This topic contains 28,587 replies, has 835 voices, and was last updated by thinatlast 2 hours, 47 minutes ago.
Morning, all! After my first day fasting yesterday, I was surprised I was not hungry. And not starving this morning, either – although that first coffee went down a treat!
Overcast here in Canberra this morning, with rain on the way (so they say) – a day of study is in order, I think!
You all seem to weigh in often – how often do you weigh in?
Have a great day!
Naptime
Good morning! I like Saturday mornings!
Congratulations Naptime! You have inspired me to do an extra Fast Day today just for the pleasure of waking up tomorrow! (The state of the fridge helped me decide, I admit. I live on my own and have to plan food out in advance!)
We crossed posts last night, so it was great to then read all the good things that have happened to your health with your excellent weight loss!
When I was losing that big hunk of weight I was amazed how my brain worked. I really hated how fat I was and when I lost weight it would be one day looking at my belly, or arm, or something and think, “I lost weight! Oo its lovely, I look so much better!” And then a day or so later I was back to my usual dissatisfaction. Until the next time.
I got a happy day every few weeks, but that was it!
I am one of the few here who doesn’t weigh myself, although my daughter who lives in Sydney has some scales, and I might visit her in a few weeks so I will get to see what I weigh (I’m in Melbourne)!
I can see it is an important past of the process for most people and YAY! JJ! That was a lot of grime you must have scrubbed off in the shower!!!! 😉
Time for porridge.
Carbs v protein in weight and TDEE management
Hi there
I’ve put together a few points about TDEE and carbs in weight management on 5:2 that I’ve learnt over the years. Please just ignore this if you don’t think it applies to you, and you’re not interested. My apologies to those who already have thought of this.
I was interested Nik T that you posted that your TDEE is over 2000 and therefore that you can have 500 calories on a Fast Day. I note that you are tall. An interesting trick that many of us have adopted is to work out your TDEE for your goal weight and to learn to eat to this amount rather than what you are allowed. You can gradually go from under 500 on a FD and under 2000 on non fast days, to your goal weight calories.
Everyone starts on their maximum calories and then, once comfortable in fasting, can move on to our goal weight TDEE. In my case this means that I spent my first four weeks eating up to 500 calories and then I switched to 400 calories per fast day. When I am in a hurry to reverse a weight gain, I eat up to 300 calories on a FD. And no processed carbs on any day.
I am also a believer in normal fat foods. Having travelled to Turkey and into Germany over 10 years ago, I found that I loved their breakfasts, and they set me up for the day. Breakfast in Turkey was hard boiled egg, cheese, olives, tomato, coffee and some type of bread. I vary this by having tuna some mornings.
Protein, normal fat, small amount of carbs. This type of diet has always assisted me to maintain my weight, or to lose weight quickly when I cut the calories.
When I began 5:2 I lost 7 kg in 8 weeks, then plateaued for four weeks during which time my waist readjusted and my clothing size went down by 1-2 sizes. I regarded that plateau and any subsequent plateau as entirely necessary for the body to adjust to the rapid weight loss, and the shock of what had happened to it. 😉
Nowadays, when I want to reverse a trend of weight gain, or want to lose cm off my waist in a hurry, I cut out processed carbs on all days. No alcohol for 3 days a week. Very little sugar. It doesn’t matter if I am cutting out healthy carbs. For example, my normal bread is wheat free seed bread, but it still needs to be cut out if I want to lose cm in a hurry.
I am concerned that some people may be focusing solely on the calorie count, and not concerned with their nutrition. We need fats in our diet to be able to absorb essential vitamins and minerals. I have adopted the old saying. Don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognise. Mine was a good cook with a huge vegetable garden. If yours used takeaways, then that saying should be ignored. 😉
Hope I haven’t bored everyone. 😮
Cheers, all. Bay 🙂
Well done JJulie. 9kgs gone. That should make for a happy weekend. Forgot to say have fun in Canberra Intesha.
This morning I’m feeling like the recovering alcoholic contemplating ‘just one’ small drink. I can’t decide whether to take the leap and begin my plan of alternate weeks 5:2/6:1 tomorrow. I’ve learned from others on these pages that it’s not always easy to get straight back in the groove after stopping 5:2 for any reason and I’d hate to blow my disciplined and conditioned adherence to my Sun/Weds fasts – never skipped a FD in 13 months. I don’t want to get complacent as I can see it would be a slippery slope back to weight gain. Maybe I’m making too much of it. What do you think?
Hi everyone,
just catching up on all the news.
Welcome to the newbies – hope you enjoy being on this forum. You will learn heaps, and get so much encouragement and motivation from both the experienced and newer 5:2 users .
JJ, hope your dog sitting got sorted 🙂 I have a friend in Sydney who does that professionally. Her daughter is a vet nurse who started her own business caring for pets. My friend lived here on the coast, but her She has had a varied life as an accountant, home goddess, art therapist and counsellor and now pet nanny :)).
Well done on achieving a PB!! Can you please share the recipe for Finnish pastry?
Glad the injection went better than expected. Hope it works for you.
My niece went to Japan yesterday as well, on a school trip. Very excited.
