Everyday Systems

12st 3 3/4lb, 43 1/8" BMI 26.6, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 38.7% #

12st 3 1/2lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.1%, #

12st 3 1/2lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.1%, #

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.3, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.1% #

saturday 12st 3 3/4lb, 43 5/8" BMI 26.6, WHtR 64.6%, Body Fat 39.9%, #
Sunday 12st 3 1/4lb, 43 3/8" BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.3%, Body Fat 39.4%

EDIT: the weight & waist hike followed an unheralded birthday party post choir. I'd already eaten before I went, but all that food, pizza and spicy breaded chicken - I never buy it myself, but there it was, beckoning me... and the wine to loosen self-restraint..

12st 2 1/2lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.4, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.3%, Fasting

12st 1 1/2lb, 42 3/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.3%, Body Fat 38.4%, #

Fast finished by 6, ate SO's chicken stock & vegetable broth with bread and cheese, went to a new tango venue, with a class then about 2 hours dancing. Then home, the last of the soup, bed. And look! under 43" - wow, that has taken such a long time! I know I'll rebound, but hey, right now I'm just savouring it, the weight too.

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.4%, #

If I look at what I'd call wrong with yesterday's eating, it would be to focus on 2 things: no proper lunch or evening meal. Going out early evening meant fewer vegetables, less protein and a very starch-based late evening "meal". I don't call bread and cheese a meal myself, all that starch isn't to my liking. I have to somehow take hold of such days if I want to avoid that pattern, and get my 5 (7) a day.

Starch seems to make me swell up - that and sugar are definitely problem foods compared to protein and vegetables.

12st 3 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.6, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39%, #

An evening outing to a film, had a pint of beer. Had had substantial late lunch, and had mushrooms on toast on my return - more of a 5 a day thing than a hunger thing. And the stats look bad. Rapid gain. I am dealing with some emotional stress as well. It may be a factor.

12st 2 1/2lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.4%, # Fasting

I got my 5-a-day, tango class with @2 hours virtually non-stop dancing. Feeling like a slow learner but everyone was kind, I made some progress.

12st 1 3/4lb, 42 15/16" BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.6%, Body Fat 38.8%, #

12st 1 3/4lb, 43", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.9%

Snacks plus 4 hour tango class, some choir practice, fitful sleep.

12st 3 1/4lb, 43 3/8", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.3%, 39.4%, Fasting

I could mention the party I got invited to, but I had little of the Jollof rice and stuck to the chicken and salad leaves. Then came cream cake. No, I wanted to mention the chocolate bar that I ate most of, nearly 200 grams, @ 1,000 calories while tired, sitting at my computer late at night. And how much fatter/heavier I am this morning.

Thing is, even if every ounce of it turned instantly to body fat, it would have only added 1/2lb to my weight. (Unless water is added to it to store it? Glycogen is stored with water in living tissues) It doesn't explain all the weight I piled on between yesterday morning and today.

I noticed both at the time, and now, that I'm calmer in my view of what I ate and the effect of it, both at the time and now. And I am pleased with that. I have been wishing that the part of me that ate to excess and the part of me that suffered over the consequences could talk to each other. That isn't possible, maybe, rather I have now a similar consciousness when (over)eating and when reflecting on what I did with extra weight and regret the following day.

I feel sort of comfy with it all, not despairing. I think I'm growing into an understanding of myself and my eating. I am affected by what I've read and believed of the science, which doesn't always help me see clearer or act better, but I have hope, I still like myself today!

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.4%, #

12st 1 1/2lb, 43", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.7%, 39%, #

12st 3 1/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.5, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 38.8%, #

A day that started ok-ish but went out of shape. A very late lunch, late-evening tiredness, ambivalence about eating or an early night, then a mini-meal that led to snacking and probable excess. All sense of understanding myself gone, back to being lost, somewhat baffled and annoyed.

