Six weeks in, so not quite the start 88.8kgs

 This is the first post so it's going to be a long one.

First a bit about me.

As with many people who come to IF I am a serial life long dieter.

The extreme came when in January 2012 I went to the Czech Republic for bariatric surgery with a now bankrupt company called Cosmetic Bliss. I had a gastric sleeve when I was at about my highest weight of 96 ish kilos.  I may have been a bit more than this but those are the figures that spring to mind.

The weight just fell off me after the op and before long ie in about 6 months I was down to 75 kilos.  I looked amazing.                                                                             

The picture on the left is the day that Tequila arrived and the pic on the right is me at the very first Cheltenham Park Run at Pittville Park.  OMG it was so cold and it was actually snowing when this picture was taken by my Mum.

So onwards about 18 months and as with all diets no matter how drastic the weight did not stay off.  Gradually it all piled back on.  I would say that over-eating and also drinking far too much fizz was the reason that the sleeve got stretched.  Also I just did not realise that once it's gone, it's gone.

Fast forward to Winter 2021 and I was back up to about 95kgs.  I had just had a hip replacement operation and was no longer riding.  Tequila was gone to a loan home and I was really quite sedentary.  Exercise has always been the bane of my life.  Now with no horses I was fatter and losing all my strength and muscle.

We went to Spain for the winter and I was getting fatter and fatter.  I couldn't walk up the mountains or ride my bike up them either.  I was so, so unhappy and miserable. 

I decided that I would start the Keto diet.  Some of my friends had done it and done well on either Paleo or Keto and I loved meat and thought this was maybe something I could do.  I also combined this with a form of Intermittent Fasting so that I didn't eat til lunch time.

This diet worked really well for me and I started to lose weight.  It was slow but I didn't feel deprived, I was fed and full and that was all that mattered.

By February 2022 I was down to 85 kgs and I was happy here,  It wasn't hard to fast until lunchtime and basically eat a carnivore diet.  It caused a few issues as Mike would really like to be veggie but all in all it served me well.

Then in August 2022 I went back to the UK to visit my folks.  Being in the UK is always dangerous for me as there are so many foods I miss and my Mum loves to cook and I love to eat what she cooks.

This photograph I took on the plane to send to Mike and I love it.  I look so slim and healthy in my face.  I have to say I am never happy with photos of me but this together with the 2 above are my favourites.

So I ate my way through my stay with Mum and Dad and then came back to France only to have to go back in September because Mum was ill.  With some too-ing and fro-ing I was there until January looking after her.

By November I was 90 kgs.  I know this because in between all the back and forward to the UK I had a week in Cardiac Intensive Care in Angouleme as I had a silly problem with my heart missing beats.  I was sure of my weight then and had to have it on my records.  I was happyish with 90kgs but it wasn't 90 for long.

I was back in the UK for Christmas and then well into January.  In February went to Spain for 6 weeks and my weight had gone up to 93 kgs.  I was so unhealthy.  I tried hard in Spain but I was kidding myself that I was going to lose weight and although I was still fasting till lunchtime I was dirty fasting and having coffee with cream and sugar!  I didn't know about clean fasting then.  You cannot know what you don't know!

So by 10th April my weight was 93 kgs but in the weeks before that I know it was up to 95kgs but I haven't recorded that on MFP.  I think I was just too ashamed.

I can't remember how I heard about Gin Stevens book Fast, Feast Repeat but somehow I did and so on another trip back to the UK I bought it.  I had already been trying to fast longer than the 16 hours I had been doing but probably not clean fasting as such.

I devoured the book and on the 10th of April I started weighing in at 93 kgs.  I have not been honest on that date about my weight recorded on MFP and I know it was more than 93 but hey ho that's what it says.

Since that date I have been religiously following at least 18 hours of clean fasting.  I only drink water, black coffee and Fizzy water in my fasting window.

So today is 18th May 2023 and the day after my birthday. Yesterday I did fast for 18 hours.  Then I ate and drank what I wanted.  It's probably not my finest hour and maybe I overate but I enjoyed my birthday.  Every day I do this IF lifestyle I learn something about my body.

I know that sugar destroys me.  It makes me feel ill for hours afterwards.

This blog is going to be a way for me to record how I feel every day when there is something to tell.

So on my birthday morning I weighed in at 87.5kgs.  A figure |I am very proud of.  This morning after my eating and drinking fest of last night I weighed in at 88.8....  woah!  Who knew you could put on 1.3kgs over night?  But I did.  Do you know what?  I don't care.  Today I am on for a good fast of 18 hours.  Because I was eating and drinking til late last night my window doesn't open until 5pm.  I know that is going to be hard for me but I have a plan to go for a walk with the dog later and to keep myself busy so that I can ignore the feelings I will have.  I am learning what is hunger and what is habit and I have discovered that most of my hunger is in my head and not my belly.

So my first day at 66 years old is one of expectation, excitement for the future and of hope.  I am getting fitter and healthier by the day.

Onwards and upwards.

I am going to share some pics here which I am cringey about but here goes.  Call it motivation.