All about control!

Today's feeding day was much better than previous ones! I did go slightly over again, but only by a couple of hundred calories! And I did do a very good gym session today also.

I'm hoping it'll be enough to let me drop at LEAST 1lb for this coming friday. I know I want 2lbs but I don't think that's gonna happen for me, not until I start getting my feeding days properly under the 2500 mark. Plus my body is still very much getting used to this way of cutting.

I tried to portion out my calories into sections like breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks etc - and that worked out pretty well today! But all it took was an extra trip or two to the biscuit tin to push me over that 300. I need to leave the chocolate alone! Even on feed days. 

Still very happy ive gotten down to 17st 11 and managed to stay there! The last times ive seen this in the past, i glimpsed it for a day or two and that was it :/

Now i just have to work on getting those feed days a bit more controlled! Today was the best one so far.

More feeds please :)

Sup folks!

Munching a muller light - lemon cheesecake flavour - nom!!

Not that you needed to know.

Checked my weight this morning for a chuckle and it hasnt budged - it also hasnt gone up though so bonus! I think after losing a whole dam 13lbs it was likely to give me a bit of a hard time this week, but having said that its only been 4-5 days!

I'd like it to drop at LEAST a pound by weigh in on friday. That'd be awesome, but if not - i know it'll start dropping again soon, this ADF plan is preposterously easy to stick to. I dont even feel like im doing anything food wise...its awesome!

One thing i do need to learn is to actually keep my feeding days to 2500 cals or less - half the reason my weight hasnt budged is likely to be because i overate on those feeding days, which is something i thought id have under control...

Nevertheless today is a feed day and im feeling more confident - got my meals and snacks planned out for the day :) - even if my weight budged half a pound, to see that 17st 10 on the scales will be epic - regardless of the quarters after the 10 haha! 

I'd like to shed 2lbs a week though

If possible please though body, that'd be great!

Heading to the gym soon - will update later!

Another fast day and only 3 more days til weigh in!

Another fast day it is! I've had about 380 calories and to be honest I doubt I'll have much more, I feel great today. I've been checking my weight now and then and it's not really going much further (not surprising after that 13lb loss!) But I feel confident that I'll be able to shave off another pound at least by friday, and hopefully i can even out at a good 2-3lbs a week. I need to stop going overboard on my food days to be honest, that's where I'm going wrong a bit.

Ah well, I'm walking to work and back tonight - a 3 mile walk in total so that should target some really strong fat stores!

Will update you all later or tomorrow :)

Bacon rolls!

Feast day again :) bacon rolllllls!

The next weigh in is friday and honestly if im 2lbs down ill be happy and this will be working! Ideally id like a good 3 but 2 will be a beast and will still be the lightest ive gotten to this year (or since any diet attempt really!)

So the goal for friday - 17st 9lbs! 

My goal today? Try not to munch as much as i did on Saturday's feeding day haha!

The end of another fast day!

Well that's another fast day under the belt, hard to believe I've now been doing this for 8 days.

Each fast day seems to get easier and easier. Not felt hungry at all today! Although my 500-600 calorie meal today was full of protein so that probably helped quite a bit to keep me full.

One of the problems I'm having is on my feast days I'm eating far too much - I need to learn to stick to that 2500 calorie limit. I think I blew-out yesterday because I had lost such a staggering amount in my first week. But we all know that won't continue, It'll level out to a fine weekly amount.

Tomorrow is another feeding day. I've never really been a breakfast person, so it's likely I'll maybe have a late breakfast/early lunch around 11 or 12 to break my fast depending what time I wake up or how I feel tomorrow. I will be trying to make this day much more healthier than the others and try not to have a big blowout again haha!

Will update you all again tomorrow with the progress!

Being creative on your fasting day

Hello folks!

Well yesterday was a bit of a blow-out of a feast day! After losing 13lbs I ate perhaps a biiiit more than I should have yesterday on my feast day, but nevertheless! It's another fast day!

Next weeks weigh in will be on Friday. I will be weighing myself on Fridays and Saturdays intermittently because I always must weigh myself the morning after a fast day. This will make sure it's always 6 or 8 day intervals I'm weighing in on instead of making the weigh in days very random.

Anyway!

Creativity on fasting days is my topic today. I don't even think I have got this one nailed.

Let's get one thing straight, eating 500-600 calories in a day...you simply aren't going to get your 'Recommended daily allowance' of certain vitamins or nutrients, so always take a vitamin supplement every morning!

