Anyone out there in their 70s, 80s or 90s?

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Anyone out there in their 70s, 80s or 90s?

This topic contains 363 replies, has 56 voices, and was last updated by  Eirlys 4 years, 1 month ago.

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  • I’ve ordered it! This time to be sent to the correct address 😉

    This practical advice just proves what I said about the help one can get on the forums such as this.

    Many thanks, Eirlys.

    Enfrance2003: That was quick! It is an helpful book. I had no idea how many extra calories I was adding to my plate until I saw images of portions in this book.

    Do any dieters here vary the meals on the two-day diet? I tend to eat the same things. Makes for an easier life. Well that’s what I tell myself. Suspect the word “lazy” is there somewhere.

    I’m still waiting for the books and the have found the Kindle version unhelpful as you can’t flip through the pages to browse. The consequence of that is that I read most of the book before I got to the sample menus.

    I am lucky because there are very few foods I don’t like but damn me if all of them don’t appear in the fast day suggestions. Courgettes, cooked celery, aubergines and peppers, yuch.

    The other small criticism I have is that they seem to be very fiddly and demand lots of specialist shopping. So I am looking forward to reading the books to see if there are attractive alternatives. Either that or its double eggs in the morning and old faithful chicken without the skins in the evening.

    OK, perhaps I’m being a bit unfair and I’ll be pleasantly surprised when the books arrive.

    Hi All

    Still read posts from here, so don’t think I have deserted you.

    Enfrance firstly with kindle open the book click on the title at the top of the page, click on the lines that then come up top left. Now you will see a table of contents.

    I personally didn’t really line the recipes, all a bit unusual for me.

    Here are some from women’s magazine, I know they also have an app for ÂŁ2 with lots of recipes in.

    I now order woman online as they have so many 5:2 related things in there.

    Here is a link to some you may like to read.

    Give me a shout if you want and more. There is also a hairy bikers link that I can post this is 10 x 5:2 recipes.

    http://www.womanmagazine.co.uk/food/slimmer-dinners-meals-under-300-calories/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=gallery&utm_campaign=finalimagelinks&pid=23229

    Hope it helps

    Eirlys

    I eat the same as you say it makes life easy. I vary food other days.

    Ginette

    By the way Enfrance

    French bread is fantastic I always get a flute the long fat one, I ask for it to be cut it the shop as it is much easier. This is as light as a feather. So easy to eat with salad.

    If you can get it in catchup look at the program about binge drinking – shocking as they call a binge very little drink. They showed the effects of liver and other things. So good – it will make you think. One person only drank the reccomended lower end of guidelines on a daily basis, and his liver changes were staggering. It was on the BBC on 2 I think and the titles was is binge drinking bad for you. An interesting experiment.

    Good luck all and happy fasting.

    As I say give me a shout if you would like more links.

    Ginette

    Two replies for the price . . . the link is excellent and the pictures help just as Eirlys has said before.

    We don’t indulge in French sticks very often but it is another great idea and I’ll go searching for the binge drinking programme.

    Thank you Ginette, do you live in France?

    Enfrance

    http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/538311/5-2-diet-meal-plans-what-to-eat-for-500-calorie-fast-days

    and

    http://www.allaboutyou.com/health/diet/diet-recipes-5-2-diet-2-day-diet

    give some sensible recipes. I ignore practically all the recipes in the “picture” book I recommended as I don’t like many of the ingredients and I am allergic to shellfish. (a recent allergy).

    I do find eating the same things on my fasting days relieves me of that “What can I have now?” question. Other days I eat what I like.

    My idea of nice, easy “recipes”!!

    Mushroom omelette

    (111kcals). Spray a nonstick pan with oil and fry 50g sliced mushrooms. Beat 1 egg with 1tbsp skimmed milk. Season, add to pan and cook until egg is set.

    Grilled cheese and tomato on toast

    (124kcals). Toast 1 (40g) slice wholegrain bread on one side. Top untoasted side with 15g Philadelphia Lightest and 1 sliced tomato. Grill to heat through.

    Cheese and crackers

    (106kcals). Top 2 Ryvitas with 30g Philadelphia Lightest and 10 slices of cucumber.

