save it to the clipboard for my blog and the chuffin page refreshed losing the lot. My phone nearly went through the window and my bloody tea has

gone cold...

.....

1. Me and Alternate Day Fasting
2. Me and Alternate Day Fasting ... Three Weeks On
3. Five Weeks of Alternate Day Fasting
4. Eight Weeks of Alternate Day Fasting
5. Ten Weeks of Alternate Day Fasting
6. Alternate Day Fasting Three Months On
7. Alternate Day Fasting in Winter
8. Alternate Day Fasting Over Christmas
9. Me and Zumba
10. Saying Goodbye To My Curves 
11. Eight Months Of Alternate Day Fasting And Me
12. Growing Up 
13. A Year Of Alternate Day Fasting 
14. 60 Pounds Of Blubber - Vanished
15. The Perils of Alternate Day Fasting 
16. Mr Grumpy Is Losing It
17. Mr Grumpy Has Lost It
18. Fasting For Maintenance
19. Tweaking Maintenance
20. Weight Gain 
21. Still Maintaining
22. Four Years Of Intermittent Fasting

  .....

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Blog Photo Theft

I am fuming! Some dodgy arsehole - George Burns/Georgi Tonov - has used my before and after photo on his crappy diet pill reviews website. 

I'll give him an effin PLOBLEM

He doesn't say I've bought diet pills, but the inference is clear. He insults me further by claiming The Age Is Not A Ploblem - Lose Weight Like her ... I am not sharing a link to his site as he didn't do the decent thing and link back to my blog to make it clear how I lost my weight ... it's easy enough to find if you really want to from these photos.

honest and reputable my arse!

He has also got a Facebook page of stolen before and after photos linking back to his crapsite. Furthermore the photo that he stole from me in December has been 'watermarked' right across my belly with his effin fattist address. I have reported him to Facebook for theft of intellectual property ... and nothing.

Pinterest - fine but it still took me to his crapsite.

If it hadn't been pinned on Pinterest - which does have a link to my blog, so is almost okay - I would probably never have known it was being used. Yesterday I left a comment on his fattist site, it is still awaiting moderation. I have now left two comments on his Facebook page ... and still nothing ...

Blue Plates for Little Dinners

A friend on Facebook commented on a photo I shared - of my dinner at Wetherspoons - that blue plates can be used as an appetite suppressant. It must be noted that I rarely manage to eat all my Wetherspoons dinner, even though it's my first meal of the day and I'm proper hungry by the time it arrives around 2.00pm. There's no real problem there though as I have my very own grumpy dustbin with me and he always helps me out.

Of course I had to have a look at these appetite suppressant claims for myself - well I asked Google ... as you do. Hmmmm, It extends far beyond the plates. Decor is involved too.

My dining room is predominantly yellow/gold with only a smattering of blue/green/orange - oops - and my plates are of a similar hue - oops again. I will have to fetch out my royal blue - with gold stars - Christmas table cloth earlier than usual ... that'll be tomorrow then.

McDonalds - aka McCrap - are playing with our noshing senses by using yellow and red lighting. Even I'm not impervious to the warm glow emanating from the McLitter corner of Langley Mill ... no I don't go in and order anything, but I've noticed by the time I get home that I'm actually dribbling ;)

And if you're a fridge raider, it's recommended that you use a blue light in there ... or simply cover the bulb with the blue chocolate wrapper in your hand.

Fortunately I only go in my fridge when it needs filling or emptying, and isn't the sort of place I'd look for a snack ... on the other hand, the inside of my nut cupboard is gleaming white ... and filled with red (chocolate) tins and orange (Jacobs) cracker boxes where my nut stash is held captive ...