I want to try and get in some vegetables, some protein and also some fat for taste of course :) so this is what I'll be making today, whether or not it'll taste good or not - well, that I will update you on later ;)

300g cored and quartered parsnips (Sainsbury's 189 calories)
130g tin of Tuna chunks in brine (150 calories)
1tbsp of lighter mayo (Sainsbury's 39 calories)
50g of grated cheese (Weight watchers reduced fat 108 calories)
15ml flora cuisine cooking fat (Healthier alternative to oil - 95 calories)
Pinch of salt

Total Calories: 581 calories

First I will be throwing the cored and quartered parsnips into the tefal airfryer with the flora cuisine and pinch of salt. Once they are done i will put them on a plate evenly spread. I'll mix up the tuna and mayo in a bowl and dollop that on top. Then, I will take the 50g of Cheese and sprinkle it evenly over the top. To finish it off, I'll chuck it into the grill for a few minutes to let the cheese melt over the tuna mayo.

Never said I was any kind of chef, but I think this will work!

First Weigh In on Alternate Day Fasting!

Well well well...

...said the oil company.

Poor joke...I'll leave it at that.

I write this post completely gobsmacked!

As you know, i managed to lose nearly 4 stone calorie cutting every single day and going to the gym 5 days a week. Well, after 5 months it began to lose its effect and i struggled to lose anymore - i infact went through almost 3 weeks at the end where i did no exercise and ate rubbish.

I got down to 18st - but then rocketed up to 18st 10lbs in no time. 

So i started alternate day fasting a week ago today! (Please read my blog post from last week) - basically im now consuming more calories (approximately 1500 a day on average) but instead of restricting myself every day - im eating 500-600 one day, and 2400-2500 thr next! Giving me long periods of fasting.

This method, in just one week has made me feel fitter, healthier, my skin is glowing and looking awesome and of course...ive lost weight! Obviously when starting any new diet plan you lose a lot initially through loss of water retention, but dear god...

Are you ready?

Last Saturday i weighed 18st 10lbs

Today...i weigh...

17st 11lbs!!!!!

A loss of THIRTEEN lbs in a week! Thats almost a clear stone! Thats all the weight i gained and a couple lbs more for good measure!

I'm utterly astounded. 

Please try not to be shocked. The only reason this loss is so great is down to the science of fat burning during a fast and keeping the metabolism raised by feasting on alternate days - read up about it or better yet, watch the BBC Horizon documentary 'eat, fast and live longer' 

I now leave you to enjoy my feast day and i will give you another update later!

:D

Another fasting day down - weigh in tomorrow!

Another fasting day down - this one was the easiest by far :) i feel great! Had 610 cals today which is 10 more than i should have, but i think its okay! Also walked 2 miles today so that'll help. 

I think something this way of life teaches you is the difference between actually being hungry and your brain tricking you into feeling hungry because it wants a sugar or fat fix. 

Well tomorrow it will get its fix! ;) but not before i weigh myself - i am EXTREMELY excited to weigh myself tomorrow. I've dropped a lot this initial week - and bear in mind ive been out for a big meal out, eating ice cream, having a bbq and a pizza this week. I promise i will make these feast days more healthy...soon ;) haha! 

Tomorrow im gonna experiment with parsnips perhaps for lunch! Maybe add in some tuna and cheese. Nom nom nom. 

See you all tomorrow for a weigh in ;)

4th fasting day - day before weigh in!

Another fasting day has arrived! Will be taking a walk to sainsbury's soon to gather some parsnips for the weekend/week ahead - and of Course some sweet potato for mooore wedges! (They were epic as hell!)

Oh and tomorrow is my first alternate day fasting weigh in! Are you excited? I am - this way of calorie cutting is incredible. I dont even really feel like im on a diet. I feel so much healthier even though im eating garbage on my feast days (this will change...im just getting used to it haha!)