    183kcals). Make a salad from 50g mixed leaves, 1 tomato, Œ cucumber, 4 spring onions, 100g cooked skinless chicken breast and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

    Boiled egg and toast

    (183kcals). Serve 1 medium boiled egg with 1 medium slice (40g) of wholegrain toast

    Rainbow fruit salad

    (99kcals). Make a fruit salad from 50g blackberries, 50g raspberries, 100g canteloupe melon chunks, 50g grapes and 1 satsuma

    Salmon steak with watercress sauce

    (291kcals). Serve a 125g poached salmon steak with 80g each of steamed green beans, broccoli and baby corn and a sauce made by blending 30g low-fat crĂšme fraĂźche with 20g watercress and a little lemon juice.

    and now I’m reading ladies’ magazines 🙂

    So there is no shortage of recipes on the internet.

    By the way, I just looked up the difference between kcals and calories – silly me, I should have known there is no difference but of course ‘technically there is’ ‘cos a kcal is a thousandth part of a calorie but its OK to ignore that.

    Confusing? Yes!

    Hi Enfrance and Eirlys

    Many thanks for the links I can’t wait to see them. I like the odd usual foods but generally some quick and easy to prepare. Just normal food which you don’t have to have a shopping list as long as your arm for as you don’t have these things in the house.

    Hi Enfrance

    No I live in England, in Hampshire. I normally go over to France every year as we have a family home in Brittany. I was made redundant last year and we had a tragedy in the family. The fallout for this is still containing and the stress I am feeling from it has left me temporarily unable to work. I went to my doctor last week to see if she thought I could work part time, she has told me that she is referring me to a blood pressure specialist as the pills she is giving me have lowered it but she still thinks the levels are much too high.

    I am having occasional accupuncture, listening to Paul McKenna to help and losing weight and exercising regularly. I am soon to start talking therapies. Eventually something’s got to work.

    So it is really lack of funds that will keep me away this year.

    Hence I spend time on the forum, I must say the wonderful support on here is really helping and I almost find this a type of therapy. ……and it’s free!!

    I love the bread and the soup that you can get in cartons ready prepared, the tomatoes are delicious and I could eat a meal of just these. There are many things that I like. I am not a drinker so although I do have the odd glass of cider while I am there I don’t drink anything else. My uncle was an alcoholic and my brother very dependent on drinking lots of wine daily. He couldn’t get through the day without it. My dad hardly ever drank or my Mum, so I did not grow up with it around.

    My name is French as my mother was French and it was the French uncle who was dependent on alcohol. I have nothing against people drinking as it is a personal choice.

    Sorry a bit too much life story here………

    I shall now have a look at the links.

    Ginette

    Hi Eirlys

    Great links thank you. I shall post them on other threads. Nice normal food……

    Ginette

    Life can be a bugger at times Ginette as you are finding out. Offering sympathy isn’t much practical help but perhaps knowing that there are always people prepared to listen can be.

    Over the last two years we have been hit with similar problems from motorway robberies, heart attacks, a cancer fright, broken bones to losing my stepson last year to drugs and alcohol. You think it won’t end and what is the next thing to hit you. However, the human spirit seems to go into overdrive and with a bit of help and belief in yourself it begins to get better. Judging by your methods of dealing with it you are very motivated and are making the effort to overcome it and that must be a really positive thing. I wish you well and that very soon it will all be behind you.

    Don’t the pictures help on these suggestions for menus? However, I suspect they choose tea plates that just look larger 🙂

    Hi Enfrance

    Yes I know!! I have had lots of experience sadly of the kind of things that you mentioned. I am so sorry to hear about your problems, it is a tragedy to lose someone before their time as in the case of your stepson. Drugs are an evil thing. I am a firm believer in staying positive. This time I am managing most of the time but not all. This forum keeps me positive. Thank you for your kind words.

    Now…..as to the plates, I have tge medium size plates from France. I like their plate sizes. The large I use for meals with salads because of the volume, the medium I use for everyday the side plates that I have are much larger and much more useful that the English versions.

    All of my food fills the medium plates and that looks good. Roast dinner I also have on a large plate.

    I bought most of my plates new, the Arcopal ones – I find that they are everlasting and being white make the food look good.

