Day 23 Melbourne – FD

Hanging by a thread today, so I came on to read some posts and gather strength from you all – thanks.

@lany36 I have a question for you: “bread, pasta, and rice. I gave them all up years ago…” – Could you let me know what you eat on a daily basis? I would love some ideas. I grew up with toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch, and at weekends things like toasted sandwiches for a snack and filled bread rolls for picnics. So in getting out of the habit of getting a loaf of bread twice per week, I find it hard to think of things that have the same satisfaction factor that don’t require pre-planning or taking up limited freezer space, ie ‘spontaneous’ food! Thanks for any ideas at all.

Day 23 / NFD / Oman
Yesterday’s FD was hard. It’s not so much the hunger…that part is much easier than I ever thought. It’s just that I miss eating. Tg I can still drink coffee!
Anyhow today I must stay below tdee. The weekend was a bit too indulgent!
Happy day 23 to all!

Day 23 – Tokyo Japan – FD – 79.6kg

This fast day is going easy so far but I’m really dehydrating. This seems to be a side effect of fasting for me. My weight has actually dropped to 78.2kg. Mostly just water loss.

I think I missed posting yesterday, I don’t think I actually even got on the scale, but I did eat plenty of food. I went overboard on nuts, probably over 200g which is plenty of calories.

Next week I probably won’t update as my week is going to be over busy. I’m probably just going to take a vacation from fasting, my first since I started. The trip is only 10 days so I don’t think there will be much harm and I’m also curious to know what will happen with my weight. Then when I get back I hop back on track. There is just too much going on this trip.

Hi @fuvvie – I have not been posting or following 5:2 since December but will get back in to it in February. Is anyone organising a challenge for next month? BTW – you’ll have to laugh, I returned to work today and put my “work” pants on this morning. They were really tight and I called myself every name under the sun as I struggled to pull them up. I later realised I had forgotten to undo the fly! Hope everyone is well and having a great start to 2017.

UK day 23 FD not feeling 100% this morning, bit sniffly & sore throat , really hope I can shake it off, aiming for a good week .

Day 23 NZ FD
BiddieV – I typically eat two meals a day again now.
I tend to start with eggs, omelette or scrambled, and maybe a piece of fruit. Otherwise I have a big salad full of veges or at weekends sometimes I make soaked oats with Greek yoghurt and seeds and grated apple and berries if I want something carb heavy.
I’m vegetarian so dinner is vege based, I use a lot of besan for vege patties, if I make sauce based curry or stew type meals that need it i use cauli rice or occasionally shiritake noodles.
I don’t snack much now, but ready made quick things for me are Greek yoghurt, some nuts, roast chickpeas (which I also sprinkle on salads like croutons sometimes), or fruit. I also really like cottage cheese with nuts and seeds stirred in as a light meal addition.
I often have frozen or fresh leftovers for lunch, things like crustless quiche are super filling and easy for lunch so I tend to make a big one specifically to have leftovers.
Im back into eating like this all the time, as I did before I put on weight last year. I always ate basically like this (and counted calories) and didn’t have a weight problem until last year when things changed for various unrelated reasons and i changed my habits.
To be fair to everyone here who is struggling with large amounts to lose, I’m still not considered overweight, my BMI is healthy and I had under 10kg to lose to begin with, but I’ve always been slim until last year and it’s been difficult to be unable to fit so much of my wardrobe.
Hopefully something in this ramble helps you biddie, I really just need to sort out my sugar intake now and I feel for everyone who has more than that to try and manage.

day 23 cornwall uk fd

Fuvvie sorry for not posting on last couple of days.
Been struggling with my anxieties, all stems from the relationship probs with my sister last year. Coda thankyou for your post!

I’ve got my first session with a counselor later today, I’m going with an open mind I know they dont have a magic wand – sadly!

The weekend was generally good with my granddaughters 5th birthday party. We’ve had some good walks and I’ve kept my hands busy with quilting.

The mind is another matter! I have a meditation cd which is helpful. But how I wish I could sleep,I feel so mentally exhausted, if only I could shut out the thoughts that pop in!

I’ve tried to catch up on posts but It’s such a busy thread!!

Good luck everyone! Happy fasting this week.x

Day 22: Pacific NW USA, NFD, dinner out tonight with friends who have dropped in from Canada and I probably drank my TDEE which I don’t ever do. Tomorrow may tell more of the story. Making it a dry January for the rest of the month may be best for my vertigo issue too!