You do NOT want to miss tomorrow's weigh in, i know in the first week of a new diet/calorie cutting plan you lose a big chunk - but this is seriously awesome! Watch this space tomorrow ;)

End of feeding day number 3

Well we're coming to the end of my 6th day Alternate day fasting...it's incredible how it makes you feel! Today in the gym I felt stronger, and for some reason more muscular...that could just be an illusion though. I felt full of energy even though yesterday was a fast day, and I'm DYING to tell you all how much weight has dropped off in this initial week...but that will have to wait to Saturday's weigh in ;)

I've had a good feast today, clocking in at around 2250 calories :) the funny thing is...I think I'm actually eating MORE calories overall in a week than I was when I was doing an actual daily calorie restriction. The alternate day fasting allows for more calories to be consumed over all, but they're just split in such a way that your fasting period can target mostly fat for energy. It's astounding how well this works - Astounding! I won't speak too soon though, I'll start singing it's praises as long as it continues to work well :) But so far so good!

Another fasting day tomorrow, which I have actually given a new upper limit of 550-600 calories for instead of 500.

I'll update you all again tomorrow, take it easy! ;)

Lunch!

Lunch today is 380g of sweet potato wedges done in the airfryer and coated in 50g of cheese - I. Love. This.

Feeeeeeding time!

Another fasting day down - another feeding day commences!

Day 6 of altenate day fasting - had a sneaky look at the scales today and I al in pure shock, this way of living is tearing the fat off - official weigh in on saturday though you cheeky scamps ;)

About to tuck into a bacon roll, leaving me over 800 calories for lunch and snacks - and i have a frozen 4 cheese pizza lined up for dinner! Nomanomnom. 

Feeling excited!

Exercise

Coming to the end of my 3rd fast day, feeling fine!

One thing im needing to stop though is my lack of exercise on fast days. Im planning to hit the gym on feeding says as of tomorrow - but i also wanted to burn a few hundred calories walking or something on fast days. 

Unfortunately the fast days so far ive just done nooothing at all ( apart from my 2nd fast say where i did do a 35 minute walk ) - but after a lot of reading its not such a bad thing to gradually ease myself into this lifestyle change. 

Fasting meal glory

Clocks in at roughly 550 calories. I want to stick to between 500-600 so this is goood

200g parsnips chopped and cored done in tefal airfryer with a drizzling of flora cuisine cooking butter and a sainsburys breaded cod fillet done in the oven :)

3rd fasting day!

It's my 3rd fasting day today!

Yesterday's feeding day was a bit OTT - but that was bound to happen as I ended up going out for dinner with my girlfriend and friends. Won't be making the mistake again of overeating big time like I did last night!

Today my plan for my fast today is around 1 or 2 PM I'm gonna have a pile of roast parsnips with a chicken breast :)

Very excited about Saturday when I can post a weight loss result, and even more excited for tomorrow because I've finally got time to go back to the gym properly! Epic! I'll only be gymming on feeding days to begin with but I'll be walking on the fast days for 30-40 minutes for a few hundred extra calorie burn.

I think the loss on Saturday will be very very awesome...but i think a lot of it will be water weight that i accumulated from eating badly for a few weeks

over and out for now!

Feeding time!! -

So it's my 4th day of Alternate day fasting and today is what they call an UP day! :D

I'm having a small breakfast because I'm supposed to be going out for food tonight - the beauty of this diet! Eating out is not a problem as long as its on a feed day!

My body is still getting used to this 500 cals every other day, but its very easy so far! The human brain is clearly a very complex organ. Its almost like its not bothering to send hunger pangs through my system because it KNOWS we will eat normally the next day. Amazing!!
Oh...and I took a sneaky look at my weight today as you're supposed to weigh yourself the morning after a fast...lets just say Saturday's weigh in result is going to BLOW you all away...this is CLEARLY an amazing way to cut calories...

2nd fasting day - interesting results so far!

So today is my 2nd fasting day, 3rd day in total on ADF

This is very interesting! I almost feel as if this is the way we are SUPPOSED to eat...I don't feel hungry, I don't feel deprived, I don't feel weak or lethargic...it's quite astounding!

Today's fasting day I had a bowl of sugar free angel delight (YUM!) And later on I had a couple of parsnips done in low-cal oil replacement and done in my airfryer :)

I've had about 564 calories. I wanted to only have 500, but I've also done a 35 minute walk today too :)

Feeling quite good, I think the key is to drink lots of water! Tomorrow is a feeding day and I'm supposed to be going out for dinner, that should be interesting...I'll have to save my calories up biiiig time! But it shall be done.

Going well so far! I think the only negative side effect is mood swings so far...but I imagine they will improve.

So far, so good!

Today was my first feeding day on the new Alternate Day Fasting program! (Please read Friday's post for more info on that!)

