A great quote

I love this quote from www.fitnessthroughfasting.com:

Diets to a great extent fail because, while facilitating weight loss initially, the dieter usually returns to poor eating habits once the regimen is over. This, of course, is not a generalization. There are many excellent diet programs that work at changing a persons behaviors as it relates to food. But, in most cases, good people find themselves trying every diet under the sun - yet the obesity and overeating problem resurfaces time and again. Fasting for weight loss incites a process of deep detoxification. It gives the body an invaluable opportunity to stop focusing most of its resources on digestion, allowing it instead to shift its attention to cleansing and tissue repair. Many have thus been healed of terminal illnesses.

I have experienced this in a small way myself. Before I started fasting, I had chronic acne. It was always there and I never had a day where there were not at least 3 pimples on my face. Since I have been fasting, I have had clear skin. I get an occasional pimple from time to time, but it doesn't bring friends and heals fast. I used to also get blemishes on my shoulders and back. Those have COMPLETELY cleared up and I haven't had one blemish on that area since January. That is a very SIGNIFICANT change that I have seen happen ONLY since incorporating fasting into my life.

Start at a young age for success

Take a look at this video. Very eye opening.

Instant Gratification NO MORE

I love this post! Check it out:

http://www.fitnessthroughfasting.com/

Non-Scale Victories

Today I had a non-scale victory! Someone at work said to me, "You look GREAT!" It feels good when people actually say something. Sometimes I notice people looking at me like they think something is different but they don't say anything. I kind of want to wear a sign that says, "I lost 36 Pounds!" In any case, it feels good to have people notice.

I have kept to my schedule of walking for one hour five days per week, Monday to Friday. I wanted to also do weights Monday to Friday as well, but only did them twice this week. Maybe next week will be better.

Tomorrow night my hubby is making home made lasagna and home made garlic bread with caesar salad for dinner. I am really looking forward to that and to my pottery class on Sunday. Last weekend was a long weekend for us and so Sunday there was no pottery class, I always miss it when I don't go at least once per week.

Today I had:

Spinach salad with cabbage, cucumber, feta cheese, croutons, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds with balsamic vinegar dressing and asian sesame as usual.

Spicy chicken and white rice with a sour dough roll and butter.

Angel food cake, chocolate pudding and cool whip for dessert.

Later for a snack I had some almonds and granola with strawberries, blueberries, banana and yogurt. I extended my fast a bit today because after work I really had a craving for Pringles chips and so I ate a small tin of those a half an hour after my eating window closed.

Looking forward to my all day fast. Hopefully it will knock me off this plateau I have been on all week...Holding steady at the same exact weight all week. On Tuesday I dropped back down to where I was before I had the 4Lb gain. Since then I have stayed exactly the same all week. I know the all day fast on Sunday will help get me going again. I'll keep you posted!

Back on Track

The scale is once again moving down. For a couple of weeks it was up one pound, up 3 Lbs last week! Then down three and down one and back to where I started. I overate during my Birthday week and it showed on the scale. Now that I am back to my normal routine, everything is going back to normal.

I have begun incorporating a bit of exercise into my day and have committed to an hour walk Monday to Friday followed by a half an hour of weights, squats and sit ups. I am also being more careful in my eating window and keeping the treats to a minimum.

Today I had:

Spinach salad with cabbage, cucumber, feta cheese, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds with asian sesame and balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Whole wheat spagetti with meat sauce.

Angel food cake with chocolate pudding and light cool whip.

And at about 4pm a snack of granola with blueberries, strawberries, banana and vanilla yogurt.

Very nice and very satisfying!

Tomorrow it is beef burritos! MMMMMM!

The initial inspiration

A while back I posted about how it all began and I mentioned a book that my cousin had heard about where a guy practiced a form of intermittent fasting where he ate every other day and went from morbidly obese to a triathlon athlete.

At the time I couldn't quite remember the name of the book or the author but now I found it again.

Please keep in mind that I haven't actually read this book, it was just the story of this person who prompted me to do more research on the subject of intermittent fasting and then I found Paula and Dr. Herring's book and I was hooked.

But for those of you who are interested, the book was called: Ultra Fat to Ultra Fit by Noah Walton. You can view his website here. I can't seem to find much about intermittent fasting on his website but it does mention that it is the plan he follows to lose the weight in his book outline link here on page 6. The book is for sale on Amazon as well. If any of you end up buying it, let me know if it is a good read!

Hope that helps!

SO TIRED

UUGGG! Food makes me SO tired! 

