The Maintenance Chatbox… come and share your success with us!

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The Maintenance Chatbox… come and share your success with us!

This topic contains 11,627 replies, has 174 voices, and was last updated by  hermajtomomi 6 months, 3 weeks ago.

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  • Hi All,

    I haven’t really got anything to report, except continued maintenance. Had a busy weekend. Terminal car failure on the way to Dad’s on Friday, had to buy a new car on Saturday. Too much food and booze on offer, but managed to come home light (58.4). I guess the car worries helped with that!

    We had Sunday lunch with friends. Dad and I were the thinnest there by a mile. My weight loss was commented on and queried, but eyes quickly glazed when they realized it involved a whole two days deprivation. None had heard of 5:2. The sad thing is that there were at least two (poorly controlled) diabetics who I suspect are not destined for a long and healthy life…

    As they say, you can lead a horse to water….

    Dead right Happy. You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead. 😉
    Bad luck about the car, but pleased your dad is still on the “straight and narrow”. Cheers P

    Hi Lichtle
    Thanks for your salutary tale on Jojo’s thread. Our experience indicated to us that we need to keep this woe for life to maintain.
    While I can get away with pigging out occasionally, my OH just can’t. In some ways it is lucky he can get the daily feedback from bloodsugar testing and knows what triggers problems.
    You have done well getting back to your weight, L. Much easier to stay here, isn’t it? Happy days MCs. 🙂 P

    Thank you very much guys,

    I am sure us fast trackers will benefit from your stories

    Merry Christmas and a happy(slim) new year.

    Jojo xxxx

    Thanks Purple, bayleaf and FastFastSlow for your kind responses to my “bit” on Jojo’s thread. A week before Christmas and I am very determined to keep fasting this winter (and beyond). I have also taken every (rediculous) precaution not to get a chillblane or just generally too cold which was always my “excuse” over the past two winters.

    Having just read a few posts on Jojo’s thread, and read a few heart-rending posts of having battled with their weight since childhood, I wondered if this particular WOE is easier for people who were naturally slim in their youth. Do poeple who used to be slim have a psychological advantage that they can aspire to a former self and when they reach the weight of their youth re-identify with their former self?

    Hi Lichtle.. re slimmer youth… mmm I guess I fit that one.. I was a bit of Jock.. swimmer and first job was as a “proper” lifeguard.. (before college etc)..

    So I had a whole wardrobe from then which I had kept so am now wearing my old wardrobe which is really really ace.. so Yes I do think having a slimmer previous life really has helped me.. I knew where I wanted to be / get to.. had the clothes to fit into (hence my not bothering with the weighing malarky) … I didn’t need a goal weight that was an extrapolation of height / age calculations.. I just wanted to be the same size as I was and as fit as I was.. so first step was loose the weight and the last 6 months has been the aerobic fitness and muscle mass stuff.. I expect that it has made it much easier for me than for someone who doesn’t have the “previous slim self” to compare and an old wardrobe to get back into…

    So the last thing you should do is beat yourself up about set backs.. you are finding your way to a point you have never been too.. I could clearly see where I wanted to be .. you are a voyager into the unknown.. I simply found the right bus (bus number IF) to get me home..

    Well I am now probably at least 7lbs (3kg) lighter than I have ever been, and I don’t recognise the body in the mirror. But I have never been very overweight.

    I think what has made it easy for me is that I did maintain a healthy weight in my late 20s/30s by inadvertently eating 16:8 and low processed carb (although I must admit to a chunky kitkat for ‘break fast’ in work for a couple of years 🙂 ), with a bit of meal skipping thrown in.

    My OH is a natural IFer (he gets busy and forgets to eat, or won’t stop what he’s doing, and doesn’t eat unless he’s hungry) and I just fell in with his habits… Until I got brainwashed into 3 meals a day, snacks, carb loading, etc. So this is not unfamiliar territory for me now.

    Perhaps for me then it isn’t the familiarity of slimmer youth, but more the familiarity of getting back to old eating habits?