It was pretty good, although I didn't exactly eat healthy...I certainly didn't gorge and ruin the whole point of the fast day. I was supposed to stick to 2500 today, but I overslipped a bit to 2700. That was almost certainly due to being taken on a BBQ trip haha! I will not be letting that happen again. Still, another fast day tomorrow! 500 calories of boringness ;) but it shall be done! Then I can munch away again on Tuesday.

I suppose we'll see what results this has on Saturday when I weigh in.

Feeding time!

One fasting day down, now it's time for a feeeeding day!

2500 calories of bliss. Although that will likely be a limit, not a target ;)

I thought I'd be absolutely ravenous today, but I'm simply not! I thought I'd be scouring the kitchen for a big meal to eat for breakfast, but nope! I cooked up a few sausages in my airfryer and put them in a wholemeal roll. Breakfast sorted! I don't feel super hungry, I don't feel weak and malnourished, I feel fine!

Off to the gym later too! So I'll make sure I have a good post-workout meal rich in protein etc.

I know it's only been one fasting day so far but prognoses so far is it's going very well :)

First fasting day complete!

If you haven't read my previous post about Alternatve Day Fasting - please read it first before continuing to read :)

Well it's coming to the end of the day and more importantly the end of my first fasting day!

It's been alright...i'm not exactly sure how I feel because I'm also hungover...

I've kept well hydrated with lots of water and that keeps the appetite down too.

I've had about 486 calories, that was taken up by a meal replacement shake in the afternoon and a very well filled Chicken sandwich at lunch with some light mayo and wartburtons wholemeal bread.

I'm not starving, but I can tell my body isn't used to this...I think it's going to take at least a couple of weeks to adapt to this new way of living, but it's quite exciting! Quite happy to know I can have a really nice breakfast tomorrow because I have a lot of calories I can use up.

Ideally I want to do a walk on my fasting days and my main gym workouts on my feeding days, but today I've just been resting off the hangover.

I will try to update this blog at least once a day to let you all know how it's all going!

Welcome to the 100lb challenge!

Hi everyone!

To those of you who are new, this blog is the continuation of my 'challenge 25' blog - where I aimed to lose as much weight as possible from the end of January 2013 til my birthday on 19th of July.

It had its ups and downs, but I managed to get from 21st 11lbs to 18st10lbs...

That number may shock some of you...because I actually got down to 17st 13lbs but unfortunately my diet and exercise was so repetitive I eventually found it hard to keep going for weeks on end. I'd do fine throughout the week then crash at weekends...

for the last 2 weeks I've been completely out of the game and hence why I've gained weight back up to 18st 10lbs...quite frankly, I'm more annoyed at myself than any of you can be...So I just ask that you help and encourage me to get this fully back in the works and carry on so that I can smash past this and get down to my target weight of 14st 9lbs!

The 100lb challenge is called so because once I hit that goal weight, that will be a total of 100lbs lost! Which to me, sounds like too good a challenge to pass up. Really I'd like to maintain a weight around 15st, but getting down to 14st 9 will allow me to fluctuate a wee bit when I get into maintenance mode.

Now - Because my diet and exercise was starting to take its toll, I visited a personal trainer who also gives advise about diet and calorie cutting.

As a result I am about to embark on a very strange yet very exciting way of cutting calories, it's called 'Alternate Day Fasting' - Essentially, it's just another way to calorie cut...but it's been proven to be a healthier way to live overall! Let me break down to you how it works.

Alternate day fasting consists of one day of very low calorie eating, followed by a day of eating my daily allowance.

So in my instance, I will have one 'fasting' day where I would consume only 500 calories, followed by a day where I would have a 'feeding' day consisting of around 2500.

Over 2 days that averages out at 1500 calories a day, which is almost exactly what I've been doing so far...

Now you may panic thinking 500 a day simply isn't enough - but doing this for just ONE day intervals actually has been shown to have no effect on metabolism, no starvation mode and does not result in muscle wastage.

A lot of pro bodybuilders use this method to 'cut up'. One of the theories behind the success is that any cravings you have may be satisfied on the 'feeding' day, so really you only have to crave your favourite meals for 1 day at a time, knowing you can get through that day because you can probably have that craving the next day :)

I encourage you all to read up about it before making a judgement - I was advised by a qualified professional to try this method as he and many of his clients have had success with it. I also researched it online and it seems he was right, it's been proven to have great results!

