Calling all Canadains

This topic contains 47 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by  Annie1946 10 years, 2 months ago.

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  • Hi everyone, I started this thread because when I posted last night on another forum, I was going to wish everyone a good night and noticed that when I was posting here, it was 2 a.m. in the UK.
    I live in Ontario and joined this site last week. I am today doing my 2nd fast day in my 2nd week, so just getting started. I am going to my workout this a.m. will see how that goes!

    Hope to hear from other Canadians, I know you are out there!

    hi ommamma, this transplanted Ontarian has lived out west for decades and is now in Alberta. I saw the documentary in Jan on pbs and started immediately the next day. My goal was not weight loss, although I have lost, – but lab results. They matter more to me as I age…teehee… I can’t wait to see what they are at the end of the month. (I’m getting tested in the next two weeks) That will be 4 months of 5:2 for me. I am hoping that my cholesterol will be down and I am attempting to get off high blood pressure meds or half the dosage. We’ll see.

    I went from 119 lbs to 112, and my body fat has went from 25.9 to 24.1. (I am a petite 5′ 2″) That would probably discourage some if they are only going by weight loss, but as I say, that’s not my goal and believe me, one pound on my tiny frame is a big deal. I find this easy to do and can see myself continuing on forever. I exercise 4 times a week, two bootcamps and two zumbas. two of the four are done on fast days. I don’t see any difference most days. I will update when I get my results!

    Hi dollyface, I lived in Alberta for a number of years in through the 70’s & 80’s. My kids were born there and our oldest lives in Edmonton now, her oldest, (my first grandchild) I nicknamed Dolly. Good for you for hanging in for 4 months. Fingers crossed when you get your results that your cholesterol is down. That is something I need to work on doing. I too am 5’2 but have not weighed in the 1teens since I was probably 25 or so. Nice to see that you workout, I do too! I was doing zumba but the cost of gas made the trip into town a little prohibitive. I get a great workout in 2 times a week, walk on the beach when I can (way too much snow this winter) and do yoga.
    Look forward to your update.

    Hi , I live in Ontario. I had not heard of the 5,2 diet until my sister told me about it, she lives in the UK.She has lost 30lbs over the last year. I started April 2nd and have lost 3lbs so far. The fast days have not been a problem yet (today was a fast day and I’m still doing OK even though it is midnight.Time for bed. Goodnight

    Hi Annie, I learned of FD from a PBS show. My 1st fast day was the 31st of March. Yesterday was my 4th fast day and sorry to say, I kind of blew it. I went to work and the Girl Guides were there sampling and selling cookies. I said no, but my lips lie. lol So I ate 2, that was easily over 100 cals above my 500. Not sure how to carry on today. At the moment I am having a 50 cal. greek yogurt! Will do a bit of a search on here and see if I can come up with a solution.
    Way to go, 3lb gone! My goal is to lose 3 lbs.(only I want to lose 3 lbs. 10 times). Now IF I can stay away from temptation on fast days, THEN I will meet my goal.
    Glad you took the time to say Hi.

    Hi Ommamma, Thanks for replying. On FD I have a boiled egg in the morning (it is only78cal) but do not eat it until 9am and it seems to keep me going for a long time. I even went grocery shopping yesterday at 1pm and was not hungry, I did’nt even buy any junk food. I have a lot more than you to loose (70lbs) but am taking it one 1lb at a time and trying not to be too overwhelmed. Good Luck to you.

    Thanks Annie for the wishes of good luck. Cheers to your success as well! I like your attitude of not being overwhelmed and taking it as it comes. I am going to try to adopt that attitude.;)

    Hi to all of you! I am in Vancouver and joined the club in November. Lost over 8kg so far and am 900g shy of goal weight!
    Have a great weekend.
    Stef.

    Hi to you as well Stef. Such a beautiful part of the country you live in! Congratulations on your loss, it must feel rewarding to be so close to your goal weight! Proves that effort = results. Perhaps sometime (if you feel like it!) you could fill us in on what worked and what didn’t work for you. Enjoy the weekend.

