I think my behaviours towards food are gradually changing. I’m definitely not having sugars and starches. But I still eat to excess no matter what the food is. Why would this be? We have never been short of food in the home as a child or at any time since. Food has always been a reward, and was certainly given as comfort food. Why is one chicken drumstick not enough. Why does it have to be 2 or even more? Why isn’t one handful of nuts enough? Why does it have to be 3 or 4 handsful? They are not bad foods. Just too much of a good thing. This what I have to work through. Fortunately I have never been a smoker. My father smoked 80 cigarettes a day and drank quite heavily, only beer, never wine or spirits. He died at 68 of stomach cancer. I am so much like him in many ways. I hope to get past the 68 hurdle next year. Fortunately I can take alcohol or leave it. Enough navel gazing for now. The never ending, and sometimes never started, housework awaits.

Hello fastdutchgirl, I eat all those foods but very little fish. I still remember trying to get the new herring down when we lived in Den Haag. My husband loved them but I still gag just thinking about them. I must admit that I served up massive servings at dinner last night and when I sat down I was appalled. I left half my main on the plate. I just couldn’t eat it all. Portion control is certainly critical, one might even think pivotal to success.
ETJ, Thanks for your input. I have cut down on snacking to a large extent in line with Jason Fung’s philosophy. It makes sense that our systems need time to turn insulin on and off. You’re right . I should put the nuts on a plate and really see what I’m taking in. I don’t drink enough, that’s for sure.
K-Lo, I have done hypnosis and have hours of recordings. It’s making the time to practise. I will try and listen to my tapes. It’s all grist to the mill. Thank you so much for your feedback. It’s invaluable and reaffirming.
I used to try and talk to people on a weight watchers but could never connect as I have on the 5:2 site. It is so supportive here and my success so far is to a large part directly related to that support. Thanks again and all the best.

Thank you TrueMirror and Coldpizza. I do need to drink more water. It has always been a problem for me to remember to drink. I can increase my intake of vegetables too. For this 3 weeks, I will do 5:2 instead of 4:3. Thank you so much for your input. I’ll mark on the whiteboard when I’ve had a glass of water and see if I can build up hydration. And I do enjoy food. Just a lot going on emotionally at present, so need to get a handle on that.

Hello ETJ. I don’t mind plain water but just forget to drink it. My kids gave me a set of jars with handles. They hold 400mls and I only need to have 5 to get 2 litres. Had better go and have one now. Back in a mo. That’s better. Do you have tank water? We have to catch all our water. It’s funny how much you come to appreciate rain when it is your sole source of water. I don’t like cordial so am safe there. I had to have a colonoscopy and they advised me to use diet lemon cordial with the sachets of cleanser. What a nightmare😩😱😩 Can’t come at it at all!
I didn’t buy nuts this week. Safer not to have them around, no matter how good they are for one.
Our neighbours have gypsy cobs on their property and two of them have foaled in the past 2 days. I could see them from another neighbours place. Very cute.

Hello HollyLJ and Rocy65,
It gives me a thrill each time someone writes in response to my thoughts. My TDEE is 2240 and I’m sure I meet that some days. I feel like I’m eating too much. I’m not snacking this week. I feel I owe it to the challenge. Tomorrow is going to be really difficult as I’m going to a 50th birthday party. The main courses are going to be pasta based, from what I can gather and desserts high sugar and one is gluten free but not grain free. I’m going to take a couple of nice cheeses I think. I can only have one glass of wine, so will take mineral water with me. The theme is sport. I am not at all sorry but will wear aerobics gear…..not a pretty sight, but one is obliged to enter into the spirit of things. I had thought of wrapping myself in brown paper mache and going as a couch potato, but that entails a lot of energy ha ha. Olympics start tomorrow. Should be interesting.
Great that you’ve slowed your eating, Rocy65. I’m trying not to gulp it all down like a dog but still eat too quickly. Putting the fork down does help with mindful eating. There will be crisps and nuts at the party too and they call louder than anything else😳

It’s amazing how many times a small sliver of something tries to find its way into your mouth. My commitment was to do 36 hour liquid fast. Preparing chicken and salad for Mother for lunch and nearly popped some chicken into my mouth. Fortunately I caught myself. I know it wouldn’t have mattered in terms of calories, but I had made a pact with myself to stick to fluids. I need to be able to trust myself to follow through on commitments. If I continue to give in to impulses, I’ll never get to 70 kgs, let alone under 100.
I’m going to choir practice this evening. I had almost decided not to bother this season. But after discussing it with the psychologist this morning, I decided that it is something that I love. It would be easy to just focus totally on mother in law and not bother about making the effort to get out and do something enjoyable with a group of positive people. We’re singing show tunes end of October.
This is later. Went to choir practice and so glad I did. It was great, especially the tunes from Fidler on the Roof. Going to bed now and have only had fluids all 25 hours till now.