A tentative theory: that I went wrong as I ate what were essentially dessert-type foods: microwaved banana with raisins, cashew nuts, cinnamon sugar and cream, then lemon and raisin pancakes. (They should have stayed in the freezer till the weekend!)

Also again the issue of me and SO's eating needs and patterns clashing as we seek to coordinate them. We stumble over each other's ways. She can't do 3 meals, I can't do 2 meals and ad-lib snacking.

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%, # Fasting

12st 1 1/4lb, 42 3/4" BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.3%, Body Fat 38.5%, #

The fail wasn't monster. I was obliged to consciously fail anyway: meal plans disrupted, option 2 was a bowl of salad followed by a quorn burger with onions and cheese - 2 plates. That seemed to make it easy to eat that last piece of chocolate I had stashed away since my last shameful episode. Then, later, when SO returned to snack on cheese, I found it easy to join in. So maybe I'd be slightly lighter and slimmer , another 1/4lb, had I been more restrained? I'm not sure. I cannot be too harsh after a fast, I think that would make future fasts more likely to backfire.

12st 1 1/2lb, 42 3/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.3%, Body Fat 38.4%

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%

I'm a little unhappy over the 1/2" gain in 24 hours. How does that happen? As I'm dancing tonight I elected to fast tomorrow instead.

My weekend was interesting: no chocolate or other sweets, but I did have waffles and other snacks. Mostly ate food, and had virtually no sense of needing to go find some particular S-day indulgence. I did wonder if there was some treat worth seeking out, but nothing came to mind. If I knew somewhere to get handmade truffles, well, that would be a different story.

12st 1 3/4lb, 42 13/16", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.4%, Body Fat 38.5%, #, Fasting

It would be nice to be at or below 12st this time tomorrow. Do my struggles to control my weight cause me to ignore more problematic issues?

6:50pm My evening meal came early to oblige SO. It was not a sweet and milky meal, though a very young inner part expressed a preference for that much earlier today. This meal was rather light: quorn sausage with ratatouille, broccoli and pita bread. Will that keep my yearnings at bay till bed-time?

12st 1 3/4lb, 42 3/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.3%, Body Fat 38.3%, #

A bit of a let-down. No effect? I was reasonably active, the meal seemed a bit on the light side calorie wise (not much in peppers, courgettes, onions, broccoli etc.) so the result is not what I expected. I ate earlyish but I didn't snack afterwards or drink lots of milk or alcohol.

Were my results buried under natural fluctuations? Damned if I know, but right now I'm disappointed. I had no breakfast, no lunch. Where did the benefit of that go? It didn't feel like a particularly tough fast, but I did go shopping on foot for the best part of 2 hours, I wasn't hibernating.

12st 0 1/2lb, 43", BMI 26.1, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 39.3%, #

I started the day with a sore throat and have been thinking about the fasting/immune system link that seems to work against me, not for me. I found a report that linked loss of over 1% per week to increase the risk of a decline in T cells. First time I saw weight-loss linked with an immune system problem. This was in the context of athletes over-training though, not dieting.

Nevertheless, I'm thinking that taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement following a fast plus adaptogens might be a smart strategy.

12st 0 3/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.1, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.5%, # Fasting

Once again: can I be below 12st by tomorrow morning? It may depend on what I eat when my fast ends. I'm soaking some black beans to cook tonight, are they a safe choice to build a meal around, or too "carby"?

I've been re-reading my history of fasting, never getting far enough, getting all those sore throats - I never found a solution, nor got to a 37" waist, never mind 34" (50% of my height), a healthy ratio, unexceptional, "normal" even - but was I ever that shape in my whole life? Yes, for a while. But I was young, and a smoker.

12st 1 1/2lb, 43", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 39%, #

And my weight goes up? Ideally I'd have eaten later, but choir attendance requires eating around 6pm. I had refried beans, sweetcorn, broccoli and pita bread. It would have fitted on one plate. And here I am, facing this provoking mystery. I believe it could be explained if I understood more about my physiology. It seems reasonable to think less food must assist weight-loss.

