Cynic now a convert

This topic contains 18 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by toms mantis 10 years, 6 months ago.

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Yael

8:01 am
4 Oct 13
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Hello all, this is Yael from Australia. I’ve lost 6kgs in 4 months on the 5:2. At 1.6 (5’2.5″) and 64 kgs (141 lbs or 10 stone), I needed to lose weight to help chronic pain caused by spinal nerve damage. The spinal fusion has kept me walking but the pain persists. A small price for mobility.

And my cholesterol was 6.2. The number of times I’ve lost and put back on 6-8kg is not funny.

What has amazed me is that I do not feel deprived. Nor do I fear being hungry. I actually look forward to my fast days.

Can’t wait for my cholesterol test next week – the first since going on the 5:2.

And I’m going to put our kelpie-cross on a canine 5:2. She’s 18kg but she should be 15kg. And then, my husband… I’ll be reporting all our results!

toms mantis

8:54 am
4 Oct 13
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Welcome Yael. Hope all goes well for you and yours, especially the poor dog! I too have chronic pain due to a spinal problem, don’t know if being lighter will help but will find out. Keep us posted on your progress. My other half has lost more weight than me, (typical)! Good luck.

Astrid

9:04 am
4 Oct 13
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Hi!
Another Australian here. Glad to read that you have done so well with it!

Yael

2:42 am
6 Oct 13
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Hi Toms

When I had a series of major spinal operations, months in hospital, some years of recuperation (but I am still walking and not in a wheelchair!), I asked the neuro-surgeon how I could help myself.

His answer:

‘If you were a smoker, I’d tell you to give up.’

‘Number 2, keep as slim as you can. In other words, don’t let yourself get overweight.’

(Of course, other things are important: drink water, especially if you work in an air-conditioned building, to keep your spinal discs plumped up. And walk. When I am good, I also do core-strengthening exercises.)

Seems that every kilo (or pound) that you are overweight places a 10-fold stress on your spine. We really should have extended spines (tails) like kangaroos.

Don’t worry about our dog Bibi. She gets breakfast, a bone, and dinner. On her fast days, I’ll cut out the bone, reduce her breakfast but she’ll still get a decent feed. Don’t want her to get arthritis, which is the bane of overweight dogs (and they get human diseases, too, like diabetes and heart disease.)

My husband, now, he’ll be a challenge….

Best of luck.

Yael

2:44 am
6 Oct 13
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Thanks, Astrid. I was talking about 5:2 this morning with a friend. We came to the same conclusion: it actually frees you from thinking and worrying about food. It feels great to fit into clothes that I haven’t been able to wear for 18 months. Hope it’s going well for you, too.

Quick

3:47 am
6 Oct 13
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Hi Yael,

I have my dogs on 6:1. They are doing OK. They have adapted well to their new regime. I don’t feed them breakfast, and only 1/2 of their kibble at dinner and their usual meat. So far I haven’t taken them in to check their weight.

I also find the 5:2 a simple diet for me to follow. No thinking about food all of the time.

Good luck to all on their journey to toward great health.

Quick

Yael

4:03 am
6 Oct 13
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Thanks for that, Quick. I’ll try the 6:1. I am guilty of having given her too much food in the past 6 months. Our dear old Basenji was on his last legs and had trouble keeping weight on so he could eat as much as he wanted. Bibi benefitted from the general largesse. Tom-Tom left us last month at the grand old age of 19+ (very old for his breed).

Quick

3:21 pm
6 Oct 13
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Hi Yael,

Hopefully both you and Bibi will continue to benefit from fasting. Three of my dogs are old, 12, 12, & 13. All of them are somewhat arthritic, creaky old joints that take a few minutes in the morning to get moving. Just like me. I think that all of us will benefit from carring less weight on our frames.

I am sorry for your loss of Tom-Tom. 19 is very old for a Basenji, he must have led a well cared for life.

Quick

toms mantis

5:52 pm
6 Oct 13
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Hi Yael, hope all has gone well for you. Had the grandchildren this weekend – exhausted! Unlike you, I have a couple of stone to go, hope this will do my back problem some good. Did your operation help you? And are you fully reccovered, or will that never happen? Some problems will be with us always, which mine will apparently. Must compare notes as we lose weight. Good luck.

Yael

10:04 pm
6 Oct 13
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Toms, Every bit we lose helps. Yes, my operations did help. As the neuro-surgeon explained, without the operations I would have been a paraplegic. The aim of the operations was not primarily to relieve pain, although this would hopefully happen. And even though I have chronic pain, it is not as acute and debilitating as it was before the operations. Pain management has improved so much in the past decade. Even though I occasionally get breakthrough acute pain, it is nothing like it used to be. I do get frustrated at times but as my father says of life , “This is no dress rehearsal, it’s the real thing.” I really hope that weight loss will help your problem.