    Re: Christmas. I intend to carry on skipping breakfast. Treats will be in moderation. One mince pie, not 3! And I’m going to make sure I move more (and breath heavily P!) to compensate. I already know I can’t eat as much as I used to, and am happy with smaller quantities. So I won’t gorge til I’m bloated this year. And while I will drink more frequently, I can’t hold it like I used to! So two glasses, not 6! And hopefully a couple of nights off also, I really want my liver to live as long as I want to live.

    Some great discussions here today.
    I think you are right. We who have an image of our slimmer selves know what it WAS like. Mind you, I never thought I was fat… and the photos prove I was.
    Re alcohol. I’m with you Happy. 2 drinks and I get silly 😉 OH is the same. Certainly saves money.
    Off to a Christmas party in the country tonight. Minimal drinking and stodge for me. I’ll stick to seafood and water, with a glass or 2 of wine, and have a great time. P

    2 drinks and I’m asleep, which is even more effective – if less fun. Plus, DH has recently stopped driving, so if we’re out I always have the car keys….
    Yes, definitely to the slimmer youth thing – bring slim again feels like coming home, and I feel As if once I stArted, my body remembered and cooperated – like a donkey on the beach turning for home at the end of a ride! Massive respect to those starting from a different place!

    I had the notion when I thought about a lot of the maintainers here who seem to have mostly put on weight later on. I am also the weight of my mid twenties – early forties now and I definitely re-identify with this. Also, as brothers and most of family slim, I feel this is ‘me’ again.

    Happy, I agree, no breakfast over Christmas and trying to negotiate my off switch for mince pies etc (one is veeeery disciplined ;-)).) We are having company Christmas lunch today… so time to practice. I don’t normally drink alcohol (unless it is sweet – yak I here you cry) Christmas time is the only time I drink it in the shape of Bayleys and Mulled wine. However if I have to make a choice I prefer to get my sugar from food rather than drinks, so I will keep it in moderation this year.

    Just reading that we Brits woefully underestimate calorie consumption on Christmas day, kidding ourselves it’s not much over TDEE when in reality it’s nearer 6000!

    I had read before that the average person gained a 1lb each year over Xmas which they did not lose subsequently. So this year I’ve shed 30 years of previous Christmas excess!

    6000 cals..gosh. I’d better start eating now.:)
    ..got to keep up with the Brits 😉

    Well done on losing 30 years of Christmases! How did I put on 66 Christmases worth in 62 years? So glad we saw the light.
    I put on 1.5kg while away last Christmas (lost it again in 2 weeks) and I was being careful. I’m being less careful this year as fasting, small portions and healthy choices have become a way of life. Would you agree? Merry Christmas MCs. P

    Hi P,

    Yes, it’s a different Christmas this year for me. I haven’t made a Christmas cake for us this year. OH doesn’t like it and, whilst I’d like a slice, I don’t want a whole cake that I would feel duty bound to eat.

    I am going to make some mince pies and orange and pistacchio stollen bars, for visitors you understand ! Both have a long shelf life, and I know this year that I can take it or leave it and easily stop at one anyway.

    I feel amazingly in control. I don’t really see any reason why my eating habits should alter significantly.

    We’ve talked about this before, how for some a permanent lifestyle change is easy. And I’m very fortunate that intermittent fasting and low processed carb suits me so well.

    Happy holiday!

    Hi S and others
    I bought a hazelnut stollen about a month ago ‘for visitors’. Thought I’d better try it. I’ve only had 3 very thin slices. No Christmas cake, but we will have pudding and custard.
    Our big family gathering is today and I weigh in at 56.1kg (8st 11). If I skip my morning coffee I could see the 55s for the first time in….I’ve no idea. 31 years?
    Beautiful mild sunny weather here. Perfect for eating and drinking. Cat fed. Bread baking. Birds going crazy outside. Life’s good. Thanks Dr M.
    Cheers all MCs, P

    Wooo woooh!
    2nd weighin this morning. …drum roll… 55.9. I’ve done it. This was my ultimate goal. P 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Hi P,

    Congratulations on achieving your goal.

    It’s funny, now I’m no longer trying to lose weight but still want some fasting benefit, that my weight has continued to drop. I seem to see a new low briefly only, a couple of times, and then suddenly I’m there.

    Nearly a year on from starting this journey, and below goal for 8 months, and still pleased on with the new me on a daily basis.