This weekend was a celebratory weekend and so the food was plentiful. I ate way more than I usually eat and I also ate when I normally fast. I didn't do too bad though and I am right back on schedule tomorrow with an all day fast to fix this up...BUT

I totally realize now why I always felt so tired before...I now see that food makes me SO tired! When I over eat, I am exhausted! I just want to lie down...I can't wait until tomorrow when I can regain my energy during my fasting state!

I had a great time though and really enjoyed the weekend. 

On another note, I would like to say a sad farewell to Paula from The Fasting Life. She has decided to stop blogging and focus on her family. She has been my main support and inspiration through all of this since the beginning and I would really like to thank her for everything she has done for me. THANK YOU PAULA! YOU ARE THE BEST! You will be missed on this little blogging network! KEEP IN TOUCH!

Birthday Day!

Today is my 35th birthday...Wow, I can't believe I'm 35! I certainly don't feel 35.

I am going to go shopping today at my favourite little store, VALUE VILLAGE! Great deals and always good finds. Then we are spending the day downtown at Granville Island looking at pottery and other beautiful arts. I love pottery and just finished a special seminar on a different way of firing pots called Soda Firing. They add Soda ash to the kiln and some salt to create beautiful effects on the pots. It creates great texture and variation in colour.

Check out my latest pots here.

After that it is off to dinner at The Boathouse Restaurant. Where I plan to have a martini, caesar salad and sourdough bread, then steak, mashed potatoes and veggies with coconut crusted prawns. Then a chocolate dessert! MMMMMMM....I love birthday dinners...

I might try to fit in a pedicure too for a little pampering. Birthdays are fun.

An oldie but a goodie

The below post was one of my first on this blog. I think it is still very relevant and so I have decided to post it again for the newbies on my blog. 

Since I have been eating only during my "eating window"

(around 12:30 pm - 5:30 pm), I have noticed a lot of changes.

Here are 10 of the reasons why I love Fast-5:

1. I have gotten smaller. 

    18 Lbs gone forever. (36.8 Lbs gone forever now)

2. I have more energy.

    No more sleepy afternoons or sugar crashes.

3. I am less bloated.

    I used to feel so gassy and full after eating all day. 

    The evenings were very uncomfortable.

4. I have clearer skin.

    I used to struggle with acne and now I have consistently clear skin. 

    No more breakouts!

5. My hair is healthier and shinier.

    I drink way more water now than I ever did and I think it is helping 

    with my skin, hair and nails. It is flushing out all the toxins I have 

    been storing up for years.

6. I am happy and hopeful about my weight.

    I never felt hopeful when dieting. I always felt grumpy and irritated. 

    I felt hungry and deprived. I felt like it was a temporary change that 

    was a lot of work and would never last. I always wondered how I was 

    going to maintain the lifestyle the diets constricted me to. 

    I always wondered how much weight I was going to put on 

    again after stopping the diet.

7. I enjoy my food more.

    I look forward to my eating time. I think about what I am going to have 

    and it tastes so good and is so enjoyable. I don't eat quick and 

    mindlessly like before. I eat the foods I love!

8. I sleep through the night.

    I used to wake up anywhere from 3-6 times during the night. 

    I would feel uncomfortable in bed, toss and turn and rarely 

    wake up rested. Eating less throughout the day has improved 

    my quality of sleep. I now wake up only 1-2 times per night. 

    I get way more sleep.

9. No more guilt trips.

    I used to feel so guilty when I would eat the foods I love. 

    Now I can enjoy pasta, bread, sweets, whatever I want with no guilt.

10. I am healthier.

    With all of the above, my health overall has improved.

    I drink more water, get more sleep, I take more vitamins.

    I feel less stressed and more happy! I have started to be more 

    aware of what I am eating and the nutrients that I am getting. 

    I eat more fruits and veggies because I know that since this is 

    my only meal, I need healthy foods.

No one can argue with the above 10 results I have seen. If I feel good and am seeing results like these then that is all the proof I need to recommend this lifestyle to anyone. Fast-5 works!

Progress

Here is a look at the progress I have made:

Started at: 215 Lbs
Goal Weight: 140 Lbs
Weight to lose: 75 Lbs

Height: 5' 7"

Age: 34

Started January 1st 2010
By January 11th I was down 9.2 Lbs.
I thought, I better start keeping track of my results!