    What a winter we are having this spring!
    I had my 5th FD yesterday and it went really well. I feel like I have finally found what is going to work for me. I like this WOE. One thing it teaches me is that it is okay to delay gratification or even decide that I really didn’t want it anyway. Have you gained any insight into your patterns or habits around meals or snacking?

    glad to read some Canadian results here! Ommamma, what I do on those days(girlguide cookie day) is exactly what Mimi said in the book. Some days when it’s just not working, gracefully realise that’s not the day to fast and do it another day. There’s always tomorrow! If you think long term – what’s one blip…still get it in another day that week when you feel stronger mentally and have got rid of temptations around the house. That’s what I love about this. Everything is in my control. And…the longer I do this, the more control I have, which is great! I have lost another pound since my first post which surprised me, as I have taken 2 weeks off all exercise because I wasn’t feeling that great.

    I just got back from having labs done. I will find out in 10 days how they went as I am combining two Dr. appts into one. If my cholesterol is down, I plan on going to maintenance…1 fast day/week. SO easy….so glad I saw that programme!

    great determination Stef…glad to see you getting results! So close!Will you do maintenance in 2 lbs…?

    dollyface, the girl guide cookies came at 7:30 p.m. not a.m. lol. I had gone the whole day just fine and then MINDLESSLY (that is the lesson for me to learn) I ate 2 cookies. I didn’t beat myself up over it. I dealt with it by delaying the next days breakfast until 11. Whatever I am doing is working! I am down 4lb and as I said, had my best FD yesterday. This WOE is liberating for me, I love it. I feel like I get lots to eat and that I can get in great nutritiously dense foods to reach 500 calories.
    Question>>>>I have a bit of confusion around the TDEE. For me it is 1850, just to maintain my weight! Most days, I eat between 1150 and 1350 cals. That is a 700 or 500 calorie deficit most days of the week. I said to DH that the only time I eat 1800 cals or more in a day is when we go out for ayce sushi.
    How does your TDEE compare to your average daily intake?

    ommamma,that was the perfect thing to do! good job.I tend to look at it as a high calorie/low calorie day. That way, I don’t freak out too much if I go a little over. I adapt.

    My tdee is much higher too – 1629…but I think that’s because I have been so used to always being on a diet of some sort and restricting calories to lose. (usually 1200) I don’t count anymore, so I couldn’t tell you if I come close or not.

    But do know that you will hit a wall like I did the closer you get to your goal weight, but keep going while you trust the process…cuz it will eventually come off. I have went for weeks at a time and that scale never budged…but when it did…it DID! lol! I’m glad you have found your way. I do think this is it for me as well…no counting, easy to do, very flexible. I just need to see the proof in my lab numbers to make me totally happy.

    A week Friday dollyface, is that when you find out? Fingers crossed for great lab results, proof that your efforts are paying off! You deserve to be totally happy.
    I understand completely what you are saying about calorie restriction. It seems that it has almost been spoon fed to us.

    Yes….a week Friday for lab results. I never used to think about food, but I did get up to 141 lbs.(stressful point in life) before I realised I better do something before I’d be so discouraged, that I might just give up and do nothing. I did it by calorie restriction…writing down everything that went in my mouth. What I found for me was that it took over my thoughts all the time. I was always thinking about food…when to eat, how much to eat, what to eat, how many calories. Basically a lot of ‘no’s’. I was either eating it, planning it, recording it or denying myself of it. I really felt trapped at the thought of doing that the rest of my life. I have finally found something I can live with…how freeing is that???

    Hi Everyone, I’m from Calgary and today is Day 1 for me. So far so good. Ultimate goal is to lose 20 lbs. Decided to try 5:2 because of last blood test. Bittersweet actually. LDL’s are significantly down but still above normal. Bad news is my blood sugar. I am considered pre-diabetic. My family Dr wants me to go for another blood test and glucose tolerance test in 3 months. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease runs in my family. So I’ve made the decision to do this to improve my health and live longer than my parents who both died at 67 & 68 yrs old.

