The new school year is always eagerly anticipated here. Not only does it bring a welcome return to comfortable routines but it also seems like a second chance in the year for new resolutions and plans.
Toby is settling in well with a new teacher and class assistants (happily his classmates are all the same) and Amy is enjoying being in the top year, her last year of school ever. I've spent the last few days clearing up summer holiday mess, tidying things away and getting myself in a sorted frame of mind (or at least trying to) and I've at last had the chance to sit down and properly go through a couple of new cookery books that I bought over summer.
Back in July I started intermittent fasting – the 16/8 kind where you fast for 16 hours each day (in my case 7pm until 11am the next day) and then eat normally during the 8 hours inbetween. When I get up I drink lots of hibiscus tea to keep the hunger pangs at bay – it's quite compelling to watch as it brews with streams of dark red pouring out from the teabags to turn a bottle of water as red as a robust red wine in just minutes. Most days I do make it to 11am before eating anything, though I'm not letting myself feel guilty about the days when I cave in and have a bit of buttered toast at 10am.
The idea is that a longer fasting time between eating gives the body time to process the food and burn away extra fat stores and there are suggestions that it has health benefits too, including helping balance insulin levels. The health aspects are those that most interest me but I'm also loosing weight on it, so far 11lbs in 10 weeks so I'm very happy about that. I'm trying to make sure that what I eat in my 8 hour window is mostly healthy (though I still have cake and chocolate and sugar in my tea) and so I've been looking for new inspiration and have found it in 2 books by Anna Jones. Now I've got a long list of new recipes to try and one of my favourites so far is 'overnight bircher with peaches'. It's delicious with any fresh fruit and is a nice 11am breakfast or fits the bill perfectly for a pudding when I fancy one. I think it tastes even better when eaten from the beautiful tactile cup that I bought from Rachelle Blondel – her wonderful ceramics are organically formed and lovely to hold.
Along with healthier eating I'm trying to get back into the swing of pattern writing so I'm structuring my day into chunks of 'work' knitting and 'play knitting' time. The knitting pictured above is what I'm currently working on in my play time (along with various odd socks) and will be a lovely big, soft wrap for when the colder weather arrives. The pattern I'm using is 'Void' by Melanie Berg and I'm knitting it in The Uncommon Thread's Lush Worsted yarn, a heavenly mix of merino and cashmere with a little nylon for strength, my project details are here.
As soon as I have something concrete to share on the work knitting front I'll be back with news. I will also be having a giveaway to celebrate my just passed 11th blogging anniversary (on September 3rd) but first I need to get myself organised properly, so that will happen later in the autumn.
Thank you so very much to everyone who commented on the previous post. Such wise, compassionate and heart-felt words deserve a proper reply and I feel a bit bad that I've not yet had the time to do that. Until I get the chance to I just wanted you to know how deeply I appreciate your kind comments, thank you xxxx
little cotton rabbits 
I’ve not heard of that type of intermittent fasting before but it seems to make sense… and when you have a breakfast like that to look forward to so much the better. Pleased to hear Toby has settled well into a new school year.
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It’s good to get back into the September routines isn’t it. I do that fasting quite a bit, I didn’t realise it was a thing until now though! If we have an early tea and are done by 5.30, it’s around 16 hours until I eat my breakfast at 9.30-10am. Just because I don’t like to eat too early really. It has been pointed out to me that I eat all my food in around 8 hours, but I do feel better like that. Have a good weekend Julie. CJ xx
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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good luck on your fasting,good about toby and school,cant believe amy in her last year they grow up to quick.
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Your eating regime makes a lot of sense……..not sure about my personal willpower to see it through though, well done you for sticking with it.
So glad Toby has settled well into the new new school year and best wishes to Amy on her final year in school.
11 years Julie….my goodness time really does fly!
V x
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we eat far too much & way too often but have been doing it since we start agriculture & staying put in one place & growing our own foods; unlike wild animals who probably are lucky if they have one meal a day, i dare say our wild ancestors were much the same… now it’s hard work to break the habit of eating 3-4 meals a day without putting ourselves in hospital cos our blood sugar goes through the floor! when i was doing body building (many years ago now) i would give my body a break from the high protein diet & eat mostly fruit for a day, this seemed to work well.
