Freya – you have had a miserable time of it, hope you are well on the road to recovery. My daughter knew she had a cold coming on a few days ago and hit the Vitamin c and zinc as per usual, but she is convinced that she has thrown it off much more quickly than before we were doing 5:2.

Magsta – I have been doing this for nearly 6 months – and at no time have I felt that this WOL is unsustainable. I just defer my wants to the next day – and often that longing/craving passes and I’m not interested by then.

Thin – that is brilliant – it is so satisfying to the ego to get that kind of feedback.

One of my colleagues asked me today if I had a “before” photo that I could compare with now. Must have a scuffle – there are some full length ones from my daughter’s 21st. Might be a good excuse to have another one taken in some of my new clothes that I bought on holiday.

Hi to our newbies and good luck. Stick with this way of eating (WOE) and your life will change for the better.

Freya you seem to have been through the wars. Hope you’re feeling better….at least the weather is sunny today and that seems to make everything seem better. I don’t mind the cold, but not the wet/cold. Don’t know how people handle it in northern hemisphere winters when it’s dark, as well as wet & cold!

How much have you lost now Hillary, after 6 months?

Welcome back Thin, you were missed. Glad your FDs went well while you were away. Wow, 21kg now….you are amazing! Must have been a hoot when your party buddies didn’t recognise you. You must bring a “before” photo to our next coffee meetup with the “Perth Losers”. I just can’t imagine you being big!

After going off the rails last week with dinners out/entertaining etc, I managed to have a really good FD yesterday. I even went to bed hungry, so I knew the scales would be kind to me this morning. Only .2 off my PB, so hanging out for Friday Weigh-in….fingers crossed. It’s been a hard slog recently, but totally of my own making. Thanks guys for keeping me on the straight and narrow. I really feel like I’m back into it again after the holiday. It’s amazing how motivating a good FD can be. What’s for dinner everyone? We’re having slow roast lamb and lots of vegies. Made it the other night and defatted it…..couldn’t believe how much fat there was.
Hope tomorrow is a great FD for everyone……Thin, I guess you’re fasting today? CM xx

Hello to all newbies and all the best for your 5:2 way of life. I have been going since May and am really enjoying it.

Well done on your fast day yesterday CM. I went to bed hungry last night as well. I think having my dinner an hour earlier might have done it. I am now down to 66.5. I had set a goal to be in size 12 jeans by the 25th July for my Christmas in July dinner but alas have not made it. It was a bit of a big ask to be honest and I have been a bit unwell so not gone out on walks. I am one of those people who really need to exercise to see a big/faster difference. But, can’t complain.

I bet you had a great night Thin with people not recognizing you. I am sure that felt amazing.

Well CM it is roast chicken and veggies for tonights dinner and another fast day tomorrow. I am loving making my veggies into a soup on fast days and chucking in an onion for added flavour. I then have my protein on the side. Warming and filling. Tomorrow I think I will go for salmon and veggie soup. Yum Yum.

Hi JustJulie, thanks. Yes I tend to fast at the beginning of the week but sometimes do a Thursday if it suits better but always a Monday. I think it helps me to have set days but in saying that I love that we can be flexible to suit our week. I haven’t done back to back days though as always like at least one day in between. Let us know how you get on with back to back.

I cannot recommend soup enough, especially when it is cold. You may notice you get colder on fasting days as well. Some people do, some people don’t. I do!! I found that if I measured my veggies according to the fast diet book, I would struggle to eat it all, even after fasting all day. Having it as a soup makes it far easier to eat I reckon but it is nice to have something to chew as it were as well, hence I keep my protein separate on the side. I also tend to avoid carbs like bread and pasta etc but sometimes have quinoa or spelt rice for a change. That is also filling.

I drink hot water with freshly squeezed lemon in the morning and black decaff coffee is also warming and filling. I save my milk quota for a cup of tea after dinner. I don’t like the idea of black tea but black coffee is okay.

All the best.
EA

You had me worried for a moment CM asking if I was fasting today. Then I realised it’s Tuesday and I’m supposed to be feasting (sorry, that’s not a good example to be setting for newbies talking like that – ‘non-fasting’ I should say). Glad you’re back on track, I’ve been worried about you but you’re now only .2 off your PB which according to PVE is equivalent to a cup of tea so well done! That roast lamb sounds d’lish. Green Curry chicken for us tonight. Miniscule portion of rice for me. Yes, Coles also sells Slendier noodles and rice.

66.5kg is great EA, can’t remember where you were when you started – how much have you lost now? Soups are great and I still rely on cauliflower soup on most FDs. Two whole filling cups for 103 cals, you can’t beat that. I’m the opposite to you, I can handle tea without milk but not black coffee.