    Hope the party preps are all done, and you’re looking and feeling slinky?

    Thanks Happy.
    Me too. Just fasting and eating happily and my weight pops down occasionally. Been seeing 56s for a while now. Wasn’t trying to drop. I think my body is just doing its own thing now 😉
    Quick swim then set the table. Cut up the meat and salads….
    bye. P

    Hi all fasters and maintainers. I am a first-time poster, but have been reading the threads on this site and love the support and warmth that is shared.

    I started 5 2 last September after seeing the documentary. I was 67+ kgs, and had given up on ever loosing more. I have always been overweight, since childhood – comfort eating back then – and although not large, I have never been happy with my weight in spite of various attempts and diets. So when I started, I thought I would be happy with 62 kgs, rapt with 60. I am now rapt! And still loosing (although Christmas is getting in the way a little). I have also lost 25% of my body fat, and my BMI is 21.4. Yay! So happy! All I need now is for summer to come to Wellington.

    Well done Purple – you seem to have the right mind and strategy now. You should be so proud of yourself. Very very encouraging and brilliant for the not so encouraging statistics of weight maintenance. You seem to have manged to change your diet and habits on top of fasting.

    At our family gathering today, I had a conversation with my stepson (a doctor) who attended an obesity convention in Vienna not too long ago where a prominent bariatric surgeon spoke and basically said that fat cells have a memory and after slimming down the shrunken fat cells will always try to get back to their largest size. So the best someone can ever do is not to get fatter . Due to babies etc the conversation was cut short…

    Lets hope we can come back to this forum next Christmas and be able to confirm successful maintenance.

    Well done Purple – you seem to have the right mind and strategy now. You should be so proud of yourself. Very very encouraging and brilliant for the not so encouraging statistics of weight maintenance. You seem to have manged to change your diet and habits on top of fasting.

    At our family gathering today, I had a conversation with my stepson (a doctor) who attended an obesity convention in Vienna not too long ago where a prominent bariatric surgeon spoke and basically said that fat cells have a memory and after slimming down the shrunken fat cells will always try to get back to their largest size. So the best someone can ever do is not to get fatter . Due to babies etc the conversation was cut short…

    Lets hope we can come back to this forum next Christmas and be able to confirm successful maintenance.

    Welcome and excellent work Barata.
    Fingers crossed for good weather for Christmas in Wellington. Enjoy your new wol
    🙂 Cheers P

    Hi Barata. Our posts overlapped. Welcome and well done to you. Great achievement. I hope to hear a lot more from you in the future.

    Yay P, well done for turning back the clock 31 years, especially at this time of year. My sweet tooth is rearing its ugly head a bit but a trip to town including tour of the food hall has put it in its place I hope.

    My sourdough loaf turned out a “back to the drawing board” loaf. After some online sourdough reading, I collected up some of our spilled (i.e. on the ground) wheat, the crop has been harvested but thought some genuine homegrown wholemeal might make an interesting “organic” type starter. I pulled out the obvious organic bits, twigs, burrs, wild oats, rabbit droppings etc. and put it in the remaining grain coffee grinder. So that is what is bubbling away in the pineapple juice…

    Cheers, VM

    Thanks for the great welcome, Purple and Lichtle. That first post seems to be all about me, but I guess that’s what an introduction is.

    Here I go again – I fast Mondays and Thursdays – rigidly, as that suits me. If I stray from my day, my resolve wavers. Having said that, there won’t be a Thursday fast this week, will have to move it to Friday! I’m not counting calories but am sure I go under 500 most fast days. Started having a omlette for breakfast and an apple for lunch, salad for the evening meal, but now it’s a boiled egg for lunch to break the fast, mandarin for snack, raw carrot when I get home from work, and salad with the family. I plan to continue this WOL forever!

    Thanks guys.
    VM. Sorry about your sourdough. I just pulled a double mux loaf out. Looks fab. I left this to rise overnight. Longer. So it rose really well. Cheers P

    Hi Barata

    Welcome and hope the Summer comes to Wellington soon. We lived there for two years and the first year it was 13 C on Christmas Day. We took the ferry across, and went on to Nelson where it was 24 C. Beautiful country. 😉 practising emoticons!

