This topic contains 27,912 replies, has 831 voices, and was last updated by Intesha 1 day, 3 hours ago.
Aren’t dolphins gorgeous, Thin? So many around these days.
I regard the shiritaki noodles as zero. So negligible it’s not worth fettting about. We always use one pack straight away. Sometimes we threw out excess as they are very cheap from the Asian providore and can’t imagine they would keep, unless you rinse them thoroughly and store in fresh water? I know they can’t be frozen. P
JJ & Thin, I have bought these Japanese noodles from the Asian grocery before I knew about Slendier and believe it or not, they came tied in pretty little individual bows!! Just tooo cute! But was a flippin pain having to untie them all to put into a bowl of soup!
Now these “blocks of gelatinous paste made from a root vegetable” sound just so delightful!! I’m lucky to have a great Asian shop and they do try to help with special ingredients….particularly the younger ones (OMG that makes me sound ancient!). I seem to remember someone saying the liquid they sit in has a funny smell or taste ….fishy, I think. I haven’t found that yet, but make sure I rinse them really well.
Purple – You ever get over this way to visit the family??
Intesha – Hope you’re enjoying time with your family & we know you’ve probably been really busy. Don’t forget to surface occasionally to say hi.
Isabella it was me being nosey (all the nosey ones are based in Perth, hey Thin!) I’m from Brisbane, and we had a forum member from the Hinterland not too long ago (inland from Noosa), but she went on vacation and never came back to us……where are you AC??
OK, so I’m just gonna have to try this shower business, before & after I weigh myself….coz it just sounds bizarre. Was there any “exercise” taking place between weigh-ins?
….and finally. Thin, congratulations on 100 FDs. Wow, that’s dedication for you, but you look terrific and must feel great now being down 21kg… well done you!
I think your “magic cauliflower soup” is great too. I had some last night with a salad to follow and I’m down a bit again this morning! Fingers & toes crossed….I feel a new number is approaching! CM xx
Hi Purple, I’m pretty sure they were made from konjac (according to the little label) Tough little buggers they were too and a different texture to glass noodles. They were refrigerated in liquid. But now you’ve got me curious & I might go and take a second look to make sure. Want to look for the konjac block too. Shall report back! Love to see you next time you’re over.
CM xx
Thanks CM. And another cauliflower soup convert. Just had mine. No exercise, you just have the shower and watch the change. Be careful, it can go either way. I think it only works on the scales that give the BMI readings because that involves sending a current up and down your legs. Have they found the dog yet?
It does say in teen’s book that the shirataki noodles come tied in a bundle. That’ll make the FD meal a little more labour-intensive to prepare (or slow us down while eating CM). Description sounded lovely, didn’t it, but it was the reference to starch that put me off after all the talk about avoiding carbs on here. Still, it’s not processed carbs and you can’t knock back a food with no cals. Well, that sounds ridiculous but let’s say for a FD anyway.
The dolphins are so precious PVE, there are an estimated 22 living in our local river park. I have a fin book but I’m not so good at identifying them yet. My daughter saw two humpback whales resting quite close to the beach last week. Great, it would be so much fun to see you here in Perth PVE. That would be like Head Office coming over.
Thanks Bay. Safe trip.
Glad the soup has your seal of approval too PVE. Parsley’s a good idea. I don’t normally bother with the dairy as JJ said. You’re right, there are a lot of tasty FD dishes suitable for normal family days. I’ve also tried to come up with some dishes they love that I shouldn’t really be having – and make them for my family on my FDs. This even includes pizza. Aren’t I thoughtful? They’re having leek and potato soup tonight, we all love it but many contributors to this thread have told me that I don’t need the carbs so it’s been banished from my personal menu. Oh and a huge crusty roll for them too – hey, it’s their insulin, not mine.
CM, how come you’re not fasting today?
Great reading all the posts today and thanks for the welcomes. I’ll have to do a bit of local research to see if we have any such noodles as we eat more noodles than spuds or rice so would be amazing to get such a low cal accompaniment to the meal.
I wanted to ask PVE if you have stats for say months 3-6 and 6-9 of your Fasting WoL and if you can easily say if the rate of loss started to taper off for you or was still a pretty constant?
This just feels so right and I’m almost impatient for time to pass so that I can keep this positive feeling going while I feel so strong.