I heard some interesting current research about crosswords etc and dementia, but unfortunately this is not the forum to take up space …….
Bay, I hear you 🙂 my body craves carbs and savoury. How are you managing it? I decided to plan ahead and always allow myself some on my NFDs. Slows down the downward trend, but I am happier with less cravings.
EA, I hardly ever eat pizza but I bought one on special (frozen) and made half of it the other day on a NFD. Customised it by adding salsa, olives, sun-dried tomato, chilli and made a salad on the side. and it was so yum . Now I am not afraid to make and eat the other half. It was a fast and easy dinner:)) Hope you manage to get through the day without succumbing to the Chicken curry pie 🙂 – keep focused as you are doing well.. Not getting a downward movement is so frustrating, but it it WILL happened just stick with it!!!!
I had to laugh about you encouraging NikT to beat herself up …. LOL!!!!
Thanks for all the supportive words, really helps me keep to the 5:2 and move along knowing that people care about my journey 🙂
Thin, such a great loss!! Reaching under 60!!! congratulations!!! and brilliant health stats as well. Loved that you enjoyed your lunch GUILT FREE!!! marvellous .
Cinque, totally understand how you are feeling. I got desperate and quickly read ‘How to Write A Lot” to get inspired. Set some writing schedules and goals and I am on my way :). Excellent that you made progress with the writing and your project YumDaisy sounds terrific. In the end everything that needs to be done will get done 🙂
NikT and CM, I don’t normally, but the hunger was SO great that it woke me. Glad I managed to stick to miso soup and not a vegmite sandwich :)). I can identify with your blow out – I had the munchies horribly a week or so back. But you will get back into it – you’ve done it before 🙂
CM, that’s cooking up a storm. and sounds so yum. What were the Mexican nibbles? Well done on reaching the 60’s – what a great feeling achieving that milestone.
Have a good trip Intesha. It’s nice to hear you feeling so positive.
Great getting back on track NikT. Good news that your leg is a bit better. Hope it behaves itself tomorrow.
Naptime, what a great journey you have been on. Well done on letting go of the initial 25kg!! Glad you joined us for the balance. My big goal is another 30kg as well. We can do it according to all the successful 5:2’s on this forum 🙂 and yes we have a lot to be proud of – the weight let go of to date; the motivation we have shown to make changes in our lives, just to name a few …….
Well done for all the losers, the maintainers and plateau-ers 🙂
signing off,
Coast
Yay, Coast, what an epic!
I don’t have rice or pasta or bread or sugar or potatoes on my non carb days. You ask how I reduce carbs. I eat stir fry or spaghetti meat sauce without the noodles or rice. I eat eggs without toast. I put a few Parmesan flakes on the spaghetti sauce. All homemade so I know the ingredients are healthy. No processed foods or bought meals of any sort. You would be staggered at the fillers and sugars that are in processed foods.
Thin, why not have a look at the Maintenance thread called Thank you, Dr M. Purple and Happy both post on it.
I have to continue on 5:2 to maintain my weight loss. I think this is because I haven’t given up on sweet treats. When I took the sugar free Lent challenge, I only needed to fast 3 days a fortnight. My first fast day in the week, mostly Monday, I am very strict about keeping under 400 calories, sometimes under 300 calories. The later one in the week, I can relax a bit, maybe out to 500 calories. It depends on how many carbs i have eaten on my non fast days. 😉
Well done, Thin. I do agree there is mental magic in maintaining. Go girl, go. 😉 Bay
Hi Thin
Unless you are worried about losing too much weight, I would continue the 5:2 as you have adhered to it for such a long time. What you can do is introduce other indulgent meals on non fast days that you haven’t allowed yourself for such a long time, and then you can see the effect this has.
Cheers, Bay 🙂
Hi again,
not wanting to get too far behind :))
Yayy!!! JJ, such good news for you!! well done. nearly 9kgs gone!! Woo Hoo!!! Hope the headache eases.
Naptime, I weigh after every FD and measure my curves. I find having a baseline and seeing my progress helps keep me motivated. Not having hunger pangs is an amazing thing after FD’s – very counter-intuitive. Sometimes I feel like I could just continue on but don’t because that’s not healthy. Well done.
Cinque, you made me laugh 🙂 about the state of your fridge inspiring you to do another FD.
Bay, thanks for the comments about your carbs vs protein management. very interesting especially the bits about plateauing and the body reshaping. I’ll have a closer read later. Thanks for the personal comments as well but I was interested in how you manage your sweet cravings, as you mentioned that was a frustration for you.
Interesting perspective, Thin, about making the right choices – I’m sure that you will after such a long successful journey. I think you are right to be concerned. I say keep focused – I mean you have plenty of days to totally enjoy flexibility and indulge :))
Coast
Just back from doing some lovely pottering around in the garden. I planted lambs lettuce seeds and a self sown tomato that was coming up in the gravel. Then I cleaned up afterwards! Which took the most time!
Bay thanks for what you wrote about TDEE and carbs, very interesting. I also like normal fat! A lot of my cooking is traditional meals from all over the world.