    I then bought others from France for the French house as they were in the depot vente.

    I must say Paul Makenna is working wonders at the moment. My blood pressure is lowering steadily after about 7 listens to the CD. If any one else feels they need it, I would thoroughly recommend it. They do a sleep one as well which I bought around the same time but as this sends me to sleep I am not sure that I need it.

    Look him up on Amazon if you are interested. There is a book that comes with it which I haven’t read yet, I went straight for the CD. There are brilliant reviews.

    Hope you are all well and enjoying your bank holiday.

    Ginette

    Enfrance and Ginette: Life can be very hard as most of us know some time or other in our lives. It is at times like these that we particularly need our families and our friends. It’s a clichĂ© but Time is healing.

    So true. I know it is so. Just feels a bit raw at the moment.

    Have a good week all.

    Ginette

    Here is an interesting link for something I have just read.

    I have had problems with my knees for ages. Not as bad now though.

    Another reason not to put off that diet! Losing even a FEW pounds has a dramatic effect on your joints and risk of diabetes, says leading doctor
    http://dailym.ai/1HFXsfI

    Ginette

    Hi All

    I must share this.

    This is a link from another thread so I have watched it and found it fascinating. It really shows how we got to be so overweight in the beginning.

    I am sure you will love this. It takes 5 minutes to go through the video, but it is 5 minutes well spent.

    http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-sugar-affects-the-brain-nicole-avena

    This is how we can get into control but still have the things that we want in moderation.

    Thank you to Salma for the link.

    Ginette

    Eirlys, the photo book has arrived and we are now studying it avidly. It looks like it will be very helpful.

    We have decided to wait for a couple of weeks so we can start the diet with just two weeks to go before my wife’s next blood test. We are planning it so that there will have been four days of fasting. In the past her INR has been difficult to keep level and judging by comments from other Warfarin users there is the potential for a problem. We have have had occasions when there has been the chance of her blood going haywire through stress or some other influence but invariably it settles down within the prescribed limits.

    So thanks for the book suggestion.

    Glad you seem to like the book, Enfrance2003. ( May I call you En?)
    I had no idea some foods had so many calories.

    I have not been following the diet for the last few weeks and have only gained a pound so I am happy with that. I do think one can maintain weight loss by following the 5:2.

    I haven’t watched the video yet, Ginette. I put on weight when I had the children but that’s a long time ago. Always being on the go has helped me lose pounds. The 5:2 has taken care of the rest.

    Hi All

    This is a link to a free 5:2 book with recipes, it runs through the basics and there are links at the ginning so you can access the chapter.

    http://75.127.114.162/~degustin/52diet/The_5_2_Diet_Recipe_Book.pdf

    Much more than just a recipe book, I can’t remember how good the recipes were. Sorry

    Ginette

    Hi, everyone. We’re finally moved in, most boxes unpacked, and internet hooked back up. I hope we don’t ever have to move again! Actually, everything went pretty well but it’s awfully tiring at our age and of course there are always things that don’t fit or get scratched or broken or……. Our new home is in an independent senior living complex and I think it will work very well for us.

    We haven’t followed our diet for the last two weeks or so, but Bill has actually lost a little and I’ve just gone up one pound. Considering the fried chicken dinner, lunch at McDonalds, and other fast food, I’m amazed we’ve done so well. On Monday we go back to our 5/2 WOL which really suits us both–I’m so glad we found it. My goal for June is to lose at least four pounds — my treadmill is unpacked and set up again–wish me luck!

    Well done, kkirkm, for having the energy to move and to only gain one pound.
    After all that effort I reckon you deserve a rest, and here you are, putting me to shame by saying you plan to lose four pounds this month!

    I have not been dieting. There! I’ve confessed. I haven’t weighed either though I should to get me back on track.

    Actually what I’d like to ask is do you think our shapes change with advancing years? I don’t mean because of weight-gain: just a general change in one’s body shape. I know I have lost an inch or two and my tummy is larger than it should be. Everywhere else is slim. Sometimes I feel like Gimli, the dwarf, but thankfully without the beard!