    I’m fasting today and Tuesday in preparation for a big week. 🙄
    Cheers, Bay 🙂

    Yay, Purple. You little humdinger! Fancy being 31 years younger. Cheers, Bay 😉

    Well, that’s the spring cleaning finished – the last kitchen cupboard is clean. Not for visitors, there are none expected this year.

    In fact, apart from the cat, under the Christmas tree is going to remain bare, with two little grandchildren landing in Sydney (separately) in the last few weeks from different parts of the globe. At least it will be easier to visit the families now that they are both in the same place, so a trip across the ditch is planned for next month. And the older grandchildren are at an age to prefer money.

    So Christmas day will be just Darby and Joan, and eating dinner out with my aunt in the evening. No cooking, no family, just Skype. There will be a ham, though, to enjoy in the days ahead with fresh summer salads.

    Well done Purple, your weight loss is really inspirational. I have now cracked 59kg. Didn’t intend to but have had a bit of bingeing with Xmas etc (although my D-I-L pointed out its not really bingeing. It just eating food I don’t eat anymore.) It makes me feel yucky so I have a fast day to compensate but the reality is I must not be gaining any weight even thou I feel I am pigging out.

    Welcome Barata, will be nice to hear your experiences of 5:2 also!

    Happy Christmas everyone.

    Lichtle,

    I now have an image of my poor sad fat cells sitting around reminiscing about the good old days, looking at old pictures (‘do you remember this one? She was overweight then…Happy days’)

    Barata,

    Greetings! Congratulations on the weight loss. I don’t have house guests staying this year either, not necessarily a bad thing as this is my first slim Christmas so it is an opportunity to practice mindful eating and get in good festive habits.

    Re: the tree and presents. We have cats too, all of whom are more interested than I would like in baubles and wrapping paper!

    Carol,

    I’ve come to the same conclusion about binging. It does seem to be a perception only of overeating and pigging out. Mind games?!

    Happy, I like your imagination :-)) where the fat cells reminisce about the good old fat days…

    We will be celebrating with our youngest son who is coming home on Monday. So it will be just the three of us with a typical sunday roast beef – the full works. I have almost finished eating Christmas biscuits and mince pies so for me the worst is over – I hope.

    I intend to have a good fast tomorrow and the rest of the week will have to be 18:6.

    Just a quick post .. but isn’t this a great idea..? https://www.facebook.com/deservebetterfitness/photos/a.608363405869754.1073741828.608353482537413/787068957999197/?type=1&theater

    If you need food on the go.. good picnic idea or even simply a breakfast / starter or finger food… can think of literally several yummy varients.. tapenade, smoked salmon, spinnach and feta.. garlic and mushroom.. Must get a muffin tin..

    Have a lovely Christmas folks..

    Welcome, Barata, and well done indeed, PVE – ‘Fat picture’ for the attic, anyone?

    Yucky week here – literally: 24/7 antibiotic-induced nausea of the kind that never quite makes you throw up but can only be appeased by constant eating. Due to finish them tomorrow – can’t wait (and promise to be less boring once I get there!). But the combination of eating and sofa-lying (no gym, no walking, no dancing – did try one pilates class but I was rubbish!) has swallowed up my carefully cultivated pre-Christmas ‘wriggle-room’ and there will be fasting (and exercise) to be done as soon as I feel human again Mon/Weds/Fri this week and next, I think…. Ah well, the best- laid plans, and all that… And at least I know how to do it these days.

    Zuzan, I shall get the muffin tins out tomorrow – thank you!

    Have a lovely Christmas, everyone!

    Well I had the muffin tin out yesterday… Mini pork pies with hot water crust pastry though I’m afraid!

    I haven’t made any mince pies for me yet this year. Was toying with the idea of supersizing in the muffin tin 🙂

    I have done oven baked frittata before, but hadn’t considered making serves one portions. Cunning.

    FastFS, so sorry you’ve not been well. Fingers crossed you leap out of bed 100% tomorrow. And don’t forget to enjoy Christmas, even though you’ve lost your wriggle room…

    Shall do, Happy – slimmer but not yet Puritan! And family celebrations not happening until next w/e, so have a few days to get fully restored. You too!

