Ha! I also am an older mum – having had my last one when I was 43. The oneadecade name comes from the birth dates of my kids; they are 28, 19 and 14. JJ, not only do we share a name, but my husband is also younger than me, by 8 years and a very keen cyclist. He has dropped quite a lot of weight through cycling, and has no major health issues, so 5:2 is not for him. My middle daughter is doing it with me, not for weight loss, but as a way of curbing her current instinct to eat everything in sight – it’s a uni thing, I think! She and I both like the feeling of digestive calm we achieve on a FD. Thanks to everyone for your very interesting and inspirational stories.

Thank you all for sharing your very personal stories in answer to my question. Each of you are an inspiration in your own way….

The long timers here who have turned what could be seen as a “fad diet” into a sustainable way of life, reached and surpassed their goals and risen above and beyond all the challenges that life throws their way.

And also the newbies like myself who have had a long hard look in the mirror and taken one big step towards a new happier healthier future.

Reading all your posts today has given me the confidence to commit to this long term… Even if I only eat mindfully on my NFDs rather than count the calories… I’m like you Hilary4 in that if think that I can never have a hot chip (my downfall.. I’m blessed to be without a sweet tooth!) or a cheeky G&T I’d chuck this straight out the window!!

Again big thank yous for welcoming me and sharing so generously. Happy Friday!!

You MUST celebrate successes, Julie, whichever way you want, but I guess undoing what you have achieved would be silly. The wine OR the restaurant meal would be good, I think. But a week bingeing would not;)
We had a roast pork dinner to celebrate tonight. (work related) I felt sick afterwards as I am not used to that much fat anymore 🙁 Note to self. Stick to wine! P

Hi Everyone,
Weigh in showed 100g loss, not much until I worked out that the “sugar free” cough mixture and lozenges had more kj in them than the ones full of sugar.
It was lovely to read all the tales of why people started down this path, mine is similar. OH and I watched the doco in Nov 2013 and I started the next day, because I believed that it was maintainable for the rest of my life. Weight loss was the first reason, but as that has happened the health benefits have come too. Reduced blood sugar, with a family history of diabeties on both parents side, reduced BP, not that it was very high to start with, but mostly the reduced weight has been so good for all my joints, giving me a better life here on our little farm.
Hillary4 my heart goes out to you, glad to hear of the improvement in your daughter, you most be so proud of both of you. To all the newer folks joining this great family, welcome, we can be funny, emotional, expressive, but never boring,.
Onwards and downwards guys. Cheers for now. 🙂

Welcome GL502, and good on you for coming back to 5:2. It is definitely worth!

Happy FD (fast day) to the Sunday Fasters,
Merry

Thanks Merry, the ‘Sunday fasters’ comprise just me I believe. Nice to have some company though. Today marks exactly one year since I started 5:2, it happened to be a Sunday when we decided to go for it and it’s worked well. Tonight we’re having Pork Chow Mein (257 cals) and instead of Slendier noodles, I’ll be trying out my konnyaku ribbons.

Wow, CharlieG, it’s nearly 2 years for you, well done. You were one of the people who inspired me when I first started so thank you. We were on page 40 when I joined this forum!

PVE, that’s very interesting. So your OH stopped fasting when he reached goal weight, was able to maintain the weight but not the low blood sugar. What strategies was he using to maintain the goal weight when not fasting? I passed this on to my OH. I’ll leave it to him to determine if he wants to resume fasting.

What a lot of late life parents there are among us. I was 3 months shy of 40 when our first and last child was born. I see the advantages as being that it enabled me to pursue a career, see many countries of the world, have the freedom to enjoy great adventures and ultimately be in a position of relative financial stability to provide for our daughter. It does also mean that you’re more than a generation apart in age so keeping the communication lines open is vital. My own mother was 17 when I was born and that didn’t work out quite so well (in my view).

JJulie, enjoy your treat. You’re smart to choose wisely. I celebrated my new PB with a bad choice this weekend that’s cost me 500gms. Wasn’t worth it. Hurray for fast days.

Sunny and 23C here in Perth. Off to walk the dog in our care. Have a wonderful day all.

That should read ‘at least’ and ‘Springboks’. Hehe.

Hi everyone,

Well done Avent!! that is heartening news for you.

I have an FD tomorrow which I am looking forward to 🙂
Hope all the other FDs are good ones, too.

cheers,
Coast

Good to hear NikT (about the movie). Re: the other thing you mention, that must be why there are so few Aussies on here today, ha ha! Congrats to the ABs.