Welcome G58 – and JustJulie, I’m impressed that you’re starting off with back to back FDs. For filling foods, I go for low GI, high protein. When I started fasting a year ago, I always had 30gm oats for breakfast which stuck with me for several hours but now I try and last until about 2pm before eating anything. I can’t go to bed hungry so I allow 80 cals for an egg about an hour before bedtime. I’ve rarely experienced true hunger on a FD and it’s good to know that hunger doesn’t build and build but comes and goes – so you can get rid of it by keeping busy, going for a walk, etc. Recommend you read Mosley’s book if you haven’t already and watch the Horizon programme East, Fast, Live Longer.

Sounds yummy Julie.

Thin – I was approx 72 kilos when I started. I cannot remember the exact number as although I took CM’s advise to do my starting measurements, I didn’t write them down!! My goal is to get to 60 kilos then I will aim to get back into the 50’s. I just need to get over this bug I’ve had for over a week now so I can get back to walking.

All the best to today [nearly there!] and tomorrows fasters.

Ok so after some tentativeness and conversations with DH, I have planned not only my first fast day, but my first 4 fasting days.. As of Saturday I have 6 night shifts straight, so I am incoperating some of my fast days into my sleep days.. Wish me luck as I work on planning my menus for those days

Hi Bella, welcome and congratulations on your decision – you won’t regret it. Remember, we’re here for you. We all enjoy the way 5:2 makes us feel & that’s why many of us have chosen to stick with it for life. As mentioned, most of us really look forward to our FDs. It’s not just the weight loss, as the health benefits of intermittent fasting are proven. I have a neighbour friend (also a nurse) who started 5:2 recently and although she thought it would be difficult with the shift work she switches her FDs around to suit. She is going really well. If you or DH are interested, I can post the link to the Michael Mosely Horizon programme that started it all. It’s really interesting and many of us watch it every few months to re-motivate ourselves and remind us why we continue – even once we reach our goal weight. I’m not quite there yet, but many of our regular posters on here are “at maintenance” but hang around to help us out, just as they were helped in the beginning. Don’t look at the big picture of 50kg, as that may feel daunting. Make small goals for yourself and then continually re-assess as you progress. Good luck. If you have any questions, just ask and someone will pop up and help you with advice. CM xx

Wow, give you lot an inch and you take a mile, I have just caught up on all the posts and I was only here just before the weekend. Welcome to all the new folks, you have just made the best decision for the health of your lives. I started back in November 2013, and from time to time I have gone bobbing along but as of last weekend I am down 30kg, so new folks this is sustainable, and you will not regret that you have made a start on a healthier you.
Thank you to all for the support over the loss of my beautiful cow. Her calf at 13 weeks is too old to teach to suckle from a bottle, so I put him in with a 3 year old bull that has taught him to eat poddy pellets, which is what the dairy farmers put their calves on between six and ten weeks. He is doing OK now and comes when he is called for his feed.
Dinner tonight was veg soup and a small serve of lasagne. OH away at a conference, so have the place to me and the cat. Thanks again for your support everyone, Charlie.

JJ, here’s the cauliflower soup recipe that I’m always banging on about. Please verify the cals for yourself – the stock I use is 40 cals but I leave out the sour cream. It can be frozen into portions. I often have this around 2pm and it keeps me going until dinner.

CAULIFLOWER SOUP (103 cals per serve) Serves 2 (2 cups each).

400g cauliflower, chopped (100)
2 cloves garlic (8)
1 medium onion (38)
2 cups chicken stock (15)
2 tbs light sour cream (44)
½ tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg
¼ tsp cayenne

Dice onion and garlic, sauté in a little hot water on very low heat until soft.
Add cauliflower, pepper, stock, bring to a low boil.
Cook 10-15 mins until cauliflower is soft. Blend.
Return to pan, add nutmeg, extra water and seasoning as necessary.
Warm up and stir through sour cream.

Welcome to all the newbies. I just can’t keep up with all these posts. I do read them daily but just don’t have the energy to reply. I am one of those doubters, unless I see immediate results I lose interest but I have to say that the encouragement and support I have had from the people who have been in this for the long haul has been amazing. The times I just wanted to give up were the times I got a kick up the proverbial. I didn’t like it but it made me more determined to continue.

I started this WOL On the 1st February at 87kg. I am 64. Lost 7kgs in the first 3 months but plateaued very frustratingly never thinking I would get beyond the 80kg. I have persevered, the noticeable difference is in my shape and measurements. My FD days are Tuesday/Thursday.

Monday this week I weighed 76, FD yesterday and this morning I weigh 77.4. There is no rhyme or reason to this WOL, it just works.

So the times you think it’s not working it is.

My daughter and grandchildren arrive from the UK tonight so I will be AWOL intermittently but I will be reading the posts. So stay with it and listen to the ones that have made this a WOL and can help when the going gets tough.

Good luck to all of you, this does work.