Week 2
Monday Jan. 11th: 205.7
Monday Jan. 18th: 203.8
Down 2.1 Lbs

Week 3
Monday Jan. 18th: 203.8
Monday Jan. 25th: 199.6
Down 4.2 Lbs

Week 4
Monday Jan. 25th: 199.6
Monday Feb. 1st: 200.4
Up 1.2 Lbs

Week 5
Monday Feb. 1st: 200.4
Monday Feb. 8th: 196.3
Down 3.9 Lbs

Week 6
Monday Feb. 8th: 196.3
Monday Feb. 15th: 196.0
Down 0.3 Lbs

Week 7
Monday Feb 15th: 196.0
Monday Feb. 22nd: 196.0
Down 0 Lbs - SAME

Week 8
Monday Feb. 22nd 196.0
Monday Mar. 1st: 194.4
Down 1.6 Lbs

Week 9
Monday Mar. 1st: 194.4
Monday Mar. 8th: 191.7
Down 2.7 Lbs

Week 10
Monday Mar. 8th: 191.7
Monday Mar. 15th: 190.3
Down 1.4 Lbs

Week 11
Monday Mar. 15th: 190.3
Monday Mar. 22nd: 186.2
Down 4.1 Lbs


Week 12
Monday Mar. 22nd: 186.2
Monday Mar. 29th: 186.9
Up 0.7 Lbs

Week 13
Monday Mar. 29th: 186.9
Wednesday Apr. 7th: 185.3
Down 1.6 Lbs


Week 14
Monday Apr. 7th: 185.3
Monday Apr. 12th: 182.7
Down 2.6 Lbs

Week 15
Monday Apr. 12th: 182.7
Monday Apr. 19th: 182.2
Down 0.5 Lbs

Week 16
Monday Apr. 19th: 182.2
Monday Apr. 26th: 181.1
Down 1.1 Lbs

Week 17
Monday Apr. 26th: 181.1
Monday May 3rd: 182.7
Up 1.6 Lbs

Week 18
Monday May 3rd: 182.7
Monday May 10th: 178.2
Down 4.5 Lbs


I am happy to say that in the 18 weeks that I have been living the Fast-5 Lifestyle, I have only seen the scale go up 3 TIMES! That is amazing. And the entire time I have been eating the foods I love and not counting calories or exercising. I LOVE Fast 5!

36.8 Lbs TOTAL & COUNTING!
That is an average of 2.1 Lbs per week!!!
If I keep this rate of loss, I will reach my goal by September 13, 2010! 
Only around 9 and a half months from when I began. 
WOW! Now THAT is motivation!

Broke the Barrier!

179.2 YEAH!

I broke into the 170s this morning! I am SO excited! I haven't been this low in almost 10 years! I can't believe it! It felt so good to step on the scale and see that 1 next to a 7!!!!

Feeling really good the past few days. I got a new computer at work yesterday and it is SO nice. It really feels good to be able to enjoy my time at the office with a shiny new machine that is so FAST and the monitor is so crisp and clear which will be great since I do graphic design and the monitor is so important. It is a new imac, 27 inch screen, so it is HUGE! And there is no tower, the whole thing is in the monitor so there is no big bulky thing with wires coming out of it under your desk (which is good because my cube is small) I love it, and I love that they were willing to invest in it for me.

I also got some side work from my co-workers to do some photo touchups and photo books, these hard cover books that I put together just like you buy in the store for the coffee table but with your own photos. One is for a girl's wedding photos and the other is for another girl to give as a gift to her friend for her wedding shower.

This weekend is going to be really fun, the weather is beautiful, so sunny and spring like. We are spending the day at Cultus Lake and cooking my mom an early mothers day dinner. I am making steaks and prawn skewers on the BBQ. I am making a big version of my favourite salad, spinach, broccoli and carrot shavings, cucumber, croutons, avocado and feta cheese. I also made her famous recipes of potato salad and home made brownies with creamy chocolate icing. It is going to be such a beautiful meal.

Tomorrow is a big day in pottery class. I am taking a soda firing workshop in mid May and I had to pump out a minimum of 10 pottery items for the firing. As of last Sunday I only had three. So this week I went to the drop in studio near my home twice and finished 7 more pieces complete with surface texture and decoration. So on Sunday I will have that off my plate and I can concentrate on my current projects. One is a large outdoor lantern that stands on a base. The base is very tall, about three feet, it was 14 Lbs of clay just to make it. And the top is another 12 Lbs of clay that I made in several pieces and will put together and cut out my holes to make the lantern part this week.

Things are going good and Fast 5 is helping them go even better! Yeah 170s! I still can't believe it!

Loving photos again

I have noticed that I love being in photos again...I was in hiding for a couple of years there... Every time I saw a picture of myself I would just cringe! I didn't like that there was proof of how big I was. Here is a good example...is that me?

