ABC1 did you ever try tai-chi ?

It really does marvels. It’s smooth but demanding. It brings the mind to peace while ” massaging ” all the internal organs. Very good also on the articulations.

In one of my classes there was a lady who could only do it while sitting down and it was OK, another lady about 90 years old had Parkinson and was doing really well.

Internet shows all the benefits of that millenary martial art.

The pitfall is to compare yourself and to want to perform rapidely at the beginning. Taichi is never about performance.

Here is what Harvard Women’s Health Watch says about taichi :

This gentle form of exercise can help maintain strength, flexibilyt, and balance, and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life.

Tai chi is often described as “meditation in motion,” but it might well be called “medication in motion.” There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a martial art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems. And you can get started even if you aren’t in top shape or the best of health.

Tai chi differs from other types of exercise in several respects. The movements are usually circular and never forced, the muscles are relaxed rather than tensed, the joints are not fully extended or bent, and connective tissues are not stretched. Tai chi can be easily adapted for anyone, from the most fit to people confined to wheelchairs or recovering from surgery.

Have a nice day !

UK Day 11 apologies in advance, I’m checking in for a bit of a moan. Fasting today and struggling more than usual. I had a series of low level but quite stressful discussions (semi arguments really if I’m honest) with my boss. Nothing really significant but I left work feeling very nadgy (colloquialism alert!) and craving a vat of red wine and a family sized bag of crisps. Managed to resist both and grumpily chewed on a stick of celery instead, trying out the crunchy food theory. It has reminded me how much eating and the choices I make about what I eat are emotional. I have removed myself from further temptation by leaving the kitchen and am now planning a peaceful and therapeutic read through everyone’s posts. Thinking about it more, I also weighed myself this morning, which was a mistake, since I have put on a bit since my last weigh in. I knew I had, and I knew it was just food in transit mainly, so why did I do it? Thank you for the magnesium supplement tip, I will try that as I am also a bit constipated. And thank you everyone for the support, tips and ideas and stories. I feel so much better just having vented here!

day 11 Uk. FD today, felt tired and hungry, not sure why! Decided to weigh and have lost 3kg since starting this challenge, what motivation!! I’ve got through the day, borrowed a dog! walked loads and kept busy. Read all the posts which are so helpful and inspiring! Also read the article about snacking, quite an eye opener. food this evening chicken salad with sauerkraut 100g for 25 calories, and really good for your gut health! will have an orange later. Good luck everyone, keep up the good work!

K-lo: thanks for the tip about a snack worth raising the insulin level. That really makes you stop and think.

Good Golly Miss Molly (spoken in my native Wisconsin tongue). Translation = Wow!

You gals are good at making me laugh. And…exhale…I’m sorry to hear about the absence of a coastline. Rotten Switzerland, anyway. If only there was something pretty to see there. 🙂

And…I’m sorry for losing track, but whoever was making jokes about only pretending to carry on at the gym because of the good restaurant next door REALLY gave me a chuckle today.

Australia Day 12 FD – my second FD for the week. I plan to have black tea and coffe through the day and miso soup at lunch. I think I might go all out and have only miso again tonight but will wait to see how I feel. My hip kept waking me during the night … Bloody exercise. It is not all it is cracked up to be! BTW one of my favourite ways of exercising is dancing. You can do it easily at home (I close the curtains!) and dance like you just don’t care! Have a good day all!

Day 12 South Australia
Day 12 and only 30 more days to go.

I have just had a hot cup of tea and read all your posts, such an enjoyable start to the day. I have stuck my Lassie poster on the fridge next to my fat photo. My husband thinks I am going crazy.

I shall put 30 $2 coins in a jar and every day I exercise I will put a $2 into another jar for a treat with my family. I might get some external motivation this way. For formal exercise I go to an aquarobics class at my local gym three times a week which is great for stretching, cardio and even resistance but is gentle on the joints.

I have a NFD and am going to try hard to stay below my TDEE and plan ahead. I will probably have a lunch out at a pub with my mother today. I think I’ll have fish and chips, without the batter or the chips, and some vegetables as it is winter here. It is hard to work out the calories when you don’t prepare the food yourself.

ABC1 here in SA your traffic infringement would have cost you the equivalent of 250 euros, they are ….pirates! I fully sympathize.

Thanks ETJ and Cold Pizza for your info on how you include your water only fasts in 5:2.

Quia nunc vale (goodbye for now) as they say in my Latin evening class

Aussie day 12 Decided to do FD yesterday didn’t happen so doing it today I started doing couch to 5 but was laughed at which put me off so am going to start again on the beach so lucky to have a beautiful beach which is about 2.5 k long even if i walk it that’s my time and any exercise gives me a high can understand people who don’t enjoy it as my OH can’t see the point hates it.Have to admit i am struggling today and really grumpy.

