Hi CG – thanks for kind wishes. I had a lovely day today with two of my sisters; lunch out, shopping, coffee and apple tart (mmmm!). Will be going out for meal tomorrow with 25 family members to celebrate a big birthday for one of the sisters. It was supposed to be a surprise for her but her OH let the cat out of the bag…..men, huh!! 😉 Our Mothers’ Day was back in March but hoping all the mums on this thread are spoiled rotten by loved ones. The weather here was quite pleasant today but tonight it is back to wind and rain again…oh dear 🙁

HI Team to those of you who are mothers have a wonderful day and hope you’re spoilt rotten. I’m not near any of my family so OH has spoilt me rotten today (not like him at all, but much appreciated. I had forewarned him last night that this mothers day I was a bit fragile and needed TLC so he’s taken it on board!).
To those who aren’t hope you either had a chance to spoil your own mother/MIL or are able to get together with someone who appreciates you as a dear friend or a maternal influence. If today is a day that makes you sad then I wish you comfort and freedom from the past, and joy in small things like the love of a friend, a glass of beautiful wine, or treasured happy memories.
Have a lovely day all. I’ve had tapas cooked by my OH for lunch & that’s incredible enough for me to last me all day (once in a blue moon affair & was delicious). And I’m not entering the kitchen all day I’ve said. Weagles are coming up with a footy match so I’m happy & possibly another wine to come!

5:2 I know you will forgive me!! suejen (boy it’s not an epilogue thank goodness!)
Aussie Determinators you are each individually awesome!! Know it and live it. XXX

Hi All!
CG – one of my dearest friends is an only child and I know this has made life difficult for her, especially dealing with a demanding, aging mother. I try to be there for her as much as possible and call her my fourth sister! Myself and my siblings fought like cats and dogs as children, but we are very close now and always have a great laugh together. You are so caring and thoughtful about others and I hope your ‘cyber sisters’ here are some consolation for not having the real thing! Xxxx
GG, Lotus – what lovely posts from you. Hope you both had a great day too, you’re both very special.
SJ – beautiful post from you too and I’m thrilled for your cm loss and your new BMI milestone that you have reached. You are right to be proud, well done and keep up the good work! 🙂 Have you a new goal in mind? It’s a privilege to be on this journey with so many inspirational, strong and determined women.
Love and kind wishes to all for the week ahead.<3

Welcome CVB – have you read The Fast Diet book? It explains everything really well. Apart from sticking to 500 cals on fast days (FDs), you should work out the amount of cals you are allowed to eat on non FDs. This is called TDEE and is explained in the HOW IT WORKS section at the top of this page where you can calculate yours. Also drink plenty fluids, water is best, especially on FDs, because we get alot of hydration from food, so it is really needed when we are eating less. I can’t really comment on fasting and exercise because the most I do is go for an hour’s walk every day; haven’t noticed any difference to energy levels, though. I’m sure someone else on this lovely thread will be able to help. Good luck!

Hi all, Mother’s day just starting here and missing my 4 babies back in Oz!

CG, I totally know what you mean about early influences. I lost my mother when I was a child and then circumstances meant that we had to move hundreds of miles away from other family and everyone we knew with our dad.

Many years later, I ended up having a big family, which I know was an effort to recreate what I had lost. My little sister took many years to let herself fall for anyone and then when she did, chose not to have children. Again, I am sure that was a result. You can’t be hurt if you have nothing to lose.

Anyway, back from my road trip and a up a kilo and a half but I am fasting today and I know that some of it is definitely water weight and stomach contents so I am not too worried. I could not have fasted on M’s Day if I was at home!

Happy Monday ladies,
I’ve missed a lot over the past two days. I had a friend in need of a friend. We had a sleepover on Saturday! And guess what? We didn’t drink any alcohol, and I whipped up a bit of hummus, and a tuna and white bean dip and enjoyed them with lots of fresh veggies. A bit of chocolate, but hey, she was sad-which made me sad. Anyhow…I did good until late last night when I blew it. Ah, well, I was feeling blue. Sheesh-can I just say that having a mini-binge (which btw is better than a maxi-binge LOL) did not make it better.
Today is FD, but I don’t want to fast. I will, though. I figure every time I make it through another FD I get a little stronger and my mini-binges get mini-er 🙂 So, I’ll stay busy. I’ll stay away from the kitchen until I make dinner. I’ll forgive myself for my wicked ways last night. I can do this. We all can.
CVB, I exercise on FDs without incident. In fact, sometimes a good hour in the gym dulls the appetite. I do, however, drink lots and lots of water. And because I get muscle cramps, on the recommendation of friend who’s a personal trainer I drop a bit of salt into the water.
To all the mother’s out there-I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday with your babies!
ta ta for now
lacie

PS So many posts I missed-here is a generalized ‘Good on ya’ one and all.

