Morning all, I can’t believe how easy it was! Thrilled! No wind either. Am going 3 days this week. Have a great week everyone.
This topic contains 28,583 replies, has 835 voices, and was last updated by Neilithicman 18 hours, 44 minutes ago.
Yay Bonny! That is great!
I felt wonderful the evening of my first Fast Day, and knew then that it suited me. My very favourite is waking up after a Fast Day, it feels so nice! The knowledge I will feel like that, keeps me going through the Fast Days!
Well it is a cool morning here. A huge thunderstorm yesterday evening has refreshed everything. The clothes line is full of my washing, so no storm today please!
Fast Day – but I am going crazy. Toast for breakfast instead of porridge, (It is my homemade loaf with added chestnut and oatbran so don’t worry for me too much!). I’ll see how it goes.
Best wishes and all good things
Good Sunday morning SHs
Many here won’t know me but greetings thin! I’ve read the last couple of pages of posts as my occasional catch up and noticed a bit of a theme that I thought I’d put out some thought about. We can struggle with a combined condition of feeling deprived and struggling against addiction and between us there are strategies to overcome this worst aspect of managing our weight. For instance The slendier noodles were a revelation to me. I hadn’t realised how much I was missing ‘pasta’ until I followed thins suggestion to use them!
It has helped me enormously to find great ideas for baking that don’t include any grains or sugar from the wheat belly website and even better ketodietapp. The girl who writes that is an inspired cook. You will find a growing acceptance of eating fat and not carbs but the addictive qualities of wheat/grains and sugar can be avoided by using other ingredients in your baking. This morning I will be making some little chocolate cakes using coconut flour, and lots of eggs and a bit of a safe sweetener called erythritol. You can get it in the sugar section in a pink and white striped box. It’s very expensive but you only need a bit in any recipe. The recipe is from ketodietapp.
English girl Martina is the writer. Some may find it very interesting to read wheatbelly too. It will answer some questions re why it’s so hard to fast after a day of eating bread and pasta etc. following these protocols and fasting is really helping me lose weight (20kgs in the past year) and lower my blood sugar and constantly high insulin (= always hungry and getting fatter by the minute). Lovely to read and catch up after a long while now. Happy Sunday.
Lovely to hear from you Freya and thanks for your last email to which I have yet to reply (sorry). Very interested in all you say. I think we need a coffee. CM should be back from yet another holiday by now. I’m reading ‘I Quit Sugar’ – it seems daunting. Glad you’re doing so well. 😆
Good job Bonny.
Cinque, yes the ‘morning after’ is wonderful! Fast Day for me today.
HI Cinque, glad you’re going OK today. I’m having chicken miso soup for dinner, it’s a huge bowl of broth & feels like you’re eating forever. The first time I had it, I had to double check that I’d used the right amounts of ingredients. Feeling a bit sluggish but I think I’m adapting to the heat – 34C today.
Hello SH,
FD for me today – after being laid up with a nasty virus all week.
Welcome to this new WOL for all the newbies. Congratulations to all those who have started over the recent weeks and achieved some downward trending. To those who haven’t, don’t lose hope – ask questions from the experienced 5:2ers on the forum – they are always very helpful :).
This WOL suits nearly everybody – just have to tweak it to suit yourself.
Loving all the stories …..
Will report in after my 2nd FD on Wednesday,
signing off,
Coast
Thank you!
It’s been fine most of the time, not as difficult as I thought. I have been doing 24 hour fasts – dinner until dinner. It’s easiest when I’m busy (I’m a student) and more difficult on days when I’m at work or home and it’s quiet. Studying is the hardest bit, and I will probably go off it during the exam period.
I had a half kilo loss in my first week and then nothing for the two weeks after, so I’m hoping for some more this week. 🙂
Hi Maratus,
I can’t resist replying. Have a read through previous posts as there are some wonderful tips on how to tweak your NFDs. If you aren’t losing, especially over two weeks, sometimes adjustments have to be made on those days especially at the beginning of the journey. I am sure that some of the more experienced 5:hers will respond and give you some concrete advice.
congratulations on the initial downward movement 🙂 keep at it but have a look at what changes you can make.
I am a student too, so can feel the exam period pain … LOL!!! I am determined that period wont undermine me this time!!!!