    Hi, Do you think Spring will ever come, we still have 2ft of snow in our yard and got another 4″ yesterday. Still liking this way of eating even off FD I watch what I eat but don’t obsess over food like I did before. You are right Dollyface it is freeing. I have lost another 1lb which is great I don’t want to lose it too fast as long as it keeps going down.This Easter weekend will be a challenge with the Chocolate bunnies !!!!!

    52inyyc thanks for saying hi. Love Calgary.
    So tragic your parents dying fairly young, and good for you for making a start! Deciding what is best for you and making a commitment to stay the course; to get healthier and to stave off those diseases that are in your family.
    I am doing my 6th FD today, it wasn’t planned for today but that is the way by body wanted to roll today! lol
    I would be happy to help you along, not that I really know what I am doing, but a few extra thinking caps never hurt.

    52inyyc….your story is EXACTLY mine back at my last set of labs. Same family history of diabestes and heart, except my mother has somehow beat the odds even with diabetes and lived longer than anyone else in her family at 90. My dad had the heart problems and diabetes and has passed…same reason as you that I started…..are we related???? lol! It’s all about making my blood pretty now….who cares what size I am, as long as my blood tests look fabulous! teehee! I am soon 57 which could account for that change!

    ( Annie1946 – I was supposed to go meet my daughter and grandchild in Calgary today, but roads too slippery for her to get over the pass :() We are all so done with the snow…and I don’t know about anyone else…but something about snow makes me eat more. Whaaaa????

    Annie, Annie, Annie. You just had to mention chocolate bunnies lol!!! They hadn’t even crossed my mind. No grandkids here this weekend, hence no chocolate bunnies or anything else for that matter. Hubby and I are talking about going out for brunch on Sunday though.
    AND I say BAH HUMBUG to the weather!
    Dollyface you hit it right on the nose with your comments about how dieting makes us feel and how consumed we have to be with food all day long.
    I do still track the food I eat on Spark People. I do this because it also tracks my protein, fat, carbs & fiber or anything else I want to keep an eye on, sodium perhaps. I love that site, great resources, recipes, and workouts. Also a workout tracker that helps to keep me motivated.

    Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. I am pleased to say spring has arrived in Southern Ontario! What is it like in your area?

    Hi Everyone. Well Easter is behind us but those chocolate bunnies I mentioned showed up at my house, The Grandkids made some for me and I had to have some or they would not understand if I said no, thank goodness they made bunny lollipops so they were small. Got right back on FD (I fast Monday & Thursday) I think that helped when Iwas weighed tonight as I only gained 1/4lb any other time I would have gained 2lbs or more.
    I think you are right, maybe Spring is here although we still have snow in backyard (I live in Muskoka) cannot wait to get out and garden.

    Morning everyone. Annie, you live in a beautiful part of the country as well! It has been awhile since I ventured north. I too am itching to get the garden going. We have raised beds along the south side of the house so I have lettuce and beet seeds in. The idea of making cakes, chocolates and whatever on a stick is brilliant! Must have been a women that came up with that idea! So nice that you enjoyed Easter with your family around. Good for you for getting back at it…..always a tough thing to do for me after a holiday or family event. I too fast Monday and Thursday, funny, I picked Monday because that is always when I start over anyway!!!!
    Take care all.

    Has anyone seen my motivation. I had it yesterday but it was gone when I woke up this morning. Today is fast day and I do not feel like doing it. I feel more fed up (pardon the pun: really I am hungry) than ready to face the day on 500 cals.

    @om

    “Has anyone seen my motivation. ”

    Yes. Found it hiding between the sheets and cooler weather.

    Sent it back to you for today.

    Use it wisely.