On a FD, pulled out my packet of miso paste to make soup for lunch and had to close my eyes as I walked past the tray of fruit muffins and nut bread someone had just put out for staff to share! Heaven help me … 🙂

End of day 11, US Illinois. NFD for me. I’m trying to add more fiber to my diet, even though I already take 2 Metamucil capsules each day along with my regular vitamins. I have such a problem with constipation, though, and it seems like there just isn’t a lot of stuff moving through my system. I try to eat a salad about every day, but still I seem to get clogged up. I bought a can of plums which of course are non-dried prunes. They really are good, and it seems 3 of them are about 100 calories to have with breakfast on a NFD. I had them with a couple bran muffins. Gotta get my system moving! FD will be tomorrow.

Australia Day 12 and a FD for me. Just had my cup-a-soup and 2 light Cruskits with tomato for lunch and planning on fish and salad for dinner.
Pilates and walking are my exercise of choice, but in between pilates classes at the moment. I was starting to feel intimidated by all the lithe and fit 20 and 30 something “marathon runners” etc while I am one of 3 middle aged overweight members of the group. Hopefully I will feel more confident to return when I’ve lost a bit more weight.

UK day 12 – good luck with your FD, Dutch. i’m engulfed in 7th birthday celebrations, so I think I might need a wee catch up day tomorrow.

France Day 12
Greetings from the soggy Dordogne, no chance of mowing my lawn today. It is a fast day and I like to keep busy on these days. I have changed the plan to take a trip to a wonderful vegetable shop some distance away. This should keep me out of trouble until late afternoon.

This morning I entered the mysterious realms of weighing below 73 kilos so I am exactly half way along my quest for Nirvana! I noticed in the mirror this morning that my back has more definition now, which is a step in the right direction. So as you say Coda, not all results show on the scales! Like you, HappyMargo, I have lost 5 kg. I am on track with riw66, I note you started a day before I did!

Thank you Quebecoise, I will certainly look if Tai-chi is represented on You tube. That could be a good idea!

Great that you stayed out of temptation dahliafan! I ate crunchy stuff last night because my fridge is running low. I had raw broccoli, which was surprisingly good, then grated carrot, half an avocado, a stick of celery, cucumber and walnuts. I didn’t know there was a crunchy food theory?? Maybe I missed it?

ETJ can you tell me about your water fasts? Do you eat your calories in the evening of the fast day? Can you tell me how you organise it? I am having drinks from waking until around seven pm, so that makes a 24 hour fast on fast days. The drinks are water and herbal tea, and a cup of tea with milk at breakfast.

CH – Day 12 – FD
I did it – made it to the pool and did 20 lengths, at a leisurely pace. It was 12C outside and 25C in the water so it was actually quite nice to watch the sun, clouds, birds, trees etc. through the rising steam. And I must confess I do feel a rosy glow now, but that might be thanks to all this green tea I’m swilling down.
Planning to have a cup of miso soup at lunch and a big veggie stir-fry for dinner, with some smoked tofu and maybe a few cashews if the numbers allow. Oh dear, just writing that has made my stomach rumble and it’s a good 6 hours away!
MFP awarded me 355 kcals for 40 mins ‘swimming, leisurely, general’, which made me laugh as it can’t have been anything like that. More like 1km of floating, watching the clouds. I’m not going to change my status from ‘sedentary’ but it’s fun to keep a total.
Good luck to everyone today, especially other Thursday FD-ers!

Wow HappyMargo I admire your planning and your strength! Well done! Happy travels. And congratulations to ABC and others who have weighed in and lost weight. I weigh in tomorrow and have fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed! Goog liquid only FD today so ….

US, Day 12, yesterday was an excellent NFD, ending with lobster salad for dinner at a local favorite spot with my husband and son. Today is a FD. I have my annual physical in an hour, so I had to fast in the morning anyway. Sitting at my desk, sipping hot water.

Losing at this point in my journey is VERY sloooooooowwwwwww. Weighed in at 122.1..slightly up from the day before. But that’s fine because I am losing fat along with pounds. I can see it.

US/Day 12 — Coda, I was just thinking the same thing about food! I had too much pizza last night (husband picked it up on the way home) and I assumed the scale would be up this morning, but it was just the same — which is fine with me. Fast day today, however, I fear no matter how good I do today, the scale will reflect the pizza tomorrow (my actual weigh in day). On another note, Coda, I took your advice and decided to take my measurements — and wow! I’m truly surprised that in exactly 30 days I’m down 1.5 inches in my bust and waist and 1.25 in my hips! YAY!! I will measure again in another 30 days. But between the 10 pound loss and the inches lost in the past 30 days this definitely keeps me going in the right direction.