Coast
Hello Everyone,
It is a cool, grey, wet morning. Very nice. My newly planted tomatoes have doubled in size.
Thin, I hope you get some of this weather soon.
Coast, I hope your virus is all gone, and that your Fast Day was a lovely one.
Maratus, studying will be interesting while Fasting. Some days when I am Fasting I find it hard to concentrate. Other days are fine. I’ve been going for three months and my general health is so much better, aside from losing weight, so that makes working easier and more productive. My fasts end up being more like 36 hours because there are two nights involved.
Lucky I am getting more productive! I’ve got such a busy day, and Oh dear I had better get prepared. Just another cuppa and some more friendly chatting first!
Hello All,
I am relatively new to 5:2 and would like to understand this process a bit better as it feels like an emotional roller coaster at the moment, and it’s impacting on my enjoyment of life.
My story is fairly typical it seems, overweight much of my adult life, 42 now, have lost and gained many kgs over the years. Started in January this year at 78kg (BMI 29), lost 13kg with Weight Watchers one-on-one coaching. But I became tired of counting points and the slow rate of my losses, and started 5:2 at the beginning of August. I did that for the month of August with a couple of 4:3 weeks thrown in to reach my goal weight of 63kg before we went on holidays. Gained a bit while away, now sitting at 64kg, fasting Mondays and Thursdays. The fast days are getting easier which is a huge relief, I’m finding waiting until dinner works better for me than having a small breakfast or lunch.
However since I returned from holidays I find I am obsessed with food on my NFD, want to eat everything in sight. Sometimes I can feel genuinely hungry, but other times I really just want the sensation of eating after fasting the day before. This makes me feel worried that I’m undoing the work of the fast days, and that ultimately I will not be able to stop the gains if I can’t control my eating at all on NFD.
Does anyone else experience this phenomenon? Is it something lots of people experience in the early days? Thank you for your insights. 🙂
Welcome MWKaty and congratulations on that huge achievement. Many of us have experienced the same. I’ve had some friends who lost a lot of weight with WW but ultimately gained it all back and more as is so often the case with ‘diets’. With 5:2, we’re enjoying the great side effect of weight loss while experiencing so many health benefits along with being ‘shaped’ into making healthier food choices and learning to eat less. 5:2 is for life.
I’m someone who’s lost 23kgs (17kgs since starting 5:2 last August) with a start weight of 83.1kgs. I’ve been the same weight (60-61kgs) since about July. So, if I could offer you some advice it would be to work out your TDEE for the weight you want to be so you can learn how to sustain that weight now. It sounds like you haven’t far to go if you’re 64kgs so it shouldn’t be much of an adjustment. Then you need to work out your new FD intake (adjusted from 500 cals down to a quarter of your TDEE).
I think we all have a tendency to over-compensate with excess cals when we first start 5:2 but nearly 3 months on, it might be time to start looking into what you’re eating on nonFDs as well as how much. Whilst it’s true that in theory we can have ‘anything we want’ on feast days, for many of us, we found we had to take a closer look at what was going in. Many of us have cut out white carbs. Try and make sure your calories count. That means nutritious foods with a low GI that keep you full for longer. It’s OK to have planned treats – that’s why this is sustainable long-term. But keep in mind that sugar is addictive and it’s the enemy. It makes us fat and it’s bad for our liver. You’re doing this for your long-term health so think beyond the weight loss goal. In time, I think you’ll find that ravenous desire will dissipate.
Stick to this forum, we all got a lot of help and encouragement along the way – we don’t know everything and everyone’s different but you’ll find someone whose story ‘hits the nail on the head’ for you. You could also join the Maintenance Chat thread as I have where there’s lots of help and advice from people who are maintaining goal weight. Good luck with it.
Welcome MWKaty
Congratulations on your 15 kg weight loss. Thinatlast has nailed it and I am writing to support her. I have also lost 15 kg and have kept it off for 18 months. I also went down 3 clothing sizes.
Initially I lost 17 kg and i can keep that amount of weight off, if I eat no sugar or wheat. However, After my weight loss was done, I decided to have the occasional sugar wheat treat, and then to use the 5:2 fasting for health reasons to take the weight gain off. 😉
The price of being healthy and slim is eternal vigilance. So as soon as I see the extra kg, I fast to take it off. I agree with you about not eating all day. It’s easier that way. Lots of water.
