I am easing back to life at home after a 10-day sojourn. Transition back to work kinda stinks ... as does the transition back to my normal habits. I did eat moderately but I didn't have a single salad while away lol ... and I had cocktails whenever I wanted. I DID get a lot more exercise in-- nothing grand but I was definitely much more active generally. I intend to keep that up here-- as soon as I get back to waking up early. I do feel more fit from only the handful of days so it is so important to keep it up!

I have been sleeping fairly well but still struggling with getting enough water. I just gotta do it-- no tricks, no games. Just gotta do it.

I am up 0.8 lb from my lowest weight but I returned from my trip without a gain or a loss. I think today's increase is just the normal up and downs I see day to day. I say that is a win ... now back to salads!

How are all you beautiful people doing? Feeling good? What are you working on?

I’ve decided to try intermittent fasting. I’m going to give it one week to see how it goes. Today is Day 3. In doing some reading before starting, it appears that the most successful approach is to break your fast between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. It is better for your metabolism. However, that means I have to eat dinner no later than 5 p.m. That is proving to be difficult for me.

Exercise is hard for me. I really don’t like doing it and that dislike is compounded by 100+ temps and humidity that is like being underwater.

Funky, my sister and I have noticed that we will drink more water in a sitting if we are drinking from a 16 oz bottle. There is no rhyme or reason for that!

Glad you had a restful, fun vacation!

Interesting, Bbstx -- Ive never known anyone to break their fast before 11am or 12pm-- but whatever works for you is best! I am often still working at 5pm so the earlier start wouldn't work well for me.. but I find I eat much smaller evening meals on IF.

I felt better almost immediately-- have you noticed any changes in the 3 days you have been going?

Thanks for the tip on water -- I drink from a 30oz yeti and am considering the larger stanley cup. My problem is filling it with water vs something less healthy!

Apparently there have been some recent studies on IF that indicate breaking your fast earlier improves insulin sensitivity and also improves blood glucose levels.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/108/7/1824/7005458?redirectedFrom=fulltext and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35194047/

I struggle to drink water. Try putting just a tiny sprinkle of Crystal Light lemonade in your water. I find that it makes it more palatable for me. And I do mean ”tiny” sprinkle. I can get several days use out of one of the sticks meant to flavor 16 oz.

I haven’t noticed any changes yet and so far there has been no discernible weight loss. I’m going to try to not weigh myself for a week.

I think IF helped with weight loss but I didn't see that right away-- I saw greatly increased energy and mood (my coworkers noticed also-- without knowing I was doing IF) and I also think it reduced my appetite.

Interesting results ... but would be much harder for me to maintain/adhere to early day IF. As noted, I often work until well after 5 ... also, I only just got back into the social world. IF is a way of life for me. I don't do it for weight loss. I do it because I feel much better when following IF. That said, the results are tempting me to switch-- but if I do, I will not be nearly as consistent.

I read more about IF on the Cleveland Clinic website. In addition to 16:8, 14:10 is acceptable too. I may have to switch to that for a while. They also discussed (I’m not sure ”recommended” is the right word) having only 500 calories per day for 2 days a week, but not 2 consecutive days. Apparently 2 meals dividing the 500 calories is a good way to try that.

I think it is interesting that when I am prepping for something like a colonoscopy and cannot eat for the day, it doesn’t bother me at all. But when I try to do that without a goal, I fail.

I do 14:10 most days if I can. I feel better when I cut off around 6 or 6:30 and eat early. I find it's good for my circadian rhythm, and stopping eating several hours before bed helps me sleep better and keeps my blood sugar levels stable overnight.

I'm not on the best path right now - I think this 800 gram challenge is actually setting me back. Of course, I could do the 800 grams and all the other healthy eating I'm supposed to be doing, but instead I've kind of said to myself, screw it - I did that part, now I can have whatever I want. It's a really backward way of thinking, and made me realize that it's probably not a good fit for me in the long run. It's very psychological for me I guess. On the plus side it has been nice to eat so many delicious fruits in season this summer. But I don't have to have ice cream on the side every night :)

Exercise Wise I am doing ok. I am pretty active most days, and have done at least 20 minutes a day for the last 3 weeks thanks to this challenge. I have found some great posture exercises that seem to really be working. I want to be able to do that cross legged get off the floor challenge, but I'm not there. However I finally saw a video of someone saying to work up to it by doing it on lower and lower supports to work your way to the floor. Right now I can do it on my 4 inch from the floor step. So, hopefully progress will keep being made. I am still doing dead hangs, but nowhere near anything that resembles a pull-up.