I could change my fasting days. Monday works, but the second day, ideally would also be one where the whole evening is undemanding. Not a choir or tango night, nor any pub-based night.

12st 1 3/4lb, 43", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.9%

I weighed and measured the same 2 weeks ago. Despite all the intervening efforts, I am right where I was 14 days ago. The only questionable factor in my mind is the refried beans. Had them 2 days in a row. Could they be making the difference? Too carby after all? I also didn't go to my 4-hour tango class yesterday, as I had a focusing event to attend. Sweets I did have: 1 ice lolly, 1 packet of crisps, 1 can of cola, 1 packet of sesame snaps.

I seem to be trapped in my fat. Must I suffer yet more to be rid of it? Or is there another answer? Perhaps in small things, details, to tip the balance?

12st 2 1/2lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39% Fasting

If eating beans instead of quorn were the problem it would be unfortunate. I'd rather have more food that wasn't coming from a factory, though Quorn is my idea of what food factories should be doing, replacing meat with something better. However, if bean-eating is the problem, I can fix that. But if that isn't the problem, if that isn't why my weight is climbing again, then I am in an unhappy situation.

12st 2 3/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39%, #

The fast-ending meal was great. The guacamole & pita starter made it a 2-plater, but that and the quorn, onion, mushroom, pepper and pineapple stir-fry served with rice that followed were delicious. And I shared a beer with SO.

The fast had been an easy one, my energy level stayed high enough to have a productive day. I went to the Rice Wine Shop in Brewer Street to stock up on natto, got some firm tofu too. I may see some favourable result tomorrow, but today I've gained 1/4lb, not a sign of success.

12st 3 1/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.5, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 38.8%, #

Small seconds as SO moved some of her food onto my plate. Otherwise a day of moderate eating. No alcohol, nor any exercise to speak of.

I'm going backwards. I am still using the supplement I thought was the sponsor of recent weeks' gentle reduction, so I'm in the dark again. I'll re-read recent entries, perhaps I'll glimpse a clue.

12st 2 3/4lb, 43 1/2", BMI 26.4, WHtR 64.4%, Body Fat 39.9%, #

12st 2 1/2lb, 43", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.7%, #

12st 2 1/2lb, 43", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.7%, #

12st 1 3/4lb, 43", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.9%

Yesterday's eating wasn't "good": porridge with nuts and raisins for breakfast, no lunch but several biscuits with tea during the afternoon, then a can of lemonade, rice, lentil dal and fried tofu, followed by apple crumble with cream and sugar. A carby day: but I attended a 4-hour tango class, danced for at least 2 1/2 hours. Overall impression, exercise trumps carbohydrates.

12st 1 1/2lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.7%

Missed my 5-a-day again. Porridge with nuts and raisins, "lunch" was a cake with hot chocolate at an outdoor milonga. Danced about 2 of the 3 hours. Evening eating: rice, dal, yoghourt, mango chutney, broccoli, followed by freshly picked raspberries and strawberries from the allotment with cream and sugar.

Again activity seems to tip the scales in my favour. Hmm.

Not fasting as today and tomorrow will demand my readiness to act with speed and vigour (new gas boiler installation will require moving stuff in this rather over-filled flat. So many shelves! Books everywhere, and then the rest; the stuff of 2 lives, seats and speakers, computers, plants, etc, etc.)

12st 2 3/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39%, #

Got my 5-a-day, went for hot, filling meals on a wintry summer's day. No aerobic exercise to speak of.

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 1/16", BMI 26.3, WHtR 63.8%, Body Fat 39%, #

No boiler but spent several hours walking/shopping. Today, boiler being installed -after nearly a year's delay!

12st 3 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.1%, #

Boiler installed. Evening Dal, toast, yoghourt and mango chutney followed by a film, philosophy, 2 pints of shandy with cheese on toast to finish.