Re: these konnyaku noodles – finally getting around to using them – do I serve them tied in the little ribbon parcels or do I untie them before adding to my chow mein? There weren’t enough for my recipe for three so I’ve also opened the konnyaku slab (the white one, not the pond scum version). It’s only fishy momentarily and once rinsed, it’s gone.

Morning all. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I’m just checking in as a fast day for me today. This morning I weighed in at 66.75 which I was pretty happy with because a. I have got a way from that horrid 66.6 number and b. on Saturday we were out so I had a sausage roll and hot chocolate for lunch and a chicken and mushroom pie with chips and curry sauce for dinner from a British fish and chip shop. It is the closest I can find to an English fish n chips shop and it was divine. I followed that with a large hot choc from Maccers for the drive home. But I was pretty active around the house yesterday. Gotta love this WOL. I am hoping to see the 65’s by the end of my second (or even first) fast day. I seem to be stuck around the 66’s – 67’s at the moment.

Congratulations Thin on your 5:2 anniversary yesterday and for completing another fast day even though you felt a bit hungry. You enjoy your food today.

All the best to fellow Monday fasters. What’s for dinner? I’m having some baked ham and veggie soup again.
EA xxxx

Hi Thin – Oh I havent checked my emails lately. I will have a look. I didn’t get out on my Friday night. The husband didn’t get home from work until midnight as got delayed! I had bought crisps, chocolates, cakes and sweets for my friends who were also going out so dropped them off (but I did open a packet of crisps once I learnt I wasn’t going out and ate half a packet. Not good.). So, I ended up having the dinner I cooked for everyone else. Ah well.

I will go and check my email now.

Hi all
Sorry. Have had notifications turned off to relax over the weekend!

Thin, congratulations on your 1st anniversary. Many more to come. 🙂 Well done, mate.
Re Mr P, when he reached goal he was still on Metformin for diabetes, so continued to fast. When we travelled and were slacker, it was immediately obvious that his blood sugars rise if he doesn’t do regular fasting. So, he maintains both weight and bs with fasting twice a week. Mind you, he loves his dessert on other days, so needs to be controlled. 😉 The other variable is exercise (regular walking) and getting enough vegetables into him. One HAS to be sneaky. “Eat your greens and you might get some berries and yoghurt for dessert.” That sort of thing. He’s only 64, after all!!!
Fasting. Struggling a bit at 1:39 pm, so off for a walk. Cheers P

Hello everyone – I’m also a Monday/Thursday faster, and boy do I need it today. My son celebrated his birthday this last weekend and I ‘sampled’ every aspect of his birthday feast. I make an awesome chocolate cake, if I do say so, and there was plenty of other snaffling going on as well. I was pleasantly surprised that my gluttony only resulted in a gain of 500g this morning.

Congratulations, Thin on your 1st anniversary – may you have many more!

EnglishAussie – I’m having chicken and veggie stir fry tonight, 356 calories all up, and yummy. For lunch I’ve had a couple of slices of watermelon. I’m not particularly hungry today, but that’s possibly because I have a lot of teenage party food still going on inside. Sounds like you had a similarly enjoyable weekend!

Hi Everyone. It sounds like some of you really “enjoyed” your weekends. Oh well, I guess that’s why this WOL works for us. We can still enjoy those special times with family (& treats) not feel like an total outcast!

GL – Welcome and good luck on your second shot at 5:2. If I can be nosey, what caused you to stop last time? Was it those health probs you mentioned? It’s always interesting to know those trigger points to help other fasters through tough times.

Thin, congratulations again. Wow, one year on, a PB and a changed woman.

Avent, did you enjoy the thermie demo? I have one and love it. Congrats on your losses too.

EA – Sorry we missed our meet up. Never mind, there will be another day.

OneDec – I’m always on the lookout for a great chocolate cake recipe. Is it an online recipe? If so, could you post the link for me please? Have to make a birthday cake soon, so would love a new recipe.

Well, I had a fab weekend. My beautiful Charlie won best of breed at his dog show, and he received his first points towards his championship. I’m a VERY proud mum. The other good news was I hit another PB this morning. Yes, it thrilled me a little as it flicked around 61.9-62.0, but settled at 62.0. I’m over the moon! That’s another goal done and dusted. So I’m officially in my “wriggle room”. I’ll go for another 2kg to 60kg and that’ll do me. So that’s 9kg in 6 months including a week in Brisbane with family (eating!) and a 3 week carb-laden trip to Italy (serious eating!).