I figure while the going is so good, I’ve been slipping in an extra 1 or 2 fasts during the week, and couldn’t really understand why the scales didn’t change that much. I now figure it’s because of my excess bready adventures in the weekend as one Mon I did weigh and was 2kgs over my usual weekly weigh in 3 days earlier. (so the week is spent just getting back to where I was)
This weekend I concentrated on no bread/cakes etc and was only a few 100 gm heavier, so am hoping after another determined effort this week to really get things moving quicker.
Every Wed I go with a car load from work to a local hill and puff my way up hill and jog when I can, and I’ve also started doing the fast exercise this week on a cross trainer, so will be interested to see how much of a difference I notice with my jogging.
Good fasting everyone who will be joining me tomorrow 🙂
Congrats on 100 fasts Thin (how long has that taken?)
Nik – Yep, ditch the white carbs – at the very least at night. It took me a while to work it out (with the help from these guys), but once I did it was easy. I was the same as you and had more rice, noodles & pasta than sauce and thought I was doing the right thing. Got it completely wrong didn’t I?? I still have toast (1/2 slice homemade) most mornings, but nothing more & certainly nothing with dinner. I still have the occassional treat with coffee, but not often. When/if I have rice at night, I will always be up the next day – 100%. Hope this helps. Sounds like you’re going well. CM xx
Thin – Congratulations to your daughter for her award. Did she continue with the language?
I started teaching my daughter Japanese when she was 2 years old. She continued learning when her primary school started teaching the language. She continued to learn at high school and then was accepted into uni . She finished uni with a Batchelor of Languages Major in Japanese as well as English and degrees in History and Japanese History as well. She spent time living in Japan attending university and on her return did her Education degree. She is now teaching Japanese and English at the high school she attended.
The Konnyaku is packaged in a liquid just like the Slendier noodles are. I have a packet of one type of noodle at home now and it is a white spaghetti type noodle with about 5 strands twisted and knotted to make a need little bunch. This is the Shirataki Konnyaku
This is a link that shows what I am talking about http://www.fotosearch.com/CSP400/k20059469/ I hope this works and you can see it.
If you buy Shirataki noodles just be careful that you are getting the Konnyaku ones as there in another Shirataki noodle that is made of Tofu.
The block Konnyaku looks like this http://www.fotosearch.com/CSP820/k8204255/
This photo is showing a dish similar to Nabe using the block Konnyaku cut up http://www.fotosearch.com/UNE440/u19063323/
I will post this now but will continue with a bit more information later.
OK so now after my last post I see so many others have been doing a little research on the Konnyaku.
CM – The tied up noodles are used in the dish tied up as individual little noodle parcels. You can usually buy packets of the same noodle not tied as well. I usually find these ones in the fridge at the asian grocery shop. Also the block does look terrible, but it usually takes on the flavour of the liquid it is being cooked in so hence not to bad in the end and also is filling. I posted a link to a photo in my last post that will show you how it is served. I usually make Nabe with a miso soup base and it is always delicious. But is is like anything, some people like it and some dont! Your soup for dinner tonight sounds really yummy and also very Japanese!
Our Dinner tonight was Chicken Stir fry with heaps of vegies and Konnyaku noodles. Everyone enjoyed it all and there is nothing left.
It was great to read everyone’s posts on the “noodle debate” and interesting to see that some say they regard them as zero calories. I’ll put my hand up to that!
I also just wanted to let you know that the Sumos eat a special Nabe at just about every meal. It is laden with everything that is probably not healthy for them and they have many jugs of beer with each meal.(even breakfast) The beer helps them to gain weight. Anyhow in recent years Sumo authorities have been asking for a reduction in the beer intake as quite a few of the famous Sumos started dying at young ages due to their diets.
Thanks for the extra information JJulie. I’m copying and pasting it into a Word doc for full digestion later. I can see all the photos in the links thanks. The little bundles are cute – I haven’t been to Japan but they do seem to take a lot of care with their food presentation. So, if I have it right, these are commercially packaged and would be found on the shelf in an Asian shop. Whereas you can also find them and the block in the refrigerated section in a sort of take-away package in liquid? Your photo of the block and CM’s description aren’t the same as the photo in our book (which does resemble tofu).
Well done to your daughter on all those achievements JJ. Mine continued into high school but only until the end of year 10. She’s more science-orientated. It’s a shame that there isn’t more emphasis placed on Australian students continuing a language throughout high school (at least here in the West, that’s the case).