good luck with your new diet of fasting, hope you keep us up to date
love the Void pattern, very interesting
thanx for sharing
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Hi Julie, so glad you are feeling healthy, keep doing whatever works for you. If you can still eat foods you enjoy and manage to lose weight it sounds like a healthy eating p!an that is working well for you. Good luck with all the knitting and design projects. Sue x
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Your beautiful photographs and words are always very inspiring. Thank you very much. All the best, Regina x
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Good luck with the new eating regime Julie, I truly believe that if we take time to listen to our bodies that we stay healthier. I have many health issues and spent a lot of time literally being sick and Dr, tests could not make sense of it. I also had an extremely difficult childhood (made Hitler & Spanish inquisition look like an afternoon in the park). I had severe malnutrition when I was rescued at 10. So when nothing was working with my Dr’s approval I took my body back to basics. I only drank goat’s milk (2 pints a day) no solid food at all, vit supplements from gp. I did this until I felt ready to move on at 3/4 weeks. I then introduced my body to homemade baby food just as you would wean a baby, keeping my goat milk and adding herbal tea with no caffeine/tanning. Long story shortened I literally listened to my body’s decision as to when it was right to take the next step as I learnt how to eat/digest my food.
I went from being extremely overweight to losing weight at a safe rate. I don’t have excess skin and as I’m wheelchair bound exercise is difficult. This process took me 8 months and I stopped being sick, my digestive issues stopped, my skin, hair, eyes and sense of well being improved 100%. I now eat every other day to every 2/3 days and I eat whatever I feel like, though my portions are child size. I know people will think I should eat more often, if I do my problems return. I do not recommend this way of eating to anyone else, it’s what my body needs after it’s trauma and my Dr + specialists agree that it’s right for me. What I whole heartedly do recommend is to ditch everything that society tells us about eating and listen to Your body. Then do as it asks, for some it will be 3 meals a day, or 6 or none just grazing. It will be fasting at times. What’s vital to your health is that your body is an individual one and there is no one manual for all bodies.
So glad to hear Amy and Toby are doing well and I’m glad that you are finding time for you.
Lucy, Kent
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I’m not sure what’s in that bowl, but it looks like oatmeal which is my quick and filling breakfast on any work day of the week – usually topped with raisins or fruit. I prepare and eat it in the office so as not to disturb my other half who is still sleeping at home when I’m already at work. The two of us are “grazers” which means that we eat small amounts about every 2 hours or whenever we get hungry. It’s rare that we sit down for a “meal” except when dining at restaurants or at family gatherings. I think it’s a healthy way to eat, and we are never hungry. We are not strict vegetarians, but eating red meat is a rare thing for us. I’ve always been skinny, but started having severe hip pain which I assume is arthritis. So two months ago, I eliminated all foods made with refined white sugar and flour. These things are known to cause joint inflammation. I was amazed at my quick recovery. I went from barely being able to walk at times to barely having any pain at all. I’m not limping anymore and though I love sweets, I love my hip more. So I will keep this up to make sure it’s not just some coincidence. Thanks for the gorgeous pictures and update on your interesting activities. Love everything you create. Hugs from Kimmy to you and your entire family.
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Congratulations on the weight loss. It sounds like your eating plan is working well for you. I love, love the pattern you are knitting and the yarn too. It does look like fun knitting. Thank you for the post; I always look forward to the next one. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your diet tip. Sounds like an eating plan I could stick to. I think I might give it a go, in the hope that I’ll drop a few pounds before my daughter’s wedding in December. I would love to be a stone lighter. What should I do when I can’t eat? ….oh more knitting!!
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What a yummy breakfast, for any time of day!
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Being a rather visual person, I love the way the color and texture of the oatmeal match the color and texture of your knitting!
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Hi Julie,just reading the comments and I agree with Kimmy saying cut out white sugar , plus eat little and often. You will never feel hungry.I cut out all the obvious stuff like cake, biscuits and sweets, since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.I found I soon started losing weight without really trying.That was 15 months ago and I have gone from 12 stone 7pounds to 11 stone 2 pounds .Also my blood sugar is under control.I was strict to start with but I allow myself a cream cake or a couple of biscuits once in a while now.Fad diets don’t work because you already feel like you are depriving yourself. I am 68yrs old , by the way. I appreciate the difference between wanting to lose weight and being told that you have too.Good luck with whatever works for you.
P.S. Just sewing together the little ram. Then I have monkey to finish. I have all your patterns and ,remember when you did a competition on Ravelry ? Well I was joint winner with an American lady. Love your patterns and appreciate all the work that goes into them.
Best wishes, Carol Partridge.
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Can I buy a pattern for the bunnies , if so what is the cost . They are really so cute
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