This Friday my hubby and I are heading to Jamaica! So looking forward to our vacation in the sun...
Despite my efforts, I was not able to make my goal of feeling comfortable in a bikini...but I am happy to wear my one piece instead...I know that I will get there...just need to be patient.
This week I have an appointment with a personal trainer...I thought it might be time to bite the bullet and see how I can incorporate exercise into my routine. I have been on a plateau for so very long. I know that I must do more in order to ever see my ultimate goal.
I am very lucky to have a job that generously gives $600 per year for wellness and this includes the services of a personal trainer...so, I will be using my wellness money to try it out and see where it takes me. I have chosen a trainer that offers a fusion of traditional workouts with Pilates mixed in. The place is walking distance from my commuter train station so I can easily walk there after work and hubby can pick me up from there instead of the train a couple times a week.
We will see how I like it for these first few sessions and if it goes well, I will purchase some more.
Looking forward to a new chapter and hopefully the push that I need to get me moving towards my goal again!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Getting Back on Track with Fasting
I have had a comment to ask how to get back on track after taking a break from fasting.
Sometimes it is easy to get off plan, when little by little the food cravings take over. This happens to me from time to time.
I notice my cravings are worse when I eat more sugar. During Halloween they were at an all time high and eating all that sugar made me crave food something fierce. I wasn't just craving sweets but craving food in general. The yeast in our bodies feed off of sugar and the more you eat, the more they want and so they scream out for sugar in any form, carbs and sugars mainly.
If you are having trouble getting back on track with fasting because of cravings, try to avoid sugar for a few days before you go back on plan. This should help to keep those cravings down. Also, drink lots of water to flush out the system.
Once you start your fasting plan again, the best thing to help you along is to keep busy during that fasting time. Schedule in a project that will keep you occupied for most of the time. Avoid TV as much as possible...I always find that watching TV increases my food cravings because there is almost always food or eating on shows and movies, not to mention all the food commercials ( and even if you PVR and fast forward through the commercials, it isn't hard to miss all those close ups of burgers and pizza!).
Continue to drink lots of water or clear tea with no sugar during fasting as that also helps keep the cravings at bay.
Let me know what helps you get back on track?
Good Luck!
Sometimes it is easy to get off plan, when little by little the food cravings take over. This happens to me from time to time.
I notice my cravings are worse when I eat more sugar. During Halloween they were at an all time high and eating all that sugar made me crave food something fierce. I wasn't just craving sweets but craving food in general. The yeast in our bodies feed off of sugar and the more you eat, the more they want and so they scream out for sugar in any form, carbs and sugars mainly.
If you are having trouble getting back on track with fasting because of cravings, try to avoid sugar for a few days before you go back on plan. This should help to keep those cravings down. Also, drink lots of water to flush out the system.
Once you start your fasting plan again, the best thing to help you along is to keep busy during that fasting time. Schedule in a project that will keep you occupied for most of the time. Avoid TV as much as possible...I always find that watching TV increases my food cravings because there is almost always food or eating on shows and movies, not to mention all the food commercials ( and even if you PVR and fast forward through the commercials, it isn't hard to miss all those close ups of burgers and pizza!).
Continue to drink lots of water or clear tea with no sugar during fasting as that also helps keep the cravings at bay.
Let me know what helps you get back on track?
Good Luck!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Listen to your Body while Fasting
This week's two day fast was not a good one. I didn't feel well yesterday during my first day of fasting. I had a headache and I was really grumpy...plus all I could do was think about eating an entire pizza...
So, today I decided to just eat lunch as normal.
I always recommend that you listen to your body while fasting. Maybe you are tired or fighting off a cold. Maybe your body is just not in the fasting state of mind...it is ok. Just listen to your body and eat if you feel you need to.
I usually feel really good during fasting but occasionally there is a day here and there that I just don't feel at my best and eating is what I need to feel better.
So, today I decided to just eat lunch as normal.
I always recommend that you listen to your body while fasting. Maybe you are tired or fighting off a cold. Maybe your body is just not in the fasting state of mind...it is ok. Just listen to your body and eat if you feel you need to.
I usually feel really good during fasting but occasionally there is a day here and there that I just don't feel at my best and eating is what I need to feel better.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Intermittent Fasting has transformed my tastebuds
I have noticed more lately how much I enjoy food. Fasting two days per week has given me new appreciation for the joy of chewing and the flavours of food.
But even more interesting is that the food I really enjoy the most is the whole, natural foods. The junk is not as appealing and I find that it seems too rich for me when I do have it.
