Barriers

Well all that talk about not being able to break the barrier and I forgot that I did break a barrier not long ago here.

So it can't be all that bad. I was really happy to get into the 170's so not doing too bad I guess. The only thing that bothers me sometimes is seeing that pic on the left of my blog, the before and after pic. In May I was 178...Well, now it is almost Oct. and I am only at 171, only 7 Lbs in almost 5 months! That is really slowing down.

Obviously I need to kick it up a notch. I thought that doing the 2 long 40 hour fasts per week would help but maybe I am still eating too much in my eating window.

I know I still eat when I am not hungry. I have to stop that. I will bring less food with me to work Mon-Fri. Hopefully that will help some. The only problem is the vending machine...when my head tells me to eat and there is nothing there, the vending machine looms. So, NO CASH!

That is the main issue, my head telling me to eat. Once I open the eating window, my old self is released, eating everything in sight. I may have found a way to lower my weight but I haven't really found a way of fixing what was wrong in my head in the first place...that is the hard part.

I will try to be more aware of my intake and think hard about why I overeat...I want to fix this, I want to get to my goal, and stay there!

Can't break the barrier

For some reason my body really, really wants to stay in the 170's. I can't get on that 169 number! The closest I have gotten was 170.6 but that only lasted a day and back up and down between 174 and 170...

I have been doing two 40 hour fasts per week for three weeks now and still, staying in the 170's. I am going to the gym too, and still, staying in the 170's. I am trying to be patient...knowing that all the way there it has been like this. 3 Lbs down, 2 Lbs up, 3 Lbs down, 2 Lbs up...slowly but surely.

My weight tracking chart may go up and down, but the main trend is down, so I just have to wait. Remain consistent and wait.

I will get there, one pound and a time (hopefully!).

2 Long Fasts this week!

I was finally able to do two long fasts in one week. I am on another plateau lately (174-171) up and down, up and down all within the same range. SO, I am trying to kick start my weight loss with two long fasts per week rather than just one.

I usually fast everyday in Fast-5 style, 19 hours per day. Once per week I skip my meal entirely and so fast between 40-48 hours. This usually keeps me in balance calorie wise for the week but in an effort to knock myself off my plateau I added another one this Thursday.

It went really well, I felt great and hopefully the scale will show the results and I will finally break into the 160's!!!

Once I hit 165Lbs, I will have lost 50Lbs! Right now I am at 44Lbs lost, still really good but only a little more than half way there. My goal is to lose 80Lbs total so I need to change it up a bit now as my progress is slowing down.

I am also going back to the weights. I have taken a couple week break because I sprained my ankle. But I am just going to focus on upper body and core and keep the momentum going! I really enjoy the weights and this should also help me to keep moving in a downward direction.

Words from Brad Pilon

Below is one of my favourite emails from Brad Pilon. You can sign up to receive his emails at bradpilon.com

"What should I say when people disapprove of my fasting?"

It's a question I get on a daily basis.

Now, the old me would have advised to explain all the wonderful
benefits of fasting. To defend your choice with the examples of
fasting all throughout history, from all different parts of the
world.

But that's not my answer anymore.

My answer is that you shouldn't care.

At all.

You are doing this for you, not for them.

You are fasting once or twice a week because you know it's

working for you...

Because getting that extra fat off of your body makes you feel
awesome.

And you know that most of the nutrition rules everyone else blindly
follows are mostly useless (or at least their effectiveness is
greatly exaggerated).

The point is that you have to OWN your goals.

If your goal is to lose weight then you really have to ignore
everyone who is trying to steer you off track, by questioning your
methods.

If something is working for you then you don't need to defend it,
especially to negative people who are simply trying to rain on your
success, or your choice to be different.

So when it comes to weight loss and how you eat, remember, it's
your goals, your choices and your approval that you should worry
about, not the goals, choices and approvals of anyone else.

So when people ask you why you are fasting, just answer

"because it's awesome"*

*That last line will only make sense if you've read this ==>
http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/how-to-be-awesome/

Constantly Revolving Wardrobe

I have a problem. A good problem, but a problem none the less. I keep out shrinking my clothes.

I start looking really dumpy in my pants that used to be tight. This is great news, but also kind of a challenge when money is tight and my clothes are not.

I am now on my third round of clothes a size smaller. So far I have gone from a size 20 to a size 14. That is really amazing! I love how intermittent fasting has helped me continue to shrink.

Thankfully, I am happy shopping at our local thrift store and it is a really great location that always has tons of selection and nice items to choose from. I usually go there and get a new mini wardrobe of several pairs of pants and several shirts every time I shrink down another size.

Today I went and spent $120 and got:

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of cords

3 pairs of dress pants

1 pair of casual pants

1 T-shirt

2 satin dress shirts

5 cotton dress shirts

1 sweater

Not bad for $120!

And it feels so good to put on pants that FIT. I instantly look thinner. Much nicer to see the shape of my bum rather than just a big baggy mess at the back.

Each time, I go through my closet and get rid of all the clothes that are too big. I used to keep them, knowing deep down that some day I would probably need them again. But not this time. This time I KNOW that I will never need them again. Luckily I have a friend who is also losing weight and she can make use of my old clothes as she also shrinks from size to size. So the constantly revolving wardrobe is alive and well.

Three more mini wardrobes to go and I should be in my goal size of size 8!

Can't wait!