I also worked out my TDEE for my goal weight and only ever ate my calories for that from the beginning. After three months, I moved on to Fast Day calories of one quarter of my goal TDEE.
Have fun and experiment to see what works for you. All the best. Bay 🙂
Hi MidwifeKatty,
How frustrating and disheartening it must be feeling at the moment to have your Non Fast Days undermined in spite of your best efforts.
I think I have escaped that nastiness by cutting out sugar, including fruit, and refined carbohydrates, several years before I started 5:2.
Even so, I still had way too much of that imperative, intolerable hunger even when I was overfull.
But I have loved 5:2 because every Fast Day my brain seems to be refiguring itself to give healthy signals about how much I want to eat.
So I agree with the suggestions about sugar and refined carbs.
I think you would know if there was some psychological/emotional reason, so I am inclined to think it is that brain message problem.
Good luck with working it out!
Hi all
So much valueable advice above, and as I’m again dealing with an overindulged weekend, and stupidly standing on scales this morning to be up nearly 3kgs from Fridays weigh in, hit the 80.0kg again, and just feel that I’m putting in a big effort during the week, just to get back to where I was (if I’m lucky) on the previous Friday. Somthing has got to change! I’ll see how this week goes, and it might just be a particularly heavy day, and might help to keep me motivated all week. I’ve been reluctant to count calories or look at TDEE but in reality, I know that that time is coming, and reading the constant thread above from sucessful Fasters… is helping to drum it into my stubborn noggin.
On Sunday, I pulled out all the trousers etc that had been lurking in my wardrobe, and religated most to the spare wardrobe (put into bags with the weight I’d need to be to wear them) and have tied a knot and put away in plastic bins, hopefully to open up in a few years and finally throw away. Was pleasantly surprised to find enough clothes in my current size from the spare one to populate my current wardrobe, so I guess this is the size I’ve got to in the past, and then quickly bounced up again, so at least the clothes situation isn’t as dire as I was thinking last week. I only found one pair of pants that I estimated I’ll need to be 75kgs to wear, so along with my new jeans, I’ll have 2 things to wear … eventually… and then a more serious shopping expedition will be required.
Welcome MWK and Maritus – I hope you find as much inspiration as I do from here.
Coast – hope you’ve kicked that virus into touch.
Hope all’s good in the hood – Cinque!
Today’s fast going well, and planning a small jog tonight as muscles still sore from Saturday – will be looking forward to my first food of the day… a chicken stirfry!
Nik, Nik, Nik, don’t worry, I’ve been there before and still stuff up despite knowing better. You’ve made the first step in confessing your sins! You might have to go through this cycle a few times before you realise it’s just not worth it. Or was it worth it? If alcohol is part of this weekend overindulgence, it’s easy to see how one drink leads to two and with that, inhibitions go out the window, and impulse snacking comes in. Then it’s a slippery slope to just not caring.
Ask yourself this – is this only about losing weight? Or are you interested in a healthier way of eating for life? If it’s the former, then I guess you could try 4:3 until you reach a goal weight which would allow you to maintain the weekend lifestyle you currently enjoy. Hopefully you can ultimately pull back on the weekend excesses to maintain a healthy weight on 5:2.
If on the other hand you’re serious about improving your health for life, then you have to pull back on whatever you’re doing at weekends. You’re good at fasting so why not consider trying one FD at the weekend? This will help you limit the damage. Or as you suggest yourself, the dreaded calorie count might be your answer.
Either way, you don’t want to be in a position where you’re gaining weight while fasting because you’re going to give up aren’t you, it’s just not sustainable. I hope this doesn’t sound like a lecture. I just don’t want to lose you. I know you can do this.
Hi all, and welcome to the newbies. I haven’t been here very long – but these gals on here are awesome! 🙂
You will get oodles of support and encouragement.
Had a moderately good weekend. I took Thins advice and I am trying to have one day OH is home as a FD to try and lessen the junk hit. OH was off on Sunday, so I had FD then instead of today.
Still aiming for the three FD a week, although I can’t see it lasting very long. But, while I am all fired up, I will do it.
Yes, Thin, OH could stand to lose some weight. He is very supportive, and says ‘I will fast with you today’ – then has a sausage roll for lunch and has a big dinner, and still says at the end of the day he fasted with me! In between lunch and dinner, maybe! But in all seriousness, he is supportive- but doesn’t understand the battle I have with the junk food.