I used to be able to eat two huge cookies no problem and try to contain myself to eat a third. The other day I bought one of those big cookies from Starbucks and half way through I had to stop. It was way too much for me.
Today I broke my fast at noon with a delicious salad, two hard boiled eggs, 1/4 of an avocado, a handful of cashews and a slice of wheat free bread with flax seeds. It was all SO good. It tasted amazing and was way better than any chocolate chip cookie!
I love how intermittent fasting has transformed my taste buds.
But even more interesting is that the food I really enjoy the most is the whole, natural foods. The junk is not as appealing and I find that it seems too rich for me when I do have it.
I used to be able to eat two huge cookies no problem and try to contain myself to eat a third. The other day I bought one of those big cookies from Starbucks and half way through I had to stop. It was way too much for me.
Today I broke my fast at noon with a delicious salad, two hard boiled eggs, 1/4 of an avocado, a handful of cashews and a slice of wheat free bread with flax seeds. It was all SO good. It tasted amazing and was way better than any chocolate chip cookie!
I love how intermittent fasting has transformed my taste buds.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
The Fasting 5:2 diet
My husband has been continuing on with his version of an Intermittent Fasting schedule called 5:2.
He decided to try this after we had watched the BBC Documentary "Eat, Fast and Live Longer."
He lost 8 pounds in 5 weeks and an inch off of his waist. This 5:2 option is a great place to start with intermittent fasting. If you struggle with the 19 hours per day way of fasting, take a few weeks off and try the 5:2 option instead and see if that helps. It is a much easier plan and seems to have similar results.
I have been continuing on with my own version of 5:2.... Fasting 19 hours per day as usual five days per week and then doing a full day fast for two days per week. So far I have lost 10 pounds.
There is a great article about the version of 5:2 diet that my husband is trying here
Below is a breakdown and excerpt from that article:
He decided to try this after we had watched the BBC Documentary "Eat, Fast and Live Longer."
He lost 8 pounds in 5 weeks and an inch off of his waist. This 5:2 option is a great place to start with intermittent fasting. If you struggle with the 19 hours per day way of fasting, take a few weeks off and try the 5:2 option instead and see if that helps. It is a much easier plan and seems to have similar results.
I have been continuing on with my own version of 5:2.... Fasting 19 hours per day as usual five days per week and then doing a full day fast for two days per week. So far I have lost 10 pounds.
There is a great article about the version of 5:2 diet that my husband is trying here
Below is a breakdown and excerpt from that article:
The 5:2 diet: what is it and how does it work?
• With the 5:2 diet, you can eat whatever you like five days a week — so-called feeding days. On the two “fasting days” you eat 500 calories if you are a woman, or 600 calories if you are a man.
• It doesn’t matter which days are spent “feeding” and which “fasting”, as long as the fasting days are non-consecutive and you stick to the 5:2 ratio.
• On fasting days you can consume your calories in one go, or spread them through the day — there is no medical research into whether filling up at breakfast or snacking throughout the day is more effective for weight loss.
• A typical fasting-day breakfast of 300 calories might consist of two scrambled eggs with ham (good sources of protein), plenty of water, green tea or black coffee. For a typical 300-calorie lunch or dinner, try grilled fish or meat with vegetables.
• On feeding days you can eat whatever you like. Most dieters, rather than feeling a need to gorge, found that they were happy to consume around 2,000 calories — the recommended daily intake for women (2,600 for men) — and did not crave high-fat foods.
• Contrary to popular opinion, fasting can be a healthy way to lose weight. It can reduce levels of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1, which leads to accelerated ageing), switches on DNA repair genes and reduces blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels.
• According to current medical opinion, the benefits of fasting are unproven. As a diet, it is not recommended for pregnant women or diabetics on medication. Anyone considering a diet that involves fasting is advised to consult their GP first, and to do it under medical supervision.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
How to avoid hunger during fasting
I had a comment from a reader asking how I avoid hunger now that I am water fasting for two full days every week...
Well, here is the secret people...it is all in the mind!
Water and tea with Stevia (which is a natural sweetener as well as an appetite suppressant) are what I use to help me through, although I find that I only feel hungry when I let my mind take me there...
The power of the mind is amazing. You have to make a decision in your mind that is firm and once you do that, once you KNOW that you will fast until the end of the set time, it really is no problem. The hunger is gone.
When I have my regular eating days, I start getting hungry around 11. When I am on a fasting day, it is 12:30 and I am just realizing that I haven't felt hungry at all.
That is because on my normal eating days I KNOW that I am going to eat at NOON...so around 11am my body starts anticipating this and sending signals in the form of hunger, looking forward to the food.
