In Which Sarah Barr Pure Beasts Intermittent Fasting Again (13)

[Sarah Barr]

Thirteen! Challenge Thirteen!

It took me twelve challenges but I've finally found The Thing That Works For Me! Rejoice and be merry because it bloody well took long enough and now I can finally stop trying out new nonsense.

 

 

 

I got through the last six week challenge doing 23hr fasts every day (barring the last week and a bit, where I'd caught something from someone). I made more progress with weight loss in that challenge than I had the whole year, and to my great surprise it turned out to be pretty easy when I'd moved past the stage where I wanted to feast upon the flesh of my fellow human beings. 

 

 

GOAL 1: 

- Tell Breakfast and Second Breakfast and Elevenses and Lunch and Afternoon Tea and Supper to sod off and bother other people. 

 

- 23 Hour fasts Monday - Friday (One meal sometime around 7pm.)

- 16 Hour fasts Saturday and Sunday (Can swap a 16 and 23 hour fast round in social emergencies.)

- Tea with skimmed milk is exempted from fasting until the 1st of December because it's NaNoWriMo time and if I have to write a novel in my lunch breaks without any tea I'm going to scream. 

+2 CON, +2 STA

 

 

GOAL 2:

- Since Delicious Precious Dinner is to be eaten all in one go, Delicious Precious Dinner must contain five portions of fruit/veg.

- This will be achieved by cooking plenty freggie-rich meals for the freezer during the weekend
- And backed up with a bottle of pure fruit smoothie in the fridge at all times. 

- My big issue with this last challenge was running out of money for anything but couscous and my stash of emergency lentils, so budgeting will be the key to unlock this tricksy little goal. 

- And any filler food (couscous, bread, pasta) must be avoided where possible and restricted to one recommended portion size if unavoidable. (I won't say I'll cut it out completely in case there are unexpected bills and I'm back to spaghetti and imaginary bolognese.)

+2 CON, +1 WIS, +1 CHA

 

GOAL 3:

(This was originally walking and yoga but then my Achilles tendon betrayed me.)

 

 

Take Care of Self With Warmth and Tea and That Sort Of Thing, and Thereby Avoid NaNo Burnout

 

Every weeknight:

- Alternate a face mask, face scrub, or a really good moisturising.

- Make a cup of tea from one of the many, many teas you have in the cupboard that don't require milk.

- Do not pick at blackheads. Do not pick at whiteheads. They are so small nobody ever notices them and all I do is leave horrible marks on my skin from fiddling with them.

 

Every other weeknight:

- Read for 20 minutes in the sauna, then shower and sleep.

 

Every weekend:

- Change at least the pillowcases without fail

 

+ 1 STA, +1 CON.

 

 

LIFE GOAL:

 

- Write a novel for NaNoWriMo. 

+3 CHA.

 

 

Tracking: Points system as in previous challenge, see posts to follow. Weekly weight measurements. 

 

[Sarah Barr]

Week 1 Results:

 

Monday:                                                                                                    Friday:

- Walked to and from work (+2)                                                                      - Moisturiser, peppermint tea, left skin alone, sauna (+4)

- 23 hour fast (+1)                                                                                          - 23 hour fast (+1)

- 5 freggies (courgette, aubergine, tomato, b/berry, pepper, r/berry: +5)      - 5 freggies (grape, satsuma, raspberry, blueberry, pear: +5)

 

Tuesday:                                                                                                   Saturday:

- Walked to and from work (+2)                                                                      - Face scrub, peppermint tea, left skin alone (+3)

- 23 hour fast (+1)                                                                                          - 16 hour fast (+1)

- 5 freggies (carrot, parsnip, butternut squash, grape, fig: +5)                       - 5 freggies (carrot, onion, apple, grape, satsuma: +5)

 

Wednesday:                                                                                               Sunday:

- Walked to and from work (+2)                                                                       - Moisturiser, special Earl Grey tea, left skin alone, sauna,

- 23 hour fast (+1)                                                                                              changed bed linen (+5)