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/16", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.8%, Body Fat 39.1%, # Fasting

Yesterday I had an evening tango class. Danced for about 2 hours. Eating fitted around it. Rather little protein, just one egg. With 1/2 a buttered baguette. Later came a simple salad: lettuce, carrot, raisins, almonds in a honey/mustard vinaigrette then sprinkled with yeast flakes. Post tango some apple crumble and fresh raspberries with cream and sugar.

Tango seems more effective for weight-loss than walking. It is more demanding, maintaining that high level of physical and mental poise. And, when it goes well, so pleasing.

Nearly forgot to say: tango seems more effective for weight-loss than fasting too! For latest on why fasting is still worthwhile see this: http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitnes ... =558692945

Of particular interest the bit about what a 3 or 4 day fast can do for the immune system. That sounds worth doing once in a while.

12st 2 3/4lb, forgot to measure waist but it'd be up, I'm pretty sure. #

After fasting I ate, then went to choir, where a birthday wine & snacks event drew me into some eating I hadn't expected or planned for - but who was I to refuse? Extra calories, inevitably.

Being fatter, especially after a fast, brings a feeling of self-loathing. Today I notice the quality of tortured love in that. It is like that strange mix of the love you can have only if you're willing to label yourself a sinner, embracing your unworthiness in order to be redeemed.

Today, an S day, and a tango day. Tomorrow choir and allotment. Monday, I may fast, I'd like to go nearer to 24 hours and not be busy afterwards.

And England are out of the word cup. Drat.

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.3, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.1%

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 3/8"* BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.3%, Body Fat 39.9%

* the waist suddenly increased after I walked around for a few minutes looking for a pair of spectacles. Waist measurement seems very tricky. I feel like a balloon, so variable in girth, what inflates/deflates it isn't just fat. Could there be an inflammatory aspect? Given the short time-frame, posture probably the issue.

12 2 1/2lb, 43", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.7%, # Fasting

12st 1 1/2lb, 42 15/16", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.6%, Body Fat 38.9%, #

For reasons unclear, that fast felt more demanding. I felt weak during the afternoon. A free evening meant I didn't eat till after 8, but summer brings abundant fresh, organic fruit from our allotment, hence dessert and a No S fail.

12st 2lb, 43 7/16", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.4%, Body Fat 39.9%, #

Washing paintwork, plenty of effort, eating incautiously seemed unlikely to have such an inflationary effect. Disappointing. Is upper body effort less effective than lower body effort for weight/waist reduction?

12st 2 1/2lb, 43", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.7%, #

Chores press, no fast today.

12st 2 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.4, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.3%, #

12st 2 1/2lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39%

12st 3 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.1% Body Fat 39.1%, #

12st 3 1/4lb, 43", BMI 26.5, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.5%, #

12st 3 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.1% Body Fat 39.1%, #

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%, # Fasting

Weight loss follows tango class, again.

12st 0 3/4lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.1, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.9%, #

Post-fast pre-choir meal a fried egg on beans on toast. Worked. No post choir party, nor any great pressure to eat again once I was home. It was a tiring fast, though I wasn't particularly active. I haven't identified why that was so, but I would have been surprised if it hadn't been productive.

12st 1 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.7%

There was tango, but then 2 pints of lager in a pub watching Argentina vs Belgium.

Mon 12st 1 1/2lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%
Tue 12st 0 1/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.7% # Fasting

Again, the tango effect. I went to a milonga, danced for about 2 of the 3 hours I was there. And today I'm fasting. Have I done a fast the day after dancing before? I am looking forward to my fast, to the resting/emptying before I eat again. Were it not for SO I'd be trying some longer fasts, but too much conflict in the way of that.

11st 13 1/2lb, 42 7/8", BMI 25.9, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 39.3% #

I haven't been below 12 stone since December 15th 2011, (2 1/2 years ago! Wow! That is a long time!) after my dad died in the November. I noted the result, but my mood is low and I'm having to work to savour it, re-reading old postings to get the significance. I've been expecting to see sub-12 stone for just over 4 weeks, and now I'm here, but a little blue. Other factors to blame for that though, not the weight-loss itself.

