Sorry to hear that.
Do you find yourself stressed or in a state of constant anxiety?
Yes, anxiety is one of my diagnosed issues.
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- Thread starter boerenooi
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Yes, anxiety is one of my diagnosed issues.
Listen to this man
I did. Took his advice. Had my first day of fasting today.
Difficult to know for sure without looking at bloodwork & medical. As a broad stroke suggestion I'd say:
1.) Eat exclusively whole foods.
2.) Get some exercise and get your heart rate up before leaving home / eating breakfast. A few minutes skipping is great.
3.) Start the day with a glass of water.
4.) Meditation is a great tool for letting go. If you can silence your mind and focus on your breath for 10 minutes, it becomes easier to do the same thing when you feel the urge to binge-eat.
5.) Maybe consider an apaptogenic herb like rhodiola or ashwaganda to help your system cope with that persistent underlying stress.
6.) Go for a massage & relax.
Nah - everyone is still being civil
.Difficult to know for sure without looking at bloodwork & medical. As a broad stroke suggestion I'd say:
1.) Eat exclusively whole foods.
2.) Get some exercise and get your heart rate up before leaving home / eating breakfast. A few minutes skipping is great.
3.) Start the day with a glass of water.
4.) Meditation is a great tool for letting go. If you can silence your mind and focus on your breath for 10 minutes, it becomes easier to do the same thing when you feel the urge to binge-eat.
5.) Maybe consider an apaptogenic herb like rhodiola or ashwaganda to help your system cope with that persistent underlying stress.
6.) Go for a massage & relax.
Nah - everyone is still being civil
What should I be tested for when you say "bloodwork"?
A question for those who suggested I try IF:
Did my day one yesterday. Had a coconut and pineapple smoothie (450 cal) for lunch (at 12) I was feeling pretty bad by about 5pm, but didn't give in. Drank a lot of water. Only ate again at 8pm (358cal). Woke up this morning feeling super tired. Is this normal for the first few days? I'm suppose to eat 2000 cal a day. Should I be doing calorie counting while IF. What do I eat for sustainability? Does portion size matter? Can I eat anything as long as I stay in the 2000cal mark for the day?
Thanks guys.
Did my day one yesterday. Had a coconut and pineapple smoothie (450 cal) for lunch (at 12) I was feeling pretty bad by about 5pm, but didn't give in. Drank a lot of water. Only ate again at 8pm (358cal). Woke up this morning feeling super tired. Is this normal for the first few days? I'm suppose to eat 2000 cal a day. Should I be doing calorie counting while IF. What do I eat for sustainability? Does portion size matter? Can I eat anything as long as I stay in the 2000cal mark for the day?
Thanks guys.
Not much, don't worry about it. What happens is that as you gain weight, your insulin resistance increases, which makes it a bit harder to lose weight. But that's all. IF is a very effective way to lower your insulin resistance and cause you to lose weight, because your body is not saturated by insulin all the time.
Don't get me wrong - insulin is a healthy, normal and protective hormone. But, too much of it all the time is a problem.
I don't think you're eating enough. Less than 1000 calories per day is going to be quite a shock to the system. The other thing is that you need to make sure you get enough protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals every day. It becomes difficult to do that with such a calorie restricted diet.
A lot of the research says that with IF, you don't really need to count your calories as long as you eat healthy, whole food. If you do that, even if you do eat your normal calorie requirement, your body composition will change (ie fat decreases, lean mass stays the same) as your insulin drops.
If you try to cut your calories in half like that, it is going to be a massive mental and physical shock to your system, and you will give up on the lifestyle change (not diet) because you can't maintain it.
So this is what I recommend. From the following foods, you can eat as much as you like: any meat, any chicken, any fish, any vegetable, any whole fruit (not fruit juice), any cheese, any unsweetened plain yogurt, any nuts, any unsweetened plain milk, wholewheat pasta, brown rice, lentils, beans.
But only between 12PM and 8PM. Inside of those hours, you can eat as much of the above as you like.
You can still make smoothies, just don't add any sugar or artificial sweetener.
Do that for a month and you will see a world of difference.