Jamie Oliver has just put out an interesting article on carbs: http://www.jamieoliver.com/news-and-features/features/good-carbohydrates/#suqCRIJFboszHcMO.97 What do you think?
What a lovely problem to have Thin! Congratulations. I can’t wait until I am mulling those choices over! I guess all you can do is try what you think will work best, and then change it if it doesn’t!
I wondered about the Finnish pasties too? Are they from Finland, or is it a joke about finnishing them all up?
Thanks Coast, I’m beginning to think it all will get done, by hook or by crook!
Thank you Bay, Coast and Cinque for your sensible and considered responses. You’ve given me things to think about. Thank you for sharing your own experience Bay too, it’s very helpful to me. I will look at the other thread as soon as my internet gets back to its proper speed next week.
Reading the posts since mine this morning, I was confused because there were references to several topics I hadn’t seen before. Scrolling back to the entries before mine, I discovered many more that hadn’t been showing when I posted including the long one from you Bay. This happened once before (it’s not a posting time coincidence because Bay’s was a good half hour before mine, they just weren’t available to my browser for some reason). I’m including this ramble in case anyone thinks I’m ignoring them. Will now make myself a big coffee and have a good, long read so I can catch up on how everyone’s doing.
P.S. Bay, that was a great post, very sensible advice and I love the part about the grannies – neither of my nans would have known what a takeaway was!
Naptime – I weigh morning and night and sometimes after a walk or a shower if I didn’t like the first reading. 😆
Cinque, I’ve read the Jamie Oliver article on carbs that you posted, thanks. I have mixed feelings about it. I think there’s a lot of truth to what he writes. Of course we need carbs for energy. Nutrition 101. He makes little mention of carb portion sizes other than to recommend four roast potatoes instead of nine (seriously?) and he’s pictured enjoying a huge plate of spaghetti. Pasta was traditionally eaten as a side dish with salad vegetables comprising the bulk of an Italian meal. It wouldn’t work for me, I’m too concerned about my insulin sensitivity. What did you think of it?
Lovely to be pottering in the garden now that spring is here. I hope your lettuces and tomatoes grow well. And with your dedication, I am confident that you will be mulling over these maintenance choices in no time.
Hi again,
Thanks Thin, it is good to get your feedback on that article. I am considering posting it on the page for my community food project. I am very careful about what I post there, and I wanted to think about it. You have put your finger on the very things that were niggling me. I went, yes, yes, yes to your post, and went back to read it again. But now that you have nicely put it into words, I’m actually feeling that I will post it and be ready for some comments. (He is eating wholemeal pasta at least), and he does say carbs (the best ones) should make up a one third of a balanced plate. The dietitians we work with say AT LEAST 1/3.
The thing I like about it is how it draws a distinction between refined carbs and sugars, and the wonderful complex carbohydrates and fibre-containing vegetables.
Thanks for your optimism that I will get to maintenance soon. I can’t quite imagine it!
Just going out to see how the tomato is at the end of the day.
Hi Coast
I consider myself to be addicted to sugar, because I find it so hard to have a little sweet treat only once a week. During the six week sugar free challenge I had no added sugar, honey, maltrose, dextrose, stevia, glucose etc. I ate no dried fruit and had no juice. No cereals or breads, No desserts and very little fresh fruit. Very little alcohol.
It was super hard at the beginning of the sugar free challenge and I had withdrawal symptoms for the first 3.5 days. It was such a relief to wake on the 4th day with no cravings at all. By withdrawal symptoms I mean general blah feelings, cravings, never feeling energetic, never feeling satisfied, and just plain out of sorts. I am used to feeling well, so this all made me mildly irritable!
The bonus of being sugar free is that the taste of other foods is enhanced. After going through withdrawal, I permitted myself just a few fresh berries or an apple. Raw almonds and Brazil nuts were my snacks of choice, and they tasted wonderfully sweet.
Other people on the Lenten challenge were sugar free for six days of the week, and then they allowed themselves a small treat on Sundays. I dared not, as I couldn’t face another sugar detox. 😉
So, my technique is All or Nothing.
Cheers, Bay 🙂
Finnish Pasties
500g lean beef mince
1 onion finely diced
3 hard boiled eggs (chopped as small as diced onion)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup cooked rice
Pepper
salt
1 egg (for binding)
oven at 200 degrees C
6 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry
(or make your own)
Brown the mincemeat and onion in a frying pan and cook until meat is brown and separated and onion clear. Take off heat and put into bowl.
Once in bowl mix in the boiled eggs, cooked rice and seasonings and bind with the uncooked egg
Cut each pastry sheet into quarters and place a dessertspoon full of mixture across. You can then fold over to make triangles or bring the corners up then roll down including the sides, like cornish pasties. (this is the way I usually do it) alternatively you can cut circles if you wish, like normal pasties. All up you should have about 22-24 pasties with this mixture.
Cook in oven until pastry is golden.
Morning, All!
Cinque, I know what you mean about the dissatisfaction. I took some pants in the other day, and took 6 inches off the waist (that’s since the beginning of my weight loss journey). I was really stoked – but the next day, I just notice all the fat again, and think how much farther I have to go.
Tomorrow is my FD – now I need ideas for meals!