Hi NikT, thank you. 100 fasts took me exactly 50 weeks as I’ve never missed a FD (and clearly need an o/seas holiday, ha ha!). I’m a bit exhausted reading all about your flurry of activity and the extra FDs, I think I need a bit of a lie down.
CM – Thanks, my daughter worked very hard. I first started to learn Japanese about 26 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. Our new next door neighbours were Japanese and the wife could not speak English. She had a new born baby and we had tried to talk to each other over the fence. I decided to learn some of the language so we could communicate. So not my heritage at all……I’m actually Swedish/Finnish. (Swedish GGGrandfather who moved to Finland, my surname is Swedish but most of my family live in Finland)
Thin – Yes All the packets I find are in liquid. Some, like the little knotted noodles are often found just on the shelves. The unknotted white and brown noodles that look like spaghetti, and the block are usually in clear plastic packs filled with liquid and found in the refrigerated area. If you are looking for them but cant find them the store staff should be able to help you. We are lucky here in Cairns because we have a Japanese grocery shop in the city and the owner always stocks the true Japanese products. We have a large Japanese population living here now as well as the many Japanese tourists.
NikT, I just went back to read your previous posts to make sure it was you who’d said you hadn’t been counting cals while doing 5:2. Now that I’ve confirmed that, I wanted to respond to your most recent post above in which you say that you had been gaining about 2kgs while doing extra FDs during the week & all the extra exercise. You seem incredibly upbeat about all this!
I know in a previous post you’d said you’d lost 6kgs so perhaps this advice isn’t warranted. If so, it can be safely ignored. But, I was just thinking that it might be worth calculating your TDEE if you haven’t already done so and just having a go at counting calories at least on the FDs. 500 cals is surprisingly few and includes absolutely everything like milk in coffee, etc. Also, the exercise you do that day isn’t credited against your 500 cals limit. You probably know all this but I have had friends that didn’t realise these things. It may well just be the bread – but it’s worth looking into your total intake.
Once you know your TDEE, you can look at what you’re eating on a NFD and begin to eat to sustain the weight you want to be, not the weight you are now. As I say, this can all be safely ignored – you haven’t asked for any advice after all! I was just concerned about that weight gain with all those FDs and running up the hills you’re doing and don’t wan’t you to crash and burn. I’ll butt out now!
Some information and pictures here
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/04/seriously-asian-simmered-konnyaku-with-beef-recipe.html
This is an article on the great health benefits
http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/a-japanese-potato-that-flushes-25-of-the-calories-you-eat/#axzz3hHEmlpF3
Calories and other information
http://www.shakespeare-w.com/english/konnyaku/nutrition_cal.html
And just to finish a copy of part of an article……
“Being high in fiber and extremely low in calories (about 10 calories in a big block), konnyaku is prized as a diet food all over the world (that is, where it has not already been banned). According to the Japan Konnyaku Association, konnyaku normalizes cholesterol, prevents high blood pressure, and because it consists of 50% water and 40% glucomannan (dietary fiber), the body finds it hard to digest, thus sliding right through you and cleaning out your intestines all the while giving you the illusion that you are full. Konnyaku has even been given the nickname of “broom for the stomach” (胃のほうき).”
Hi Nik Thanks for asking.
I looked back at my tracker, just to be sure my memory was correct. It was. We started on 24th April 2013. I had a smooth graph line dropping from 85 kg to 60kg over 12 months. The only hiccough was a trip to Perth for Christmas, where I went up 1 kg for 10 days. 🙁 It was those cheese biscuits.
The second year was a really gradual drop to 55 kg at the maximum, then rising up to settle at 57kg. I’m here for good now.
My husband’s graph is almost identical, only 10kg above mine. We are totally different in approach and tastes so I put it down to fierce determination. We had a goal and were definitely going to reach it. We did, both of us, on the anniversary of starting. We went to a French restaurant to celebrate and hardly ate anything!!!! Hope this helps. P
Thanks for your good wishes, CM.
Nik, I keep detailed records. I definitely have to limit my intake of starchy foods and have to limit sugar in addition to my two fasts a week.
Summary weeks 1-7. Lost 8kg and 10 cm from waist. Dropped 1 clothes size.
Summary weeks 8-16. Lost 11 kg in total and 13 cm from waist.