Not morbid at all Hilary. Most of us started this wol to improve our long term health outcomes. Good on you. 🙂

Keep up the good work Intesha. You have done well. No turning back now! P

Thin – none of it actually! All strokes and cancer (oesophageal and lung: one smoker, one non-smoker).

One Dunedinite (Sarelle) set up a meeting a while back but I didn’t get the message until too late, and I haven’t seen her post again, although I did send her a message.

Barata – Hope you have a great time while you are here in Cairns. Palm Cove is lovely as you probably already know but heaps of restaurants in that area. Great for walking along the beach though!! Weather has been cold for us lately…..Cold for the locals, but maybe not for the visitors.

Thin – I have the cauliflower cooking as we speak. Thanks for the recipe but I will leave out the sour cream though and I added a leek instead of the onion, just because I had it in the fridge.

Weighed myself after 2 FD and have gone from 84.4 to 82.5. Probably a lot of fluid lost!!!
Love reading everyone’s posts and thanks again for all the hints.

Oh….CM – I downloaded MyFitnessPal with the help of my daughter last night and now trying to work out how to use it!!!! Thanks for the help!!

Hi Thin

I hear you loud and clear. Yes, you are right every now and then, I do get posting fatigue. And decide that everyone else will be bored if I post again.

My message to all newbies is welcome and enjoy. Do NOT set yourself up to fail by trying to do elaborate fasts, until you have mastered the basics of 5:2.

1. Read the Michael Mosley book, see the video.
2. Choose two fast days and try to stick with them for the first few months.
3. Measure yourself. You can’t tell when the weight loss will stop. If you keep fasting your size changes. It is as if your body rearranges itself for a few weeks. Then weight loss resumes.
4. Don’t eat any starches when trying for serious weight loss.
5. Drink at least two litres of water a day.
6. Learn to cook without starches and sugars.
7. Eat protein, and non starchy vegetables each day.
8. Use lemon, lime, pepper, ginger, garlic, chilli. Make your food tasty.
9. Soups are your friend. No thickeners.
10. Forgive yourself instantly when you fall off the wagon. Get back on the. Next day.
11. Stay on the thread. There are lots of very supportive people here.

My credentials. Have been doing 5:2 for 18 months. Lost 17 kg and 3 clothing sizes in the first 6 months. Have maintained ever since.

Cheers, Bay 🙂

I never get bored with your posts Bay, I’ve copied/pasted your sound advice into a Word doc and, if I can remember where I file it, we can trot it out occasionally! Impressive credentials indeed.

Completely agree, it helps to first master the two fasting days, rigidly adhering to the 500/600cal limit through good planning and accurate calorie counting. Next, the non-fast day intake requires some attention for many of us and this is where it’s important to calculate and know your TDEE. As you lose weight, one ironic downside is that your TDEE decreases so that 500/600 cal on a FD will need to be adjusted. You need to learn to eat to sustain the weight you want to be.

Thanks EA, I’d forgotten all about that cal counter at the back of the book. Have just found it again. I hope you feel better soon. Keep warm.

Well done JJ, you’re off to a good start, it doesn’t matter if it’s water, a loss is a loss. Hope you enjoy the soup, leeks are a tasty substitute. I often substitute plain yoghurt for sour cream.

Have fun in Cairns Barata. You get around.

Wow, well done CM, size 10. You go girl. OH won’t mind, just think how much money you’ve saved him on his whiskey bill. 😆 Hope you like the soup, I’m holding out until 2pm. OH has just made himself the fattest sandwich I’ve ever seen, with everything known to man piled inside it. What’s for dinner fasters? I’m having prawn and broccoli stir fry, sounds a bit weird but I’ll give it a try for 207 cals.

Nice one, Bay. You’ll be publishing the new book soon. Don’t underestimate your knowledge and experience. I’m 100% with you. 😆

Re dinner last night (it was our fast day yesterday) I marinated a few cubes of white fish each in lemon, soy, ginger, finely chopped chilli, lemongrass, chives and Vietnamese mint. Chopped up a leek, carrot, beans, celery, a bit of red capsicum, spinach, slices of fresh ginger and some more squeezed lemon. “Stir fired” the lot and added some rinsed Slendier noodles (rice style) last minute. Incredibly warming and filling. Like you,, CM, I grab any veg in the fridge plus a little protein and a lot of flavour. We actually struggled to finish it! 🙂 P

JJ, we are leaving 12 degrees here in Wellington, so Cairns will be looooovely and warm 🙂

CM, isn’t it a wonderful feeling? Now some of my size 10s are a bit loose, but they will do for now!

One of my workmates turned 60 today, has been at home with a very ill father (dying), but is to be back at work tomorrow, and I understand a home-baked morning tea is threatened. I was thinking of going in for the morning, but not so sure now – can I resist? Tomorrow is FD, but as we are travelling to Auckland in the evening, don’t know how I will get on.