Have a great day,
Naptime
Cinque – the Finnish pasties are yes from Finland. They are traditionally a winter food, but like most of the foods from there I love to eat them anytime. Another traditional Finnish food is split pea and ham soup. Traditionally eaten on Thursdays and just as tasty as the Engish version.
One of my favourites is Karelian Pasties which are made with rye flour with a rice pudding mixture or a mashed potato mixture as the filling, then while warm topped with a mixture of chopped boiled egg and butter. Very fattening. The word Karelian comes from the area in Finland near the Russian border, where they were traditionally made.
Naptime, what would you normally eat as a meal on a FD?
Here is a list of what I do….
1. two egg omelette with mushrooms and diced tomato. As it says two eggs beaten, put into frypas with as little spray oil as you can or none if your pan is non-stick. when this is cooked I put onto a plate then quickly saute the mushrooms and tomato and place alongside the egg. Usually makes quite a big plate full and very filling. If you are tightly counting the calories only use 100g mushrooms and 100g tomato, but if you are not in the 300 cal count then you can add more as they are both quite low in calories. I actually use mushrooms a lot as a filler due to how low they are in calories.
2. Miso soup is great for lunch while fasting, but if you want to make a meal of it add some vegetables to the soup and turn it into a hotpot. In Japanese this is Nabe. If you dont have the prepared miso packet on hand you can still do this. Yesterday I made Nabe using the handly freeze dried packets that you can buy at the supermarket. Coles has a Japanese brand that is only 19 and 20 calories per serve so this helps with your calorie count. So i added two sachets to a pot of 750ml hot water. One skinless chicken breast that had been trimmed of all fat and diced quite small. One onion cut into bigger size chunks. Let these cook. Then you can add any vegetable you like. Carrot takes a little longer to cook so put these in at the same time as the onion and chicken. I use more of the traditional Japanese foods in mine. Like, Enoki and Shimeji mushrooms, cabbage, spring onion, konnyaku noodles, but you can add beans, zucchini, spinach and normal mushrooms if you dont want to have to go looking for the Japanese ones. The Konnyaku noodle has virtually no calories and is a good filler. This will make two servings.
Or you could make a nice soup that will fill you up. The Cauliflower soup is very filling and low in calories, but others make a great sounding vegetable soup that will fill you up too. Pumpkin soup is great too and I have made a tomato soup from the tomatoes in my garden or if they are going out cheap at the supermarket and this has been really nice too.
Hope this gives you some ideas…..let me know if there is something special you have thought of and I can see if we can make it 5:2 style…….JJxxx
Bay I am interested to read you dont count the leafy vegies in your carbs…I dont either.
Naptime – great that you had a good FD. You can extend your FD a little the next day by having only fluids until about lunch time and it is a good booster. Also your question about weighing…….I weigh every day, I am obsessed with it!!! And you might read that some of us weigh several times in a morning etc. What ever you want to do is right for you!!!
Coast – I quite often go with the flow and if a non-fast day seems to be turning into a FD because I am busy, I just let it happen and say thanks for the bonus!!! Good on you. Dog sitting still not sorted but I have a friend who will take them both to her house if the house sitter will not be able to. I have a back up plan now as well and may also be able to separate the dogs to two places.
Bay – great reading your post, I think it confirmed to me that I am doing some right things for myself.
Anyhow, headache sorted and shoulder feeling better. I have probably overdone it though!!! Doctor said no housework, cooking, cleaning, but of course I cooked yesterday, That is me…I take after my mother and her mother, we like to cook. Anyhow I had to prepare all the vegies for the Nabe yesterday and we needed a good filling food to last us. OH had two performances yesterday so the Nabe is not only healthy but filling too.
I was there a security for all belongings while on stage and also I take photos or videos of the performances. Unfortunately I can not post these videos as they are used for promotional purposes and they get them edited before they are released, but you can always look on their facebook site, Cairns Taiko if you are interested. My OH is the tall guy usually with a taiko on the side of his hip.
Another performance is on today. They are really busy this time of year with all the festivals that Cairns has. More performances are scheduled for October too.
Well after a very successful day of performances everyone had to have a drink at the dojo afterwards and I celebrated with a champagne since I had reached 75.4!!! Today I am up in the 76 again….Not to worry tomorrow is FD again and it should come off again. I am still happy!!!
Catch you all later…..JJxxx
Good morning everyone! It’s sunshine and pigeons cooing here.
So many interesting things in the posts this morning!
I had to go off and google Karelian Pasties, they are completely new to me! Fascinating! I can imagine how good they would be on a cold Winters Day! And I copied your recipe for Finnish Pasties, JJ. I would love to try them!
I have used cookbooks to learn so much about geography and history! As well as yumminess.
I found the Aussie Recipe Thread, favourited it, and read it though. Oo there are some delicious recipes there. Including one for Olan Dal which I just discovered last week in a fabulous cookbook full of dal recipes, and copied it out to try.
I look forward to adding some recipes there.