I don’t know how you cope with the food envy, Nik. That would do my head in!
I hope everyone has a good day tomorrow.
Ha ha Naptime. I think you’re amazing doing 3 FDs. You will surely be rewarded with more great results. So I had two Sunday fasters with me yesterday.
Nik, I’ve been thinking my last post was a bit bossy. Sorry if it came across that way. I hope you had a good fast day today and enjoyed your stirfry. Maybe it’ll turn out that the extra kgs was just food in transit. Tomorrow will be a better day.
Good morning everyone,
just a quick welcome to our most recent newbies 🙂 You will love being on this forum.
Maratus glad that you have a good approach to the 5:2.
Thin, good feedback in nutshell and fantastic further input Bay and Cinque.
Nik, you have done so well to date – you can get a handle on this – just be open to change like you have in the past – gotta tweak something :))
Keep inspired Naptime. As you say, do it while you’re feeling it!!
BTW, I used those old unopened Konnyuku noodles last night and they were ok. I made a nice spicy cabbage and cauliflower soup – glad it’s still cool enough for soup.
Coast
Nik, I loved hearing about your clothes reorganization! That big old spare wardrobe, full of plastic bags of clothes you won’t want again. And won’t you love it when it is time to go shopping for some new clothes.
It is interesting the to and fro we go through making this a Way of Life, rather than a short, severe effort We are naturally trying to find the balance where it is an easy part of life AND it is a new healthy regime. So we have to test: can we get away with being this slack? Hmmm, no, I’m putting weight on again, do I have to be this strict? Maybe not, I’ll try doing this….
Coast congratulations! 9kg is a nice whack not to be carrying around! And yay that the virus has just about disappeared.
All power to you Nap with three Fast Days a week. Do you do particular days? Cheers for OH helping you with his sausage rolls and big dinners! 😉
Well I am in a hectic week, we are making meals to sell chilled, so people can buy them to warm up for an easy healthy dinner: or keep them in the fridge or freezer for another day. The big day is Thursday. (Anyone near Reservoir Melbourne can check out http://www.yamdaisy.com). Writing here is my little sanctuary at the start of each day. But after Thursday I can rest and recover before we analyse how we went and what we will do next year.
But maybe I will still try a Fast Day tomorrow. I’ll see.
It is a beautiful morning.
PS In case you are interested, Aussies: http://aussiebirdcount.org.au/
Thanks so much for the newbie support, the responses are super helpful and very much appreciated.
I calculated my TDEE (1730), so my fast days now mean around 430 calories. Had a great FD yesterday of around 400cal. And starting today I will give cal counting a go with myfitnesspal, to try and regain my confidence with NFD eating.
The low cal foods that are available have been a revelation to me in the past week, have tried slendier noodles (they’re like magic or something?!), and Avalanche hot chocolate – again, how do they do it? 🙂
Thanks again everyone.
Thank you so much for all the wise words and encouragement … Thin (no you weren’t too strick, it hit just the right note), Nap … food-envy is something I REALLY struggle with and equal portions …. when it should be a big bit for OH and small for me…. one day ……
Thanks Coast … I’m dragging myself (mentally) back onto the horse… and considering tweeking … (thankfully not twerking) 🙂
Good luck for Thurs – Cinque – it’s such great headspace clearer to do a bit of clothes sorting!
Am doing my liquid only day, so far so good, in a bid to clear the sins of the weekend (yes a little tequila was involved, Thin, that lead to unintentional snacking & F&C’s).
I will weigh myself tomorrow morning just to see if I’ve acheived anything with my 2 FDs, and then settle back down for the rest of the week.
My OH & I pick up our new mouth guards tonight to stop wearing away teeth while sleeping..ooh ahh … sexy!! 😉 (not)
thanks once again for the proverbial kicks – much appreciated
Nik it has taken me years to accept that OH should get a larger portion – and forget it when it comes to something like Connoisseur ice cream. You can all have a laugh when I tell you that we weigh it! Even worse, when it was just the two of us, OH would cut it with a knife. Now you can begin to understand some of the issues surrounding food in this household! The good news is that I’ve only bought it 3 times since starting 5:2 last August. My poor deprived family. The last time we had it, I can honestly say it didn’t taste as good as I’d remembered – kind of lardy. It used to be my undoing.