And….exhale – YAY you for getting to the pool! Sometimes I think that is the hardest part, just getting there. I too record EVERYTHING in MFP and I LOVE to see what it “rewards” me in calories — which as of the start of my 5:2 WOL — I ignore! Hahaha 🙂

HappyMargo – I too admire your planning and strength. I hope to the do the same when we leave for our family vacation in June. We will have a full day of travel to and from as well (coming home is in the overnight hours so that I will probably be ok) but getting there we are traveling as of 4:00 a.m. — I’ll just need to plan ahead and plug my nose to the smells! Haha 🙂

Well, fast day today and I have my day planned out so I should be able to stay under 500 calories. I have a question though, if I started fasting at 8:00 p.m. Last night but had an iced coffee with a tablespoon of cream at 6:30 a.m. Today – has that broken the fast? I’ve been wondering this for weeks? Or when does it actually break the fast — when you eat over 500? Thoughts?

Hope today goes well and “fast” (get it 🙂 ) ….for all!

USA (Indiana) day 12:
FD today for me! Feeling hungry this morning while I packed lunch for my husband and then made breakfast for the kids. Oh and checking emails can be dangerous when I’m subscribed to cooking websites and I read articles on fluffy biscuits and scones. Yeah…need to not spend a FD accumulating recipes to try. So poured myself some tea and started reading this forum.

Weather: Cloudy and rainy. argh! was hoping to get out for a walk. But the rain could stop and a walk may still happen.
Plan: Tea and water till after noon and then perhaps some miso soup or an apricot. Shredded chicken wraps tonight..I will wrap mine in lettuce. Keep busy. Kids still not 100% so will probably spend the day at home again..which can be tough.

rlw66 – I know most would probably say when you have food..it breaks the fast. But I look at it as more 500 calories is still part of the fast (in this diet, at least). For me it’s easier to just have liquids until noon-ish and save most my calories for dinner with the family. Otherwise, I’d probably have 3 small “meals”.

Exhale – Great job getting to the pool! 🙂

ETJ – Hope your son is doing alright!

FD today. Sitting about with leg up. Too much effort to get to fridge hit keeping hydrated. Weigh tomoz. I don’t know about fat loss it will me more muscle mass loss!

Pacific NW USA: Day 12 NFD

Yesterday FD went well with water and ice tea all day while I puttered in the garden. Staying outside all day made the fast seen pretty easy. I did take more resting spells than normal but I think that helped me keep the liquids up because I drank while sitting. We’re having higher than usual temps in our region and the pots and containers are needing more watering than usual for this time of year. Never fear though the rains will return. Dinner was earlier but kept a 24 hour fast. Had poached Alaska king salmon and crab salad.

It’s good to have a reminder that it’s winter “down under”. As is well known, in our USA perspective we keep the North Pole on top and therefore Australia and NZ down below. Never thought about it before but do you guys orient the globe differently? Do you call us “up top”? lol

Daliafan – Work stress, ugh! Just want to do your job and be left alone sometimes! I’m a little nervous because I anticipate increased stress when I go back to work May 31. Hope 5:2 can help me remember to stay focused on what rally matters.

ETJ – hope your 7 year old learned a lesson about what shouldn’t go in his mouth and glad all is “passing”.(Before he hits the pre-teen years and you have to monitor other things not to put in his body!) My 7 year old once put a piece of crayon so far up his nose we needed the expertise of a NASA doctor to get it out.

Coda – along with your question about how long it takes the body to “show” what you’ve eaten I wonder the same about how long does it take the fat to actually leave the body. I see some weight loss the day after a fast but is that water or fat loss?

My NFD has started with an egg, papaya, blue berries and strawberries with coffee and cream. Tuna boats for dinner. G’day, mates! (Did that sound like an American faking Crocodile Dundee?)

Coda — Missed one! Boredom….

UK Day 12 a gloriously sunny day and an NFD for me. Coda thanks for the info about the different kinds of emotional eating, very interesting and definitely resonated with me. I’m off to make supper now, couscous salad with roasted veg and lots of herbs, and smoked trout fillet. In the past I would probably have made myself a piece of Marmite toast for mindless munching while I cooked, but that’s not happening today!

Day 12, Gloucestershire, England. A beautiful sunny day today after two wet days. Fast Day, starting from 2.50pm yesterday. I only drink water for a full 24 hours. Much of that time I’m either sleeping or at work delivering the mail. Not having breakfast is an alien concept for me, but I’ve managed it on 4 fast days so far on this challenge. After the 24 hours is up I try to have no more than 500 calories (roughly, I never actually count) until back to normal eating tomorrow, a non-fast day.
I’m 62, and was wondering if there is anybody older on here. If so, do you find the weight coming off surprisingly s-l-o-w-l-y? Last time I checked, I was only 3 lbs down.