On my fasting days I KNOW that I won't be eating and so my brain doesn't bother with that...no signals, no hunger pains.
When I pass a sign with a juicy hamburger on it and I am fasting, I will get a pang of hunger. Here is the interesting part, the hunger pains are stronger when I feel tempted and mild when I feel strong.
It is all in the mind. Work on your thinking.
The other thing is to work up to the fasts. Start small and gradually increase. I first began with the every other day way of fasting. Eat whatever you want one day and eat nothing the next day.
I found that to be very challenging at first. I cried at the end of the day the second time I did an all day fast. It was really hard. That is because I just jumped in and didn't work my way up to that point. It was too much to take all at once.
We need time to adapt. The body is amazing at adapting to change but it is much easier if it is a gradual change. I switched to the Fast 5 way of eating shortly after and still struggled in the beginning because I tried to have my eating window at 5pm. This meant that I was doing most of my fasting all in one big chunk, from 10pm to 5pm the next day. It was only when I switched my window to 12pm-5pm did I notice that it got easier for me. I was then able to eat in the middle of the day and fast a little before and a little after with sleep taking up a good amount of my fasting time.
Then I slowly added in a one day fast during a time when I was really busy (I take a pottery class and stay for an open studio once a week that keeps me busy for 7 hours) and now after almost three years of fasting regularly I am able to do a fast for two whole days once per week. (one of my all day fasts is still during my pottery day so that helps to keep my mind on other activities)
So take your time and work on your thinking. Slow changes over time = long lasting results.
GOOD LUCK!
Monday, October 1, 2012
On the right road to bikini
My new goal is to feel comfortable in a bikini in December when I go to Jamaica for a week. I usually feel fine in a bathing suit but haven't worn a bikini in quite a few years.
This new plan is working really well and I think it will help me meet that goal. I am down around 8 pounds since starting this almost 5 weeks ago. That is a nice amount in a short time.
Today I am on the second day of my two day fast and plan to break my fast tomorrow at lunch with only veggies and protein.
My husband is also near the end of his five week experiment to try fasting in a modified way doing regular eating five days a week with two days in a row of only 500 calories for the day.
He has lost a good amount of weight as well and last time we measured, a half an inch off his waist. Tomorrow morning is the final weigh in and measurement to see the progress this has created.
I will let you know if he decides to continue this way of eating and what the final results were.
This new plan is working really well and I think it will help me meet that goal. I am down around 8 pounds since starting this almost 5 weeks ago. That is a nice amount in a short time.
Today I am on the second day of my two day fast and plan to break my fast tomorrow at lunch with only veggies and protein.
My husband is also near the end of his five week experiment to try fasting in a modified way doing regular eating five days a week with two days in a row of only 500 calories for the day.
He has lost a good amount of weight as well and last time we measured, a half an inch off his waist. Tomorrow morning is the final weigh in and measurement to see the progress this has created.
I will let you know if he decides to continue this way of eating and what the final results were.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
New Fasting Schedule
Well, it is week two of my new fasting schedule of two full day fasts once per week and 4 days a week of eating very healthy/low carb/low sugar.
So far I have lost 6.5 pounds!
Pretty impressive. I have also been walking an hour every day and doing pilates twice per week.
I'm feeling really good. I think this is something that I could easily maintain. Especially when I start up with my all day Sunday pottery classes again in a couple of weeks.
I am really enjoying eating clean most of the time too. The past couple of years I have been eating much better but now that I only indulge once a week is a big difference. I look forward to my healthy food much more than my indulgent food now. I think I will switch my indulge day up a bit too.
We had been eating in a restaurant once a week as the indulgent day, which is great, but I find myself wanting home cooked meals more on that day. So, I think we will rotate between home cooked goodness and restaurant treat. Saves on money too and always nice to make a meal at home.
So far I have lost 6.5 pounds!
Pretty impressive. I have also been walking an hour every day and doing pilates twice per week.
I'm feeling really good. I think this is something that I could easily maintain. Especially when I start up with my all day Sunday pottery classes again in a couple of weeks.
I am really enjoying eating clean most of the time too. The past couple of years I have been eating much better but now that I only indulge once a week is a big difference. I look forward to my healthy food much more than my indulgent food now. I think I will switch my indulge day up a bit too.
We had been eating in a restaurant once a week as the indulgent day, which is great, but I find myself wanting home cooked meals more on that day. So, I think we will rotate between home cooked goodness and restaurant treat. Saves on money too and always nice to make a meal at home.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Intermittent Fasting Health Benefits
I had a comment from a reader who wanted to know more about the health benefits of intermittent fasting. We all focus on the weight results but of course there are significant health benefits as well for someone who has no weight to lose.
