UK day 35, and my scales registered a whopping 3.5 gain. I have decided to take it with a pinch of salt (literally!) because I was out at a friend’s house last night. I didn’t eat masses but the food was saltier than I’m used to, and I had some wine. So if i weigh myself tomorrow (I try to weigh only once a week but sometimes I cant resist a sneaky peek at the scales) Im pretty sure some of the damage will be undone. I know I did put some on, too many carbs including those pesky Jersey Royal potatoes. Still I love the fact that I’m sitting here this morning and I don’t feel miserable or that I’ve failed. I just feel confident that I will carry on with this WOL and it will carry on being good for me.
Thank you all for the brilliant posts, and thank you Coda for starting this challenge, I know that a large part of why I don’t feel demoralised is down to all of you. Happy weekend everyone

Day 35 Scotland – grey skies but with blue beginning to show. Supposed to be a good weekend. Breaking our the decking furniture today. When we did it last year we used it once then it rained all summer, Hoping we don’t jinx it this year!
Merryme- don’t fret – I too succumbed to wheat yeasterday and had a flapjack whilst waiting for my car to be repaired ! Suffered for it throughout the day, then on the scales this morning, sometimes it’s just too easy to fall back into the old ways. It’s hard to go into a cafe for just a cuppa with all those lovely cakes on show. Should have gone for a walk in the park instead.
Onahealthyhigh have a great break, 40 years together is magic.
ETJ- whoopee – well done on the smaller sizes. Now start to get rid of your big sizes that don’t fit anymore. You won’t be needing them again,, and it will leave room in your wardrobe for the lovely new smaller clothes you will be buying soon.
Well done everyone who have had losses , and those who don’t, just keep doing what Dr M says, it will come off. Remember it took years to go on, so it won’t come off overnight. Have a great weekend everyone. TTL

Surrey day 35…Had a good FD yesterday, just had watercress soup and various cups of tea through the day. Towards the evening I was tempted to have something to eat, but then said to myself, why spoil it now? You will just be sorry…so I left it.
Let me see what the day brings…Have a good one, all!

Day 35– Colorado, USA

Was having a great Fast Day yesterday, then OH stopped at Gourmet China Cafe & brought home take-away Chinese dinner last night. I failed to resist. Since it was my only meal, I ended up well under TDEE, but WAY over 500 calories. Sigh.

OH well, today’s a new day! And another gorgeous sunny spring day at that! More biking, jogging & possibly gardening on tap.
Everyone have a lovely weekend.

dahliafan – the week before I was with a kilo more, but this increase is temporary, salty food and wine makes the scales rise even, do not aborecida.
I also have an addiction to the scales, I have kept it in the closet, only to see on Saturday, but no use, I can not resist and almost every day I’m there with her.

People who have problems with weight, is kind of paranoid to the scales!

Day 35 – NFD – USA (Illinois) quick check in. Been busy busy! Have a great day, everyone~

Day 35 Northern Spain
Hello everyone.
It’s a NFD today and it’s going well.
Made pasta with mussles, prawns,tomato and garlic for lunch and had strawberries with cream for dessert. Loved it but didn’t go mad!!!
Have family coming from Ireland later today and will get to meet my grand nephew for the first time.
A nice cool glass of cava might be called for!!!

Monday will be a fast day even though we have visitors.
Hope everyone is dealing or coping with their day.
We’ve almost become a big happy albeit fragmented international family! !!
Cheers

Québec, day 35

A NFD. I will probably fast tomorrow plus Thuesday and Thursday.

Figures on the scale are still showing pleasing results. I’m happy with that.

I’m presently trying to settle my mind on my final weight goal of this challenge. I want it to be challenging but realistic cause I don’t want to be disappointed. I need to stay motivated and focussed for the next coming weeks.

Ciren2 going for a walk to stay away from snacking is a great idea !

Bonne journée ! Have à nice day !