    I used to follow a video “course” called Callanetics. This used “small movements” but I honestly think it worked. I will have to see if I can get a DVD of this and maybe take it up again. Having had heart trouble I can’t follow too-rigorous procedures but it’s no excuse for not following any form of exercise.

    How do YOU exercise? I see, kkirkm you have a tread-mill!

    Hi Eirlys,

    I did Callanetics, from a book, and found it very good for a while. not sure what stopped me but I did find that it took a long time to work through. More recently I have been doing Pilates and this suits me really well. It aims to improve posture, flexibility and strength without being energetic. I go to a class once a week and try to make sure I do some 15 or 30 minutes sessions on my own ’til the next class. I would add that some teachers are better that others and I have been very lucky with mine. She checks on how we are feeling and follows up on problem backs and other difficulties. It is especially good for improving backs.

    I do cycle to try to keep the cardio-vascular stuff.

    Good luck,

    Daughter-in-law does Pilates and swears by it.

    I would like to follow a course at home. I have the WiFit set-up and the exercises here were good. The virtual trainer was able to adjust the exercises based on my reactions. Clever technology!

    So, what’s stopping me then? Sheer laziness! Oh, and my old age!

    Hallo – Long time since I’ve posted – fell off the wagon badly and only just got back on since 1 June. I decided to combine 5:2 with LCHF, as I know from past experience it works for me and I never feel hungry, so watch this space!

    Re exercise: yes, years ago I did Callenetics and quite enjoyed it. Trouble is I chucked out the dvd, silly me! Recently my surgery recommended Nordic walking and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! It gets me out of the house into the fresh air, can be done by anyone of any age at any speed, and works all the muscles of the upper torso/arms as well as the legs. You only need to be able to walk, and to buy the Nordic walking poles. These vary in price. I’m thrilled to find a sporting activity I actually enjoy – after 72 years! Enjoy! Sallygrace

    I am 60 too and have just started this way of eating. Found it very hard the first week and only lost a pound doing fast days on 2 separate days. Spoiled it by giving in at slump time in the afternoon. However, this week have lost 4 pounds and delighted. Managed to fast on 2 consecutive days by not eating until around 4.30pm – 22hours.
    Will try this again next week and see how it goes.

    My wife and I are planning to start the diet this Thursday. This is because she has a blood test in two weeks and we thought it might not be a good idea to go a whole month without the test. So this morning we have been looking at the various menus. Apart from the rather exotic stuff we are probably going for the eggs and salmon for breakfast and have yet to decide on the evening food because it depends on what we can buy in our local shops.
    The research we have been doing about what we eat at the moment has thrown up some interesting – for us – facts. For instance, Lidl’s dried fruit and nuts meusli which I have 100g each morning comes in at 440 calories, at least that’s what the label says. Of course the sugar content is astronomical. Even the Kellogs Special K according to the calorie book is only one calorie lower than ordinary corn flakes.
    But its things like that that indicate what could achieved if we took a better interest in what we eat and drink.
    This time of the year we are busy with house and garden maintenance but its so hot that in the afternoon its not possible to work outside so equally exercising outdoors is also a no no. Its a case of avoiding that other glass of wine or beer to help cool down 😉

    Hi Scotti,

    Good luck with the new way of eating. I have been doing it since the original Horizon TV programme and am holding steady at my target weight. May I add a word of warning? It was said in that original programme that it was not wise to do 2 consecutive days. I would suggest that you have at least one normal eating day in between fast days. I realize that it can be difficult to organise our social lives around this way of eating but it is well worth it.

    Best wishes,

    Agree with Enilorac about not dieting on two consecutive days. I don’t think I could manage it, to be honest.

    Enfrance2003: Because my husband has Type 2 Diabetes we check all the sugar content on every product. Some of the results are surprising. He avoids tomato sauce because it has “too much sugar”. Instead he has the brown sauce. I idly checked this last week and discovered it had MORE than the tomato sauce. And I thought we were careful!

    Cereal are a minefield. I have porridge every morning. My OH won’t. He pays through the nose for two kinds of cereal that have the lowest sugar content. Some of them are astronomically high.

    I have a wedding and a party coming up at the end of June/early July. Really should check if my outfits still fit!!