Yael

10:10 pm
6 Oct 13
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Thank you, Quick. Yes, our vets had never had such an old Basenji. Beautiful boy. Mind you, never let us forget that he was descended from the pets of pharaohs. You have at least three dogs? Lucky you. Our kelpie-cross is a relative youngster: she’s 5. Such a sweet-natured, easy-going girl. A rescue dog. I’m creaky in the morning too. Dog-walking is the best form of exercise. Once I get going, I just enjoy being in the moment. I’m already feeling much better from losing 6kgs (a stone). Ideally 4-6kgs more and then the real challenge (based on my past experiences) – keeping it off!

Quick

3:38 pm
7 Oct 13
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Hi Yael,

I find that the real challenge is the last 5 to 10 pounds. Something about getting that close to my goal and I find ways to sabotage myself. With the 5:2 I figure if I just keep doing the Fast days, even if I am bad on eating days, the weight will eventually shift! If not, I should at least be getting the benefit of fasting.

You are right about dog walking being the best form of exercise. There is a woman in my neighborhood that walks her daughter’s dog. When she first started she didn’t take a dog because she couldn’t. She was using two canes/sticks and barely able to move along at a very slow pace. About a year later she is walking 2 dogs at the same time and only carries her cane hung on her arm. I guess in case she should feel a bit wobbly. A great testament to how good exercise is for us if we just keep at it.

Quick.

toms mantis

7:42 pm
7 Oct 13
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Thanks Yael. We’ll see what happens. Your problem was obviously really serious. Glad you have come out of it as you have. You clearly have a positive attitude to your problems. Well, have lost 11pounds up to now, and my next weigh in is next week. I find once a month suits me, with the practice nurse at my GP surgery. Will post results then. Hope the dog fares well.

mariefitz

5:30 am
10 Oct 13
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Hi Yael, so encouraged to read your posts. I’m glad you feel upbeat after your op. I too have a spine problem (degenerating scoliosis) causing chronic lower back pain. A few months ago it was debilitating, but I was resolute to avoid surgery. I’m 6 weeks into 5:2, and I’ve lost 5 lbs – not much, but enough to already feel the benefit, giving my spine some respite. I’m about your size and weight. I too believe that every bit of weight off counts, plus your remark about hydrating the spinal disks also resonates. Will follow this forum strand although I don’t have a dog!

toms mantis

6:28 am
19 Oct 13
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Hi all. Great to hear how weight loss has helped your back problems. My first stone has gone now, and ironically am having what is termed a ‘flare up’ of my problem over the last few weeks. My own stupid fault of course- had the stupidity to imagine I could go for a walk! (Please don’t think I’m bitter)! Remains to be seen what happens after further weight loss, but fingers crossed. That said, I feel better in so many more ways, the main one being I have more energy. Will keep up with all your posts.

mariefitz

3:26 am
20 Oct 13
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toms, have you tried swimming if walking is not a possibility yet? I just went for a morning swim (just a few laps), and for 2 hours after that I totally forgot that I have a back problem, which is usually with me all the time. So, 5:2, plus some form of exercise everyday helps. Speaking of weight, I use a cabin case to cart stuff when commuting, even if it’s just my laptop. I find that carrying anything (groceries, books) just makes things worse immediately, which just goes to show the effect of any weight on that spine. Lost another kilo since my last post 🙂

Yael

12:51 am
22 Oct 13
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Hi all. Toms, I too had a flare-up of worse pain than usual. Yes, I stupidly did some gardening… Had to use a walking stick. Putting on socks made me yelp and I just could not find a comfortable position to sleep in. I was quite miserable. But it has settle down to the ‘usual’ chronic pain that is quite successfully managed by dermal patches of analgesia. Hope you feel better soon, too.

My big news is that the results of my first blood test since going on the 5:2 are in. In 5 months, my cholesterol has dropped from 6.3 to 5.6. (It was 7.2 last year but I changed some eating patterns and brought it down a bit.) I am delighted. And I have lost another 2kg(4.4 lbs) since my first post on 4 October.

Best of all, we went to a favourite Indian restaurant on the weekend and I ate normally (not a fast day). Does anyone else have the feeling that, after really enjoying a meal, they have blown the ‘diet’ and all the weight will start coming back. It’s a hangover from those days of punitive dieting. But, no, just keep the next fast day (and the one after that), and everything is fine.

As for my dog, slowly slowly catchee monkey. We’ll see.

toms mantis

1:22 am
22 Oct 13
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Hi mariefitz. Thanks for the help. Sounds daft, but I have a thing about swimming. Never been very good at it, and have always been self conscious about it because of my weight. Maybe in time I will get the confidence to go.

toms mantis

1:28 am
22 Oct 13
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Hi Yael. Congratulations on your blood results and weight loss! Know what you mean about eating out. I always feel that I’ve undone all the work of the week if I go out. But, these days I don’t want to eat as much as I used to. Actually leave what’s left once I’m full. As you say, we’ll see. Sorry you’ve had a flare up. We can whinge together! Fast well. Keep posting.