So yesterday I ate HEAPS....It was my birthday haha! So today is naturally a fasting day, I will consume around 500 calories (Mostly in the form of meal replacement shakes so I can get my nutrients etc that I need) and tomorrow I can have a 2500 calorie balanced, healthy diet :)

Oh! And exercise will only occur on the feeding days, except on fasting days I miiiight go for a half hour walk or something just to keep my spirits high.

Anyway, 100lb challenge begins now!

Starting weight - 18st 10lbs
Target weight - 14st 9lbs

Weight to lose in total - 58lbs (4st 1lb)
Target date - 31st December 2013 (Tuesday) - 23 weeks in total
Average loss needed per week: 2.5lbs

GO!

The New Challenge

OK Folks

I've come to admit that I've not been getting the results I've wanted the last wee whiley and I've figured out why.

I've been pressuring myself to hit certain short term goals and had forgotten almost completely the LONG term goals. I'd been focussing so much on hitting the 17.5st goal for my birthday that I've been trying to work extra hard to hit it, when instead I should've carried on the way I was before. If I had done that I'd probably stand a chance of hitting my goal on my birthday.

As it stands, I won't be near that goal... I keep beating past 18st down to 17st 13 and then lapsing again because I tried too hard to get there, and up it shoots again by 3 or 4lbs. Luckily that's all it does...but I'm pushing my luck.

All In all I can't be annoyed at myself too much, I've still managed to shed almost 4 stone off my figure and KEEP it off over the last 6 months - that's admirable in itself.

So now it's time for a new challenge to get the rest of this weight off by the end of this year!

As of my birthday (19th July) I will be renaming this Blog to 'Ricki's 100lb Challenge!'

My goal weight is around the 100lb mark (from the very beginning) this will take me down to 14st 9lbs. I'd like to eventually be maintaining a weight of around 15st, so buckling down to 14st 9lbs will allow me some room for fluctuation when that point comes. Future plans are to bulk up muscle and strength wise, but we'll get to that another day!

I've made a new chart for my wall to fill in every Friday and I'm aiming to hit this goal weight by New Years Eve! Then I will merrily drink in the new year knowing 2013 has started off horribly, but ended as the best year of my life so far!

From now until my Birthday blog updates will probably either be non-existant. I may make one...depends...but after that I hope to be able to fill you in Every day with what's happening!

Until I go back to Uni I'm joining the gym that's next door to my house, this will take out a 20 minute drive from my workout days and should hopefully keep me working harder as there is less to worry about travel wise and I can just shower when I walk home.

So, as it stands right now I'm probably still going to be hovering around the 17st 13 - 18st mark on my birthday next week, so I've set goals that begin from there, but I WILL be working out hard this weekend and week regardless! And eating healthily of course too...

2lbs a week is what I aim to lose per week minimum, and by my calculations that will make me achieve my goals by the end of the year. I'm also going to be keeping up the strength training to keep those muscles going!

Oh! If anyone has any HEALTHY recipes that involve root vegetables like Parnips and Sweet Potato etc, let me know! I've taken a liking to those things...and I want to eat them more :)

100lb challenge commences in a week! 54lbs down - 46 to go!!

Weigh in day No. 25!

Well, not such a good day today!

I'm still sitting at 17st 13 and 1/4.

I've had a REALLY intense week of gymming and eating low calorie, but to confess last weekend I went a bit nuts and spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday not going to the gym and eating tons of crap. It wasn't good! Luckily I've rectified that damage now but I've paid for it with another week of stalemate.

I have 2 weeks until my 25th Birthday where Challenge 25 will officially end and I MUST reach 17st 7lbs by then (even if theres a quarter or a half on top, as long as that number 7 is there I'm happy!)

So 2 weeks to lose 6lbs? I personally don't think the way my body is going that that is at all possible. But I can certainly try.

Even if I don't get 17st 7 for this 'Challenge 25' blog, I'm sure I'll get somewhere near it and that's a start, because there is still along way to go past that!

After Friday 19th July I'll be changing this blog to 'The 100lb Challenge'. My goal is 15st, which would see me lose a total of 95lbs, but if I drop an extra 5lbs that will give me some space to start my weight maintenance because it's bound to fluctuate. That 100lb number has a nice big round figure to it, so that's my ultimate aim! ;) 14st 9lbs.

Anyway, here's to next week! aiming for 17st 10lbs. It can be done, I just need to work for it.