Is it normal to be feeling tired and dizzy the first few days? Yes, it is, but I don't remember feeling tired in the mornings. How did you sleep? It did take me a few days to get used to fasting, but then I was still eating around 2000 calories per day even while I was fasting (still do).
EDIT: You can have the odd sweet thing, but be careful about it, for two reasons. The first is that you still run the risk of continuing to see food as a reward. The second is that any sweet thing you eat counts against losing weight. They have no nutritional value outside of energy, and you don't really need the energy provided by sweet things.
If you do crave something sweet, eat milk or dark chocolate. They are more beneficial than baked goods such as biscuits or donuts. They still have lots of sugar, but because they also contain lots of fat, they cause a slower insulin response. Again, not too much. Use your judgment.
I know you want to lose weight quickly, but dieting like that is really going to mess you up. You're going to get frustrated and quit because you will feel like k@k every day. You'll obsess about food more than you already do because you will be limiting yourself so much.
You're going from one extreme to the other and it's not healthy. All you need to change is two things - what you eat and when you eat. Not really how much. Eat until you are full. Learn to listen for when you are really hungry. The signals that your body gives you will change as you get used to IF. But don't deprive your body of the things it needs for maintenance, such as calcium, essential amino acids (protein) and essential fatty acids.
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Does this not defeat the purpose of fasting? Does this mean that I should snack on those things should I feel hungry? I didn't cut my calories in half on purpose, I just didn't know what to eat. LOL. A smoothie normally is sufficient for me, but then I snack afterwords. What would be a typical dinner when you IF? I'm very aware of carbs and calories now.
No, actually the purpose of IF is not really to reduce the amount of calories you eat every day. The main purpose is to keep your insulin levels low for 16 hours of the day, and high for 8 hours of the day. Compare that to a normal diet where you eat breakfast at 7AM, then a snack, then lunch, then a snack, then dinner, then pudding. You have elevated insulin levels for the whole day, which causes your body to develop insulin resistance, and this is what causes it to store energy as fat.
The secondary benefit of IF is that it makes you a lot more aware of hunger and your mental attitudes to food. You'll see - do IF for a month and your attitude to food will change.
You can snack on those things as long as you do it between 12PM and 8PM.
Normally supper for me is a 300g steak (or so) served with a green salad. I make the salad using half a green pepper, a whole tomato, a bit of cucumber, avo if I have it, green onions, salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Instead of steak, I sometimes have things like wors, or chicken schnitzels (with cheese on top), or chicken mixed into the salad with a bit of a different dressing. I eat pizza on Fridays, sometimes I make homemade pizza instead.
After supper, I usually have 4 tablespoons of plain single cream yogurt mixed in with one tablespoon of peanut butter, and depending on my protein needs for the day, I may have a protein shake.
EDIT: The other thing to point out is that, if you do eat foods from the group I listed above, you'll actually find it difficult to eat more than 2000 calories in 8 hours. The reason is that a lot of those foods are not that dense in terms of calories. Eat 100g of chocolate and that is 500 calories right there. But 100g of spinach is a lot of spinach, and it has far less calories. Things like cheese, meat and nuts are quite dense in calories, but again, its difficult to actually overeat when you are eating things like that. Its very easy to overeat with biscuits, rusks, chocolate, donuts etc.
The secondary benefit of IF is that it makes you a lot more aware of hunger and your mental attitudes to food. You'll see - do IF for a month and your attitude to food will change.
You can snack on those things as long as you do it between 12PM and 8PM.
Normally supper for me is a 300g steak (or so) served with a green salad. I make the salad using half a green pepper, a whole tomato, a bit of cucumber, avo if I have it, green onions, salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Instead of steak, I sometimes have things like wors, or chicken schnitzels (with cheese on top), or chicken mixed into the salad with a bit of a different dressing. I eat pizza on Fridays, sometimes I make homemade pizza instead.
After supper, I usually have 4 tablespoons of plain single cream yogurt mixed in with one tablespoon of peanut butter, and depending on my protein needs for the day, I may have a protein shake.