Fixing my weight issues no longer looks like the life-fix I once dreamed it would be. Still worthwhile pursuing it, but other areas need my attention too. Gloom aside (or in consequence?) I am learning and growing.

12st 1 1/2lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.7%, # I ate "too well" yesterday. The 3rd meal of the day didn't feel necessary but I had it anyway, a salad with bread and cheese, very good bread but too much of it for sure.

I tried not to let all that affect my eating today, no punitive measures or diving into guilt. So I ate a normal breakfast, a filling late afternoon meal and didn't want to eat again post tango tonight. I'm planning to fast tomorrow but I'll have my pre-choir meal around 5 or 6. Should work out well.

11st 13 1/2lb, 43 1/16", BMI 25.9, WHtR 63.8%, Body Fat 39.7%,# Fasting

Last night dancing, today fasting. Offered some dried fruit at tango as a snack, wanted to be nice, accepted, so it's another red....

12st 0 1/4lb, 42 15/16", BMI 26, WHtR 63.6%, Body Fat 39.2%, #

Did what I ate affect this figure? Lentil dal with rice, mango chutney and cream cheese as there was no yoghurt. A modest meal before choir, then again several hours later when I returned after choir, this time with added broccoli.

12st 0 3/4lb, 42 13/16", BMI 26.1, WHtR 63,4, Body Fat 38.8%

Plenty of tango, vals & milonga over at least 3 of 4 hours, yet here I seem a bit heavier, if slimmer. My evening meal: corn on the cob, green salad, rice with dal and cream cheese, later a beer and 100g of chocolate.

12st 1 1/2lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.3%, Fasting

Visitors, pasta, football, beer. And snacking. Starch-lovers derail me.

12st 0 1/2lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.1, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.6% #

I felt strangely tense after my meal last night, and still this morning, sort of unfinished despite eating a large, comprehensively nutritious meal. I was pleased not to go snacking, SO not here to witness it, and a stash of chocolate present, I did think about it, but the urge was subtle, controllable (just). (but it was a 2 plate meal hence I give myself orange, not red. I don't aspire to the "no seconds" rule at the moment, too hard)

12st 1 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%, #

An odd eating day. My evening meal was unsatisfying, and maybe that is why I searched out a packet of biscuits and ate nearly all of them. As I ate, it felt like I was just doing what I needed to do, only now do I question it, but I think it was a carb issue. Too many carbs eaten provokes the desire for yet more carbs a few hours later. Also, no aerobic exercise at all.

8:30pm, what a good day it's been! Plumber's work finished (I hope!), discovered some wonderful new tango resources AND a really nice bike-ride. I thought the bike too uncomfortable, hopeless - yet today I found comfort on it and did a gentle mix of ride and walk for over 40 minutes. I feel a little odd, but basically good. Lunch was 1/2 an avocado with vinaigrette! (and orange juice with some brewer's yeast) I hope supper brings the day to a happy conclusion.

12st 0 1/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.7%, #

Most satisfactory.

11st 13 3/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 25.9, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.8%, # Fasting

Bike ride, later a new tango class, then birthday cake. Too awkward to refuse, too fragile to carry home for later, so I ate some. So I'm fasting today, but part of me wonders why, when food plus a bike ride seems to offer similar benefit? I read there are distinctly valuable physiological effects, plus the bonus of coping better with this tiring hot spell we're having.

12st 0 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.1, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.8% #

This is really disappointing, and unexpected. The fast went ok, I ended it around 6pm, so I'd be ready to sing at choir by 7:30. I ate a generous meal, as is my custom, a quorn stir-fry with onion, peppers and pineapple, but this time with chips instead of rice. (SO doesn't like the smell of home-cooked chips, so I only cook them when she's away) But only 6 oz of chips, plus buttered pita bread, I did feel full but not insanely so.