Anaide – if you want to weigh every day, then go ahead.
I do also. I find it helps me to keep eating in check.
If the scales show a loss, it gives me incentive to keep them going down.
If it shows an increase, then I know I have to be very careful what I eat that day. I write down my weight the morning after each fast day (two times a week)
It shows a pattern (for me normally it takes 2-3 weeks to reduce by 1 pound), but I am almost at target now and it seems to take longer.
Just do whatever feels right for you and don’t feel guilty. We are all on a learning curve. TTL

US SE Day 35 NFD. I did get three FD’s in this past week. Not sure whether I will do it again. It is very hot here today. I spent the morning planting some container plants and my shirt was absolutely soaked … and that was early in the day. Holed up with the air conditioning now… total bliss 🙂

Day 36 NFD Aus:
Up early packing the esky full of yum, healthy and some decadent food and wine in preparation for our journey to drier climes. It’s very wet here on the east coast, torrential downpours and some flooding. We’re off to enjoy a few days in the outback to celebrate our 40th.

Coda thank you for reminding me it’s my Ruby Anniversary. Fourty years is quite a long time but ‘Ruby’ came as a shock. I never thought I’d make it so far!

Anaide and TTL I’m a daily weigher (and some times twice daily). My weight can vary by a kilo a day and sometimes a couple of kilos over night if I’ve eaten pasta or bread or to be indelicate I haven’t been very regular. Rather than being obsessive or depressing its helped me understand my body and especially foods that make me retain fluids. The only weight I counted whilst losing was the one after my second fast day. Now I weigh to remain vigilant and to help me maintain.

Thank you for your good wishes and wishing everyone a successful week.

Aussie day 36 NFD today going well. just wet wet wet.

Good morning from South Australia Day 36

Thanks for the weather update ABC I cannot get over seeing Paris flooded.

I had a FD yesterday, coffee, water and lemon and a big bowl of crunchy salad in the evening and a few no calorie sweets during the evening. I have gone back to using artificial sweetners during my FDs despite the research that they make your insulin rise the same as sugar. If I have not eaten any food I think to myself so it doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t have a lot of sweetner but I do enjoy it occasionally in jelly or sweets or soft drink.

I am breaking my fast today with a big family roast dinner and I can’t wait.

It sounds from the recent posts we are all doing very well and how good is that. I hope everyone has a great 5:2 day.
Onwards and Downwards

Australia, day 36, 3rd nonFD in a row, the day when Zi sometimes think I could do a 6 day pattern of 1FD then 2 nonFDs. I know not having them on the same days of the week throws me a bit. I like how we can substitute a FD if the regular day is non viable as a FD, and it works just as well, but I really really like my Monday and Thursday pattern of FDs.

Coda, although I came late to the challenge, I think it’s worked very well as it is. It’s a great motivator to keep onbtrack. I am very much enjoying this international family too. Makes me want to travel tooLOL, seafood in northern Spain, a place my heart keeps going back to, and that amazing north weatern salmon in North America.

Very very wet here on the east coast of Australia, flood weather in some places. A good day to stay indoors, make soup, and some FD soup for my FD tomorrow and portions of it for the freezer.

All my nonFDs are in a 16:8 pattern, and my body seems to like that and be healthier on it. I really feel like I have found the pot of gold at the end of rainbow with 5:2! At times I still catch sight of myself in a shop window and it takes acsecond before I realise it’s me. I’m only about 4kgs from my final goal weight now (8.8lbs). It’s lovely to see my own face looking back at me from the mirror, not the fatter one that didn’t seem like me. It’s now 20 yrs older, but I’ll take a few more wrinkles over the fat any day.

Re scales: I prefer to weigh daily, record it daily, and graph mybweight at the begging of my 1st FD for the week on Monday. i find it helpful, keeps me onvtrack, and helps me learn over time what foods work well invwhat circumstances and vice versa.