    Thank you so so much for returning my motivation rockyromero! I shall not disappoint, I have come around and I plan on sticking with it today!
    You are fabulous, thanks again.

    hi everyone…well…today was the day for lab results. One good – one not. the disappointing thing was that I was not able to lower my dosage or go off my blood pressure meds. That’s ok…I did all I could, so I can make peace with that. However. My cholesterol was WONDERFUL!!!!! or SWEET! – a direct quote from the doc! I went from 4.9 to 3.8 in total cholesterol. They want you to be under 4.5 if you are not diabetic or have had a previous heart attack..4.0 if you have. Either way…I’m good! yay 5:2….I have finally found ‘the way’! How’s that for motivation ommamma?

    dollyface…….you shine!!!! So pleased for you. Nothing wrong with that kind of motivation!

    thanks ommamma….I did say earlier that the lab results were all I needed to make me completely happy with this….so consider me happy! For all you numbers people….4 months on 5:2….5’2″ 56 yrs old female

    HDL went up – from 1.03 to 1.30 (you want this number to be high)
    LDL went down – 3.31 to 3.18 (you want this number to be low)
    triglycerides went down from 1.58 to .89
    TOTAL CHOLESTEROL went down from 4.9 to 3.8

    weight 119 to 111.6
    body fat % 25.9 to 23.9
    bmi from 21.8 to 20.5

    Hi Everyone, Have been on the road today to visit my son and his family (in Fort Erie) a 4 hour trip. Hope you have found your motivation Ommamma , remember one day at a time and tomorrow is another day. Way to go Dollyface in getting your Cholesterol, LDL down and losing 8lb. I would like to get both my Cholesterol and High BP down as well and I have a lot of lbs to lose too.

    Take care everyone

    Be safe Annie and enjoy the time with your son and family. Bundle up, it will be cold by the river. You and I will keep pluggin away and use dollyface’s results for our motivation too!
    Have a great weekend everybody.

    thanks Annie1946. The good news is for you who have a lot to lose…it usually comes off faster to begin with. So that’s a great motivator. The closer you get to your goal weight, the more patience you have to have. You’ll do it! Think lifestyle – not goal weight…that helps!

    Hi dollyface, I was wondering today if you had told the doctor that you were intermittently fasting, and if you did, what she/he had to say about it. The doctor must have been as pleased as you were to see your results!

    He didn’t ask and I didn’t offer – although I would’ve had he asked. I remember that in the book that was written, there were a few letters from doctors recounting their success in there and their account of how they refer their patients to the website. I did tell my diet expert at my gym….he thinks I’m crazy, although my muscle % has went up and my cholesterol, weight and body fat% have all went down. Go figure!! I say results speak for themselves….I don’t need to defend what so obviously works to him.

    Seems like this WOE checks all the right boxes!
    Dollyface, I thought the doctor might have been curious as to what you did to achieve your great numbers. Am happy to hear you say that you do not lose any muscle, that was a concern I had.
    Enjoy the day everyone!

    How is everyone doing these days. I think Spring has finally sprung (a little bit maybe?) Well I have been on the FD since April 2 had a little hiccup over Easter and gained about 1/2 lb got weighed tonight and I have lost 61/2lbs total I’m happy with what I have lost so far. My fast days are Monday and Thursday and I did another partial fast today. I’m also trying to up my exercise.

    One day at a time.

    You must be right Annie, it has been quiet on here so spring must have arrived. You and I are quite similar. I started FD May 31st, and I have lost 6 lb. I too fast on Mondays and Thursdays, well to be honest, Thursday usually ends up being Friday, I tend to do social stuff on Thursdays more than Fridays so whatever works. I still get in the 2 fast days a week. I love that I have the freedom to do that! I love that I am learning that I do not have to have 3 meals a day and I love that I am learning what it feels like to be hungry and what it feels like to feel full. Funny, I was wondering yesterday, aside from weight loss, what benefits am I gaining. I was going to pose that question here, but I just answered it for myself! Knowledge is power.

    I laughed when I read your spring comment, girls….as I looked out at snow falling…AGAIN!!!! Today however, we’re on the right side of 0, and the sun is shining. Yay! Had my first ever ‘hard to get through it’ fast day yesterday. Maybe the snow had something to do with it. I don’t know…but it seemed like all I could think of was eating. ( and I did feel hungry…something I don’t usually feel)
    I stayed on course, but I have to say it wasn’t easy like it usually is. Odd to get one after 4 months, but I guess I had to have one at some point. anyway…carry on…..