    Eirlys, how much is too much sugar? My Lidls meusli says 25g in a 100g sample so is this too much? Thankfully I don’t have diabetes so my question is really to get a measure of what is regarded as too much.
    Apparently the WHO suggests that 6 teaspoons a day is enough. I have just weighed 6 teaspoons and each one weighs 5g so the 6 come in at 30g. That is the limit per day.
    Now I’m no chemist so where the packet info says ‘Carbohydrates 66g of which 25g is sugar’ is this nearly a whole day’s intake? I’m not sure if the sugar measurement being part of the carbohydrate figure actually means the sugar content of the meusli (100g) is 25g. If it is, then no wonder your husband takes so much trouble about his sugar intake.
    I’m going to have another look at the documentary ‘The truth about sugar’ and see if that has any other information.
    Perhaps I’m overdoing it but this is all very interesting and it is helpful to know the background of what the figures on food packing really mean.

    Enfrance2003: First I must point out that I am no expert! I am just an enthusiastic fan of the 5:2 diet. The sugar/Diabetes comments are based on our experience over the last twenty years.

    My husband checks that a product has 10 grams or under per 100 grams. He will occasionally buy something with 12 grams, say, when we are looking for a dessert to eat on a “picnic” session, but he really is strict. He has to be, as diabetic complications are so awful.

    Obviously this has rubbed off on me. We eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I read in the Diabetic magazine that having Diabetes 2 will add around ÂŁ7.50 to one’s food bill and I reckon it’s more.

    Guess one should grow more but we are not fruit/vegetable growers though we have one or two apple trees and some runner beans growing at the moment.

    Some people seem to think fat isn’t the diet culprit but sugar is. It’s addictive, that’s for sure, though thankfully, in my case the desire is spasmodic. I can go for weeks without eating chocolate then I stupidly will eat a whole BAR at one sitting.

    Today I weighed myself and I have gone up to 7 stone 12. As my husband is out all day today I have had no breakfast and will eat very little, if anything, for lunch. I feel fine and I “listen” to my body. I keep busy though as I’ve said before, I should exercise more. Walking, obviously, is the answer!

    Hi Eirlys

    Maybe you are like me suffering from water retention. It always happens when the weather is hot.

    One to make you smile.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjB5DiJTuAo

    Have a good weekend all.

    Ginette

    I’m 71 and have lost 15 pounds since February. Though I do some weights the main thing is the use of low-carbs as well as the odd fast. This allows me to enjoy what I eat whilst going solidly down – egg and bacon or similar for breakfast, fish for lunch, meat for tea, with nuts and cheese as snacks. No sugar, bread or potatoes for three months. You can have these as long as you don’t mix them with fats and protein: I just prefer not to have them at all.

    Hi All,
    I’m 70 years, male. See my post regarding “increased urination.”
    I live in NSW Australia, and we have an indoor heated pool (YMCA).
    I try and do 30 laps freestyle swimming about 3 times per week, year round.
    I find this is sufficient to keep my reduced weight constant whilst on the 5:2 WOL.
    I believe some exercise, in moderation, at 70 yrs is all that is needed.

    Father’s Day here in the UK yesterday and the Other Half and I spent the afternoon at our daughter’s They had some new games for the Wii and we had a good time playing table tennis(!), bowling and archery. It reminded me of the days when I played a Wii game every day and also did the steps and the “marathon”. My balance often left much to be desired but my meditation ability placed me amongst the experts!
    I really must start all that again.

    Walking is easy and excellent for one. Living as I do in the countryside I should go out more but if I don’t the Wii walk helps!

    Hi Everyone, thanks for the continued tips and news from our members which all help to keep us on track.

    I thought I would offer a couple of tips for our UK members, One Negative and one positive.
    The Negative tip is for “The Fast Diet Kitchen Recipes”
    I thought I would try some of their recipes which would make it easier to follow the diet, so bought the 3 week pack which is a soup and main meal for 6 pounds a day.
    So two Diet days a week for 3 days.
    In my opinion the Soup AND main meals all taste exactly the same, which have a strong Tomato flavor.
    It makes no difference what recipe I tried, they all taste exactly the same so absolute Rubbish. (and that is being polite !!!)