    I opened a jar of mincemeat to stuff a baked apple yesterday. ‘Use by’ date was june 2009; it was perfect!

    I hope you get better soon, FFS. What a nuissance just before Christmas. There are a lot of nasty bugs around at the moment and I hope we can all dodge them somehow.

    Zuzan, what an excellent idea, one of those that makes you think: “Why didn’t I think of that?”
    A friend of mine used a similar method to use up her left-over food once a week by mixing any vegetables and meats/sausages (even pasta) in an oven proof dish, poured over the seasoned cheesy-egg mixture and baked it in the oven until heated through and eggs set. Served with green Salad. Making them in muffin tins just makes them so versatile and portable. . Thanks for sharing.

    That recipe is really just a frittata in a muffin tin, so easy, but great way of using up leftovers – if only I can remember that when I have leftovers!

    Ok maintainers what is your Xmas food Achilles heel? Mine is cheese. I love good cheese. Never, ever buy it because I know I’ll eat it but when its in front of me I can’t resist! We went to a wedding on the weekend and they had made up picnic baskets for everyone. Beautiful idea, but full of nice goodies fattening including cheese. I ate so much my 1.5kg of wriggle room has been utilised! Fast day tomorrow!

    Has everyone else also noticed that when they have had a ‘treat’ day the next day is so much harder to eat ‘mindfully’?

    Hi Carol,

    Cheese has always been a weakness of mine also. I eat extra mature cheddar as a snack I’m afraid! And I’ve just treated us to some Appledore (Lancashire cheese with apple flakes, rolled in cinnamon), Melton Mowbray stilton cheese and Old Amsterdam. Some require a cheese biscuit, others some homemade chilli jam or piccalilli or damson cheese… Not many calories there then!

    And of course Wensleydale works particularly well with fruit cake!

    I’m sure you can’t have eaten 1.5kg worth of extra calories in one day. If you’re weighing heavy there will be a water component and perhaps more food in transit?!

    If the treat day involves added sugars, then yes, the next day can be a struggle against the old addiction! Think that’s perhaps why I haven’t made me a Christmas cake or any mince pies (yet!). If it’s not in the house I can’t eat it. I’m hoping to go visiting and try small amounts of Xmas goodies in other people’s houses…

    My achilles heel is sugar – biscuits and cakes and anything fruity. In the absence of biscuits I am equally happy with jam or honey bread. Occasionally, I have had disgusted looks from colleagues who watch me tucking into a piece of bread topped with butter and caster sugar with my cup of coffee. Funnily enough chocolate is not the main culprit.

    Thanks zuzan for the reminder of mini frittatas. (Too many ‘t’s?) I have a lot of leftovers….always overcater! !!!
    Carol, I would previously have said my weakness was cheese, but yesterday it was Christmas pudding (thanks Heston) with brandy custard. Ate moderately until then and went back for seconds.
    Fasted until 2.30 today, then realised SOMEONE had to eat some of the salads and ham and pork and turkey (pistachio and cranberry roll) to clear space in the fridge. My favourite was my marinated fig, feta, walnut and baby spinach salad. Mmmmmm. I justified it as I avoided a social gathering where I would have had to eat sandwiches.
    I’ve still got a lot more to “dispose of”. I’m thinking freeze it in serves.
    Good luck with your resolve Maintenance Mates P

    Wow, thanks for the welcoming warm words, everyone. You certainly know how to make me feel included in your chat.

    Fast day today, so I’ll hope to knock off some of the grams that Saturday’s work dinner contributed. All good, knowing they are going one way or another. It might not be much or speedy from here, don’t really mind if I never lose any more but am most interested to see where I can get to. So wonderful to be in control, and able to enjoy chocolate and red wine five days a week.

    I love being a size 10, even though I need new trousers for work. The old ones were so baggy around the derriere it was embarrassing. This can wait for winter now though. Although there might be some necessary shopping in Sydney next month.

    Monday morning weigh-in completed and so far so good – 50kg, bang on target. Monday mornings always show the highest weight of the week so I am happy. I am fasting today but the rest of the week will probably consist of 16:8 or 20:4 however I will have to take this week as it comes.