Cutting out sugar was a big thing for me too Bay. I did it because I was feeling so sick after eating sweet things: a poisoned kind of hungover sickness. I already had a pretty good diet with mostly unprocessed foods, so I looked up sugar levels in foods and cut out all the ones with high sugar. Within a couple of days the poisoned feeling was gone, and then I realised that my appetite was more normal. What a relief to be without those intolerable constant cravings!
Now if I eat something sweet (eg I can eat a few raspberries with yoghurt ok, but if I try it two days in a row…) I am crook again.
I have a bit of a dream I can have occasional sweet things some time in the future, but I am ok if that never happens(I know raspberries are sweet, but they are the lowest sugar fruit, and that is it: unless you count fried onions, and sweet corn and sweet potato etc, which taste amazingly sweet to me these days!). Feeling crook is a good deterrent!
(And at least I can have coffee!)
Naptime I hope you come up with some lovely meals for your Fast Day. I am still stuck on porridge in the morning and soup in the evening. It makes Fast Day a day where I have less decisions and less cooking (especially if I have the soup already made!) and I think the routine of it makes me less anxious. I wonder if I will get sick of it eventually?
As I get closer to my healthy weight that dissatisfaction is slipping away. You will love it Nap!
Best wishes everyone for a good day.
Good morning SH,
It’s not a weigh-in day but I’m trying to keep on top of the forum. The content is huge – we are a prolific lot, aren’t we 🙂
I went to a 50th yesterday and enjoyed a little bit of everything – totally guilt free:)
Yayy!!! JJ, such good news for you!! well done. nearly 9kgs gone!! Woo Hoo!!! Hope the headache eases.
Thanks for the Finnish Pasty recipe – I’ll look forward to trying it. Are the spices used the traditional Finnish way or your own personal preferences? The other foods sound nice as well 🙂 I haven’t had a chance to catch-up on the Taiko site yet, but I am intrigued :))
Naptime, I weigh after every FD and measure my curves. I find having a baseline and seeing my progress helps keep me motivated. Not having hunger pangs is an amazing thing after FD’s – very counter-intuitive. Sometimes I feel like I could just continue on but don’t because that’s not healthy. Well done.
Cinque, you made me laugh 🙂 about the state of your fridge inspiring you to do another FD. It’s great that you are starting to feel on top of. Your garden sounds lovely, but what a lot of work. Well done 🙂 Thanks for the Jamie Oliver post – I haven’t read it yet but will get to it this afternoon. Interesting points realised so am looking forward to reading it.
Bay, thanks for the comments about your carbs vs protein management. very interesting especially the bits about plateauing and the body reshaping. I’ll have a closer read later. Thanks for the personal comments as well but I was interested in how you manage your sweet cravings, as you mentioned that was a frustration for you.
Interesting perspective, Thin, hope you make the right choices – I’m sure that thou will after such a long successful journey. No I think you are right to be concerned. I say keep focused – I mean you have plenty of days to totally enjoy flexibility :))
Wow, that is great work, Bay. Very motivated and dedicated. I totally understand about the all or nothing way that you work. I am that way with bread. Based on your list of items, I am happy to say that I don’t have a sugar issue. The only things I eat on a weekly basis is fruit; bread I sometimes don’t have for weeks and when I do allow it I may have a couple of slives of Burgen soy-lin a couple of times a week (usually from the freezer to slow down consumption LOL!!). I don’t’ do desserts, sugars, soft drinks etc. With wine I also have many weeks of none and then I might have it over a couple of days then back to none – I do like a drink now and again :).
Naptime, our little negative talkers can be such a pain!!!! You sound like that is a big problem for you. I try to deal with my negative talker by imagining him sitting on my shoulder and I either acknowledge him and his negative talk, thank him for his concern about my future struggles, and say goodbye to him for the time being and watch him disappear in a puff of smoke or trudge up a pathway (in my mind) as he disappears over the hill OR I give him the flick – depending on my mood :). He always comes back but at least I get a break from him. I know it sounds a bit whacky, but it does work for some – worth a try.
Many of us use low calorie soups either home made or packaged. I make a big pot of cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, celery, mixed vegetable, sweet potato, etc and freeze individual packs , and I usually make zucchini or carrot strips; mushrooms to bulk it up. Lots of others to chose from. We also make 1 or 2 egg omelettes with mushroom, tomato, onion or any other veges. I also try to have a tin of tuna with that or a salad some days. Hope that helps. I see JJ has given an extensive answer as well 🙂
have fun fasters and even more fun non-fasters!!
till next time,
Coast
Ooh, I have a soup maker, and have never made a cauliflower soup! How do I make it? I was wondering about making a pumpkin soup for tomorrow, or I will have a mountain bread salad wrap for lunch, as that is well under 200 cals. When you talk about omelettes, I assume they are egg whites omelettes?
I logged on this arvo, because I was starting to panic about fasting. Not really the fasting, I guess – but more the ‘what happens if it doesn’t work?’ I limit my calories everyday to under 1500, so how can two days of fasting make that much difference? And even if I lose this week, what about next week (I seem to lose one week, then gain the second)? I can’t take much more of this back and forth – as it is so soul destroying to be trying so hard and not getting anywhere.
Sorry to pour all that out – I tried talking to my partner, but they don’t really understand what it is like to try so hard and keep failing.