Summary weeks 17-24. Lost 15 kg in total and 17 cm from waist.
Summary weeks 25-30. Lost 17 kg in total and 17 cm from waist. Dropped 3-4 clothes sizes.
As you can see, it was way faster at the beginning, with 8 kg in first 7 weeks, then 23 weeks to lose 9 kg. as this included a 3 week trip to China. So I always say that it took me six months to lose 17 kg, half of which was lost in the first 8 weeks. I have been maintaining ever since, for 12 months.
Enjoy fasting, and feeling more energetic when you fast. Cheers, Bay 😉
Purple, that’s great and really interesting. Just curious, how tall are you?
Ditto Bay – our posts crossed. I have absolutely no idea you had lost sooo much. Well done you. Very inspiring both of you, along with Thin.
Well, we thoroughly enjoyed dinner tonight. I didn’t tell OH that the noodles were konjac and he said he really enjoyed them….then I told him! He was really impressed and would be happy to have them again. The meal was delicious. I just made the miso & dashi soup in the usual way & added some chilli as well. Once I got the flavour right I poached the veg in the soup. I had the noodles sitting in boiling water and once the salmon was crispy, everything was done. Served it in a bowl with the salmon sitting on top so the skin stayed crisp and a few fried shallots & shredded nori. Very filling too, with the noodles. I think it would be a great meal for a dinner party and nobody would realise it was so low-cal. Probably came in around 200-250 cal depending on the size of the salmon. CM xx
EDIT – Bay, I now realise that was a running-total! I thought you were saying you lost about 40-50kg! Duh! Its late!
WOOHOO!!! good morning everyone!! I have beaten the 80’s and weigh in this morning was 79.5 WOOHOO!!!
Thanks everyone for the help and support, I could not have done this without all of you!!!
So far after 11 days on 5:2 I have lost 4.9kg and loving the adventure.
This forum not only has helped me with information about the Fast Diet and how to do it but also with what foods to eat with great hints on low cal varieties.
I love you guys!!!! THANKS HEAPS………JJXXXX
Purple – I was interested in your post. Your start weight is just about the same as my start weight. I am 157cm tall. You are now 57kg which is what I was when I got married. I would love to be that weight again. Congratulations!! It is so good to hear about people’s experiences on this diet and an inspiration to all.
Bay – Your post that outlined the weight loss by weeks was also interesting. It gives me an idea of maybe what to expect so I do not loose faith along the way. I have been loosing so fast that it not only shocked my but also worried me that it was too much too quick. I do think I am only loosing fluids though as my large bloated tummy is actually shrinking each day. Thank you for sharing with us all.
CM – your dinner sounded so delicious. Can I ask how you made the miso dashi soup. (I dont want to make my way in case yours is lower in calories). For a slightly different soup base flavor you could try this one if your interested.
https://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/asian-food/grocery/soup-miso-dashi/1211676-udon-tsuyu
This is the Instant Udon Soup Base that I have. It is a different flavor to miso and based more around the dashi/kutsuobushi flavor. (kutsuobushi is the dried bonito flakes the Japanese use in the making of dashi) There are 8 sachets per box which costs around $3.50 and there is 15 calories per sachet. This is also often used to make Nabe (hotpot) and you can add a little soy if you like. Thanks for sharing.
Hope everyone has a good day…..JJxxx
Great news JJulie, well done! I’m very pleased for you. Thanks for sharing your progress & all the info; I look forward to hearing more from you. All those dinners sounded delish last night everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish Fideos and look forward to making it with the generic konnyaku next time. I was completely stuffed after dinner and at only 265 cals for the day. Later, I had a banana which ensured I wasn’t hungry overnight. Off for a walk now.
Seriously good work JJulie!! Congratulations! Super fast start to this WOL ( way of life). And it is an amazing way of life, not at all any woe 🙂 So good to get under a 0 number. Well done you.
Some of us have never used a forum before and it really helps. Some of us are twins- there’s the twins of same age , twins of same height and start weight, etc etc, those who live in the same area,
Enjoy the ride and stay connected,
Chee rs,
Merry
2nd FD of the week for me, and I’ve had a week of all 71’s on my daily weight for the 1st time. Feels good.