    The positive tip I have is for M&S ready meals.
    Some are not so good, but there is a great variety with good offers like 3 for 7 pounds etc.
    However the tip is this:
    They seem to check their stock in mid afternoon and discount a lot of products in the range, so I would think that late afternoon it would be possible to pick up quite a few discount meals ans stick em in the freezer.

    Well I’m glad you posted that, Kiwiflyer79. I’ve been tempted to try various ready meals because I am lazy! I’ve tried Morrisons, Waitrose and M&S, to date. It’s nice to have something ready cooked and calorie-counted but I am often disappointed in the taste. M&S’s Shepherd’s Pie had a potato topping that was distinctly gluey and I can’t understand that. Potatoes are so cheap!
    It’s back to the cooking stove, I reckon.

    We have a wedding to celebrate on Saturday so all dieting is out for a while. I love iced cake, unfortunately. When I see the photographs they will be an incentive to re-start the 5:2 diet!

    Hi Eirlys,
    I think most of the ready meals look so nice on the packet, but do certainly vary in taste, so it is trial and error.
    I just bought a couple from Iceland, it would seem a long way to go to buy some ready meals, but I mean the Iceland shop not the country.
    So will let you know how they taste.

    M&S meals are a good way to gauge what an amount of calories – say, 300 – looks like, whether you buy them or not. Superdrug also do complete fasting diet meals, according to my daughter, though no sure of their quality.

    Hello Seniors! I have seen those 7 and 10-minute high intensity exercise routines. There seems to be a lot of research supporting their benefit. But I’m 77 and I wonder if I could cut the routines into 3 minutes each and do them at various times of the day? I read one trainer saying you should want to puke when you finish one of these routines, if you did the routine right. I don’t care about the puke. I just don’t want a heart attack. Any info on this?

    As someone not known for doing enough exercise I can’t help feeling that to put yourself through a routine that should make you want to vomit seems a trifle extreme. Not to mention dangerous for those of us in our 70’s.

    In reply to a query by one your bloggers for something sweet with relatively no cals make a sugar free jelly. A pint is only 9cals. It fills you up and makes a good dessert. I am 73 and over the past 2 months have lost 10lb. I wasn’t very overweight having been a weightwatcher for years but had reached that frustrating plateau. I really enjoy the fast days . The bonus being that on fast day nights I sleep like a log. I have found that on normal days I can moderate my eating and no longer snack on low cal bars and crisps. I prefer to eat fruit. My husband and I have always strived to eat healthily but our portion sizes have been a little large. My meals are now served on a smaller plate. Our downfall is we are not great exercise lovers much preferring to ride our motorbike around our beautiful Welsh hills.

    Firstly I have to say that this is my personal opinion! I don’t think HIT is effective if broken down into very small segments. The point I believe is to raise the pulserate to the required level and sustain it for a period of time. These basics would be worked out for you by a cardiologist. I had a quad bypass two years ago when I was 72. Afterwards I was sent to what I thought was a rest and recouperation establishment near La Rochelle in France (not very far from where I live) – however it was more like a bootcamp – an expensive and luxurious one it has to be said, but bootcamp nontheless! I was amazed at how much exercise I was expected to do – and, much to my amazement could do. It has, amongst other things, given me confidence to push myself further than I might otherwise do. However – the exercise was always closely monitored and supervised by a team of physios and there were cardio consultants on hand just in case! One thing they always insisted upon was that if you got short of breath or had any pain at all you stopped. No one expected you to make yourself sick and I think whoever said that is irresponsible!

    Bunnie, a boot camp in La Rochelle, brilliant. We like to stay there ‘cos its on the coast with lots of fish restaurants but a boot camp wasn’t something we expected. After your bypass was it a French inspired convalescence or something you arranged? Over the years the missus and I have both had fairly major ops in France but have never been offered R&R whilst friends and a cousin took advantage of the chance. Good food with wine but as you say the exercise regime is a major part of the stay. Healthcare as it should be.

    As far as the HIT is concerned it does seem very extreme. I would be reticent about doing it without some supervision and I’m not sure our Doctor would be impressed. I would have thought that swimming would be a better option.