I plan a FD Tues and again Thurs-Fri for another b2b. I have those days posted on my calendar along with possibly the last Mon-Tues and then a January weigh-in on Wednesday. I can’t hardly believe how fast January has zipped along!

I believe we had someone volunteer for February??

GoldenSun – as I caught up reading the last 3 or so pages since my last post yesterday I couldn’t read fast enough to hear how you were doing. I’m glad you shared some of your thoughts and how you are processing through your relationship upset. It doesn’t sound like you’re in as much turmoil especially in displacing feelings onto food as the last time. That shows such strength and you will be a stronger partner because of it if the two of you are meant to be together. Good luck.

Day 23…..Florida…..NFD

Happy Monday! Another NFD but I’m going to do my best to make it a CD. Maybe using different terminology will make all the difference.

Yesterday, we had a nice little storm, high winds, rain,flooding, a few tornados in places and the news talked about hail. So today, will be interesting as the husband and I head out for our date day. We’re planning on going to this little Greek community about 45 min. south of us. We only get days like this once a month, so we try and make it a good run. I’m praying that every community made it safe and undamaged.

Last night, I stayed up way to late trying to revise what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. I revisited Dr. Mosley, reread the information, watched a few videos for inspiration. All in the attempts to regroup and refocus. I do find myself dropping focus when I occur changes and/or I’m stressed. However, from past experiences with 5:2, if I can keep my head in the game, I feel better and more in control when my eating is in check.

Thank you Fuvvie for your kind words. As well and thank you to this group! I know I would be right back up to my starting weight of 165 or more, if I didn’t have this group!

I’m in for Feb, just tell me where we are going and I will be there. If I come to my maintenance portion by June. I will lead June! I know I wont nearly be as good as my predecessors but I know I’ve got a lot of support and love to give. All great qualities in a leader if you ask me….

Hannah….. Thank you for sharing your story. I was feeling kind of dumpy today but you made me smile. So, I now off to change the world!

Cheers!

Georgia/USA/Day 23/ FD: Happy Monday! it’s a Fast Day for me. I’m mentally in the game today. I skipped the gym this morning, got a good work out in both Sat. and Sun. I blamed it on e the rain this am. LOL! I’m gonna skip breakfast, lunch, and just down coffee today. I like treating myself to a hearty 500 cal meal at the end of the day. Its amazing what you can pack into such a small portion. I'[m even learning how to eat out and stay on track. Don’t know if I’ve shared this before, but many restaurants have a 600 cal or 500 cal menu now a days. I’m feeling some Outback tonight! I get this 6 oz. sirloin (254 cals), asparagus (60 cals) and a side salad with lite vinaigrette (193 cals) for at total of 503 cals. Its just great! Its nice to look forward to something.. It gets me through my day. And It keeps me from getting grumpy.

Day 23/ Midwest USA/ NFD

Greetings everybody, miracles are natural for us; let’s keep going!

HannahWatto– thanks for popping in, good to see your name come up!
Hope the New Year is treating you well. And LOL on the pants zip being up. Hope you got a good chuckle from it to start your day.

LouBelles– Hope you enjoy Dr. Fung’s book. I have both & whenever I need to get myself back on the proper path, I’ll read a bit of them to remind myself of the “why” behind this WOL.

Lany– your veggie based meal ideas sound tasty.
I really miss croutons on my salads (can’t have wheat or gluten due to Crohn’s.) So I’m going to give your roasted chickpea idea a try. With a dusting of powder garlic/ onion or other seasonings, they may be just the crunch my salads need!

Yirrakuri– brewery tours are the best! Living in Colorado (craft micro-brew capital, plus we have Coors, New Belgium & Anheuser Busch here) it’s always a fun activity when family come out to visit.

Coda– Thank you for re-posting those MFP articles. Nuggets of great advice sprinkled in them!

Rocy– So sorry to hear of your anxiety issues. I hope you have landed a skilled counselor that is a good fit for you, a good listener that teaches you useful skills for managing & controlling your symptoms. Truly, best of luck moving forward!! ((hugs))

Jarbia– Aim for a successful first b2b. Then assess how you feel before committing to 3 FDs in a row. Many of us find that the 1st day feels the toughest, then day 2 feels almost easier to coast thru. After that, for me, the issue is NOT hunger (ketones take care of that) but simply “missing the TASTE of food & the HABIT of meals.” Good luck!

B2tF– I also need to finish out the rest of January as dry. That sneaky red wine sure works its way in around dinner time. And it is simply too many calories!! Ends up pushing me over TDEE every time.