    Barata, how long do you have to wait for your winter to treat yourself to new trousers? If you get desperate on the baggy-bum department, do a trip to England – we are in the middle of a wet and cold winter. ;-))

    Sunday was a fast day. The last one in 4:3 sequence. All was going well until the afternoon when I made 60 mince pies in mini muffin tins. No one should bake on a fast day. My granddaughter came over and we had fun. I had to try one! 🙄 They are some of the best I’ve ever made, and partly this is due to the small size. Changes the ratio of fruit mince to shortbread. Partly perhaps because sweet things now are enjoyed in moderation.

    When I weighed this morning, I had lost weight. So a fast day plus two mini mince pies plus tiny half glass of wine had very little effect. 😆

    Carol, sweet things are my addiction. When I indulge, then the next day is harder. The best thing to report is that the indulgences are much smaller than they used to be. Cheers, Bay 🙂

    Hi Barata

    Great idea to go to the sales in Sydney. There have been some very good clothing sales this year. All leading brands and shops. I have had to buy a complete new wardrobe twice in 12 months and have loved taking advantage of the sales. The best part of 5:2. Lots of clothes given away.

    Cheers, Bay 🙂

    Lichtle,

    It’s rained solidly for two days, and the same forecast again tomorrow 🙁

    On the bright side, I’ve finally got round to tackling some alterations! Feeling smug as have just turned a size 12 lined skirt into a size 8. Just hope it still fits in the new year 🙂

    Bay, funny you should say your mince pies are the best ever. I made a load for Dad last weekend and thought the same! I thought it was my pastry skills, it hadn’t occurred to me it was just a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder!

    Well done, Happy. Alterations aren’t that easy easpecially when the items are lined. Reducing by two sizes must have been quite satisfying and the amount of work you put into this will ensure that they WILL FIT in the new year. 🙂

    Happy, there is one consolation living in England – we never have to wait too long to justify a new pair of trousers. 🙂

    Wow, Happy, where do you live?! My sewing skills have always been rudimentary; now, complicated by unpredictable hands, they can just about cope with sewing in a shoulder pad or taking in a (very simple) seam. I’d love to have you next door!! Funny – my mother and grandmother were both really skilled needle women, but that gene seems to have passed me by completely….I’m sure your skirt will fit fine by the spring (- unless, of course, it’s too big by then…)

    My efforts to fast today have been an inglorious failure: first day for 10 days I haven’t felt sick and have been genuInely, properly, hungry, rather than ‘beat the nausea’ hungry. Shall try again tomorrow, but for the moment the baked spud with bacon, mushrooms and cabbage which I’ve just eaten was wonderful! Shall just have to postpone that first mince pie a few days more – and quite sure DH will have polished off all the stollen by then -but worth it!

    Mmmmm…baked spud with bacon and mushroom. Add some cheese and I’d be in heaven.
    My yesterday fast of 19 hours, then a plate of Christmas ham, turkey and marinated fig and walnut salad went down so well, I had another plateful for dinner. I left the 3 already opened wine bottles in the fridge. Now THAT’S discipline 😉
    I think the best thing to do this week is the “HappyNow” system. ..long morning fasts then eat the best available. I’m glad I hit my pb before this week started. Plenty of wriggle room. But not complaisant. 🙁

    Well done on the alterations H. I’m a good sewer, but can’t stand unpicking. FFS, I couldn’t use my hands for sewing for years, then had a couple of operations and can now do fine handsewing again. When I couldn’t, I ended up paying the tailor to do a favourite lined skirt. Cost too much and I’ve forgotten to wear it.

    Cooking while fasting is ok Bay. As long as you don’t even lick your fingers 😆 then you’re gone!

    I hate post Christmas sales shopping Barata, but these days the shops seem to be in constant sales mode. Are you far from Sydney? A day trip or a dedicated shopping journey?

    Two more sleeps ’til Santa. P

    Actually PVE, there was cheese, but I didn’t want to admit it! It was only a tiny bit, and you’re right – it was heaven!!

    What about sour cream, chives and parsley as well? 😉
    7.50am. I’m still in bed, should be up, street sweeper outside making a racket but at least it will be clean for our neighborhood carol night tomorrow. I’m not planning on eating until 2pm, but your food has me salivating FFS 😉
    Not hungry P.

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