Checking out that Asian Food website Julie. We have plenty of Asian grocers in Wollongong, but I don’t remember seeing much Japanese food, largely Chinese or Thai. Will check out the one in my suburb. We also have mixed European, Persian, Middle Eastern, and African. Maybe I should take more of a walk on the wild side ……still being musical….. It happens…… Stil turning Japanese, Etc going round and round in my head….
Maybe we could designate Japanese week, Indian week, Etc…
On another note…. after reading the yummy dishes of last night… We of the Merry household, the nonculinary ones, finished off various leftovers before todays FD, supplemented by some home baked peanuts and a mandarin each. Raw peanuts from Coles in the bakery section, then dry roasted in the oven. Have to watch the last bit of time carefully or they go from done to burnt quickly….smoke alarm time. Darn messy though, you know, like beer nuts, red casing/shell gets everywhere even when you try not to. We have them only occasionally as we’ll both eat too many. When this packet’s finished it’ll be a few months till the next.
Cheers all,
Merry
KALE, PRAWN & CHORIZO STIR-FRY 270 cals
Serves: 2-3
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Total time: 20 mins
• 1 tbs flaked almonds
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 120g packet ready-diced chorizo
• 200g raw, peeled Indonesian prawns
• About 100g shredded curly kale
• 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, grilled and skinned, cut into strips
• salt and ground black pepper
• Balsamic vinegar
• Chunks of rustic bread, to serve
Heat a wok or frying pan, add nuts and cook over medium heat 1-2 mins to brown. Tip out and set aside.
Put oil and chorizo in the pan and cook over a gentle heat for a min, then turn up heat, add prawns and fry 1-2 mins on each side until lightly pink all over.
Take out with a draining spoon. Reheat oil left in the pan, add kale and pepper strips and stir-fry 2-3 mins. Put prawns and chorizo back in the pan and heat through. Season, sprinkle with almonds and balsamic vinegar. Serve stir-fry with bread.
**********
PATHAI PRAWN CURRY 140 calories
Serves 1
95g red onion, sliced (40 cals)
100g raw prawns (106 cals)
1 tsp tamarind paste (5 cals)
1 small handful fresh coriander leaves
masala paste
1 tsp coriander seeds
1½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 clove garlic
1 dry red chilli
Make the masala paste by adding all the masala ingredients to a food processor. Add 100ml water to make a thin paste.
Add the paste along with the onion, prawns, tamarind paste and half of the coriander to a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 8 minutes, until the prawns are cooked and the sauce has thickened.
Serve garnished with the remaining coriander.
**********
SHRIMP & BROCCOLI STIR FRY 217
Serves 4
• 450 gms medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 2½ tbs canola oil, divided
• ¼ cup green onions (1”) diagonally cut
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• ¼ cup lower-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
Combine shrimp and cornstarch in medium bowl, tossing to coat. Heat a large wok over high heat. Add 1tbs oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shrimp; stir-fry 4 mins.
Remove shrimp from pan; place in a medium bowl. Add 1½tsp oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add green onions, ginger, garlic, stir-fry 45 secs. Add onion mixture to shrimp.
Add 1tbs oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add broccoli; stir-fry 1½ mins. Stir in shrimp mixture, soy sauce, and remaining ingredients; bring to boil. Cook 1 min or until shrimp are done and broccoli is crisp-tender.
Just a touch of honey adds a slight sweetness that rounds out the flavour in this quick stir-fry. Each cup serving of stir-fry delivers 23gms protein and pairs well with a high fibre cup of steamed brown rice.
There you go JJulie, three of my FD prawn recipes. I ignore the rice and bread suggestions but you can serve the carbs to your OH or even have them yourself as it’s a NFD for you. Please verify all cals for yourself, especially the recipes that say they serve ‘2-3’ – annoying when you need a specific calorie count.
Wow, you guys were on a roll yesterday lol. Happy 100 fast day for yesterday Thin.
Thanks for the reprimand PVE and the kick up the butt CM. You are so right, I really don’t want to undo all the work I have done already.
I’m still recovering but plan to go back to fasting next Monday. I am not going to weigh myself again until Monday morning so it will be interesting to see how my weight has gone with my mini break from 5:2. I’ve also decided that I am going to ramp up the exercise to get things moving a bit quicker for me.
You guys certainly like your noodles but you’ve not sold them to me yet lol. I think the fishy fluid smell thing you talk about is putting me off ha ha.
Happy fast day to all those Thursday Fasters.
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29 Jul 15