EDIT: The other thing to point out is that, if you do eat foods from the group I listed above, you'll actually find it difficult to eat more than 2000 calories in 8 hours. The reason is that a lot of those foods are not that dense in terms of calories. Eat 100g of chocolate and that is 500 calories right there. But 100g of spinach is a lot of spinach, and it has far less calories. Things like cheese, meat and nuts are quite dense in calories, but again, its difficult to actually overeat when you are eating things like that. Its very easy to overeat with biscuits, rusks, chocolate, donuts etc.
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I ate my food so fast last night at 8pm. Not sure how long I'm suppose to eat. (I know this sounds stupid) lol.
Thanks for your guides, Ancalagon, this is SUPER helpful. Can I have a fruit smoothie after supper with yogurt and coconut milk? SO scared that I eat the wrong **** again and pick up weight again! Lost 2kg since monday, been eating a lot less than what weigh-less taught me (this week) and it seems to work better for weight loss.
Thanks for your guides, Ancalagon, this is SUPER helpful. Can I have a fruit smoothie after supper with yogurt and coconut milk? SO scared that I eat the wrong **** again and pick up weight again! Lost 2kg since monday, been eating a lot less than what weigh-less taught me (this week) and it seems to work better for weight loss.
It's a pleasure, I hope it helps.
Don't stress about whether you have your last meal at 8PM or at 8:30PM. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter too much. Some days you will have a bad day and want to have a bar of chocolate early. That is fine.
The important thing is that you keep it reasonable and don't overdo the sweet things, and as much as possible, stick to the fasting. You're going to slip up now and then, you need to be okay with it and you need to carry on. One Sunday I ate about 200g of Whispers. The next day I went back to fasting, and the day after that.
My point is, don't aim to slip up, but if you do, don't let that through you off course. Just accept it and move on. It's a long race, and remember that you are changing your mind AND your body.
I guarantee that, if you can change your mind about eating, your body will follow. You just need to change the way you think about food, you need to eat healthier, and weight loss will follow.
Yes I don't see anything wrong with a fruit smoothie with coconut milk and yogurt, as long as the yogurt is unsweetened and the fruit is whole before you blend it.
Don't stress about whether you have your last meal at 8PM or at 8:30PM. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter too much. Some days you will have a bad day and want to have a bar of chocolate early. That is fine.
The important thing is that you keep it reasonable and don't overdo the sweet things, and as much as possible, stick to the fasting. You're going to slip up now and then, you need to be okay with it and you need to carry on. One Sunday I ate about 200g of Whispers. The next day I went back to fasting, and the day after that.
My point is, don't aim to slip up, but if you do, don't let that through you off course. Just accept it and move on. It's a long race, and remember that you are changing your mind AND your body.
I guarantee that, if you can change your mind about eating, your body will follow. You just need to change the way you think about food, you need to eat healthier, and weight loss will follow.
Yes I don't see anything wrong with a fruit smoothie with coconut milk and yogurt, as long as the yogurt is unsweetened and the fruit is whole before you blend it.
For women, it's often useful to start with a comprehensive hormone test, which includes such things such as:
And also the usual tests for obesity markers:
There's a few other tests you can do selectively, like vitamin levels, iron etc.
I'm not suggesting go do blood tests. Most individuals will lose weight when their diet, stress, exercise, lifestyle etc. are properly managed. For those people who have deeper issues, it can be useful to work with a specialist who can mediate between you and those results, and help you to eliminate possible contributors to your weight issues. Very often there can be a domino effect where a deficiency in one area can end up effecting other areas which eventually inhibit hormone production or insulin release or any number of factors that might affect an inability to lose weight. But before even considering that - you should spend a few months eating properly and incorporating some exercise. You'll find that a good lifestyle can often bring many of those factors into balance. It's pointless spending money on blood tests if your diet is poor and you're constantly stressed. First get your baseline to a good place with your lifestyle.
Ancalagon, I'm keeping you on standby here! LOL
Thanks so much for this. I'm super excited about doing this and I hope this is the answer for me. Will keep you guys updated on my progress.
Just another question. Is it okay to fast every day?
Thanks so much for this. I'm super excited about doing this and I hope this is the answer for me. Will keep you guys updated on my progress.
Just another question. Is it okay to fast every day?
I do, but it depends on who you ask.
There are lots of different fasting regimes.