Naptime
Hi Naptime, I just felt I had to say something but there are much more experienced people on this forum than me that can help you.
I have been doing this 5:2 since February, never actually believing it would work but just hoping. This is not a diet it is a way of life. It something not to do once in awhile but a commitment to yourself. I have now lost 13kg and my mind has still not caught up with that. I was going to give up so many times but kept plugged into this forum, got my backside kicked a few times for my negative attitude but I am so glad I hung around. I don’t like criticism and sometimes I just thought it was all too hard but I look in the mirror now and cannot believe what I see. The body is a wonderful thing but it tries to cling to what it knows and when we start doing things differently it doesn’t like it.
Don’t give up it will happen, we have all been there and feel your pain. Tell us how you feel that is what this is all about. Support and friendship.
Be kind to yourself ?
JJulie, you lead a very full and exciting life. Pleased your health issues are settling down. You are quite the foodie.
Cinque, you talk about being less anxious by keeping your FD foods simple – I could never have coped with this (and two others to feed) if I’d not planned everything out. I organised my FD meals one month in advance with a lot of variety as my OH did this with me for the first 11 months and I wouldn’t have got away with feeding him random carrots and cottage cheese. Now that it’s just me, I keep it simple relying on the same foods a lot but some of my FD meals became family favourites which is ideal. If you get tired of the same things, you can always venture out – try http://www.goodtoknow.uk for some delicious recipes under 200 cals, under 300 cals etc.
I actually don’t mind cooking and preparing food on FDs and it’s been great to learn not to keep putting everything in my mouth as I used to do! Time spent actually preparing FD meals has been fun for me and the initial boring calorie counting was actually a very good lesson in what portions ought to look like.
Cinque, I think you you and Bay are very strong to give up sugar. It seems daunting to me especially when everyday fruits are included in the foods to be abandoned.
Coastcat, I’m fasting today so decided to carry on for a while as I am. I don’t think I need to lose any more weight as I am conscious of the little comments here and there.
Naptime, I will post the now famous cauliflower soup shortly and respond to your post also – please don’t despair!
CAULIFLOWER SOUP (103 calories per serve)
Serves 2
400g cauliflower, chopped (100)
2 cloves garlic (8)
1 medium onion (38)
2 cups chicken stock (15) – (note Campbells is 40)
2 tbs light sour cream (44)
½ tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg
¼ tsp cayenne
Dice onion and garlic, saute 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.
I use yogurt instead of sour cream. Just watch it with the cayenne, some people say it’s too hot. You can freeze this in two cup portions and add the dairy when defrosted.
Well Naptime, Intesha has said it all. I’m proud to say that I’m responsible for a lot of the so-called butt-kicking Intesha received on this forum. It was only ever intended to keep her on track – she just couldn’t seem to accept that she was really losing weight or that she could do it. There were a lot of plateaus along the way but we all experience those. Now look at her! 13kgs down and dishing out advice on here like a real 5:2 pro. You go girl!
Naptime, take a look at what you’re including in those 1500 nonFD calories. Calorie counting is a real pain and we don’t want to be doing it on nonFDs otherwise this is just like any other old diet and becomes unsustainable. Focus more on your nutritional intake rather than the calories. Try eating protein and veg. for dinner instead of pasta, bread, potatoes. What about alcohol? Whilst we can have anything we want on nonFDs in theory, we still have to be mindful about what we’re eating if this is to be for the long-term. If you have calculated your TDEE properly, this will work. Think about eating for the weight you want to be, not the weight you are now. I hope this helps a bit.
Thanks Thin, your ears must have been burning a few times over the past few months with my colourful language, not that I swear, I don’t but who better to give advice than the person who has walked in your shoes and has experienced everything you are going through.
I saw my beautician today haven’t seen her for awhile and she was amazed at how I looked from the top of my head to my toes. I had told her previously what I was doing but I think she was astounded at the change. She is now going to look in to it for herself and OH. The proof is in the pudding.
Naptime I still have issues with belief and I am now just taking each day as it comes and whatever weight I lose from now is a bonus and I am still by no means slim, I could probably lose another 10-15kgs but that is way beyond my comprehension.
Stay with this forum and you will make it. That old saying ‘how do you eat an elephant?’ ‘One bite at a time’ is very apt.
Thank you Intesha and Thin – you have no idea how much I appreciate the support and kind, wise words. When I started looking after myself last October, I knew this would be a life change, not a diet. Fo r 8 months I had the exact same thing for lunch and was below 1200cals/day – but I realised it just wasn’t maintainable (and let’s face it, it got boring), that I did vary it a bit. I now eat healthily, although I do think my portions are probably out of whack for dinner.
I try to always eat healthy, as I guess everyone does. I know junk food is my weakness, and I resist most of the time – but even that gets harder when I resist and still put on weight.
I feel like I am constantly fighting with myself, fighting the junk food, fighting all that I put in – and it doesn’t help. That is where I am at the moment, feeling like I am fighting a losing battle, and I am just so tired of it.
I will hit the ground running tomorrow and fast – and keep everything crossed it is the change I need!