Had a good chuckle about the night time mouth guards, I wear one to retain my late-life orthodontic work and OH has a device to reduce snoring so, as you say, we’re very attractive as we climb into bed.
MWKaty, good job. If EA ever comes back on here, she’ll want to know all about that Avalanche Hot chocolate. I found the Almond Breeze milk today but I’ve forgotten who I should be thanking for it. Wow, very low cals.
Cinque and Coastcat, you’re real regulars now. So glad it’s working for you both.
Just ate half a block of chocolate…:-(. My excuse was I am majorly stressed at the moment – but that doesn’t justify it really, does it? I actually feel sick now…
I had FD yesterday and weighed this morning – up 600g. After a fantastic first two weeks, I am struggling at the moment, which is showing in what I am eating on my non FD, and then of course, showing it on the scales.
Tomorrow is another FD, hopefully up from there!
Cinque, I usually do Mon, Wed and Fri as FD – but have done a couple of different days this week, to try and fast on my usual pig out days. A lot of it depends on when OH is working (shift work). I was fasting when he was at work – but am beginning to realise I need to fast when he is here.
Thin, was that the Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla? If so, did you like it? It is so nice to be able to have a cappuccino in the morning on FD.
Enough whingeing. Tomorrow is another day – who is fasting? And what’s on the menu?
Hi Naptime, I’ll be fasting with you tomorrow. I’m in awe of your ability to fast on alternate days like that. I did it once or twice when I needed to swap a day around and found I couldn’t get enough food in on the non-FDs before it was time for another FD again. Or maybe that’s the secret of its success?
I still think I was a bit harsh on Nik (actually Nik, I’m just jealous that I don’t have an exciting social life like you) so I’m not going to say anything (much) about the chocolate. I hope it was good quality though. It must have been really frustrating to gain weight after a FD – don’t allow that to set back all you’ve achieved though. There’s no logical to the ups and downs on the scales with 5:2 but as long as we have a downward trend overall, all is good.
I haven’t tried the Almond Breeze yet as I had already divided and frozen some measured portions of the Almond & Coconut which need using first. I’m looking forward to being able to froth it though.
hi everyone, I find it very inspiring to read everyone’s posts. It is heartening to know I’m not the only one eating a chocolate when I know I’m stress eating and not the only one studying and trying to get the final assignments for the year done.
Also happy to see a birdy on the site Cinque, we will be participating in http://aussiebirdcount.org.au/
This is my third week fasting. I find it much easier to have a set menu on fasting days which are protein and veges only. I’m very lucky because my OH is doing this with me and very supportive.
Best of all today is weigh in day and the scales went down this week by 1kg! After not moving last week, which was my first week, I am very happy!! I was really helped along last week by the folk here who gave me ideas on how to tweak my non-fast days, I was eating way over my TDEE. Keeping a food diary has been a good exercise too, it gets me to reflect daily and what / why I eat.
I know you are going to get a laugh about this but over the last couple of weeks people having been telling me I look great — I don’t know where this is coming from because I haven’t lost enough weight yet, or got a new hair do or the like. May be it is the extra energy I’m feeling I have. I do feel like moving more and getting more done, especially on fast days.
Have a great day 🙂
Morning, all. I hope we are all having a good morning.
I am looking forward to fasting today. I feel like I am in control of my eating on FD, whereas the other days, I feel like food controls me.
Congrats on the loss, Linda! It was bound to come. I feel better after starting FD as well. I feel healthier and happier. It is amazing how something so small like FD can have such a huge impact in so many different ways. Keep up the good work!
Thin, the chocolate wasn’t great quality, and it really wasn’t worth it. I am sick and tired of putting junk in my mouth, and then feeling like crap afterward. Did it help with the stress? No – if anything it made it worse, because I was then stressed and feeling guilty. Hopefully every time I emotionally eat, I am one step closer to stopping it.
And don’t be in awe of my alternate FD – I eat junk and then put on weight atm! I am a real work in progress… 🙂
So, what is on the FD menu? I worked out my TDEE last night using my goal weight, and my cals need to come down a bit. So I think I will be counting cals on my non FD as well, just to make sure I stick to the new regime.
