Basic stats
32yo female, been around 87-97kgs most of my adult life (and I've been overweight pretty much all of my life!).
Currently 86kg and 5' 6". The usual story of the yoyo dieter - tried loads of methods, usually fall off the wagon and the lowest I can get down to is my current weight. I'm fairly fit for my size, do a bit of running, love snowboarding and horse riding, get out on some decent hikes most weekends...love walking. I also love eating, and I firmly believe that it's my active lifestyle that has prevented me from ballooning further than my top weight. I love sugar - I'm not huge on savories (chips, pies etc), but oh my I can't get enough of the sweet stuff.
I find it tough to lose weight, but I also seem to pretty good at maintaining my current weight give or take 5kgs...or maybe my body decided a long time ago that this is the weight it quite liked, and I've spent the majority of the last ten years trying to convince it otherwise!
Fasting
I first contemplated fasting as a serious option after I watched the Michael Mosely documentary. I bought the 5:2 diet book and didn't get past the first week.
Last year one of my friends lost a load of weight for her wedding by sticking to the 5:2 diet, so I gave it some more thought. I did some research and discovered another option - the 16:8 method. However by this point in the year it was very close to Christmas (absolute heaven for us sugar addicts), so not quite the time to delve into such a lifestyle! Immediately after New Year I went travelling for four months, and diets were the last thing on my mind.
And then just last week, bored at work I clicked on an article hailing fasting as the new 'biohack' being used by San Francisco tech CEOs for improved productivity etc. I began researching the 16:8 method again and it just felt like the best option for me. I love a challenge and an achievable goal. And holding off on food until 1pm every day was certainly achievable for me, I thought. I just had to start. Sometime. Sometime soon.
So it was my birthday on Sunday, and after having a pretty boozy day followed by a lovely Italian meal, followed by more wine...I found myself scrambling to get to work on time on Monday and alas, didn't have time for breakfast. It was a busy morning and by the time that my lunch hour rolled around, I realised that I hadn't eaten in over 16 hours! Well, it looked like The Powers That Be had kick started this new plan for me!
Day 1
I was so tired and slightly hungover for the day before that any side effects, negative or otherwise, would have gone unnoticed in a sea of generally feeling rubbish. Although I did tote my calories up for the day and I stopped eating at 8pm on around 1200 calories.
Day 2
I definitely felt sharper this morning and much more clear headed. I didn't think about food much, and broke my fast at 1pm with a pasta salad and a little vegan chocolate ball. In the afternoon I did find that my mood dipped really low (like similar to a bad PMS mood swing). After some research I think that this may have been down to the sudden peak and then dip of my blood sugars, considering I had a fairly carby lunch followed by some sugar.
I ended the day on around 1200 calories again.
Day 3
I found myself being much more preoccupied by food this morning and counting down until I could eat. I felt fairly sharp but easily distracted (could be the extra coffee I'm drinking!). Just had a fairly small lunch and I feel okay for now.
Overall happy with things so far, and by far much easier to stick to than any other 'diet' I've been on. I'll continue to update here :)
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