I didn't know the choir master would offer wine and sweets at the end of rehearsal. I had 4 quality street and 2 glasses of white wine. Walked part way home, did have 2 biscuits later - but not the whole packet, just 2. Yet these figures suggest I consumed way more calories than I needed over the whole day. It didn't feel that way, I am so disappointed. Just how calorific is wine?

I didn't get a bike ride. I have aquired a bike with an over-hard saddle, and I was fasting, so a ride yesterday would have seemed OTT though I did do isometrics. I don't know enough about my body!

Looking back 1 or 2 years, I see my waist is bigger for my weight than it used to be. Looks like I'm now at a higher body fat % and particularly more around my waist. I hope exercise is the key, and that my right knee is now ready for around an hour's bike ride on days I don't dance.

12st 1 3/4lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.6%

Can't make sense of the rising weight.

12st 1 1/2lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.7%, Fasting

It has been very hot here, and I went to the Spitalfields open-air milonga yesterday. Though there is some impact to be seen, not so much as on previous occasions.

If my body has now adapted to the impact of this form of exercise, I won't see so much weight-loss from it in future. It does seem my waist is a little trimmer, a sign of moderately improved composition.

12st 0 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.1, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.8%, #

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.3% #

12st 2 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.4, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.3%, #

12st 2 3/4lb, 43 1/2", BMI 26.4, WHtR 64.4%, Body Fat 39.9%, # Fasting

Not sure what's going on here, except SO doing some of the cooking and the starch content of meals has risen. Still dancing, though the class I attend currently uses less calories per hour. Heat discouraging exercise.

12st 0 1/2lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.1, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.6%, #

Walked a lot, tiring fast. Post meal ate sweets while stuck in a traffic jam. The meal was modest because I was pressed for time and too tired to cook. 3x beans on toast.

12st 2 3/4lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.4%

Choir instead of tango, plus, entertaining a house-guest, I prepared excellent food and indulged myself. Today I may dance after choir, more time on the dance floor, less in the kitchen.

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/2", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.4%, Body Fat 40.2%, Fasting

The waist increase is a puzzle. What is happening to cause this abrupt increase, especially as I drop 1lb? Could lemonade and shandy be doing it?

graham--I for one find that sugar/beer etc seem to go right to my waist/belly--Maybe experiment with something less carby?

12st 1 1/4lb 43 3/8" BMI 26.2, I WHtR 64.3%, Body Fat 40% #

Hi Marianna, couldn't respond to your comment earlier, my laptop was broken and submitting anything to this site beyond the essential data with my mobile phone is excruciating. Now have laptop back. As the hot weather passes, so too will the shandy. Some sort of cold drink seems very welcome on a hot day. It does seem odd to find my waist suddenly increasing overnight though. Almost like someone had hit the "reset" button.

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 5/16", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.2%, Body Fat 39.7%, #

12st 1 3/4lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.2, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.6%, #

A meal out, with dessert, yet slimmer. I had meat. I had shandy, I drove for a couple of hours, did some furniture moving, slept long and well. Weight same, waist less.

12st 3 1/4lb, 43", BMI 26.5, WHtR 63.7%, Body Fat 38.5%, # Fasting

More visitors, another meal out

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 7/16", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.4%, Body Fat 39.9%, #

The fast felt very demanding at times. I was lethargic, though active at the allotment once I'd been persuaded to go. Post-fast eating spoiled by a well-meant "starter" prepared by SO for me to eat while I prepared the planned meal. I carbed and bloated. Says she "supports my efforts" ???

12st 2 3/4lb, 43 5/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 64.6%, Body Fat 40.2%

Yet another meal out, a choir social. Wine and a buffet.

12st 3 1/4lb, 43 9/16", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.5%, Body Fat 39.9%

12st 2lb, 43 3/8", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.3%, Body Fat 39.8%, #

Tango

12st 3 3/4lb, 43 5/8", BMI 26.6, WHtR 64.6%, Body Fat 39.9% #

After seeing the benefit of Monday night's dancing, I decided there was no need to fast on Tuesday. I found myself with quite an appetite, and snacked on spicy pistachios in addition to plum tart with cream and sugar. Still, the weight & waist gain looks a little shocking.