Again, thanks for all the support. I couldn’t do this without you all!
Naptime
Naptime you haven’t been with us long enough to know we all fall off the wagon on a regular basis. Last Sunday I went for high tea, yesterday a birthday party for my two yr old grandson, had chips, chocolate, cake etc but today I added as an extra FD to counter the damage. That’s what is good about this WOL. Wednesday I am off to Canberra for three days and will not be fasting.
This does work it just takes patience and belief.
Hi JJ, Thin and Cinque
Thank you very much for your recipes. I will try them this week. I have a cauliflower in the fridge and can’t wait to make the soup, as a variation from my favourite vegetable soup.
Naptime, Plateauing is normal. Try not to be discouraged. Think of it as the body adjusting to the next stage. Have you calculated your TDEE for your goal weight?
I weigh each morning and record the lowest weight once a week, on the Fast Tracker on this website. I measure my bust, waist, hips about once a month and record them on the fast tracker.
Cheers, Bay 🙂
Hi again Naptime,
I haven’t been able to keep on top of all the posts as they’re so prolific now. The advice I gave you above was in relation to your comment that you’re tired of losing one week and gaining the next. I’d thought you meant this was happening on 5:2. I’ve since been back to read all your posts and I am now thinking that you have not actually started 5:2 yet. Is this correct? If I have it right, you’ve lost a heap of weight (25kgs) using another method and have now plateaued and are anxious about whether 5:2 will work for you. Don’t be.
If you haven’t already done so, read Dr Mosley’s book before you do anything. Measure absolutely everything, waist, bust, thighs, arms, etc. Then calculate your current TDEE and, from that, your FD calorie allowance. Disregard what I said about eating for the weight you want to be FOR NOW. Disregard what I said about looking into what you eat on non-FDs FOR NOW. If you rigidly stick to your FD calorie allowance, this WILL work for you. In the beginning, because you say are 25kgs overweight, it won’t matter much what you eat on the other days (but try not to over-compensate).
Do this for a few weeks, enjoy the results and then you can start adjusting other aspects like reducing carbs, eating for the goal weight, making healthier choices, and so on. One thing at a time, OK? Plan your FD meals ahead of time. Get the FDs mastered and let us know how that goes. We’re here for you. Make sure you use this forum, everyone is very friendly & supportive and although we don’t know everything, we’re happy to share our experiences. Be positive.
Thank you, Thin – your advice is invaluable. You are right, I only started 5:2 this week (2nd fast day today). I have just been so back and forth for the last few months, my positive attitude has gone on holiday!
I haven’t got Dr Mosleys book – but I will order it today.
Is there a site/thread I can go to work out what my FD allowance should be? I worked out my current TDEE (2033 – saying I was not active at all), but I don’t know how to work out my FD cals.
I haven’t ever done my measurements, yet I wish I had. I think it would have helped me seeing how much weight has come off, rather than just the scales. I will attempt that today.
Thanks again.
Hi Naptime
Firstly congratulations on losing 25 kg. that alone is a huge achievement. Please take heed of what Thin has written. You can buy Michael Mosleys book from booktopia.com.au. It is invaluable for understanding why fasting works and what you need to focus on upfront.
Your first task after taking all your measurements is to learn to fast two days a week, eating fewer than 500 calories. And eat up to 2000 calories maximum on non fast days. After that has become your new normal, you could look at type of food that you are eating within your calorie allowance.
You want to do this for nutritional reasons. A diet that has a moderate amount of protein, some full fat foods and very few carbs provides energy and nutrition. If you have already lost 25 kg, then you have most likely given up processed carbs. These are the most energy dense foods and add weight easily.
As Thin says the trick is not to over compensate on your non fast days. I found that i was eating nutritious foods, but too much of them. When I began 5:2 I learnt appropriate portion size. I agree with calculating TDEE using Sedentary as your activity level. Michael Mosley says that you should eat up to a max of 2000 calories on a non fast day.
At the top of the page as you contribute to this website, there is a Fast Tracker site. This includes the ability to calculate your TDEE.
Good luck and congrats once again on your stunning 25 kg weight loss.
Cheers, Bay 🙂
Hi Naptime, the basic Fast Day thing is to aim for 500 calories. I think of it as two small meals.
I know how keen you are to get rid of that extra weight but, if you can, it might be more useful to concentrate on the science that says that fasting days help your long term health. They can be a sustainable part of life. And that simple maths mean that if you are missing a couple of meals a week, then it has to be good weight wise.
The experience of people here will tell you that you will lose weight, so just tuck that on your shoulder (instead of little nasty-comment guy ;)) and concentrate on eating normal healthy food on non Fast Days and Fasting on the other two.
(That has been what has helped me most)
PS Have good Fast Day today!
Hello everyone else!
Good morning everyone.
I have been reading all the posts and gee what a lot of them!!! I spent most of yesterday out and about with the Taiko group so missed out on seeing your posts until later last night.
True to my word and I reached 75.4 and I celebrated!!!!
Many of you dont know that I have cut down a lot on meat while following 5:2.