Funky - so glad you had such a great trip and you found the walking sticks to be so helpful!

Legomom, I have had similar experiences -- some food plans/approaches just don't work for me. I think we are all pretty self aware at this point and just need to move on when we try something that doesn't work-- whether we overeat/overindulge, get angry or frustrated or whatever. It was a great experiment but sounds like it's a good time for you to return to better approaches.

I had planned to walk this am and then I slept until 6:30... and then had a series of technical work issues. Yikes... so I adjusted the plan was to walk in the evening but temps are going up into the 90s late afternoon. Looks like I will walk at lunchtime! I just want to make sure I get out every day even if for a short bit. I am also pulling out my resistance bands again. I am ready to make more progress! I am ready to return to my stronger self!

Go for 3 and it is officially a trend!!!

Did a little more reading about IF today. Apparently, if one is over 65 (moi), one can do a 12:12 IF. Yesterday was a bust. Today is going to be 14:10. I woke up at 5:30 because the painters were due at 6 a.m. When it is 100+ outside, they come early and leave early. However, I managed to hold off eating until 9 a.m. It is a bit past 7 now. I’m having my last posset. What I learned yesterday was to eat a protein rich meal in the evening.

It helps that I don't like to eat in the am-- even though I wake up at 5am. I am sure you will find a pattern that works for you. There are so many different approaches to IF but I have been considering moving to two 500 calorie days. I normally target 1000 calories a day but that has slipped up due to vacation and some social events. I want to first get back to 1000 a day and then add in the lower calorie days.

I do plan to keep up with the walking ... it feels good!

Things are going well here as far as the exercise goes. I of course can't really lose weight but I'm enjoying going dancing two or three times a week thrown in the mix right now. Going to free summer concerts helps with that.

Also we go dancing once a week to alive music pub Friday nights or Saturday nights. The music is pretty good. DH is enjoying tries out different beers one beer each time.

Are you ready for fall activities, clothes and food?

I'm not ready for Fall. But I am more than ready for Fall. I don't want to stop wearing my summer clothes and going to all the summer dancing that we have been doing. I want the fires to be gone and people to not be too hot who are uncomfortable in the heat. It is weird to feel such Joy in being able to do these summertime activities and feel such sadness for people who are caught in fires and storms and etc. I guess both can exist at the same time but they are uncomfortable together.

How are you doing with your healthy lifestyle goals?

In as much as I can do my healthy lifestyle style goals are being met. As I said above I can't lose weight. But hopefully I can shift things enough through weight lifting etc to help with my problem areas. I'm looking at you muffin top..

What's going well

As I've said before the shortened time span that I eat my meals with IF seems to work very well for me. My weight stays fairly consistent and has ever since I started this program. I don't look at it to help me lose weight as that seems to be a non-starter for me. It does definitely contribute to maintenance. I seem to need to cut out all extra evening snacks to maintain my weight no matter what level of activity I do.

What needs more work and focus?

I need to weight lift more even if it is body weight lifting and de-stress somehow so that I can lose the excess cortisol in my system and maybe not have a muffin top ;-).

Wishing everybody else health and safety. I've been distracted by all these summer activities so haven't said much to individuals. But I think of you all almost every day.

Glad to hear some things are going well for you, Yeonassky ... the heat and wild fires aside, I also love the summer months. I have been so much more active and social this year than the past 3-4 for a variety of reasons... the fall will certainly slow down a bit but I hope not too much. I guess that's up to me!

One thought-- is it possible that you are at a good weight, Yeonassky? It may be that the toning that comes with continued exercise may be all your body needs? Just a thought... obviously I don't know you so only you and your dr can answer that.

I also don't use IF as a weight loss strategy -- but I do think the time boxed eating helps and since I have an abysmally slow metabolism, any benefits it adds to increased metabolism will impact my weight loss!