Just back from wonderful night out with a big gang (26!) of family to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I won’t even bother to try and count the calories because I decided there was no point; I had three courses, wine and a cocktail and boy, did I enjoy them all!! 🙂 My sister is like the glue in our family and is a very caring person, who is constantly helping everyone. She devoted herself to caring for our parents in their latter years and looked after many other family members too before and since. It was lovely to see her surrounded by such love and laughter this evening.
Doggy – hope you rustled up some interesting meals for the week ahead, it’s great to be so organised!
Up – sorry to hear that you lost your mother so young and missed out on contact with extended family. As CG says, we are all products of our past and upbringing, but we also bring some of our innate selves to the party and you are a wonderful, supportive person. Hope your brood appreciate you! xx That kilo and a half will be gone in no time!
Lotus – sounds like you have the perfect plan for the perfect FD – well done!
Lacie – you are right, the binges lessen over time and well done for being such a good friend.
CG – you are a gem and we treasure you!

Hi team. Welcome CVB. I’m sure you will find that being part of this team is very helpful. Others have explained what to do so I won’t repeat it. We are quite a mixed bunch of ages and occupations and usually someone can answer any questions you have.
CG & others. Interesting reading about families. I didn’t have a particularly happy childhood. i realise now that my parents did not have a happy marriage but in those days divorce was taboo. I was sent to boarding school at the age of 12 and actually loved it there. I have a brother who lives in Austrslia and a sister in South Africa, but we aren’t really close.
I had a most enjoyable Mother’s Day. We had a lovely meal at a hotel with friends. No calories counted.
FD here again and I had a low cal soup for brekkie and will have some protein for lunch. Lotus’s Tofu and veg for dinner. By the way I made some of her Mushroom and saffron yesterday and it’s very yummy. Thanks for that.
Enjoy your day all and as CG so often says. WE CAN DO IT.
XX Doggy

You can do it Lacie. Just keep filling up on fluids. We are all here to support you. Keep busy as well!!

Doggy – thanks for trying the mushroom and saffron, glad it works for you. Also, you can use other veggies / protein the sauce, if you want variety.
Lacie- Take care my dear, giving you a big cyber hug. I usually start my day thinking – I am not going to fast today! But as the day moves on, if I stick to my food plan, the fast just happens. If on some days I feel rebellious / peckish – I eat an egg white omelette with mushrooms/ chilies/baby spinach etc, for breakfast, and that seems to improve the situation. One thing that I tried and was a total wash-out – was to eat or drink something sweet (had yoghurt with fruit one day, and a hot chocolate the other) – somehow wakes the hunger “monster” too early in my case!! So yeah, keep experimenting with your meal plans etc., and accept that not every fast day will be the same.
Fit – As usual, your personalised replies make my day, I sometimes use it even to get the gist what others have posted, so well done you! If possible, keep it up 🙂
CG – you are very right, as we mature, the same things seem to stress us lesser, more a case having met the same problem on our last trip around the block!
DiiP – Good on you for not having put on too much even if you had a yummy time 🙂
And I agree with your response to Lacie -1. Keep Busy, 2. Fill up on non-cal fluids (maybe a touch of salt, maybe hot in this weather) 3. If its gets too much, let it go…Tomorrow is another day…

Good Day ADs
Posting during my short 15 mins lunch break.
Its wonderful to hear about Mother’s day celebrations.
Fit, its wonderful to hear that you had lovely time with your family. Events like these matter most in one’s life.
CG, hope your dentist appointment goes well. Strength to you!!!
My mother’s day was spent sick in bed. Yes, yes, yes, Its very wintery here and this weather brings along cold and flu 🙁 🙁 My plan was to take Mum for Mani & Padi, followed by a lunch. Well, everything fell apart as I could hardly do anything amidst the waves of sneezes. Well, Mum understands and she did not want me to move from bed, so there is always a next time.