Have a good day everyone fasting today,
Onwards and downwards,
Merry

USA day 35 of 42
NFD feeling stuffed! FD tomorrow

Australia – Day 36 – 6 days to go of challenge.

Coda – I think the thing that has made this challenge work is the compulsory posting every day. It is keeping everyone who is sticking with it accountable. And for those who are finding it hard, posting every day is keeping them aware of trying to get back on the same track. It’s funny at the start because I actually took a full night after reading your initial post to decide whether I wanted to stick with something with having to post every day. I actually almost had decided against it. But hubby said why not, you have been going for ages already and you look at the site daily anyway, so I did. And I am so glad I did. I think watching those dropping off also, kind of makes those of us who have stuck with it feel like a success, iykwim. Although that sounds really bad, lol!

Back2thefuture – I am the same with weighing everyday. I got in the habit for the last couple of weeks weighing more, because I was so close to getting under 80kg and it does make you feel discouraged. Now to get back out of the habit. I keep my scales in my walk in robe and have to actually pick them up to put them in my bathroom. But they are so much temptation, lol.

QSUE – I read the same research about artificial sweeteners. I am trying to wean myself off no sugar cordial atm. I do like something besides water and tea on fast days though, it feels like it breaks up the monotony. But I am going to have mainly water from now on. Well try too, lol.

HappyMargo – Chinese food is my weakness. It’s the only take away/meal that I wouldn’t be able to resist. Thankfully we live out of town!

Today is a fasting day. We have had over 120 mills rain between yesterday and now and it isn’t stopping. It has flooded out our chook house and everything out here is sopping wet. We stabled the horse yesterday thank goodness, so he is happy. Under his stock shelter in his paddock is thick with mud. We will need to replace the roof, dig out the mud and put some gravel down when it drys up. We put 3 new dams on the property in March, so I am looking forward to seeing how much water they have in them. I went on a bike ride yesterday afternoon and our big dam is almost full. I still can’t see any water from the house in the new dams that I can see, but who knows. They are still predicting more rain, so we will see what happens.

Take care everyone!

UK day 36 – A very welcome FD today as we had a grown up meal out last night and I’m still stuffed! Put on a pound this morning, and lost an inch…so not too worried. Hopefully the weight will even out in the end. NOw that I’ve lost half a stone altogether (not much, I know, compared to some), i’m more confident that this WOL can work. It felt really precarious at the start, just a bit under a pound a week doesn’t seem like you’re getting anywhere very fast, but stick with it and add it all together, and it feels more like you can really do it. And because it’s slow and steady, I’m beginning to think it might be real weightloss underlying the ups and downs of a particular day’s circumstances. Huge admiration for those who have stuck with this through stone after stone of steady loss!

Switzerland – Day 36 – NFD

Crazy rain here over the last 24 hrs but everything is looking so green! Our big picnic has been cancelled, which wasn’t an enormous surprise so now I need to find something to keep the kids off their screens. Hope the sunny weather makes it over from the Netherlands…

Good luck today!

U.K. Day 36 quick check in today as busy getting my holiday clothes washed and out to dry in the sun . back on track another NF today then going for b2b fast mon & tues before my last weigh in on Wed. Coda I’ll try to log in for the last couple of days but may not have any internet but I’ll remind you again .

I’m definitely up for the July challenge and I like the current format but happy to go with the flow

US SE Day 36 NFD

Hi Coda, I agree with others. I like the format as it is, but like BrightonBelle am happy to go with the flow if it’s changed. Posting every day does make me accountable. I think as the weeks have gone by and we have gotten to know each other better we have become a community of support for each other. When we fall there is always someone to catch us before we go too far off track. Where we would berate ourselves for a misstep, others will boost us up and onward we go. I know for me reading the posts every day has become a part of my routine now. I will miss it but also look forward to us all getting together in three weeks and catching up.