- 5 freggies (onion, grape, orange, pear, tomato: +5)                                     - 16 hour fast (+1)

                                                                                                                        -  3 freggies (Pear, satsuma, onion: +3)

Thursday:                                                                                                  

- Face scrub, jasmine green tea, left skin alone (+3)                                          

- 23 hour fast (+1 but ate late after so no eating till 8pm on Friday)                     

- 5 freggies (courgette, pepper, onion, orange, grape: +5)                                  

                        

 

 

Scores:

- Total days of NaNo Writing: 7/7

- 3 days of walking: 6/6

- 7 days of fasting: 7/7

- Daily freggies: 32/35

- 4 days of not picking at tiny spots: 4/4

- Sauna sessions : 2/2

- 4 days of new teas: 4/4

- 4 days of doing nice things to face: 4/4

- Changed bed linen: 1/1

 

Total Score: 67/70

 

Sunday Evening NaNo Wordcount:  (Hang on, I'm handwriting and need to type up)

[Sarah Barr]

Week 2 Results:

 

Monday:                                                                                                    Friday:

- Moisturised my moisturisables (+1)

- Left skin alone (+1)

- 23 Hour fast (+1)

- Drank peppermint tea (+1)

- Freggies: orange, pear, courgette, tomato, pepper, onion (+6)

 

Tuesday:                                                                                                   Saturday:

- 23 hour fast (+1)

- Left skin alone (+1)

- Scrubbed face (+1)

- Lovely hot steam (+1)

- Drank Blue Lady tea (+1)

- Freggies: raspberries, orange, onion, pepper, courgette (+5)

 

 

Wednesday:                                                                                               Sunday:

 

 

 

Thursday:                                                                                                                            

 

                        

 

 

Scores:

- Total days of NaNo Writing: 0/7

- Fasting: 0/7

- Daily freggies: 0/35

- Not picking at tiny spots: 0/7

- Sauna sessions : 0/3

- Drink a tea from the cupboard: 0/7

- Do nice things to face: 0/7

- Change bed linen: 0/1

 

Total Score: /74

 

Sunday Evening NaNo Wordcount:  N

[Sarah Barr]

Week 3 Results:

 

Monday:                                                                                                    Friday:

 

 

 

Tuesday:                                                                                                   Saturday:

 

 

 

Wednesday:                                                                                               Sunday:

 

 

 

Thursday:                                                                                                                            

 

                        

 

 

Scores:

- Total days of NaNo Writing: 0/7

- Fasting: 0/7

- Daily freggies: 0/35

- Not picking at tiny spots: 0/7

- Sauna sessions : 0/4

- Drink a tea from the cupboard: 0/7

- Do nice things to face: 0/7

- Change bed linen: 0/1

 

Total Score: /75

 

Sunday Evening NaNo Wordcount:  N

[Sarah Barr]

(Space for Week 4 Results)

[Sarah Barr]

(Space for Week 5 Results)

[Sarah Barr]

(Space for Week 6 Results)

 

 

 

 

Rewards:

 

100%: A new corset or a new dress. And if I somehow also get through the whole of JC's Torture Chamber Mini AND finish my NaNo, both. 

 

 

75%+:  A Bloody-Mary-related brunch, and £20 worth of undergarments that didn't come in a pack of five from the supermarket.

 

 

50%+: Some kind of new jazz CD to listen to in the kitchen while I do the food prep that I suspect I haven't done enough of if I only reach 50-74%. 

 

 

>50%: A boot up the backside. 

[ninjakitten]

You're fabulous. I am here to bask in all the glory.

[deftona]

Ooooh look at all that horror! Following along for horrific hijinx! 

[spooky]

HERE FOR ALL OF THE AWESOME (and also that Stan Pines gif <3)

[Raze]

Stalking!!!

[NeverThatBored]

I'm here to follow along again. 

[SomeGuyFromScotland]

Following for the rum jam and dance parties.

[Sarah Barr]

Challenge Prep Time!