My little one went out for shopping with OH (secretly) and they both came back home with a Mother’s day gift for me.
My 4 year old chose a pair of Ankle boots for me. They are Dark Red / Maroon color…..
OH tried his best to convince our 4 year old that “Mum would appreciate a pair of black boots over Red ones”, However my little man wanted to get Red shoes for Mum.

Well, here I am at work today and I am proudly flashing my new RED ANKLE BOOTS. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Fasting today and it is certainly getting difficulty for me with this headache. Lacie, hang in there, you have done it in the past and you can do it now as well!! And in case, you end up not fasting today, Tomorrow is just couple of hours away…. You can always start again tomorrow. Don’t punish yourself with too much. One fast day shifted is not going to do any harm. Stay strong (You already are very strong)

Bye from me for now… Will try to hang on for rest of the day. I am already dreaming of Pumpkin soup for dinner tonight…
FB

OOOOh, red ankle boots are so cool FB. Your little man’s got good taste 🙂

Lotus & CG, thanks for the reassurance.
CG, I am wearing all black to accommodate red color in my boots…LOL
Lacie, glad that you are feeling better 🙂

Welcome DebstarO
And a very warm welcome. Already love your attitude for calling this a Way of Life (WOL) rather than a diet, coz this really is a WOL.
If you go back to the few of the earlier pages, you will see that each and everyone of us have been on this journey for a change.
Most of us had tried everything else under the sun before starting this journey. This is not just another fad diet and we all are living proof of that (Thank God..LOL)

It is natural to get a bit anxious about losing weight quickly, so don’t worry.

We can certainly tell you how much we have lost in a given time frame, however please bear in mind that each and everyone of us is different and it is not fair on ourselves to compare our losses with others.

One of the team members will shed more light on this soon.

I started in October 2014 and lost 15 kilos in 5 months (until end of Feb)
Since then, I am stuck at that weight, only because, there are too many things happening in my life.
There are other team members who have lost more than me on average and some lost less than mine.
Your weight loss in first few weeks may be a bit more due to water loss, however if you continue on this WOL, that weight is gone forever.

Most of us fast Mon and Thurs and report our weigh ins on Friday.

If you want, share your numbers with the gang, or at least how much you want to loose to get to your goal weight.

Please ask as many questions as you want. We love to share our knowledge and experiences and also love to learn more from our newest team members as well.
Once again, Welcome!!!

In the way of nature (and Murphy’s Law), our office social club has kept not one, but two large cakes in the kitchen today! I had a tiny sliver this afternoon of the Hummingbird Cake at about 100 cals (Passion-fruit, Coconut and Pineapple cake) – It was good, and I am naughty, but will come just within 500 cals tonight as my soup portion was very less today. Oh well “Such is Life” 😉
DebstarO (Deb?) – So you see, there are some people, like me, who lose less weight than other stars, because they are undisciplined 😉 But that’s OK, it a WOL and not a Diet, and will be good on the rest of the FDs this week. Need to see the scales move this Friday!!

850 is still really good CG! You deserve nice things today as uve had a bad day with dentists! X

Late post….. Had lunch with some friends for a belated birthday. No fast day…. fizzy pop and too many yummy foods and the best ever chocolate cheese cake. MY friends know my weakness and play on it. So will fast tomorrow. Though they were very complimentary on the new slimmer me.
Welcome CVB and DEBSTAR- hope you both have a great time on your 5:2 journey and our thread.
LACIE- pls do not be hard on yourself…. we have all been there. YOU CAN DO THIS! each fast day and we will be here to support and encourage you … YOU ARE NOT ALONE. As DONIT said … keep busy and drink fluids …tea etc have carrot and celert sticks on had with some hummos dip ,it will help with the pangs and gurgles
CG- hope you are ok!
DONIT- good advise to LACIE
FB- take very good care of yourself. early to bed if you can xxxxx
Take care and keep warm all of you, COS baby its cold outside……GO GAL

Thanks again for all your support today. I made it to dinner, then had seared tuna and a spinach, tomato, and red pepper salad. Well under 500 cal. I’m taking myself to bed, with a bit of pharmacological help (fast days always see me wound up and unable to sleep). I wouldn’t have made it on my own.
You guys rock!