Have a great day, everyone. Good luck to those FD, and have a piece of cheese for me, non FD. Ooh, and some peanut butter! I suddenly have a desire for peanut butter… 🙂
Hi Nap, you had that chocolate on a Non Fast Day! Win! I’m with Thin, hoping it was good quality. And I also hope you enjoyed every mouthful!
And that you can swing into today’s Fast Day with pride and elegance: like a swan!
With any luck it will be a while before you need chocolate again. We just need the pigout days to move further apart.
Or do you need to give yourself permission to have another half block next Tuesday, to help you get though the week?
I got super hungry on Tuesday and was craving fish and chips. Went yep! Ok, treat myself! But I went to two fish’nchip shops that were shut. So I came home and had a big plate of (yummy) chicken stew and rice. But a couple of hours later I had to go out again, and I thought Wo, I still want those fish and chips! So I drove to another shop. It was open and I bought fish and potato cakes. By the time I ate them I was very full, but a couple of hours later I wanted something else to eat!
Oh No I thought, I must have just written on three different threads that 5:2 was turning my appetite normal! God’s punishment! I had a 1/4 cup of cashews (about) that filled me up, and I waited to see what would happen next. Well, the next time I was hungry was midday yesterday, and so only had two meals for the day. So now I am thinking I just needed a Pigout Day!
(By the way, the fish and potato cakes were delicious, but I didn’t want to be tempting! Just to tell a tale.)
So glad you had a good Fast Day MWKatty! I’m looking forward to one tomorrow!
Linda yay for that kilo! Gone! Yay for the birds too!
I agree about the set menu. It is driving me mad that this week I am not organised.
I have gone off my porridge now the weather has got hotter. I might try to make some muesli with a few berries and see if that works for me. Luckily I can get soup tomorrow from my food project, since that is my best Fast Day evening meal, and I haven’t made any for more than a week!
Fast Days are so much easier if you know what you are eating!
Cheers everyone! Enjoy your Fast Day today Thin and Nap and anyone else who is Fasting!
Glad you’re going well LindaV. Hi Cinque and all. Naptime, my FD menu today is leftovers from my Sunday fast (it’s only 3 days old!). Chicken miso soup. How about everyone else? I do have a good collection of recipes for FDs but seem to rely on a few favourites. It depends whether I’m making a family meal out of my FD dinner or letting the OFMs indulge in something like pizza that I don’t eat any more. That’s what’s happening tonight.
It was raining when I woke up today so I did an hour on the treadmill. Then OH came home from work early (couldn’t fly) and it had stopped raining by then so we did the usual 5km walk. I’d better see a decent drop on the scales tomorrow! I’ve had 125 cals today and it’s 3.45pm. Hope everyone’s going OK today.
Had an interesting FD. One of the GP’s at the medical practice where I work said in her distinct Russian accent “Ah, Katty, you are shrinking, how have you lost this weight? I want to lose weight too”. We had a bit of a chat about the 5:2, and weight loss more generally. She seemed to be looking for an easy answer – who can blame her really.
That conversation gave me some confidence to talk about it in the tea room at lunch time while I was sipping my Avalanche hot choc while my colleagues ate their lunches. Until now I’ve been a bit protective of myself at work, not bringing 5:2 up or talking about it. While it really was a fine conversation, I was reminded why I hadn’t brought it up before. Every.one.has.an.opinion. Why it’s good, why it’s bad, what they did to lose weight 8 years ago and how they’ve kept it off, blah blah blah. I didn’t let it get to me, and actually feel a bit relieved that I’ve “come out”. And I’m having another terrific FD, just finished my 350cal dinner of roast lamb, vegies and slendier noodles. Topped off at 395cal, and feeling very well indeed!
MWKatty, I really enjoyed your post especially as we’ve been practicing our Russian accents around here ever since we saw The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and we can do your phrase above quite well. Aren’t people annoying? Don’t worry, you’ll show them! I sometimes have this feeling that people are watching me, waiting for me to stack the weight back on like so many times before.
Your dinner sounds like a feast. Glad you’ve had a good FD. Me too. It’s 6pm and I’m up to 250 cals so I will have a banana and maybe an egg before bed. Man, I’m predictable.
Yes Thinatlast, I love that you were trying out the phrase in your Russian accent!