 

 

Things to do:

 

- Search for and try out a 60 minute yoga routine

 

- Prepare myself for whatever torture I have brought upon myself regarding JCSimmons' Doodlies challenge: Do 20 minutes of press ups, lunges, crunches and squats three times this week and get the DOMS out of the way early. 

 

- Plan Sunday Prep ingredients list, to make:

- Carrot Bung Soup (it's carrot and coriander soup, basically, but with every vaguely yellow-orange vegetable you can bung in under a cloak of curry powder)

- Vegetable and bean chilli with cauliflower-couscous

- Lentil, veg and wine stew

- Freggie-spaghetti and some sort of vegetable koftas masquerading as meatballs. (I might finally invest in a spiraliser)

- Winter Fruit Stew (see my recipe book in a moment where I shall ad-lib this one; there might be wine in it.)

 

- More importantly, take advantage of everyone being hungover on Sunday morning and therefore not being in the kitchen to buy lots of cheap freggies (broccoli, carrots, onions, apples, turnips), prep them, freeeeeze them, and squirrel them away along with lots of cheap beans, lentils, etc. for Skint Times.

 

- My NaNo prep has been ongoing for the past two (three?) weeks so I'm confident I can get all my food prep done in time to crank out my first 1700 words on Sunday. 

 

 

 

My Mum's coming into town on Saturday! I am excited. She used the term Girls' Day Out, which I believe strongly implies drinking, and my Gran might be coming too, and I'm nervous as to whether she'll have noticed that I'm lighter. (She won't. One time I wore a corset under my clothes and took 5 inches off my waist, still didn't notice, so I try not to take it personally any more if she doesn't see a difference.) But it will be good to see her anyway!

Speaking of lighter, scales said 102.9kg (~226lbs) today. Happy.

 

My eventual target weight's about 65kg, I reckon. (~143lbs), so if it takes me six weeks to lose 4kg, and I keep that rate up, I should hit 65kg by about Christmas 2016. I think. I doubt my maths on that one. But it is a nice feeling!

[Aces3000]

Subbed! 

[spooky]

Congrats on the weight loss, Sarah! I know you can do it, especially now that you've found a method that works for you

 

I have a spiralizer and I love it! I'll share some of my zucchini noodle recipes if you'd like . One of my favorite veggie noodle recipes is a cold sesame cucumber noodle salad. OM NOM NOM.

 

There are some amazing recipes for spiralized veggies here. It's amazing how many different veggies can be spiralized! I also like the spiralized apples for salads and such, lots of fun. I'm working on getting a dehyrator so I can spiralize and dehydrate veggies for a chip-like snack that's a lot healthier. Dehydrated crispy onion strings with garlic and onion sound like heaven and would also be great on salads/soup. Plus no need for oil! And I could make my own jerky....okay now I'm just talking about my dehydrator dreams. I'm also trying to get a smoker box for my grill but that's another food story

 

There's a jicama noodle tortilla soup from that website I really want to try. Anyways I love the texture of veggie noodles and for me it makes 1 cucumber or zucchini feel like a lot of food. You can do A LOT with veggie noodles

 

And if you find the spiralizer is a bit too much money consider a julienne peeler, it won't make spirals but it will make very fine strips of veggies that are pretty damn noodle-like It just won't really work for harder root veggies and such, I have to use my spirooli/paderno spiralizer for those (but sweet potato noodles rock!) 

[Sarah Barr]

 

 cold sesame cucumber noodle salad. OM NOM NOM.

 

 spiralized apples 

 Dehydrated crispy onion strings with garlic and onion  

make my own jerky

 

 jicama noodle tortilla soup 

 

julienne peeler,

 

All those things hadn't even occurred to me! Cheers, Spooky! The tortilla soup sounds like the most wonderful thing. 

 

 

Yesterday I had two slices of bread. That was all I ate yesterday because I was just so damn lazy when I got in. I am grumpy today. Especially since I just remembered I could have had that beer I've been saving. Grumble grumble. Tonight I'm going to make rice with peas and sweetcorn and cover it in sweet chilli and soy sauce. And drink the beer. Delicious delicious beer. It's some wheat beer or other from Lidl and I've been saving it for no good reason.