So, be gone, my lovely red wine! Perhaps we will meet again in February.

Day 23 FD Surrey, UK
Days 21 & 22 NFD
Day 20 FD

Sorry been absent for a few days.

I’m enjoying being back on FDs after my back issues. This group is so supportive – only drawback is I can’t possibly keep up with all the posts so no doubt am missing so many pearls of wisdom but the ones I’m managing to read are more than enough I think! Without any doubt I would not have lasted this long without the support of the group. Now that 31 Jan is in sight I feel inspired anew. But yes I would love to join a February group too please – if I have missed the post that says how can someone please tell me? Thanks.

My best weight is still 12st (I started at 12.5) but that’s ok because if I keep on track I will have permanently lost the half stone I wanted to by May easily.

Thanks all.

Day 22– Colorado, USA– FD… a sorely needed FD!

Oh, my arch nemesis: The Weekend. Grrr!

Saturday & Sunday were the farthest thing from CD (controlled days) as could be. Too many empty calories from red wine on Fri/ Sat/ Sunday.
Plus the cheese. Oh, the triple creme brie cheese! It had been whispering my name from the fridge & I finally listened. Too tasty.

There are just 9 days left in January. I’d like to finish out this 1st month of the New Year strong, so moving forward:
1– fit in 4 more FD to complete January (on Mon, Wed, Fri & next Mon too.)
2– no more wine for the rest of this month.
3– continue strength training, but don’t forget daily walks with doggy & some HIT cardio too.

For February, my goal will be: Figure out a livable game plan for handling my Arch Nemesis “The Weekend.”
Friday + Saturday + Sunday are so chock-full of restaurants (breakfasts + dinners), socializing, extra meals/ snacks/ calories & red wine. Will start pondering & formulating how to best manage my weekend pitfalls. I’m open to suggestions from the group too!!

Oh sorry, did not mean to make my last post sound all Doom & Gloom.

I had a perfectly lovely weekend chock full of socializing with special people in my life, hitting up multiple restaurants, knocking out loads of errands, getting chores completed, sharing chats over red wine. And that gorgeous triple creme brie cheese. Mmmmmmm.

If I were already at goal weight, my current routine would be perfect for maintenance. That is truly the beauty of 5:2 WOL. I can have my 2 FDs & Controlled Days on Monday thru Thursday, then enjoy Fri/ Sat/ Sunday with some treats. Perfect (as I did not gain any weight.)

Wonderful pattern to maintain weight & indulge in life on the weekends. It’s just that I am not quite to my goal weight yet (another 5-6 pounds would be ideal.) So now I know that I am capable of maintaining with my current routine… I’ll use the rest of January & February to buckle down & reach my goals.

Still loving the flexibility & freedom of 5:2 WOL! Onward & downward!!

Day 23: Gloucestershire. UK: NFD.

Day 23 Surrey UK NFD Checking in

Day 23|FD|Toronto

Day 23 NFD AZ USA and weigh in day. I was 152lbs this morning. Down 8lbs since Jan 1!! Yay!

I am doing a 16:8 though kicking it off with eating the peanut butter portion of a Reece’s during a really boring conference call. So I boredom ate a stupid treat for breakfast. Ugh

Day 23, NYC. FD today. A few walnuts and miso soup. Dinner will be cod and cabbage. Hovering at 122.

A colleague just started today. ANd speaking of hovering, I’m trying NOT TO.

Day 23 / Sweden / FD
Good FD today. For the first time, I had a headache for about an hour in the afternoon. Drank a little more and it eventually passed. I’m not worrying about it though.
Good luck for all the others doing a b2b. We continue on Tuesday!

Day 23, Oceanside CA, FD

Like to start out the week with a FD. Still stormy but will squeeze in nice 4 mile walk.

Keep up the good work fellow fasters.

Day 24 NFD NZ
This is my first properly managed NFD for January.
I intend to keep a basic track of calories but my wider focus is mindfulness.
It may sound silly but I need to reconnect very consciously with how my meals make me feel. When I eat meals that are low in ‘human interference’ factor and high in nutrients I automatically start to feel good and see positive changes in my body.
The trick for me is to make clear connections in my mind between these foods and my emotional/mental state. I need to keep drawing myself back to the feeling of healthy food/healthy happy self and away from the fleeting sugar highs that are not the path to my goals, and not the path to the good feelings that the low ‘HI’ foods bring with consistency rather than the surged high and low state of sugar consumption.