So, for any doubters out there, it CAN be done. If I can do it, then anyone can….seriously. I love my food & love to cook, and I have still enjoyed myself. 5:2 has changed me though. I think about what I put into my mouth now. I don’t finish everything on my plate just because it’s there & that’s what my Mum taught me. I will actually leave chips on my plate. Unheard of! I’ll pour wine back into the bottle if I over pour….like last night. I’ll ask myself “do you really want that?” and then put it back. It’s all quite remarkable & I’m still coming to terms with it……and OH doesn’t believe it either!

I’m so incredibly grateful & I wish you all so much success on this journey. Good luck. Have a wonderful FD everyone! CM xx

All your dinners sound delish. I may one day get more adventurous in my fast day cooking so like getting ideas off you all.

CM – Congratulations on your PB and official Wriggle Room Status. I am so excited for you. And congratulations to your Charlie – handsome boy.

I hope you had a good catch up today with Thin. Sad I missed it. Instead, I have been going great guns with the housework this morning, cooking lunch (not for me) and meal prepping for tonight. I’ve havent sat down. Going to do some ironing now during nap time and make myself a black coffee. I feel a 65 number coming on tomorrow morning.

Enjoy your dinner tonight PVE – you have earned it (and everyone else of course).

Thanks for the “5:2 anniversary” wishes and what a lovely idea to suggest ‘many more to come’. Purple, you’re nearly there. I’m rarely hungry on a FD but I was yesterday and I bet that had something to do with rubbish choices the day before.

Don’t worry EA, it was short notice and we’ll make it work sometime. Sorry you didn’t get your night out on Friday but at least that limited any potential damage to half a bag of chips. CM and I will meet in Fremantle on Thursday so if there are any coffee-drinking lurkers out there, you’re welcome to join us – please make yourselves known.

CM, great news about Charlie and your new weight. You’ve just about caught up to me. You really deserve it my friend. Well done.

P.S. EA, we were only going to drive up there if you could make it so don’t worry you haven’t missed out!
Mmmm some of those FD dinners tonight are sounding awfully tasty. We’re having smoked salmon too CM, the OFMs will have a white sauce with fettucine, mine will be with Slendier fettucine. It’s not a FD but I’m gradually adopting FD habits into my feast day routine where possible. I’m planning my FDs now, hearty root and barley soup and Hairy Bikers’ Healthy Cottage Pie (not all on one day).

BTW, I served the konnyaku in the ribbon packages – was that right, JJulie?

That’s right H4, what’s a toastie in the scheme of how far you’ve come?

Hello all……Well had a very busy weekend and not able to send much time on the computer. Took our Japanese homestay girl out both days and then the airport to pick up OH in the afternoon.

Did not sleep well last night (husband home!!!!) so spent the day resting a lot and not doing too much at all. It was a FD for me and I have taken it to the limit today and have only had fluids. At this point in time I have had no calories at all. My weight this morning was up about 600g probably due to the lunches bought. I did order salads though and watched everyone else eat chips, pies and pasta!!!

Thin – sorry did not see your post earlier about the konnyaku. I usually keep the little parcels tied up. I can also buy white konnyaku that looks like spaghetti and can use this in your chow mein. I really love the little knotty parcels and use them in my stews or Nabe.

and congratulations on the 5:2 anniversary. well done!!!

Everyone seems to have been busy too, not only with everyday life but also with messages on here. I have read through them and dont think I have been able to retain all the information so will have to go over them again.

Today is the beginning of week 5 for me so I have completed 4 weeks now.

Hope everyone has a great FD today and I will try to log in a bit earlier tomorrow.

Well done you three above, you’re all going great guns. Hope you did OK in your exam Coastcat; thanks for the info & congrats JJulie. OAD, I’m afraid I had to skip past your recipe even though it wasn’t a FD. Good job all the Monday fasters – you made it.

Good morning all,

reporting in. I let go of 400gm. Very happy – going in the right direction.

All up 4.4kg since 1st August. I know it will slow down soon but gee it would be nice to keep letting go at a solid rate :). I have been measuring my bits and pieces as well and have shrunk all round – I’ll work it out next time.

I have another fast day tomorrow.

I find that I have a lot of anticipation build up in me around fast day results – it is quite intrusive as it sort of takes over my thoughts. Does everything get more normal and settle down after a while?
I suppose it is all very exciting and I have to get into a routine with food preparation and planning.

Thank you for the recipes OAD 🙂

I have been obsessing about finding recipes for a sweet snack to have on hand when I get those craving feelings. Funny thing is that I don’t have a sweet tooth nor do I bake LOL!! I wanted them to include dates, oats and be ‘no bake’.

Let me assure you all that I have been very good controlling those unexpected feelings when you just want to stuff your face. My best plan is go to bed.