I also weigh every day and record. I used to be discouraged by the ups and downs but ultimately when a whole week went by the end would always be down… even if just by a little bit. I am a spreadsheet fanatic (is there an excel anonymous anywhere LOL) but I have found ultimately that graphing has really helped me not fixate on the daily weight but rather on the overall picture.

Good luck to you all as we head into our last week. I hope you all will be happy with where you are next weekend.

US, Day 36, overcast in NJ, awaiting a storm. NFD, avocado toast and coffee before my 9 am workout. Today will be putting, putting and taking, and cleaning. Dinner company this evening. Green goddess chicken marinating in the refrigerator. Kale slaw. Sauteed spinach.

Coda, I am happy with current format. I like hearing what people are doing, eating, thinking.

Day 36 (already) UK: It’s a beautiful sunny day here in the Cotswolds. Not a cloud in the sky!! Non-Fast Day for me. Next week I plan fast days on Monday , Wednesday and Friday, as last week. I will be on a rural delivery which is much harder than a town one (I work at Tetbury) and will be out there for five hours at a stretch on top of the prep time in the sorting office, so a good time to take no food with me…ha ha!
Coda, I like the current regime and checking in every day is a good discipline for us. Why not make it a 31-day challenge to take up the complete month to make it easy to see which day we are on. Four weeks seems slightly short. However, you’re the boss!
This is first time I have EVER succeeded in sticking to something like this. Amazing, having a team around the world, all doing the same. Love to all.

France Day 36 not sure what day it is?

Ok it was to be a fast day, but I have been cooking, so I have had to taste things. When I made the totally bizarre chocolate cake yesterday, I had no idea what to expect, so I made three buns also to try it out. I had to eat one of those this morning which must have had a thousand calories at least. There is brown sugar in the mixture.

The texture is moist, the flavour is good, frankly you would not know it was not a cake made with eggs and butter. A large ingredient is grated courgettes. I am thrilled skinny. So I have a dessert to offer my student.

I have made a cauliflower curry with chick peas. When you open the big cast iron pot you could think you were looking at a chicken Korma, many of the ingredients are the same, it looks and tastes lovely.
hence I have blown the fast day in teaspoons!

I weighed in this morning and was amazed to find I am still losing weight even though I have not had a fast day for ?? three days?? I have eaten terribly calorific stuff, but here I am still floating! Hope this keeps up next week.

I popped to the village this morning, around lunch time. We have a craft thing happening. It has been wonderfully sunny today, which is great for the exhibitors. There was lunch available. I was pushed for time anyway, so I made my excuses and came home after I kissed everyone I vaguely knew, and received many kisses from those I don’t. Everyone is someone’s friend at these events. Paella and frites, would not really do it for me at the moment so I was glad to come home to my cauliflower.

In terms of the challenge, it is fine as it is for me, and I will miss you all during the break. Just knowing you are there is wonderful support for me. I live alone, my husband died six years ago. It is wonderful to think of all these women throughout the world writing stuff that I read, and maybe they read what I write.

Thank you all so much.

UK day 36, Anaide thank you for the encouragement yesterday. Fortunately I did weigh myself again this morning, and most of the 3.5lb gain seems to have disappeared overnight, which was a relief! Not fasting today but doing a lot of weeding as the bindweed is taking over and strangling everything.
Coda I agree with the general view that posting every day has been so helpful, not only does it help me keep on track and accountable it’s useful to look back and see patterns, what has worked and what hasn’t and what might have triggered emotional eating. Good luck everyone as we go into the last week of challenge no 1

Aussie day 37 I hope the rain has stopped FD for me today Live on the East coast and we had a lot of rain yesterday ate too much because i was bored sat in bed and watched TV with some wine no excuses i could have rode my exercise bike jogged on my mini tramp. My OH is the same Third time Lucky he doesn’t do 5.2 but supports me. Not long to go Coda whatever you decide will suit me I am just happy to have been part of this lovely support group.