Barata – hope the weather is better for you when you arrive. Cairns has been getting 10 degrees and they days are not much better. You from Wellington? My great grandparents are buried in Wellington and have found some family on one of the family history sites.

Thin – the soup was wonderful. In the end I found I did not want too much after having a bowl of this soup so ended up with pineapple and a mandarin as a snack. Then soup again for dinner. I remembered from years ago that diet jelly can also be a good filler at night after dinner as a dessert and is not much calories, so I had a packet in the cupboard and made it up. Works out as 56 calories for the full 500ml packet made up. I hope diet jelly is ok to eat!
Also bought a small set of scales yesterday much easier to use than taking out the big ones I have had for 30 years!!!!

CM, that recipe sounds tasty, I’ve just had mine and it wasn’t dissimilar to yours – prawns and Slendier noodles. Remember I was asking you what to do with that extra portion of Slendier before? I was thinking tonight, at 8 cals, you could have a second helping if you really wanted it. Not that I did.

Glad you found the soup filling JJulie. PVE: yours sounded nice too, I use those ingredients a lot. Intesha, I don’t think CM was talking about you – but like it or not, you’re a regular now and we hope you’ll check in when you have time. Have fun.

Barata, you’re an old hand so you know what to do. Personally, I’m useless around free food so I’d be avoiding that morning tea. I’ve found my bad food habits take a long time to unlearn. That’s why I enjoy the discipline of FDs. And there’s another one nearly over without any drama! Well done all.

P.S. Our posts crossed CM, glad you liked it too. Chat soon.

Hearing you guys talk about being a size 10 is just giving me so much hope that I can achieve this as well. Thank you so much for sharing.

A bit gutted I haven’t fasted today but hopefully I will get right soon and can get back on track on Monday. I might take a walk on the treadmill tonight as I can’t get out for walks at the moment.

xxxx

EnglishAussie – I am feeling motivated to do this since I have been talking to everyone and getting the hints and tips. It is great about so many being a size 10. I cant wait to be able to type those words too!! But one step at a time and I will try to stay on track as much as I can so that it does happen. I am looking forward to going to the shops tomorrow to buy some ingredients mentioned as well as some more fresh vegies and fruit. I am loving eating my fresh pineapple and cant remember the last time I had a mandarin (today was the first for ages and it was really nice)
Does anyone know of some good kangaroo meat recipes?

I’m exhausted already, nearly midnight and the little ones are still running around. Oh all those cuddles, just so precious. FD tomorrow but not sure if that will eventuate. I think I’ll just have to start skipping a few meals.

Good morning SHs
I’ve just had a good catchup on your posts and enjoyed the reminder of the joys of Thai/Viet namese flavours and will make a batch of the cauliflower soup. Thanks thin, you’ve clearly inspired lots of us. In reading other recipe sites I’ve found so many recipes that use cauliflower as a flour substitute, including one I’ve found for a pizza base! Experiment coming up for tonight’s dinner. I’ll report!
Charlie G, I dint think I’ve ever read a post on this blog where anyone makes a suggestion that’s overstepped the mark. You shared info that any t2d would be pleased to find out. I do get the flu shot and its subsidised in this situation. I think that while others (and me for a while) identified it as being flu, my doctor never did. He refers to a viral infection that affected my muscles and nerves. On the night I was in agony and couldn’t lie down my sister wondered if it was shingles. Aaaggghhh. Thank heavens no evidence of that! At a Drs appt on Monday found I had really high BP. In January this year it was 104/76, so what’s different? I’ve lost just under 10 kgs since then … Chronic and now acute dis-stress at work is my thought. I am working on that and ‘exploring my options’ because as we all know, in the end nothing else matters if you’ve not got your health.
That is the very empowering remedy of this 5:2 WOL. I’m not floundering and a victim of an out of whack body and hormones, which I found a huge emotional stress. That part of the equation is taken care of and is also a great incentive for making positive moves on the work front. I’m not trying to do everything in a fog. Im going to have lunch tomorrow with a wonderful man of great integrity and experience at the highest level who I worked for a time to tell my story and help me lift my head above ground level and give me some strategy for a positive change. I’ve found I don’t subscribe to the ‘quite fair’ transaction of you pay me and I work. I just can’t do it in an environment where trust and respect are absent. Of course I have to do ‘stuff’ but I think that necessity is what’s made me sick. We’ll see how I manage myself when I return to work on monday! Now that I’m up and about there’s plenty of nice things to do before then.
So sorry this is all about me and not much help to people new to this WOL or to a nice chat with the old hands. I think I’ve used you for therapy this morning. A big thank you, and so sorry you had no choice! Perth items can expect me to buy a round od coffees when we next meet. Xx