When I read you were having a banana and an egg before bed I thought ooooh yumm! And then I thought, wow, how strange that I would think something so ordinary could be so delightful! That’s one of the lovely things about 5:2 isn’t it, delighting in food again, rather than it being the enemy all the time.
Hi SH,
signing in!!
after FD #2 this week – down .8 kg from last week. yayy!!!
all up down 9.3kg since 1st August!!
I am very happy with my progress. Still keeping to my plan of having some carbs on NFD. I do not sacrifice or limit anything on those days but find I am very mindful of my choices now. I am lucky that I’m more a savoury person than sweet. I do make sure that my house is free of ‘my’ temptations i.e. bread, chic covered honeycomb, etc – that way I don’t even think of them.
On my NFD on Tuesday, I went pizza mad (I normally only have pizza 2/3 times a year) but I had a frozen pizza base in fridge so made one for lunch for a friend and I. Went to an evening meeting and they had nice ( i.e. gourmet healthier choices like seafood, chicken) pizza for pre-meeting dinner. I even had a little piece of birthday cake that they got me as well as a few glasses of bubbles. Even so, with all yummy stuff, with mindful choices and portion control I still had the downward trend.
I am so happy that I have found a way to counteract those days when you live and have a good time.
Tonight I’m going to a seafood buffet for my birthday and then a birthday celebration with family on weekend so I am pre-planning a miniFD till dinner today; an extra FD on Friday and the usual FDs on Monday and Wednesday – and I figure the damage will be minimal :))
great stories 5:2ers; keep inspiring me, thank you,
singing off,
Coast
Hi SH,
Cinque, I love the way you are approaching 5:2. Your way is working for you and that’s what counts 🙂
I too have chosen the esiest days for FDs that being my busiest days. I find it easiest just to have a tea with lemon first off and then tea or a coffee with milk throughout the day (tea I have any time I want) – then I have a bowl of homemade soup with either zucchini and carrot strips or konnyaku noodles.
And I agree with you about that wonderful feeling after a FD – feeling cleansed, leaner, clearer (particularly when not sick).
and thanks for the bird count link – I used to be an avid bird watcher – its like a form of meditation , I think.
FreyaT, nice that you checked in with the forum. It’s always good to hear others ideas and about others journey and how they tackle this WOL…
How is it going Bonny, Maratus, MWkatty, LindaV?
NikT, you have done so well so far!! a bit of up and down seems to be par for the course.
Nap, shame you didn’t feel well after the chocolate …. darned stress …. as you said .. tomorrow is another day..
Cinque, you were so eloquent – ‘swinging into a FD with pride and elegance: like a swan’ – beautiful 🙂 I bet you are a poet.
Thin, I have been thinking about how we can put all the great recipes from our forum together in one place so we can all refer back to them easily. Why don’t we start another thread called Southern Hemisphere Recipes and add all our recipes into that? Does anyone have the time to go through our forum and collect all the recipes into one area? What do you all think? Just an idea. Would be so helpful to the newbies as well as inspiration for all of us when we are getting bored with our own recipes..
as you can see I am avoiding sitting down and writing my thesis …. oops
gotta go
have a good FD to all,
signing off,
Coast
Happy Birthday Coastcat! You certainly have plenty to celebrate with 9+kgs off. I’m happy to enter my recipes into a separate thread, a bit less inclined to go back trolling for others (due to time constraints). PVE told me about other threads dedicated to recipes – I wasn’t able to find them at the time but have since seen a thread with recipes. I’ll see if I can find it again – I’m mostly interested in FD recipes, is that what you were thinking?
MWKatty, it’s amazing how slowly I can eat a banana on a FD!
Hi Sh,
It is probably apparent that I am avoiding the study and official writings!!!!
I have created a thread for all our tried and true FD recipes – not for chatting:
Southern Hemispherites FD Recipes
I also found another good thread called:
AUSSIE DETERMINATION – RECIPE THREAD
signing off,
Coast
Thanks Coast, great idea to have no chat in amongst the recipes, it’s much easier to scroll through without added comments and then it’s like a recipe book. I’ve just added a few of my favourite standby recipes – these are for FDs as I assume that’s what you’re intending (I’m sure no-one needs any encouragement on the feast days!). Please don’t forget to add the calorie count & number of serves – that’s the first thing I look for in a FD recipe.
Hi Everyone….I’m back!!!
