What keeps me sane while fasting

What exactly keeps me sane while fasting? 

What keeps me sane? A good question! Its tough dieting most days. What strategies I use to cope are pretty simple. 

1. I have flavored 5 calorie water. I add those little packages of  sweetener to my bottle water all the time. I'd rather not have that artificial sweetener but I need something to take the edge off not eating all day long. It's also in my hot chocolate. I need something to drink to keep me satisfied and I don't like tea or coffee so this is my only option along with just plain old water and a lemon. 

If it wasn't for these drinks, I wouldn't have been able to get to day #13. I'm soooo close to being on my diet / fasting of 500 calories per day week number three! I'm excited to get through this next week as the weight coming off will feel even better. I can tell by my clothes that the weight is coming off. It might not be coming off as fast as I'd like, but this diet maximizes my weight loss with out feeling tired and hungry. I don't feel angry, starved, tired like other diets can do. I don't feel deprived because I can eat what ever, just only at dinner and not a lot of it. It's all about choice. What I did give up was alcohol. Its far too many calories to stick with 500 for the day. I might have a sip of something and that's good enough, I don't need a glass of wine, just a taste now and then. 

The diet part that gets difficult is the wait. The days go by slowly and I just want to rush through the weeks and feel the weight melt off. The other part is the realization, that I just can't lose a pound a day. Maybe a pound every two days on this diet as long as I combine that with exercise. You have to burn 3500 calories to lose a pound of fat. If I don't eat 1500 calories a day, with exercise 500 calories burned, which is a daily deficit of 2000 calories or 4000 every other day. So, being on a diet for 13 days, I will assume by my clothes fitting, the number of days on a diet, the fact that I've lost 2", must mean I've lost at least 7 pounds of fat. While that's not a whole lot of weight to lose in my 20 - 30 pounds I'd like to take off, it's better then gaining or not losing at all. 

I'm also all about keeping track of my dieting. Checking off the days, writing down what I eat and what I don't eat. Yes, what I don't eat, its the little things you say No to that you need a Big reward for. I said no to more flat bread last night, no to having a glass of wine or cider and no to the bread basket. I also said no to eating the chicken skin (not hard to give up because I don't like that). All those little no's add up to weight loss. 

Diets should not be all about no's. I said yes to a sip of beer. I don't like beer but wanted a taste of it.
I said yes, to keeping myself busy through the day, like working, planks, even baking deserts. 
I said yes to eating flat bread, yes bread but limiting the amount so I felt satisfied and not deprived. 
I also say yes to naps and less exercise while I diet. 
I don't miss out on happy hours either. I just go with my low calorie drinks, ask for water and hot water when out. We play cribbage while Steve enjoys a beer. We share happy hour food and it all works in the diet. Yes is a good thing on a diet. It's all about balance and keeping yourself motivated to take the weight off. 

My plan was to never put back on the weight I lost back in 2010 - 11, but it slowly crept back even with running daily. I wasn't watching what I ate, last year I stopped running due to a foot injury and just stress from Steve's eye injury. I wasn't focused on me, just getting through the day with poor coping skills of taking care of me too. 

I am going to try staying focused this time. Try not to gain back all the weight I've been losing, Taking care of me to stay healthy and fit. I'd doing one thing at a time right now. Focusing on my diet, with some planks and getting in a little exercise, Slowly, I'll add back in running when my foot is at 100%, 

Its also good to let others know your on a diet. This way, it's a commitment and you've said it out loud which makes it more official. Not everyone is supportive and some may try to sabotage your efforts. Mostly, everyone is supportive and you have to be your biggest cheerleader. Don't let anyone tell you, not to do what works for you to lose weight. Everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for someone else. Figure out what works for you and keep going! That's what keeps me sane on my fasting diet. The end result! Weight loss of 20 pounds, being able to wear a swim suit, my shorts and feel good about me.