You get what is called 5:2, which is where you eat normally 5 days per week (but still healthy, whole food) and then on 2 days per week, you have a maximum of 500 calories per day in one meal.
You also get alternate day fasting, where you fast (ie nothing the whole day) for one day, then eat normally the next.
And you get 16:8, which is what I do, where I eat in an 8 hour window every day. Sometimes a 4 hour window. Every single day, I haven't had breakfast since August I think.
Find a schedule that fits for you, as long as you bear in mind that you must be eating healthy, whole foods, and you don't need to eat every single meal time. In fact, you shouldn't. But how exactly you do it, is up to you. Some people find it easier to eat breakfast and lunch and then skip dinner. Others skip breakfast, like me.
There are lots of different fasting regimes.
You get what is called 5:2, which is where you eat normally 5 days per week (but still healthy, whole food) and then on 2 days per week, you have a maximum of 500 calories per day in one meal.
You also get alternate day fasting, where you fast (ie nothing the whole day) for one day, then eat normally the next.
And you get 16:8, which is what I do, where I eat in an 8 hour window every day. Sometimes a 4 hour window. Every single day, I haven't had breakfast since August I think.
Find a schedule that fits for you, as long as you bear in mind that you must be eating healthy, whole foods, and you don't need to eat every single meal time. In fact, you shouldn't. But how exactly you do it, is up to you. Some people find it easier to eat breakfast and lunch and then skip dinner. Others skip breakfast, like me.
I've fasted 16-18hrs 5 days a week without issue.
You're obviously welcome to post pics of your meals in this thread. You can get comments and pointers from the peanut gallery if you have any doubts
.I've fasted 16-18hrs 5 days a week without issue.
You're obviously welcome to post pics of your meals in this thread. You can get comments and pointers from the peanut gallery if you have any doubts
Hmmmm no thanks. haha. I'll take the knowledge that I got this week from you guys and I'll let you guys know again in a week how things are going. I'll be totally devastated if I didn't lose anything. Maybe I should just quit eating all together.
Give your body some time to adjust. I ate only raw foods for a few months and became quite thin for about 2 months before my body figured out what was going on and I starting putting on weight again & returned to normal. Sometimes the body just needs to adjust.Hmmmm no thanks. haha. I'll take the knowledge that I got this week from you guys and I'll let you guys know again in a week how things are going. I'll be totally devastated if I didn't lose anything. Maybe I should just quit eating all together.
Good luck with it
.Just bear in mind that you won't suddenly lose 10kg overnight with IF. Your weight loss will be slow but steady. The most important thing to remember is that every bit of weight you lose, is going to stay off, because you will have changed your mind about eating.
You will notice a small difference by Christmas and a major difference by June next year.
You will notice a small difference by Christmas and a major difference by June next year.
mandana
Expert Member
I been following this thread, really interesting for sure. All the best to you Boerenooi! What Ancalagon says is true, we need to change our relationship with food.
And don't be devastated when the weight doesn't move. I rebooted my eating on the 4th of Oct and due to my IR issues I choose a low carb eating plan. Out of the 5 weeks I had 3 weeks of weight loss, 1 week of an increase and 1 where it remained the same.
I would recommend measuring your body too, hips, waist, bust, arms, thighs etc. In the same 5 weeks I saw more centimeter losses on the areas I measure which I took as positive when the scale didn't move in the direction I wanted.
IF is something I'm going to try in the new year, for now I concentrating on eating the correct foods and cutting out the things that I know have a negative effect on my eating habits. Once I get this right I'm sure the rest will just fall into place.
And don't be devastated when the weight doesn't move. I rebooted my eating on the 4th of Oct and due to my IR issues I choose a low carb eating plan. Out of the 5 weeks I had 3 weeks of weight loss, 1 week of an increase and 1 where it remained the same.
I would recommend measuring your body too, hips, waist, bust, arms, thighs etc. In the same 5 weeks I saw more centimeter losses on the areas I measure which I took as positive when the scale didn't move in the direction I wanted.
IF is something I'm going to try in the new year, for now I concentrating on eating the correct foods and cutting out the things that I know have a negative effect on my eating habits. Once I get this right I'm sure the rest will just fall into place.