Welcome to our newbies, hi to our oldies and our Wise Ones! Sorry, its been a while since I checked in, but won’t bore you with the reasons, except to say its been very busy. Also just returned from 9 days in Bali and had a ball. Ate anything and everything, including the dreaded rice. Only put on just over 1kg, but I walked A LOT, every day. Have hit the ground running with a couple of events that I’m helping cater, so even though I’ve been good since coming home, I haven’t had a proper FD. But I will start again on Monday once the craziness is over.
So, to our newbies, please stick with this. 5:2 really does work. Embarrassingly, my first goal was 2kg! However, as I lost that in the first week, I quickly reassessed and went for 5kg and then 10kg….which is where I am now. I’m so grateful to all the help, advice and bum-kicks received from the guys on this thread. If you’re not losing weight, re-assess and check that you’re doing everything right. If you are, then just hang in there. These plateaus hit when you least expect it, but the weight will start falling again. Just don’t overdo NFDs…this is just a matter of routine and your body will quickly adjust. Happily, I’m within my wriggle-room weight, but at the top end of it at 61.9. o back into on Monday to get back down to 60ish. Good luck, we are here to help you get to where you want to be.
What’s for dinner gang?? CM xx
Welcome back CM,
that was really good – just putting on 1kg – well done – you must have done a lot of walking :)) must have been a wonderful experience. did you pick up any recipes we could modify and use on FDs?
The SH FD recipe page is looking good Thin. I forgot to do the calorie count for the first recipe …. oops 🙂 but you can count on it being low as it is just celery, onion, a spray of oil, stock and chilly.
JJ will probably have a few recipes to put up as well.
Can everyone dig up a good recipe or two to share? tips for breakfasts and snacks would also be appreciated 🙂
Coast
(still avoiding)
Hey, welcome back CM and only gained a kg? Good work. Really looking forward to our coffee next Wednesday with the lovely Freya so if there are any Perth lurkers out there, don’t be shy, you’re welcome to join us so make yourself known and we’ll give you the details. EA must have gone underground. Intesha too, not that she could join us for coffee.
Well, I came on to ask for help with food for FD tomorrow- and I see you all have started a thread for recipes! Perfect :-)! I know if I have my salad for lunch and them egg white omelette and another salad for dinner, my cals are nice and low – but I am getting so bored. And miso soup is nice, but it has been hot here, so not soup weather for me really.
Congrats to all who have been losing weight so well.
You are so right, midwifeKaty – while I am not at the ‘delighting in food’ place, I am starting to not see food as the enemy as much anymore (food and I have had a rather tumultuous relationship).
Lol, Cinque with your colourful description… But yes, hopefully the junk days will get further apart. 🙂
Well, off to check out the recipe thread, and see what is for FD tomorrow. And I have to get to the Asian grocer and get the konnyaku noodles, as well.
Hi Naptime, Slendier noodles are in the health food section along with all the expensive gluten free type things. Don’t forget that konnyaku noodles are an inexpensive substitute – for soups especially – but for the recipes I’ve posted, I still use the Slendier noodles. If you go to their website, you’ll see a photo of the box they come in so you’ll know what you’re looking for. That’s where I found the recipes and you’ll see many more along with photos of the meals which I always find helpful.
Hi Naptime. In summer, salads are my best friend on FDs. I use lots of spinach or rocket as a base and mix it up from there. Some of my favs are sliced raw mushrooms, cucumber, celery, red capsicum, carrot sticks, etc. I generally add a protein, like chicken or small piece of salmon (grilled or cooked on baking paper with a smear of oil) or some avocado with some slivered almonds for crunch. Use your imagination and include things that you enjoy eating. Maybe a tiny grating of parmesan if not using fish/chook. If the meat is hot I dump it on top of the salad and let the juices create a dressing. If cold, I use a little olive oil & some balsamic. This is my main meal of the day. I do have brekkie (fruit, yog & half slice of toast), but nothing much then til dinner. Lots of water, herbal teas & I squeeze in a coffee if I can…& I try to keep busy. Hope this helps. CM xx
Edit – I find this is also great when feeding others/family too, as you can increase the protein portion for them & throw in some bread.
Re the Slendier, as Thin says, you’ll find them in the Health Food aisle & they’re often on special so I stock up.
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9:27 pm
10 Oct 15