Have a great day fasters,
Coast

Thanks Thin,

I was so glad to get the exam over and done with. I have couple of weeks break before next semester starts. There will be challenges over that time as I catch up with family and friends. Based on all your reports I am confident that following the 5:2 programme I can keep things in balance.

By the way what does WOL mean? oh it just came to me ‘Way of Life’ LOL…..

have a great day all,
Coast

GL, you have certainly been through many challenges. Congratulations on maintaining your determination to continue the weight loss and health improvement journey. Well done!!

When you say ‘cut out breads’ – was that just initially when you were on a weight loss mission? Now that you are at this weight, do you allow yourself bread now and again?

Have fun planting out 🙂

I am having difficulty coming to grips with eating ‘normally’ because I have watched what I eat for so long that I always feel guilty if I have any carbs like bread, rice, pasta, potato etc. and fats like butter or marg, both of which I rarely have.

I know that sounds funny. Then why do I have a weight problem, you might ask? I am not sure either, perhaps it’s a portions problem for me or over-doing the occassional splurges when they happened. What do the rest of you do?
On NFD, do you include carbs etc?

Hi Julie, you are a few weeks ahead of me. How are you going so far? You’ve probably written about that, but there are so many posts it’s hard for me to keep track. My memory (or rather retention of detail) is a bit wonky as well, Julie.

Well done on the PB, CM. I love the concept of getting to ‘Wriggle Room ‘.

There is so much happening for all of you. Keep up the focus and sharing your journeys. It is all so helpful for me :))

have a great day SH,
Coast

ps as you can see I have time on my hands today – no study :))

A first for me yesterday, and I’ve nearly stopped beating myself up! My first aborted fast day.

I slept badly (but that doesn’t usually affect me) and on my Mon FD, I was just completely flat, tired, felt jittery and at times would find myself just slumped over the desk wondering what was going on. At 2pm I gave in, (not because of hunger, but felt shite) and had a few crackers and spoons of my seed mix – and started feeling better.

I binged on weetbix when I got home, no exercise, and then had a couple of spoon fulls of my dinner.

I wondered if I’d overdone it and put myself off fasting – but am fasting today – no problems at all, my usual chirpy self. So all in all I prob ate less yesterday than a normal NFD, and will be back on track today, so nothing lost – except my confidence. So that was a very good lesson, that I shouldn’t beat myself up so much, and the beauty of being able to fast another day puts me right back on track.

Good work EA on beating the 66.6!! 🙂

That soup sounds lovely OD – will keep a note for when tomatoes are abundant.

Coast I have lost 7 kg in the 4 weeks, but put on a little over last weekend. My weigh in this morning after yesterday’s FD proved no loss but I usually find that I have a loss after the second FD. That is why I like doing FD’s B2B. We shall see tomorrow morning when I weigh in again.
On NFD I have stopped all rice, pasta, potato and breads because I am trying to maintain the weight that I have lost so far. I think that once I have reached my goal weight I will allow myself to have the occasional pasta dish or roast potato or curry with rice. I still can have a curry/stir fry/ roast dinner, but not have the rice/pasta/roast potato that goes with it. For now I am happy to keep off of them and I do feel as if I am not so bloated since doing so. I am also keeping off of wine as that seems to stop my weight loss as well. I know I am allowed to have wine as long as I count the calories in my daily allowance, but it is a lot of calories that I would rather not put into my body.

So yesterday’s FD was fluid only and no calorie intake at all. Today I am trying to do the same thing. It really was not hard to do yesterday as I seemed to not feel that I needed food at all. Today is so far so good!!

GL, you sound like you’ve been through some tough times recently. But congrats on your amazing weight loss and enjoy every minute outside re-planting. Very rewarding.

Thanks for the recipes OAD. Have filed them both away. Will try that soup this week, sounds lovely. Shall let you know about the “C” word, when I make it for the birthday girl!

Thanks EA. You never know, you might just get to meet the Hairy One someday. Well done….you’re almost in the 65s!

Thin, what’s your ultimate goal or are you going to let your body decide?

How are you feeling today, Hilary? Better I hope.

Nik, we all have tougher FDs than others. You know what you’re doing, and are doing it. Easy…..so no need to beat yourself up about it.

Thanks Coast. BTW, what are you studying? I have a recipe somewhere for sweet treats with dates, nuts, etc. I’ll try & find it later for you.

JJ, wow 7kg in 4 weeks! That’s got to be some sort of record! You sound like you’ve slotted into this WOL so easily. Good for you.

Have a lovely day guys. CM xx