I use a lot of chicken breast and these days I have perfected my curries and stir frys to use only one breast between the three of us. 16YO does not care so much so is happy to eat as little meat as possible, OH usually gets the most of the meat and I will have a small amount only but mostly the meal is made up of vegies.
However, after yesterdays performance on the beach we indulged in gelato before coming home and OH announced he wanted “steak egg and chips” for dinner!!!
25YO daughter, also Taiko player, wanted to do some shopping for her dinner, so we all trundled off to the supermarket together. OH got a rib fillet with a packet of frozen crinkle cut chips, I bought a small rump steak with lebanese cucumbers. OH did the cooking and 16 YO shared my steak. In the end I had steak, cucumber and tomato. It was a nice celebration for me with a glass or two of French Chardonnay. TODAY I am 1kg more than yesterday, but happy and today is a FD. I know I will now be good until I get to my next goal of 70kg!!!
So really here I think the story I am telling you is that ……have an aim to get to…..celebrate your victory, even if you put a little back on along the way, you know it will come off again…..there is always another FD……..get back into the routine after the celebration and aim for the next goal………AND LOVE YOURSELF for achieving this!
Thank you and have a great day……..especially all us Monday fasters!…..JJxx
Naptime, I just read your post about omelettes…….I dont just use the egg white, although it is something you could do if you wanted to. I use two whole eggs. Depending on the size they could be 80 calouries each, best to check calorie counter for your own eggs. The two eggs are the most calories in the meal. I usually bulk it up with sauted mushrooms and tomato. This whole meal is usually around 200 calories. It is a meal that I make usually on a FD. During the day I will have fluid which includes miso soup and sometimes only have a calorie intake of about 40 calories during the day.
To fill up at night time I sometimes make a diet jelly which is 56 calories for the whole jelly. or you could have a piece of fruit.
My FD intake is supposed to be around 445 at this time but I always try to stay way under that on my fast days.
I know calorie counting is a chore, I used to do it everyday. Now I have learnt more about the foods I am cooking and dont bother to check my calories on non-FD but am mindful of what I am preparing and putting into my mouth. I still do check my calories on fast days especially if I am preparing something different to what I know. That way I am sure I am keeping within my limits. Soon you will find that you really dont need to count the calories too. By the way, on non-FD I probably only eat about 1000 – 1200 calories and find that it is enough for me.
But every now and then, I will celebrate and go over!!!!
Hey JJ same thing happened with me. Friday after FD I was 74.3. Saturday Had two yr olds birthday and weighed 75.1 on Sunday morning decided to have an FD Sunday and this morning was 74.2.
So everything in moderation, just don’t let it get away from you. I will have my normal FD tomorrow then nothing until Sunday after my little excursion to Canberra.
We’re on track for that 70kg.
Naptime, you’re on your way! Great start. You too Intesha, heading for the 60s.
I went ahead with my normal Sunday FD as I was too chicken to stop. In the afternoon, friends came over unexpectedly bearing gifts of several varieties of fancy looking cakes they’d purchased while out having coffee. I’m far too stubborn to cave in once a FD has begun so I just had to cut the cakes into pieces, listen to all the “Oh, I really shouldn’ts” and the ooohs and aaahs as they got shared and then watch the leftovers on the plate for a couple of hours. Didn’t actually bother me at all. I’m not really a cake eater anyway, I just don’t like OH having something I can’t have, ha ha. Anyway, two bits were left so I enjoyed them this morning after first weighing in at a respectable 59.9kgs.
Hope all the Monday fasters are having a good day. EA, CM where are you hiding?
Hi Intesha, it sounds like you’re enjoying the journey now and not just focussing on what the end weight might ultimately be. I think this is a good philosophy. It’s time for me to re-read ‘the book’ and review all the health benefits of fasting. Another reason that Bay & PVE’s advice to continue 5:2 in maintenance makes so much sense; it’s not only about weight loss but our long-term health.
Naptime – what’s the result after your first two FDs?
Morning, everyone!
Thin, it sounds like you coped well with people turning up with food – my big downfall, especially cakes!
Good luck for FD today, Intesha, and enjoy your trip down to us in Canberra :-).
Thanks for explaining about the omelettes, JJ- I had an egg white omelette for dinner, with mushrooms, spinach and tomato, plus a big bowl of green salad. I was a little hungry at bedtime, but not unbearably so. And dinner was so minimal in calories, I actually only used 360cals for the day – including my three coffees with milk (can’t go without my coffee – but at least I reduced it to three!).
Congrats to everyone who is making their way down the scales, I am amazed by how much weight is being lost on here. It is so inspiring.
Well, after two FD, I have lost a staggering 2.7kg! I am totally shocked. This is the lowest I have been for probably 20 years. I am delighted, yet cautious. I often would lose the first week, then gain the second week – so once I have made it through next week with another loss, then I will breath a huge sigh of relief that I have broken the cycle.
Have a great day, everyone.
Naptime
Congratulations Naptime what a wonderful loss. As Thin just said to me you have to take the focus off the end result. Just enjoy the journey because this is for life. It took me months to realise that this does work and even when I look in the mirror now and my jeans/slacks are falling down around my hips I still have trouble believing what I see.?
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10:02 pm
18 Sep 15