Below are some links to great content and research about the health benefits of intermittent fasting. I strongly suggest everyone watch the BBC Documentary in the first link. It is available on You Tube and is a great example of the types of health improvements that fasting can produce from a very reliable source, the BBC, British Brodcasting Corporation.
It is very entertaining and well put together. One of my favourite moments is when we watch a man who is 101 years old and has practiced Calorie Restriction (CR) for his whole life, complete a full marathon...amazing! He also is on NO medication, which is astounding for his age. (There is a ton of research that shows that CR has significant health benefits and can significantly increase your lifespan. Research has shown that Intermittent Fasting has similar results to CR without the actual caloric restriction.)
Studies have shown that fasting has so many benefits; longer life, reduced risks of cancer and heart disease, reduced risk of alzheimer's, improvements in arthritis...the list goes on and on.
Personally I have seen some significant health benefits.
I have always been a yo-yo dieter. Gaining and losing large amounts of weight is very hard on the body. For years I would lose 30, gain 50, lose 40, gain 55 and on and on...
Finally my body decided it couldn't take it anymore and I had to have my gaul bladder removed. Gaul stones at the age of 33... not really the most common diagnosis. Gaul bladder attacks, excruciating! I suffered for several months, in and out of the emergency room, before anyone put it together that this young woman had gaul stones!
I had high cholesterol and blood sugar numbers as well which was contributing to this. So, after my gaul bladder was removed, my doctor would regularly monitor my numbers to make sure that I didn't get in the danger zone again.
About 6 months after I began intermittent fasting as a lifestyle, I went for my normal check up at the doctor. He was astonished at the change in my numbers. I told him what I had been doing and he was very interested. He said that he doesn't normally see that kind of improvement without the use of medication. I have his blessing to continue what I am doing and he is always interested to see where I am at health wise when I go for my yearly checkups.
I have also seen significant improvement in the health of my skin. I used to have excessive ache on my face and on my shoulders and upper back. It was a constant thing that would increase or decrease in waves.
Since I began fasting almost three years ago, I have not had any ache at all. It has disappeared and never returned.
I also see improvements in my immune system. I was always the person who had two big flu's a year. And when I get sick, I am really sick, no half way for me. In bed for a week minimum when I have a cold or flu.
Since I began intermittent fasting I have been sick only a couple of times. Once with a mild cold that I could easily work through (which has never happened before). And once more seriously, with pneumonia, which I have had in the past and so I am more susceptible to. Basically that means I have avoided 4 of my usual bad flu or colds so far.
The long term effects of fasting on my health personally remain to be seen but I do believe that I am on the right path and my risk factors have been greatly reduced.
Check out the following list of links for more information on the health benefits of intermittent fasting.
Eat, Fast & Live Longer
Fasting as Effective as Chemotherapy
Intermittent Fasting is Good for the Brain
Fasting in the News
Intermittent Fasting & Health
Intermittent Fasting Articles
Intermittent Fasting Articles 2
Intermittent Fasting for Health & Longevity
Fast Way to Better Health
Eat Less, Live Longer
Anti Aging
113 Year Old Man!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Eat, Fast & Live Longer
Just heard about a BBC documentary on fasting called Eat, Fast & Live Longer. I haven't watched it yet but will put aside some time this weekend to check it out. It sounds like it will be really good. Here is a link to it on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM
Last week was my vacation and I definitely went off plan a bit. So hard with 4 people staying at our house and constantly eating to avoid eating an extra meal or two. So for about a week I ate 2 meals a day. I tried to get in as much fasting as possible but even with that effort I found myself feeling terrible.
I was really tired and felt sick. I was so bloated and uncomfortable. I don't know how I lived like that for so long. This week I am back on track with my 19 hours per day and what a difference. I feel so much lighter.
All that eating has made me want to reassess where I am with my fasting lifestyle right now. I have been way too flexible about it this past year and I think that is why I have been having trouble moving the scale.
When I began intermittent fasting I was super strict on my schedule. At 5pm on the dot I would eat no more...in fact it was usually earlier because I had my last snack around 3:30 or 4:00. But lately I have had a snack or two when I got home from work at around 6pm and I would occasionally break my fast early too.