    Enfrance – yes – I love La Rochelle when I go for non medical purposes! The R&R was at the insistence of the french medics and would have cost a small fortune if I’d had to pay – can’t see the NHS funding anything like that. I didn’t manage to keep up the level of exercise, but I do walk my dog several times a day and do a lot of fairly energetic pottering. I think my worst problem over the past few years has been weight and I had lacked the will to do anything about it until February this year when I read something about 5:2 and thought I’d give it a try. I’m amazed – it works – 23 pounds lost since February! Six bags of oversized clothes to the clothing bank this week and now I’ve nothing to wear – good excuse for a shopping trip – yes, you’ve guessed – La Rochelle!

    My husband goes to a gym three days a week to workout for a couple of hours, but he’s been exercising regularly for 50 years or more as he was an athlete and a coach. I’m doing good if I walk on my treadmill three times a week–one year our kids gave Bill a sporting goods gift certificate and a stadium seat to me, which pretty well sums up our differences. He’s lost 31 lbs since Jan. and I’ve lost 20–but I’m not taking up his exercise routine even if he does beat me out!

    We evidently can get better frozen meals in the US as I’ve had no problem finding ones that stay within our nutrition guidelines and taste really good. Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and Smart Ones (Weight Watchers) are our favorites. I hardly cook anymore–just fix vegetables and salads, and many of them are already prepared. Makes it easy to count calories as well as clean up! At this stage of life, easy is certainly better.

    I think I’ll make my 4 lb. loss by next week–but am not going to fret too much if it takes me an extra week. As long as the scale keeps going down (even if it does jump around a little) I’m going to be happy.

    kkirkm,

    We’re struggling after only two weeks to see much difference in our weights but will persevere. We live out in the country over 45 minutes from a large town and our local supermarket is quite titchy so the choices for convenient food while maintaining the fast can be difficult. In fact we are wondering if the fact that we have to be creative when shopping for the diet recipes, may be the problem. All the food has the usual info regarding calories, fat and sugar etc., and we can accurately weigh everything but we have that lurking feeling that we may not be doing something right.

    Perhaps its the wine 😉

    Exercise should not be a problem for us but we are far too lazy. We have a pool but don’t use it enough and even a nearby training track in a lovely environment but don’t have the mind set to actually go there. Very sad.

    We would like to hear from anyone who can shed some light on whether exercising more is really likely to help. Obviously it would help with our health generally but I’m talking about its effect on the fast diet.

    With the glorious weather at the moment – its been over 30ÂșC for the last few days – we really have no excuse. The pool is now at 24ÂșC, this is the safe temperature for blokes. Any lower and our little extremeties might fall off!

    Hello Seniors!
    I decided to start 5/2 with 4 days of fasting. It was okay but I don’t recommend it because it is boring. I also discovered that if you don’t exercise your weight loss plan is doomed. I think the exercise revs up metabolism which then lasts for hours. Dr. Mosley’s 5/2 was a stroke of genius. It is simple and keeps your body from going into a panic the way days of water fasting can do. It also teaches you that no you won’t die or feel hunger pains if you eat 500-600 calories. My goal was modest, to get from 163 to 148 and after 4 weeks I’m at 153. I’m 78 and 5’6”. This seems real weight loss not water loss. I especially want to get rid of my (small) spare tire around the stomach and the fat around my nipples. I hear this is the most stubborn and last to go. I have an Omron fat loss monitor which is quite inaccurate but I hope will still measure my progressive fat loss. Percentage of visceral fat in the body is more important than how much you weigh. Anyway, thank you Dr. Mosley. Bo Hodiak, Stuart FL

    Just a quick note about how you can overthink dieting. I was at a plateau so decided I needed to cut down on my non-fast days. Fewer calories should mean weight loss, right? It not only didn’t help but I actually gained two pounds. Finally dawned on me that the 500 calorie days were supposed to be about a third of the other days. I’d cut back to 1,000-1,200 so the fast days needed to be even lower–or I could up my non-fast days calories, which sounded like a lot more fun! Anyway, I’m back on track and the scale is going down again, thank heavens. But I do feel pretty dumb.

    I eat just one high-fat meal on fast days to get me down, and out all grain-based food – sugar, flour, processed foods – to keep me down. It works, even when on holiday, and results in steady downward movement of waist and weight.

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