I will be less selfish tomorrow, I promise 🙂

Hi All!
What a busy lot you’ve been while I lay sleeping!! Woke up late with a bit of a head on me after that cocktail last night….very potent; I definitely can’t drink like I used since I’ve lost weight, so let that be a warning to all the newbies!! 😉
Doit – well done on looking after your mum so well, hope she’s happy in her new abode and well done on not putting on much..this wol is so forgiving!
Doggy – sorry to hear your childhood was not the best but you are making the most of life now and that’s what counts! Your little Pepper is lucky to have you and will not hold a grudge just because you got a bit impatient with him….that’s the beauty of our furry friends!
Lacie – good on ya for checking in here and letting everyone help you when you struggle. I’m sorry that I only find out when your day is over, but I would say the same as everyone else. We all have bad days and feel like giving up or we have a right binge and think we have ruined our chances….but that’s not true! We are in this for the long haul and we will get there when we can; it’s a marathon, not a sprint; so just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will be closer to your destination every day xx
Lotus – you made my day with your comment; so I will try to keep posting individual repiles; however, the list seems to be growing all the time so it’s a good job I’m retired!!
CG – glad to hear you are looking after your health but sorry you had bad time at the dentist. 850 cals was great, considering what you had gone through and as you always say, 5:2 will be there tomorrow if you want to try another FD. Be kind to yourself xx
Welcome Debstar – I am one of the slower losers, about half a kg a week but it’s slow and steady now when I don’t have special occasions and then it’s more about maintenance, which is fine by me.
FB – love, love, love the idea of the red boots, wear them with pride! 🙂
RE – you have the right attitude, keep up the good work.
CVB – you’re right, alot of what we thought was hunger, was just habit so you are learning fast and well on your way to success.
GG – glad you enjoyed the outing with friends and that you are feeling well again.
Ok gang…that’s enough for now. I’m off out to walk off some of last night’s goodies and to clear my head!! 😉 Best of luck to all for the week ahead xxxx

Good on ya Andrew! You have the right idea; it’s supposed to be summer here but more like winter, so I totally agree about the need for sun and warmth! Enjoy 🙂

Wow, I amoff the thread for a couple of days and look what can happen. Welcome to the newcomers. My first fast day was the hardest and then progressively got easier to where sometimes a FD woudl just happen without much effort. I defiantly exercise on fast days. I really enjoy doing HIT, and am increasing the strength building piece too. Up to 100 squats and my legs are not sore the next day. I do think this is the benefits of fasting and HIT.

I may fast today and I may not. Am feeling a bit exhausted after two days of pulling of front garden grass and completely transforming it into w vegetable garden with tiered boxes…the works. Got tired of watering and mowing grass that I have not interaction with. Very excited to transform my little vegetable plot into a proper garden but two days of pulling up grass, tilling soil, and shoveling dirt has me wiped out. P
Supposed to go to the courthouse to do some mediation today. not sue I have the psychological energy for fasting as well.. Will most likely do it tomorrow.

HAPPY BELATED MOTHERS DAY TO ALL OF YOU. I was a crisis cousnelor for many years and one of the toughest days for us was Mother’s Day. Fathers day didn’t register, but Mother’s Day was tough for so many people.

I had a mixed day. The night before my husband and I sat and talked about our mothers. My birth mother left when I was one, found her again when I was thirty and had to end the relationship because she was emotionally untrustworthy. I have recovered from it, but I thnk it a wound that will always be there to some extent. I started out as a step mom to two young children whose mother abandoned them as well and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but we stuck together and today I have a lovely relationship with my kids who I adopted as adults last year. Got a call from my daughter in San Francisco, and my son is home. That was the sad part. He has split with the lovely girl we thought would be the mother of our grandchildren. Now he is sleeping in the spare room while he looks for his own place. Only became aware that there was any problems last month. everyone is heartbroken. We loved her family too so it feels like a real loss. It was the night of Mother’s Day that he told me it was really over and I started to cry. Tried not to. Feeling a bit depressed today. I grew up not feeling a part of anyone’s family which had its challenges, and now I have one, complete with the full range of feelings that comes with it and for that I am really grateful. Have a splendiferous day!