The other thing that I have been doing which I think has been keeping the scale from moving is my random schedule. I used to have a specific routine. I ate between 12 and 5 Monday to Friday and had a dinner on Saturday with a long all day fast on Sunday. But I found that I missed having dinner with my husband and so I switched to dinners on Friday's too. Then when pottery class was out I would eat on Sunday as well and move my all day fast to Monday. This is a really different schedule. Tuesday to Thursday lunches...Friday to Sunday dinners...3 lunches and 3 dinners...I don't think this works as well with intermittent fasting as a consistent schedule does.
I think it is important to keep the fasting window as consistent as you can. Moving it for one day here or there with an extra long fasting window surrounding it doesn't seem to make a difference but switching back and forth between lunches and dinners too regularly seems to have a negative effect.
I realize that if I want to eventually reach my goal I need to re-focus and tighten the reins. So I have decided to start a new schedule for the fall and be a consistent as possible to try to re-gain my momentum. I also need to kick it up a notch in order to try to release the last 40 pounds of my excess weight and reach my goal.
Here is the plan:
Tuesday-Friday (4 days), Eat Lunch: 12-5pm window.
Saturday, Eat Dinner: 5-10pm window.
Sunday and Monday, Long fast: 62 hours.
I find that when I switch my schedule from a lunch to a dinner it helps to have a longer fast on either side of the switch to "re-set" the body so to speak. This helps to counteract the switch in schedule and throw the body off a little so it doesn't get stuck.
I also plan to add in an hour walk per day, minimum of 5 days per week but hope to achieve 7. I already do Pilates twice per week so I will continue with that too.
While my husband's family was visiting, his brother and his wife walked one hour every day. They have done this their whole marriage. They say it is not only good for their health but also good for their relationship. It will also be good for our dog too so looking forward to that.
I am scheduled to be in a bathing suit in December when we vacation to Jamaica...and I want to aim for a bikini by then! Gulp...Three months to get bathing suit ready...here we go!
Last week was my vacation and I definitely went off plan a bit. So hard with 4 people staying at our house and constantly eating to avoid eating an extra meal or two. So for about a week I ate 2 meals a day. I tried to get in as much fasting as possible but even with that effort I found myself feeling terrible.
I was really tired and felt sick. I was so bloated and uncomfortable. I don't know how I lived like that for so long. This week I am back on track with my 19 hours per day and what a difference. I feel so much lighter.
All that eating has made me want to reassess where I am with my fasting lifestyle right now. I have been way too flexible about it this past year and I think that is why I have been having trouble moving the scale.
When I began intermittent fasting I was super strict on my schedule. At 5pm on the dot I would eat no more...in fact it was usually earlier because I had my last snack around 3:30 or 4:00. But lately I have had a snack or two when I got home from work at around 6pm and I would occasionally break my fast early too.
The other thing that I have been doing which I think has been keeping the scale from moving is my random schedule. I used to have a specific routine. I ate between 12 and 5 Monday to Friday and had a dinner on Saturday with a long all day fast on Sunday. But I found that I missed having dinner with my husband and so I switched to dinners on Friday's too. Then when pottery class was out I would eat on Sunday as well and move my all day fast to Monday. This is a really different schedule. Tuesday to Thursday lunches...Friday to Sunday dinners...3 lunches and 3 dinners...I don't think this works as well with intermittent fasting as a consistent schedule does.
I think it is important to keep the fasting window as consistent as you can. Moving it for one day here or there with an extra long fasting window surrounding it doesn't seem to make a difference but switching back and forth between lunches and dinners too regularly seems to have a negative effect.
I realize that if I want to eventually reach my goal I need to re-focus and tighten the reins. So I have decided to start a new schedule for the fall and be a consistent as possible to try to re-gain my momentum. I also need to kick it up a notch in order to try to release the last 40 pounds of my excess weight and reach my goal.
Here is the plan:
Tuesday-Friday (4 days), Eat Lunch: 12-5pm window.
Saturday, Eat Dinner: 5-10pm window.
Sunday and Monday, Long fast: 62 hours.
I find that when I switch my schedule from a lunch to a dinner it helps to have a longer fast on either side of the switch to "re-set" the body so to speak. This helps to counteract the switch in schedule and throw the body off a little so it doesn't get stuck.
I also plan to add in an hour walk per day, minimum of 5 days per week but hope to achieve 7. I already do Pilates twice per week so I will continue with that too.
While my husband's family was visiting, his brother and his wife walked one hour every day. They have done this their whole marriage. They say it is not only good for their health but also good for their relationship. It will also be good for our dog too so looking forward to that.
I am scheduled to be in a bathing suit in December when we vacation to Jamaica...and I want to aim for a bikini by then! Gulp...Three months to get bathing suit ready...here we go!
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