 

 

(Really excited for the German Christmas market in Princes Street Gardens this year, because maybe the organisers have come to their senses and reduced the stall price this year so the guys selling the kaesespaetzle and the mulled mead can come back. But there's always mulled wine and usually wheat beer. And beer cheese. And gingerbread. And marshmallowy whatsits with chocolate all over them. And hot crackled roasted chestnuts.)

I've carefully formulated my budget and shopping list for November and therefore should be able to have nutritious food every day. 

 

I have not remembered to swap back to my painless profile picture so until I do I am recommitting to the Way of Pain^TM. Which means that now I have a quiet moment at work I should go do some push ups now. 

 

Hiss.

[SomeGuyFromScotland]

 

(Really excited for the German Christmas market in Princes Street Gardens this year, because maybe the organisers have come to their senses and reduced the stall price this year so the guys selling the kaesespaetzle and the mulled mead can come back. But there's always mulled wine and usually wheat beer. And beer cheese. And gingerbread. And marshmallowy whatsits with chocolate all over them. And hot crackled roasted chestnuts.)

 

 

THIS. Totally this.

 

All of the above things. I love to stoat around the German Christmas market. I have a total soft spot for Edinburgh at the best of times, but at Christmas.. oh, man...

[Sarah Barr]

THIS. Totally this.

 

All of the above things. I love to stoat around the German Christmas market. I have a total soft spot for Edinburgh at the best of times, but at Christmas.. oh, man...

We had a wee nerd drink-and-wander meetup there last year, with SpecialSundae and KingLeeroy and associates, and it was wonderful and winey and beery. You should come to the one I am going to ensure we have again this year! I work really close to where the market is so I am good for a markety meetup any evening people are free!

[Einar]

Congrats on the weight loss, Sarah! I know you can do it, especially now that you've found a method that works for you

 

I have a spiralizer and I love it! I'll share some of my zucchini noodle recipes if you'd like . One of my favorite veggie noodle recipes is a cold sesame cucumber noodle salad. OM NOM NOM.

 

There are some amazing recipes for spiralized veggies here. It's amazing how many different veggies can be spiralized! I also like the spiralized apples for salads and such, lots of fun. I'm working on getting a dehyrator so I can spiralize and dehydrate veggies for a chip-like snack that's a lot healthier. Dehydrated crispy onion strings with garlic and onion sound like heaven and would also be great on salads/soup. Plus no need for oil! And I could make my own jerky....okay now I'm just talking about my dehydrator dreams. I'm also trying to get a smoker box for my grill but that's another food story

 

There's a jicama noodle tortilla soup from that website I really want to try. Anyways I love the texture of veggie noodles and for me it makes 1 cucumber or zucchini feel like a lot of food. You can do A LOT with veggie noodles

 

And if you find the spiralizer is a bit too much money consider a julienne peeler, it won't make spirals but it will make very fine strips of veggies that are pretty damn noodle-like It just won't really work for harder root veggies and such, I have to use my spirooli/paderno spiralizer for those (but sweet potato noodles rock!) 

I love my dehydrator, though it's been a year since I've made jerky.  I need to change that.

[Sarah Barr]

I saw an amazing dehydrator related recipe for vegetable samosas where you make the wrappers out of dehydrated root vegetable puree; it had beetroot in the puree so they were a lovely pink colour. It WAS one of those grim raw food diet recipes but you can deep fry anything these days. 

[deftona]

 it's been a year since I've made jerky.  I need to change that.

 

..... too..... much....... innuendo.....

 

I..... have..... to...... be..... strong......

 

*grits teeth*

[deftona]

 but you can deep fry anything these days. 

 

That's the spirit! 

[Terah]

Found your thread

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. Good to hear the fasting is working out so well for you!

[Sarah Barr]

New goal: make suggestive looking jerky, post to Secret Santa recipient.