12st 3 1/2lb, 43 3/4", BMI 26.5, WHtR 64.8%, Body Fat 40.3%, #

12st 2 1/2lb, 42 7/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 63.5%, Body Fat 38.4%, # Fasting

An exacting tango class, engaging and stimulating mind and body. I wish they happened more often.

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 1/8", BMI 26.3, WHtR 63.9%, Body Fat 39.1%, #

Fasting went OK, I quite enjoyed it. The meal was a compromise, including mashed potato and accompanied by a beer. Are those two fattening? Weight and waist aren't always going hand-in-hand.

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.4%

All my tango classes are on break till September, as is my choir. There are a couple of milongas dotted around I might go to, but it may be time to plan a trip up north. There is a working bicycle in the garage there.

12st 2 1/2lb, 43 3/8", BMI 26.4, WHtR 64.3%, Body Fat 39.7%, Fasting

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%, #

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%, #

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%, #

12st 1 1/2lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.6%, # Fasting

In Southport. The scale is playing games with me, I must put it on exactly the same bit of floor every day, same angle, to have any confidence at all in its pronouncements. Let us hope that these figures are true. I shopped by bicycle, out for over 2 hours, I think it was good exercise, and I mean to continue with a daily ride whilst I'm here.

12st 0 3/4lb, 43 1/4", BMI 26.1, WHtR 64.1%, Body Fat 39.8%, #

Horrid eating last night. It's me in Southport again. And a nostalgia for meat.. and what happens when I have access to lots of fresh, tasty bread. I ate lots of ham sandwiches post fast - and some chocolate, and that was supper.

The fast went quite well in itself, I had the energy for not one but two bicycle sorties. Shopping when fasting? Not a good idea, even as I shopped I told myself that, but I wasn't listening. The first ham sandwich was very enjoyable, but I went on beyond pleasure, to tedium and finally aversion. That is an addictive pattern in my opinion. Strange, but there it is, no use denying it.

I wanted the pleasure of the first sandwich to go on, the law of diminishing returns says it can't, but something in me couldn't stop trying till all the ham was gone. My wisdom was to buy an expensive ham in a medium pack instead of something larger. (and hopefully a higher standard of animal welfare as a sop to my conscience)

12st 2lb, 43 5/8", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.6%, Body Fat 40.4%

My goodness but I'm disappointed with these figures. I felt tired on Saturday, I ate 5-a-day well, some chocolate and cola but not to any obvious excess, though I got no significant exercise. Today I did cycle and tomorrow I'll fast, but am I going to make any real progress, or am I just running on the spot?

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 7/16", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.4%, Body Fat 40%, Fasting

12st 0 3/4lb, 43 3/8", BMI 26.1, WHtR 64.3%, Body Fat 40.1%, #

I was so hungry after my fast, I went way beyond my one-plate meal. Cheese and biscuits and then ice cream. Felt like I needed it. I'm relieved to see that I still lost some weight/waist despite it. I didn't cycle yesterday, but if the weather permits, I'll be pedalling today.

12st 2 1/4lb, 43 3/8", BMI 26.3, WHtR 64.3%, Body Fat 39.7%, #

So, what gives? A gain of 1 1/2lbs. I had a bike ride of over an hour, I ate only 2 meals, got my 5-a-day, didn't snack or have any sweets (thought about it...).
Breakfast was my final fried pork sausages meal. It perhaps tells me that adding meat in that form to my diet hasn't made weight-loss any easier.

12st 1 3/4lb, 43 1/2", BMI 26.2, WHtR 64.4%, Body Fat 40.2%, #

Well, weight fluctuates, so who knows what was really the cause. And, it can sometimes take a while for weight to be impacted, so it can be hard to really find a direct correlation. Just keep focusing on your habits and tweaking your meals, you'll get there!