Hello HollyLJ, Coda and Coldpizza,
Thanks for dropping in😉
On another 36 hour fast. It makes me feel so virtuous. And today I have been on 2 walks and have managed 12,527 steps so far. I started walking to support another contributor on another thread, and am now enjoying the benefits of the walk. I think that the self discipline that we’re learning with food control is spilling over into other parts of my life and definitely making me feel happier. My family is supportive which means a lot too.
You are right about choir practice. There is a solo in Tarantura which I am going to have a crack at. My voice is finally coming right after the whooping cough. My flute lesson was really enjoyable too. I’ll never be a virtuoso but learning the music has been a real challenge and it is supposed to be really good for the brain. Keep on keeping on. So glad you are back on top of things, Coldpizza. Well done.

The 4 week challenge that swelled out to 7 weeks is over and I feel a bit rudderless. Ive been so “good” and the last 2 days haven’t seen a fast through beyond lunchtime. The scales are back to 105 after getting to 203.2kgs. I guess these are one of the stabilisation periods that Coldpizza refers to😉. I’m all made up, hair neatly blown dry, ready for the little fashion parade I’m in tonight. Funny how these little highlights pop up. I’m even going to wear a dress, something I haven’t done since about 1988. Always trousers and long loose tops. So this really is a milestone of a different kind. The shop supplies bigger women but tries to be a bit funky as well. My MIL has to come as my daughter is taking her sons to Jujitsu at the time of the parade. A girlfriend will be there. My oh wants to see photos. Why am I rambling on about this? It’s a bolster to self esteem and an affirmation of what I feel I am achieving. Things have been getting on top of me, the carer role, trying to help out with grandchildren, domestic duties, homework for the psychologist trying to deal with depression and setting boundaries etc. nothing that is individual to me and a lot less than many others have to cope with on these threads. But they do make the comfort eating try to get its hooks in again and that’s a huge struggle. I need to do some meditation on equanimity. Anyway, must go and make a success of this wee challenge.

I have allowed my weight to climb back to 105.4 kgs. How much of this is due to body trying to get back to set point and how much due to overeating I’m not sure. I haven’t been eating between meals and certainly have only had one real binge on Friday night. A lot of my behaviours around food have definitely changed. But seeing the scales up from that lovely 103.2 about 2 weeks ago or less is enough to send me into a spin. Fasting today. Let this be the start of the descent to 99.9!!!!!!!

Thanks HollyLJ. I’m around 106.2kgs this morning. It’s the nits. Hovering in front of the pantry seeking food like a homing missile. Will pull out the Mediterranean Diet cookbook and look for a bit of inspiration. Where has the commitment gone that was there pulling me through when you and Rocy65 were my buddies in the challenge? That’s what I have to get my head around. It’s a new day. Will stay out of the kitchen.

I’m sitting at the boys’ hip hop dance lessons and have just noticed how sensitive I have become to the smell of biscuits. A little tacker is sitting beside me eating rice crackers. They actually have a very strong smell which I’ve never noticed in the past. Actually, it’s more acute for lots of different foods.
My MIL called me into her room just before I was due to leave to pick up the boys. She was on the floor, legs stretched out in front of her. Don’t know whether she fell, slid out of her chair, or what??? She said she got down there to put her shoes on, but that’s not something she would normally do. Because of her severe short term memory loss, she wouldn’t remember how she got there but would make up a story that would most easily explain to herself why she was there. Fortunately she didn’t seem to have hurt herself.

Hi ETJ,
I am a Queenslander, but was born in Melbourne, and have lived in Brisbane, Mackay, Canberra, Darwin, Sale and a bit around the world. But the majority of my years have been here in Dulong which is between Nambour and Mapleton on the Sunshine Coast.
My niece in Melbourne just rang me and she is so impressed with what I achieved in the first 5 months that she has started on 5:2. She doesn’t want to get involved in posting at this stage but said that she will do 1:1 with me for a while. So I really do have to knuckle down and get back to basics.
I must say that I talk about fasting if anyone shows the slightest bit of interest and talk about the insulin effect for a bit of scientific basis to show it is not a fad. But I do understand that not everyone is a motor mouth and we do have to protect ourselves from putter-downers.
I’m off to choir practice shortly so had better go and get ready. Choir is like a happy pill for me. It lifts me up. Bye for now.

Still struggling to stay on track, but having an FD today and so far so good. Will go out and do a bit of mowing later on today. That keeps one from the munchies. Water and rooibos tea are my menu till dinner time tonight when I plan on having a mug full of bone broth. This is going to be my first successful liquid diet in a while. I haven’t been having coffee either. Someone on one of the threads mentioned that coffee made them angry. I get angry really quickly. It is my response to anxiety. I am able to keep away from it so far because I do actually feel a bit calmer. And I really enjoy the rooibos tea which is also known as red bush tea, I think. No caffeine.