I was down 2lb this morning-- really a surprise to me because I felt/feel bloated but I will take it! The interesting thing is ... I have been eating a bit more than usual and I have been eating protein more consistently (mainly because I have turkey and chicken to use up). I have also been walking the past few days but realistically, I am not walking enough to offset calories and lose 2 lb lol. All I know that what I am currently doing is working for now ... and for that, I am grateful. I am 6lb off my next milestone and the last milestone is 17 lb behind me. It's a great feeling ... just wish I felt better about my appearance.

It is currently 72 deg here-- it is raining so I won't likely walk today -- but these temps are very conducive to walking, hiking and outdoor activities. Looking forward to the next 2 months!

No more IF for me. In the 5 or so days that I’ve done it, I’ve gained. I don’t feel better, either. And I’m sleeping more poorly. No outdoor exercise here right now. The heat index is 106!!

Taking a break in the house from the heat, but don't have time to back-read much. This is hay week (AKA hell week) and the baler broke, so I have been trying to help "fix" it (lefty loosy- righty tighty, LOL).

bbstx, are you getting 5 hours with only water(no calories)? I read that it takes 5 hours for the insulin to dissipate from any caloric intake, and allow the pancreas to rest.

Love hearing about what everyone is doing. You all are inspiring me, I may try the 14:10 for awhile, I think I already do this 3 or 4 days a week. I am a later eater though, mainly due to my DH. He would prefer to eat at 8 pm or later every night, our compromise is 7 to 7:30. He gets up 1 1/2 hours after I do so we have two different schedules. We typically only eat dinner together.

My weight is study, no real changes there. Just keeping on. I did start physical therapy and my assigned excercises this week, so hoping this helps with my shoulder/arm issues. My PT thinks that I will fully recover over the next month or two, very encouraging.

Springroz, bless your heart. My daddy was a farmer. I can remember him baling hay in the summer and what a nasty, thankless task it was. He must have stopped doing that after a couple of years, because I have no memory of it later on. We did not have livestock so he was growing it to sell. He may have decided that the price wasn’t enough for the work.

I’ve not heard or read anything about going 5 hours with water only. I think it is just not an eating style for me. I often wake up very early (3:30 a.m. today). I can’t wait until 10 or 11 to eat anything and if I eat any earlier, then I have to stop eating mid-afternoon. I think I’ll go back to hybrid of counting calories and low-carbing. That works for me, but it is a pain to keep up with. I was looking for something simpler.

Bummer, Bbstx .. I haven't known anyone to not feel better from IF but you are right that not all eating styles work for all people. I do very badly on low carb/high protein .. I don't feel well and I either overeat and feel bad or undereat and that's not much better. At our ages, we know our bodies and know what feels good and what works. Time to move on!

Hope the PT helps, Jill! I had two frozen shoulders and they were awful until I learned exercises to help them along!

Jill, that's good news! Congratulations to everyone on their progress this week, as well as continuing to learn more about what works/doesn't work for each of us.

Bbstx, I've been practicing IF for about 8 years or so, and I find it so much easier than daily tracking of food and calories. I started with 5:2, and now I just mostly do 16:8. But it took some time. If you're inclined to give it another try, I would encourage you to do so. I can't even begin to explain the benefits I feel from it.

Saying that, I continue to track my protein intake. I can really only get enough by supplementing with a protein shake each day. I don't like that, but I am getting stronger due to increased strength training and more protein.

Exercise is going well, though not as I had planned. I haven't joined a gym yet because I've been riding my bike more! I love it. My legs are getting stronger thanks to some hill training. Our weather has been nice enough that I'm going to continue this for awhile, along with arm weights at home. The gym will still be there this fall when the weather takes a turn.

I literally feel a sense of glee when I get on my bike... like tapping into my 5-yo self.

Funky, thanks for continuing these threads. I'm going to go drink a glass of water!

I may try the IF again in a couple of weeks or months. Maybe I should have started with a time-spread that better fit my lifestyle and worked my way to 16:8.

Hi, everyone, thought I posted the other day but it seems it got eaten. I really enjoyed my time in San Diego and Coronado. We did a lot of walking and used the ferry to get back and forth.

Need to get a better handle on eating this week. With school back in session, I will have a more normal routine. At least no more vertigo, but I was a little unstead with some moves in Pilates on Monday, so we moved from the carriage to the stability chair.

I’ve done IF in the past, but I do like eatinng in the mornings. I also feel that getting protein at breakfast sets the stage for the day.

So many beautiful gardens on my walk.