Now I am back to living life and wanting to document the journey. This is a fun photo that I snapped of myself and my hubby as we took a walk near our home today. We didn't realize until we saw the photo that our dog, Bexley (who is like our son) decided to pose for the photo too! Now it is a family photo! So cute.

I also had another non-scale victory yesterday when I was walking near my office after lunch. I saw one of my co-workers approaching from a distance and when we finally met he said, "Wow, I didn't recognize you for a minute there, you have lost so much weight!" That felt good.

Today I had a great lunch of my usual spinach salad with broccoli and carrot shavings, feta cheese, cucumber, croutons and half an avocado with thai sesame salad dressing with a bit of balsamic vinaigrette. Then I had chicken breast and brown rice, one of those little cheeses in the red wax, and a yummy cheese scone with peppers in it. Then one of my co-workers gave me a mini cupcake which was very good. I snacked later on some almonds.

I have been at a bit of a plateau this past week, staying at the 181-182 mark. Hopefully my all day fast on Sunday will kick me back on track in the downward motion. But despite that I am feeling great and very excited about my progress so far. 

Half way point, HERE I COME!

How it all began

I first heard about IF from my cousin who had heard of a book called Super fat to Super fit or something like that. This was the first time I had heard of anyone fasting for weight loss rather than the little "cleanses" that people do to try to get rid of a few pounds.

She said this guy was writing this book because he had lost over 100 LBS and kept it off for a year by eating whatever he wanted one day and fasting all day the next day. He was now super fit and was training for a triathlon. I now can't remember the guy's name or where I saw his site on the internet, but that is where I began my research. I loved the idea of eating whatever I wanted and still losing weight.

I had dieted for years and lost and gained back tons of weight in the process. So much so, that I had wore out my gaul bladder, created gaul stones and ended up on the emergency room 7 times in one month before they finally removed my gaul bladder.

I knew that depriving myself of the foods I loved didn't work. That it was too hard to incorporate all these diets that I tried into my lifestyle. I knew that I was never going to be able to avoid restaurant food for life or count every piece of food that went into my mouth. I had to find something that gave me more freedom and this sounded like it had freedom to offer.


I decided to try it for a week. Eat what I want one day and then fast all day the next day. The first day was a bit of a challenge, to say the least. Here I was, used to eating all day long every day and I was just going cold turkey and having absolutely no food at all for an entire day. I was curious to see if I could do it. It was really, really hard. The day dragged on and on and I felt a really negative vibe to the whole thing. I was painfully hungry. I counted the seconds until bedtime and dreamt of the morning when I could have what ever I felt like eating. At the end of the second day of fasting all day, I realized that it wasn't for me. I was not enjoying my fasting days and was just living for tomorrow. I decided to do some research into intermittent fasting and see if there was any other forms of it that didn't call for such long periods without food. 

That is where I found Paula. I saw her You Tube channel and started watching all of her videos about the Fast 5 way of Intermittent fasting. I downloaded Dr. Herrings book and decided to try again with the Fast 5 plan. I think that initial few days where I fasted all day were actually good preparation for me to follow Fast 5. I found it easy to skip breakfast and just wait for my window to open at 12 noon. I had kind of already gone through "detox or withdrawals" and was finding the transition to Fast 5 easy. In my first week following Fast 5 I lost 8 LBS!!! Wow, that is good motivation. 

One of Paula's inspirational videos

Seeing results like that is really what got me hooked to this lifestyle. Watching Paula's videos and hearing about her success kept me in the game, and how I felt only fueled the fire. I felt AMAZING! And I was looking AMAZING too. From then on I was hooked. I found that the hunger pains greatly diminished once my body got used to needing less food. I looked forward to my fasting state, felt a surplus of energy and enjoyed each day much more than I had in a long, long time.

I kept doing research online and found out about all the health benefits associated with Intermittent Fasting, longer life, decreased risk of cancer, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, quicker recovery from illness, decreased inflammation in the lungs (good for people with asthma) etc. And I continued to refine my schedule to include full fast Sundays and a later window on Saturday in preparation for the Sunday fast etc...I lost a substantial amount of weight my first two months and started to realize that I could actually meet my weight loss goals and stay there!

Now, at 33Lbs down, it is just part of my life and I rarely have to think about it or work on it anymore. It just comes natural. I rarely think of eating in the evenings now and often am in bed at around 10pm and realize that eating never even crossed my mind. I really enjoy eating only in the middle of the day and having an empty stomach during sleep. It feels so much more natural I feel so much better. I feel excited, I feel motivated, I feel energetic, I feel alert, and I FEEL FREE!


Fast 5 has changed my life.