    Hi dollyface, sorry to hear you had a hard time with your fasting yesterday. Even more sorry to hear you are still getting snow!!! Ugh…..I would definitely be blaming the weather! If you happen to have a tough go of it again, you are more than welcome to bend my ear. 🙂

    Hi all. Hope everyone had an excellent weekend and that all Mothers out there got spoiled rotten! I have taken on the rather daunting task of recovering 6 dining chairs that are box cushioned with piping. That is what I do on my FD. May take a little more time to complete, but hey, at least I am sane! 😉

    Hi Ommamma,
    Yes, I did have a great weekend. But the kids all live quite a distance from us so I did not get to see them but they called me. Got weighed tonight and I am now down 10lbs since April 2nd so far so good. I’m like you and try to keep busy on FD I have dining chairs exactly like yours that I have been going to recover for the last 10 years but never got round to it.

    Hi Dollyface, How are you doing, has all the snow gone now?? Any day now the black flies will be out and they are vicious (do you get them where you are) thank goodness they only last 3 weeks.
    One day at a time.

    Hi Everyone,

    I’m new to 5:2 and am enjoying the sunshine today in Winnipeg (thank goodness!). I came across 5:2 and after a LONG cold winter of sitting on the couch eating chips decided to give it a try. I’ve gotten through my first 2 fast days this week fairly easily – I’ve never been a big breakfast eater so decided to eat most of my calories at dinner and can make it to almost 2:00 before I get hungry and an apple solves the problem until dinner. So my fingers are crossed that this strategy will continue to work! I’ve also got a family history of diabetes and high cholesterol so am hoping to stave that off.

    Nice to “meet” you all and here about your successes! Here’s to a warm spring and a LONG summer!

    Hi LalaOH. Nice to “meet” you as well. Glad to hear you are getting some sunshine in Winnipeg, the home of Canadian rock and roll! Hopefully you will find that you do not need to cross your fingers or even your toes for that matter. When I weighed myself on Wednesday, I realized I have lost as much weight fasting intermittently for 6 weeks as I lost with Weight Watchers in 16 weeks!
    If you read the earlier post, dollyface suggested to “trust in the process”. That for me was pretty profound, and that is what I have been doing.
    Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. If you have any struggles around your fast days and want to share maybe someone has a pearl of wisdom that will be just what you needed to hear to keep you going.:)

    Hi Everybody, How are you doing?? It has been a while since I could access this thread. My internet went down a week ago Tuesday and it was not connected again until Sunday and since then I have been busy with gardening. Had a bit of a setback after the long weekend (I gained 3lbs) it comes off slow but boy when you gain, it comes on a lot quicker. I was PO’d with myself so got right back to FD and this week when I got weighed I had lost 4.6 lbs so I was happy, now I have to really stick with it.

    Has anyone bought any of the FD books,I do not have any yet but was thinking of getting the Cook Book to help keep my calories down even on regular eating days. Hope you are all finally enjoying good weather.
    Goodnight

    Doing well Annie, thanks for asking. So happy for you and your loss of 4.6 lbs. That is a huge number, good on ya! That is certainly great motivation to stick with it.
    I had a great FD yesterday, although my hubby may not agree, I was maybe a tiny irritable towards the end of the day.
    I haven’t bought any books, I rely on info here and elsewhere on line. There are millions of recipe sites. Sparkpeople is a great one! I saw that there is a new Fast Diet….The Fast Beach Diet. To kickstart your weight loss it toughens up Fast days, (not sure if that is more days per week or less calories or both) adds a bit of exercise and has new recipes.
    Does your gardening include a veggie garden? Mine is still too wet, I am itching to get to it lol. Loving the sunshine, a bit cool here yesterday at the lake.
    Take care 🙂

    Hi,
    What happened nobody has posted on here for some time (including me) I guess we all got too busy once summer arrived. Hard to believe that it is almost over. How are you all doing with your Fast Diet, I am down almost 18lbs and
    have had some ups and
    downs but still sticking with
    it and still taking it one day at a time.

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